Creator Jackpot: $2.5M for Classes ‘Shot on My Mac’ (in Just 6 Months!)
Educational videos have consumers hot for teacher as execs from Kajabi and UScreen tell me what works and how (almost) anyone can start
I cover the creator economy at Like & Subscribe, a standalone newsletter that’s being sampled for a limited time for paid subscribers to The Ankler. I write about the business of creators. I reported on the digital stars replacing late night TV, covered golf’s big YouTube swing and laid out the top deals and trends of the creator economy in 2025. Email me at natalie@theankler.com
For all the chatter in Hollywood lately about the work opportunities that abound in the creator economy — and as I’ve written, they’re very real! — what’s still underdiscussed is just how hard it can be to make a living wage posting to YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Influencer marketing firm NeoReach recently surveyed more than 3,000 full-time creators and found that only 15 percent of them were making over $100,000 a year. In fact, more than 50 percent were making less than $15,000 annually.
While about half the creators who responded had followings of less than 100,000, the survey nevertheless reveals a paradigm shift: Most creators can’t support themselves by making videos alone.
“This under-monetized middle tier of creators represents a blind spot in the ecosystem,” writes the team behind the NeoReach survey. “The creators are [too] influential to be ignored, yet they fall between the cracks of how other creators are monetizing, whether it’s owning a brand or getting brand deals.”
Brand deals are only one piece of the income puzzle, however, especially for creators who want to make this work their full-time job. In an April newsletter I outlined some of the top ways creators make money, from advertising to e-commerce.
One of the surprises of that story was just how important affiliate marketing has become to the broader creator economy. Now one of the biggest players in the space, ShopMy, has announced that it’s launching a new website experience where users can search for shoppable links curated by their favorite creators — earning the creator a small affiliate fee every time someone makes a purchase.
“Creators earn when they share links [on their feed], but we want them earning when someone’s trying to shop, even if they haven’t heard from the creator recently,” ShopMy CEO Harry Rein told me last week. It’s all part of a goal to evolve the platform into a shopping destination that can compete with major online retailers. Creators like Sofia Richie Grainge, Nara Smith and Molly Baz are early partners.
What struck me about this news is that it will make it even easier for creators to earn income passively. A style influencer, for example, can share an affiliate link to a flouncy floral dress once on her Instagram, and it’ll now live permanently in ShopMy’s curated and pleasingly-designed online storefront. A shopper looking for an outfit to wear to a summer wedding can find that link weeks later, and the influencer will still get paid.
Passive income is the theme of today’s newsletter, too. Having a money-making venture that requires less hands-on work can protect creators from experiencing burnout, allowing them to take breaks from the grind of creating and posting new content. All the better when that residual income stream turns into a multi-million dollar business in its own right.
That’s exactly what’s been happening in recent years for a cohort of creators who, spurred on by the $185 billion (and growing) online education market, have discovered you don’t need to be Neil deGrasse Tyson or Richard Branson to sell your own MasterClass-style online course. For a small upfront lift, a creator can package recorded videos into courses that can sell for hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of dollars.
“The various social platforms are a great way for [creators] to build audiences, but there’s also recognition that it’s sort of rented land, if you will,” says Allison Yazdian, CEO of Uscreen, one of the many companies cashing in on the booming business of e-learning by providing course-building tech for creators. (Other leading platforms in the space include Kajabi, Thinkific and Teachable.) “They’re really looking for an opportunity to have their own real estate, that place where they can create the value exchange and go deeper with their community.”
Keep reading for all the eye-popping details about this thriving industry, including:
How easy it really is to launch a course — and make thousands fast
What it takes to get to seven-figure earnings and the story of one creator who earned $2.5M for courses “shot on my Mac” in six months
Why money literacy courses create their own robust flywheel
Revenue stats from two of the top course platforms fueling this boom
The course categories pulling in the biggest audiences — and what extras get people to pay more
The surprising success of courses offering guidance to entrepreneurs on surprisingly unsexy businesses (carwashes!)
How one productivity creator made more than $3 million from a single online program
The ideal creator profile for success, according to a Kajabi exec
What most customers really want out of a paid online course, and how to provide it
This Like & Subscribe column with news on the creator economy is a limited-time premium for paid subscribers to The Ankler. For full access and to continue reading ALL Like & Subscribe content from Natalie Jarvey, click here.
For a standalone Like & Subscribe subscription, click here.