outsourceeasilycom Blog

190+ Best Creator Economy Platforms for 2023

May 16, 2023

From Y2K's Friendster and today's TikTok In the past two decades have witnessed social media platforms develop through ways that were amazing and at times, stunning to watch. In the beginning of 2000s, platforms like Friendster and Myspace became a method for communication and connected users with friends and family around the world. By the turn-of-the-2010s -- at the point that Facebook, YouTube, and Tumblr came onto the digital scene, social media assumed a new role: people began using these platforms to share content.

These days Social media platforms can also help people create companies. Ryan Kaji of Ryan's World is one example. Ryan Kaji, for instance is a 11-year-old boy who plays with games and toys on his YouTube channel. At the time of writing, he has 34.8 million YouTube subscribers and, according to Forbes, makes $27 million annually from Adsense revenue, merchandise including his own line of toys.

Ryan isn't alone who has managed to create a business out of social media. Other creators like Liza Koshy, Jimmy Donaldson ( MrBeast), and Emma Chamberlain have all built successful businesses through social media. Together, these creators are the "creator economy.".

The question is, then, what exactly is the Creator Economy? In this article, we're giving you the must-know details on this revolutionary digital phenomenon along with details on the top tools content creators utilize to boost their digital businesses. Let's dig in!

creator economy platforms tech stack tools content creators

What is the creator economy?

The concept of the creator economy is used to describe businesses built by independent creators of content, such as the social media celebrities, podcasters filmmakers comedians, bloggers, artists, musicians and online course creators and many more. Alongside creators, the market encompasses the companies who build the tools they use to run their businesses which include content creation software and platforms for e-commerce along with monetization tools, and many more.

The estimated fifty million content creators make up the market for creators. the majority of them operate on platforms for social media like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch as well as many other. Creators make money by:

  • Ad revenue
  • Sponsored Content
  • Subscriptions paid for
  • Tipping
  • Merchandise
  • Live and virtual occasions
  • Plus ...
creator economy platforms tech stack tools content creators

What are platforms for the creator economy and the tools they provide?

Creator economy platforms and tools are the software content creators utilize to manage their businesses. The tools used by content creators are different in relation to the type of content they create, the social media platform they use, and the targets they're seeking to accomplish.

A creator looking to establish a community would use a different tool than one that's designed to make money from their work.

A writer writing opinion pieces may draft their articles using Google Docs, publish them on Medium to distribute them to the world in the form of a newsletter via Substack as well as build an online community through Slack.

Based on the size of an artist's fan base They can choose to choose to use a free version (with only a few features) as well as paid versions (with advanced features) of these apps.

creator economy platforms tech stack tools content creators

190+ top creator economy platforms and instruments

We've already heard that creatives utilize social media sites like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for sharing their creations, whether they're cooking videos or livestreams of gaming. Besides these popular applications for social media, the creators frequently use a variety of tools and platforms which are designed to help them run their businesses -such as selling their products, invoicing or planning out projects.

There's a plethora ( tons!) of platforms for creating economy and devices available. The sheer number of options available and figuring out where to begin can be overwhelming, whether you're a beginner or not. Don't worry about itthere's a solution for you!

In order to simplify things for you, we've picked out the best-of-the-best creator economy tools and platforms and put them in categories based on different types of creators and their goals.

Read on for a comprehensive guide to the most effective devices for content creators including e-commerce platforms, software for managing projects, invoicing apps and many other.

Platforms and tools for the creator economy for YouTube

In 2005, YouTube was one of the first platforms that helped usher in the era of the creator economy. Today, the video platform remains an one of the most lucrative social media platforms, and many content creators are using the platform to its fullest advantage. Creators like Liza Koshy, Jackie Aina, as well as Lilly Singh all have started their journey using YouTube, and have now built huge businesses through YouTube.

In the beginning of YouTube the only thing you required was a camera, a corner in your room as well as a desire. Nowadays, the process is a bit more complex. One reason why many of the best YouTube videos seem effortless is that they really require a lot of effort to make.

Producing 10-to-20-minute videos requires hours of pondering, recording, and editing, not to mention the effort put into choosing the right thumbnail as well as background music. There are a variety of software and platforms that video creators can use to turn rough footage into refined video.

The top creator economy platforms and resources for YouTubers

  • Platform app: YouTube, YouTube Studio
  • Content ideation: BuzzSumo, Forekast
  • Music: Epidemic Sound, Premium Beat Soundstripe, Splice
  • Editing tools: Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, iMovie, Big Room
  • Thumbnails Canva, Fotor, Pixteller, Adobe Photoshop, Visme
  • Analytics YouTube Analytics, Social Blade, TubeBuddy, VidIQ

Creator economy platforms and tools to help Instagram

Presently, Instagram has a whopping 2 billion active monthly users. Due to its popularity, numerous creators have utilized the platform to start their career. In reality, 72% of content creators have said that they utilize Instagram as their primary content platform.

Creators on Instagram publish content across a wide range of topics, including fitness, beauty, food, interior design, and pop culture. One thing that the creators on Instagram share regardless of their subject they share is their love of aesthetics: Instagram is built on gorgeous images, stunning videos, as well as beautifully designed profile pages.

To achieve the specific appearance they're after To achieve the look they want, many Instagram creators employ photo filters and editing software, as well as the tools for scheduling as well as video editing software as part of their tech stack for creators.

The most effective platforms for creators as well as tools for Instagram creators

  • Platform application: Instagram, Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels
  • Image editing: Adobe Photoshop, Focos, Snapseed, VSCO
  • Reel editing: CapCut, Filmora, InShot, Splice
  • Scheduling: Buffer, Hootsuite, Later, Preview

Platforms and tools for the creator economy for TikTok

It was launched in the year 2016 and TikTok is one of the latest video-sharing services online. It's also among the most popular social media platforms that exist, having more than 1 billion users worldwide. In the last few years, TikTok has had a large influence in shaping the world culture, influencing fashion and music trends in addition to launching the careers of superstars such as Charli and Dixie D'Amelio, Khaby Lame as well as Addison Rae.

In reality, TikTok has even changed the way we browse internet-based content, bringing in the era of the short-form video and bringing about the introduction of Instagram Reels, Snapchat Spotlight and YouTube Shorts.

At first, the site was known as a place to find feel-good choreography, hilarious lip-syncing video clips, and humorous pranks. However, today the creators of many kinds are using the platform to impart their expertise and expertise, such as offering tips for career success and sharing useful tips for productivity at work as well as explaining posing tricks for looking more attractive in pictures.

In TikTok application, users will access a variety of filters, music that is trending, and visual effects. Many creators choose using more advanced third-party software to alter their video content and create something distinctive.

The most effective platforms for creating economy and tools for TikTokers

  • Platform application: TikTok
  • Editing: Capcut, InShot, iMovie, Magisto, Quik

Tools and platforms for creators for authors

Video shorts may be popular the moment, but certain things never go out of trend. Today, many creators still prefer to grab the proverbial pen and write for their online audience Sometimes, they turn their work into huge and successful companies.

For example, Brian Dean turned Backlinko, his SEO blog which he started, into a major company that SEO software SEMRush was eventually acquired by. Meanwhile, Huda Kattan turned her blog on beauty, Huda Beauty to a line of cosmetics that generates 200 million dollars in annual revenues.

From blogs to platforms for newsletters There are a variety of platforms to enable writers to make money through the web. There are also platforms that aid writers with their work review for grammar and spelling errors and also distribute their material to their audience.

The best creator economy platforms as well as tools for authors

Tools and platforms for creators in the Creator Economy for podcasters

Although podcasting was technically invented in 2004, it's been gaining popularity among content creators in the last couple of years. A lot of content creators are becoming aware that many people like to listen to podcasts on the morning run, while they do chores, and during their commutes to work. That's why it seems that new podcasts (and podcasters) appear everywhere.

According to the Triton Digital's 2022 podcast report, there are over five million podcasts in the world today, with over 400 million people listening every year. The podcasts can be found in a variety of various categories including the arts, sports, comedy and entertainment, real crime, literary as well as pop culture.

To make a good-quality podcast, the creators require equipment like mixers, podcast microphones as well as silencers that can provide high-quality sound and remove audio distractions. However, they need a tools to host, edit, as well as add effects and sounds that connect everything together.

The best creator economy platforms as well as tools for podcasters

  • Hosting: Spotify, Buzzsprout, Libsyn, PodBean, SoundCloud
  • Editing: Audacity, Auphonic, Descript, GarageBand, Logic Pro
  • Sound effects and effects: Freesound, SoundBible, Storyblocks, Zapsplat
  • Recording Adobe Audition, Restream, Riverside, Zencastr
  • Social audio platforms: Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces

Tools and platforms for creator economy for artists, musicians, as well as photographers

Up to this point, we've talked about internet-based creators, such as YouTubers, TikTokers, and bloggers. What about those who produce content IRL? Artists, such as painters, photographers, and musicians also use social media platforms to expand their reach. From the illustrator to the guitarist every one of these online-based artists has the tools they need for presenting their artwork to an online audience.

In particular, photographers require editing tools for their photographs, and musicians need mixing instruments to create and record their music. Additionally, they require platforms to share their art on, and some even offer their work on online websites to collectors of online art in the form of NFTs, or non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

  The top Creator Economy platforms and tools for musicians, artists as well as photographers.  

  • Visual Artists: Adobe Creative Cloud, Procreate, Clip Studio Paint, Sketchbook, OpenSea
  • Photographers: Adobe Lightroom, Snapseed, Halide
  • Musikians: Apple iTunes, Logic Pro, SoundCloud, Spotify

Creator economy platforms and tools to help you manage your online company

Creators with great talent seem capable of doing everything without difficulty, but the reality is that much is happening behind the scenes. Everything from the creator's online store and social media accounts are powered with a variety of back-end platform for the creator economy and other tools.

This includes project management tools such as hire platforms, payments tools, and much, more more.

Project management tools

If you're on a YouTube channel or two, it's likely you've learned that YouTubers typically upload new videos according to a type of routine. A few YouTubers publish biweekly. On TikTok the majority of creators choose to upload new videos daily.

This goes to show the importance of consistency in growing your social media followers regardless of the platform you use. Although each post, video, or podcast episode will go live according to a creator's upload timetable, these creators usually plan their content in advance -- and they use software for managing projects to accomplish it. These tools ensure that creators aren't missing a single day and publish content on a regular basis to keep their audience engaged.

The most effective tools to manage projects for creators are:

Analytics tools

Once you've put in your efforts as a content creator The question is "is your work generating results for you?"

People who create businesses using social media need to use analytics tools to determine if their posts are helping them reach their goals or not. These analytics tools measure a creator's social metrics, and help them identify the things that are working and what's not. These tools help creators answer questions like:

  • What have been my most popular posts this quarter?
  • Which platform on the internet generated the most followers and engagement in my company's launch?
  • What types of posts would my fans engage with?
  • What are the topics my readers would like me to write about?
  • How well has my most recent marketing campaign performed?

Many of the top social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube provide built-in analytics. But, many creators opt to use external analytics software, since they offer additional information in a more user-friendly way.

Third-party analytics that are the best for creators include:

Tools for payment

Creators who run online storefronts or offer digital goods need a payment processor that can accept payment from clients.

Some of the best payment tools that creators have access to are:

Hiring and recruitment platforms

The majority of digital creators create their social media-related businesses on their own without having any assistance from an outside source. However, as their audience and revenue grows it is necessary to employ additional people to help handle various aspects of their business. A YouTuber might need an editor to edit videos. A podcaster might need the services of a social media manager. Some creators might need even more freelancers to help them in their endeavors.

You can directly inform the people who follow your social media accounts that you're looking to hire someone to fill the specific position. You can also post these job opportunities on hiring platforms to increase your chance of finding professionals for your business.

The most effective hiring and recruiting platforms for creators include:

Software for Finance

When a creative person invests growing sums of money in their company, they'll require reliable accounting software to assist them with tracking expenses and manage their inventory and send invoices to brands.

While there is accounting software that works for any business (such as QuickBooks) There are tools designed for the modern age that were designed specifically to assist the creators of content. For instance, Karat, a financial services start-up for creatives.

The top finance software available for creators are:

Social scheduling tools

Social-first creators mostly make use of social media platforms (like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter) to grow their fan base. Others creators, such as musicians, podcasters, and others depend on these platforms to increase their visibility and showcase their work.

The issue is that it's hard to stick to a strict posting schedule, especially when it means uploading fresh content every daily. Social scheduling software can help solve this problem by allowing creators to create their own content and schedule them in advance. This way they can be focused on their job without having to worry about missing a day.

Some of the best tools for scheduling social media for creators include:

Tools for affiliate marketing and advertising

Like brands, creators can utilize advertising in order to broaden their reach as well as increase engagement. It is possible to create and purchase advertising on search engines like Google Ads, or social media ads, including Facebook and Instagram ads, to get an increase in attention to their brand.

But, they can also make money through affiliate marketing that is a distinct form of marketing. When an artist has a large and dedicated audience, they are able to advertise trends, provide information, and, ultimate, influence their fans' buying choices. Affiliate marketing programs allow creators to advertise third-party products and receive a cut of any sales they make. Neat, right?

The best advertising platforms and affiliate programs for creators include:

E-commerce platforms

Since the business of creators of content grow, they usually seek ways to diversify their sources of income. While advertising and affiliate programs are great ways to do this, some prefer to develop and market their own items.

For example, Emma Chamberlain created Chamberlain Coffee, her own brand of tea and coffee products. Similar to that, Jackie Aina founded her lifestyle business FORVR Mood, selling scented candles directly to her audience. Other creators, like Miss Excel, sell online products such as digital classes to their customers.

To sell these products, creators need e-commerce platforms like Shopify or Gumroad, which permit them to create and manage their online storefronts. The e-commerce platforms offer options for creators to promote their stores and grow their businesses further.

The top e-commerce platforms that are suitable for creators comprise:

Fan monetization tools

A lot of social media platforms offer free access. So, although content creators have the ability to gain a following on these platforms, they're necessarily getting compensated by the people who view the content they create. Most of the time, they're paid through advertising or selling merchandise.

But, the growth of the creator economy has opened the door to fans monetization platforms that help creators make cash directly from their fans. The tools, like Patreon allows creators to offer exclusive content to their followers with a monthly membership cost, that can be a single payment or a recurring fee.

If the creator is well-versed on a certain subject, they can offer ebooks or online courses that their audience can pay for access. Or they can simply ask for tips from their followers via apps such as Buy Me a Coffee or Venmo.

The most effective tools for monetizing fans for creators are:

  • Memberships: Patreon, Memberful, Cameo, Fanhouse
  • Tips: Get me a coffee, cash Application, Ko-fi Venmo

Online course platforms

People who are skilled and have lots of experience in their field are able to create online courses the audience is able to purchase. An excellent example of a creator who's made a profit through online courses is Kat Norton, founder of Miss Excel.

As @miss.excel, Norton started her career journey by posting on TikTok, where she made entertaining videos that taught people how to use Excel. The videos quickly became popular, and when her TikTok following grew to 100,000 She decided to provide something more for her followers with an online class.

Since 2020, Norton has created several online courses on Excel as well as different Microsoft as well as Google software. The company she runs, Miss Excel, now generates about $2 million a year.

Although online courses can be great for earning an income from passive sources, instructors can make money from the creation of online courses through other methods such as:

Establishing yourself as an authority in your field

In the creator economy It's not enough to just be the creator of content- you'd want to be an specialist. Creating online courses show your viewers that you're the go-to person or thought leader in your field.

Inspiring new leads

The online courses are a great way for creators to get new leads to different aspects of their business. As an example, a course creator working as consultant for content marketing could get new leads through an online course on content marketing. Because the course demonstrates that the instructor has expertise on the subject matter and is a professional, companies are able to be confident in the creator's ability to guide them on their way to taking their content marketing strategy to the next level.

Here are some tools creators can use to build their online course:

Platforms for community participation

A lot of successful creators of content didn't achieve success due to having a huge audience in and of themselves. They achieved success because they were able to transform their followers into communities.

Consider Jimmy Daly as an illustration. Daly established a free Slack group that includes more than 10,000 content marketers and freelance writers working for companies like Airtable, Animalz, Clearscope, and Udemy. Since the time Daly created the community Daly has created a job board as well as sold ebooks, launched podcasts and created a paid version of the community.

The most effective communities for creators comprise:

Event tools

The key to being a successful artist is about engaging with your followers. There are many methods to communicate with your audience via social media, some creators prefer to engage their audience IRL through meet-ups and gatherings.

People who wish to meet to their fans offline hold meet-and-greets and events, deciding on an exact time, date, and place, then making it possible to sell tickets to attendees. On the other hand, creators who prefer virtual meet-ups might engage with their followers live, talk to them on their podcasts or organize online events on platforms such as Airmeet.

Some of the best tools to create events for creators include:

  • Digital Meetup Platforms: Zoom, Google Meet, Airmeet, Hopin
  • Ticketing platforms that are used to ticket IRL events: Eventbrite, Eventix, StubHub, Ticketmaster

Creators with a presence across various social media platforms must have a way to organize and present all their posts and links to important ones in one location. That's where link in bio instruments like Beacons and Linktree can help.

These tools allow creators to present links to their diverse websites, social media platforms, store, website as well as a tip jar and more on a single site, which makes it simple for their fans to discover them.

The best link in bio tools to creators is:

AI tools

After the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) has become an issue in the community of content creators, with creators discussing to how much AI tools can alter the way they make their content.

As people consume more content across different platforms, content creators (and, especially those who are independent) find it challenging to create quality content in the speed that the demands of their audience. AI tools can help bridge this gap.

AI tools can help creators:

Create content concepts for various channels

It's whether it's a newsletter concept as well as an Instagram caption AI tools will offer you hundreds of concepts and subjects to assist you in brainstorming new content.

Personalize content

Creatives who are involved in specific communities (for instance, eating vegan food for diabetic patients) and need to create super-specific content can utilize AI tools for that. With the right AI tools will help you adapt your message to your audience according to the interests of their audience.

Edit content

While it's not recommended to publish articles written by AI, AI tools can help writers with their writing which includes outlining, spelling checking, editing, and proofreading. This helps improve the quality of the final draft by catching errors that creators could not have noticed.

Create more accessibility to their content

What ever type of creator you're, AI tools can help you make your content more easily accessible. It can help you translate your content to speech, or adding captions and subtitles for your videos.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

If you are a creator who relies on SEO (especially bloggers), AI tools can look over content and suggest opportunities to further optimize their content.

Here are some of the best AI instruments for creators.

  • SEO and Content Ideation ChatGPT Copy.ai, Surfer, GrowthBar, Frase, Later's AI Caption Writer
  • Content editing: Grammarly, Hemingway Editor, ProWritingAid
  • Content personalization: Adobe Target, BlueConic
  • Accessibility to content Accessibility to content: Google Translate, NaturalReader, VEED
  • Visual and audio content creation: Canva, Adobe Firefly, Adobe Sensei, DALL-E, Lumen5, Pebblely

Use creator economy platforms and tools to increase the visibility of your business

If not for the above tools numerous online companies wouldn't have grown to the level they're at right now. Content creators utilize these tools to design content, create online stores, broaden their audience, manage their finances, and to monetize their audience as well as their content, among many other things.

The creator economy is still rising with more and more people turning their social media accounts into actual business. As more creators emerge and more tools are developed, they will be that will help them reach their objectives. For now, these are just some the best of the best tools and platforms for the creator economy to help you launch and expand your business as a creator.

Keep up with The Leap on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for more creator tool and platform reviews. Also, we publish an email newsletter.