When is the right time to monetise your content?

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One of the most common questions I get from creators is
“When should I start monetising?”

After all, we’re told that if we don’t have something to sell, we leave money on the table. The pressure to launch a product, create a Patreon, or start offering coaching kicks in fast. It feels like everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn’t you?

But lately, I’ve been thinking about how much we underestimate the power of waiting.

The truth is, just because you can monetise early doesn’t mean you should.

The Steven Bartlett example

Let’s look at one of the biggest examples in the podcast space right now which is of course The Diary of a CEO.

Steven Bartlett didn’t rush to sell. He wasn’t plugging a course, a membership, or a digital download in the first year. In fact, he waited longer than most people would be comfortable with.

He could have sold anything within the first few years, but he understood that attention and trust are completely different. If you try to convert attention into revenue before that trust is built, you might be doing yourself a disservice in the long run.

The guy is playing the long game. Just last week, he revealed he knocked back a $100 million offer from a keen network not because he doesn’t like money, but because it didn’t align with the bigger vision he’s building toward. Every part of his show, from the set design to the distribution strategy to the quality of his interviews, has been a deliberate investment in something long-term. He keeps showing up, week after week, deepening the relationship with his audience and building real emotional investment.

This is why monetisation doesn’t feel like a sellout; it’s just the next obvious step in something much bigger than making a buck out of you.

The hidden cost of early monetisation

I feel like sometimes within the creator entrepreneurship world, we talk about early monetisation as if it’s a flex, like being able to sell something quickly is a sign of success.

However, what often goes unmentioned is that monetising too early typically stunts growth.

Because when you’re focused on building a product, running a funnel, or testing price points, you’re not focusing on your craft. You’re not getting better at the thing that actually grows and looks after your audience. When you do launch something, the results are usually underwhelming and it’s not because your product sucks, but because you haven’t built the kind of relationship that supports a sale.

There’s also a deeper shift that happens when you start to monetise: the dynamic with your audience changes. You’re no longer just the creator they trust, now you’re asking for something in return. That’s not a bad thing, but it is a trade-off. If you haven’t earned that ask yet, you’ll feel the friction immediately.

You don’t need to be in a rush

Some of the most successful creators I know are people who are now making serious, sustainable revenue didn’t monetise for a long time. They all have something in common: they were obsessed with building something real first.

Jay Clouse spent years building trust through his newsletter before introducing a paid membership. Colin & Samir didn’t have a product when they hit 100K subs. Paddy Galloway didn’t launch a consulting offer until he had a track record of scaling YouTube channels with millions of views.

When they did finally monetise, their audience wasn’t just ready they were begging for it.

So when is the right time?

There’s no perfect formula, but I’ve started using a simple rule for myself:

Don’t monetise until the trust gap is closed.

If you haven’t yet built a relationship where people are coming to you and saying,
“Where can I learn more?”
“Do you offer anything else?”
“Can I pay you for this?”
You’re probably not there yet.

Keep going!

Keep delivering value with no expectation of return. Because when people trust you enough to buy, you’ll feel it, and you will not need to push.

Final thought

Monetisation isn’t just a revenue play it’s a relationship shift. It changes the dynamic between you and your audience, and if you move too soon, that shift can cost you more than it makes.

Do not get me wrong! You can sell early. You can make a few thousand dollars from a product or service. But if you’d spent that time building your reputation and reach instead, you might’ve made 10x more, and done it in a way that compounds.

The best monetisation doesn’t interrupt the relationship it extends it.

This is why Steven Bartlett is getting it so right with his audience.

It’s what more creators should think about before jumping into launch mode.

YouTube

• you can now edit the font captions on Shorts, customising the font and colour.

• now shows the status of uploads while they’re pending on channel pages.

TikTok

• rolled out the option to upload videos up to 60 minutes long to more users

READ: There are universities in the United States training athletes to become TikTok stars.

LISTEN: Sometimes I think we focus on the micro more than we should focus on the micro. Morgan Housel is a financial psychologist who wrote The Psychology Of Money and appeared on DOAC during a pertinent time in economic history. This episode will help you zoom out so that you can make small decisions to keep your long-term vision alive.

WATCH: This is the first time I’ve watched an episode of Behind The Diary, and it just so happened to be the one where Steven met MrBeast. It’s crazy we have access to this type of thing for free.