It’s 2024 and it’s time to get educated! But seriously, these top emerging creator educators have a lot to say, and they’re making a lot of money doing it. From design and social media experts to economic analysts, we’ve rounded up our favorite up-and-coming content creators who are reinventing the way we receive education online.
Interested in monetizing your knowledge? Read on to learn how these 12 emerging creator educators have successfully made their mark online.
What is a creator educator?
With the rise of digital learning in recent years, content creators can generally be divided into two subcategories: the creator entertainer and the creator educator.
So, what are the differences between the two?
| Creator educators | Creator entertainers | |
| Their goal is to… | Teach and inspire | Entertain |
| They typically monetize through… | Digital products and membership subscriptions | Ads and brand sponsorships |
| Their audience… | Engages deeply | Casts a wide net |
| Their followers… | Devoted to a topic | Have little in common |
| Their purpose… | Knowledge and self-improvement | Enjoyment or entertainment |
The creator entertainer focuses primarily on entertaining their audience. Their end game is to capture their audience’s attention by amusing them. Meanwhile, the creator educator focuses primarily on making educational content that inspires their following to learn new skills that lend towards self-improvement.
Another important distinction between creator educators and creator entertainers is their revenue stream. For example, a creator entertainer casts a broader audience net, putting them in an ideal position for brand sponsorships and subscription revenue.
While creator educators can make money from these revenue streams as well, they also have the advantage of marketing and selling their specific expertise in the form of online courses and digital products like ebooks, templates, or how-to guides.
Keep in mind that if you’re just starting out creating content, you by no means have to place yourself in one bucket or the other. A creator educator can become a creator entertainer and vice versa. At the end of the day, both creator educators and creator entertainers are focused on engaging their audience and growing their following.
12 creator educators to watch in 2024
1. Andrea Casanova
Andrea Casanova is a viral marketer, content creator, and public speaker who believes in the power of manifestation as a tool for achieving even your wildest dreams. Using her career and success as a direct example of the powerful impact that intentional goal-setting can have in life, Andrea has made a name for herself with her vision board tutorials and templates.
While vision-boarding tactics and social media marketing advice aren’t necessarily uncommon themes across social media platforms, Andrea carves out a niche for herself by infusing her educational content with her own life story. A self-made Latina entrepreneur, she speaks often about how vision-boarding helped her dig her way out of some of the most difficult times in her life, including immigration struggles and the loss of her grandmother.
Andrea’s vision board method isn’t just working for her though, she’s inspiring 217k followers on TikTok (and counting) with another 70k followers on Instagram.
Monetization strategy
Andrea has many revenue streams, including public speaking and 1:1 social media coaching. She also recently launched her vision board mini-course on The Leap, strategically packaged at the low cost of $11.11 (for the spiritual girlies, get it?).
2. Kate Terentieva
Kate Terentieva (@katarina) wears multiple hats as a content creator, professional creative director, and personal branding strategist. As the CCO and co-founder of Louder Group, she steers brands toward innovative advertising practices, utilizing her diverse skill set that encompasses everything from SEO mastery to user-generated content (UGC) expertise.
Her TikTok presence (which has over 55K followers, by the way) isn’t just for show. Kate leverages the platform to share educational content, generously offering insights into the realm of creative directing. Her feed is a treasure trove of advice, astute commentary, and analysis on the ever-evolving landscape of marketing. For a taste of Kate’s content, check out her videos on Beyonce’s new fragrance campaign and the launch of SKIMS Mens.
Monetization strategy
In addition to revenue generated from her services for Louder Group, Kate has carved out several passive income streams as a creator educator, including her mini-course “How To Become a Creative Director” built using The Leap. Within one month, Kate’s mini-course quickly generated nearly $660 in sales. Beyond her mini-course offerings, Kate also uses The Leap’s “Ask Me Anything” feature to offer portfolio audits.
3. Barbiana Liu
Barbiana Liu is a brand and web designer-slash-content creator who shares valuable insights with her growing audience on her experience working as a freelance graphic designer in an increasingly competitive market.
If you’ve been a freelancer in any capacity, then you know how difficult it can be to find the answers to basic questions, such as: “How much should I price my work for?” Or, “What does a professional contract even look like?” Sometimes you don’t even know you need a hot tip like creative file management until you receive it, and it’s totally game-changing.
Barbiana’s specialty is breaking down the gatekeeping barriers that so often coincide with freelancing, helping answer all those basic questions that you don’t actually know the answers to until you know, you know?
Monetization strategy
Barbiana regularly partners with brands that are specific and relevant to her design and freelance-oriented audience. She also has several passive income opportunities that help fund her career as a creator and as a freelancer, including affiliate marketing, as well as selling digital products like templates and a freelance contract guide.
4. Gabrielle Judge
Self-proclaimed “lazy girl,” Gabrielle Judge is the ultimate anti-work girl boss. She has built her brand on decentering the 9-to-5 standard from our lives, and promotes the value of achieving a healthy work-life balance, specifically for a Gen Z female audience.
With hyper-relevant hashtags like #corportateburnout, Gabrielle’s content is (unfortunately) also hyper-relatable, which has helped her amass nearly 175K followers on TikTok.
Gabrielle has received a lot of flak from various U.S. news sources for her content, and while her content strategy may at times seem taboo or polarizing, she maintains it’s all intentional. “Lazy girl jobs” aren’t about not working. She may be capitalizing on current trends and news topics, but ultimately, Gabrielle just wants to expose what is and isn’t working in modern-day workplace culture.
Monetization strategy
Currently, Gabrielle’s biggest revenue stream is brand deals, with her digital product offering — a Notion template and ChatGPT prompt hub that assists job-seekers in their job application process — coming in a close second.
5. Todd Baratz
Todd Baratz, aka @yourdiagnonsense, is a mental health counselor, certified sex therapist, and self-proclaimed relationship expert. His trending self-help posts on Instagram have earned him an audience of over 516K followers and a rapidly growing audience on TikTok.
Todd’s posts offer valuable relationship advice in an easy-to-consume list format on themes like “Things you actually need from a partner,” or self-affirming topics like “Love triggers everyone (it’s called being human).”
And since everyone is in some kind of relationship — whether it’s with someone else, multiple people, or yourself — it’s pretty much guaranteed that if you see a @yourdiagnonsense post, you’ll find something relatable. In addition to his social media platforms, Todd also offers a Substack newsletter called “Unfiltered Real Talk” for an audience that wants to dive in deeper.
Monetization strategy
While Todd offers a ton of valuable insight for free, his social media presence is also a way of directing his audience to his counseling services in the form of an online therapy program or 1:1 coaching. His position as a creator has also enabled him to set up affiliate marketing relevant to his brand, like self-help books and other self-care products.
6. Skyelar Garcia
Skyelar Garcia, aka @managedbyskye, is a social media coach and strategist helping other content creators bring structure and strategy to their creative ideas. Her mantra is to “make content smarter not harder,” and her posts are filled with valuable advice affirming this approach.
Skye’s posts often address general how-to questions that many content creators (especially those just getting started) may ask themselves, such as “how to add closed captions” or “when’s the best time to post on TikTok.” Her real-talk vibe and friendly, approachable energy make her social media marketing advice super accessible, easy to understand, and simple to apply. She encourages her followers to experiment with the delivery and execution of their content to see what yields the best results.
Monetization strategy
Skye has built a tiered monetization strategy with income streams that include 1:1 consulting, a full self-hosted digital course, in addition to affiliate marketing.
7. Meg Lewis
Meg Lewis is a graphic designer, performer, and all-around creative force whose content niche revolves around embracing individuality, cultivating positivity, and fostering authentic connections. Ultimately, Meg’s just out here trying to make the world a better place (no big deal or anything).
Creating a space where her audience can explore and celebrate their true selves, Meg’s’ content goes beyond self-help advice and encourages her followers to embrace their quirks, with tips like ruling the trends (instead of trends ruling you). Ultimately, Meg’s educational content touches on the very essence of personal identity, while also sprinkling in design principles and comedic commentary.
Monetization strategy
Meg’s content strategy seamlessly intertwines education, entertainment, and empowerment, making her a valuable source of inspiration and informative content within the creative community. In addition to her design career, Meg offers live workshops, online courses, and digital products like an interactive workbook, as well as all of the fonts she uses on her social media.
8. Andrea Stolpe
Andrea Stolpe is a multi-platinum creative consultant whose songwriting methodology has been taught worldwide. She offers her growing audience of 88K followers on Instagram and 64.7k followers on TikTok valuable tools for writing a melody that stands out.
Andrea’s audience benefits from her 20 years of experience working in the music industry, with videos like the “Pros and cons of signing with a major record label,” where she dives into the then and now of the music industry. While she’s been in the game for a while, her educational content — like writing tips and writing prompts — is especially relevant to emerging singer-songwriters.
Monetization strategy
Andrea’s main income streams include online courses and live events. She also uses her social media presence to direct her audience to her website, where she promotes live and virtual songwriting retreats.
9. Anjela Freyja
Anjela Freyja is a creative director, graphic designer, and writer who uses her experience and expertise in typography, editorial design, photography, and copywriting to create compelling, educational content on the history of art and design.
Her trending TikTok videos on the history of color have garnered nearly 100K views, and feature Anjela’s engaging storytelling style, creative visual sources, and deep introspective side.
Anjela’s highly curated video-essay style of delivering content is packed with thorough research and unexpected connections that have earned her 88K followers on TikTok and counting.
Monetization strategy
Anjela’s content directs her audience to her website where she features her portfolio of work as a creative director, graphic designer, and writer. She also seamlessly sneaks in sponsored posts by partnering up with brands like Timberland.
10. Amy Liberati
Amy Liberati, aka @hackyourhr, is a human resource expert producing content at the intersection of career growth, personal development, and innovative HR strategies.
Her content is a goldmine of actionable insights for anyone navigating the complex landscape that is today’s modern workplace. With videos that extend beyond conventional career advice, Amy’s content dives deep into the realm of human resources, addressing super common (but sometimes awkward) situations like how to apologize, ask for a promotion, or even the importance of speaking up for yourself on a date.
With a keen understanding of both sides, Amy encourages job seekers, employees, and even employers to foster better work environments through real-world strategies. Think of @hackyourhr as a comprehensive toolkit of hacks for thriving both professionally and personally.
Monetization strategy
Amy’s followers can request access to her Google Drive which offers a diverse range of free resources, from resume and job resignation note templates, to a step-by-step guide to “quitting your job like a pro.”
She requests her followers to provide their full name and email address to receive access to her Google Drive. So even though the resources are free, she’s still gaining valuable contact information in return that may be used down the line for launching other income streams.
11. Kyla Scanlon
Kyla Scanlon is a financial educator, writer, creator, and podcaster. Her success as a creator educator stems from her ability to explain economics in a way that even your 7-year-old nephew could understand.
Her videos often splice together relevant news articles with whiteboard musings (it’s not uncommon to see a stick figure or two) and casual commentary on complex topics like the differences between the European and American economy, or relatable pop culture topics like the impact of Taylor Swift’s tour on the GDP, or just plain and simple, wholesome soup news.
Kyla’s focus is to analyze the economy from a human-focused lens. Her content is dedicated to getting people to get interested in the economy and does so by providing valuable information.
Monetization strategy
Kyla’s social platforms build up her credibility, ultimately leading towards the release of her up-and-coming book, In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work.
12. Kyne Santos
As a world-class drag queen, mathematics educator, and keynote speaker, Kyne Santos brings STEM education to the queer community and queerness to the STEM community. It’s a win-win for everyone really, especially Kyne’s 1.5 million followers on TikTok (not to mention all of her other social media platforms).
Starting out on YouTube in 2013, Kyne first established herself as a creator educator doing drag tutorials, and quickly rose to even more fame after having appeared on the first season of Canada’s Drag Race.
Whether you’re a physics teacher or a total math noob, chances are Kyne’s high-glam drag and entertaining explanations on the history of famous math problems or the introduction of a new shape will keep you 100% engaged.
Monetization strategy
With videos that have nearly 10 million views, Kyne proves you don’t need to be a math expert to care about math. She has evolved her popular channel into several different income streams including merch, a podcast, and sponsorships with major brands like MAC Cosmetics, L’Oreal, and Wealthsimple.
Kyne’s TikTok has also established her as a major player in both the drag and mathematics community, jumpstarting her career as a keynote speaker for schools, GSAs, teachers, math clubs, and marketing specialists across the globe.
Monetize your knowledge today!
Feeling inspired? Ready to monetize your knowledge and make some bread? Of course you are! But the real question is: how do you monetize your knowledge without breaking the bank?
Pro tip: Find yourself a digital product builder that’s easy to use and free. Because if there’s one sure way to improve your monetization strategy and rapidly increase your passive income streams, it’s finding a tool that will offer you terrific ROI.
The Leap’s free AI-powered digital product builder helps creators get over those daunting hurdles that are inevitable at the beginning of any budding creator’s career. The tool is super user-friendly and can help you build products to sell such as mini-courses, tutorials, challenges, and guides. Plus. if you’re feeling totally stumped for ideas, The Leap’s AI tool will generate some for you! Pretty sweet deal, right?
If you’re ready to get started creating and selling your own digital products, jumpstart your career and try The Leap for free now.
Still early in your creator journey? Check out our guide to making your first $100 online.
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