Monetizing Reach Beyond Social Media: A Personal Website as a Creator

1. Why (the right) website pays off for creators
2. Number 1: Making concrete offers (instead of waiting for DMs)
3. Number 2: Building your own contact list
4. Number 3: Google (= Passive, usually quite stable traffic)
5. The three ingredients for the success of your website
6. All three parts of your Creator website have to interact
7. Define and implement goals: Your next steps
8. Good systems for Creator websites & their monetisation
9. Elopage

As a Creator, you can make good money through sponsored content, Influencer collaborationsand product placements - even as a micro influencer. As a photographer, designer or DJ, you can get your portfolio out into the world through social media platforms and reach millions. Why it's worth building your own website alongside large platforms and channels - and what effective options there are, is shown to you by Victoria Weber, expert for the Website and E-commerce builder Squarespacein this guest post. Let's go!

Social media and large platforms like Youtube, Tiktok or Instagram are the ideal place to make a name for yourself. However, only the rules of the platforms apply here. Their interest: to keep people as long as possible. Accordingly, ads that lead users away from the platforms are now quite expensive. Even Pinterest, which was known for a few years for being a traffic machine, has become stingier with outbound clicks and has even removed the ability to link organic pins with the "Idea Pins".

As long as you play along with the platform's strategy, adapt to the algorithms and currently popular content models, it's no problem. But what if you want to use your range differently than for advertising deals & Co.? For example, to build your own Creator Business? Then it's not a bad idea to have a website that's not just based on algorithms, but fits your goals - and above all your monetization strategy.

Why (the right) website pays off for creators

As creators, you basically need only two things: A channel for reach and a platform for monetization. Why not send your fans directly to an external website, like that of a promotional partner? The simple answer: Because you often earn the most where you sell something yourself and thus have full control.

Why do influencers start their own fashion labels instead of just promoting others? Why do creators build entire burger empires instead of promoting burgers for other people? It's simple, because the margins are much higher for your own brand. And because of your own reach, hardly any budget goes on advertising.

In essence, it doesn't matter if they are services, consultancies, online courses or physical products that you want to sell. There are many ways to channel reach and offer (well-suited to your community) products or services. If you want to take the step from a "pure" creator on other platforms to a real business, your own website is the perfect place for a "home base" that brings everything together.

The facts speak for themselves: According to the Online Compass Germany Survey 2021 by Squarespace, it's a major advantage of trust to have a (good) website. 68 percent of Germans find a company with a website more trustworthy than one with just a social media presence. But not only "soft" advantages like greater trust play a role. There are also other points not to be underestimated, which speak strongly for your own - independent - online presence:

Number 1: Making concrete offers (instead of waiting for DMs)

The profiles on many platforms only allow limited possibilities to place concrete offers. Sure, there are the posts themselves, and for example also highlighted areas like the story highlights on Instagram. But a really detailed offer? Or a certain kind of contact, order forms, a direct "Buy" or "Book" button? All this is easiest to implement on your own website. And: The easier and clearer it is made for people to buy something, the more they do it.

This applies not only to your actual products, but also to collaborations. Because: Brands and companies naturally just contact by email or DM, if you have a high reach on Instagram or Tiktok. No problem to start a collaboration about it. But I argue, many don't even come up with certain IDEAS of collaborations. So let them know exactly what partnerships you've already had, what types of services you offer, or where you're particularly good. Showing this strategically on a website is much easier for brand managers to grasp than clicking through all your posts or reels and developing ideas yourself.

An example:Konrad Langer, who as a photographer on Instagram is very successful and constantly asked for good locations, points out very clearly on his website his service as a Location Scout - with details and a direct call to action.

Number 2: Building your own contact list

Every website lives on the fact that the traffic that runs to it does not simply evaporate. Only a few percent of website visitors are actually in a buying mood, the rest just want to "take a look". That's why everyone collects contact data (and gives you discounts for online shops in exchange for your email address)

As a Creator, you can do the same - and build up an email list with interested visitors (i.e. prospects!) that is completely independent of other platforms. The advantage is that you can reach more people regularly than the few who are already ready to buy at the minute of the visit. You can address your community, who already know you well through other channels, on a completely different level through email marketing. (So no, email marketing is not dead!)

An example:Tiktok-Creator Doc Felix, who on his website not only sells an e-book, but also has a freebie ready and thus lures people onto his email list.

Number 3: Google (= Passive, usually quite stable traffic)

If someone googles you, what appears directly at the top? Your biggest Creator profile on a third party platform? Or maybe several? Free traffic over SEO is not to underestimate. The more reach you have, the more people google you anyway. Occupying the organic first place on Google with your own website (instead of a social account) is normally not particularly difficult when it comes to your name. Quite clearly a quick win.

And: Even if the website does not have much content at the beginning, just its existence already brings advantages: Above all SEO traffic is relatively stable. If you do not add content for a while, no algorithm will punish you immediately. And when media report about you, they can link directly to your website instead of just to the Social Media profile. This boosts the ranking of your website on Google. And that in turn might in the future become an interesting monetization channel: After all there are advertisers who want to advertise only on websites (and not via social or youtube)

An example: Christina Danetzky from Matcha Mornings, who has built a website with a reach via Google on the topic of Holistic Wellbeing besides her podcast and social media profiles.

The three ingredients for the success of your website

Just having a website is nice, but figuring out your goals before you start gets you there. So if you now also want to start your own website, you should first decide how the individual parts should interact. To do this, we need to take a small step back. Any website that works as a business channel usually needs three parts,to be successfully monetized: The "access road", the website itself and the follow-up.

The three parts of a Creator website

The more consistently this overall structure is planned and works, the better it runs monetarily. For this, you need to take a close look at these three parts:

Part #1 The Access Road

How should people get to your website? There can be countless different ways. Classics are social media, PR, guest articles, ads, fairs & events or SEO. If you have a good reach on a channel like Tiktok or Instagram, that's already a big advantage. Most websites don't run successfully because far too few people land there and occasionally some traffic trickles in. This problem you as a successful creator do not have. Check!

Part #2 The website itself

What happens on the website? How is it structured? What calls to action (calls to action) do you use? How do you steer through the pages? Here the mistake is often made of giving too many "guessing options". Yes, showing your portfolio is nice, but there has to be a strategic map behind the website so it's always clear where you want people to go. And: An e-commerce shop obviously has different goals than a coaching website. What exactly has to happen on the pages depends on the type of your website.

Part #3 The Follow-up

What happens when people leave the website or are about to? As a creator, you usually don't have the problem of losing people as soon as they leave. They are your followers after all. So a follow-up is relatively easy. But also here: Be prepared! The classic way to stay in direct contact with interested parties is an invitation to your email list - for example supported by a freebie like a relevant download.

Which E-Mail Marketing Tool you use is in my opinion almost irrelevant at the beginning. The main thing is, you collect the e-mail addresses! The good thing about E-Mail Marketing is: If a provider annoys you, take the next one. Just export the list and good bye! With Instagram and Co. this is not possible.

Emails may not sound particularly trendy, but they are above all one thing: solid. Because if your reach at some point no longer works well on other platforms, you are at an advantage if you have your own list of people you can contact directly. The big plus also here: As a creator, influencer or also service provider with a large reach on Instagram & Co., you already have a personal connection to your fans. They usually don't have to be persuaded to sign up. Everyone else often has to buy e-mail subscribers through advertising. Don't miss the opportunity of the follow-up. You never know how long your profile will remain so successful and you reach your fans so well. Be prepared!

All three parts of your Creator website have to interact

With almost all of my clients who come to me with "website problems", it turns out that at least one of the above mentioned three website parts is missing - or is not thought through.

If one of the parts is not properly worked out, the efforts go nowhere:

• If the website is top optimised, but nobody lands there, nothing happens.(Access road missing)
• If a lot of traffic comes, the users also just "take a quick look", but then disappear again, that doesn't get you anywhere either.(Follow-up missing)
• If the website is nice to look at, but not geared towards your goals, you won't get any further either.(Website is not optimised)

At the very beginning, it's of course easiest to use your existing platform (e.g. Instagram) as both an access road and a follow-up. So only the website is missing. If you want to make yourself a bit more independent in the long run, however, it can't hurt to look at alternatives for parts 1 and 3 (as I said, SEO and email list are very solid ways to do this).

To summarise: It's a huge advantage to first have the reach and then add the monetisation. Thanks to the huge number of hits, you have the opportunity to directly evaluate what is working and adjust your offer accordingly. The website itself, which channels this, by the way, can be set up quite quickly. It's the thinking beforehand that makes the difference.

Define and implement goals: Your next steps

The most important thing before building your website is: Knowing what you want. Therefore, you should first clarify how you envisage your Creator Business. For example: You are a Food Content Creator on Instagram and Tiktok and are successful there with your videos. Now you want to find other ways to monetize your reach besides sponsored deals.

Depending on what you have in mind, you can implement completely different goals or market offers with your website. The possibilities are almost limitless:

• It's your goal to launch your own food brand and you want to collect interested people and prepare the online shop launch.
• You use your website to sell courses and digital products about nutrition.
• You show your testimonials for coaching and consultations and thus win customers for your expertise in nutritional consultancy.
• You want to get on the radar for much bigger campaigns and use the website to show past collaborations.
• You use the website as an interface to lead your followers to (paid) membership areas that revolve around the same topic.
• You "second-use" your super running Youtube videos as transcribed text in a blog to appear in the text results on Google in the long run.
• You build a hybrid, for example an online shop, in which you also sell services (more Online Shop Ideas), which fit your topic.
• Or, or, or!

Important for you as a creator is that you need a system that adapts easily and is expandable. Business models change all the time. Your products and a website have to be flexible if you flip or extend everything at short notice.

Good systems for Creator websites & their monetisation

After you have looked at your goals, the next step is to define the functions of the website system you need to implement. (yes, everything will change anyway, but you have to start somewhere.) Should your website be able to handle transactions directly, have closed paywall areas or for example be a pure blog? Which concrete features are non-negotiable?

Only after that you go to the tool selection. As a creator, it is usually the case that you do not have a big team. Also usually no time to build complicated solutions. And: You usually do not want to wait for external programmers when you come up with something new and you want to create a landing page or put a new product online at short notice. Speed and the ability to jump on trends are exactly what makes your business. That's why it helps you to select your website system based on the following criteria:easy setup

good support

• good instructions without tech blab
• simple in design, complex in function
• possibility to grow really big (no cap)
• Website building systems
• , where you do not have to worry about hosting, updates and Co., in my opinion are a pretty good possibility to start quickly. And not only that: Many providers have come so far in the meantime that you can grow well with them.

One possible system is Squarespace

, a website platform that, according to its own claim, provides "everything to act".With Squarespace

there are functions like the video app for fast image videos, newsletters or also membership areas and appointment bookings, which are all already integrated. Or you directly integrate own products with the online shop feature.Such an allround website system offers the advantage that you can handle everything with it without using external tools or plugins. At the same time, Squarespace is open to integrate interfaces or embeddings of external programs. For example: You want to build your website yourself with Squarespace, but sell your digital products over Digistore24

or Elopage and use a own Newsletter Tool for your blog. (I am doing this myself right now).Alternatives to Squarespace are for example the German provider Jimdo

, which focuses with its builder mainly on freelancers and self-employed, or Wix, another website builder with drag-and-drop feature. Also Webflow is seen more and more often in the German-speaking area, especially in the design scene. Chimpify is a relatively young provider, which has some experts and consultants as customers.In contrast to building systems stands a self-hosted website with WordPress. WordPress

can of course (almost) everything, but is often very elaborate in maintenance, if you actually want to focus your main attention on the creation and not website maintenance, backups, plugins and updates. Those who want to use the power of WordPress for a blog, but still want to have drag-and-drop, can have a look at the American drag-and-drop builder Showit, which is still almost unknown here in the country, but very popular among creators in the USA like Jenna Kutcher. An alternative to this is the Pagebuilder Elementor.For a pure online shop, you can consider Shopify

, which is specialized in solutions for e-commerce and is now even testing an additional marketplace-like solution. Shopify is used by many DTC brands like Figs or Snocks. Take your time to compare. But then you can also plan and start directly! Usually, it is the case: As a creator, enough time is already spent on the content itself. The website should cost you minimal time and bring maximum benefit.Conclusion - The trend is: Towards your own website and finally controlThe future is more than rosy for creators, even if magazines like Vogue Business already compare the development with a gold rush. A slew of companies and start-ups, like credit card firm Karat, marketplace Pietra or in Germany software platform

Elopage

, are specifically targeting creators with their offerings and making your life easier. Most social media channels are also testing internal monetization options - for example Instagram with an affiliate marketing tool or Tiktok with Shopify.And still: Having a place where everything flows together pays off. This place, a website (ideally along with a contact list!), no one can take away from you and in my opinion is not replaceable by social media - at least not without risk and dependence. Bring the hard earned traffic to a place where it runs according to your own ideas, "home". So that less evaporates and you can hopefully take a larger part of the cake.In short: Use social media and third platforms as an "access road" for your website but not as a substitute. And strengthen the monetization of your business through a strategic website and a well thought-out follow-up.

Und trotzdem: Einen Ort zu haben, an dem alles zusammenfließt, zahlt sich aus. Diesen Ort, eine Website (am besten zusammen mit einer Kontaktliste!), kann Euch keiner nehmen und ist meiner Meinung nach nicht durch Social Media zu ersetzen – zumindest nicht ohne Risiko und Abhängigkeit. Holt Euch den hart erarbeiteten Traffic an einen Ort, wo es nach Euren eigenen Vorstellungen läuft, „nach Hause“. Damit weniger verpufft und Ihr hoffentlich einen größeren Teil des Kuchens mitnehmen könnt.

Kurz: Nutzt Social Media und Dritt-Plattformen als Anfahrtsweg für Eeure Website aber nicht als Ersatz. Und stärkt durch eine strategische Website und ein durchdachtes Follow-up die Monetarisierung Eures Geschäfts.