How do you measure your monetization success?

1 Revenue and profit

The most obvious and important metric to measure your monetization success is your revenue and profit. Revenue is the total amount of money you earn from your monetization sources, such as ads, subscriptions, donations, sponsorships, sales, or commissions. Profit is the difference between your revenue and your expenses, such as hosting, production, marketing, or taxes. You should track your revenue and profit over time and compare them to your goals and benchmarks. You should also analyze your revenue and profit by source, channel, platform, or audience segment to identify what works best and what needs improvement.

2 Conversion rate and customer lifetime value

Another metric that can help you measure your monetization success is your conversion rate and customer lifetime value. Conversion rate is the percentage of your audience that takes a desired action, such as signing up, subscribing, buying, or donating. Customer lifetime value is the average amount of money you earn from a customer over their entire relationship with you. You should monitor your conversion rate and customer lifetime value to understand how effective your monetization offers and strategies are and how loyal and valuable your customers are. You should also test and optimize your conversion funnel, pricing, messaging, and incentives to increase your conversion rate and customer lifetime value.

3 Engagement and retention

A third metric that can help you measure your monetization success is your engagement and retention. Engagement is the degree of interaction and involvement your audience has with your content, products, or services. Retention is the percentage of your audience that stays with you over time. You should measure your engagement and retention to assess how satisfied and loyal your audience is and how likely they are to monetize or refer others. You should also create and deliver valuable, relevant, and consistent content, products, or services that meet your audience's needs and expectations and encourage them to engage and retain.

4 Feedback and reputation

A fourth metric that can help you measure your monetization success is your feedback and reputation. Feedback is the opinions and suggestions your audience gives you about your content, products, or services. Reputation is the perception and trust your audience and others have of you as a creator. You should collect and analyze your feedback and reputation to learn what your audience likes and dislikes about your monetization offers and strategies and how you can improve them. You should also respond to and act on your feedback and reputation to show your appreciation and credibility and to build your relationship and reputation.

5 Growth and impact

A fifth metric that can help you measure your monetization success is your growth and impact. Growth is the increase in your audience size, reach, and influence over time. Impact is the difference you make in your audience's lives, goals, or problems through your content, products, or services. You should track and evaluate your growth and impact to see how your monetization efforts contribute to your mission and vision as a creator and how you can scale and sustain them. You should also leverage your growth and impact to attract and retain more audience and customers and to create more value and opportunities for yourself and others.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?