How Creator Businesses Make Money in 2026
The first thing anybody asks me when I tell them that what I do is how I make money. (Like… who actually pays me?!)
If you want to have a content creation business, it’s important to understand the main ways that content creators make money in 2026, because knowing how YOU would like to make money will help guide the decisions you make for your business.
This list is not exhaustive – for as long as there are new people with new problems, there will be new ways to make money – but these are the main ways that creators make money online right now.
Display Ad Income
Either you don’t really think about them, or they irritate the heck out of you…
Display ads are one of the most popular ways to make money with a website, and are often where content creators (at least, the ones who have their own websites) start with monetization, because the barrier for entry is low and they require the least amount of knowledge + skills to implement successfully.
Display ads allow website owners to earn an income without asking readers for a penny. Therefore, they don’t require any marketing knowledge or cart set ups, or time investment (past the content creation itself).
Other than the creation and promotion of the content, ads are one of the most “passive” ways to make money once your website has some traction. (“Passive” with air bunnies – because passive income does not REALLY exist. lol)
Any time you click into one of my articles to read it, you see the ads, and the ad network pays me. (Not on this site yet… but soon!)
There are pros and cons to using ads on your blog, but I am a big ads fan.
So much more about earning via display ads here.
Sponsored Content / Brand Partnerships
Sponsored content, brand partnerships, or sponsored posts is how you’ll likely hear this type of monetization referred to in this space.
This is when a brand pays for a blog post or a reel or a Facebook post or an Instagram post (or anywhere else you can post) usually based on how many people you reach.
More reach = more money.
You’ve probably heard the stories of mega-influencers who have received six-figure “brand deals”… but of course the earnings potential on this one is just as varied as it is with display ads, and “sponsored content” income ranges from those 6 figure deals all the way down to free product.
(Note: Even though we all must start at the bottom, before you do any work for free product ask yourself if the product is something you would actually spend your money on.)
So much more about earning via Sponsored content here.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is when a creator talks about a product or service, and shares a link to it, and earns commissions on sales that result from the click on that link.
(Say I mention a product on Amazon for instance – like, if I say “this is the baby bed we used for the first 4 months of my son’s life.” That clickable link (“this is the baby bed”) is a link to that product on Amazon. If someone clicks on that link, and then purchases the baby bed, I make a commission. It doesn’t cost the buyer any more than it would normally cost. Amazon is giving me a cut of their profit for referring the buyer.)
There are many many affiliate programs out there, not just Amazon.
The key is to find things to promote that are RELEVANT to your readers and to the things you are writing about.
(I personally believe that success is more easily attainable when you promote things that you genuinely like yourself. It’s much easier to earn an income if you are talking about things you have experience with.)
So much more about earning via affiliate marketing here.
Digital Product Sales
Selling a digital product is a fantastic way to monetize a content creation business – once you understand the ins and out of how to do it.
Here’s some examples of digital products that have earned thousands of dollars for the bloggers who created them:
So much more about digital product sales here.
Physical Product Sales
Here’s something that I know truly very little about – but it has to go on the list because there’s people who do it and make bank.
I won’t build out a separate deep dive page for making money with physical product sales, because this (blog? resource? thought collection?) can only go as far as my personal experiences will take us, but here’s a bunch of very cool examples of real life content creators selling real life products that have fascinated me as I’ve found them over the years:
- MilkDust – a shake powder for breastfeeding moms, now a business in it’s own right was born out of a mom blog (who’s creator, Katie, was one of my earliest Pinteresting Strategies students). This is one of my favourite examples because I literally watched this empire go from blog to fully fledged physical product based business.
- Brick Science (Lego building genius) on you-tube sells a custom lego-size-specific measuring tape. I have absolutely no idea if / how much this thing generates, but I’m willing to bet that it makes money.
- One more example here
Services
Travel agents, book keepers, trainers, coaches etc. – any industry where services are provided to clients can utilize content creation as a way to generate leads.
Of course, providing services is the LEAST passive form of monetization and the MOST challenging to scale, because you’re generally selling your time… it’s difficult to double what you charge for your time, and impossible to create more time to sell.
In Content Creation, Your Paycheque is a “Choose Your Own Adventure”
One of the best things about this industry is that you’re never limited to making money just ONE way.
I’ve dabbled in all these monetization methods over the years (other than physical products), and as my interests changed or as the industry shifts, my top methods for earning on a yearly basis have shuffled multiple times.
These days, the bulk of my income across my entire “online business” comes from display ads, affiliate marketing, and digital products. I do very little sponsored content, but when the right opportunity presents itself I consider it as a fun bonus.