Since 2020, I've helped creators generate over $900k in revenue through digital products, course sales, and coaching programs. These creators led purpose-driven communities, meaning their community had a core identity, value, or purpose that held them together and kept them growing and invested. These creators grew through education, and I was able to build sales machines around them.
Because they were purpose-driven, they made my job easier. Their strong sense of purpose made it possible for me to build sales funnels that turned their passion into profit.
When I say purpose, I’m not referring to something inherently “deep.” Purpose doesn’t always have to be profound. It could be as simple as a shared love for BTS or the connection people felt in the ‘Don’t F*ck With Cats’ community. The key is the shared identity that brings people together, and that’s how a creator can create lasting leverage and monetization opportunities.
When you build a community around a shared purpose and core values, you unlock multiple monetization opportunities that come naturally—without waiting for brands to recognize your worth. Monetization through brand deals, affiliates, and events becomes a byproduct of the content and community you’ve built.
The Web3 creator funnel is broken.
Right now, it's modeled after outdated GTM strategies, where a creator’s value is tied to their ability to drive token price, airdrop hype, or build a cult around a product. You're stuck.
When the market dries up, so will your income, because as long as your value is tied to token performance, your financial future is in their hands—not yours.
The bar for Web3 creators is in 🕳, rewarding token pumping over authentic, long-term value creation.
The good news is, we're seeing a shift in the space—toward building experiences that let people enjoy crypto and earn without relying on token speculation. As the value shifts towards experiences over token price, smart companies are already re-evaluating how they spend their money on creators.
They will start divesting from anonymous PFPs and invest in real humans who create authentic content and build genuine connections. They will especially find value in those who can attract and bring net new users to their product, which means as a creator, you need to build your community and brand around something much bigger than crypto.
When you focus on something bigger than just building clout to pump projects, and instead create experiences that impact the people you want to serve, that’s where your real 100x lies.
The Creator Funnel and Monetization Pathways
Here is how most Web3 creators monetize today:
Sponsored content (threads, videos, video integrations, tweets)
Affiliate deals (trade commission, referral commission)
Private groups (monthly or yearly memberships for trading calls)
Now, let’s decenter token marketing from the creator funnel. When your income is no longer hinged on token marketing, you open yourself up to:
Paid subscriptions
Web2 & Web3 brand deals
Digital content sales
Merchandise
Live and virtual events
VIP meetups
I would even argue that things like merch and digital products have the potential to become semi-passive income streams.
Now that you see the bigger picture and understand that your value isn’t tied to how a brand perceives you, you can begin creating and scaling your own value. As you do this, you’ll naturally become more valuable to brands because your community will be strong, engaged, and capable of converting at the product level.
This means you need to think bigger about who you're creating content for and what the true purpose of your community is.
Ask yourself these questions:
So you want to bring people into Web3—but who are they, and why you?
How do you want to help them?
How much time can you commit to growing this community?
Below, I’ll show you a real example of what growing into this funnel can look like. I’ve created an archetype of the kind of creator I’ve helped scale in Web2, where the core purpose of the community allowed them to branch out into multiple revenue streams.
Cashflow Creator Archetype Example
Creator: Janelle
Niche: Beauty, Wellness, Tech, Web3
Janelle’s all about helping beauty entrepreneurs level up by mixing tech with wellness. She’s not just focused on their business growth, but also how they can take care of themselves in the process. Her community is full of people who want to learn how to run a successful beauty business while staying balanced and healthy.
Foundation Monetization:
Paid newsletter for beauty entrepreneurs
Private events for her community
Sponsored content and brand deals
Web3 Opportunities:
Chipped Nails: Partnered on a B2B2C play, leveraging her community of beauty entrepreneurs who sell products in their salons, online stores, and at events.
Cudis Ring: Brand deal as part of her wellness journey, where she shares her experiences with her audience as she gears up for her first 5k.
Wallet Partner: Collaborates on educational initiatives to onboard her community members interested in the investment/token side of crypto.
This is only a snippet into what you can grow, I hope you see the vision.
Your most powerful advantage is your ability to bring in net new users and create value—not just for yourself, but for your entire community. That’s your 100x.
If you liked this post, let me know what you think! And if you want to chat about rethinking your funnel, just shoot me a DM.
