Transcript
Introduction
Side hustles? In this economy? Yeah, definitely. But don't worry, this won't be one of those videos where we promise you can get rich quick with zero skills. Those are scams. Side hustles can be a great way to boost your income, though.
So let's dive into a little Side Hustle 101 so you can use your skills to make a little extra cash on social.
Side Hustle #2: UGC Creator
If you're on TikTok, you might have heard this term thrown around by now. But what exactly is a UGC creator? It's essentially a content creator who creates content for a brand that the brand can then use directly on their page.
This is a great option if you don't have a huge following yourself, but let's say you do have talent creating video content for example. Brands are always looking for photography and video to use on their page and even in advertisements. So that's where UGC creators can serve a brand's need and make a little money doing so. If you're looking to get started, you can check out a site like Kale, a rewards platform for content creators, or JoinBrands.com to find some UGC opportunities. Or, if you have a brand you love, you can always pitch them directly via the DMs.
As for what to charge, consider what's worth your time and effort and do a little research on TikTok to find out what UGC creators are charging. Lots of creators out there are sharing their rates, so it can help give you an idea of what to charge yourself.
Side Hustle #3: Selling digital goods
This one is a bit more broad, but creating and selling digital goods can be something that requires a bit of work upfront, but not too much maintenance beyond promotion once everything is created. Whether it's digital planners, templates for your work, or even digital prints, there are a ton of options you can pursue. But you'll need to focus on creating something useful and in demand.
Selling digital goods can be a competitive space, but by promoting your products on social, like with an eye-catching TikTok and linking your products with a tool like Later's Link in Bio feature, you can make it easy to consistently market to and direct your followers to hit that purchase button.
If you have an idea for a digital good that you've been putting off, consider this assigned: take the leap and get your website and social set up for selling. If you want a little guidance in this area, we have a totally free Social Selling course that's full of helpful insights into increasing your sales on social.
Side Hustle #4: Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is a process of earning a commission by promoting other company's products. So for every sale you generate through a link or code that the brand has given you to share with your followers, you'll get a piece of that profit. This side hustle works really great if you're a creator who already has a bit of a social media or a newsletter following. We wouldn't necessarily recommend this if you don't have much of a following, because it can be pretty difficult to make a meaningful income without a bigger audience.
To find brands that offer affiliate programs, you can do a little research on Instagram by going to a brand's page and browsing through their tagged photos to see if they're working with creators offering affiliate codes. You can also reach out to them directly via Instagram or do a little googling and find a contact email. It's also important that you stick to promoting products that you already use in your daily life. That way it's easier to naturally incorporate it into your content so it doesn't feel forced to your audience.
Side Hustle #5: Consulting
If you have skills in your day job like digital marketing, SEO, or even running a business, you can promote consulting services through your social media and website. Start by identifying specific needs you can help with and promote those across your social channels to let people know what it's like to work with you and what kind of results they can expect.
The great thing about consulting is you can do everything over Zoom, meaning you can have clients from all over the world. For consulting, you'll want to think about the client experience you'll provide: everything from making it easy to book sessions with you to outlining what they can expect in each session in a document. You can automate parts of the consulting process by creating template documents that you can copy and customize for each client. But by thinking about how you can provide a great client experience, you'll be able to justify charging more and you'll also appear more professional.
What you need to get started
Now that you have a few ideas for side hustles, you'll also need to do a couple of things to set yourself up for success before jumping in.
First, like we mentioned earlier, if you're offering online services of any kind, you'll want to createa portfolio of your work. We have a free Canva template you can use to easily add screenshots of your work and edit the text to customize the document.
It can also be helpful to have a website to display your work, details about your services, and if you're selling goods, an online shop set up through something like Shopify. When it comes to setting up a website, we love user-friendly sites like Squarespace that have great customer service and online tutorials to help you run your own website for an affordable monthly price.
And last, one of the most challenging parts with a side hustle is staying consistent with promoting your services to get work. Using a tool like Later, you can plan, preview and schedule all of your content to automatically publish to multiple channels in one swoop. Plus, with the Link in Bio feature, you can turn your Instagram and TikTok feeds into a completely clickable grid with multiple links at the top and even custom colors, so it's easy for your followers to find exactly what you want them to find.
So there you have it. That's a quick 101 on side hustles on social media, but let us know in the comments if you've found success with side hustles on social, and if you've got any tips worth noting to those who have yet to get started. We'll be back next week with another video, but in the meantime, hit that subscribe button or sign up for the Later newsletter for even more social tips and tricks; links below in the description. See you later.
