Understand and choose revenue models

Definition

Knowing the landscape of revenue sources in creative work, comparing them against your activity and your audience, testing a first model and then building a diversified, resilient architecture. A revenue model is a design choice, not a platform's fate.

Components

• The landscape of models: advertising, sponsorship, products, services, subscription, licensing, donations, affiliation, crowdfunding
• Fit between model, activity and audience: what each model demands and what it damages
• Simple unit economics: what one unit earns and costs (a sale, a subscriber, an engagement)
• Diversification: not depending on a single source
• Revenue scenarios: projecting cautiously, comparing architectures

The four levels

1. N1 Discovery Lower secondary · complete beginner

   Is able to explain how the creators they follow make a living.

   Evidence of assessment

   Map the visible revenue sources of three creators with different models.

2. N2 Application Upper secondary · advanced beginner

   Is able to compare several revenue models for a given project, with their advantages and risks.

   Evidence of assessment

   Produce a comparative table of three models for a specific project.

3. N3 Adaptation Tertiary · junior professional

   Is able to test and validate a first revenue model on their own activity.

   Evidence of assessment

   Document a first real income (sale, engagement, sponsorship) with an analysis of the experience.

4. N4 Orchestration Experienced professional

   Is able to manage a diversified set of revenues and to model how they may evolve.

   Evidence of assessment

   Model three economic architectures with twelve-month revenue scenarios, and present the revenue mix actually in place.