AFFILIATE MARKETING
Beyond Likes and Shares: How Content Creation Is Becoming a Lucrative Side Hustle for Americans
A substantial 30% of 18 to 24-year-olds and 40% of 25 to 34-year-olds now consider themselves content creators.
As technology continues to evolve and the world becomes increasingly digitized, creating digital material has transcended its status as a mere pastime, emerging as a promising pathway to financial success for millions of Americans. With the surge of social media platforms, video-sharing websites, and online streaming services, individuals of all ages are capitalizing on their passions and creativity to establish thriving side hustles.
Not just for the under-35 crowd, the power of content creation impacts all different age groups. The trajectory of the global influencer market is estimated to be a staggering $21 billion industry. Here’s how content creation has transformed from a hobby to a genuine avenue for economic prosperity.
The Rise of Content Creation in America
As digital platforms become the norm for self-expression and connection, content creation has witnessed a meteoric rise.
In 2022, around 200 million people considered themselves content creators. Notably, a growing number of American youngsters envision a future as social media influencers, with one in four kids expressing such ambitions.
In tandem, the presence of over 35,000 YouTube channels boasting more than one million subscribers underscores the reach and impact of these content creators. This trend highlights the irresistible allure of turning passions into profitable side hustles, reshaping the American entrepreneurial landscape.
Social Media Influencers: A New Generation of Entrepreneurs
The concept of social media influencers has revolutionized marketing strategies, forging a direct and authentic connection with audiences. These digital tastemakers have harnessed their content creation prowess to make an impact, some transitioning from part-time enthusiasts to full-time professionals.
By partnering with brands, influencers leverage their loyal followers to create a mutually beneficial relationship, driving product endorsements and raising brand visibility.
Such collaborations, along with sponsorships and affiliate marketing, provide lucrative income streams that have changed content creation into a viable career choice. Influencers can potentially have a far-reaching effect and create economic opportunities within the expanding world of digital pioneering.
The Diverse Outlook of Content Creation Side Hustles
Content creators can profit from many different side hustles. From gaming enthusiasts captivating audiences on streaming platforms to bloggers carving their niche online, the possibilities are endless. Here are a few examples of some of the most notable side gigs within the genre.
Gamers
Gamers profit from playing games through streaming platforms and sponsorships. They engage with audiences in real time while showcasing their gameplay skills, earning income and recognition. Additionally, the growing influence of eSports offers competitive opportunities, allowing gamers to secure financial rewards by participating in tournaments.
Blogging
Bloggers earn money through advertising, sponsored content, and affiliate marketing. They monetize their platforms by promoting products or services to their audience, generating income.
While blogging offers financial opportunities, it comes with challenges, including maintaining consistent content, building a loyal readership, and managing competition. However, the benefits include creative expression, personal branding, and the potential for passive income streams.
Podcasts
The podcasting industry’s rapid growth offers significant potential for monetization through ads and subscriptions. Successful podcasters have achieved financial success by attracting loyal listeners and securing advertising deals.
Live Streaming
Live streaming has emerged as a thriving side hustle, especially in the entertainment and creative sectors. Platforms like Twitch have provided streamers with revenue opportunities, including donations, subscriptions, and brand collaborations.
Vlogging
The rise of vlogging has opened diverse income opportunities, including ad revenue and sponsored content. Prominent vloggers are sharing their lives and experiences with dedicated audiences, and it’s paying off. From documenting daily routines to showcasing extraordinary adventures, vloggers have showcased their storytelling abilities to make big bucks.
Challenges and Considerations
While content creation as a side hustle holds immense promise, it comes with its share of challenges. Creators often grapple with burnout, juggling creative demands with daily responsibilities. Fluctuating income can also be a source of stress.
To navigate the industry successfully, aspiring content creators need to strike a balance between consistency and self-care. Building a loyal audience and diversifying income streams can provide stability. Adopting time management techniques, collaborating with like-minded creators, and staying adaptable in an ever-changing world are vital strategies for sustainable success.
The Future of Content Creation
Looking ahead, creating content as a side hustle promises further growth and evolution. Predicted trends indicate a continued rise in niche communities and personalized content experiences catering to specific audience interests and preferences.
As technology advances, emerging platforms like virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and blockchain are expected to shape the industry significantly. These technologies can offer content creators innovative ways to engage their audiences and unlock new avenues for monetization.
By embracing the exciting journey and using all the tools at their disposal, aspiring creators can carve their unique paths, finding not just a side hustle but a fulfilling way to connect with audiences, build communities, and achieve their entrepreneurial dreams.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
AFFILIATE MARKETING
Learn a New Language with This Fresh Approach
Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.
As exciting as it may be, learning a new language can often feel like a daunting task, with the typical endless vocabulary drills and grammar exercises. But Beelinguapp is here to change the game.
This innovative language learning app takes a fresh approach by combining audiobooks and dual-text reading to create an immersive, engaging experience. And right now, you can get a lifetime subscription to Beelinguapp—and all 14 of its languages—for just $34.99 (reg. $100) when you use code TAKE5 at checkout.
Traditional language learning methods can be time-consuming and overwhelming, especially for busy professionals. Beelinguapp offers a new, intuitive way to learn, making it easy to fit into your daily routine. Instead of memorizing endless vocabulary lists, you’ll follow along as you read and listen to a native speaker, seeing the same text in two languages side by side.
This side-by-side format is the core of Beelinguapp’s unique approach. It allows you to compare your native language to the one you’re learning, improving your understanding in real time. It’s like a language-learning karaoke, where you can follow the text in both languages while listening to a fluent speaker guide you through the pronunciation.
Beelinguapp caters to modern learners by offering 14 languages, including Spanish, English, German, French, Korean, and more. With its audiobook-style lessons and an ever-growing library of texts, you can choose from a wide variety of content—whether you’re interested in fairy tales, news articles, science papers, or novels.
This flexibility allows you to learn the way that best fits your lifestyle, all while gaining real-world conversation skills. The app provides texts at different levels, so you can start as a beginner and gradually build up to more advanced reading and listening skills.
If you’re hoping to learn a new language to help grow your business, this might be just the approach you need.
Through October 27, you can get a lifetime subscription to Beelinguapp for just $34.99 (reg. $100) when you use code TAKE5 at checkout.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: Demand For Blackwell AI Is Insane
In May, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that “the next industrial revolution has begun,” and AI will drive “significant productivity gains.” It looks like he’s right — industry demand for Nvidia’s next-generation AI chip, Blackwell, is through the roof.
“Blackwell is in full production, Blackwell is as planned, and the demand for Blackwell is insane,” Huang told CNBC on Thursday. “Everybody wants to have the most, and everybody wants to be first.”
Related: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s Biggest Worry Shows that Success Has a Downside
Nvidia first announced Blackwell in March and stated that it was the most powerful AI chip in the world with advanced security capabilities, better performance, and more memory. The biggest names in AI, including OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Google, will use Blackwell to power their AI efforts.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang displays the new Blackwell GPU chip, left, and the Hopper GPU chip, right, in March 2024. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“There is currently nothing better than NVIDIA hardware for AI,” Tesla and xAI CEO Elon Musk stated, at the time.
Since the initial announcement, Blackwell has hit a few snags in production, leading to delays. Nvidia CFO Colette Kress said in late August that the company has fixed the issue and expects to ship “several billion dollars” worth of the chip in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Related: Nvidia’s Immense Market Power Is Worrying Investors — Here’s Why
The chip costs between $30,000 to $40,000 and took $10 billion to develop.
Huang said that Nvidia has updated its platform significantly with Blackwell, and intends to continue updating it. Nvidia has increased performance by two to three times from its 2022 Hopper chip to its Blackwell chip, which Huang says increases revenue for Nvidia’s customers by two to three times.
“What we’re looking at now is the beginning of the next wave of AI, the biggest wave of AI,” Huang told CNBC. “This is really about companies around the world using AI to be more productive as their digital employees and AI agents and co-pilots and however people describe them, as well as using AI, generative AI, to revolutionize the way they build their products and the products they build.”
Huang said last month that intense demand for Nvidia’s technology and software keeps him up at night. On Wednesday, Nvidia partnered with Accenture to train 30,000 of Accenture’s employees on Nvidia’s technology.
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5 Work Ethic Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Elite Athletes
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Anyone who has found success as an athlete will tell you that sport teaches lessons that go far beyond the playing field. If you’re looking to succeed in the competitive business environment, there may be no better models than champion athletes. What is it that allows these individuals to achieve greatness? What makes someone a winner? There’s not a single answer. Rather, it’s a combination of things. We’re sharing five of them here. If you follow these lessons, you’ll be poised for a championship in the business world.
Related: 4 Productivity Tips from Extreme Athletes That Will Make Your Business Stronger
Show supreme confidence
Champions have a robust belief in themselves and their ability to succeed. Importantly, this does not mean they expect the journey to be easy. Most things worth having require tremendous effort. Champion athletes devote “blood, sweat and tears” in pursuit of excellence, and they’re willing to make the sacrifice because they know it will pay off. Self-doubters abandon the journey when it gets too hard or when they encounter a few obstacles. Champions persevere because they believe in themselves to the core. This stout self-confidence becomes self-fulfilling. When you fully believe you’ll win if you keep on grinding, you’ll out-grind your less confident competitors. Supreme confidence leads to supreme effort, and supreme effort leads to success.
Like a champion athlete, a winning entrepreneur stays committed when things are tough. Tomorrow’s industry leaders are those who will continue to refine their current pitches and marketing strategies as many times as it takes to reach a breakthrough. They will not be deterred by rejection but rather will learn from it, make adjustments, and come back stronger. This willingness to learn and improve, in fact, is another defining feature of champions.
Always look to improve
Champion athletes, while supremely confident, also possess enough humility to know they always have room to learn and grow. When they take a loss, they review the game film to identify the mistakes they’ve made and see where they need to adjust for the next time. Even when they win, they look at what they could have done better. They also seek input from others. When a coach points out a flaw in their technique, they’re receptive to the feedback and incorporate it into their training. They also look to teammates and even to opponents to learn what others are doing well.
As an entrepreneur, if you lose out on a deal or find a competitor holding a larger share of your targeted market, then look at what they are doing to succeed. Be open to learning and humble enough to seek help from others. Champions are usually their own harshest critics, and their high standards drive them to keep improving. So even when you have some successes, continue looking to level up.
Focus on what you can control
Champions do everything they can to control the variables involved in their sport. Knowing that they can’t fully control the outcome, they go all-in on what they can control, including attitude, effort, and preparation. Entrepreneurs ought to do the same by analyzing their markets, rehearsing presentations multiple times, and scouting both their competition and their potential customers. If you’re meeting with a client, study them ahead of time so you can anticipate the questions they may ask and have impressive answers prepared. Be obsessive about your preparation.
A corollary to this lesson is focusing your post-hoc explanations on what you can – or could have – controlled. After a tough loss, champions do not blame the referee. Instead, they look at what they could have done differently so the referee’s calls would not have mattered. As an entrepreneur, be cautious of attributing bad results to luck or of claiming things weren’t fair. When you do so, you lose motivation to make adjustments for next time. Instead, follow a champion’s lead and know there’s always something you could have done better.
Improvise when needed
Even as champions focus on what they can control, they also recognize that they can’t control everything. Rarely does something go exactly as planned, and the best performers adapt and improvise. Something can always go wrong, and rather than panicking when it does, winners stay confident and make the needed adjustments. Thus, even as you work to control what you can embrace the uncertainty of your sport – or your business, as the case may be.
Related: 5 Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Pro Sports Teams
Be flexible
You may have noticed that the lessons described above hold some contradictions. Champions have supreme confidence yet also believe they need to get better. They also focus on what they can control while accepting they can’t control everything. Thus, another key to success is adapting your mindset based on the situation at hand. Champions have the mental flexibility to do so seamlessly. Rather than looking for a recipe to follow every time, they embrace the fluidity required to succeed consistently.
This willingness to adapt – to possess an unfixed mindset – is the main premise of the book Extreme Balance: Paradoxical Principles That Make You a Champion, published by Entrepreneur Press. This volume, which I have co-authored with champion athlete and coach Ben Askren and successful business leader Joe De Sena, describes how various champions balance contradictory principles to succeed in their respective sports. It includes chapters such as “Thinking You’re Good Enough and Thinking You’re Never Good Enough,” and “Preparing for Everything and Expecting the Unexpected.” These sections expand upon the lessons described here – and many others – in greater depth. If you want to be a champion entrepreneur, it’s a great resource to help get you there.
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