Building an audience online is exciting. It feels like momentum is finally on your side. People are tuning in, following your work, maybe even sharing it. But what do you really do with that momentum!?
I see this mistake all the time. Creators work so hard to grow their audience, but never figure out how to turn that attention into income. You’d be surprised how many people have hundreds of thousands (even millions) of followers on Instagram or YouTube, but they’re barely making a dime.
Monetization isn’t just about making money, it’s about sustainability. Done right, it gives you the freedom to reinvest in your work, serve your audience better, and stop relying on unpredictable brand deals or sponsorships. Because at the end of the day, likes and views don’t pay the bills, offers do.
And you don’t need a massive following to start. Even with a small but engaged community, you can package your expertise into coaching, courses, memberships, or digital products and start generating revenue.
The trap most creators fall into
Here’s what happens to many people, they focus 100% on building an audience and wait until they’ve “made it big” to think about monetization.
But by then, they’ve created a situation where they’re at the mercy of brand deals, sponsorships, or ad revenue and things that are inconsistent and outside their control. That’s not a solid business plan.
Instead, you want to think about monetization early, even while your audience is small. Why? Because you’re training your community from the start to see you as someone who delivers value worth investing in, not just someone who entertains them for free.
What actually works
If you want your audience to not just follow you, but also support you financially, here are some better paths than chasing sponsorships:
1. Package your expertise
Think about the problems your audience struggles with the most. Can you turn your solution into a coaching program, an online course, or even a simple digital product?
When you create something that solves their problems directly, you’re no longer just building followers, you’re building customers who see you as part of their growth.
2. Build hybrid offers
Not everything has to be a polished $1,000 course from day one. You can start with something simple:
- A group coaching call
- A low-ticket workshop
- A bundle of templates, checklists, or guides
- Hybrid offers (a mix of your time + products) are a great way to test what resonates with your audience while still making sales.
3. Focus on sustainability, not short-term cash
Sponsorships and affiliate deals can add a little side income, sure. But they’re not reliable.
The real game-changer is building an offer you own, something that can grow with you. A coaching program, a membership, or a product that can scale online. That’s what creates stability and keeps you from burning out when brand deals dry up.
Don’t wait until it’s “big enough”
The biggest mistake I see people making is waiting.
People think, “I’ll start monetizing once I have 10,000 followers.” But if you can’t sell to 100 people, you won’t magically start selling to 10,000.
Your early audience is the perfect place to test your ideas, refine your offers, and learn how to deliver value that people are willing to pay for. And once you get that right, scaling becomes so much easier.
At the end of the day, audience growth is only half the story. The other half is learning how to take that attention and turn it into something that sustains you and serves your community at a higher level.
So stop waiting for the “big break” sponsorship deal. Start thinking about what you can package, teach, or create right now, even if your audience is small.
Because momentum is a terrible thing to waste.
If this resonated, check out my other videos where I break down how to package your expertise, create coaching programs, and build offers that actually scale.
Watch the full video here
