Mo’ money, mo’ value: How the right revenue stream can add value to your community

You know the old saying "Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life"?

It was originally "Love what you do, and eventually you’re going to have to find a way to make it pay your rent, or your mortgage, or at the very least keep you in video editing software and HD audio equipment."

You can see why it never caught on.

But the need to make money is real, and most content creators know that.

So how do you do it?

Since that first person uttered the immortal words “Like and subscribe!” the importance of a community has been apparent. It’s by building a community of people interested in your content - whether that content is sports chat, a comedy podcast or cook-along YouTube videos - that you can build a sustainable business.

(Depending on your point of view, the thought of making money from your community might feel great, or icky, or somewhere in between. What most creators will recognise, however, is how necessary it is.)

Many creators give their content away for free, in the form of videos, social media content or podcasts. Advertising or product placement can help towards your income, but it doesn’t offer much for the fan.

So what’s the alternative? Is it even possible to monetise your community in a way that feels good for all concerned?

It is if you can offer something of value. It might be merch (expensive to set-up, and you need to sell a lot to make money), it might be selling a course or digital download (we’ll talk more about that in another blog, but it’s great if you’ve got something to teach), or it could be some kind of meet and greet or live event (fun but not scalable - there are only so many hours in the day).

But while live events might not be scalable, access is what today’s community members really want.

Levellr offers just that. It’s social, without the media. It’s messaging, without the privacy concerns. Based on existing messaging apps including Telegram, Discord & Slack, it offers your community a pay-to-access messaging group, and it offers you another revenue stream. You can hang out and chat as one big group, or offer several different groups based on different interests or access levels. Levellr works with clients from Fall Out Boy to Starbucks to build genuine community for superfans.

That means that rather than shoe-horning in product placements or inserting pre-roll advertising, you can provide fans with something genuinely useful: the chance to chat about the who to pick in their fantasy league team, ask the community where is best to eat in the city the just landed in or ask you questions about how to make the perfect mac’n’cheese (depending on your jam, we’re not suggest you set-up a niche football-cooking group…). And if someone behaves in a way that violates community standards, it’s as easy as removing them from the messaging group. No drama, no hassle.

The result is an engaged community, happy to pay a monthly subscription to chat with you and other like-minded people, while giving you a revenue stream that you can feel good about.

Sound interesting? Your superfans are waiting. Contact Levellr today to find out how you can build a community which works for your brand.