Six Things We Learned from the Generating Revenue Panel at Summer in the City 2019

From intellectual property theft to shelling out $15,000 for a brand deal, making money online can be a minefield. Hannah Witton, Adam Hattan, Jamie Jo, Liam Scott Edwards and Amber Doig-Thorne have the advice you need!

Moderated by Jamie Jo, the Generating Revenue panel took place on the Gaming Stage at Summer in the City 2019. The panel also featured Liam Scott Edwards and Amber Doig-Thorne.

So without further ado, here are the top five tips the panellists had to offer!

1. Choose brand deals that make sense for your channel…

Hannah said that she prefers to “promote products rather than services, but if the campaign ticks the right boxes, in terms of what it’s trying to achieve, I’ll invest in it, even without using the product”.

Amber added that it’s important to think about your viewers when choosing brand deals — “If it’s a product that my fans want to hear from I’ll consider it” — but first and foremost to promote products or companies you want to work with.

Agreeing with Amber, Liam said: “I wouldn’t want to present an ad awkwardly if i didn’t like it, because it’s disingenuous.”

2. …but make sure you know what you’re getting into

Liam spoke about his experience with a “digital sticker” collecting company that, in his words, “essentially stole images and intellectual property from various pop culture, including Pokémon and Rick and Morty”.

Adam added that once he’d been offered free camping equipment in exchange for promoting a product on his channel. Not exactly what he would have chosen!

3. …and that you read the small print!

Jamie pointed out that vital to double-check any contracts you sign with brands: “I paid $15,000 to a brand deal because of the way the contract was worded”.

4. Try out new platforms

“Don’t be afraid to try things that nobody has done before,” said Liam. “For example with Ninja [Tyler Blevin]’s move from Twitch to the unheard-of Mixer platform”.

Hannah’s advice was to “use Instagram for a business brand, as many businesses on the platform have already done really well. Also, get on any new platform that has a chance to explode in popularity.”

5. Jump on platforms that are up and coming

So what platforms should you be making a name for yourself on? Hannah thinks IGTV is the place to be.

“IGTV has potential to explode,” she said, “especially since the inclusion of landscape videos and multiple updates to the platform within Instagram.”

6. Having a manager can be a huge help

The panellists discussed how management companies can help online creators make business decisions. So what else can they support with?

Hannah also thinks having management is useful “when you need support for creating brand deals,” and Amber added that the “legal help can be a huge benefit”.

Liam doesn’t have a manager, but agreed that having that support can be really helpful.

Photos by Christy Ku.