The Monetization Shift: Why Creators Are Diversifying Away From Social

Is it 2024 or 2004? Digital creators always seek new channels to engage their audiences and maximize revenue potential. But in a $250 billion industry built mainly on social media platforms, there's been a noticeable shift back in time, with social media influencers increasingly turning to email. Will bloggers reign supreme again?

Newsletter platforms like Substack (which boasts 35 million active users) and newcomer beehiiv (which just raised $12.5M) are giving creators new ways to diversify – and better monetize – their audiences. The shift comes at the right time, with first-party data skyrocketing in importance and aligning with changing consumer privacy preferences.

Creators like Carissa Stanton, who has built an audience of 600k followers on her Instagram account, @broccyourbody, are finally seeing the benefits of an email return. "The shift is real," Stanton says. "So many of my friends have started shifting their audiences away from pure social. Email may sound old-school, but it's a huge opportunity we can't deny."

Why the shift?

Control and ownership over content and audiences are limitations of social media platforms. The lack of control leaves creators vulnerable to platform policy changes and algorithm updates that can upend their monetization efforts overnight – a creator's audience isn't their audience; it belongs to the social platform.

Email is one of the only platforms where a creator's audience is their own. There are limitations, of course, but with email, creators can build robust subscriber profiles, including levels of engagement, demographics, and niche interests, which help them create and deliver better content. Without social media algorithms dictating who sees what, newsletters also allow creators to share their stories without limitation.

This freedom allows for more authentic engagement and new monetization opportunities through exclusive content subscriptions. That has even led bigger publishers like Pavia Rosati, the founder and CEO of the online travel magazine Fathom, to make the shift.

“Since making the transition in early January, we’ve been more inspired creatively – Substack feels looser, freer, more fun,” said Rosati. “The unexpected benefit is how welcoming the platform has been, not only in terms of discovery and referrals among the newsletters (we love all these new subscribers!) but also in the direct feedback we are getting from them. And we liked the idea of being able to monetize the travel intelligence that we've been giving away for free for years. I won’t comment on how broken the digital media ecosystem is!”

What does this mean for hoteliers?

Would you prefer to work with a creator who has agreed to post about your hotel once on Instagram? Or a creator who will write a long-form article about their experience on Substack, share it in an email newsletter with their most engaged subscribers, and link to it across Instagram Reels, Instagram Stories, and a TikTok video?

Creators who have diversified into omni-channel content are the way of the future and will offer hotels a range of content and formats to reach their audience.

Even more importantly, those who have added email to their arsenal are proven to reach more potential guests. According to Later, a social media management and influencer platform, travel creators see an average 1.83% engagement rate. A creator with 100K followers will garner 1,830 engagements per post, but social platforms don't offer the creator or the hotel any insight into who those people are or how likely they are to become potential guests.

MailChimp, on the other hand, reports an average 34.23% newsletter open rate and 2.66% click rate, meaning a creator with 30K subscribers will garner 10K opens and nearly 800 clicks to the hotel website.

Where do we go from here?

Email offers a compelling alternative to the uncertainties of social media. For creators, newsletters provide a more direct and sustainable path to monetization. For hotels, working with creators who prioritize email can help them engage more potential guests with long-form content and get them to the hotel's website.

As we progress into 2024, I expect that creators and hospitality brands will continue to make the shift after seeing the benefits: revenue opportunities through subscriptions and ownership of data for creators, as well as higher reach and more website visitors for brands. By embracing email and taking control of audience relationships, creators will chart the course to greater independence while offering hotels far more valuable content.

About Curacity

Curacity is a hospitality technology company on a mission to help hotels drive demand and convert higher-value guests. Over 600 hotels, resorts, and cruises have used Curacity's guest acquisition platform to drive more than $625 million in revenue. Headquartered in New York City and Stamford, CT, Curacity launched in 2015. Curacity is among the top 10 in travel and hospitality on the Inc. 5000 list, a Best Content Marketing Platform finalist in the Digiday Awards, and the Best Tech Innovation winner in the Independent Lodging Congress' Indie Awards.