You already spend a ton of time on social media—it makes sense that you’re debating whether you can make money from your favorite hobby. Here, CEO Amir Ben-Yohanan shares top tips to make your social media a money-making machine.
Tip #1: Start Sooner Rather Than Later
If you’re just getting started with social media or haven’t put in the work necessary to grow your accounts, it can be tempting to put off trying to monetize your accounts until you boost your number of followers. There’s no need to wait to begin the process of monetizing your social media. Micro-influencers can have 1,000 followers (or less!) and still make money by creating highly engaging content and offerings. If you’re ready to build your audience, work to do so authentically, by building genuine connections with your target market.
Tip #2: Create a Course
In today’s social media age, followers want exclusive content. Creating a course that teaches followers about your craft (or shares more details of your life) can bring in people who are willing to pay for what you have to offer. Many social media influencers find it helpful to offer a short, free teaser course, Amir Ben-Yohanan explains. In a quick free course, followers get a taste of what they’ll get from your paid content.
Tip #3: Become a Paid Influencer
Reach out to brands in your niche, offering to share their products in exchange for payment or free products. It’s important that you post high-quality content and show follower engagement to appeal to brands as an influencer, according to Amir Ben-Yohanan. As an influencer, remember that it’s ok to negotiate with companies—you can ask for a higher level of compensation, additional product for follower giveaways, and more.
Tip #4: Use Your Social Media to Create Traffic to Your Online Shop
If you sell your wares or services online, it’s smart to utilize your social media to direct potential buyers to your online shop, according to Amir Ben-Yohanan. It can be tough to fully show how your products or services can benefit customers through your website, and utilizing your social media to show your products or services in action can help customers fully understand how you can solve their problems.
Tip #5: Try Affiliate Marketing
Don’t have a product or service to sell on your social media? No problem. Working with an affiliate marketing partner can help you grow your income by referring potential customers to other businesses. When you partner with a company as an affiliate marketer, you promote someone else’s product on your social media and earn a commission each time someone clicks on your link and purchases the product or service, Amir Ben-Yohanan also notes.