Hey friend! Have you built something cool and helpful in Airtable or Notion but aren‘t sure how to make money from your creation? You‘ve come to the right place.
As an experienced online entrepreneur, I‘ve both monetized my own digital tools as well as helped dozens of creators earn serious cash from their productivity hacks and niche databases.
In this epic walkthrough, I‘m breaking down everything you need to start profiting from your bases, workspaces and suite of templates. I‘ll dish out both big picture strategies and get-it-done tactics so you can immediately put these methods into practice.
Let‘s get to the good stuff!
Just How Big is This Opportunity Anyway?
Before jumping into the how, you need to understand the upside here. Airtable and Notion are exploding:
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Airtable has over 250,000 paying teams on various plans as of 2022. Total registered users recently surpassed 4 million.
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Notion hit 4 million registered users in 2019. As of 2022 there are over 10 million total users and 1 million monthly active members creating new pages.
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Over 60% of Airtable and Notion users say they use these tools for workplace collaboration and increasing productivity.
With millions of people now relying on Airtable and Notion every single day, there is no ceiling on what custom solutions focused specifically on helping these users accomplish more is worth.
I‘ve seen the creators of mega-popular templates easily clear over 6 figures per year in sales. One founder I spoke to has gone from $0 to over $36,000 per month selling her Notion recipes template in just 2 years.
But before you start dreaming of tropical vacays and early retirement from template sales, let‘s get into the tactics so you can start building income right away.
Monetization Model #1 – Gated Content & Subscriptions
One of the most popular ways creators monetize their bases and workspaces is by putting some or all the content behind a paywall.
This gives you a set of free resources to hook interest, then charges for access to the exclusive templates/frameworks with real utility.
For example, let‘s say I curate a database of the absolute best sales presentation frameworks drawing from thought leaders across multiple companies.
I could give away a sample checklist for creating winning sales decks as a lead magnet. But the 10 complete slide templates are only accessible to paying members of my Notion template workspace.
Using a tool like Paytable I quickly set up tiered access levels:
- Free: Intro article, newsletter, reviews blog
- $8/mo: Quarterly sales templates
- $25/mo: New template and examples added weekly
Paytable seamlessly handles securing my content by hiding direct access URLs, collecting subscription fees, transferring earnings to Stripe and much more.
With this popular model creators leverage free content to demonstrate value, then convert a percentage of visitors into long-term subscribers providing recurring revenue.
Monetization Model #2 – Premium Custom Setups
Alternatively, some creators fully customize Airtable bases or Notion workspaces tailored specifically to a buyer‘s personal or business needs. This is an extremely high-touch service reserved for serious power users.
For example, one Airtable expert I met charges between $5,000-$15,000 to build out extensive relational databases and interactive interfaces for startups and niche bloggers managing tons of disparate data.
Most purchasers use templates as inspiration, but for those willing to splurge the entire system is built for them from the ground up. Beyond saving tons of time, they benefit from your specialized expertise configuring advanced features.
Pro tip: Don‘t undervalue your creation effort and knowledge here. Charge a premium rate and clearly communicate expectations before taking payment and commencing setup. Reassure the buyer this is a collaborative process with scheduled checkpoints for optimizing the system.
While more hands-on, custom setup fees can add up quickly and are highly profitable. You may need some initial testimonials and examples to land the first few buyers through.
Monetization Model #3 – Paid Tool Integrations
Dedicated users building complex solutions using Airtable and Notion often leverage 3rd party apps for added functionality like email marketing, calendars, surveys, analytics, interactives charts and automation.
While installing and connecting these tools is straightforward, properly configuring them to fit niche needs takes much more knowledge and effort.
That‘s why some creators monetize custom packaged integrations ready for specific uses.
For example, a custom suite of analytics, email and chat tools preconfigured for optimal social media management tracking and reporting. Or a health and wellness stack with fitness loggers, goal reminders and habit trackers included.
Buyers pay for the tools, your expertise piecing together an effective solution, and convenience all in one – no tinkering required!
If Google Workspace or Office 365 integration, Zapier automation, Integromat connections, or ChartBlocks vizualization is useful for your niche, packaging purpose-built bundles tailored to those needs allows you to charge a significant premium.
And having these systems already connected and working in relation is where your value comes in as the expert creator versuses the user attempting to configure it themselves.
Choosing Your Monetization Model
With endless possibilities, how do you choose the right approach to monetize your creation? Ask yourself:
- Who is my audience and what premium offerings would bring them the most value right now?
- What unique knowledge and experience can I leverage to justify a paid offering whether access, services or tool integration?
- What can I provide that gives my audience the clarity, convenience or capability that‘s well worth paying for rather than getting a free alternative?
There is no one size fits all model. That‘s why a combination of subscription content access, customized setups available on request, and plug-and-play tool bundles lets you appeal to users across multiple needs and budgets.
Ideally build one income stream first before expanding your monetization methods. Master one high-performing offering then replicate it or evolve your pricing – don‘t stretch yourself too thin.
Now that we‘ve covered the major models for scoring paychecks from your database brilliance, let‘s contrast two of the best platforms for actually collecting payments.
Monetization Tool Showdown: Paytable vs. Softr
When it comes to tangibly making money from Airtable or Notion (without handling all the commerce complexity yourself), Paytable and Softr top the list for purpose-built monetization platforms.
But with similar features and offerings, how do you choose? Check out this comparison covering pricing, capabilities and ease of use.
| Paytable | Softr | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Starts at $12/mo (1K users) | Free (core features) Pro Plans $16+ |
| Tools Supported | Airtable + Notion | Airtable + Notion + more |
| Offerings | – Subscriptions – One-time access – Stripe/Gumroad payouts |
– Subscriptions – One-time purchases – Stripe payouts |
| Features | – Hidden direct access URLs – Bulk user management – Embeddable access portal – Stripe fee 2.9%+$0.30 |
– Custom branding – User logins – Note editing – Zapier integrations |
| Ease of Use | Extremely simple setup. Great for non-technical users. | More customization options for experienced creators. |
Key Takeaways:
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Paytable specializes specifically in Airtable and Notion monetization. One of the fastest ways to create paid offerings for both platforms.
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Softr supports more app data sources. Better for those wanting fuller branded sites and more customization control.
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Paytable pricing clear and affordable. Softr‘s free option allows testing though paid plans more costly.
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For simplicity and speed go Paytable. For flexibility and custom experiences choose Softr.
Either option is vastly superior than jerry-rigging your own paid membership option! I suggest registering trial accounts with both to get hands on and determine the better fit.
Making Your Monetized Content So Good Users Can‘t Resist
I‘ve covered a ton of strategic ground on models, tools and configuration tactics. But let‘s switch gears…
The foundation for runaway monetization success isn‘t flashy tech or clever pricing tricks – it‘s creating offerings so helpful, meaningful and downright awe-inspiring that fans eagerly pay just to gain access.
So what fuels this kind of raving fan frenzy? Here are my top tips for priming your paid offerings for sky-high perceived value:
Hook Them Early
The best way to make a positive first impression demonstrating your knowledge and care? An incredibly thoughtful onboarding sequence.
Too many creators just dump new subscribers into a generic welcome email linking to content.
Instead, share useful lessons specific to their registered use case right away. Setup helpful automations walking them through initial customizing. Maybe even a quick personal email exchange or call to ensure they extract full utility.
Foster Community
Humans are hardwired for connection. That means your audience craves camaraderie and insider status, not just hot tips.
Build space for users to interact whether through private forums, social sharing of creations or even exclusive live events. These community rewards incentivize renewals as much as any framework or template.
Give Before You Get
The most successful monetizers lead with value long before asking for payment. They educate and empower both prospects and customers with totally free offerings.
Why? Because helping buyers succeed, THEN inviting them to invest once they fully trust both your expertise and their own ability to extract value is the ultimate win-win.
Always Be Improving
Complacency kills. The best way to continually convince fans to re-up memberships? Consistently adding features, answering niche requests, fixing bugs and honing offerings.
Set aside regular roadmap blocks to polish what you‘ve already built as you expand into new offerings.
Prioritizing continuous tiny improvements over big batch updates shows users their loyalty gives them influence…plus your solutions will always stay cutting edge.
While I‘ve packed this guide with enough tips to get your monetization medal, going from free user to paid purveyor does take consistent effort.
But I swear…putting these strategies into practice is 100% worth it both financially and for the pride of profiting from your own genius solutions!
The key is avoiding analysis paralysis and simply getting started. Identify an initial audience, craft your first premium offering, test pricing models, streamline checkout with Paytable or Softr and spread the word to warm leads.
Clarity comes from motion. As the late great Steve Jobs put it:
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.”
You got this! Now let me know if any other questions pop up on your journey to getting paid. I‘m always happy to offer advice or ideas from my years monetizing online ventures.
Excited to see what gamechanging solutions you build my friend!
