C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 1

Cover
SEPTEMBRE M I N I M A L P R E S E N TAT I O N
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 2

DOWNLOAD OUR
SOCIAL COMMERCE REPORT
CLICKING HERE
INCLUDES:

• What is Social Commerce

• Gen-Z & Millennials Overview

• US vs China Market

• Social Commerce Survey

(350+ responders)

• Social Commerce Apps and websites

• Buy Now Pay Later

• Quotes from experts

C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 3

04 What is the Creator Economy? 29 Social Media

09 Surveys 47 Metaverse, NFTs and Memes…

11 User’s Survey 55 Platform for Creators

Table of content
18 Creator’s Survey 62 Case Studies

25 Full Survey and Infographic 66 More experts quotes

C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 4

What you will learn

From our exclusive Survey From our research on the Creator Economy

Content Creators’ favorite platform is TikTok (30%) followed by Every day there are new opportunities for content creators, from

01 Instagram (22%) and YouTube (22%). They also said that these three
platforms are also where they make the most money: TikTok (24%),
01 creators’ funds to platforms to manage their different revenue
streams and income.
Instagram (22%), YouTube (20%)
Content creators are not just selling third-party products, they are

58% of users say that in the next 12 months, would pay a monthly
02 actually creating their own offering, building companies and
becoming the next entrepreneurs.
02 subscription fee between $1 and $15 to access their favorite creator’s
exclusive content The affordability, accessibility, and ubiquity of creation tools is
03 creating an irreversible movement in favor of explosive creativity. It's
never been a better time, in the history of humans, to be a creator.
Creators’ main source of income is brand deals (31%). Followed in
03 second place by their own brand/business (25%) and creator funds
(15%) The entire creator economy is growing, with larger amounts of
04 advertising and platform money each year. This means that the big
creators are growing, but importantly, so too are the mid to long-tail
04 63% of users have tipped creators at least once
of creators that make the creator economy vibrant.

Favorite creators social media by age: 18-24 prefers TikTok over target
05 54+ that prefers YouTube. Instagram is consistent from 18 to 44 05 The Creator economy is in its infancy. Over the next decade, we will
see an increase of people who make their living online.

What drives users to support creators: (1) they try to support them in Some in uencers and content creators are even being hired by

06 any circumstances, (2) they feel inspired by the creator, (3) they trust 06 brands because of their creative mindset and their strong
relationships with a target audience of potential buyers.
(almost) everything they advertise.
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C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 5

Exclusive Quotes from

Jack Conte Dmitry Shapiro Jane Stecyk Anthony Zaccaria, Alex Zaccaria, Nick Cole mason
Humphreys
CEO, Co-Founder at Patreon CEO of Koji SVP, Marketing at Mighty Networks Co-Founders of Linktree Founder, CEO of Pearpop

Sima Gaandhi Alberto Martínez Guerrero Alessandro Bogliari Ronak Trivedi Kirill Goryunov
Co-Founder, CEO of Creative Juice CEO of Streamloots CEO of The Influencer Marketing Factory Co-Founder, CEO at Pietra Founder, CEO of HumanIPO

Jon Radoff Amber Tarshis Casey Adams and Kieran O’Brien Lulu Cheng Meservey Bremner Morris

Co-Founder, CEO of Beamable CMO of Jellysmack Co-Founders of MediaKits VP of Communications at Substack CEO of Rally.io
 6

What is the
Creator Economy?
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 7

Ingredients

What is the
Creator Economy? - Creators

- Community

- Tools

50+ million content creators

The creator Economy is a class of businesses built by

more than 50 million content creators, curators,

social media influencers, bloggers, and

videographers that use software and finance tools to

assist them with their growth and monetization.

Skilled Individuals

Within a society that now seeks easy access to

expertise, experiences and communities to engage
with, the creator economy is built around highly
motivated, creative and skilled individuals that are
using digital platforms to start their own businesses,
brands and communities.
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 8

Market Size
50+ millions creators

46.7 millions amateur

creators
The Creator market, which is combined of an influencer
marketing industry size of $13.8 Billions in 2021, and
hundreds of new start-ups, brings the total Creator market
2M+
to a size over $104.2 Billion and is increasing daily.
professional

creators
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 9

Trends:

• Creators are utilizing monetization tools to move their top

fans from social platforms to their own websites and apps.
• Creators are using assembling tools to launch their own
businesses, meaning they can continue focusing on their art
whilst becoming founders and growing their team.
• Due to the shift in fans no longer resonating with faceless
publishers, we know that creators are now gaining power in
the media ecosystem through their online personas.
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C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 10

Patreon Creators are about to have leverage, control,

and political and cultural in uence to a degree
that is unprecedented. The affordability,
accessibility, and ubiquity of creation tools,
coupled with the level of global connectivity
of individuals is creating an irreversible
movement in favor of explosive creativity. It's
never been a better time, in the history of
humans, to be a creator. If you like to make
things and you want to have a voice -- NOW is
the time to be alive.

”
CEO & Co - Founder
Jack Conte
*Exclusive quote for The In uencer Marketing Factory
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C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 11

We are shifting from an initial idea that in uencers

and content creators were only able to sponsor
brands’ products, to actually seeing them becoming
solopreneurs or even creating companies with
employees, creating their own product lines,
promoting their own services, co-creating new
features in collaboration with companies, brands
and social media. This results in a greater
diversi cation in revenue streams and new
opportunities for content creators to come over the
The Influencer next few years. Lately, some in uencers and content
creators are even being hired by brands because of
Marketing Factory their creative mindset and their strong relationships
with a target audiences of potential buyers.

”
CEO
Alessandro Bogliari
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We ran two surveys :)

C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 13

Survey Methodology

👭 🧑🤝🧑 👬 👫 👦 👩🦰 👱 👨 🧑🍳
For Users: For Creators:
The survey data presented in this report was collected The survey data presented in this report was collected
from 600 users based in the US who submitted an from 500 creators based in the US who submitted an
online survey between August 30 and September 7th online survey between August 30 and September 7th
2021. Our target audience was users between 18 and 2021. Our target audience was creators between 18
54+ years old. Our goal was to understand their and 54+ years old. Our goal was to understand their
preferences when it comes to supporting their favorite preferences when it comes to creating content and how
creator. How they like to support them, which platforms, much money they are making. How many followers they
and overall their behavior towards the creator economy. have and overall valuable insights about their career.
 14

Users survey
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 15

Have you ever tipped a creator? How much do you usually tip?

> $50
$20-$50 5%
13%
$0.00
37%
37%

$10-$20
18%
63%

$5-$10 < $5
16% 10%

Yes No
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 16

On which platform do you like tipping/subscribing to support your favorite creators?

300 285

225 215
198

150

86 90
73
75
48 52
29

TikTok YouTube Instagram Twitch OnlyFans

Twitter Snapchat Other I don't tip
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 17

What makes you want to tip a creator?

400

355

300

200
200 183

132

100 89
75

39

0
I want to support him/her I like some niche content I want to interact I want him/her/they to notice me

I want to support my favorite Other I don't tip

creator no matter what
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 18

What drives you to support creators (except the fact you like/need the product)?

300 293

250

225 210

162
150
128

80
75

31

0
I try to support them in any circumstances I trust (almost) everything they advertise FOMO
My group of friends do the same They inspire me Other
I don't
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 19

I prefer to support my favorite creators by:

300
272

244

225
208
187

150

97
76 79
75 64

18

streaming their music (Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple Music) streaming their podcast buying merchandise
buying products from companies they created tipping them on platforms not skipping ads on their videos
Other (sum) Buying products they sponsor I don't
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 20

Thinking of the next 12 months, how interested are you in paying How much would you pay every month for exclusive
a subscription fee to access exclusive content from one of your
favorite in uencers? access to content from one of your favorite influencers?

0.24
23%

14%
0.18

15%
14%
0.12 13%

28% 11%
58%
8.9%
7.3%
0.06
5.3%

$ 0 (I wouldn't pay for it) $1-$3

Likely
$ 4 - $7 $ 8 - $ 15
Unlikely
$ 15 - $ 30 $ 30 - $ 50
Not sure $ 50 - $ 100 $ 100+
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Creators survey
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 22

What is your favorite platform as a creator? Where do you make the most money?

7%

20%
30% 24%
22%

10%
22%
4%
14%
3% 20%
22%

TikTok Facebook YouTube TikTok Facebook YouTube

Twitter Instagram Other Twitter Instagram Other
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 23

How many combined followers do you have?

What is your annual income as a creator?
(on the social media you use the most)

6% 2% 4%
4%

8%
13%

41%
14% 47%

18%

23%
20%

> $20k $20k - $50k $50k - $100k Less that 150k 150k-500k 500k-1M
$100k - $500k $500k - $1M > $1M 1M-3M 3M-5M 5M+
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 24

Favorite Creator’s Social Media by age

0.6

53%
50%

0.45
Notable insights:
target between 18-24
prefers TikTok over target
35% 35% 54+ that prefers YouTube.
0.3 32%
Instagram is consistent
26%
27% from 18 to 44.
24% 24%

21% 21%
18% 19%
17%
0.15
14% 14%
13%

8%
7% 7% 7% 7%
5% 4%
0% 3% 3% 3% 3% 3%
0
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 54+

TikTok Instagram YouTube Twitter Facebook Other

C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 25

Time Spent Being a full-time Creator in Relation to Earning per year

Notable insights:
80% It takes at least 3 years for a full-time content creator to start less than $20k
earning a significant yearly income, and - on average - more
$20k - $50k
than 6 years to accomplish $ 1M+ milestone. This is not a set
in stone rule because with platforms like TikTok and YouTube $50k - $100k
60% Shorts creators can go viral and grow their audience as well $100k - $500k
as their revenue faster compared to “traditional” formats. $500k - $1M
$1M+

40%

20%

0%
I am not a full -time creator Less than 1 year 1-3 years 4-6 years over 6 years

Time Spent Being a full-time Creator

C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 26

Earnings per year by n. of combined followers

50% Notable insights:
There is no direct correlation between the number of followers and the yearly income as a less than $20k
content creator. There are many factors that can contribute to the creator’s revenue. For $20k - $50k
instance, niche content creators with a smaller following might earn more than creators $50k - $100k
with 5M+ followers, that do not have a specific topic and a strong community. $100k - $500k
$500k - $1M
37.5% $1M+

25%

12.5%

0%
Less than 150k 150k-500k 500k-1M 1M-3M 3M-5M 5M+

Combined Followers
 C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 27

How creators monetize:

Sponsored content Exclusive content What’s your main source of income?

Affiliate links Consulting

Tipping Merchandising 6%
15% 3%
Paid subscription Events and meetups 8%

5%

7%

Types of creators:
31%

Video Creators Live streaming

25%

Audio Creators Meme Pages

Course Creators Artist

ad share revenues courses af liate links
in uencer marketing (brand deals) my own business merchandise
Gamers Musician subscription services platforms creator funds

Resellers Photographer
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C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 28

Our full Survey

Infographic
CHECK IT OUT HERE
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 29

Next Generation
of entrepreneurs
The Creator Economy is not something that
comes from platforms or startups
themselves. It comes from the way creators
are changing and shaping the economy.
Once creators become well known and they
built a reasonable experience they start to
build businesses that can make millions.
Brands and companies recognize the
potential and that’s why we can see them in
positions like “Creative Director” of huge
companies. Creators are not just there to
entertain, they know how to communicate
with their generation and brands cannot
miss that if they want to stay relevant.
 “
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 30

Creators are the next generation of small businesses.

However, many creators lack access to capital and business
tools to help them reach their full business potential.

Just as better editing software and cameras reduced the

barriers to entry around content creation, we believe there’s
an opportunity to make it easier to set up a creator business.

The entire creator economy is growing, with larger amounts

of advertising and platform money each year. This means

Creative Juice
that the big creators are growing, but importantly, so too are
the mid to long-tail of creators that make the creator
economy vibrant. We’re excited about our role in making the
creator economy a core part of the global economy.

CEO / Co-Founder
Sima Gandhi
”
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 31

Influencer Marketing
Influencers and Creators can earn money when their fans subscribe to their
channel or tip them, when they send them a gift or a bit. But one of the
biggest stream of revenue for creators remains brand sponsorship,
collaborations and deals.

Brands spend hundreds of dollars to be in an exclusive post, stories or video

because the revenue they’ can generate by choosing this strategy can often
be much bigger that just doing random ads on the TV or via paid media.

Hence the big trend that we can see in the last years, the demand for
authenticity and transparency by the fans to brands and creators. They don’t
buy from creators that just seamlessly sell anything, they buy when they
know the brand choose the right person to represent them and their
products, when it seems and feels authentic. They buy because they know
the creator is transparent with his/her community and would not advertise a
brand that is far away from what they represent.

GET IN TOUCH WITH OUR AGENCY

 32

Social Media
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 33

Please note that…

The following slides focus specifically on how social media

features can support creators monazite their own content.

That being said, you will not find any information regarding
brand deals or influencer marketing in general as the purpose
of this is to highlight additional ways to make money.

Furthermore, we have broken down a variety of different

platforms and tools that creators can utilize, that are useful for
creators and their economy.
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 34

Similarities between social media platforms

Platforms are offering the

same feature to keep up
with trends and successful
features that perform well
with the user experience.
Such as short form content,
live audio, live-streaming,
shopping and stories.
08/09/2021
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 35

TikTok
01 Gifts
With Gifts, users can tip creators’ videos. Gifts were

originally designed for LIVE stream but now users can

send a gift even if the video is on the For You Page. Each

gift costs between 25 and 1,000 TikTok coins that can be

converted into diamonds that convert into dollars, which

the creator can cash out.

02 Creator’s Fund
Creators can also earn money from the TikTok Creator’s

fund worth $1 billion, announced on July 2020. The creator

simply needs to post on their TikTok account to earn

Source:https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-expands-tipping-gifts-for-some-creators-fyp-videos-2021-8

money based on how well the videos perform.

C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 36

03 Shopify Storefront (pilot in US)

Merchants with a TikTok Business account will soon be

able to build mini-storefronts on their profiles by adding

a new "Shopping" tab to their pages and syncing their

product catalogs.

Creators can easily tag the products in the videos and

be even more connected to their fans.

Fun fact: according to a report from App Annie, TikTok users from the US

and UK have higher average time spent in-app, surpassing the time per

hour spent on YouTube.

Source: Shopify x TikTok

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C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 37

The introduction of the iPhone and App Store in 2007 forever changed what
we can do with our phones, allowing developers to innovate, creating over 2
million apps, and the term "there's an app for that".

The introduction of an App Store for Social Media Creators (Koji), brings the
same dynamics to innovation in the creator economy, allowing developers to
create countless new capabilities for social media creators to use on their
links in bio. Today there are already over 100 apps in the Koji App Store, all
taking advantage of common identity, payments, analytics, etc... allowing
developers to do more in less time, and for their fans to have a radically more
seamless experience.

Over the next few years, we will see a new generation of creators start to take
advantage of these new creator economy tools, and redefine what it means to
be a creator. While today we see very few creators making enough money to
quit their jobs to be professionals, a middle class of creators will form,
allowing hundreds of millions more creators to flourish.

Today's hundreds of companies providing small parts of an entire creator

Koji
solution will get refactored into apps that are available on a link in bio,
renderable inside of every social network, with unified analytics, payments,
notifications, etc.

In a few years we will look at the workflow of today's creators and gasp at how

”
draconian today's approaches will seem!

CEO
Dmitry Shapiro
*Exclusive quote for The In uencer Marketing Factory
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C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 38

YouTube
Fun fact: in the last three years YouTube has paid out over

$30 billion to creators over the last two years and has recently

hit 2 million participants!

01 Advertising Revenue 04 Super Chat & Super Stickers

Creators can monetize their videos by signing up for an Adsense account. Super Chat and Super Stickers are ways to monetize and connect with fans during a

YouTube places companies’ ads in the videos. The more users who clicks on the live stream. Viewers can get the creator’s attention by making their message stand out

ad the more money the YouTuber will make. or by sending an animated sticker.

05 YouTube Premium
02 Channel Membership Allows users to watch videos on YouTube without advertisements across the website

Channel memberships allow viewers to join your channel through and its mobile app. Creators can earn a portion of a subscriber’s fee when they watch

monthly payments and get members-only content and other perks like badges, their videos.

emoji, and other goods. Creators can decide how much to charge and which

rewards to offer.
06 Super Thanks
Is currently being tested in beta and allows fans to buy a “clapping” animation for $2,
03 Merch shelf $5, $10 and $50 to show support to the creator. Is like a tip and it can be dropped on

The merch shelf allows eligible creators to showcase their official any video uploaded to the channel.

branded merchandise on YouTube and fans can purchase

products directly below the creator’s video.

C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 39

07 Shorts Fund
YouTube was the very first platform that paid creators for

the content they posted on the platform.

Shorts is the response to the huge success that short format

has seen with video content.

The new feature was introduced in the US in March after

being tested in India in fall 2020. In May the company

launched YouTube Shorts Fund worth $100 million that will

pay creators during 2021 and 2022. Shorts is a big

opportunity for creators.

Before short form content, it was way more difficult to build

an audience and a community. Now, it’s faster and easier.

Source: Instagram
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C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 40

Pearpop Pearpop is the rst and only marketplace for

social collaborations, empowering creators to
monetize their following and grow their
presence with authentic content. Pearpop was
born out of the idea that social capital and
monetization should be democratized and
today, tens of thousands of creators (with
every size following) rely on us to transform
their social media into a business through
collaborations, while brands leverage us for
raising awareness and reaching their goals.

CEO & Co-Founder

Cole Mason
”
*Exclusive quote for The In uencer Marketing Factory
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C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 41

Instagram
01 Creators’ Shops
Creators who want to sell their own products and
merchandise are able to add an existing shop or set up a
shop through the Instagram app.
The goal of Creator Shops is to make it as easy as possible for
users to buy directly from creators, within the app.

02 Affiliate Commerce
When creating a Feed or Story post, creators will have the ability
to not only tag the exact products they are featuring in their
content, but earn commission on any sales they drive from that
content.

IG recently announced that they are taking down the swipe up

option to be replaced with link stickers.
Source: Instagram
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 42

03 Live Badges
Creators that broadcast Instagram Live videos can earn

“tips” from viewers in the form of heart badges. When a

user purchases a badge, a heart icon appears next to

their name in the live chat. Badges cost between $0.99

and $4.99, with a cap of 250 USD per viewer per session.

04 IGTV Ads
By monetizing the content on Instagram creators can earn

based on the number of views of an IGTV. Creators get 55%

of the ad revenue generated per view that is paid monthly.

This feature is currently available in US, UK and Australia.

Source:https://www.magiclinks.com/blog/instagram-live-badges-tipping-is-coming/
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C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 43

We differentiate in the landscape because we accompany

the streamer every step of their way. With the creator
economy, the falling economic costs of production and
distribution have been replaced by a new set of taxes:
physical, emotional, psychological.

We understand monetization is important, but if we want

creators to succeed and become their own company we
need to care about Creator’s rights and Creator wellness.

The rst few years of the live streaming industry were about
distribution and helping streamers build an audience. But

Streamloots the next few years are going to be about guring out ways to
get the long tail of creators (or the middle class of creators)
get paid, get ownership of their fans and get access to rights
and perks that are often limited to traditional employees.

CEO
Alberto Martínez Guerrero
”
*Exclusive quote for The In uencer Marketing Factory
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C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 44

Twitter
01 Tip Jar
Creators can set up their Tip Jar and anyone can send them money to

support and show appreciation for their content.

02 Super Follows
Super Follows works like a membership subscription. Creators can earn

money each month by charging followers a monthly fee to get access to a

more personal experience with bonus content.

03 Ticketed Spaces
Creators can host live audio chat and charge followers with Ticketed Spaces to

participate. The tickets can cost from $1 up to $999.

Source: Twitter
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C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 45

Game development is the de ning form of art and

creativity of this generation--perhaps this entire century.
There are millions of game-makers in the world today,
and there are billion-dollar games that started with one
or a handful of creators.

Our mission at Beamable is to make it possible for

anyone--whether an established studio or a creative
individual--to earn a living from game development.

Beamable
We do so by equipping them with the tools that let
them focus on the storytelling, features and experience
of games without needing to be concerned with the
technical plumbing.

”
CEO
Jon Radoff

*Exclusive quote for The In uencer Marketing Factory

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C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 46

Facebook
01 Advertising Revenue 04 Stars
In-stream ads help creators earn money by embedding short ads before, Is a feature that allows creators to monetize live streams. Viewers can buy
during and after your videos. The revenue is determined by factors like
and “Stars” during the stream. For every Star a creators receives, Facebook
how many views the videos have and who the advertisers are.
will pay $0.01. It’s a way to celebrate your work (just like Bits on Twitch).

02 Fan Subscription 05 Paid Online Events

Creators can charge followers a monthly fee to have Paid online events are a new way to monetize the live
access to exclusive content, badges, personal interaction broadcast of an online event through a single participation
and more. Creators can set the price of the subscription. fee that guests pay at the time of registration.

03 Bonuses 06 Donations
By the end of 2022, FB plan to invest over $1 billion in Creators can pick a service to accept payments and receive
programs that give creators new ways to earn money for donations (like Buy Me a Coffee).
the content they create on Facebook and Instagram.
 “
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 47

Social tokens are fully customizable, branded cryptocurrencies

unique to individual creators that function as digital economies that
they share with their fans.

Creators have traditionally had to rely on centralized platforms with

gated walls to earn income, Rally is enabling creators to directly
monetize their audiences regardless of the platform they're
engaging on. This is critically important as creators face challenges
like changing policies.

Rally is also reinventing the business model for creators. These

centralized platforms also take 100% of revenue from creators and
distribute however they choose. With social tokens, creators and
their fans retail all or most of the revenue that’s generated without

Rally.io going through an intermediary. Platforms like Patreon and Substack

paved the way by replacing ad-based monetization with direct-to-
fan monetization. Rally and other social token platforms are taking
this model to the next level by allowing fans to participate and grow

”
the economy alongside their favorite creators.
CEO
Bremner Morris

*Exclusive quote for The In uencer Marketing Factory

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C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 48

Twitch There are two main ways to monetize: you can be an affiliate (the bare minimum for monetizing the

channel). Once you have streamed 25 hours across 12 unique streams with an average of 75 viewers

you can become a “partner” and have more perks - for example the verified badge.

01 Subscription
Creators can earn money when fans subscribe to their channel by
paying a monthly subscription (minimum is $4.99 a month), and the
creator can decide the benefits they get access to.

02 Merchandise storefront
Creators can earn money by setting up a merchandise storefront
via third party site directly under their live stream.

03 Running Ads
Another way to support the creator is to watch the ads they run
during the live streams (just like YouTube). The more the ads are
seen the more the creators earn.
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 49

04 Bits
These are the equivalent to “Gifts” on TikTok and “Stars” on Facebook.

Fans use bits to show gratitude and support to creators. Creators

receive $0.01 for every bit. Bits are used also for voting or celebrating

during the streams and is a great tool to engage with the community.

05 Amazon Associates
Creators can earn a commission by linking specific

products to their page. A lot of streamers like

linking their filming and gaming equipment.

Source: Twitch
 50

Metaverse, NFTs
and Memes…
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 51

Roblox Developers can monetize with the Developer Exchange

Program the games they create in different ways.

01 Game Access
Developers can require players to pay a fee to access the

game. Payments and purchases are made with Robux, the

platform’s digital currency that can be cash out in real money.

02 Avatar clothing
Creators with a membership can sell clothing, footwear, hairstyles,

t-shirts, facial expressions within their game but creators need to

pay a fee to upload them for sale.

03 Premium Payouts
Creators can earn Robux based on how engaging the game is,

the more time they play it the more Robux the creators earn.
Source: Roblox’s Instagram
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 52

Brands are tapping in the Metaverse

01 Gucci
The two-week long media installation is a virtual experience where
visitors can immerse themselves into the Gucci virtual world and
creative vision of Alessandro Michele. Avatars becomes a neutral
mannequin that can experience every different room of this
experience and purchase and wear Gucci virtual items.

Source: Roblox

02 Vans This is how to ensure your brand stays relevant to future

generations: if we don’t pay attention to the billboards
Vans World is a skateboarding metaverse playground inspired by on the streets because we are too busy on the phone
famous Vans locations all over the world. Players can buy custom might as well put them in the virtual world where we
virtual items for their skateboard or sneakers but there are also free can interact not only with the brand but with a
items of the day. community that shares our same values in real time.
Vans fans all over the world can come together and engage.
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 53

Newsletter fight

01 Twitter Revue 03 Substack

Acquired in June, the Dutch startup allows to Founded in 2017, Substack is a subscription platform where
newsletter email to be monetized. writers can earn a monthly check by publish their newsletter,
blog or even podcast. The platform charges 10% for every
Twitter is now testing a feature that allows people to dollar that creators make.
subscribe to your Revue newsletter directly from the
Twitter profile.

02 Facebook Bulletin 04 Letterdrop

Launched in June as a newsletter for independent writers Founded in 2020, Letterdrop is a newsletter and blog
and podcasters with free and paid content, Bulletin is platform where writers can earn a monthly check through
trying to compete with competitors like Substack. paid subscription, sponsorship or freelancing for other
Facebook is recruiting more and more writers with a $5 Letterdrop publications. Writers can use the platform for free
million fund to pay journalist through the years. up to 1,000 subscribers. Moreover, it takes only a 5% cut for
membership fees for every $1,000 you make per month.
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 54

Podcasts and Audio Rooms

01 Spotify paid subscription
Launched through Anchor (podcast content creation tool) and until 2023

creators that join the paid subscription program can keep 100% of the

subscription revenue. The creator can decide which content can be under

the subscribed option and prices can go from $0.49 to $150. Creators and 03 Facebook Audio Rooms
their community demands more flexibly even when it comes to price range!
With the rise of the audio platforms big companies are keeping up by letting

creators be able to monetize every aspect of their content. In Audio Rooms,

02 Acast
creators can host conversations similar to Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces.

Additionally they allow creators to be supported by fans through Stars, and they

Founded in 2014 is a fully integrated podcast marketplace with are currently working on the ability to charge for access to a Live Audio Room.

an access to a range of monetization and tools necessary to

expand their listener base. Last year the company started a

partnership with Patreon, where creators are able to share the

exclusive content with more listeners.

 “
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 55

Writers are the original creators - of stories, of ideas,

and of culture. Great writing is tremendously valuable
to society, but its value has been eroded by business
models that favor short bursts of internet
engagement. Substack is restoring that value, with a
model that rewards great writing by letting readers
subscribe directly to their favorite writers and putting
readers and writers in charge — not ad-shilling
Substack algorithms. That’s the future.

”
VP of Communications

Lulu Cheng Meservey

*Exclusive quote for The In uencer Marketing Factory
fl
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 56

NFTs

Whether because of a celebrity, an

entrepreneur, brand or influencer everyone
knows about the NFT wave that took over the
past year.
But why are creators making a lot of money out
of it?
A non-fungible token is a unique digital token
managed on the Ethereum blockchain and it
can be almost anything: from a meme to an
artwork to a tweet.
With the blockchain technology creators are
able to monetize their digital work, be fairly
compensated and have full control of their
products in a way that was not possible before.

Source: OpenSea
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 57

It’s not only about creators…

Digital artist Mike Winkelmann known as Beetle sold his artwork
“Everydays: The First 5000 Days” for over $69 million at Christie’s
auction in March 2021.

Visa (yes, the financial service) bought a crypto punk for $150,000 USD
in August 2021.

OpenSea sold $1 billion of digital assets in August 2021.

Axie Infinity hit $1.1billion USD in sales becoming the highest-grossing

NFT project.

Celebrities like Paris Hilton, Steve Aoki, Shawn Mendes and Eminem
released their own NFTs.

Brands like Coca-Cola, Burberry, Taco Bell and more are tapping in too.

Source: Christie’s
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 58

Memes are THE community

Over the years memes became a big part of
the Internet culture. They keep us entertained,
people communicate through memes, and if
they are good enough you will laugh out loud.
Memes’ accounts are run by very talented
creators that a lot of the times don’t even get
credits for their creativity.
With the creator economy such personalities
are able to become correspondent for events
like the Met Gala. Or even better, raise a big
quantity of money for a good cause.
Memes pages are the biggest example of the
power that communities holds on the internet.
 59

Platforms for
Creators
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 60

“
The creator economy is only just beginning

MediaKits
and I believe that the power is shifting to

the creators instead of the platforms. Our

team at MediaKits is focused on

empowering creators by providing a tool

“ that allows them to create custom

The creator economy in 2021 is in a very

” MediaKits online using real time data and

analytics. All creators deserve the best

interesting place, we're beginning to see a

fundamental shift of power from the platforms to tools to help them thrive in the creator
the creators themselves due to the omni channel economy and we know that MediaKits will
presence most creators are realizing is vital to
help them represent themselves in the
their longevity. Additionally, in 2021, everyone is
best way possible.
a creator now in some way, the creator economy,

much like the sharing economy was back in 2010, ”

is transitioning from a compartmentalized

industry to a real piece of our economic structure

as a society. This is precisely why we're building Co-Founders

MediaKits to empower these early adopters with
Kieran O’Brien Casey Adams
tools & resources to lead the charge.

” *Exclusive quotes for The In uencer Marketing Factory

fl
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 61

Powering the Creator Economy

Is a financial studio for collaborating, A platform designed to give creators A livestream beauty app that compound

splitting revenue, money management and brands a dedicated place to start UGC reviews, e-commerce and videos

and metrics all in one place. Valued at and grow communities. The startup has form social media. The content is

instantly monetized instantly and creators

$100 million the startup has raised $4 raised $50 million in a Series B funding
earn commission for every sale they
million in October and recently back in April. Their goal is to build a
drive. The company recently raised
launched “Pay” to help creators collect creator middle class. The platform set
$28M in series A round by Streamlined
on brand deals and pay collaborators. membership, payment option, online
Ventures, and currently sells over 200
courses, event integration for creators.
beauty brands. The funding will be also

invested in recruiting more creators.

 “
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 62

Being in a community is the best way to navigate a rapidly

changing world — it helps us learn quicker, adapt, and nd
support and accountability from like-minded people.

Because of the dramatic results people experience by being

part of communities, they're also the secret to modern
entrepreneurship — an entrepreneur who builds a community-
powered business is able to build a more sustainable, scalable
business.

Mighty Networks provides the software, strategy, and support

Mighty Networks that creators and entrepreneurs need to take advantage of this
new way of doing business and bring all of their content,
courses, and events into one place with a thriving community at
the center of it all.

SVP, Marketing
Jane Stecyk
”
*Exclusive quote for The In uencer Marketing Factory
fl
fi
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 63

… so many more

The startup raised $15 million in June The most work for creators comes when they The link in bio startup raised $10 million back in June

and $4 million back in 2019, and is have to edit their content and distribute it to 2021. Koji can be used across any social media platform.

currently valued at $75 millions. It’s like different platforms. This is when JellySmack Koji profiles includes hundreds of mini apps like Tip Jar,

a creator hub where any size creator can taps in with their “Creator Program”. The Shoutout or Ask Me Anything. The Koji page is totally

customizable and is built to engage and strengthen the

come in and launch a digital-first company helps creators to maximize the
creators community. The platform recently launched IAY
consumer business. The platform allows potential of their content by adapting it for
“I Asked You” an app that brings creators innovative new
creators to connect to top vendors, set every social media, A/B test on videos to find
tools for crowdsourcing content from their followers.
up warehouses and fulfillment and the best combo and much more.
Creators set a prompt like “try not to make me laugh”
creator their own website.
and followers submit videos, images etc that meet the

prompt. Then the creator picks the best to share in a

compilation or a reaction video.

 “
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 64

As the internet becomes increasingly fragmented and the creator

economy continues to experience rapid growth, Linktree has become
a solution for more than 16 million users to curate an online
ecosystem and seamlessly monetize their audience.

The Passion Fund we launched earlier this year celebrated the launch
of Commerce Links and awarded creators with a big dream an
investment and tools to help turn their passion into a career.

Commerce Links, powered by PayPal and Square, provides users the

ability to engage in frictionless transactions, quicker paths to
purchase for their customers and an ability to connect their online
ecosystem to their products or services.

Our commerce offerings are ever growing, meeting creators where

they need it most. Our most recent feature we introduced onto the
platform is Music Link, which automatically displays the same song or
album across all music streaming services to let users listen to content

Linktree
on their preferred platform, thus boosting streaming possibilities.

We will continue to roll out creator-focused partnerships, feature

expansions, and product developments to ensure Linktree continues

”
to be a launchpad for creators.

Linktree Founders
Anthony Zaccaria, Alex
Zaccaria, Nick Humphreys *Exclusive quote for The In uencer Marketing Factory
fl
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 65

Other ways to sell fun engagement

Creators that are making a

living out of these platforms

explain how much

Patreon is a membership platform Cameo is an online service that
community is important. You
that allow creators to get paid. lets people hire creators or
Fans pay x amount every month celebrities to create personalized only need 1,000 loyal fans
or per post. There are more than videos. Video prices can range
200,000 creators and they made
and if they subscribe for $5 a
from $1 to $1,500 and you can set
$1 billion in 2020. your own rate. month you’ll have $5,000

revenue by Patreon alone.

 66

Case Studies
NCERBEUAT
L LO
AR E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 67

Charli
D’Amelio x Cole Chase Hudson, also known as “Lil Huddy” is a 19

year old TikToker, now also singer and actor. He recently

Dunkin’ launched 10 different gel nail sticker sets. This is a great

example of co-creation between a brand and a creator.

The coffee chain partnered with TikTok’s most famous

creator, Charli D’Amelio, introducing the Charli Foam in

September. Charli took over Dunkin’s social channels

for the whole month and the company created a

Lil Huddy x
special merch collection.

The company sold hundreds of thousands of drinks

Glamnetic
within the first five days of its launch and the day the

drink launched the Dunkin app had a 57% increase in

downloads as well as a 45% surge in cold brew sales

the day after the launch.

Source: Dunkin’ / Glamnetic

 “
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 68

Pietra is a platform for Creators, of all sizes, who have an idea for a product
line or lifestyle brand but don’t know where to start. Pietra’s step-by-step
platform allows Creators to connect with some of the world’s top vendors,
set up warehouses and ful llment, and create their own website all from
the comfort of their home.

Pietra is making it their mission to put the power back into the hands of
the Creator by handing them the tools they need to express their creative
vision without the complications most brand builders face. Co-founded in
2019 by CEO, formerly of Uber, the platform aims to lower the barriers of
entry for Creators seeking to delve into entrepreneurship and offer
shoppers a dynamic marketplace to explore up and coming brands.

Pietra The Creator economy is in its infancy. Over the next decade, we will see an
increase of people who make their living online. Companies like Pietra will
continue to build the tools and infrastructure that will allow Creators to
take power back into their hands and monetize the audiences they have
spent so much time and effort building. The future isn't about brand deals
where Creators rent out their audience, Creators will be business owners.

”
CEO and Co-Founder
Ronak Trivedi
*Exclusive quote for The In uencer Marketing Factory
fl
fi
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 69

Source: Levi’s Instagram

Source: Chamberlain Coffee

Talking Business
Emma Chamberlain is a 21 year old YouTuber and podcaster

with more than 24 Million followers between Instagram and

YouTube and a BIG passion for coffee. In 2019 she launched

her personal coffee brand “Chamberlain Coffee” along with

merchandise, cups, straws and more. She was one of the first

to create coffe bags that turn water into coffee.

This is the perfect example of how creators diversify their

business. And what about a collab between a brand and the

creator’s brand? Sure thing.

Back in May, Chamberlain Coffee opened a pop-up store

Chamberlain Coffee within the Levi’s store in Santa Monica to celebrate the launch

of Levi’s secondhand collection. Consumers could buy merch

from Chamberlain Coffee while sipping an iced latte!

 70

Other experts
told us…
 “
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 71

The idea of investing in creators has been

discussed for a long time, but there was no
real vehicle for most of the people.
HumanIPO is pioneering that space by
allowing fans to invest in creators directly,
and build a personal connection with them.
We're basically building a new type of
relationship where both, creators and fans,
bene t from that. Creators get a non-debt
capital directly from their fans, and fans get
HumanIPO an access to the creators they believe in.

”
CEO & Founder
Kirill Goryunov
*Exclusive quote for The In uencer Marketing Factory
fi
fl
 “
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 72

Jellysmack helps leading video creators grow their audiences by optimizing their video
content and distributing it across multiple social media platforms. For example, a
YouTube creator might not have a big following on Snapchat or TikTok, and Jellysmack
helps them build those additional communities and monetize those audiences.

First and foremost, Jellysmack’s technology is what sets it apart. Our in-house tech suite
and rst-party data power creator detection, video content testing, audience targeting,
and insights. Our approach allows creators to reliably scale their business across
multiple social platforms without taking on any nancial risk or extra work. Most
importantly, Jellysmack powers growth while letting creators stay focused on their
passion—creating content.

The entire Jellysmack business model is new within the industry and it is changing the
conversation around creator partnerships. By using a revenue-share model, it
establishes creator- rst partnerships that are rooted in trust and transparency,
something that many digital companies of the past failed to achieve. Jellysmack’s

Jellysmack
earnings are predicated on the creator’s earnings so the company does everything in its
power to ensure a creator’s success.

In fact, Jellysmack is the only company with the unique ability to grow social video
audiences at scale for individual content creators because it has also built and scaled its
own top-performing social communities across several social media platforms including
Beauty Studio (#1 cross-platform beauty community), Oh My Goal (#1 cross-platform

”
soccer community), House of Bounce (#2 cross-platform basketball community), and
Binge Society (#2 cross-platform movie community); rankings per Tubular Labs.

Chief Marketing Officer

Amber Tarshis
*Exclusive quote for The In uencer Marketing Factory
fi
fi
fl
fi
 “
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 73

Some creators today are earning millions of dollars

per year through engaging in brand deals, selling
digital content, creating courses, and more. These
online micro-entrepreneurs now number over 50
million in the US. At the same time, excitement from
the tech industry around the creator/passion
economy is at a fever pitch: nearly every large social
media platform is rolling out new funds, programs,
Atelier Ventures and features to attract and retain creators. And a
multitude of new startups seeks to serve creators and
make it easier for them to earn a living.

”
Founder & General Partner at Atelier Ventures

Li Jin
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 74

Our content creators said…

“ “
The creator economy is such an interesting concept. A
I think it’s great how much you can make on social

media at such a young age. It’s money we can put lot of people don’t see creators as hard-working or

professionals. However content creation is extremely

towards our visions and plans for the future. I’m a
important and can take hours or days to complete and
singer and having an income has helped me
assign task. The money we receive in return it’s based
grow in my career a ton and I’m so grateful for it!
on the hard work we put in to creating for different

”
brands. Creating contact has been such a blessing. I
Taylor Mecca Sarah Francati finally feel like me and my sister Emily are finally being
1.2M followers 2.3M+ followers properly awarded and recognized for our hard work.
tiktok.com/@tmecs tiktok.com/@sar_carollyn

”
“
Creating content as an influencer has changed my life! I
“
It's amazing to see what growing and fostering such a large

finally get to live my dreams!!! Ever since beginning to take community online can do for you now. I'm amazed that

creating content more seriously, I’ve seen that brands have recognized the value in a creator and it is now

opportunities are endless and many brands are realizing possible to make money online. While some people can

our worth as creators. One of the biggest things this has earn large sums, it is also interesting to see how hard you

done for me is allowed to quit my part-time job and focus have to work to earn that money. If you cannot "convert"

on what I love doing, creating video. you likely won't be chosen - having a huge following isn't

” enough anymore.
”
Davien Garcia Jennifer Kassir
750.8K followers 2.4M followers
tiktok.com/@davienjgarcia tiktok.com/@msbeanieofficial
 Some of our amazing clients

Ready for your next Influencer Marketing Campaign?

Get In Touch
C R E AT O R E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 76

Resources:
• https://about.fb.com/news/2021/06/live-audio-rooms-and-podcasts-on-facebook/
• https://signalfire.com/blog/creator-economy/ • https://acast.com/en/patreon
• https://influencermarketinghub.com/creator-earnings-benchmark-report/ • https://www.acast.com/en
• https://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-meme-page-raised-67-million-dollars-to-rescue-afghans-2021-8 • https://www.theverge.com/22310188/nft-explainer-what-is-blockchain-crypto-art-faq
• https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/here-s-why-you-ll-be-seeing-more-memes-year-n1279003 • nytimes.com/2021/03/11/arts/design/nft-auction-christies-beeple.html
• https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/introducing-youtube-shorts-fund/ • https://hypebeast.com/2021/8/axie-infinity-ethereum-first-nft-game-1-bilion-sales-info
• https://business.instagram.com/creators/earn-money/ • https://decrypt.co/79689/opensea-weekly-nft-sales-surpass-1-billion-for-first-time
• https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/spaces-ticketed • https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/23/visa-buys-cryptopunk-nft-for-150000.html
• https://about.fb.com/news/2021/07/investing-1-billion-dollars-in-creators/ • https://www.tubefilter.com/2021/05/14/startup-stir-launches-pay-creators-collect-brand-deals
• https://blog.roblox.com/2021/05/gucci-garden-experience/ • https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/26/mighty-networks-raises-50m-to-build-a-creator-economy-for-the-masses/
• https://www.roblox.com/vans • https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/30/flip-bags-28m-to-turn-beauty-wellness-social-commerce-on-its-head/
• https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2021/making-twitter-a-better-home-for-writers • https://backlinko.com/patreon-users
• https://about.fb.com/news/2021/06/introducing-bulletin-a-platform-for-independent-writers/ • https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-cameo?r=US&IR=T#:~:text=Cameo%20is%20an%20online%20service,
%241%2C500%2C%20depending%20on%20the%20celebrity.
• https://letterdrop.com/
• https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/creator-economy-platform-koji-announces-iay-app-for-community-
• https://podcasters.spotify.com/blog/paidsubscriptions crowdsourcing-301337344.html

• https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/spotify-podcast-subscriptions-us-creators-1235047176/ • https://www.jellysmack.com/

• https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/30/pietra-raises-15m-from-founders-fund-to-help-creators-launch-their-own-product-lines/