How to make more money as a digital creator

Lower the barrier to entry. And then remove the ceiling.

This is the business model that a video game called Fortnite pioneered, and after a smashing success, countless other games followed. And this is the business model that can help digital creators make more money in the digital age.

When I was growing up, my brothers and I would pool our allowances and our birthday money to go in on a video game together. The decision-making process was arduous–beginning with heavily researched proposals, and usually developing into full-blown negotiations (wrestling matches) to get the other brothers to agree to split a game with you. Parents often stepped in to mediate. 

After a game was purchased, there was a lock-in effect. In order to buy a new one, we had to wait at least as long as it took to save up for another game. And since we worked so hard to get the game we just got, we valued it more. We almost always took the time to beat the game and unlock all the levels, whether it was good or not. 

Now, the modern video game market works like this: many online video games are completely free to download and play in their entirety. The game makes money by selling in-game skins and characters (digital clothes). And they run these sales like a street wear brand, with collaborations and limited editions available only for a short window. 

In my childhood era, the only way to prove that you really loved a game was to beat it multiple times, unlock everything, and then tell your friends you did so. (I think this is how the name “that guy” was coined–because if you did this and told everyone, you became “that guy”). Now, you can show people how much you love a game with a rare in-game skin. Profit for games like Fortnite aren’t just capped at the purchase price. Now they have no cap (no cap)! There’s no limit to the amount of money someone can spend. 

For people who don’t play video games, this is insanity. Why would someone spend real money on digital clothes that don’t even give them a competitive advantage? The same reason why people buy sports jerseys and band t-shirts. To show their love. It’s no different, it’s just a digital environment. And if your community values that game, then a digital skin increases your status within your community. Just like a fresh jersey or a retro band tee increases one’s status in those communities. 

So what does this mean for creators? It’s simple. The barrier to entry has been lowered for nearly every medium thanks to the digital age. Instead of buying an album, people can stream your songs for free. Instead of coming to your gallery, people can see your work online. Whether you like it or not, the barrier to entry for your work has been drastically lowered. And you can’t fight this, because if you aren’t on Spotify or TikTok, you’re not in the marketplace.

A creator’s best option now is to lower the barrier to entry even more, and then push the ceiling as high as possible. Make it even easier to find you and engage with your work. If a super-fan’s only option to show their love is to buy a vinyl and a hoodie, that’s a pretty low ceiling. Even if someone wanted to spend thousands of dollars, they realistically couldn’t. I’ve written before about why creators should release prohibitively expensive products before, and it applies again here. The low barrier to entry won’t make you enough money to survive. So you have to raise the ceiling with exclusive products, experiences, and classes. 

With the barrier so low, the best way to make a living is to lower it even further, and then raise the ceiling as high as you can. 

P.S. If you want to make more money with profitable, quality videos, I just launched a Producing Guide called How To Produce A Video Shoot (without pulling out your hair). It’s a 15,000-word guide that teaches you everything you need to know about producing digital content. It’s live now, and it would mean the world to me if you checked it out.