NeoReach surveyed over 2K content creators in order to compile data for this report. They partnered with Hoo.be in the creation of this report. This report includes quotes from some of the biggest earners in the industry. This report demonstrates how every creator earns income in unique ways.
At a Glance
#1 48.72% of the creators surveyed work in content creation full-time.
#2 Over 35% of the creators surveyed have been building an audience for over four years and earn over $50k annually.
#3 74% of respondents reported increased traffic/engagements once they started using a Link in Bio tool.
#4 The average salary for male creators was 1.88x higher than that of female creators.
Earning Power
Creators may work in content creation as a full or part-time job depending on the platform and how much content they produce. Through the survey, we analyzed how much creators are making annually solely from their content.
Through the survey, we found that only 1.4% of the responding creators surveyed earn over $1M annually. But, around 21% of creators who participated in our survey make a livable wage above $50K in annual income doing content creation work.
Earning Power
Over 4 Years
- Under $1K: 17.47%
- $1K-$10K: 18.84%
- $10K-$25K: 16.78%
- $25K-$50K: 11.30%
- $50K-$100K: 18.84%
- $100K-$500K: 11.99%
- $500K-$1 M: 2.40%
- $1M+: 2.40%
Comparing income to length of time in the industry shows how experience plays a role in creator earnings.
Clearly, earning power increases with time. Over 35% of the creators surveyed have been building an audience for 4+ years and earn over $50K annually across their monetized channels. This is compared to only around 20% of creators who have been building an audience for 3-4 years are earning over $50K annually. Furthermore, there was an even smaller percentage of individuals who are making over $50K and have been working as a content creator for less than three years.
Primary Content
Instagram: Measure of Success (in %)
- Money: 34.1%
- Followers: 8.4%
- Engagement: 57.5%
In the survey, we asked creators how they measure success on each platform. On Instagram, more than half of the creators place the highest value on engagement rate. The second highest response was money, with 34% of respondents saying they measure success on Instagram by the amount they earn. Only a little over 8% of respondents ruse follower count as their main success metric. Therefore, on Instagram, engagement rate takes the crown.
TikTok: Measure of Success (in %)
- Money: 29.5%
- Followers: 15.4%
- Engagement: 55.1%
TikTok displayed similar results, with over 55% of respondents saying they measure success on the platform by engagement rate. On the other hand, around 30% reported that they measure TikTok success by earnings and 15.4% reported that they measure it by following. As was the case with Instagram, TikTok creators look to engagement rates as the primary indicator of success on the platform.
YouTube: Measure of Success (in %)
- Money: 40.7%
- Subscribers: 7.4%
- Engagement: 51.9%
Interestingly, the oldest and longest surviving platform yielded slightly different results. Unlike TikTok and Instagram, creators who indicated YouTube as one of their main content platforms reported measuring their success on the platform through monetary earnings.
Blog: Measure of Success (in %)
- Money: 58.8%
- Followers: 0.0%
- Engagement: 41.2%
Similar to YouTube, the majority of creators who use blogs as one of their main content platforms measure success through income. Additionally, a high percentage of respondents listed blog engagements as their main metrics. In what seems to be a recurring trend, the least amount of respondents measure success through followers.
Facebook: Measure of Success (in %)
- Money: 33.3%
- Followers: 0.0%
- Engagement: 66.7%
Out of the survey respondents who reported using Facebook as one of their primary content platforms, 67% measure success through engagement rate. On the other hand, 33% of the respondents reported measuring their success on Facebook through monetary earnings, and none base their success on follower count.
Twitter: Measure of Success (in %)
- Money: 0.00%
- Followers: 33.3%
- Engagement: 66.7%
Only three respondents reported using Twitter as one of their primary content platforms. Of those responses, one creator uses follower count to measure their success, and the other two creators responded that they measure it based on engagement.
Monetization
Creator estimated earning potential
Amount of followers across social media
Engagement (%)
Conversion (%)
Which platform do creators turn to monetize?
In the survey, we canvassed what platforms creators prefer for monetization. Instagram won by a landslide, with the majority of respondents explaining that they utilize the platform for content monetization. TikTok was the second most common platform, with YouTube close behind it. Twitch fell to the bottom as the least favored space for monetization.
Influencer Tiers
Influencer Salary Tier
Out of all the creators who participated in the survey, the majority were in the Micro and Nano tier, which means they earn between $100K and $500K per year. 12.06% of creators fell into the lowest tier, followed by 2.49% in the Mid-Tier. Creators in this level earn in between $250K and $1M each year.
We did not survey any creators who earn more than $10M annually. However, 11 respondents fall into the Macro tier, which means they are earning more than $1M.
Job Comparison
Salary Comparison
Creator Salary (in % of creators)
- Under $1K: 17.02%
- $1K - 10K: 14.92%
- $10K - $25K: 14.40%
- $25K - $50K: 15.97%
- $50K - $100K: 20.16%
- $100K - $500K: 12.04%
- $500K - $1M: 2.88%
- Over $1M: 2.62%
Full-Time Creators
Out of 481 Participants in Survey
Out of the creators surveyed, we discovered that there was almost an even split between full-time and part-time creators. 48.72% of the respondents identify as full-time content creators. The remaining respondents, 51.28%, have other jobs in addition to content creation.
Of the 382 influencers that considered themselves full-time, 53.66% of full-time content creators make more than a bartender.
We surveyed a wide range of creators to find out how long they have been working in content creation. The majority of this sample have been in this for the long haul, with 292 respondents creating content online for over 4 years. The smallest category consisted of those who have been active for less than a year, with a surprising fourth place category between 3 and 4 years.
Annual Income per Years Experience
Less than one year - 68 Creators
Annual Income per Years Experience
1 - 2 Years - 175 Creators
Annual Income per Years Experience
2 - 3 Years - 147 Creators
Annual Income per Years Experience
Over 4 Years - 292 Creators
Annual Income per Years Experience
The pie charts on the last few pages demonstrate the creators’ annual income per their years experience. As expected, there was a big difference between creators that have been working for less than a year compared to those who have been working for more than four.
Out of the 68 creators that make up the first category around 85% are earning less than $25K annually. Out of the 292 creators surveyed who have been working as a content creator for over four years, nearly 47% are making more than $25K annually.
This contrast illustrates a wide income gap. But looking through the progression of annual income through all five graphs, the number of creators making over $25K increases with years of activity on social media.. Additionally, as experience rose, we saw more creators making six-figure salaries through content creation. This data suggests that, on average, creators’ annual income rises with years experience.
Our next question sought to figure out how many sponsored posts creators share per year. Nearly 65% of respondents have shared less than 20 sponsored posts in the past year, with only 35% having shared more. Less than 10% of respondents shared over 50, which breaks down to one sponsored post almost every week.
Sponsored Posts per Annual Income
Less than $20K - 297 Creators
Sponsored Posts per Annual Income
$20K - $50K - 74 Creators
Sponsored Posts per Annual Income
$50K - $100K - 55 Creators
Sponsored Posts per Annual Income
$100K - $500K - 50 Creators
Sponsored Posts per Annual Income
$500K - $1M - 3 Creators
Sponsored Posts per Annual Income
Over $1M - 2 Creators
Approach vs. Salary
Next, we considered the approach creators take to their work compared to their salary. In other words, what is their main goal? What do creators care about the most when it comes to being a content creator? The majority, over 70%, of creators responded that they care most about either creating the best content they can or about connecting with their audience. Less than 30% of respondents expressed a strong goal of building a following or making money.
Approach: Building a Following
If a creator’s approach is to build a following, their main goal is to grow their personal brand through their content. Because the majority of creators earn less than $20K annually, that group occupies the highest response counts in all four of the approach categories. But, overall, less than ten creators among each of the other salary designations listed building a large following as their main approach.
Approach: Creating the Best Content
The second approach, creating the best content, had the highest response counts among all creator levels. For example, nearly 125 of the creators surveyed who earn less than $20K selected this as their approach. Across the other salary levels, there were high overall response counts as well, and every salary-level we surveyed was represented in this category. This data suggest that creating high-quality content is a top priority for a large number of content creators regardless of years online or current follower count...
Approach: Making Money from Content
The third approach we considered was making money from content. Responses weren’t too high in this category, with less than 40 creators under the $20K mark choosing it as their approach. Interestingly, none of the creators who reported earning over $1M chose this as their main goal, but a decent amount who are making over six-figures did. Although this was not one of the most common approaches, it is an important consideration for creators, especially those who create content full-time.
Approach: Connecting with My Audience
Another top approach we considered focused on creators building connections with their audience. Around 100 creators who earn less than $20K chose this as their primary approach. Additionally, a large number of creators earning between $20K and $500K identified connecting with their audience as their goal when creating content. Creators earning over $500K were not represented in this category.
Next to creating the best content, this approach had the second highest response counts. This solidifies audience connection as a top priority of content creators.
Gender vs. Salary
Through this survey, we also measured how creator earnings vary by gender. We found that male creators make 1.88x more than female creators on average. The median annual salary for male creators was $20K, while the median for female creators was only $10K. Furthermore, the maximum salary recorded for male creators was $1.5M, while it was $1M for female creators.
MALE: $69,922.95
FEMALE: $37,065.42
Men’s Average Salary was 1.88x higher
Creator Quotes
Amy Zhang
Part-Time Creator for More than 4 Years
44K Followers on Instagram
“In my time as a creator and working in digital marketing, the creator economy has absolutely become legitimized and blown up. I personally know creators making 7 figures a year… like any profession it is a BUSINESS and the opportunities are endless. Anecdotally, many people I know spend more time on social media than they do consuming large studio/professionally produced content. Influencers are so ingrained in our daily life now. I think brands could provide more resources and tools to help creators make the content they need to shine. For example, during Covid many brands shifted their marketing strategy to influencer marketing. In this case influencers become the photographer, talent, stylist, hair and makeup artist. They have to find the location, set up, and do all of the work to create and edit content.”
Gio Andeli
Full-Time Creator for 3-4 Years
193K Followers on Instagram
“The creator economy is flourishing right now with the burst of recent online activity. Brands have been doing better and have gotten incredibly creative and innovative. I do believe they can up their game a bit in the finance department - specifically just learning and realizing the growing worth of creators and their followings.”
@ESPDANIELLA
Part-Time Creator for 3 to 4 Years
771K Followers on TikTok
“TikTok is the best social media channel to initially grow an audience. It was used more than Google last year for a reason!! I was on YouTube and Instagram for years and barely made income. Once I got on TikTok in January of 2021 I was able to quadruple my following on IG and YT thanks to TikTok having the function where you can link those accounts on your bio. However, still, YouTube and Instagram are better when it comes to directly paying its creators once you have a significant following/engagement.”
Solomiya
Part-Time Creator for More than 4 Years
33.7K Followers on Instagram
“The creator economy is here to stay and brands need to understand that creators are not a new version of unpaid interns. Creators come with their own skills and need to be properly compensated.”
“Content creation is fun and can be rewarding but it’s also incredibly draining when it’s a source of income. It can be frustrating dealing with brands and having to advocate for myself among the sea of people trying to get cheap or free content.”
Kendall Alfred
Part-Time Creator for More than 4 Years
180K Subscribers on YouTube
“I feel absolutely blessed to have had the opportunity to connect with so many passionate people through social media… My life is full of highs and lows due to the creator economy and being a bit "stuck" in the middle tier as an influencer. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything though. I am able to constantly work on something new, adapt to the changing platforms, meet new people, and share my knowledge and opinions whenever I want. I have an extensive knowledge of the behind the scenes of a creator, and I am able to use that to my advantage now and open more doors through consultations, beta testing, product testing, and more. I want nothing more than to be able to grow, learn more, and experience more as a creator. I love this lifestyle and always look forward to what is next.”
Link in Bio
What reason did you start using link in bio?
Which platforms do you share your hoo.be link?
What do you share most on your hoo.be page?
What do your fans interact most with on your hoo.be page?
Have you noticed a difference in traffic/engagement since you started using a link in bio?
How many brand related links do you typically have on your hoo.be page?
Do you share any affiliate links on your hoo.be page?
Has your hoo.be page helped you land more paid brand deals/partnerships?
Do you use any of these platforms to sell content?
What type of content do you primarily post on these platforms?
Key Takeaways
#1 Earning power increases with time working as a content creator.
#2 Instagram is the most popular social media platform for content monetization.
#3 The majority of content creators prioritize either creating the best content they can or connecting with their audience.
#4 For the majority of content creators, their highest earning revenue source is brand deals.
Research Methodology
In an open survey, we contacted our network of creators to collect information on the creator economy, covering creator monetization and their sentiment towards making money through their content. The data presented in this report was collected from creators whose information was verified through our data team. It covers a wide spectrum of creators, from Nano to Macro. Our analysis included survey results and data findings submitted and approved between the months of January and February of 2022. Additionally, we partnered with hoo.be, whose data collection focused on creator link in bio surveys. We presented this data in combination with our own findings to analyze statistic surrounding creator earnings.
This report does not include all creator data on sponsored content and other forms of creator monetization on social media and digital platforms. However, it does detail a varied selection of creator following sizes, income levels, social media platforms, and more to depict the state of the creator economy and showcase the earning power and monetary success of creators.
Editor’s Note
The term “creator” refers to any individual with an audience that supports their content through engagement or monetary support. Creators play an integral role within the creator economy, as they are directly in its center and are necessary to its very existence. By analyzing their varying practices and earnings, we are not only able to better understand the creator economy, but to better understand the ultimate power of the creator.
Along with the rise of the creator economy, an increasing number of individuals have started leveraging their platforms through content monetization and brand partnerships. Through this, many creators have been able to turn content creation into a career, further harnessing the power of their central role in the industry.
This report has provided an in-depth analysis of creator earnings, intending to showcase how different creator approaches, content, goals, and overall experiences influence those earnings. According to the data presented in this report, creator earnings vary significantly – as do the creators themselves. As we evaluate this data, it is important to note that there is not just one road to success. In order to harness their power within the creator economy, a creator only needs to head down the right road for them – even if that means paving a new one.
