💰 7-Figure Income Creator Club that is changing India

Platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and META are the shovels that help dig out the talent hidden in every corner of the country. Moreover, a recent study conducted by YouTube and Oxford Economics showed that YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed over ₹16,000 crore to India’s GDP and supported 7.5 lakh full-time jobs.

These five factors have given a massive push:

• Affordable Internet: With the increasing penetration of smartphones and internet access, content consumption has soared, creating an ever-expanding audience for creators.
• Accessible platforms: Platforms like YouTube, TikTock, and Instagram are some of the most accessible platforms for any creator, with a smartphone and an internet connection.
• Insatiable hunger for content: India has the world’s largest youth demographic which wants content in various genres. According to a survey, Indians spend around 3.2 hours daily on social media, which is the majority (around 44%) of their online time spent.
• Rise of regional creators: Multiple creators are starting ancillary channels to provide content in their regional language.
• Micro-influencers: Forget celebrity endorsements, brands are turning to everyday people with dedicated followings for targeted marketing.

🤳 Support from Indian audience

Indian audiences have multiple apps on their smartphones for content. The world’s average number of social media apps used per month is 7. However, India tops this chart with working-age social media users using an average of 8.7 platforms each month. Some of the most watched apps were YouTube, followed by META (facebook), WhatsApp, and Instagram.

But even in this gold rush, not everything glitters.

Multiple headwinds such as cutthroat competition, unpredictable algorithms, ever-changing platform policies, and constant pressure to churn out engaging content pose significant challenges and fickle audience preferences.

The ones at the top are certain restrictions that they must abide by. There have been multiple instances in which influencers were served with legal notices regarding their negative comments on social media.

Remember, overnight success stories are just the tip of the iceberg. For every Carry Minati, there are countless creators hustling on the sidelines, dreaming of raking in the big moolah someday.

💰 How Much Do Creators Really Make?

Now, let’s dive into the million-rupee question: How much do these creators actually make?

The answer is as varied as the content they produce. From tech reviews and makeup tutorials to comedic sketches and dance videos, the earning spectrum is wide and diverse. It is a spectrum wider than the Grand Canyon.

As per an article, YouTube pays around ₹200-500 per 10,000 views. However, this number hinges on a range of factors, such as the type of content and format. Moreover, a rough estimate shows that the top 10% of Youtubers in India earn about ₹2.9 lakh per month, whereas the top 1% earn an average of ₹13 lakh per month. And this is not considering the additional sources of income that these creators might have.

Top guns like CarryMinati and Ashish Chanchlani can command lakhs per sponsored post, while smaller creators might earn through brand collaborations, affiliate marketing, or online courses. Think of it like a pyramid – a few gleaming peaks at the top, a broader middle class, and a vast base still climbing the rungs.

Apart from the ad revenue on YouTube, Instagram is another platform where even small creators can make a lot of money in a range of ways. From brand partnerships to paid content creation, several avenues offer the potential to transform your Insta-fame into real income.

According to Timespro, Micro-influencers with 5–10k followers can earn an average of ₹6,500 per post, whereas those with larger followings (50k-80k) can make an average of ₹14,000 per sponsored post. Bigger creators with 2.5–5 lakh followers can pull in around ₹49,000 per post. These figures can change depending on your niche, location, and follower count.

Apart from paid posts, Instagram influencers also receive complimentary food and stay options for reviewing restaurants and hotels on their channels.

🏢 Creation of a new category of jobs

Around a decade back, nobody had heard about the term ‘Influencer marketing’ but it has become a new industry that employs lakhs. As per Statista, in 2022, India’s influencer marketing sector is estimated to be worth around ₹12 billion.

This is expected to grow faster than the Indian economy at a CAGR of 25% in the next 5 years and reach ₹28 billion by 2026. In India, Bengaluru stands at the top in terms of the number of job postings for influencer marketing roles, with a 16% market share, followed by Delhi-NCR with 9% and Mumbai with 7.5%.

Even brands are realising the potential of influencer marketing and increasing their budgets accordingly. According to a report, around 73% of brands prefer Instagram as their primary platform for influencer marketing.

There are around 8 crore creators in India, and as per a report, brands only work with around 20,000 of them, leaving millions untapped. This leaves an immense potential for over 10 lakh creators, who are predicted to join influencer marketing in the next 2 years. With 53% of nano creators (under 10k followers), micro (36%) and macro (10%) with 1-10 lakh followers, creators fill the gap, while mega creators (0.8%) remain a small elite with over 10 lakh followers.

Some famous names who have made it big in India include Prajakta Koli, Kusha Kapila, and Bhuvan Bam, who started their journey as content creators and have transitioned toward mainstream entertainment while still maintaining their influence.

But lately, there are a particular set of creators who have been in the limelight…

🤑 Rise of Financial Influencers in India

In 2023, there was a rise in a different kind of influencers who were particularly engaged in finance content. These influencers are also known as Finfluencers. This group of creators were in a sweet spot. Mostly because of the increase in financial awareness among retail investors followed by the number of investor accounts surging from 3.93 crore in December 2019 to 13.23 crore by the end of October 2023.

Some influencers like Raj Shamani (1.9 million on YouTube), Sharan Hegde (2.6 million), Jay Kapoor (6.5 lakhs), CA Rachana Ranade (4.7 million), Ankur Warikoo (3.5 million) and others reinvented finance content by making easy and fun explanatory videos that gelled well with the masses.

With new investors entering the markets, there was a substantial gap between financial literacy and simple content, which created a trend in finance and investment education across platforms.

🛑 Speed brake on influencers by SEBI

With this sudden influx of new people, numerous investors fell prey to the unsolicited recommendations and strategies of some of the creators and lost a lot of money. Mainly because of the lack of knowledge and self-assessment of new investors. Therefore, the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had to step in and implement multiple guidelines that restricted the action of financial influencers on social media.

SEBI also categorised influencers with more than 1 million subscribers as celebrities and provided additional guidelines for them. It even banned many accounts for not following the guidelines. For example, creators such as PR Sundar were banned by SEBI for providing advisory services without obtaining the necessary registration from the regulator.

Some of SEBI's guidelines included:

• SEBI Registration: Finfluencers must be registered with SEBI before offering investment advice.
• Qualified Advice: They must possess relevant qualifications and clearly disclose their credentials.
• Transparency: Biased advice and promotion of unregistered entities are prohibited.

With this, SEBI wanted to create a safer environment for new traders and investors entering the market, as well as level the playing field for all types of market participants.

But the future seems to be blindingly bright. Experts predict that India’s creator economy will reach a staggering $100 billion by 2030. New platforms are emerging that cater to niche communities and regional languages. The possibilities are as diverse as the spices in a biryani.