Passion Economy Glossary

More than a decade ago, Wired editor Kevin Kelly wrote an essay called “1,000 True Fans,” predicting that the internet would allow large amounts of people to make a living off their creations, whether an artist, musician, author, or entrepreneur. Rather than pursuing widespread celebrity, he argued, creators only needed to engage a modest base of “true fans”—those who will “buy anything you produce”—to the tune of $100 per fan, per year (for a total annual income of $100,000). By embracing online networks, he believed creators could bypass traditional gatekeepers and get paid directly by a smaller base of fans.

Audience refers to the specific type of end-user a creator targets and tries to provide value to with their content. The creator and audience depend on one another to fulfill their roles, creator as artist and audience as recipient.

Affiliate marketing is a form of digital marketing that allows companies to advertise their products or services through partnerships with content publishers. These publishers often include bloggers, YouTubers, social media influencers, etc. who place affiliate links in their posts. In the case of subscription newsletters, the content creator has the opportunity to place affiliate links in the body of the email. If the reader goes on to make a purchase after clicking on the link, the publisher will earn a commission based on an agreed upon rate with the merchant.

Described as a lightweight email app, Buttondown is a tool that is used to create and send newsletter emails. Aimed at independent writers, Buttondown offers a minimalist interface that prioritizes the writing experience and enables seamless automation.

A host of third-party integrations make it possible to attract subscribers and market your newsletter anywhere. In addition, it is rather easy to monetize your Buttondown newsletters through paid subscriptions

Blogging is writing that is self-published online. Creators with skills in writing and design use blogs to reach the billions of people on the Internet to share their knowledge and attract an audience.

Some of the most popular blogging platforms for passion economy creators are Medium, WordPress, Ghost, and Squarespace.

Buzzsprout is a comprehensive podcasting solution for people who want to launch a branded podcast. The platform enables both beginner and seasoned podcasters with resources such as podcasting websites, embeddable players, analytics, and promotional tools.

Making money on Buzzsprout includes possibilities such as pay-walling premium episodes, selling directly to listeners, or including ads.

However, the main monetization tactic is using the Buzzsprout affiliate program, which can result in recurring revenue, as well as the option to promote other products using your podcast.

A call-to-action (CTA) is a word or phrase that is meant to get the reader to do something specific. It can ask the reader to click on a link, download a file, or perform a transaction (such as to make a purchase). Depending on where it is placed in the newsletter, the CTA can be plain text, hyperlinked text, or a hyperlinked button with corresponding text. It can also be a single word (for example “Join”) or a phrase (for example “Get started”).

Canva is a graphic design platform using a drag-and-drop format to create social media graphics, presentations, posters, documents, and other visual content.

An online community, also referred to as virtual or internet-based communities, are clusters of people who interact with each other in designated online spaces, sharing opinions, perspectives, thoughts, and information around a common topic or to achieve a shared goal. They are sometimes confused with social networks (someone saying the “Facebook community,” for instance) but there are important differences. People can generally interact in whatever way they want on a social channel, but communities are often centered on one main topic or idea.

ConvertKit is a full-featured email service provider (ESP). Thanks to its ease of use, automation and other features, it’s one of the fastest-growing email marketing companies around. It also offers customizable sign-up forms and landing pages to help bring in more email subscribers.

A content creator is someone who creates entertaining or educational material to be expressed through any medium or channel.

Content creation especially pertains to digital content, since that’s where the majority of content is consumed (and where the money is, if you’re looking to earn revenue through your efforts).

Circle is especially helpful for creators and brands that want to create paid communities from the get-go (although it can be used for free communities as well). The platform comes with numerous features that make it easy to organize your community, manage content and users, and engage your audience.

As for monetization, Circle offers a range of strategies, from paid membership access and recurring subscriptions to coupons, discounts, and free trials.

Online courses are the modern version of courses: you can create and share learning content in an organized way that allows users to progress in their understanding of a certain topic. It consists basically on a curriculum, or study plan, organized in units. Online courses can include videos, images, text and hyperlinks. You can share them easily with a link or send an invitation email to the users.

Cameo is essentially a “shout-out” platform designed for connecting public figures and celebrities with their fans. If you are a performing artist, sports personality, or social media influencer, for instance, you might consider using Cameo as a way to earn an extra income.

Subscribers on Cameo pay creators (celebs) to record shout-outs that they can then give to the special people in their lives. Cameo takes a cut (25%) of all revenues and passes on the rest to the creators.

Divi is the flagship offering from Elegant Themes and was first made available to the WordPress community in 2013. Its designation as a multipurpose or mega theme comes from the fact that it can be modified to create a wide variety of website designs and layouts without having to use any other theme. It boasts a drag and drop builder which allows almost anyone to quickly create a functional WordPress site straight out of the box.

E-learning is a structured course or learning experience delivered electronically; it can also include performance support content. There are also many different elements that can make up an e-learning program, such as live or pre-recorded lecture content, video, quizzes, simulations, games, activities, and other interactive elements.

An editorial calendar, also called a publishing schedule, helps in the planning and publication of different types of content. As it relates to blogging, an editorial calendar makes it possible to co-ordinate the entire content creation and publishing process over a period of time.

Short for electronic book, an eBook or e-book is a book published in an electronic format. It allows for instant access to a book by downloading it over the Internet. The book can be read on the computer, e-reader (e.g., the Amazon Kindle), smartphone, or tablet. An eBook can be published in different file formats, for example, plain text, PDF, Rich Text Format, as image files, and others.

Email list portability refers to the ability to transfer your email list and the associated subscriber data, from one email marketing system to another. Email list portability is a constant concern for bloggers who rely upon third party platforms, which vary in the level of access that they give you to your subscribers’ information.

Email list portability refers to the ability to transfer your email list and the associated subscriber data, from one email marketing system to another. Email list portability is a constant concern for bloggers who rely upon third party platforms, which vary in the level of access that they give you to your subscribers’ information.

Fundly is considered to be a less popular alternative to GoFundMe. It offers similar services in the area of personal fundraising for individuals, groups, or corporations.

One of the fundamental differences is that Fundly puts more emphasis in helping you share your story via videos, photos, and slideshows. In addition, Fundly may be more ideal for people who have sizeable Facebook followings and want to leverage that audience.

Ko-fi takes the “buy me a coffee” concept to another level. It enables creators across various disciplines, including writing, podcasting, streaming, video, music, art, and more to share content and products with their target audiences.

Ko-fi encourages monetization through donations, memberships, commissions, and direct sales. An attractive feature of Ko-fi is that it does not collect transaction fees for donations, allowing creators to receive 100% of their tips.

Kajabi is described as an “all-in-one business platform for knowledge entrepreneurs.” More specifically, the website provides all the tools and features required for creating, marketing, and distributing a variety of digital content. It is possible to sell online courses, memberships, podcasts, coaching programs, and more using Kajabi.

Like many of its competitors, Kajabi facilitates the marketing of your digital content, as well as payment processing (via Stripe and PayPal). In addition, Kajabi offers resources that can help users enhance their earning potential.

An e-learning platform with a difference, Medium-owned Knowable is a podcasting tool that allows users to create educational audio content. If you are passionate about a particular field in which you have deep knowledge, you can apply to have your expertise turned into audio lessons.

The Knowable team handles all aspects of producing and editing your work. They also provide a profile page that you can use to publish your audio lessons and start promoting to your audience. In return, Knowable pays creators 30% of revenues when people listen, and a 30% split for referrals.

Kickstarter is the quintessential funding platform for creative projects, whether you want help writing a book, shooting a music video, building an app, and anything else you are passionate about.

The website makes it easy for you to describe your project and set clear goals, so potential backers can understand what you are trying to achieve. A common strategy on Kickstarter is where creators offer backers special perks and privileges for supporting their work.

A newsletter is a letter that contains the news. In a more sophisticated manner, an email newsletter is a type of email used in email marketing campaigns. It informs the subscribers about the latest content (news, blogs, product reviews, announcements, and other similar stuff) on your website.

Newsletters, like those created on Substack, are almost always informational in nature. The goal is not to sell something, but to provide valuable information that people are willing to pay for. For example, you might have a newsletter where you make stock and investing recommendations. If your information is good and can help others make money, then people will be more than willing to pay for it.

Namecheap is a leading domains, hosting and websites’ service company helping businesses worldwide to setup their online presence and reach their online success. Namecheap make it possible for anyone to create a winning web presence by providing easy domain name registration, affordable hosting plans, and all the best apps.

News Break is a local news aggregation and digital publishing platform. The content from this platform is largely featured on the News Break functions mobile app. News Break now boasts 23 million monthly users with a growing network of more than 10,000 content providers. Sensor Tower estimated the app has more than 50 million installs globally across iOS and Android devices, among which more than 99% are from the U.S.

Notion is a project management and note-taking software. Notion is software designed to help members of a company or organization coordinate deadlines, objectives, and assignments for the sake of efficiency and productivity.

A newsletter is a letter that contains the news. In a more sophisticated manner, an email newsletter is a type of email used in email marketing campaigns. It informs the subscribers about the latest content (news, blogs, product reviews, announcements, and other similar stuff) on your website.

A newsletter is a letter that contains the news. In a more sophisticated manner, an email newsletter is a type of email used in email marketing campaigns. It informs the subscribers about the latest content (news, blogs, product reviews, announcements, and other similar stuff) on your website.

The open rate of a newsletter is a measure of the number of recipients who opened your email newsletter, against the amount of subscribers it was sent to. If 700 people open a newsletter that was sent to 7,000 contacts, for example, the open rate would be 10%. Although the open rate is considered important, some marketers believe it is not always an accurate metric to use when making decisions. That’s because some email platforms allow users to view the contents of an email without actually opening it.

With OnlyFans, users are able to create and monetize mainly adult content. Creators post videos and allow their fans to consume different types, and amounts, of content depending on their subscription level.

There is also pay-per-view content and viewers are encouraged to patronize creators by leaving one-time tips. A number of high profile users have reported substantial earnings from posting their risque photos and videos on OnlyFans.

Outschool is a virtual, live-tutoring marketplace. It is an ideal solution for teachers who want to offer their skills online. Using Outschool mostly involves live zoom classes, although pre-recorded video lessons are also used. Teachers on the platform can provide private classes to individual schoolchildren, groups, and even company employees.

Earning potential on Outschool depends on how much is charged per hour for classes, as well as how many class hours you are able to conduct. At the moment, Outschool is only open to teachers from the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Wales, England, and Australia.

Substack makes it simple for a writer to start an email newsletter that makes money from subscriptions. Substack provides web and newsletter publishing tools that are purpose-built for paid subscriptions. Substack is popular with many writers because it’s an all-in-one solution for writers looking to monetize their online content. Substack also allows audio creators the ability to charge and distribute their podcasts through Substack’s newsletter delivery system.

Steemit is a blogging platform with a social network and cryptocurrency component. It borrows some of the features of Reddit in that it allows users to upvote and downvote content, as well as follow topics, have discussions, and submit content of your own. However, users also have the ability to earn a share of revenues in the form of Steem cryptocurrency. Content creators, people who curate content, and commenters all have the opportunity to get paid.

Most email address owners know what Spam is because it is likely they have received it in one form or another. In a nutshell, spam is unwanted and unsolicited messages sent to an email user. They are often filtered out by Spam filters but can also be reported as such when they manage to reach a user’s inbox. Newsletter publishers want to avoid sending Spam as much as possible as this can damage their reputation with email servers and even face legal repercussions. One way to ensure your newsletters are not perceived as Spam is to only send emails to addresses that have voluntarily subscribed to your mailing list.

Spoon is a melting pot of audio content and is also described as a social broadcasting network. The platform can be used for live streaming, especially by DJs (called streamers), podcasting, and chatting with people in live-audio chat rooms.

In terms of monetization on Spoon, listeners can buy spoons which they can then use to send gifts to creators whose content they like. These gifts can then be redeemed for cash based on their value.

As the name suggests, Tribe is a tool is all about helping you to create an engaging and supportive community for the “tribe” surrounding your brand.

Tribe is suitable for building various types of online communities and reaping the benefits of user-generated content. These are among the useful components that can help to bring success in the passion economy.

A Thinkific account allows you to build your own online course marketplace and turn your skills into revenue.

The platform offers a variety of tools designed to handle every area of a course selling business, including launching a website. Live and pre-recorded video, text, images, PDF documents, and PPT presentations are among accepted content, and it is possible to create quizzes, surveys, etc. to enrich the learning experience for your students.

Monetization on Thinkific often takes the form selling course memberships, e-books, and master classes. Thinkific offers a suite of apps to help creators build more robust courses and businesses. You can also sell your Thinkific courses through other platforms, including YouTube.

Tracking links, also called redirect links, allow you to track how people interact with hyperlinks placed in your newsletter. They provide data on how many people clicked the links and how many times they were clicked (if a user clicked the same link more than once). Tracking links are often generated automatically by the newsletter software you are using and change the appearance of the original links you used.

Teachable is another popular source for turning your knowledge into an income earning opportunity. The standout features of the platform incorporate web hosting, content marketing, and payment processing, making it an ideal option for selling courses and coaching services.

Teachable allows you to set up sales landing pages to attract customers and increase your chances of making money. What’s more, Teachable offers various integrations, so you can pair your course or coaching business with all kinds of apps to suit the needs of your audience.

TinyLetter is a nifty newsletter creation platform. Individual users with a desire to send personal newsletters can use TinyLetter to send short and simple email newsletters to loved ones. TinyLetter was created to provide a lighter experience in sending news updates and stories. Users can quickly create newsletters and then share the generated URL on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks in order to grow their mailing lists. TinyLetter is completely free to use for independent writers. It boasts over 100,000 users who have a combined readership of over 9 million subscribers.

Tipeee is a participative financing platform devoted to Internet content creators. It allows them to receive “Tips” (monetary “thank-yous”) from their communities throughout the year.

Twitch is an American video live streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of esports competitions, in addition to offering music broadcasts, creative content, and “in real life” streams.