The Compounding Creator
How one creator made $1,332,400 across 6 revenue streams in 2020:
π¬ $135k - Ads
π₯ $177k - Affiliates
π° $182k - Sponsorships
π $470k - Self-paced courses
π $295k - Cohort-based course
βοΈ $71k - Community
Breakdown π
Each week:
@APompliano publishes 5 podcasts, 5 newsletters to 35k paid subs, 5 YT vids, while running an investment firm. @anthilemoon publishes 2 articles, a newsletter to 25k subs, while running a paid community with 1500 subs.
What separates top creators from the rest? π§΅π
"I really want to start a side hustle / become a creator / earn income online... But first I need to learn more about [topic]... Then I need to research the best tools... And I'm really busy right now, so I'll start later when things calm down."
Sound familiar? π§΅π
What are the jobs-to-be-done for creators?
1. Help me grow my business
2. Help me run my business
3. Help me save time
Creator platforms can leverage these jobs to shape their product, marketing, and pricing & packaging strategy π
In the last 10 days I've grown my email list from 0 to a few hundred, gained thousands of followers, had writers I admire reach out to me, been invited onto podcasts, into communities, made new friends, and been offered some great career opportunities.
How? π§΅π
In 2020, Building a Second Brain and Write Of Passage had thousands of combined students & $1M+ in revenue.
Not many cohort-based courses are operating at this scale.
Luckily, @fortelabs @david_perell and @will_mannon shared their hard-earned learnings, summarized π§΅π
π Creator economy reading list
As we kick off 2021, here's a roundup of my favorite Creator Economy / Passion Economy reads from 2020, covering:
β’ State of the market
β’ State of creators
β’ Trends and insights
β’ Platform strategy
π
The most common question I'm asked is: "how did we grow Teachable?"
In 7 years we've helped over 100k creators sell more than $1B in courses & coaching.
Here's the story of how we did it.
Revenue, metrics, and monthly investor updates in π§΅
If youβre building products for creators, youβll eventually need to generate revenue. VC money or not.
Get familiar with the most common monetization models π§΅π
Doing a 3 part mini-series on monetization.
Part 1: Simple funnel modeling.
Part 2: Psychology and strategy.
Part 3: One-time sales vs subscription.
P.s. free product pricing calculator in π§΅π
How do successful creators make it look so easy?
I have a theory:
They've figured out the 3 creator fits ππ§΅
π Trend:
β’ @Shopify Shop
β’ @gumroad Discover
β’ @SubstackInc Reader
β’ @Patreon search
β’ @teachable Discover
Why are creator-first companies exploring marketplaces?
Storytime in π§΅
10 years ago, pre-recorded video and asynchronous leaning was the pinnacle of online learning.
But in 2021 and beyond, is this really the best we can do? π§΅π
As the creator economy matures, more creators are finding new ways to fund their work and go full-time.
Here are the 3 models of creator monetization π§΅π
In 2020:
β 56 Teachable creators made over $1M.
β 10 Patreon creators made over $1M (est).
β 10 Substack writers collectively made over $10M.
β 8 Gumroad creators made over $1M.
β 8 Twitch streamers made over $1M (est).
What's their secret? π§΅π
Pricing is about much more than just price.
Think back to your 4 P's from Marketing 101:
β’ Product
β’ Price
β’ Promotion
β’ Place
β’ (Ps. did you know there's a 5th P now? It's People.)
The first 3 matter most for digital products, and should fit together. Here's how: π§΅
At @teachable, we help creators measure completion rates.
But completion rates are a proxy metric at best. Track them if you want, but don't let them trick you into thinking students are getting value π§΅π
One of the best ways to become a prolific creator is to share what you know.
But what if you're not an expert? π§΅π
Every product is different. Every price point is different. But the underlying principles remain the same.
Consider these pricing psychology concepts when creating your pricing strategy π§΅
Common sentiment is that "audience-first" is the correct approach:
Create content, gain attention, build something for your new audience, sell it, and celebrate your new found success.
But if you're starting from scratch today, is that your only path? π§΅π
Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, Sheryl Sandberg, Mark Cuban, Warren Buffett, Phil Knight, Peter Thiel, Sam Walton, and Howard Schultz.
What do they all have in common? π§΅
Everyone wants to be an expert. No one wants to be revealed as an amateur.
But in the modern world, it's often the amateur who has the advantage. π§΅π
In 2020 on Teachable:
2 creators made over $10,000,000
56 creators made over $1,000,000
823 creators made over $100,000
What do the top course creators have in common? π§΅π
The idea of recurring revenue sounds great, but don't be fooledβmemberships are not the passive income you're looking for.
It's income, but there's nothing passive about it. π§΅π
For every 5 or 6-figure online course launch I see, I also come across hundreds of courses with no sales.
When people spend so much time and effort creating something that no one buys, it's heartbreaking.
So if you're thinking about creating a course, read this first π§΅π
For the last 30 days, I wrote and published a daily mini-essay as part of the Ship 30 for 30 writing program. It's the single best investment I've made in myself in a long time.
My last essay π§΅π
It's March 31st, 2016, and Elon Musk takes the stage.
He announces that Tesla is launching a new car, the Model 3. Three prototypes roll out. The audience goes wild. He tells them it'll cost $35k, it won't be released for a year, but they can preorder it for $1k.
Result? π§΅π
Want a successful product launch? Do a pre-sale.
Want a successful pre-sale? Do a PRE-pre-sale.
In other words, skip this pre-pre-sale process and your launch is doomed:
With a good pre-sale you can validate audience/idea fit with real money in the bank... Before you even create the product.
The secret to a good pre-sale? Treat it like a Kickstarter.
4 examples in the thread π§΅π
In a previous post, I stated that cohort-based courses are the future of online courses. That said, they are not the right option for every situation.
Showdown: Cohort-based courses vs self-paced courses π§΅π
β Yesterday by The Beatles
β Single Ladies by Beyonce
β Your Song by Elton John
β Skyfall by Adele
β Royals by Lorde
What do they have in common? ππ§΅
