New report looks at the growth of the creator economy and the opportunities emerging from new platforms

Social platforms are fully embracing the creator economy, adding a range of new monetization tools and advertising features designed to help platform stars showcase their value to brands or sell their products directly in-app.

This has double value: for the creators, it allows them to keep doing what they love and connect with like-minded people on social apps, while for the platforms themselves it also results in more original content flowing in that , in turn ensures that their respective target groups come back more often.

And for brands, it can also provide new opportunities to leverage the latest platform tools and capabilities, by collaborating with creative talent who are already familiar with best practices and have a track record of creating engaging content for their target markets.

On the surface it seems like a great opportunity – but are the creators really making money from their efforts?

According to a new study by Adobe, there are more and more, with around 48% of creators now make at least some money from their creative activities

The new report, based on input from over 9,000 non-professional online creators, also shows that 40% of monetizers are making more money online than two years ago, while 77% of them only started in the past year.

You can download Adobe’s 35-page Monetization in the Creator Economy report here, but in this post we take a look at some of the key observations.

First off, as mentioned earlier, more creators are monetizing their work, with many Gen Z creators in particular now monetizing their online content.

As you can see here, the creators who monetize their online work earn six times the US minimum wage. I mean, the US minimum wage is notoriously low among developed countries, so maybe not the best measure of “success”. But data shows that many influencers are now making decent money from their work, with nearly half of monetizing creators noting that their online work now accounts for a significant portion of their monthly income.

However, the framing of these figures is also remarkable. Rather than using yearly earnings rates, which probably don’t look as good, Adobe has opted to use hourly and monthly earnings comparisons, which are much smaller and may make the comparison earnings appear better. Just a note on data presentation that might be relevant on a broader scale.

Of the online developers who make money from their work, photography and creative writing are the most common, according to Adobe.

As you can see here, animation and design skills are high on the list of in-demand creative talents, as are filmmaking and video editing.

It’s hard to say exactly what that means, as there’s no specific definition of what “creative writing” means in this regard, but these are the elements that currently seem to be fueling monetization opportunities for online creators.

Although that will likely change in the future, with 68% of respondents also said they believe the metaverse will bring new job opportunities.

As for the next point, the report also shows that designers working in AR/VR earn significantly more for their work than other developers.

How exactly do these creators monetize their work?

Ad revenue from online platforms is the most important source of income, followed by online sales of works.

So, online content creators primarily monetize through ads, while others are better able to promote their physical work and facilitate direct-to-consumer sales through digital platforms.

The more followers you have, the more you can charge.

This probably goes without saying, but these stats, which are based on user-reported estimates, provide additional latitude in terms of the calculated comparison prices, based on viewer tiers.

Here are some interesting pointers to how online creators are monetizing their work and the expanded opportunities these platforms are now offering in terms of reach and exposure. The data also suggests that more people are actually looking for monetization opportunities – which could be a good opportunity for brands to strike content deals with developers that fit their audience and niche.

And based on the number of their followers, you also have some leeway on what you should pay, depending on the complexity of the work.

View Adobe’s full report, Monetization in the Creator Economy, here.