Hey everyone,

This week's idea was inspired by my conversation with John Speed and Timo Sarkka on Twitter Spaces. We talked about the creator economy and the huge opportunity in creating a creator economy “middle class” - a layer that services the top creators. While not everyone can be a top YouTuber, everyone can create and profit from a service that caters to top creators.

💡 Idea

Create digital assets for top creators, monetize with revenue share.

🐣 Idea genesis

Creator platforms usually follow a common pattern: 10% of creators account for 90% of revenue. It’s hard to break into the 10% and become a creator that can actually make a living from their work. This tweet from Greg Isenberg sums it up nicely:

But, there is a big opportunity in catering to these 10%.

🔥 Problem

• Creator platforms are highly competitive and only a small percentage of creators are making any meaningful money on them.
• It’s hard to break into the top 10% despite creating good content.
• Top creators are pushed to create new and interesting content.
• Each medium is different and a good YouTube creator does not automatically mean a good course creator. Specialization is needed.

🧯 Solution

• Partner with top creators to provide them with custom build digital products (online courses, eBooks, learning games, swipe files...)
• Instead of getting paid for creating the digital product, get paid by splitting revenue from sales.

💵 Possible Monetization Streams

• Revenue share.
• You could also monetize by charging for the service, but this will be harder to scale, since you’ll be creating custom content for everyone.

👍 What are the benefits?

• Creators get a new revenue stream they didn’t previously have with no upfront investment.
• You can help them develop content on a medium they might not have experience with.
• Their fans get new, interesting content.

🤑 Are people currently spending money on this?

• Creators are already hiring people to help them create content. Recently I’ve stumbled on this tweet from Blake Emal looking for someone to help him with his Twitter MBA:

✅ What do I need to validate?

• Are creators open to having someone else create content they will be associated with?
• Are creators ok with revenue share?

🧰 How I'd validate?

• I’d pick one specific product to offer creators, ideally something you already have experience creating. The trick is to pick something you can turn into a sellable product. So don’t offer to write tweets for them, because you’d just be doing a service for them. You need a product, like an eBook, an online course, a swipe file etc.
• Go find 3 relatively successful creators (don’t go for the big fish rightaway - you need to build a portfolio of successes first, it’s also highly likely that in the case of top creators, there will be a manager between you and the creator).
• Pitch them on the idea - but, don’t come empty handed. Create an outline for the course and write a detailed pitch. Show that you are serious about this proposal.
• Offer to bare the upfront costs for creating the digital product, for future revenue share.
• If at least one wants to collaborate, you are in business, if non, this idea might not have wings.

🤔 How will I get first 10 customers?

• Fortunately, platforms make it easy to find successful creators. Like I mentioned above, don’t go for the most popular ones, start in the middle.
• Make sure your initial message is not salesy and sounds authentic.
• Don’t go empty handed and send them a detailed pitch with some concrete examples.

📈 Will it be sustainable?

• The reason I’m advocating for trying out a revenue share model is because this creates a sustainable business for you. You are growing with your creators and they are growing with you. This could be a win win for both.

👉 Am I the person to build this business?

• Do you like creating a certain kind of content?
• Are you good at interviewing and summarizing the work of others?
• Are you ok with not having your name prominently associated with a piece of content you created?

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