There has been a lot of talk about how content creators or influencers don’t feel valued or appreciated by companies. Some have gone on to criticise the businesses that reach out to them with low offerings or freebies as “cheap.”

However, I don’t believe that’s the full picture. You see, many content creators have built their name, and solid foundations and made the transition from a person who makes trendy videos on social media into full-blown businesses. The individuals who have made that transition can get paid very well, as brands come to them with offers that fit their stature and they can negotiate better deals for themselves.

When you ask some of the top creators in the Caribbean how they go about making money, you quickly realise a small percentage comes from brand deals, because they have diversified their income streams and use their popularity to fuel their other ventures.

A major reason why content creators continue to feel they have been lowballed or don't get paid as much as others is that they only know one way to make money as an influencer, and that’s through brand deals.

This begins the never-ending chase of trying to work with as many brands as possible to get paid or get products/services for free. When this happens, you begin to dilute or lose your power to influence your audience to decide, because they realise you will promote any and everything to your audience – so you don’t have any credibility in your recommendations.

Once a brand sees you as someone they can use for only “awareness” campaigns, then it’s a race to the bottom concerning money, because awareness is one of the lowest KPIs for a marketing team. Awareness doesn’t convert to actual sales, which is why over the last two years we have seen more brands across the globe work with more micro-influencers, as they are specialists and closer to their audiences.

Rather than running down brand deals, I want to give content creators five ways they can create revenue for themselves beyond brand deals.

1. Affiliate marketing

2. YouTube monetisation

3. Digital courses

4. Sell products

5. Workshops

Affiliate marketing

Research all the various platforms or businesses that offer affiliate marketing. Amazon is the largest affiliate platform in the world.

Think about all the products, books, clothes, and equipment you use daily that people ask you about.

Set up an account in Amazon Associates and use the product links they give so that people can buy any of the products or gear you use or talk about.

Amazon pays you through cheque in the mail in US dollars or direct deposit to your local bank account through a service like Wise.

YouTube monetisation

If you want to get paid for your content in the Caribbean, YouTube is still the only platform that we have access to that will pay you for your content.

Try pushing your IG or TikTok audience to consume your content on YouTube: that way you can g