The Ultimate Guide To Monetizing Your Digital Content

Find Out How Your Online Content Can Help You Earn More Money 

Each day, websites like Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube are flooded with people looking for new content that will entertain, educate, and help them pass the time. 

With technology enhancing rapidly, consumers are becoming more and more willing to pay for tutorials, online courses, and products that will make their lives easier or strengthen their knowledge. 

Additionally, corporations and large companies are seeing the value in partnering with content creators to leverage their following and market their products. 

It’s easier than ever to create your own high-quality content that will help you market your brand, grow your business, and earn extra income. 

Let’s take an in-depth look at digital content monetization, who would benefit most, and five ways you can create additional income streams when you monetize your own content. 

What Is Digital Content Monetization?

Content monetization involves leveraging your unique digital content for money. There are many different types of content that you can monetize, including: 

• Blogs 

• Videos 

• Webinars

• Digital format products, like templates and printables 

• Online courses 

• Photographs

• Product placements

• Templates 

• Podcasts

Content creators like you can use this content strategy as a side hustle or even leverage it into a full-time gig. 

You may be paid directly by consumers or by a third party who may market their products and services through your online content. If you choose a content hosting service, you may need to pay them a cut of your profits in exchange for using their platform. 

Depending on your platform, you may need to meet specific demographics or qualifications to monetize your content, such as a certain amount of social media followers or video views. 

However, there are other ways to monetize your content without having to depend on a third party. 

But is content monetization the right move for you and your brand? Let’s find out. 

Who Should Monetize Their Digital Content? 

Content monetization sounds enticing for anyone looking to add a revenue stream to their brand. It’s a great way to boost your credibility and use your knowledge to earn extra money. 

Anyone can benefit from content monetization, especially if you…

• Are knowledgeable, passionate, or experienced in a specific area

• Have already generated premium content that is valuable to your niche

• Receive high levels of engagement from followers and have the potential to attract new ones

• Want to spend more time enhancing your content with fresh content for higher earnings 

• Already have a platform, such as a YouTube channel, blog, or social media account you can monetize 

No matter what your industry is, the beauty of content monetization is that anyone can earn extra income. 

You’ll need to determine if you want to build your own website to host your digital content or partner with one of the many providers that make content monetization easier in exchange for a cut of your earnings. 

Let’s look at six ways content creators like you can earn extra income from your digital content. 

Six Ways To Monetize Your Content 

Social media influencers aren’t the only ones who can benefit from content monetization. 

Business owners and professionals can use the monetization model to earn extra income from their high-quality content. 

Here are six monetization strategies you can use in your content marketing approach to help your content make money for you. 

1. Online Courses 

The eLearning industry is booming. According to a LinkedIn Learning survey, 46% of learning and development leaders say upskilling or reskilling is incredibly important when it comes to career development. 

More and more people are turning to online courses to learn more about their niche and gain new skills they can use on the job. 

Creating and selling online courses is an excellent side hustle because you can use your industry expertise to help others succeed. Course creators offer their courses for a one-time fee or a subscription service that allows consumers access to various engaging courses. 

Choose a top-notch learning management system to make designing and selling your online course a seamless experience. Not only will an LMS make your online course look more professional, but it will automate manual tasks like certificate delivery and credit tracking. 

A great LMS can also help you get your continuing education courses accredited, which means they will attract a wider audience since participants can earn recertification credits for taking them. 

2. Subscription Paywalls

A subscription paywall only allows paying customers to access your exclusive content. 

Some may think this approach is just for high-ranking influencers and big corporations, but this isn’t true. 

Membership monetization platforms like Patreon make it easy for anyone to use paywall technology to monetize their content. Subscribers can access videos, templates, tutorials, and other premium content for one monthly fee. 

The subscription price is typically reasonable for the consumer, and you’ll be able to compound those fees for access to the same body of content. 

How you price your digital content will depend on your audience's demographics and what type of content you are selling. 

If you focus your content on a specific niche, especially an underserved one, you stand to earn more than more generic content. 

3. Sponsored Webinars

Webinars are a great way to connect with your target audience and build your brand’s credibility. They typically last about 60 minutes and are a popular choice for people looking to learn more about a specific topic. 

Not only will webinars attract members of your target audience and increase brand recognition, but they also can help you earn extra income. 

You can charge an admission fee to attendees, offer a subscription to an engaging webinar series, or offer free webinars with display ads or sponsorships to monetize the event. 

The best part is your virtual event platform can record your webinar, turning it into a lucrative piece of content you can sell, add to your content library, or use in your content marketing strategy. 

This means your investment in planning and delivering your webinar will pay for itself, making it a cost-effective way to boost your digital marketing strategy. 

4. Consumable Digital Products 

Do you enjoy creating digital content, like templates, graphics, or tools? Maybe you’ve done original research, made beautiful digital graphics, or devised a template that enhances your workflow. 

Believe it or not, everything you create can be monetized. This is because many consumers prefer to pay for the convenience of a solid digital product over making it themselves. 

One successful product can blossom into a line of products you can sell on your website, meaning you’ll get 100% of the profits from each sale.

Remember to copyright your digital products and be clear about usage. If you choose to use free-market graphics, fonts, or intellectual property, be sure that you are allowed to sell it to avoid any issues. 

5. Advertising & Sponsorships 

Whether you’re trying to monetize your blog or an eLearning course, ad revenue and sponsorships are tried-and-true approaches to monetizing your digital content. 

According to Forbes, content creators, from bloggers to influencers, receive between 55% and 100% of the revenue earned by advertising. 

You can use platforms like Google AdSense to display advertisements on your blog, website, or in your videos. 

You can also reach out directly to companies in your industry to see if they are interested in collaborating on sponsored content to promote their brand or products. Essentially, the company will pay you money to place its logo or products in your videos or talk about what they offer.

6. Affiliate Marketing And Sales

Affiliate marketing and sales allow companies to access your following in exchange for a percentage of the sales generated by your content. 

It is an easy way to make your content work overtime for you to earn extra income. For example, you could suggest a specific product or service in a blog post or newsletter. 

The company will provide you with a trackable link or discount code that will keep tabs on how many purchases came from your content. These metrics will determine how much money you’re paid through the affiliate partner program. 

BeaconLive Can Help You Monetize Your Content And Boost Your Bottom Line

If creating digital content is your passion, there are many ways you can leverage that drive into multiple income streams. This extra money can help improve your quality of life and further your career path. 

Remember to stay open to new approaches and be willing to put in the work to find the best way to monetize your content. 

If you’re ready to take your content monetization to the next level, BeaconLive can help. We offer a state-of-the-art webinar platform, content library hosting, and an LMS that can give your eLearning course the boost it needs. 

Contact us today for more information on how BeaconLive can elevate your digital content and turn it into revenue for your brand. 

References

2022 Workplace Learning Report. (2022). LinkedIn. https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/workplace-learning-report

 Darbinyan, R. (2022, December 9). How AI Is Disrupting The Content Creation Economy. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/12/09/how-ai-is-disrupting-the-content-creation-economy/?sh=6ba957ad1dfe