There are numerous ways for you to earn online revenue, even if you’re not a social media influencer. Learn how on the Grey Matters podcast.
Every online business makes money in different ways. For Content Creators the opportunities are seemingly endless.
We do sometimes get so focused on our content that we forget about monetizing it effectively. In this episode I look at my pillars of income, and share with you ways to keep your “eyes on the prize”!
Influencer Marketing, Affiliate Links, and Other Sources of Online Revenue
[0:00] – Introducing this week’s podcast: Earning online revenue.
- All of the effort that we put into building our online business would be for naught if we don't make sure to pay close attention to the single most important business aspect: revenue.
- There's a variety of different ways to make money online, but it requires having a revenue plan to guide your efforts.
[1:34] – Why the concept of influencer marketing is broken.
- How influencer marketing works: brands look for people with an incredibly wide reach on social media, and approach them to promote their products or services in exchange for compensation or sponsorship.
- The Fyre Festival is a particularly notorious example of influencer marketing gone awry. Essentially, it showcases all of the worst aspects of this line of work.
- To be in a position of influence means to occupy a trusted position; incidentally, monetizing said position has been seen by many as a fast track to riches, leading to influencers resorting to questionable methods of building the illusion of influence: faux influence versus real influence in the form of fake followers, manufactured engagement, and other ways to deceive potential advertisers.
[5:12] – Today’s social media influencers versus legitimate influencers back in the day.
[9:02] – The need to have at least three different revenue sources attached to your social marketing efforts.
[10:02] – Understanding affiliate marketing.
- Affiliate marketing has had a generally negative connotation, because of less-than-ethical affiliate marketers who try to get consumers to buy almost anything, with absolutely no vested interest in the products that they're selling and promoting.
- However, there's an entirely different side of affiliate marketing, serving as a way to bridge the gap between sponsorship/influencer marketing and actual affiliate marketing: If you like a product strongly enough and believe it can bring value to your community, you can work with the brand in helping it reach your audience through links. This way, you’ll get compensated for every purchase, and you’ll feel good about what you’re doing.
- After you set up an affiliate relationship with a company, there's almost never a need to renew or renegotiate the contract; as long as you provide value for that vendor based on actual numbers, they're going to be happy enough to continue working with you.
- This is a real win-win situation: not only do you provide good value to your listeners (because these are products that you actually endorse), but you also provide value to the vendor (because you are representing their product in the best light to a warm audience that is engaged and will possibly be interested in their services).
[15:19] – The pillars to consider in creating income.
- The first pillar is to create passive revenue that is ongoing, and that builds over time (affiliate revenue).
- The second pillar that you can consider is a straight-up advertising opportunity. However, this will not make you that much money.
- The third pillar is building and leveraging your own platform. This involves a lot more work, as it is more hands-on; however, the potential payout is significantly higher.
- There are lots of other ways that your content engine can support income, but it's your job to find the ones that resonate with you. Work within what you’re comfortable with, and determine your preferred balance between passive revenue and what you earn from actually putting in work as a consultant, coach, or speaker.
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