The Rise of B2B Creators and Monetization Strategies w/ Olivia Owens (Teachable)

0:00I do think that creators often underestimate their community's desire to actually go deeper. So if you have an email list with, call it 10 ,000 people, 100 of those people probably would be willing to go to the next level and want that next level. So you can use digital products as a way to do that and as a way to monetize.

0:26Hey, Olivia, welcome to the show. How are you? I'm doing well. Thank you so much for having me. Very excited to be here. Well, absolutely. And both of us, we go back from South by Southwest, right? It was a lot. Maybe we can study more. I still feel that I need to recover from all that. It was my first time and just the agenda. There are so many things happening at the same time. So unless you can duplicate yourself and split in multiple places at the same time, a difficult one, we can maybe tell you a bit more even later. I'm curious to hear your opinion on that. Yes, you will definitely miss some things.

0:58That's a guarantee. And you do need a vacation from South by Southwest. It is quite the journey. feel that I was like after this I need a spa day and we recovered from that. It was definitely a lot but it was interesting and also always nice to see people from the industry. So you know today I think it's going to be a very interesting episode for not only creators but also all those people that want to get started, people that are interested in the P2B, people that want to like you know maybe move from the 9 to 5 to get into a career. It's a bit different. Before we get started, Oliver, why don't you tell us a bit yourself.

1:30We use this thing called the math. Basically, it's divided in three main sections. The M stands for mission. So what do you aim to achieve with your work? Achievements, anything that you are really proud of could be your personal life or your career or both. And the last one is the purpose. So in addition to the mission, that is going to be, you know, what do you aim to achieve, right? The purpose is why do you do what you do? Yes, for sure. So from a mission perspective, I think I am very grateful to be in a position where I get to enable people to create their dreams and make the impact on the world that they desire through Teachable.

2:04That's through educational products. I get to work with creators who have built career-long expertise. They have a ton of knowledge that they really desire to get into the hands of their community. And I get to play a role in making that happen. I think for, sorry, remind me what the A is? Yeah, there's going to be achievements. Anything that you're really proud of in your career or life? Yes, I think most recently is I was able to speak on an official panel at South by Southwest last week, which was a really big moment. I think the fact that we had a panel on B2B creators and the room was packed.

2:40I think leading up to it, you never know how something's going to resonate. So it was really amazing to see the interest and the demand around this topic. And it was definitely a career milestone for myself that I was excited about. And then purpose, I believe that I was put here to help people, to help remove roadblocks for people to actually achieve and actualize their own purpose. And so I've worked with entrepreneurs for a large portion of my career prior to Teachable. That was in helping women entrepreneurs get access to funding to build their businesses. Now I'm doing that through supporting creators with figuring out how to diversify their revenue and grow in scale.

3:23So whatever I can do to remove roadblocks and help make the thing a reality, that's my purpose. That's fantastic. First of all, congratulations on the, you know, speaking at, you know, South by Southwest, especially, you know, Full House, right? People interested in the B2B. That's great. And talking about B2B, right? Influencers and creators, right? This is something that I actually got the card here for people that are watching, the 9 to 5, right? That is one of the events in New York City. And so it's called, you know, for people that are just listening, it's the 9 to 5 Quitters Club, right?

3:53Tell me more about it. What it is? Why did you start it? You know, a bit of the ins and outs and how can people apply? Like, you know, tell me a bit more about that. Absolutely. So funny enough, the 9 to 5 Critters Club is something that started from South by Southwest last year. We did a creator event. It was our first time there. And then we had a poster that our design team pulled together highlighting the 9 to 5 Critters Club. And so many people in the room were like, oh, my God, I love that. Like, that's exactly how I feel. I'm a part of that club. I quit my job or I got laid off. And so through that, our team kind of went back to the drawing board to figure out how can we make this a thing?

4:30And in the fall of 2024, we launched the 9 to 5 Quitters Club, which is our newsletter and our podcast in a burgeoning community of creators, entrepreneurs who are taking their destinies into their own hands. And I think that we're sitting in a time where a nine to five is no longer the stable, sustainable option. I think the same way we talk about creators diversifying their revenue, I think we as individuals need to diversify our own systems and making sure we have plan B for ourselves or we have a side hustle. It's not necessarily a statement of everybody needs to quit their job by any means, but I think it's a debt to the mentality that a nine to five is the most sustainable option out there.

5:18And have you found any recurring either questions or concerns of people that, you know, because for many people, it's such a dream, right, to move away from that. But it's also scary, right, because you go from a safety net of having a paycheck, you know, every couple of weeks, health insurance, everything is done for you by the company, the employer to go and do everything by yourself, especially in the beginning when you start solo, right? You're going to have to put a lot of hats on your head. So have you identified anything that has been very recurring, either on the podcast or in the conversations with people that want to join this different way of living and working?

5:57Absolutely. I mean, I think, again, I'll state the call to action is not quit your job. It is start to explore what it looks like to create something of your own. So whether that's a podcast of your own or a newsletter or you want to start making digital products or you want to start consulting on the side and leverage your expertise in that other way. I think exploring what is most interesting to you, what gets you most excited and testing to see if there's demand for what you're interested in putting out there. I think in talking to creators, there's a bit of imposter syndrome about turning around and asking your community to invest, buy a digital product or pay you for your services.

6:42And I think there was a time where creators struggled with audiences feeling some type of way about creators monetizing. I mean, I think today audiences are excited about being able to support a creator's success and they're looking for that opportunity to say like, oh, like, can I buy that merchandise that you're making or can I get access to a group coaching program with you? I think there's that desire for more kind of deeper connection with creators. So I think at the upfront, it's what do you want to create? And then I think on the next piece, it's what opportunity do you want to make for your audience to go deeper with you?

7:21I like, you know, when you say don't quit yet, but explore things because many people think that it's easy, right? And that's why actually we created these things called the Ultimate Creator Guide that we asked a lot of experts in the industry. And we found out there are so many things that creators might not even know. I'm talking about how to create an LLC, how to file your taxes, why you should need like after a while, maybe someone helping you with brandy also activations and someone that can help you negotiate in pricing. Right. There's so much. And yes, like creators might be fantastic and do their job in creating content, but then getting completely right lost in the things.

7:54And yes, I agree with you, like before doing anything that can be uprooted like that, just look into options, study the market, what is going on in April. right looking for appetite in terms of is going to be enough demand right and and offering in a space is it already too competitive right to get into and so on so and when it comes to you know to go back to to the campaign was it with teachable was it mostly on linkedin in terms of b2b or did you also explore like other other platforms a little bit more like the sort of behind the scene of getting you know the this campaign to you know to be live yeah so there were a few different avenues.

8:26We did a Subway ad campaign, which we were really excited about, which brought the campaign to life in New York City, which is where Teachable is headquartered. And then we also did a LinkedIn influencer campaign, which it's exciting to see the way that LinkedIn is turning into a real platform for creators to grow audiences. So we worked with, I think it was 10 LinkedIn creators to share their nine to five quitter story. And it was just so powerful to hear the validation and the resonance that people felt in seeing those stories be told. But I also think it was really powerful as a brand to give these creators a stage to tell this story that is often very identity-based, very personal and not talked about, especially when there was a layoff situation at hand.

9:15And there are so many people who have had that lived experience and feel alone in it. So it was just a really strong community building exercise in putting a stake in the ground of like, you're not alone in this. You can find peers and people who understand here. And, you know, after sharing a story of the nine to five, how I quit, how I got into making content. The second thing is like, you know, how do I make money? Right. It's one of those things. Right. Tell me a bit more about how can creators can monetize on Teachable and also getting a bit more of the off platform. right in previous episodes we all the time talk about the importance of not to put all the eggs in one basket we're not the algorithm sometimes can be a bit crazy right and you don't know right maybe tomorrow you lose all your organic reach because you put everything in one place so yeah like let's go into a bit more like on that how digital can help with monetization and are there avenues that you're thinking like sorry finding very attractive these days to creators that again and looking for off-platform monetization?

10:15Absolutely. So there are many ways you can monetize on Teachable, whether that's through an online course, a program, one-on-one coaching, digital downloads, a membership, so focused on more subscription revenue. It's really up to the creator on what they want to structure. I always ask, like, how do you want to spend your time? What do you want your days to look like? If you are interested in connecting with your students in a live session, then you might want to consider like a cohort based program where they get to meet with you on a weekly basis. If you kind of are just like, I want to create this thing and then let it run itself.

10:51You might want to sit down, record your course and let it be an evergreen thing that people can get access to on an ongoing basis. I think one of the things that I love about creators and something that I've learned is creators know boundaries. They know what they want to do and they know what they don't want to do. And so I think coming into your monetization strategy with that in mind, considering like, what is it actually going to take to make this thing work is a critical first step. We also coach creators on using a presale strategy for your digital product. So before you go and sit down and produce this whole course, let's validate that your audience actually wants this.

11:30And there's also that nice level of accountability. Hey, I've had 75 people sign up for this thing. Great. Let me sit down and make it happen. But I think accountability is also a big thing for creators as well. We've seen, we've worked with the creator. She's in data analytics. That's her specialty. And she just launched a course and was able to make$40 ,000 from her community, all based on how to learn kind of skills that aren't, there isn't really a ton of access to that knowledge out of traditional systems. We worked with another creator who did a personal brand for social media marketers and creators.

12:07He was also able to launch and make 45K off of his course. And I think that there is definitely skepticism around courses and digital products. I am not by no means the person that says every single person should have a course. I think it's got to make sense for you. But I do think that creators often underestimate their community's desire to actually go deeper. So if you have an email list with, call it 10 ,000 people, 100 of those people probably would be willing to go to the next level and want that next level. So you can use digital products as a way to do that and as a way to monetize. Is your brand ready to amplify its reach while the influencer marketing factory is here for you?

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13:49going to buy the course right so i mean that is important absolutely to to know and and yeah like when you said that like you know testing the waters understanding really like if there is is that demand right from from your people and um you know in addition to these other monetization there is always the i don't want to say the easiest way but maybe the one that you can you don't have to write you know necessarily work for most in terms of you don't have to create a course and so on is brand deals right and i want to ask you something about that especially the b2b right that is fairly new compared to the typical B2C.

14:19How can content creators, B2B influencers, avoid that very transactional one-off type of activity, activation for brand deals? Because again, it's quite, I would say, it's easier than other type of promotions, sorry, like other type of monetizations. But at the same time, right, I think that the market is going from a one-off to really going to a long-term. So in your case, what are some of the maybe advice that you could give to someone that wants to do brand activation, but they don't want to be, again, like, you know, just boxing in a one-off, being paid that time and then looking for the next thing to do?

14:53Absolutely. I think in the same way you think about diversification of your revenue streams, it's also thinking about how you can diversify the value that you can add to a brand partner. So whether that is turning around and saying, hey, I see in your DMs a lot of your followers are asking about this consistent question, I'd love to collaborate on a webinar where we dig in and share educational resources that help move your followers further in your product. Or I have a newsletter. It would be great to do takeovers with you guys. I think the more real estate that you have to both either add value on the brand side of resources that they can use or connecting the brand with the audience that you've created.

15:39you could inside of your course you could do a module about one of your brand partners and and how the two things fit together i think it's about getting creative and and pitching things bringing things to the table i think the exciting thing about this space is that it is so new and that means that like you have to be willing to experiment on the brand side and that means that the brands will be more open to the ideas that you're bringing to the table ideally but i just think there's a ton of opportunity for creativity. It's how I feel about LinkedIn. I think the more and more we see content creators take over on LinkedIn, the more models we're going to have on how content can be done on LinkedIn.

16:19I think there's a narrative about broetry on LinkedIn and kind of the formal kind of structure about how people create. And I think the beautiful things about creators is they're going to break that mold. And like once we see those examples, We're going to be able to enact that for ourselves. It's the same way I feel about brand deals, particularly on the B2B side. What are the new ways that these companies can be connecting with their desired customers? And, you know, still on these about, you know, the long term, right? Looking at what is like, again, not only one half activations, but, you know, different models and different ways to, you know, again, offering to a brand, right?

16:56The ways to go live. Sometimes it could be an active advertiser, like, you know, there are so many of them. and this is again on the on the long term still on the long term there is also the growth right we're seeing i think in the past tiktok bringing like a spike growth for many people and then kind of decrease over time because they didn't have like a real right plan right because maybe they kind of happened and then many people were like you know like sometimes tiktokers feel like commodities because if if they're gone whatever like there's gonna be someone else in the feed while youtubers they do have like a much more robust right type of loyalty because they have been doing that for years and years and you're almost in their lives right instead can be a bit of a mix because of you know like stories right and so on and now these days linkedin right you can if you put the creator mode on you can follow someone and then every single day the post calls they can see you so on the growth perspective as teachable are there like any methodologies ways to having a more like robust and stable stable growth instead of again going to the spike of you know, virality for maybe one week and then be forgotten?

17:58How would you approach growth? I think growth has to happen and be measured on how you're growing off platform. Like if your newsletter email list is continuing to grow, not even at rapid rates, but consistently over time, A, that's going to be better for you in terms of your audience ownership. But I also think, I don't think we've nailed the long-term brand partnership yet. I think at some point the audiences do get oversaturated after hearing about the same brand over and over again. So I think brands should also have a dog in the fight on how do you help these creators grow so as new people are coming into their audience, new people are coming into your audience.

18:42And I think that's how you get more mutually beneficial partnerships as well. But I think there's still kind of a thing to be done on what long-term partnership that continues to drive consistent impact. I think I can get something that we're continuing to experiment with as well. And are you seeing anything like trending right now in terms of that? Like I know that all the time, you know, there are different, you know, ways and formats depending on the social media. Are you noticing something where B2B content creators are using more than others? Like, I don't know, like a specific, like, I don't know, is there a storytelling so that people kind of like for their attention so they get back on the platform to follow their life?

19:22I don't know if you noticed anything there. I'm just curious. I don't know if it's trickled down to the B2B space yet, but I know that in the more kind of lifestyle entertainment world, episodic content is definitely something that brands are leaning into. I also think kind of bringing creators in-house to be an external voice for your brand as well. So like a creator in residence situation. I also think figuring, thinking through like how a creator can add value across your marketing funnel. So having them speak on stage at this event and then having them do sponsored content and then having them do maybe a meetup with their community.

20:04figuring out the different touch points that can span over a longer time period versus just one activation over and over and over again is another way that you can explore how to get more impact out of the partnership over time. And still on these, you know, like my last question for you today, Olivia, is like about also data insights and so on. We love doing reports here at IMF. And I think that also teachable, right? It's working on something about B2B creators. I don't know what is the state right now of the report, but is there anything that you are mostly excited about, about this report that is coming out?

20:40Could be either data, insights, again, upcoming trends, and also how, if you can also like for listeners today, tell how Teachables can also help in terms of resources out there if you want to get started or just like get their creator career to the next level. Yes. So we recently released a report on business creators. And I think some of the interesting things we saw in there is 50 % of B2B creators reported experiencing more predictable income. So I think in a space where we were talking about it feels really risky, it feels unsustainable. It's interesting to see these creators experience more sustainability and being able to feel like they know where their next checks are coming from.

21:23I think to further define what we mean when we say B2B creator, these are creators who are building audiences based off their authority and often selling to professionals or businesses. So it's one thing to try to get 100 people in your audience to buy a$100 product. It's another thing to go to a company and say, hey, I'll license my content out to your team. Maybe your specialty is paid ads. And to hone your team skills, I'll license out my course for five figures. So it's also an opportunity for you to have multiple parties that you're selling to and be able to hit higher price points. we saw that B2B creators were twice as likely to be making$10 ,000 a month, which again, as we think about like, what does it look like to get to a point of a creator where you could be doing this full time?

22:14That's really exciting to see. And they're also more likely to be pricing their products at$500 and above. So just to break down, like, how is this actually coming together? How's the money being made? I think it was really interesting to see some of these trends coming from business creators. And again, I think as discovery platforms like LinkedIn continue to open up the space for this style of creator to come to the table, we're really, really excited to see what's to come. I mean, it's looking good, right? It seems that it's going to a nice direction. It's more stability, right? Not only about, again, the brand deals, but monetizations, how even brands are looking at B2B creators these days, I think, right?

22:58Definitely. It's the influence of a person that you know, like, and trust is becoming more and more critical. I think we have to call out the AI in the room. I think a big conversation that we talked about at South by Southwest is like getting access to information has never been easier, right? So when you're an educational or a knowledge base creator, where do you carve out your space inside of that? And I think Chris Doe was on our panel and he shared that he's thinking about like, it's not about beating AI, how do I integrate AI into the experience that I'm creating for my students? But also, I think lived experience and that authentic storytelling is going to continue to stand out in the midst of AI-generated content.

23:46Absolutely. What I say all the time is that B2B, at the end of the day, is still a people-to-people, right? Because you're going to be behind the company, is going to be still a head of marketing, whatever person that... It's a person with their own feeling they're all stories and i really like the idea of the storytelling also within b2b because i think that these days people don't want to see anymore just the pricing table and the difference there is like who is behind this company yes why are they better than that what is going to be the customer care type of thing you know so i think that that putting that right on on linkedin other social media more and more people want to look what is the what is again you know behind the the brand values and so on right so pretty curious to see what is going to be there and you know of course, we're going to also link the reference so people can easily see that one.

24:27But Olivia, thank you so much for joining me today. Congratulations again on your speaking opportunity now at Subway Southwest. Are you going to speak soon? Somewhere else? Do you already know? We will be at VidCon. So very excited for that. And thank you so much for having me. Of course. Thank you. This was the Influence Factor by the Influencer Marketing Factory. I'll see you in the next episode.