Estimated at an impressive $250 billion by Goldman Sachs, the creator economy is expected to double in just 3 years to reach $480 billion. If content creators got together on a piece of land and declared themselves a sovereign nation, they would be the 30th most important economy in the world or about as important as Arizona or Tennessee.

In the same study, Goldman Sachs’s survey estimated that close to 70 % of content creators’ revenue came from brand-direct deals, and only 4.6% can be traced to affiliate links. It may seem like a small percentage, but it still amounts to $11.5 billion in 2023 and might represent over $22 billion by 2027. 

That leaves much room for affiliate networks to grow in the next few years, but there are also opportunities to increase the slice of pie affiliate links get. CrakRevenue is already getting ahead of the competition with its sister brand FansRevenue, an easy way for content creators to monetize and grow their fanbase and the only adult entertainment-focused platform.

What is the Creator Economy?

Unless you have been in a coma for the last 15 years or refuse to use social media, you most definitely consume content created by creators on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and other social media platforms. These individuals use their unique skills and expertise to create content that will attract followers and grow an audience on one or multiple platforms. They create a brand for themselves that they turn into a business by monetizing their fanbase. 

The creator landscape encompasses a diverse range of individuals: artists, educators, writers, gamers, social media influencers and more. Their content can take several forms, such as blog articles, short or long-form videos, podcasts, Instagram stories or even TikTok viral videos. They are making money by striking direct deals with brands, ad revenue (such as Google Ads), selling products and services, tips, affiliate links or a combination of several of those means.

This burgeoning economy is based on several key factors:

  • Accessibility: social media platforms, streaming services, and online marketplaces have greatly facilitated content creation and broadcasting. Anyone with an ounce of creativity, some know-how, and a smartphone or computer can create good content.
  • Authenticity: people seek advice and opinions on products and services from relatable, authentic voices. Over 50 % of people are relying entirely on recommendations (sponsored or not) from content creators they find on social media.
  • Monetization: creators do not rely solely on ad revenue, as was the case 10 years ago. Brand deals, crowdfunding (Kickstarter), fan subscription platforms (Patreon, OnlyFans), and digital tipping (Ko-fi) made it easier for content creators to get a stable revenue stream.

The creator economy, even if not exclusive to them, is tied very closely to influencer marketing, and many creators become influencers. There are significant benefits for brands and content creators alike:

  • Precision targeting: Content creators’ communities, especially smaller ones of less than  100,000 followers, are more homogenous and generate up to three times more engagement than larger communities. That can potentially translate into much higher conversion rates.
  • High return on investment: For content creators, the cost of running affiliate marketing campaigns is very low, and the potential commissions are high; for brands, the lifetime value of those highly engaged customers is potentially much superior compared to traditional marketing.

Monetizing Content with Affiliate Links

You most certainly have watched a video on YouTube or Instagram that ended with some sales pitch about a product or service and the host telling you to “click the link below for an exclusive 35 % off your first purchase”. This is an example of the form an affiliate link can take: a unique URL tying the content creator (the affiliate) to a brand (the advertiser). The content creator will make money on each sale registered using their custom link.

Affiliate networks such as CrakRevenue make it easy for content creators to monetize the content they create or, more specifically, the web traffic their content generates. CrakRevenue offers a full-service marketing platform that allows people to focus on their content while we supply state-of-the-art technology and impactful creatives to ensure maximum conversion rates. 

Among content creators, it is challenging for adult entertainment influencers to monetize their content and diversify their revenue income. Platforms like Patreon, OnlyFans or live-streaming websites might allow them to manage subscribers, but it does not facilitate marketing efforts or other monetization means. To that purpose, CrakRevenue launched the very first OnlyFans Model program last fall to enable the direct promotion of individual models through affiliate links.

A Unique Promotion Tool for OnlyFans Models

CrakRevenue launched a truly unique program a few months ago, allowing OnlyFans models to bring new subscribers directly to their fan pages and easily grow their audience by tapping directly into CrakRevenue’s high-quality traffic. The platform is already renowned as the #1 adult CPA Network, which makes its traffic especially well-suited for this kind of content. 

OnlyFans was launched in 2016 to provide a platform for creators to monetize their content through subscription revenue and allow a more personalized connection with fans. At first, it attracted a wide variety of content creators–such as musicians, visual artists and fitness trainers–thanks to its simplicity of use and because it did not restrict types of content as much as its competing platforms. One of the significant differences with similar platforms is that OnlyFans allowed adult explicit content.

That fact did not go unnoticed, and soon, the platform attracted adult content creators en masse as they saw a fantastic opportunity to sell their explicit content directly to their fans and customers without having to deal with distributors or producers. It was a golden opportunity to keep more of their hard-earned money and eliminate the several intermediaries of the traditional distribution network. 

OnlyFans models still have to market their fan page through social media and free streaming websites, as the platform does not offer marketing tools. That is precisely where CrakRevenue intervenes: we give OnlyFans models access to full-service marketing and our well-established affiliate network. 

How Can It Benefit Affiliates?

It is a unique opportunity for affiliates to leverage that lucrative part of the creator economy and claim their share of the billions of dollars generated by adult entertainment. Our affiliates can choose which model they wish to advertise and bring traffic directly to their fan page while cashing in a commission for each new subscriber they refer on a PPS or lifetime RevShare basis. There are 18 models available as of now, with dozens more to be added in the next few months.

This is not the only way affiliates can earn their share as they can also get a referral link for CrakRevenue’s sister brand, FansRevenue: a platform specifically designed for creators and models to monetize their content further and grow their fanbase. As the referrer, affiliates will earn a lifetime 5 % commission on all revenue generated by the models and creators they helped onboard on FansRevenue through the Creators Referral Program.

Ultimately, the creator economy is one of the fastest-growing small business models, especially in niche markets such as adult entertainment. Affiliate marketing currently represents a relatively small part of this economy. Still, platforms such as CrakRevenue and FansRevenue can help content creators market their content to the right audience, increasing their revenue, and affiliate marketers can reap some of those benefits from this mostly untapped market.

Ready to promote exclusive high-paying offers such as OnlyFans Models and FansRevenue Referrals? Sign up today: crakrevenue.com