Creator economy is pretty much a passion economy and a knowledge economy, as it is totally based on people’s hobbies and interests and anything that also has viable money-making options.
Photo used for representational purpose only
The past year has seen a dynamic shift all over the world, with everyone wanting to work on their own terms, in their own hours, flexible hours, and from the comfort of their own homes. Monotonous and repetitive work cultures are being traded with creative and alternative careers that are more aligned to their hobbies, interests, and passion and creating a money-making opportunity out of them. The ubiquitous social media has not just handed out a platter of work-from-home opportunities and the chance to try new careers, the pandemic strengthened the urge to listen intently to joys of the heart and focus more on careers that align with body, mind, and overall satisfaction.
A decade ago, this was not just impossible but was even unthought of. The only people who were following their passion and hobbies were probably artists, painters, sculptors, and authors. But today, you have careers that have sprung out of, what erstwhile was probably a mundane growing-up activity. And that itself is the biggest excitement and opportunity of this day and age.
Creator economy
The creator economy relies heavily on social media. Almost 29 percent of Gen Zs want to become YouTubers! Content creation is now almost reflexive and everyone seems to be doing it; anyone with a device with the internet! With a growing market size at an excess of $100B, there are more and more people who are moving first on to side hustles and then trying and converting them to complete careers as creators.
The domain of creators that are a part of this community are amateur creators, full-time creators, power creators, or top creators. Bloggers, influencers, professionals, coaches, consultants, artists, vloggers – anyone who creates content and companies that provide content creation tools and platforms, analytics programs, finance management outfits, etc. are all part of the creator economy.
The pandemic and the big push towards creator economy
The pandemic almost toppled the economic landscape of countries all over the world and with jobs being lost and a grim situation that overtook the whole of 2020 and 2021, the world almost instantaneously made a shift towards the internet and very naturally adopted work from home opportunities. Creator economy is pretty much a passion economy and a knowledge economy, as it is totally based on people’s hobbies and interests and anything that also has viable money-making options.
There is a whole list of career options that were available before the pandemic, but have picked up even more since the pandemic came upon us. Content creation today includes podcasts, infographics, memes, vlogs, courses, workshops, newsletters, apps, blog posts, apps, etc.
Content creators and influencers
Many creators are now doubling up as Influencers, who are affecting purchasing decisions and engaging with their audiences of loyal followers. In 2021 alone, the influencer market industry was expected to grow to approximately $13.8B, helping brands to reach out to their audiences. Youtube, Spotify, Substack, Twitch, Instagram are just some platforms that support the creator-influencer economy. Course creation is also a great viable opportunity in this economy. There are more content creators who are moving towards becoming solopreneurs and creating independent businesses out of content creation. There is scope for everyone to grow and there never was a better time on this earth to just ‘Live’.
With a burgeoning digital economy that has democratized entrepreneurship by opening avenues and opportunities, this is a great time to join the entrepreneurial community. The digital revolution and the pandemic strengthened people’s resolve to connect, broadcast, share and sell ideas, products, services, and thoughts even.
Content and connectivity
Connectivity and online schooling have increased opportunities for learning and teaching. People are taking up additional courses, learning anew, upskilling, and acquiring degrees that they did not have time for, before. The learning circle has obviously increased the opportunities for teachers, coaches, and consultants too. Language teachers, motivational and life skill coaches, fitness & wellness coaches, finance and stock trading experts… name it and they are all there. The larger idea of this hyper-connected creator economy is not necessarily reaching the masses, but rather reaching out to targeted, relevant audiences that over a period of time become your community.
This strategic subset out of this exercise is then taken advantage of by brand marketers and influencers to communicate to. There seems to be customized content for all kinds of audiences and that is the magic of this creator economy. Nobody is left behind. You can either participate as a creator or an audience, as an enabler, or as a marketer. This is definitely the best time in the life of this planet where there is more diverse content than there are people on this earth and it still is only just the tip of the iceberg. Exciting times ahead!
The writer is the co-founder of Exly, a platform that supports creators to launch, manage, and grow businesses and build a strong online presence. Views expressed are personal.
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