What do content creators need to do differently in 2023?

Last year we <a href="https://www.crreo.ai/article/How-to-Be-a-Successful-Content-Creator-in-2022-and-beyond" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared our thoughts</a> on what it takes to be a successful content creator in 2022. How did things change in 2023? What do content creators need to do differently in 2023 to succeed?

What stayed the same

Things look familiar at first sight.

The creator economy still growing

The creator economy continues to grow well past 100 billion.

Large creators getting larger

The most prominent creators see very healthy growth and continue building their businesses. Consider MrBeast and his Jan 8, 2023 tweet, "I want to build Feastables, Beast Burger, etc. and eventually be able to sell parts of them for billions of dollars so I can give away billions in future videos." That tweet itself has already logged over 18 million views.

Endless opportunities

Continuing the trend from prior years, creators enjoy virtually endless opportunities to build a robust audience and monetize content across a growing number of platforms.

The most prominent creators see very healthy growth and continue building their businesses. 

What changed

However, under the surface, 2023 is becoming considerably more challenging for most content creators in many ways.

Marketing budgets slashed

Many advertisers are reducing their marketing budgets as they grow cautious about the state of the economy. Take YouTube's ad revenue, which, after years of explosive growth, decreased 7.8% year over year in Q4 2022. This decrease in platforms' ad revenues will inevitably reduce content creators' ad earnings. It's helpful to know that major content creators were told to expect 15-20% compression in RPM.

Major content creators were told to expect 15-20% compression in RPM.

Brand sponsorship reduced

Brand sponsorship is seeing a similar trend. After several years of influencer marketing spending growing 25-35% annually, things look different now as large creators expect 20-30% fewer opportunities from brand sponsors. That has enormous implications for creators, who typically receive most of their income from brand sponsorship, and one-third of creators rely on brand deals as their primary income source.

Large creators expect 20-30% fewer opportunities from brand sponsors.

Creator funds unreliable

Many creator funds from major platforms are getting canceled or disappointed.

Production costs through the roof

Persistent inflation that reached a multidecade high is painfully stretching the budgets of most content creators through increased costs of services and equipment.

What to do in 2023

So how can creators navigate the treacherous environment in 2023?

Niche expertise and consistent personal brand

With the number of competing creators skyrocketing, doubling down on a niche where you built expertise, and a recognized personal brand is more important than ever. Whether it's a specific genre of music, a particular video topic, or targeting a specific audience, you need to stay laser-focused to stand out in the crowded creator landscape.

Push for higher-quality content and production

Make sure to prioritize quality over quantity! Engaging, insightful, and entertaining content is still a must. But the true differentiation is now increasingly coming from the content production side. For example, the days of stock video shots to accompany the content are gone. To remain relevant, you need to stay ahead of the curve in production technology. And where it makes sense - consider investing in more professional video/audio production capabilities.

To remain relevant, you need to stay ahead of the curve in production technology.

Build diversified income streams

As in previous years, monetization remains a significant challenge for content creators. However, in 2023, successful creators must have even more diversified revenue streams to support their work. You'll need to build your model that integrates several revenue streams, such as ad revenue, brand deals, affiliate marketing, merchandise sales, paid subscriptions, selling digital products, or through other business income.

Own your fan community

The most important learning from the last ~12 months is the importance of building a strong, dedicated community of fans. Focus on building loyalty and authentic engagement by personally engaging with your community of fans. As many creators learned the hard way, passive viewership can move to another creator overnight with a slight change in the platform's algorithm. A dedicated community of true super fans can also be the core ingredient for a successful paywalled program where you generate meaningful revenues.

Utilize data and analytics

Analyzing your content performance and audience engagement data can provide valuable insights into what's working and what's not. Like any business, you must build a solid data and analytical base to help guide your decisions and priorities.

Become a Successful Content Creator with CRREO

CRREO is a growth platform for creators. Discover CRREO, the ultimate AI-powered platform for content creators. Free tools to generate videos, podcasts, thumbnails, titles, scripts, and more.