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Monetize Media

The Money Take (6-17): Ad Market Warning, Dumb Regulation, Fatigue

Kyle Scott, Jason Ziernicki

• 3 min read

The Money Take 💸 is a weekly email where Kyle and Jason, hosts of Monetize Media, give their take on 3️⃣ items related to monetizing your audience. You can read this, or you can subscribe to their podcast. Or do both. Actually, do both. And then tell two friends.

1️⃣ Meet Kevin Warns About Ad Rates

Leading finance and real estate YouTuber Meet Kevin on slowing sponsorships for creators:

"I've heard from multiple different advertising sources whom I'm not going to mention... the industry is slowing, vendors are canceling contracts, not renewing, budgets are tightening up. That's somewhat of a concerning trend."

Kevin is one of the top finance creators who benefitted immensely from the investment and crypto boom over the last two years. He monetizes through direct sponsorship, affiliate, and courses. He said that late last year, even before the market started to turn, he noticed a significant dropoff in affiliate signups for stock and crypto brokerages. That canary in the coal mine proved to be right as the market has since plummeted. Now he's noticing, and hearing from other creators, that traditional sponsorships are slowing, presumably across vertical.

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The Money Take: This is a big problem. Advertising is one of the first things to go in a recession– especially the sort of indiscriminate spending fueled by demand and cheap capital. Creators who rely on one business model - or, worse, one advertiser - should always look for ways to diversify, but now more than ever. The boom is over. If you're a creator or influencer who has relied on easy brands deals and let the offers come to you, it's time to re-think your strategy. Owning your audience (email, Slack, Discord), having a product, multiple models, and some cash on the sidelines are all necessary in this environment.

2️⃣ Canada Wants To Regulate Creation

The Publish Press outlines a Canadian bill that would allow the country to regulate how content is presented online, similar to other communications platforms.

Specifically, the bill calls out revenue-generating content (emphasis ours):

In deciding to prescribe such programs, the Commission would be required to consider: a) the extent to which the program uploaded to social media generates revenue; b) whether the program has been broadcast by a licensed or registered broadcasting undertaking that is not a social media service; and c) whether the program has been assigned a unique identifier under an international standards system. Programs that consist only of visual images, and programs where neither the person who posts the program nor the owner or licensee of copyright in the program receives revenues, would not be subject to the Act.

In short, the bill would allow regular, non-commercial social media content to sidestep the regulation.

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The Money Take: Online media has reached a tipping point. Its influence in society is undeniable. And even in free speech countries, there are certain standards major broadcasters are held to. Canada's bill aims to extend those standards (not all are unreasonable) to online creators who generate revenue. The problem, of course, is that whether or not you agree with or find the standards unreasonable, the simple act of having to follow regulation creates a complex thicket of rules creators would have to navigate which would deter them from monetizing in the first place. Take it from two guys who had success in the online gambling space in the US– running content through regulatory bodies slows content creation considerably. The grift is strong with this one.

3️⃣ Spinning Wheels

Part of a longer thread on the creator economy.

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The Money Take: We made our bones creating sports content. The problem with that is it requires baking the cakes again every morning. The content is so fleeting. If we had it to do all over again - and to some extent we do with Monetize Media - we'd create content that has a longer shelf life. Burnout and fatigue will still exist, but if your content is relevant for a year, or two, or three after publishing, rather than just a few days, you'll be able to avoid them for longer. Especially if you own your audience.

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You can also follow Kyle (@kylescottl) and Jason (@jziernick) on Twitter.

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