State of the Creator Economy Report

Life moves quickly. Sometimes it’s necessary to take a breath and reflect. After more than two years of unprecedented times and a creator economy that feels stronger than ever, ConvertKit has decided it’s time for a temperature check on the creator economy. The State of the Creator Economy Report for 2022 has officially been released and what better time than now to break down the most interesting, discouraging, and surprising takeaways from this year’s report.

In this episode, Charli, Haley, and Miguel dive into their favorite aspects of the report, theorizing on data points that shocked them, drawing conclusions from results that encouraged them, and offering advice for creators struggling with growth, monetization, and morale. From the ways creators are earning, the content creators are producing, and the mediums creators are consistently using, here’s everything you need to know about the State of the Creator Economy in 2022.

Key Takeaways

[01:00] - Have you heard?
- [01:05] - Instagram is working on a video reaction option for reels, drawing inspiration from TikTok’s current video reaction feature.
- [02:56] - Halsey claims her record company won’t release her album unless she comes up with a way to create a viral moment on TikTok.
- [04:15] - ConvertKit is hosting Craft + Commerce next month – the first conference in two years!
[07:46] - Today’s main topic: The State of the Creator Economy Report
- [10:14] - Data suggests a gender pay gap within the creator economy.
- [14:00] - Why traditional gender roles may play a part in the gender pay gap.
- [15:31] - Creators tend to sell services and digital products more than subscriptions and memberships. In other words, creators are focusing on creating one-off products rather than recurring sources of income.
- [17:16] - The place where creators are launching their businesses has shifted from blogs to Instagram.
- [19:31] - Instagram can be a portfolio for creators, more so than traditional blogs and websites. However, Instagram is one of the hardest places to build an audience.
- [20:32] - Surprisingly, TikTok was underutilized among creators in comparison to email and Instagram. However, it’s possible the ConvertKit sphere of influence skewed that data.
- [22:49] - Creators in higher income brackets are sending emails more consistently. They’re also likely to value email above paid ads and social.
- [25:15] - In 2021, creators’ main goal was to grow their audience. In 2022, creators’ main goal is income growth.
- [26:59] - You don’t need a huge email list to earn a living. True fans matter.
- [28:25] - Creators in the highest income bracket did report a higher level of happiness than creators in lower-income brackets.
- [31:09] - This report proved that there’s a market for every specialty.
- [33:31] - Full-time creators tend to focus more on business strategy.
[38:30] - Today’s listener shoutout! There were no listener shoutouts so let’s talk about Haley. Haley has been feeling very creative and recently did a branding photoshoot for a friend. She’s also diving into a brand new creative project – details to come.
[40:07] - A sneak peek at next week’s episode.

Quotes

[28:13] - “It’s really about true fans. And if you can get those true fans on your email list, that’s what you need. So start sooner, start now. There’s no better time than now.” ~ @haleyjani

[34:30] - “It’s just interesting that most people were full-on entrepreneurs but there were very few full-on DIYers or full-on artists.” ~ @miguelp.img

[37:20] - “I think it’s honestly about showing the creative artist types the monetization options available to them. You don’t have to teach people marketing to be able to earn a living as a creator and be a full-time creator. There are options out there and I think that we just need to do a better job of educating creators on what they could be and opening their eyes to it.” ~ @charliprangley

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