Here’s why the Creator Community Economy is Booming
Creatives have been told that their work is subpar to the “traditional” careers and that no one can ever make “a living” as a writer, photographer, painter, comic, cartoonist, … fill in the blank creative activity.” There have only been a few times in my life when I, as a creator, ever felt that I had been fairly compensated for my work, and it didn’t come without a fight.
I’m happy to report that the future is much brighter for those in 2023 who want to become creators or call themselves creators in the digital economy. The world has changed, and with it, the way we define a creator in the “passion economy,” which includes 500 million users, and 200 million of them define themselves as creators, according to the 2022 Creator Report.
As a fellow creator, I believed in collaboration over competition. Still, I’ve struggled to make it as a creator because of the sheer determination and energy it takes to consistently create high-quality work without cash, hoping that one day… someone will pay me.
In the old days, this was called “exposure,” meaning that newspapers and magazines wouldn’t pay me for my photography, but they would print my photo, give me a byline, and say it would help me gain “exposure.” The biggest thing I’ve learned is that exposure doesn’t pay the bills and can lead to significant burnout. The modern-day “exposure” is social media posting – to gain “followers,” and you’ll achieve “status.” This leads not only to burnout but a sense of unworthiness. The world undervalues the hard work of creators.
"The modern-day version of getting “exposure” for traditional creators is social media posting - to gain “followers,” and you’ll achieve “status.” This leads not only to burnout but a sense of unworthiness. The world undervalues the hard work of creators. But the good news is that the Creator Community Economy is booming with potential for creating experiences." - Deb Schell
Creators struggle to keep up with tech
"Creators who prioritized having more control over how they reach their audiences (newsletters, courses) were concerned about understanding who their highest-value customers are and where to find more of them. But the creator who operated primarily on social platforms faced a more complex challenge in growing their audience. These creators' growth largely depended on ‘feeding the algorithm’ the right content.” - Ian Johnson
The Independent Creator Report stated that only 35% of all creators feel they’re earning a reasonable income and putting in an acceptable amount of time and effort. I am one of them. The way I learned about building an online business years ago was to be successful, you’ll need to have a blog, so I started a blog in 2012 and blogged as much as I could. I shared my work with my local community. I hosted over 20 artists’ exhibits for my photography. I wrote articles about my hiking adventures. But the path to making a living is just so confusing.
I thought about becoming an “affiliate” marketer – but I’m not a “tech” person – so doing reviews of cameras wasn’t anything I wanted to do. Then I thought about documenting hiking locations, but I discovered that hundreds of blogs have been doing that for a lot longer than me, and I wasn’t super passionate about that either. It can be a long, bumpy road to finding your “niche” as a creator. Later in my journey, while I tried to grow a social media following, I noticed several other photographers in my area posting up a Facebook page and offering similar photography services for half the price I quoted. It infuriated me. I kept feeling like I was always left behind, thinking that I was always struggling with “keeping up”.
In an article by Ian Johnson, he wrote, “Creators who prioritized having more control over how they reach their audiences (newsletters, courses) were concerned about understanding who their highest-value customers are and where to find more of them. But the creator who operated primarily on social platforms faced a more complex challenge in growing their audience. These creators’ growth largely depended on ‘feeding the algorithm’ the right content.”
The takeaway is that the Creator is in control and can set the rates, choose how to run their business, and determine on much or little to focus on social media. Ian’s recommendations sound like what I’ve been hearing for the better part of 2 years – vanity metrics aren’t going to make you money; they don’t matter.
Creator Community Economy
What does matter is building content on a platform that is yours and that you can control. I have an email list, a website, and Mighty Networks to build a community. This is how I transitioned my business from in-person to online in 2020. I shifted to doing workshops and became an event facilitator. One of the best parts of doing artwork exhibits was having an artist reception. It is the time I get to be a host (my favorite thing to do) and prepare yummy snacks, make sure the venue is stocked with drinks and other refreshments, and then spend time creating an “experience” when the visitors arrive by sharing stories behind the photographs.
The Find Calm Here Community was a concept I developed based on my desire to want to practice wellness and mindfulness with others in my local community. I had been doing these holistic modalities myself for a while, and I wanted to share what I knew and introduce others to the people who’ve taught me about wellness and holistic health.
While this community concept didn’t lead to direct revenue, it helped me clarify something I knew I had experience with – and it was the right time, and the market needed it. While launching the community, I discovered that the members who kept showing up were community builders.
After writing about impostor syndrome and values last year, I know I inherently have the skills to be a community professional. It comes naturally to me, and I could talk about it for hours. I would never have discovered this had I not been on this path of discovery with the challenges I faced as a creator.
This brought me to write the book Creator to Community Builder. It is the book I wish I had when I started building an online community. It’s stories of my experiences as a member of an online community and strategies that have helped more than 50 community builders, and it’s how I plan to help others on the path to making money with their craft because I believe community is the future for creators.
Being a part of a community helps you develop your skills and build networks and relationships. Once you have a good foundation for your unique, innate skills, strengths, and values, you’ll be able to talk to your ideal members and discover if an online community is a way for you to earn more money.
Are you community curious? Let’s chat!
From Creator to Community builder...
Stop creating content for free on social media channels that demand more and more content. Your audience wants to connect with you and each other; let’s make that possible and bring you the income you deserve. You may have a community concept but struggle on where to launch, how to get started, or what do do. Let me help!
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