2 Million people are now professional creators and 50% of them earn a living out of YouTube and according to Forbes, the creator economy has become a $100 billion industry.
Why it matters
We create for many reasons.
- To learn
- For happiness
- Obtain clarity from distilling life’s noise and inspiration into a simple creation
- Produce something of beauty
- For life fulfilment
- Maybe make some money.
And it has never been easier to start and to be rewarded for your creation in the digital world.
And who doesn’t want the downstream positive glow and effects of:
- Looking smart and a bit intelligent when you create and share it online.
- Seeing your creation admired in an art gallery, a shop or online
- Being happy and fulfilled after you have crafted and completed a creative project
- Making a living from a digital side hustle done from home.
- Taking a photo on your smartphone and share it on social media and be noticed and affirmed. And praised. Nothing like a pat on the back.
The big picture
The homo sapiens have been creators since they started painting on the walls of caves. Hidden from public view often for thousands of years. But in the last few years a new digital world and technology has provided a bigger canvas. Both with tools, technology and reach of a connected world on the Web where 6 billion people are now connected.
In the last decade or so the landscape for creators has transformed. This has been driven mostly by the rise of social media where everyone has become creators in either a small way or a big way. And anything in between. Videos, blogs, and podcasts and any digital media that can be shared.
Anyone can now become a digital creator, start a side hustle and even become an influencer.
By the numbers
Investment has been pouring in the creator economy space and in 2021 there was $1.3 billion in investment funding, which is a 300% increase since 2020.
So…
Who are some of these new generation digital creators?
As a summary they include artists, musicians, writers, designers and creatives and entrepreneurs who leverage technology to create an audience.
Many are doing this as a Side Hustle
Where is most of the money being made?
If we look at the landscape we can see that it is a mix but working with brands is the top revenue source by far.
Youtubers and other video content creator platforms
According to Forbes one of the best and “well known ways to earn a living is by creating video content people want to watch”. And half of them (1 Million) earn their money on Youtube.
Instagram is second with around 500,000 pre-creators and Twitch’s live streaming service has about 300,000.
Influencers as content creators
In 2021 the influencer market was valued at $13.2 Billion. These are everywhere from Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook to TikTok.
How are they paid?
It could be a fixed fee, it could be as an affiliate and it could be as sponsorship. And the revenue sources are many.
Create and get paid.
You can create on TikTok, Instagram, Metaverse (used to be called Facebook) and YouTube. Then we added Crypto and Blockchain where creativity meets digital currency.
The platforms have free crowd sourced content that helps them make money and split the revenue with the creators. A win win.
This can also be done via an NFT and get paid with Crypto. But what is an NFT?
NFT’s (Digital Art) exist only in cyberspace and screens. The reality is virtual. But real.
But what is a “Non Fungible Token”? NFTs can really be anything digital (such as drawings, music, your brain downloaded and turned into an AI), but a lot of the current excitement is around using the tech to sell digital art.
The upside for artists and creators is that every time someone sells your art you get a 10% commission on the sale tracked by a Crypto smart contract. It is a gift that keeps giving for the artist instead of a one off cash payment.
It is like the legacy royalty system but taken to a much higher level enabled by technology
The big digital canvas. Global reach has now been enabled and amplified by the Internet and the web. That was then accelerated by social media and the rise of the smartphone for the masses. That allowed us to publish and share from anywhere and anytime.
How big is the canvas? Well, it’s a bit supersized..
- The web has 6 billion users.
- Metaverse has nearly 3 billion on its platform
- Tiktok is projected to reach 1.8 billion by the end of 2022.
And so there is opportunity.
Between the lines
In the past we have had a narrow vision of who a creator or artist is, but Steven Pressfield has widened that view.
“Art is anything that means creating and sharing your gift with the world”.
Many of us have looked at a Picasso and through “I could never do that”. That was the traditional meaning of being an artist. Created by a special few. Genius was seen as something mandatory to be an artist and creator.
But we have moved on from there. Now the artist and creator can be seen as a process of “Make to Know” (Thank you Lorne Buchman for writing the book) where genius grows and emerges. Where beauty and creation emerges from starting and allowing the unexpected gift to be revealed. He mentions that creativity and the path of the creator and artist is more like a creative, making and evolutionary process rather than one moment of genius and revelation handed down by the gods.
Then there is the entrepreneur as an artist.
Sahil Lavingia in his book “The Minimalist Entrepreneur” wrote about the importance of being a creator and artist.
“Creator first, entrepreneur second…..Before you become an entrepreneur, become a creator”.
This removes the complication and keeps it simple. So to succeed, be a creator first and share that with the world, and work out how to make money second.
The bottom line
The creative options have expanded due to technology and our ability to make a difference is both easier and harder. That’s the paradox.
Easier because the town square is now global and the tech tools to create are both cheap (or free) and easily accessible.
Harder because there is so much noise online, on our phones and on our screens that competes for our attention.
Creating requires action and that is the real bottom line. The rest is just detail.
And the bottom line is just two things.
- A sense of satisfaction from being a creator that means you receive, affirmation and reward.
- You have started a side hustle and now have some free cash for the next holiday or to take your partner out to a fancy restaurant. You can make some money and make a living and maybe even become a digital nomad working while you roam the world on adventures and exploring
One way to become a creator is to start a “Side Hustle”
I started a side hustle where I created first and worked out later how to make money last. That was just a simple blog at Jeffbullas.com, where I shared my thoughts and ideas about the power of social media. My creation and art was writing. But I still had my day job that paid for my life. So….I was successful but unhappy.
SideHustleStrategies.co. is an evolution of Jeffbullas.com that I have always dreamed about. It is devoted to helping you grow personally and professionally. Side Hustle Strategies was created to help you flourish.
Since I launched Jeffbullas.com, it has been read by over 40 million people. That website and blog was originally a passion project that started as a side hustle. As I grew my blog, I discovered the financial freedom it gave me and how I designed and lived my life.
After experiencing that freedom, I wanted to help others get control of their life. That is where the inspiration started for creating SideHustleStrategies.co.
Join Side Hustle Strategies today.
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