4 Ways To Make Money As A Business On The Internet
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This week, I am discussing 4 strategies to generate income for your business using the internet. All of these are strategies I am currently implementing or in the very near future plan to implement. These strategies are focused on photographers looking to make money online in an effort to build/ grow their business. If you are a business owner for a company that sells say, beauty products, these are not tips that will likely help you. But they may generate some ideas for you!
Monetization Tip #1: User Generated Content (UGC)
This is the new kid on the block that everyone is talking about. UGC is often thought about or used in conjunction with influencers or influencer marketing. But that is wrong. Influencer and Influencer marketing requires a large social media following where UGC does not care about your following. The entire premise of UGC is that it is your everyday person filming a fairly low quality production ad on behalf of a brand. the brand pays them or provides free products in exchange for usage rights of this content. You could have 1 follower or 1 million. Your social media following is irrelevant when it comes to UGC. If you can create a captivating hook that shows you ACTUALLY using the product as an every day person, then UGC is the gig for you. All you need is a phone to record and way to land deals. You can setup a portfolio on your website like this and use this as your pitching platform. You get more visits to your site, the brand may refer you to others needing similar content and use this link, and you can even whitelist so that the brand posts your content via a backdoor to your own social media account. This means you get exposure as a professional and the brand get exposure.
Monetization Tip #2: Build an online store
I would share my store, but I am in the process of revamping it at the time of writing this. As a photographer, there are a couple options. You can sell prints (the most obvious choice), courses, editing presets, or perhaps digital downloads, and eventually merch. There are plenty of other things you can sell as a photographer (maybe you can 3d print some really amazing specialized tools!), but these are the most common and likely. For me, selling prints is where I am starting on my store. I do not have the ability to print my own products to ship so I am using a 3rd party integrated seamlessly in my site to conduct the order fulfilment. Important here is to ensure you trust the quality of the prints and shipping of whatever fulfilment company you want to use. Another good tip is to spend about a month hyping up a print sale over social media and stressing the idea there there will be a limited window of availability to purchase said print. Creating a limited availability adds value to the print through exclusivity. You can also give one free print away at selling launch to help create some extra interest and use this as a way to increase your email newsletter list.
Monetization Tip #3: Build a YouTube Page
This is maybe the most important piece that I am currently trying to figure out myself how to maximize its potential with my skills. People are constantly seeking education, learning materials, guides, and other informational resources of the type in specific fields. In this case, photography and adventure for the purpose of this blog post. Creating a location that allows you to promote your website, products, and skills in a forum that also allows you to teach your viewers hot to do something perhaps, creates a loyal and trusting fan base. This in turn translates to support, sales, and referrals. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world and not using capitalizing on that fact is a missed opportunity. Particularly as a photographer who creates in the digital space. Plus, once you meet YouTube’s monetization requirements, you can begin making money from each video you upload.
Monetization Tip #4: Affiliate Marketing
This is a way to make money without it necessarily being your exact product. But perhaps it is a piece of gear you regularly are using and can recommend! I am an Amazon affiliate and I try to keep my Gear List up to date so people can always look and see what gear I am actively using. The best part is these are all linked with affiliate links that generate some % of profit for me IF they purchase the product through my link. You can also create posts using these links to market it and push your link to be used. If you are able to strike a partnership with brands there are added benefits. 1) You get to work with another brand which builds credibility for you and your brand. 2) Typically they will give you free gear to promote, or more often than not, you get a specific code for incredibly discounted products in exchange for a couple posts per month promoting their products. 3) They likely will provide you with a custom discount code that your viewers can use to get x% off their order and you also get x% commission o the purchase. I have a deal like this with Good Day Optics currently. Head over to their site for some seriously amazing Sunglasses and use code MM25 for 20% off your order! or use this link for my favorite mountain biking sunglasses! I do think it is worth mentioning that if you use affiliate links, it is best practice to disclose that the link is an affiliate link that earns you commission at no extra cost to them. I have this statement in the footer of my website as well as on my gear page to ensure a viewer always has full transparency of what is going on! Just good business practice if you value honesty and transparency.
I hope you found some of the information in this post useful and maybe even inspiring to go try! I look forward to learning together and growing our businesses together! I would love to hear about ideas you have for generating income over the internet!
