How To Get Paid To Create Content Online: Guide for Creators

Getting paid to create content has become a real income stream. Influencer marketing is worth almost $33 billion, as brands invest more reaching online consumers through content creators who build engaged audiences around a specific topic or style.

As brands invest in partnerships, creators can earn money through sponsored content, user-generated content (UGC) campaigns, affiliate commissions, and other monetization channels.

Ahead, learn how to get paid to create content as an influencer, UGC creator, or affiliate marketer. 

What is a content creator?

A content creator is a person who makes and distributes content. It’s a broad category: journalists, musicians, poets, videographers, and painters are all content creators. 

Digital content creators represent a subset of this group. Digital creators make and publish content online, and many earn money selling work to brands or agencies or through paid brand partnerships. 

Common digital content types include the following: 

• Audio content. Podcasts, audio blogs, and audiobooks. 
• Video content. Video blogs, TikTok and YouTube videos, Instagram Reels, and livestreams. 
• Written content. Blogs, ebooks, white papers, and reviews. 
• Visual content. Stock photos, digital art, and custom-branded graphics. 

Hybrid content combines visuals, audio, video, or written content, such as social media posts and online courses. 

How much do content creators make?

The amount of money content creators make corresponds to their audience size. On average, UGC, nano-, and micro-influencers make less than $500 per post, while mid-tier influencers make $2,000 to $10,000 per post. Influencer pricing ranges for macro-influencers, with some reporting more than $10,000 per post. 

Influencer Marketing Hub’s 2026 Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report found the following breakdown for how much content creators make: 

Spending on influencer marketing was estimated to surpass $10 billion in 2025. Rates depend on content type, audience segment, and the value of the content creator’s personal brand. 

Alexa Curtis, influencer and founder and CEO at Be Fearless Inc., values long-term collaborations over one-off posts. 

“When I sell any type of package to a brand, I don’t just say, ‘Hey, here’s a TikTok post.’ I’m looking for large amounts of money over the course of X amount of months with partners who really want to utilize my content and my brand to get it in front of more people,” says Alexa.

How to get brand deals as a content creator

A brand deal is when a company compensates a creator for promoting its products or services. Brands compensate influencers with money, free items, or experiences. Collaborations can be one-off or recurring. 

Below, explore types of brand deals, discover a process for how to land your first brand deal, learn where to find opportunities, and review considerations specific to platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Types of brand deals

Brand deal types include: 

• Sponsored posts. Content about a product or service that brands pay creators to make and publish on their own channels. 
• Brand ambassadors. Brand ambassadors have a longer relationship with brands under established terms. 
• User-generated content (UGC). Brands pay creators to produce user-generated content (UGC), which the brand owns and can share across their channels.
• Affiliate or commission-based. Creators share unique codes that provide them with an affiliate commission based on the platform’s affiliate rules. 
• Gifting. When a company sends free products, services, or experiences in the hope of earning a mention or review, sometimes in the form of a PR mailer. Heaven Mayhem founder Pia Mance found success with a gifting strategy. 

“I also had other influencers and creators who would message the brand and say, ‘Oh, I love it. May I have one for free? And then I’ll post.’ So, I would gift them out as well. And that is how I was able to get a network of people to start organically posting and talking about the brand,” says Pia.

How to land your first brand deal

“I started my blog because I was a kid from no money, no connections, and I wanted an outlet,” says Alexa. Alexa’s drive led to brand deals with companies like British Airways, Radio Disney, and T-Mobile.

Get sponsored by a brand and land your first brand deal: 

• Prep and position your profile. Set goals for the types of deals you want to land, decide on a business model, define your audience, and grow your personal brand.
• Post content and grow your audience. Post frequent, high-quality content and interact with your followers and target audience. 
• Research sponsors and create a proposal. Search for brands that align with your content strategy, values, vision, and niche. Craft a proposal that includes who you are, how the brand will benefit from your partnership, and what you ask in return.
• Contact potential sponsors. Send pitches via email or direct message.
• Negotiate terms. Get terms in writing for what you will provide and what, how, and when you’ll get paid. 

Where to find brand deals 

These marketplaces and apps connect creators with companies running campaigns:

• Shopify Collabs. Work with brands and manage your partnerships through Shopify Collabs. 
• JoinBrands. A UGC marketplace where a creator completes a profile, selects a job, receives the product, creates the content, and gets paid once the brand purchases it.
• Posted App. Connects creators with paid content opportunities. Creators browse opportunities, compete for them or secure a brand deal, and then create content. 
• #Paid. Connects brands and creators based on their audience and content style.
• Tribe. A self-serve marketplace that connects brands with creators. Creators browse briefs, add a pitch with their associated fee, and get chosen based on that pitch. 
• Collabstr. Collabstr vets influencers, who then set their own fees. All communication and payment are routed through the platform. Creators get paid once brands approve their work. 
• Aspire. An all-in-one creator platform that integrates with Shopify. 

Brand deals on TikTok and Instagram

TikTok’s algorithm distributes content based on what it believes a viewer will be interested in. The Instagram algorithm, in comparison, prioritizes engagement in the form of shares, saves, and comments. 

The stylistic and algorithmic differences mean that Instagram influencer marketing and TikTok influencer marketing and brand deals look different. However, the process of landing them is largely the same. Prep your accounts, do thorough research, target brands within your niche, and pitch. 

Creative content could lead to brand collabs, as it did for Mike Alfaro, CEO and creative director at Millennial Lotería.

“Now I can also work with different brands that want to reach out to my audience. … I’ve gotten to do collaborations with different brands out there. I work with Disney, Warner Bros. I’ve done stuff with Tostitos—different collaborations,” says Mike. 

How to get paid to create content

Creating digital content can be a full-time job, a lucrative side hustle, or even a source of passive income. Here’s a list of 11 ways content creators earn money online. 

• Become a social media influencer
• Become a brand ambassador
• Start an online store
• Become a UGC creator
• Become an affiliate marketer
• Earn money from platforms
• Become a blog or email influencer
• Sell your own ad space
• Create subscription content
• Create online courses
• Monetize AI-generated content

Become a social media influencer

According to a 2025 Shopify survey,* building social media presence is the second most common year-one growth strategy among store owners (35%).

Build your social media audience and personal brand as a social media influencer to land brand partnerships. You’ll create sponsored social content that features a brand’s products or services and post it to your personal social media accounts in exchange for a fee.

Creating UGC content offers additional earning opportunities: earn a fee for creating authentic content that brands can use on their social media channels. Pitch brands by applying directly to UGC programs on their websites, joining a platform like Shopify Collabs, or reaching out via direct message or email with your UGC portfolio.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) mandates disclosures for social media influencers. If you have any relationship, or what the FTC refers to as a “material connection” to a brand, you must disclose it.

Become a brand ambassador

Many top brands establish long-term partnerships with influencers, known, in this case, as brand ambassadors. Brand ambassadors may create and publish branded content on multiple channels, explicitly endorse a company’s products, and host or attend events on behalf of their sponsor.

Start an online store

Many influencers and creators use online stores to generate revenue. You can sell merchandise featuring your brand (like TikTok star Charli D’Amelio’s hoodies) or use your personal platform to launch an associated line of products. 

Work with your favorite brands to launch a product via Shopify Collective. If you sell digital art or stock photography, use Shopify’s digital downloads feature to display and sell your products. 

Kevin Espiritu, founder and CEO at Epic Gardening, felt that starting an online store was a more direct way to monetize and give his audience exactly what they wanted. 

“I looked at the landscape, and I thought, ‘Why would I just accept a deal from a brand that I like working with? What do they really want?’ They want access to my audience, and I have that; it’s my audience, it’s the one that I built. So why wouldn’t I try at least to offer something directly to them?” says Kevin.

Shopify’s starter plan is designed to help influencers and content creators quickly set up an online store and start selling on social media channels.

Become a UGC creator

User-generated content (UGC) creators get paid to create customer-style content that promotes a brand’s products or services. UGC differs from sponsored posts because brands pay for content and then share the raw assets on their channels. Sponsored content, in contrast, is when creators get paid to share sponsored posts on their own channels. 

Brands benefit from sponsored posts because they gain access to a creator’s audience; UGC offers brands authentic-feeling ads. 

Typical pay ranges for UGC creators are: $150 to $300 per video or $56 per hour.

To get started: Join a platform like Shopify Collabs, apply to UGC programs for your favorite brands directly on their websites, or pitch yourself via direct messages or emails. 

Become an affiliate marketer

Affiliate marketing programs are a specific type of commission-based brand partnership. You request an affiliate link from a brand and then distribute it to your audience—for example, by posting it on your social media accounts, including it in a newsletter, or incorporating it into a blog post. 

When a consumer uses your unique affiliate link to make a purchase, you earn a percentage of the revenue. 

Affiliate marketing programs like Shopify Collabs can generate passive income. Once an affiliate link is live, you don’t need to take additional actions to continue earning money. 

Earn money from platforms

Social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube pay qualified content creators directly. To get paid, you must meet the platform’s eligibility standards and, in most cases, apply. 

For example, the TikTok Creator Rewards Program requires influencers to have at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 video views in the previous 30 days to apply. Videos must be longer than one minute. 

The YouTube Partner Program requires 500 subscribers, three valid uploads, and 3,000 valid public watch hours in the past 12 months, or three million valid public shorts views in the past 90 days, to apply. YouTube has stricter requirements for unlocking ad revenue.

Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, X, and YouTube base compensation on metrics, including follower activities, views, and ad proceeds—so the most lucrative platform for you will depend on your audience size, engagement rates, and specific activities on a platform. 

Become a blog or email influencer

Influential writers can also secure brand sponsorships. Once you’ve reached a certain level of notoriety and website traffic or a certain number of email newsletter subscriptions, brands might pay you for sponsored content in which you feature or review their products or services. 

You can also generate money by accepting guest authors. Typically, brands write content and pay for the privilege of publishing on your blog or in your newsletter under a company byline. 

Sell your own ad space

Some influencers with websites or newsletters earn money through direct advertising. Essentially, you sell ad space directly to a brand (instead of to an ad network) and display ads on your website or read ads on your podcast, livestream, or video blog. 

Create subscription content

Some influencers create free and paid content. The free content builds your personal brand and allows you to leverage influencer marketing revenue streams, while the premium content generates money through paid memberships. 

You might distribute a paid newsletter, release members-only podcast episodes, or use a membership site to run a subscription service. Consider using your personal social media accounts or social media advertising to promote exclusive content to potential customers. 

Create online courses

Creators with specialized subject-matter expertise can use tools like Shopify’s Digital Downloads app to sell online courses. 

Or, use online learning platforms like Udemy or Skillshare to create and distribute free or paid online courses. 

Free options can help you grow your personal brand and build your following. Paid courses generate revenue by monetizing an existing audience or meeting a market need. 

Monetize AI-generated content

Three out of four store owners now use AI tools in some form, according to a 2025 Shopify survey.* AI is becoming a mainstream influencer marketing tool, too, with 24.7% of creators using it for content editing and 79% of marketers planning to increase spend on GenAI creator content in 2026. 

Practical monetization paths for AI-generated content include: using AI to increase production efficiency, selling digital products, and AI influencer programs. 

Support these pathways with Shopify tools like Shopify Sidekick, the Digital Downloads app, and Shopify Collabs. 

Start earning from your content

In a 2025 Shopify survey* of store owners, 46% reported that their business began as a side project and grew over time. 

Start your own online store and share product links across social media and messaging apps with the Shopify Starter plan. Or, sell files like ebooks, digital art, and graphics directly to customers with the Digital Downloads app.

*Based on a November 2025 survey of 500 Shopify merchants conducted in English across Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States. Respondents were established merchants with two or more years on the platform. Results reflect the experiences of this specific sample and may not be representative of all merchants.