How To Make Money On Social Media - Part One
This article is part one of a series of 3 articles giving you the breakdown on how to actually make money (not just get free products) on social media.
October 11, 2022
GiGi Diaz
You hear it all the time “you can monetize your socials!” You see influencers valued at millions and it looks like all they’re doing is posting photos and videos to social media so you start doing the same… but you don’t see the cash coming in.
Then you start thinking things like “it’s because I don’t have a million followers!” Maybe you start thinking about buying followers and likes. Maybe you create some great content, start gaining traction and begin getting offers from companies that want to send you free products in exchange for posts.
But you’re still not seeing actual CASH come in!
If this is you and you’re wanting to make real money with your social media, keep reading!
This article is part one of a series of 3 articles giving you the breakdown on how to actually make money (not just get free products) on social media. Here’s what you’ll learn:
Part 1: What are the different ways to make money on social media
Part 2: How to attract paid brand sponsorships
Part 3: Where to find paid sponsorships
So, let’s get started!
There are several ways to you can be set up to make money using your social media you can choose one or you can combine a few. If you’re just starting to dabble into this space I suggest you begin with one option and once you’re confidently thriving, add a second. Once that’s flowing too, then add a third. Otherwise, you’ll end up spreading yourself thin, feeling overwhelmed and not succeeding at anything.
Selling your Services / Products
This one is pretty easy and, despite also being obvious, it must be included first because it’s a powerful bridge that many entrepreneurs never cross. If you’re not an entrepreneur, you can feel free to skip to the next section.
Having a clear and concise product or service you talk about and promote on social media is a great way to use the platform to monetize. There’s a system and strategy to selling successfully without being “salesy” but sell you must and sell you will.
Affiliate Programs
This is one of my favorite ways to monetize social media, and one of the easiest. Think about your day-to-day activities and favorite brands.
For example, as a coach one of my favorite systems to use is Kajabi because it offers me a one stop shop for my website, email marketing, podcast, course hosting and Customer Relationship Management. I use it daily and swear by it. So I am an affiliate for them. This means that if you use my link to join Kajabi and use it for your business, I make a commission at no cost to you. In fact, you even get a discount if you use my like to join their platform.
Another affiliate program I absolutely love is Creative Market. They have templates for everything a business owner needs, from mockups, to lead magnets, to fonts, web themes I can go on and on. Unless I need something super specific, I won’t ever hire a designer. I find a suitable template on Creative Market and hand it to my virtual assistant to fill in with my content and branding. If you purchase anything from Creative Market using my link I make a commission at no cost to you. Pretty sweet!
The easiest way to discover if your favorite brands and companies have an affiliate program is…. Drumroll…. Google it!
I know, you wanted some complicated convoluted nonsense. Nope. That’s not my vibe.
Simply Google “Does ‘COMPANY NAME’ have an affiliate program?”
Now if you’re not sure what companies you wanna work with but you’re definitely digging affiliate programs as the means by which to start your monetizing journey you can also check out my article on 10 High Paying Affiliate Programs for Beginners.
Paid Brand Partnerships
Ok big money, here we come! This is my favorite way to monetize social media and the one I practice most frequently.
I love it because you get to set the terms. You make your offer listing your creative idea, your deliverables and your fees! You can choose to stick to your guns or negotiate. You can choose to do a one-time campaign or a three-month (or longer) campaign. You’re the boss, boss!
So let’s talk about some quick differences when it comes to sponsorships.
Barters vs Paid Sponsorships
Barters are exchanges of products for posts. A company will send you their goods for you to experience and in exchange you post about them.
Pros
Free stuff is fun!
Especially if it’s something you truly want to test out and experience. You can barter for products, restaurant experiences, adventures, pretty much anything.
Cons
Free stuff doesn't pay the bills! Read that one more time. Seriously.
Additionally, if you're flooding your feed with free products, just cause they're free, there's no authenticity behind the posts. Another con is that many brands who are ready to pay, often ready to pay big bucks, they want their brand to feel exclusive in your feed. If you post anything and everything it makes their brand look like part of the bunch. Brands that pay big bucks want their brand to shine on your feed not get lost in the business.
When to barter and when to charge?
Barter when you truly want to try the experience or product and it's something truly special to you. In all other instances, you can respond to the pitch with something as simple as:
Thank you so much for this great opportunity to position your brand before my followers. At this time I'm not accepting barters but I have attached my rate sheet. Which package is the best fit for you?
Voilá!
Review:
Now you know the three main ways to monetize social media. You understand the difference between barters and paid sponsorships and best way to decide when to purse which.
In part two of this series I'm going to teach you how to attract paid brand sponsorships.
Attraction is key and it has everything to do with the clarity and quality of your brand. I will teach you how to accomplish both to start attracting ideal brands in our next edition. Make sure you subscribe so you can be the first to know when it drops.
Meanwhile, if you have any questions, you can drop them in the comments or DM me directly on Instagram @gigidiazlive.
About Our Contributor
GiGi Diaz is a Certified Mindset & Business Coach, media personality, executive producer and host of the Chats with GiGi podcast, and multi-passionate entrepreneur with 20 years of experience. She’s the founder of Seizing Happy®; a coaching organization dedicated to nurturing the business and the woman behind the business equally. You can learn more about GiGi here.