The creator economy is a phenomenon that has vastly grown to dominate the market in recent years. In fact, a recent report found that influencer marketing alone is expected to expand to approximately $16.4 billion by the end of 2022.

These days, what can be accomplished with a $2,000 computer and self-service SaaS tools surpasses the capabilities of million-dollar budgets from decades past.

With the consistent rise of technology over the last decade paired with the expedited advancements incited by the pandemic, this rapid growth in a newly-created market comes as no surprise. And with the substantial increase in brands’ creator economy budgets, it’s clear that this economy is just getting started.

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However, industry veterans know this exponential growth isn’t because of its namesake. So who are the true drivers behind the increasingly omnipresent creator economy? And how will SaaS solutions continue to move that market forward in the coming years? Let’s discuss…

With the right set of tools, an individual creator can make content and share and distribute it with similar professionalism as industry giants like Amazon or Target without the cost and often with greater flexibility and efficiency. There are plenty of low-cost options available that can help creators scale their business, many of which enable content creators and marketers alike to streamline, automate, accelerate, and analyze their efforts in a seamless workflow. Without solutions such as Canva, InDesign, MailChimp, Shopify, Hootsuite, and Issuu, the creator economy would be less accessible and not as lucrative. Because, while the creator-centered industry definitely begins with the creator and their creativity, it’s built day-by-day with trusted and well-integrated tools. These include apps, platforms, and sites that creators use to craft content, distribute it to eager audiences, engage with their loyal followers, monetize their fan base, build partnerships, run the back-end of their business, and so much more. Success of the creator economy depends on the use of an efficient, frictionless workflow. More now than ever before the workflow is king.

What’s shocking is that a whopping 93% (46.7 million) of the estimated 50 million creators worldwide consider themselves to be amateurs. With this mentality behind the vast majority of creators as well as a looming recession, this up-and-coming next wave of SaaS technology needs to focus on offering low-cost solutions that are easy to navigate and integrate into creators’ processes and tech stacks.

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Think of it this way: if a video creator needs to make a YouTube thumbnail, or any sort of graphics for Instagram Reels, they might eventually turn to Adobe’s creative suite of offerings. But, if they’re just starting out and need to try a low-cost alternative, they might turn to a powerful, all-in-one design and publishing tools. Additionally, a fitness influencer might utilize tools like MailChimp to share their weekly meal prep and, once they’ve gained a following, turn to an easy-to-use content creation and dissemination platform to share their workout ebook to the masses.

Did you know that it takes content creators an average of six and a half months to earn their first dollar? And just 10% of influencers earn $100K or more per year. In scenarios like these, it’s critical for creators to make wise choices when choosing tech solutions to create graphics and upload content. And it’s even more important for SaaS companies to offer high-quality solutions at a reasonable cost. This is why start-ups and new-to-the-industry players will be in high demand in the year ahead.