Kajabi Sheds Light on the State of the Creator Economy

Even before the Great Resignation, the fledgling industry known as the creator economy was quickly building steam. Akin to the Gig Economy, to some extent, the creator economy is a “software-facilitated economy that allows creators to earn revenue from their creations.” And from its humble beginnings in 1997, when it was dubbed the “new economy,” the creator economy is now worth a whopping $104 billion.

Early platforms for creators include Blogger, YouTube, MySpace and Soundcloud. And early creators within the economy primarily monetized through the written word, graphic art, video and music. But it was YouTube, which some say was the first company to use the term creator, that become the moonshot for many. Overnight, seemingly ordinary people were racking up millions of followers and big bucks by displaying their talents on the platform. It was even where a young Canadian named Justin Bieber was discovered.

Then, in 2010, a new player stepped onto the scene. An innovative platform called Kajabi changed the game by enabling people to monetize what they know. Kajabi is now the leading platform for creators and entrepreneurs to create, grow, and manage their content, products and services, offering the best way to turn knowledge into income, without taking a cut of customer sales.

The Creator Economy is Thriving

Recently Kajabi unveiled its inaugural State of the Creator Economy Report.

The report reveals some key trends and insights within the fast-growing creator economy. And to draw its conclusions, Kajabi incorporated both quantitative and qualitative data gathered from industry sources and the more than 50,000 creators that run their businesses on the platform. Some of the most interesting insights include the pandemic’s impact on the creator economy, key monetization trends and the most popular and successful marketing tactics creators use.

“The creator is growing at an incredible rate and now includes millions of knowledge entrepreneurs who have built successful businesses by satisfying people’s desire to learn new skills and live more fulfilling lives,” said Ahad Khan, Kajabi CEO. “Kajabi’s State of the Creator Economy Report is a behind-the-scenes look at what’s driving the growth of the industry, and it provides creators with valuable information on how to achieve greater success by delivering the content and experiences that people want the most.”

CB Insights estimates there are now more than 50 million people participating in the creator economy. And that reach is a big reason why investors are betting big on platforms that enable more creators to do their thing. A year ago, the membership platform Patreon announced that it had raised a $155M Series F. But Kajabi is leading the pack when it comes to freshly funded companies focused on the creator economy. To date, the company has raised $550 million at a $2 billion valuation.

According to Khan, several factors are driving the growth of the creator economy.

“In market terms, the creator economy has experienced the perfect J-shaped curve,” he said. The Great Resignation inspired millions of people to look for new ways to earn a living and for ways to own, control, and monetize their experiences and knowledge. And at the same time, it accelerated the consumption of online content, creating the perfect environment for the creator economy to explode.”

Kajabi Helps Creators Earn Real Money

And explode it did, according to the State of the Creator Economy report. Key findings in the study revealed that Kajabi customers make an average of $30,000 per year. And as of March 2022, the total lifetime earnings of Kajabi customers surpassed $3.5 billion, which is up 350% since 2020. Current earnings for all Kajabi users in 2022 alone are projected to be just under $2 billion.

When it came to the topics that creators promoted the most, personal development and health and fitness were the top two. Revenue for those topics alone grew by 94% and 101%, respectively, from 2020 to 2021. In addition, Kajabi customers in the academic space increased their earnings by 45% from 2020 to 2021, and by 253% in January 2022 compared to January 2020.

The most popular and lucrative products for knowledge creators on Kajabi in 2021 were online courses and membership sites. And creators who incorporate podcasts into their services earned 26% more than those who do not.

“Kajabi is designed to scale as a creator’s business grows,” added Khan. “And it includes a powerful CRM, analytics dashboard, customizable landing pages, podcasting, payment processing and more. It has everything a creator needs to manage their entire business.”

When it comes to the budgets creators rely on to gain customers, 22% of Kajabi creators said they spend less than $500 per year on marketing, 19% spend between $2,000-$4,999, and 17% spend more than $10,000. A majority of Kajabi’s creators, 90%, cited social media as their main source of lead generation followed by email marketing, which 71% stated was effective for driving traffic directly to their website. Email marketing was the main tool used to nurture customer relationships, with 66% of Kajabi customers using a welcome email and 62% sending frequent follow-up emails.

The complete State of the Creator Economy report can be found here.

Now is the Time to Join the Creator Economy

And for those interested in joining the creator economy, Kajabi has a nice promotion right now. To help you start your business, Kajabi will give you 5 weeks for $5. And it should only take 5 minutes each day to get your business up and running. Check it out HERE.

Founded in Irvine, California, in 2010, Kajabi is the leading platform for creators and entrepreneurs to create, grow, and manage their content and services. Kajabi has a clear purpose of making knowledge worth more, offering the best way to turn knowledge into income.

With Kajabi’s easy-to-use product features, customers have a single ecosystem to sell and manage knowledge-based products such as online courses, live coaching, podcasts, membership sites, and communities. Unlike other platforms and marketplaces that can take up to 50% of your income, Kajabi never takes a cut of customer sales.

Tens of thousands of entrepreneurs and creators rely on Kajabi to build and manage their online businesses, and the company has helped these entrepreneurs generate over $3.5 billion in sales from over 60 million customers to date.

Learn more at Kajabi.com and follow @Kajabi on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.