Monetize Your Knowledge on Quora

The Evolution of Quora: From Q&A to Creator Platform

Following the closure of Yahoo! Answers in May, a service that served as a key resource for online inquiries since 2005, Quora is strategically repositioning itself. Initially established as a question-and-answer website, Quora has broadened its scope to encompass blogging functionalities.

Financial Sustainability and the Creator Economy

Quora has indicated it is progressing towards achieving positive cash flow solely from advertising revenue, though it isn't currently profitable. The platform views engagement with the creator economy and the implementation of subscription models as viable pathways to profitability.

According to Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, the aim is to enhance the financial viability of knowledge sharing for content creators. While many individuals are motivated to contribute to Quora without financial incentives, others could significantly increase their output with appropriate compensation.

Introducing Quora+: A Subscription Service

Quora’s initial foray into new products is Quora+. This service will offer subscribers access to exclusive content, determined by individual creators, for a fee of $5 per month or $50 annually.

These subscription rates mirror those utilized by Medium, a platform that operates without advertising, for its own membership program.

Payment Distribution and Dynamic Paywalls

Subscribers will remit payments directly to Quora, which will then distribute funds to creators based on content consumption. A larger proportion of each subscriber’s payment will be allocated to writers and Spaces they actively follow.

Creators can implement a dynamic paywall on Quora+ content, granting free access to certain posts to users Quora identifies as potential subscribers. An adaptive paywall option, driven by an algorithm, will determine paywall implementation on a user-by-user basis.

This approach is designed to help creators balance content monetization with audience growth and the acquisition of new subscribers.

Subscription Revenue Sharing

Quora has stated it is still refining the Quora+ model and has not yet finalized the percentage of subscription revenue it will retain.

Alternatively, creators can offer paywalled content within Spaces, which function as user-created publications on Quora. In this scenario, Quora will collect a 5% fee from subscription revenue, with creators setting their own subscription prices.

This contrasts with platforms like Substack, which takes 10% of writers’ earnings, positioning Quora as a competitive option.

Ghost, another platform, charges a $9 monthly fee but allows writers to keep all their revenue; for writers earning over $180 monthly, Ghost could prove more lucrative than Quora.

Advertising Revenue and Platform Funding

D’Angelo explained that Quora’s ability to maintain a minimal fee structure is supported by its advertising revenue, which covers the majority of the platform’s development and operational costs. Substack, in contrast, relies solely on subscription revenue and does not utilize advertising.

Growth and Restructuring

Quora achieved a $1.8 billion valuation in 2017 following an $85 million funding round, at which time the platform had 190 million monthly users.

Currently, over 300 million people utilize Quora each month, as stated in D’Angelo’s blog post. Despite this user growth, Quora implemented staff reductions in its Bay Area and New York City offices in January 2020.

Rollout and Testing

Space subscriptions are launching today for users in 25 countries, including the United States, who utilize the English language version of the platform.

The rollout of Quora+ will be phased, beginning with invitations to select writers to test the platform and optimize its functionality for both subscribers and creators.