— State of the Creator Economy Report 2022 2 The creator economy has plenty to celebrate, prepare for, and explore in 2023— and creators are ready for all of it. Ambitious creators boldly approach challenges and opportunities. And if the fact that more creators are making more money each year is any indication, the opportunity is there for the taking. Our 2nd annual State of the Creator Economy report asked more than 1,200 creators about their experiences, including their outlook for the year, what they plan to work on, and how they feel about AI. Ready to learn what fellow creators have planned for 2023? Table of contents 04. Chapter 1: Who are creators? 12. Chapter 2: Why creators are so optimistic about 2023 17. Chapter 3: Where creators see the best audience engagement 24. Chapter 4: Behind the scenes of creator income 44. The sky’s the limit for the creator economy 33. Chapter 5: How do creators really feel about AI? 37. Chapter 6: The creator experience 45. Acknowledgements Who are creators? 01 Creating is innately human. From cave paintings to TikToks, we’ve always wanted to understand and share our experiences. And technology enables an entirely new reach and opportunity that creators certainly don’t take for granted. The creator economy is made of coaches, consultants, musicians, artists, educators, influencers, podcasters, and anyone else who earns a living online through digital and physical products or services. Creators build global audiences to teach, inspire, connect, and entertain. But who are creators, and how does creating fit into their everyday lives? Here’s what we learned. — State of the Creator Economy Report 2023 5 Let’s break out the cake and party hats because 15% of creators left a traditional “9-to-5” to pursue their creator role last year Growing your creator business until it eclipses your current job is an exciting milestone. These new members of the no-9-to-5 club join other creators who spend all their working time on their business— 39% of creators considered themselves full-time . An additional 42% of creators run their online business part-time. Only some creators want to turn their pursuit into a career change, though. Last year, 10% of creators identified as ‘hobbyists’ who create purely for enjoyment. This year, the rate of hobbyists has nearly doubled to 19% of the creator population . After years of serious global issues and economic uncertainty, it’s nice to see people trying something new and connecting with others because it’s fun. Goodbye 9-to-5: creators are leaving traditional roles I MADE AN ANGEL INVESTMENT IN MYSELF. I EXPECTED TO LOSE IT, BUT THERE WAS A SMALL CHANCE FOR A SPECTACULAR RETURN. – Khe Hy on leaving his Wall Street job to pursue his creator business Creators who don’t rely on their businesses for full- time income often juggle multiple roles. Almost 50% of all part-time and hobbyist creators had a full-time, salaried position outside their creator role. An additional 20% of part-time and hobbyist creators balanced their creator role with another part-time job. Before you take the leap of faith into full-time creating: • Calculate how much money you need to make to cover minimum debt payments for things like student loans, mortgage, medical debt, and credit card debt • Compare your business revenue vs. profit—can you cut any expenses to take home more of what you earn? • Aim to have at least six months of expenses saved as a financial runway • Research business financial essentials, like taxes and accounting • Understand your insurance options Employment status for part-time creators — State of the Creator Economy Report 2023 7 If you’ve considered starting your creator business recently, you’re not alone. Our previous report revealed a new wave of creators began their journey during the pandemic, and the momentum of the creator economy hasn’t slowed down. 47% of creators have been building their audience for less than 2 years , and 2% of creators are so new to the industry that they haven’t started building an audience yet. This year’s survey did reveal trends in the types of creators who have been around for longer versus starting in the past few years. While 30% of writers, authors, or journalists have been building an audience for over 5 years , 85% of digital content creators (AKA influencers) have grown their audience for less than five years. More creators start their journey each year I’VE BEEN A BESTSELLING AUTHOR FOR ABOUT 30 YEARS. I’VE STAYED IN THE GAME BECAUSE I AM A FOREVER STUDENT OF MARKETING. I BELIEVE THE WORLD IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING AND YOU HAVE TO CHANGE WITH IT. SO I AM PASSIONATELY COMMITTED TO RESEARCHING THE EVER-CHANGING WORLD OF MARKETING AND BUSINESS. PLUS I’M ALWAYS OPEN TO REINVENTING WHAT I DO AND SELL - WHILE STAYING TRUE TO MY MISSION AND PASSION. Karen Salmansohn, Author & entrepreneur of Not Salmon — State of the Creator Economy Report 2023 8 Time spent building an audience — State of the Creator Economy Report 2023 9 64% of creators identified as female, and it was most common for this group to be a part-time creator. These rates are nearly identical to last year’s results. Less than 1% of creators surveyed identified as non- binary, and it was fairly evenly split between full-time and part-time creators. Women are more likely to be creators Identity breakdown — State of the Creator Economy Report 2023 10 While the top three most popular topics are lifestyle and personal development, business and entrepreneurship, and art and design, you’ll find every interest represented. Creators share what they know about topics ranging from sourdough to neuroscience and hip-hop to fashion. Creators cover a wide range of topic and content types Topics covered in creators’ content in 2023 — State of the Creator Economy Report 2023 11 Creators also structure their businesses and offerings in a variety of ways. Last year, the most common type of creator were coaches, who made up 29% of the creator economy —but now they sit on the fourth spot on the list. This year, bloggers are the most ubiquitous type of creator, though digital content creators were a close second. Bloggers were also the most likely to have experienced an income increase last year, which might contribute to more of them sticking to their business this year. Educators, coaches, and writers rounded out the top five most common creator types. But just because a creator niche is popular doesn’t mean it has to be your path or even that it’s the most lucrative. Educators were the most likely to earn over $100K from their creative businesses. Top 10 most common creator types Why creators are so optimistic about 2023 02 Most creators are optimistic about the year ahead and have their sights set on income growth and income- based strategies. We feel creators will hit their goals, too, because the survey revealed that where you put your attention matters. Creators who used total revenue to track success tended to make more last year than those who focused on follower count. Here’s what we learned about what creators are looking forward to this year. — State of the Creator Economy Report 2023 13 Creator optimism is high despite economic uncertainty The creator economy is optimistic and ambitious— almost 80% of creators expect to make more from their business this year than last year. That level of hope is always nice to see amongst news of tech layoffs, a global recession, and inflation. Some creator niches feel even more confident about their business this year, with 95% of coaches and over 90% of marketers expecting to make more money in 2023 than in previous years. THIS YEAR I WILL EARN MORE IN TERMS OF DIGITAL PRODUCT SALES, MEMBERSHIPS, AND SPONSORSHIPS. MY BUSINESS IS DESIGNED TO GROW REVENUE PROPORTIONALLY TO GROWING MY AUDIENCE – AND THE AUDIENCE IS GROWING! Overall outlook on 2023 income growth Jay Clouse, Founder of Creator Science — State of the Creator Economy Report 2023 14 Income is a top priority for creators Understandably, making money has always been a focus for those who earn their living through their business, and income was the top priority for full-time creators last year and this year. What’s new for 2023 is that income is the top priority across the entire creator community. Last year, growing an audience was the ultimate challenge and priority in the creator economy, with 28% focusing on expanding their audience and 22% on increasing their income. This year, 1/3rd of all creators will focus on growing their income , and audience growth has fallen to second place, with only 22% of creators citing it as their top priority. Creators’ top priorities for 2022 and 2023 — State of the Creator Economy Report 2023 15 Of course, making money isn’t the only goal creators have. Other top priorities this year include: • Growing engaged relationships • Creating new or additional content • Expanding into new platforms • Automating parts of the business Why you should set goals in 2023: • You’ll know what to do daily and weekly to get where you want to be in a year • You’ll have a chance to reflect on your progress throughout the year • You’ll keep going no matter what READ OUR GOAL SETTING ARTICLE HERE — State of the Creator Economy Report 2023 16 Half of the creator economy works alone 50% of creators didn’t have any employees or contractors last year , so it’s common for creators to wear every hat in their business. Creator teams tend to be small, with 26% of creators only having 1-2 employees and just 4% of creators having more than 10 people on their team. Hiring help in your business frees up time to work on what you do best, which could be one of many reasons 40% of creators are looking to expand their team in 2023 . No matter the team size, creators are ready to put in the work this year. Over 50% of creators plan to spend more time on their business this year, while only 14% expect to spend less. HIRING A PERSONAL ASSISTANT HAS BEEN ONE OF MY BIGGEST WINS OF THE YEAR. MY ASSISTANT IS A PILLAR OF MY LIFE NOW. TOGETHER, WE DRAFT STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR COURSE OPERATIONS, NEWSLETTER EDITING, AND PODCAST PRODUCTION. IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS, SHE’S WRITTEN 30+ STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES, MOSTLY FOCUSED ON WRITE OF PASSAGE AND PUBLISHING NEWSLETTERS, PODCASTS, AND YOUTUBE VIDEOS. IT IS CURRENTLY JUST ME AND I PLAN ON KEEPING IT THAT WAY FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. I’M HIRING A NEW ASSISTANT AND NEW PEOPLE WITH SPECIFIC SPECIALTIES LIKE ADS AND APPS. I’M ALSO EXPANDING INTO EXECUTIVE COACHING AND HIRING SOMEONE WHO WILL PROMOTE ME TO HR AND CEO’S. David Perell, Founder of Write of Passage Austin Saylor, Motion Designer at Full Harbor Karen Salmansohn, Author & entrepreneur of Not Salmon Where creators see the best audience engagement 03 Connecting with your audience has two main elements: what you share and how you share it. Creators pay attention to which channels have the highest audience engagement, but they’re also willing to experiment with new types of content to keep it fresh. OUR EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO I CONSIDER DEDICATED FOLLOWERS. SOCIAL MEDIA IS GREAT, BUT IT’S SO EASY TO FOLLOW SOMEONE, THAT CONNECTION ISN’T PARTICULARLY STRONG. FOR THAT REASON, I’VE ALWAYS CONSIDERS EMAIL CENTRAL TO OUR BUSINESS AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO. Tiago Forte, Founder of Forte Labs — State of the Creator Economy Report 2023 18 Short-form video is a rising star Written content is the most common creator output, with 47% of creators stating they created articles, blog posts, or books last year . While we don’t anticipate these tried-and-true formats going away any time soon, short-form videos for social media are gaining popularity. Top creative outputs in 2022 19 In our first State of the Creator Economy Report , we predicted that TikTok would become a preferred platform for creators, which sort of happened. Short- form videos moved up the list of most common output, and 12% of creators want to expand their business with TikTok. It’s easy to see the appeal when you consider TikTok success stories, like Olivia Rodrigo’s song “Driver’s License” trending for months, and Emmy Meli’s video singing her song, “I AM WOMAN,” gaining 5.3 million likes and 31.8 million views. Something has happened since we last checked in with creators, though. YouTube rolled out its short- form feature, aptly named Shorts, worldwide. While the feature first launched in India in 2020, it didn’t start to hit American markets until mid-2021. In our previous report, TikTok was the budding short- form video platform for creators, but YouTube is still a creator stronghold. 20% of creators are looking to YouTube, including YouTube Shorts, to expand their business this year. Signals point to this expansion being a solid strategy since 18% of creators using YouTube (including Shorts) say it’s where they receive the best audience engagement. WE’VE BEEN MAKING HUGE INVESTMENTS IN EXPANDING OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL FOR ABOUT 18 MONTHS. THOSE HAVE BORNE A LOT OF FRUIT, AND I EXPECT TO KEEP THEM GOING THIS YEAR. YOUTUBE CREATES A PARTICULARLY INTIMATE AND PERSONAL CONNECTION WITH SUBSCRIBERS, AND VIDEO HAS THE ABILITY TO SPREAD FURTHER AND FASTER THAN ANY MEDIUM I’VE EXPERIENCED. IT ALSO HELPS US DEVELOP OUR VIDEO PRODUCTION SKILLS WHICH CAN BE USED TO CREATE NEW COURSES. I’VE BEEN INVESTING PRETTY HEAVILY INTO YOUTUBE FOR THE LAST YEAR AND PLAN TO CONTINUE. YOUTUBE IS A MASSIVE PLATFORM AND COMES PRE-INSTALLED ON EVERY ANDROID DEVICE, SO THE CEILING IS VERY, VERY HIGH. How to get more views on TikTok and YouTube: • Optimize your videos for search, so your audience can find your content • Increase watch time with curated playlists • Create high-quality videos people want to watch • Encourage engagement and interaction with your videos • Promote your videos on your other channels, like your email list READ OUR ARTICLE ON TIKTOK + YOUTUBE GROWTH STRATEGIES Jay Clouse, Founder of Creator Science Tiago Forte, Founder of Forte Labs — State of the Creator Economy Report 2023 20 Instagram is the most popular platform for marketing content More than 55% of creators use Instagram to market their content, making it the most popular place to share what they’re up to. We hope creators feel more positively about social media channels than they have in the past. Our last report found that Instagram was simultaneously the platform creators most enjoyed creating on while also being the second most hated channel. Platforms used by creators to market content in 2022