Welcome to the attention economy
Where everyone on the internet competes for eyeballs by creating more and more stuff and viewers feel overwhelmed and creators can’t step off the hamster wheel of content creation and the internet is total freaking chaos.
More than 200M creators are competing for a share of the market.1 No wonder they’re facing challenges reaching and growing their audience.
So what’s the solution?
Spoiler alert: It’s not “create more content.”
According to 40M+ Linktree creatorsUnify
Become one with your online presence
aka: get your sh*t togetherThe internet is a fragmented place. We’ve seen this on Linktree, where our users (aka creators) have posted over 100M links to 7.5M different websites since the beginning of 2022. So what are creators unifying?
Social media users have, on average, seven social media profiles4 (will Threads make it 8?).
The most popular sites creators are linking to are Instagram, Youtube, and TikTok. No surprise there. But, these big platforms make up only
0%
of the total links created on Linktree since the start of 2022. It goes to show the extreme variety of content that's still out there competing.
Links that are cutting through the noise
Since 2022, links to…
+300%
TikTok have grown by 300%
+200%
Eventbrite have grown by 200%
+42%
LinkedIn have grown by 42%
+27%
Google Docs have grown by 27% (i.e. courses & workout plans)
+23%
Spotify playlist embeds have grown by 23%
What Linkers say
“People who are naturally interested just go through and find what they want and they can click on it, and go.”
0X
Unifying encourages cross-discovery. Now, someone from your Instagram can find your podcast, new book, or album release. Linktrees get viewed more than 3x a month per visitor on average. This means that once people get to know everything you have to offer, they’re more likely to come back for more.
Put your link in bio in all the places.
The most popular Linktrees get traffic from an average of 12 sources (that’s a lot!). The top three drivers? Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. So while social is driving the most inbound traffic, creators are pushing that traffic to mostly nonsocial links, helping their audiences discover more.
Twitter (X)
TikTok
YouTube
QR Code
Snapchat
Bing
DuckDuckGo
Telegram
IRL links are important too. Since the rise of QR codes following the pandemic, monthly QR code clicks have nearly tripled, meaning more and more creators are merging real life with their digital life.
Unifying your content can give you more control of your online presence. But, it’s only one part of the equation.
F the algorithm
Most of the time, it’s not your friend.
Algorithms drive discovery on both social and search engines, so there's always a gatekeeper between you and your potential followers.Plus, the things search algorithms prioritize don’t match what creators prioritize. Google Selena Gomez, and the first things you see are her age, height, and parents’ names!Is that really what Selena fans are looking for? No offense, Mr. and Mrs. Gomez, but we don't think so!
You can cut out the algorithmic middle man to give your audience a fast-pass to your content.
What Linkers say
On social media, catering to the algorithm leads to “content collapse.” In other words, the same sh*t gets served over and over.
3/4
of creators want to diversify what they create,5 but feel pressure to keep making what is rewarded by the algorithm. Trying to adapt to the algorithm is like working for a faceless boss who evaluates you based on annoying rules that you can’t see.
Be your own algorithm.
Get your audience whereyou want them. Faster.
Across platforms, attention is scarce, and you only have so much control. When you only have a split-second to capture someone's attention, first impressions really matter.
What Linkers say
“People need to get to where they want to go within two clicks, otherwise they're going to leave.”
0%
Our internal data backs this up: something as simple as the order of links on your Linktree has a huge impact on what gets attention. Looking at a list of 10 links, the first three links have an average of 130% higher click-through-rates (CTRs) than the bottom seven. Including your most important content in the top spots can lead to higher engagement.
Link #1
Link #2
Link #3
Link #4
Link #5
Link #6
Link #7
Link #8
Link #9
Link #10
0%
Creators are using tools like priority links (like link 1) to help them capture attention and drive engagement. In fact, animated links drive an 85% higher CTR compared to static links. Animated links visually prioritize important content, latest releases and online storefronts.
Own your audience.
The following you've built belongsto you, not the social media overlords.
Building a community allows for authentic relationships with people who will go the extra mile to engage with all that you do. Loyal communities help you ride the wave of changing algorithms, making you less reliant on them. Since last year, we've seen community platforms and features that unlock direct interactions with fans grow substantially.
+33%
Patreon
+46%
+75%
Contact Details (i.e. digital biz cards for 1:1 engagement)
+94%
Typeform
+157%
Substack
average monthly clicks increase from 2022-2023
You don’t need a huge following to benefit from a community-focused approach.
What Linkers say
“Fans had been telling me to start a Discord... it’s just been so good because it allows you to communicate with people who care about your music.”
0%
of creators who are seeing engagement on their Discord link have had less than 1,000 total views of their Linktree. This is an early signal, but it shows that smaller creators are optimistic about the value of creating a community.
Unify your content. Take control of your audience. Then, you can…
Turn attention into $$$
Getting likes is more fun when you can turn them into cold hard cash.
Attention Economy → Real EconomyOnce you’ve garnered the right attention, the next phase is turning your side hustle into a legit career. After all, success in the attention economy is only valuable when it translates to stable, reliable income.
Half of creators have made money from their content in the last 12 months. So, how much are they making?
72% of creators made less than $500
17% of creators made between $500-$5k
5% of creators made between $5k-$10k
4% of creators made between $10k-$50k
2% of creators made over $50k
Can’t pay the bills with $500?
Get fans to support you in new ways.
We’re seeing a huge opportunity for creators to turn their Linktrees into moneymakers, especially through direct payment features like tips, gifts and paid requests for products and services. Since early 2022, the average monthly revenue paid to creators increased more than 25%, showing that more and more are able to make money straight from their fans. Not having to rely on creator funds, brand deals and ad dollars is a huge step to long-term financial success.
What Linkers say
“I saw you can set up these requests and realized I could start dedicating real time towards this.”
$0k
Direct monetization has been especially helpful for creators looking to take advantage of a sudden spike in attention. The Prolific Penman experienced this firsthand — in just three months, he turned viral TikTok moments into more than $10.5k in direct payments on Linktree, mostly through paid requests for custom signatures with price points falling around just $20.
More than merch.
Creators are literally the brand.
When creators diversify revenue streams, their audience shows up. Since the beginning of 2022, links to Shopify and Spring link apps, where creators can display what they are selling right on their Linktree, have increased by 58%. These shop links have driven more than 38M clicks in the last year alone.
What Linkers say
“You can create your store... and give a sneak peek of what they’re going to see.”
The “A” word.
When thinking about selling, don’tforget the world’s largest marketplace.
This year during Prime Days we saw a 30% increase in accounts with Amazon links and links created nearly doubled. Visitors were also eager to explore their favorite creators’ storefronts. Average daily clicks on Prime Days increased by 113%, showing the power of seizing a key moment to create momentum. In fact, Amazon storefront links were the most clicked links on both Prime Days, across all of Linktree.
+30% Accounts with new Amazon links
+113% Average Amazon clicks
Black Friday and Cyber Monday
+39% Average daily clicks
+184% Black Friday and Cyber Monday growth in clicks
What about the other shopping moments, like the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday holidays? Last year, Amazon links saw 184% growth in clicks and a 39% increase in average daily clicks compared to the month prior.It’s not just Amazon links that see increases during these big events. In fact, clicks on Shopify and Spring via Linktree grew 150% during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. What's more, average daily clicks were 90% greater during the holiday weekend than in the entire month of October.
Fans want to know your favorite products.
In the US, one-third (and more than half of Gen Zs and millennials) say content creators influence their buying decisions.6 This explains why affiliate marketing, where companies pay influencers a commission for sending referral traffic and sales, is now estimated to be worth more than $14 billion.
Many people say content creators influence their buying decisions.
A third
of all adults
More than half
of Gen Z & Millennials
We’ve seen this trend on Linktree: Amazon and LTK monthly affiliate link creation has increased more than 60% and monthly clicks have doubled since 2022.
2022
2023
+60%
Amazon and LTK link creations
2022
2023
+2x
Monthly clicks Amazon and LTK links
Affiliates aren't just for influencers; a growing number of small creators use their Linktree to drive affiliate revenue as well. Since 2022,
0%
of all creators who received a click on their Amazon link had less than 1K total Linktree views. Consumers prefer to buy from people they trust, and there’s lots of opportunity to earn from being a tastemaker in your space.
In the time you took to read this…
0
hours of content have been streamed.
X TikToks have been viewed. X photos have been posted on Instagram.
There’s a ton of content out there, and there’s no sign of it slowing down. There’s even content about content (yes, like this very report).So, we won’t take up any more of your time and attention. Here’s the bottom line: Create stuff that makes sense to you and not an algorithm. Monetize your work in a way that's simple and meaningful for your audience. And put it all in one place.
- LoacaliQ, Statista — Internet Minute Header
- Linktree — Creator Report 2022
- The Guardian — Content overload on the web is a turn-off: here’s how to manage it
- The New York Times — How To Focus Like It’s 1990
- Forbes — Top Social Media Statistics And Trends Of 2023
- Petapixel — Creators Feel ‘Screwed’ by Social Media And its Algorithms
- Deloitte — Driving lifetime value in a content creator ecosystem
