Definitive Essential Tips on Digital Photography

Photography plays a huge role in helping you create exciting content for your Spotlit channel. Not only is photography fun, but also allows you to tell a story and express yourself visually for all to see

With photography being bold and diverse, it could take a lifetime to learn everything. Which is why we’re here to provide you with essential digital photography tips to help you get started

Know Your Camera

Cameras come in various shapes and sizes. So if you switch from one camera to the next you’re probably making things more difficult for yourself. Stick with one camera and learn the ins and outs. Build up your muscle memory by getting to know where all the buttons are and understand what each function does. Brands like Nikon and Canon often have similar button placements with each model so it may be worth sticking to one manufacturer so you feel more familiar with your next camera.

Experiment

It’s worth going out there and trying new things. There is a lot of opportunities to take photos on either your camera or smartphone. There are all sorts of different types of photography, wedding photography, macro photography, the list goes on. Find what’s best for you and keep at it.

Take your time

No one ever gets the perfect shot in one try. It takes a lot of practice and patience to get the picture you want. Instead of slamming the shutter button, think about how you want to compose your shot. Check that the lighting is balanced and that your camera settings match the environment. As long as you’re persistent and take your time, you’ll eventually get the perfect photo.

Have fun!

Being a social platform primarily focused on photography, we encourage you to do as much photography as possible. This will provide more content for your fans along with adding more experience to your photography skills. Enjoy yourself!

Shoot in manual mode

While there’s nothing wrong with your camera doing all the work for you with its vast array of auto modes, manual node gives you so much more control. This mode lets you manually control your shutter speed, aperture and ISO.

All three settings work together in changing the overall look of your photos. Mastering these three settings will allow you to get more creative and enables you to pull off some snazzy looking tricks

Rule of thirds

This is something that every photographer should learn. This will help you create structured and interesting shots. With this technique, you mentally break up the image into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. This will give you a 9 section grid.

The idea is to place all points of interest within the 9 sections of the grid. This will help set your composition and in turn, result in esthetically pleasing images. To help learn this technique, most digital cameras come with a grid display which will give you a visual representation of the rule of thirds.

Check your background

It’s something we forget to check but backgrounds are a key element to taking great-looking pictures. As most of our focus is on the subject, it’s very easy to forget what’s in the background. It’s usually during later inspection where you often find unwanted objects and oddities that distract the viewer’s attention in an otherwise great looking image.

A great way to improve your photography is to make sure that the background is clear and simple so that the subject is always the point of interest. If you want to get creative, try applying some depth of field so that the background is slightly out of focus, bringing greater detail to the subject in the foreground.

Shop smart – the equipment can get expensive

Photography is expensive hobby to get into. Not only is a camera a large investment but the gear can cost you a pretty penny. A new lens can cost from $200 –  $3000 and with that you have to think about the other expenses such as a light diffuser, flashgun, carrying ease and so much more.

While it’s tempting to buy everything brand new, there is no harm in buying something that’s used. Because of how valuable each piece of equipment is, most people do their best to look after their gear properly. As long as you do your research and know the item is in good condition, buying second hand can be a smart move.

Invest in tripod

Speaking of equipment, it’s definitely worth purchasing a tripod. This will stabilize your camera and is essential for low light photography. This is one of the cheaper pieces of equipment and you will be thanking us for suggesting it.

Shoot in RAW

If you want the sharpest picture possible, shoot in RAW Not only do the images look crisper but it also provides you information on how the picture was taken e.g. camera model, ISO, shutter speed, etc. This is useful information that can help you achieve consistent shots and enables you to edit the image using RAW editing software. This is particularly useful as you can easily adjust brightness and color settings to help make your images stand out. Just be aware that this would take up more space on your SD card than regular JPEG images.

Putting Your Digital Content BEHIND a Paywall: PPV Model

Thanks to the rise of digital media over the last decade or so, more opportunities have come up for content creators to make money online.

There are numerous ways to make money from your digital content: advertising, affiliate marketing, selling physical and digital products, selling skills and services and sponsored content.

However, there’s one monetization technique that more content creators and influencers should consider: putting content behind a paywall, or applying the PPV (pay-per- view) model, as it’s known.

What is the PPV model?

A pay-per-view (PPV) service is the type that requires the viewer or consumer to pay a fee before accessing and viewing the content. This can be in the form of a one-off payment or purchasing a regular subscription package.

While the PPV model is growing in popularity, PPV is not a new concept. Some television channels on cable and satellite and webcast services have always had exclusive and premium content available that requires the viewer to pay to watch. Also, online streaming and entertainment services often require a monthly subscription to a catalogue of film, TV programs and music.

While some monetization techniques don’t guarantee much return on investment (e.g. advertising), PPV can be a lucrative money maker for content creators. Also, PPV comes with a number of benefits for content creators and influencers, so it’s worth bearing in mind if you want to make serious money from your creative endeavors.

PPV can generate passive income

In addition to earning consistent revenue, PPV also allows you to make passive income, which is a great way to earn money with minimal effort – while you are sleeping! All you have to do is set a subscription price, promote your profile and get your followers to pay, and that’s it.

PPV encourages loyalty

When people buy into your content, it can generate loyalty and a strong fanbase with a vested interest in what you do. When viewers purchase content that is of interest and value, then they are more likely to keep coming back for more and invest in your online brand.

A pay-per-view model adds value and exclusivity to your content

Content behind a paywall is premium, and the type of content you wouldn’t get elsewhere, meaning that it’s valuable. To the viewer, this demonstrates that the content is useful and special, and adds trust to your online brand.

Consistent revenue

By putting your content behind a paywall, you can establish a consistent income stream from your work, as long as you have enough subscribers. For some creators, using a PPV model for their content has allowed them to earn a full (or partial) income, so it allows you to potentially make a living from your creative endeavors.

Putting your content behind a paywall with Spotlyt

With Spotlight’, your content is hidden behind a paywall so your fans can only access it by paying to view it or purchasing a subscription. This means that you can make money from your valuable content and develop your fanbase to consist of loyal followers who are interested in your exclusive content. Sign up to Spotlyt today and make money from your content.

How chefs can monetize their Content on Spotlit

Calling all chefs! Time to cook up that fanbase and connect with your fans like never before. 

Food is something the whole world can relate to, and since the Food Network debuted in 1993, popular cooking shows such as ‘Masterchef’ and ‘The Great British Bake Off’ have been showcasing the global love for consuming tasty food-related content. 

With online platforms now allowing chefs to get creative with inspiring food content,according to morning advertiser 98% of chefs now understand the value of social media as a tool, according to a UK-based survey. The rise of according to an article on entrepreneur.com ‘food porn’ has been exceptional, boosting the reach for celebrity chefs such as Gordon Ramsay and growing entire careers for food-bloggers such as Deliciously Ella. 

So whether nutritious healthy recipes or indulgent sweet treats are your thing, consumers are always on the hunt to devour new mouth-watering content. We all appreciate the time and thought it takes to cook and capture tasty recipes, and Spotlyt can provide chefs and foodies with a platform on which they can now monetize their fanbase and earn what those delicious dishes deserve. 

Go behind the scenes

The phrase “you eat with your eyes” has never been truer than in the social media era  Gone are the days where we relied on searching through heavy cookbooks, now consumers head online, eager to find new recipes and follow their favorite culinary experts.  

As a subscription-based service, on Spotlit you can provide content to those who are truly interested in what you have to say (or cook) which provides chefs with an exclusive connection to fans that you won’t find anywhere else. So whether it be new restaurant reveals, menu sneak peeks or behind the scenes kitchen footage, you can develop closer relationships with your best customers on Spotlit. 

Go Exclusive – PPV posts and messages

On Spotlyt it’s never been easier to be in total control of your own content. What better way to reveal those secret ingredients that make a dish so special than to disclose it to fans who can’t resist?

Using pay-per-view messaging you can monetise your best gourmet secrets, saving them for those who really want to be in the know. A PPV is exactly what it sounds like: content that you share, via message that your fans pay to view. On a free account, you can also have PPV posts on your feed that are ‘locked’ until your fans pay to reveal it! So whether BBQ or baking is your speciality, Spotlit provides a safe space to share your must-try recipes with your biggest fans.

On other social platforms, it can become tricky for chefs to make clear to viewers what content is paid-for promotional material. But with Spotlit, Chefs can be their authentic selves in a place where they are connecting with their most valuable customers.

Go Live – Stream

In today’s society, you no longer need Michelin stars to have your own online TV show, with many food fanatics taking to digital spaces to cook up a storm. Live shows continue to grow in popularity, and since the recent coronavirus pandemic, the boom in home cooking and baking has never been larger.Chefs have taken their shows online, providing an insight into their culinary worlds at home. Chefs can now monetise these shows on Spotlit, providing an income that may have dropped with restaurants being closed. 

On Spotlit you can Go Live and interact with your foodie fans in real-time. Streaming to your subscribers provides an exclusive feel for both chefs and their biggest fans, where users can even tip you during your live stream if they are impressed with your gourmet tricks. 

You can also upload your live videos for your fans to view later, so they can re-watch the stream whilst attempting to replicate that new recipe. 

Go Live Together – Co-Stream

As a chef, often you work as a team in the kitchen. On Spotlyt you can co-stream with another creator so your sous chef can join you from the comfort of their own home. Why not spice up the competition and perform alongside other chefs in a ‘cook-off’ style setting? We know there can’t be “too many cooks”, so you can show off whose souffle is the real winner. 

How Fashion Influencers Use Social Media

If fashion is your passion, then there are many platforms available online where you can showcase it. You can film YouTube videos, post on visual and video sharing apps such as Instagram, Tik Tok or Snapchat and share ideas via Pinterest. Or, if writing is your thing, you can start a fashion blog.

You can also use Spotlit to demonstrate your love for fashion, and benefit from it too. Whether you’re a beginner to the world of fashion content creation, or you’re an established YouTuber, Instagrammer or blogger who is looking to post your work on additional platforms, it’s important to build your online presence as a fashion influencer 

With Spotlit, you can make use of our built-in-monetization features to make money from your fashion content.

How fashion influencers can use Spotlit

Before we dive deep into how you can utilize Spotlit specifically as a social media platform for your fashion content, let’s look at the types of fashion content you can create on a variety of social media platforms.

1) Hauls

If you’ve made recent purchases on clothing, shoes, bags and accessories, then you can show your followers and subscribers what you’ve bought and try on the items.

2) Behind the scenes (BTS)

If you’re a model or a fashion insider, then you can show your subscribers exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage of photo-shoots, video shoots and backstage of catwalk shows and other fashion events.

3) Wardrobe purge/declutter videos

Declutter videos are very popular on YouTube, and if you’re a fashion YouTuber or Instagrammer, you can create wardrobe declutter videos to show what items you’ll be giving away or donating to charity.

4) Outfit of the day (OOTD)

Years ago, when fashion blogging became a popular trend, one of the most common types of content to create was the outfit of the day (OOTD) post. You can show off what you wore today, including accessories.

5) Styling tips and how-tos

If you’re a fashion stylist or model, you can provide styling tips and advice to help your viewers with outfits, as well as keeping them up to date with seasonal and current shopping trends. You can also include your favorite pieces and recommended items.

How to use Spotlit as a fashion influencer

As a fashion influencer, you can use Spotlit in a number of ways.

1) Exclusive memberships and subscriptions

Unlike many other social media and digital platforms, Spotlit gives you the opportunity to establish subscription packages thanks to our pay-per-view model. This means that in order for your fans to view your content, they’d have to pay to subscribe (unless you choose to have a free Spotlit account 😉 

This is helpful for fashion influencers because it’s an easy way to hide BTS and exclusive fashion content, and a great way to monetize your fashion content for those who want to have a look.

2) Paid posts

Alternatively, you can keep your Spotlit account free for subscribers – but you can still make money. If some of the content you post is something you’d rather keep hidden (e.g. a bikini picture or a special haul for a particular brand) then you can enable paid posts for some of your content. PPV posts appear on your feed but subscribers have to pay a fee you choose to unlock the content. 

3) Pay-per-view messaging

Another option is to allow your fans to receive private messages that they’d have to pay for. Once again, this is helpful if you want to showcase fashion posts that you don’t want to publish elsewhere.

4) Go Live Live-streaming is a great way to connect with your audience and it’s a really good way to make money. You could live-stream behind the scenes, events, shows, try-on hauls, and styling outfits. You could even live stream question and answer and advice sessions if you feel like sharing your knowledge and expertise on all things to do with fashion.

Take Your Passion as a CONTENT CREATOR to the next level

For many people, becoming a digital content creator is a viable career choice and the ultimate dream. It’s the perfect way to pursue your passions and make money from doing what you enjoy.

many people have been able to make a successful career out of full-time content creation. You might have heard of some inspiring examples:

Henry Desagu

However, success is very unlikely to arrive overnight. In order to carve out a prosperous and thriving career in content creation, it’s important to ensure that you have the dedication, tenacity, self-discipline, and commitment to pursuing the dream. So, are you looking to make the next move in your industry? Want to take your career to the next level? Why not make your influence pay Spotlit!

5 Steps for getting started on SPOTLIT

As a social media Creator/influencer, Spotlit is a sure way of enhancing your connection with fans, improving the social media experience, and monetizing your content. So what’s the best route to attracting and retaining subscribers, building your career as an influencer and ensuring a stable income from your content? Here, we’ve compiled 5 Top Tips to turn Spotlit to your advantage, ensure fans are engaged and happy and keep the money coming in.

1. CREATE AN ACCOUNT

It’s free and easy to create a Spotlit account and there’s no contract for you or your subscribers. If you’ve reached a point where you have a substantial fanbase and great engagement, it’s time to make the transition and invite your fans to experience exclusive content on your Spotlit channel. Deciding to launch on Spotlit is a simple decision. It gives you more scope to create great content, it enhances the content experience for your fans and you get paid for it. With the exception of YouTube, which is downgrading your earning potential, there is no way to monetize your content on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook other than through your brand associations and campaigns. With Spotlit, you get to create more of what your fans love and they pay a modest subscription to view subscriber-only content. It’s a win-win.

Download the app on Play Store

2. SETTING YOUR SUBSCRIPTION RATE

What makes Spotlit so lucrative is a combination of your subscriber numbers and your subscription rate. To put you in complete control, you decide how much to charge your fans for a subscription, so set a rate that you think is fair, reasonable, and affordable for your audience. Typically around 1%-3% of your fans will subscribe. For example, if you have 10,000 fans on Instagram you will expect to attract around 100-150 subscribers (based on a 1.5% conversion). It’s better to have 150 subscribers at KES 300 than 50 subscribers at KES 1, 000, so make sure your rate attracts subscribers and does not deter them. The more you attract the more you earn so be realistic and don’t overprice. Remember, your fans are gravitating from free-to-view platforms to a paid subscription, so make a good judgment based on the quality of content they will receive on your Spotlit platform and how much they are likely to pay.

3. PLAN YOUR SPOTLIT CONTENT

It’s important to remember that your subscribers will come from your mainstream social media platforms and they are most likely to stay connected to you on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social platforms. If they feel like they’re getting more of the same, only they’re now paying for it, it can cause issues that you don’t want or need. Launching on Spotlit is all about extending the content experience, doing exclusive subscriber-only content, and adding more depth and variety that they are happy to pay for. For example, if you’re a fitness blogger, you can do snapshots or short routines on Instagram and Facebook, but on Spotlit you can give them a more detailed workout program and exclusive routines not published on Instagram or Facebook. You’ve amassed a loyal fanbase because your fans love what you do already, so there doesn’t need to be a dramatic shift in your style or type of content – just offer more value, more insight, and more depth on Spotlit.

Creating a plan for your Spotlit channel that syncs with your mainstream content plan is important to ensure quality and consistency across your social publishing landscape.

Read our blog on content tips here: 5-content-tips-to-keep-your-fans-happy.

4. PROMOTE YOUR SPOTLIT PROFILE

The most effect way to promote your Spotlit account is in your social media profiles and blogs, and through your content. So, if you are publishing images of a new photo-shoot, fashion collection, workout routine or makeup tutorial, simply add your Spotlit account link to your content and invite your fans to see more by subscribing to your Spotlit channel. The more you promote it and the more you work at it, the more subscribers you’ll get. As your content on most platforms is free, you need to strike a balance so don’t hard sell it but frequently invite people to join you and enjoy an exclusive experience with you on Spotlit.

5. RETAINING YOUR FANS ~ CONTENT IS KING

Ultimately fans want your content, so give the fans what they want. Video is a key format and the general direction of travel for pretty much every social platform and yet Instagram and Twitter have time limitations that can only offer fans a snapshot of your content. If you’re a beauty blogger or fitness influencer for example and/or are providing tutorials and educational content, you can offer extended content and more in-depth tutorials on Spotlit with up to 1GB of upload capability for a single video, and up to 10 images per post. So, use your mainstream platforms to tempt fans to experience the full video or photo-shoot on your Spotlit platforms as that’s where the value lies; you give subscribers more than they can experience on free-to-view platforms but they get a lot more for a modest subscription to your channel.

Retaining fans and ensuring you grow your subscriber base really comes down to giving people value for money. As long as they feel they get a great content experience at a fair price there’s really no need for them to leave.

Read our blog on how to make your content pay and keep fans coming here: https://blog.spotlight-app.net//how-to-make-your-content-pay-keep-the-subscribers-coming/



PS:

THE SIMPLE WAY TO MAKE IT PAY

The idea is pretty simple. Your fans value your content so create a Spotlit account, set the subscription price you want to charge your fans and typically 1% – 5% of your fans will subscribe to see your content on Spotlit. The best bit is you retain 60% of your subscription income, and Spotlit retains 40%. But here’s the key. You need to think about how you can add value to your content now that fans are paying for it.

It’s not simply a question of doing the same content you post on mainstream platforms and expecting fans to pay for it. The way to successfully attract and retain your subscribers is to create exclusives, extend your content, and generally add value to what you’re already doing.

The first thing to think about is what you are already giving away freely that has an inherent value for example. If you’re a makeup artist and posting full tutorials, why not rescale your free content and offer exclusive, and more in-depth, tutorials for subscribers?

If you are a personal trainer, post a part-workout and invite your fans to subscribe for a more personalized routine? You can also think about exclusive videos, images, and content that doesn’t go out on other social platforms.

Become a Spotlit content creator today and unlock the power of your influence.

How Fitness Creators use Spotlit

Fitness content is an ever-growing field, transferrable to any form of media. Currently, you can find countless fitness-focused magazines, YouTube channels, Instagram pages, as well as celebrity fitness DVDs and TV shows. One more we can add to this list is Spotlit. A lucrative and popular field, that creators like Bill Carv, Dennis Fitness, and Laezfitnezz have been focusing their Spotlit content around.

Although a set category, this does not mean all content will be the same. The content that can be produced is without limits. One creator may post-workout routines, other diet plans, etc. A content area that has had undeniable success over recent years, and only seems to be becoming more popular. In many ways, fitness is a simple way to create a following and a fanbase. All fans will have areas in which they are more interested in seeing.

For the most part, the initial image of a fitness influencer would be a bodybuilder or physique model, but there is so much more to this field than this. In a similar way to something like music, anything in fitness will gain viewers purely by making it interesting or entertaining. It is all about finding your following and doing what you would enjoy watching/ following. Users previously mentioned have been using Spotlit to show off their content and have been excelling in regard to this.

Lazfitnezz

Since signing up to the platform, Janekimfitness has been showcasing her personal fitness journey and workout routines. She produces a range of content but mostly focuses on educating her fans, and giving her viewers an insight into her daily workout regime. Much of the content posted on her Spotlit page, is similar to what she is producing for her Instagram followers. This has allowed a natural transfer, for her followers from her Instagram to Spotlit profile.

The way in which Janekimfitness uses her Spotlit channel allows her to, in a way, be an online personal trainer for her fans. This is through both posting her workout routine, and including the number of reps, and the name of the exercises being done. As this is the case, Jane Kim is in a way creating her own business on the platform, similar to how Joe Wickim uses his personal website to sell diet and workout plans. She has been able to find her market through consistently posting what she has knowledge on. As well as this, it is clear to her fans that she enjoys what she is posting. Something that goes along way on creating a genuine link between you and your fans.

Bill Carver & Lazfitnezz

 Both Melissa Carver and Lizfitnezz too utilize the features on Spotlit to post fitness-based content to their fans. Although all three users mentioned have been posting fitness content, all have their own twist on the content they are posting. Jane Kim primarily posting training content, Arban Dili exclusively posting gym and physique images, and finally, Melissa Carver creating her own blend of the two.

Lazfitnezz has had astronomical success on Spotlit since setting up his page in September 2020. He has been able to transfer his following from Instagram to his Spotlit channel, keeping the content posted similar on both platforms. Sticking, relatively, exclusively to physique photos to show progression and his current physical condition.

Consistently posting content that his fans will be interested in seeing, Arban has been able to keep a constant following on his Spotlit profile. Similarly, Melissa Carver has been able to utilize the site in a similar way. She too posts predominantly physique and gym pictures. As well as this, Melissa will upload a short workout routine, along the same lines of the content posted by Janekimfitness, but with less of the PT feel to it. The workout videos posted by Melissa are more personal, and more showcase her own ability and workout rather than acting as short PT sessions.

All users mentioned use Spotlit to post and show their personal fitness journeys and current physical condition. However, all put their own twist on this to be able to best create and increase their following.

Using SPOTLIT to grow a fitness channel

 Fitness based content is a growing field on Spotlit, with users utilising the updated features to create the best content for their subscribers. Recent updates, like the introduction of the new live stream feature will allow users to interact first hand with their followers, for example partaking in Q and A’s to give advice to users with specific questions. A creator could even use this feature to live stream a portion of a workout routine to present a more personal account for harder exercises etc.

As mentioned above, depending on how the platform is used, it can become a business for influencers depending on how they choose to post. For example, there is the possibility for users to post-diet and workout plans for their followers to use, which will take influence from websites that offer online consultancy or training. The platform can be much more for users than just a place to post pictures/ videos, it can be a way to genuinely educate and help your followers.

Using the platform, the way in which you wish and posting the content that you have a full understanding of will be the quickest way to grow your fitness page. You can see when viewing the creators mentioned above, they enjoy what they do. They are posting content regularly and are sticking to a certain theme that is too present on their Instagram pages. This shows they have been able to find their following and have found content they enjoy producing and brings them success.

Fitness is an area that has a huge amount of interest from fans and brands alike. A lucrative field, with unlimited potential for creators. As shown with the users above, showing enjoyment, and posting what you know about will gain fans. Whether you are looking to showcase personal progression, or you are trying to help others make a change, people will subscribe and will take an interest in you and the content that you’re posting.

Spotlit Bio Ideas

First impressions may not be the be-all and end-all, but they are important. A creator’s Spotlit bio section is one of the first things a potential fan will see when they come across the account. Your bio can influence whether or not a fan chooses to subscribe, so it’s important to put your best foot forward. Whether you’re a new creator or you have been on Spotlit for a while, here are some Spotlit bio ideas to make this section work for you. 

What is a Spotlit Bio?

No matter a creator’s subscription price or privacy settings, if non-subscriber click on the profile they will be able to see at least three things: profile picture, cover photo, and bio section. Your About section, or Spotlit bio, is a short written introduction to your channel.

Writing something for your Bio section is optional but recommended. The character limit is 160 but some people won’t read that far, so try to get to the point in your first few sentences. If you have set your profile to fully private, text from your bio section will typically show up when someone finds your page on Google. Search engines usually show up to 160 characters in their previews, so bear this in mind as well.

Let potential subscribers know what to expect

One of the main functions of your Spotlit Bio is to let potential subscribers know what to expect from your page. You should briefly and engagingly describe what kind of content you will be posting on your Spotlit account. This isn’t only an excellent opportunity to make a “sales pitch”, but it also prevents subscribers from getting disappointed if your content is different from what they expected. This is especially important for creators with a subscription price. When a fan pays to subscribe to your content they are taking a leap of faith that they will like it. You don’t need to get bogged down with the details, but if you give an accurate idea of what kind of content you plan on posting, then there will be less risk of fans unsubscribing after only a short time because your content didn’t match their expectations

Introduce yourself

Different fans have different motivations for following you on Spotlit. Some will be primarily interested in seeing your content, some will want to get to know you as a person, and some loyal fans will want both! Your About section is your chance to introduce yourself to fans who want to know more about you. You could put your hobbies, achievements you are most proud of, your favorite books and films,  or your location. You can use this section to personalize your account and make it yours.

Keep it clean

Unlike some other social media platforms, Spotlit is a place where you can post without censorship. You can post whatever content you like on your feed as long as it doesn’t violate our Terms of Service. That being said, your profile picture, cover photo and About section are visible to non-subscribers. Because of this, you should keep these images non-explicit and your Spotlit bio free from profanity.

Get off to a good start

If you’re a new creator, choosing what to say in your About section is just one thing to think about when getting your account off to a good start. Read our posts on how to launch your Spotlit account with a bang and ten things you should know when you sign up to Spotlit for more ideas and tips. 

7 Point Plan for Getting Started On Spotlit

Being a working artist is hard, no matter how you look at it. We are always undervalued and underpaid for creating work that can take months or even years to train how to produce. In the past, many artists have enjoyed a relationship with Brands, Sponsors, or Fans who paid the artists either on a commission basis or with a stipend to create their works. Spotlit is attempting to create a modern version of this relationship.

Spotlit is a voluntary subscription service that allows people who consume your content to pledge regularly to help support you and your content. This is a powerful tool to allow you both to make your art and content sustainable as well as create connections with some of the most dedicated people in your audience.

Fans can sign up to support you either on a per content piece basis or on monthly basis, depending on the frequency with which you create your content and their ­scale capacity. The platform also allows you to solicit feedback from your Superfans in a wide variety of ways, from live streaming sessions to polls, early access to content, and more!

Signing up to Spotlit absolutely saved my YouTube channel and has allowed me the independence to be able to create content without having to hold onto regular employment as I’ve worked to grow my channel, experiment with my content, and ­find the best ways to serve my online community.

The best fi­t for Spotlit accounts are ongoing projects that produce work for the general public to consume.

Some examples include online comics, YouTube channels, blogs, artwork, photography, or other media. If you produce regular content and have cultivated a community around it, Spotlit is probably an excellent fi­t for you.

Spotlit is a Good fit if you:

  • Produce regular content
  • Distribute it freely across the Internet
  • Have Cultivated an online audience

One thing Spotlit is not, is free money to just go and be creative. You should have a regularly deliverable product that people are going to enjoy or learn from.

If you have a single project you want to fundraise for, Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, or GoFundMe might be a better fi­t for your needs. Delivering content on a regular basis can be incredibly challenging, so make sure you’re up for the task before you ask people to give you their hard-earned dollars!

Spotlit may not be a good fit if you:

  • Are looking to fund a one-off Project
  • Do not have a lot of work under your belt.
  • Lack of a clear goal, product, or mission

Setting up a Spotlit

Once you’ve decided whether Spotlit is a good ­fit for you, you can start off by heading over to Play Store and download the Spotlit app then start setting up an account. Make sure that your account is set up as a Creator! There are several things you need to consider when setting up your Spotlit Channel. Let’s take a look at each one:

Your Name This is important! Make sure your name is in line with the branding of your presence elsewhere online. It should share the name of your Blog, YouTube Channel, Online Comic Strip, etc. Make sure it’s easy for people to fi­nd you on the platform!

What it is You Make

 What is your particular niche? If you make videos, what are they about? If you take photographs, what are they usually of? Tell your fans in as few words as possible what they can expect from you as a content creator.

 Video

One of the most effective ways to connect with potential fans is with video. They’ll get to see you directly and connect with you as a person beyond the impersonal text you otherwise have on your Spotlit account. Be clear, brief, and honest about your reasons for starting a Spotlit channel and how a fan’s support on it will support your work and your goals. Though not essential, doing this step is highly recommended!

Bio

Who are you? Why are you producing content? Why do you want to produce content? What do fans’ contributions mean to you? Is there somewhere you’d like to get to? This is your opportunity for your fans to connect with you as an artist and what your dreams are. Take a look at some of the Great Bio ideas in 2020.

Choosing Reward Goals

Choosing rewards can be incredibly tricky and it’s helpful to think about what it is exactly about your content that your fans fi­nd most interesting. Think long and hard about what value you can add for your fans with the rewards you offer. Here are some suggestions based upon things that I’ve either found work well or that I’ve seen other creators do:

Goals

What are your goals for your content? To produce it on a more regular basis? To upgrade your equipment? To be able to produce your content full time? Give both your fans as well as yourself something to strive for.

Per Content or Monthly?

If you produce 2 or fewer pieces of content per month, then you probably want to go with a per content basis for your fans’ subscriptions. If you produce 4 or more pieces of content per month, you might fi­nd you are charging your fans more frequently than they are comfortable with.

Additional things to consider: if you produce content rarely, having a per-content subscription can be an incentive to create more of it. On the other hand, if your content requires a large amount of time and energy to complete, having a monthly salary to support it can be helpful.

Reward Suggestions

  • Uncensored content
  • $1 reward for access to your feed
  • Regular live stream and Q&A to get to interact directly with your Fans
  • Name credited in your content
  • Early access to content
  • Branded items such as mugs, t-shirts, stickers

Don’t overdo these! Having more than 5-6 reward tiers can be confusing to your fans.

Okay, so you’ve set up your Spotlit Profile–now how do you get your fans? There is an old lesson that is incredibly important at this stage of your work: nothing markets itself. If you are not comfortable asking people for support then you are dead in the water already. You have to tell people that your Spotlit channel exists and that the people who love your content can contribute to supporting it there. ( Give them a better reason than this )

Your ­first step once you complete your Spotlit should be to share with your fanbase that it exists. Do you have a mailing list? A Facebook Page? Twitter? Your Blog? Instagram? YouTube? Tell your fans that you are on Spotlit and that they now have an option to make a contribution that will help you continue to make the content that they love.

Even if you do this, your work is not done! Even if you’ve posted once about your Spotlit channel, many of your fans may miss it for whatever reason. You have to continue to post regularly about your Spotlit channel if you hope to keep getting new fans.

How to Remind People you are on Spotlit

 • Have a callout in your content to thank your current fans and direct new Fans toward your Channel

 • Post the names of your newest Superfans to Facebook or Twitter–this makes your new supporters feel valued as well as gives you an opportunity to promote yourself!

• Post a monthly thank you to your fans that includes their names. Perhaps a special drawing, photo, or meme

• Include a link to your channel in your email newsletter if you have a mailing list

Your Fans are Your Most Important Asset

Your Fans are people who are giving you money for literally no reason other than the fact that they love what you create. That is incredibly powerful!

These are the people who are most invested in your work and your success with it. They are the people whose opinions matter the most and who have the deepest investment in the work you create.

Spotlit has some amazing features to help you maintain contact with your fans and you should experiment to ­find the best techniques to keep them engaged. In general, you want to make sure you’re interacting with them at least once a week to let them know that you remember they’re there and you care about them.

Sometimes you need help refi­ning your content or your direction–we all hit creative plateaus and writer’s block! Your fans can be a focus group–use what they love about what you create to help you narrow down your options to something that will bring out the best elements of your work.

How to Keep your fans Engaged

• Post regular polls asking what types of content they most want to see from you or rewards they’d most like to see you offer

• Ask your fans questions–who are they, why are they supporting you, and how did they discover your Channel?

• Having trouble deciding on the direction of something you’re developing? Solicit your fan’s input! They’re the ones most likely to consume it, so let them help you decide!

The future of your Spotlit Channel

Spotlit Channel is something that takes a while to build. I know that may seem like a tall order given that you’re already investing so much of yourself in your content, but consider that the alternative may be to create that content and have no fi­nancial support for it at all. It takes a dedicated audience to make any kind of art successful, so try to look at Spotlit as another step in creating that audience.

Things to Prepare Yourself For

First, when you ­first announce your Spotlit you may ­find that people are slow to sign up. Do not expect to meet all your goals in a short period of time. Some people need to get acclimated to what Spotlit represents and sometimes all it takes is a really good piece of content to make people excited about contributing to your work.

Spotlit is not a quick cash-out. It is a community that has to be built over time.

Second, Spotlit also has a churn rate to it. Expect that even if you reach one of your fi­nancial goals you maybe dancing around it for quite some time. Many people will support you fi­nancially so long as they’re able but may go through times of ­financial hardship or even just shift their focus. That’s perfectly natural and does not mean that people no longer like you or your content. New fans will come around and sometimes old fans will sign back up after their circumstances change.

Third, you will almost certainly go through periods of intense doubt or question why you’re creating. Go to your Superfans and ask them what they love about your work. Spotlit isn’t just a place where they can support you ­financially, it’s also there for emotional support. These are people who love your content–give them a chance to tell you why it means so much to them and how much they hope you continue to produce it.

Parting Thoughts…

Well, that’s it! Thanks so much for reading this guide and good luck with producing your own Spotlit pro­files. I hope you ­find them as rewarding and helpful as I have. If there is one and only one lesson that I hope you take away from this handout, it’s to be patient and to treat your Superfans as an important asset to your art and your business.

Good luck as you embark on creating your channel and an amazing community around it. Using these methods, I’ve grown my channel by over 100% in the past months–there’s no reason you can’t do it, too!

                                Support the work that I do on Spotlit

7 Ways to Engage With Your Fans

Whether you’re a musician, actor, fitness guru, or another type of content creator, your fans are the driving force for your success. Fans are the most important part of your career because without their support you wouldn’t be where you are today. On Spotlit your fans support you financially as well. 

Because your fans are so crucial, it’s important to engage with them as much as possible so that they remain loyal and keep supporting you. Turn your fans into Superfans with these eight simple ways to engage with your audience.

Go Live

Live-streaming has flourished in recent years because it allows influencers to engage with their fans in real-time. It allows you, as a creator, to express yourself in front of your community which will give your fans an idea of what you’re really like in person. Superfans usually really enjoy this kind of “in-the-moment” experience. 

Depending on what kind of content you create, it’s also a great opportunity to host live shows, concerts and Q&A sessions.

Grab their attention through stories

Much like other social media platforms, stories on Spotlit appear at the top of your followers’ homepages, ensuring that your content doesn’t get lost in their feed.

Stories are a great way to show off your human side by sharing highlights of your personal lifestyle. Production quality is expected to be less polished in stories so it’s a great excuse to post something quick and easy, whilst still providing your audience with their daily dose of content. 

Post a Poll

Creating a poll is a great opportunity for your fans to give you their opinion on a subject or topic relating to you, or just something you find interesting. This could be letting your fans have their say on what kind of content you make next or whether your account should be free or paid etc. Letting your fans be part of the process strengthens a sense of community on your page and lets your fans feel like their input matters. 

Open the door to conversation

The next time someone comments on your latest post, try striking up a conversation. Giving a simple thumbs up or a “thanks” is nice, but you can do so much more. Try engaging in conversations with your audience and getting to know them on a personal level. This shows that you genuinely care about your audience and fans love that!

Show Some Love

Nothing says fan love like a shout-out. Tag your top fans in a post or story and let your community know that you recognize and appreciate them. There’s also a feature that allows you to notify your top fans, which can be found in your Settings. 

These are just some of the methods that you can use to engage with your fans. Try experimenting and see what works for you. With regular feature updates, there’s sure to be even more ways of interacting with your subscribers on Spotlit in the months and years to come. 

Post at the right time

If you post content when most of your fans are asleep, they could be missing out, especially if that content is epithermal Try to figure out when your followers are most active and post your content around that time frame. If you are African and most of your fan-base are US based, for example, try publishing your content to cater to their time zones. The scheduling tools on Spotlit could help you with this.

Ask questions and respond

Asking questions is a great way to bring all your fans together in one thread whilst also asking for information about what kind of content they want to see from you! This can give you some insight into what you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong. It’s the perfect way to cater your content to your fans’ preferences. Try to respond promptly to fans who are kind enough to engage with you.

How YouTubers Can Use Spotlit

Let’s be honest, there is a lot of work and money that goes into creating exciting and unique YouTube videos. Just getting the equipment is an endless shopping list that might cost an arm and a leg and it’s far from guaranteed that you’ll make your money back with your first few videos. Not only do you need a decent camera, microphone, props and video editing software. which will easily set you back a couple of hundred big ones, you will also need to invest your time in creating content that will stand out from the rest. We’re talking storyboards, resources, set up, and producing the content itself which could take longer than the average working week.

With YouTube ad revenue crashing, there is very little reason to create content on YouTube at all, if your goal is to make money. The only way to successfully monetize your content is through sponsorship, touring, and merchandise. This is a long process and sucks the joy out of creating content for YouTube. YouTube should be fun and engaging, not a business strategy. However, what if we told you, you can make money, connect with your subscribers and still have fun making videos? 

Spotlit is a social media platform that allows your subscribers or “fans”, as we like to call them, to pay a monthly subscription fee to see your content. This can range from posting pictures, videos, live streams, or even blogs. It works like any other social media platform but with fewer restrictions, meaning you can post anything you want! Here are a few reasons why YouTubers should use Spotlit.

Exclusive content

Treat your fans right with exclusive content on Spotlit. This could be never before seen videos, sneak peeks, behind the scenes footage, personal vlogs, pictures, and so on. Make sure your content is more valuable to your fans. If subscribers feel like they’re getting more of the same, especially from free platforms, fans may feel they’re not getting their money’s worth.

Your input matters

Spotlit is a great place to express yourself directly to your audience. Fans want to hear your thoughts and love it when you’re being yourself and speaking your mind. This platform not only allows you to speak freely to your community but it also enables you to help fellow creators who might be struggling with your content. Your name and your input really do matter to your fans.

Interact with your audience

The major advantage of Spotlit is the opportunity to connect with your fans one-to-one. Not only does this help build strong relationships with your fanbase, but this can also give you some insight into what the fans want from you. Ask them for suggestions and ideas for future content. This might just give you the edge to get ahead of the pack. 

Consistent income

Not only do you get amazing features in the palm of your hand but having subscribers also provides consistent income. As long as you get subscribers, you’re always earning money. You no longer need sponsors or business strategies to fill up your piggy bank. It’s the easiest way to monetize your content without the hassle.

It’s not just about the money

That said and done, just because you can make money from Spotlit doesn’t mean you have to. Spotlit has the option of free accounts too! The platform can help build a community around your YouTube channel and gives your viewers the opportunity to walk beside you into stardom. Really get to know your fans and show how much they mean to you with exclusive content dedicated to them personally.

There is huge potential here on Spotlit if you are willing to put in the work. It’s a great platform to connect with your fans in ways so few other platforms will allow you to. By posting regularly and steadily growing your fanbase. It won’t take long for your career to take off as both a YouTuber and as a Spotlit creator.