10 Ways to MONETIZE your expertise with Social Media
1. Promote Events & Contests
Monetize your expertise — Schedule an event, live or virtual, small or large, formal or casual, for free or for a fee. Invite friends, fans, and followers from your social communities. Including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Meetup, Eventbrite, Clubhouse, and thousands, yes thousands of others.
Attendees can only register by opting in and at the event, you can up-sell or present an opportunity or offer they can’t refuse.
For example, for years on April Fools Day, we would host a free event at a private club in Beverly Hills. We would only invite our social media community. As they opted in, we were building our list with our target market. They attended the event and enjoyed food, drinks, and networking activities. In the end, we thanked them for attending, shared who we are, what we do, and invited them to become a member of our community. Many did. We had fun, met new friends and guess what…it cost us nothing. It was all sponsored by businesses who also wanted this target market. Let’s call it a win…win.
2. MasterMinds ~ Memberships
Create “groups” where professionals can all come together and share thoughts and ideas. Perfect for niches. You have a group of people who value collaboration and mentoring. You can include special guests and professionals to add value and who will brainstorm and guide your member’s decisions.
One of the nice things about Zoom is that you can separate people into different “groups,” so you can target different people of different demographics with your messages and determine which marketing worked best.
With valuable content and a dedicated community, you can charge members to participate and you can also re-purpose those videos for a fee or for FREE. Don’t forget meetup, where you can build any kind of community anywhere in the world.
3. Affiliates
Get paid to promote other people’s products, no need to have your own. Build a following and enroll in affiliate sites like cj and clickbank, where all the work is done for you. All you have to do is promote and get paid. Make sure you don’t overdo it. Products that you have used and can include your personal testimony are best. Keep in mind that is a matter of Best Practices to disclose that you have an affiliate relationship, your followers will appreciate it.
There are also hundreds of sites that cater to certain niches. Just google affiliate sites for __________, you fill in the blank.
4. Creating and Selling your own Products
If you have a product based business like an eCommerce store, this is perfect for you. Social media can be a great place to sell your products – or, at the least, build up a following and redirect those followers to your website to buy your products. Handcrafts, jewelry, clothing, accessories ect. sell great on Etsy, Shopify, CafePress and Amazon.
You can also use Udemy, Teachable, Skillshare, Podia and Thinkific to sell your courses and other teaching modules. They show you step by step how to set it up and then you just sit and wait for the $ to come rolling in. Most of these sites take a percentage, but it’s worth it.
5. Crowdfunding
Want to open a store, manufacture a product, produce a movie and need capital? Crowdfund. Some of the originators and most popular are Indiegogo who expect this month to cross the $1.5 billion mark in funds raised for users since its founding in 2008 and Kickstarter has helped innovators raise more than $6.1 billion, with over 200,000 projects funded through the platform. which
has raised a total of $220 million from 61,000 launched projects so far.
If you want to go for the big bucks visit Fundraise, Crowdstreet, EquityMultiple, and Realtyshares. Some of these are open to accredited and non-accredited investors where you can invest for as little as $5,000+ to participate in real estate transactions. Crowdfunding is fast and you can literally raise thousands in minutes with the right community and cause. There are currently hundreds — yes, hundreds of sites, specializing in almost any niche industry.
Need money for something personal such as unforeseen emergency, medical bill, a mission trip or your dog simply needs a new bone? I am not kidding.
Check out GoFundMe. Did I mention…with a few exceptions these are funds that you don’t have to repay.
6. Sponsors
Popular,? Have a large engaged following? Go to SponsoredTweets or another social media influencer/advertiser agencies that have appeared over the last few years to help you sell your influence online. Select the topics you’d normally talk about, and wait to be matched with advertisers for campaigns. You could also pitch prospective advertisers who want to be in front of your target market directly by cold calling, emailing, or connecting over social media. Check out Podcorn to find a sponsor perfect for your brand.
7. Sell Advice
Have you been thinking about your hobbies, passions and wondering how you can monetize them. It could be as random as fly fishing, knitting, or how to create code. There is someone out there who wants to learn more. For coaching sessions, teaching, or digital products like podcasts or videos, there are many platforms to sell what you love.
Write an ebook or white paper. You can turn your knowledge and experiences into a document on your own schedule. ...
Offer a seminar or class. ...
Tutor on your topic. ...
Write for websites. ...
Provide advice or consulting. ...
Answer questions.
Publish a post on LinkedIn, as I did with this post. Perhaps about that delicious meal you made and then direct followers to your landing page to purchase the recipe. This is also good for Pinterest and Instagram, they love quick videos and visuals.
8. Create Videos and Podcasts
On YouTube, you can build a large following and get paid with google ads. Creating ‘how-to’ content in a simple video on a niche topic can earn you money on YouTube. For example, “How to Hit a Faster Tennis Serve” or “Make Up for the Young and Restless”… anything you’re knowledgeable in. The amount of monies you earn is based on the overall view count. It takes time and consistency to build, but many unknown became millionaires by doing just that.
You can also collect donations for projects, both for and non-profit endeavors.
Prefer to be off-camera? Try podcasts and distribute through sites like Anchor, BlogTalk, iTunes, and Stitcher. John Lee Dumas did and has made millions with podcasts. What’s even more awesome is that he shares his revenue model, check it out at Entrepreneur on Fire. I had the pleasure of being interviewed on his show and he is a genius, but I must say it’s really not that difficult.
You can also monetize them with Patreon, BuymeaCoffee, and Podfan.
9. Social Economy
Rent your home or couch on Airbnb. VRBO, Booking, and other micro-subletting sites; list your dog-sitting services on DogVacay; or rent your bikes with Spinlister. Again take inventory of what you love or have to offer and share through social media or sites like Offerup, Nextdoor, or eBay. Have designer jewelry, bags, and accessories. Try Fashionphile, where you can sell, buy and sell!
Pick a passion, pick a site and you’re off and running.
10. Don’t forget Blogging, Live Streaming, and Facebook Live
Have something to say? There are blogs, platforms, and communities for just about every topic you can imagine. Many blog sites will pay you for your articles and content. Publish your own magazine to share with all of your raving fans with Issuu or Joomag. Use Zoom to record your own or other live events and charge for viewings. The same with YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook Live. People who are unable to attend a live event can still enjoy access virtually. You can charge or do it as a way to build and serve your community.
Just in case you think this is small stuff…keep in mind,
Instagram has 1.074 billion Instagram users worldwide in 2021
Twitter had 206 million monetizable daily active users worldwide
Youtube sees over 2.29 billion active users
Facebook 2.895 billion monthly active users
LinkedIn over 740 million users in more than 200 countries and territories across the globe
No matter how robust your email list or traffic to your website gets it pays to share with social media.
All you need is:
CONTENT, COMMUNITY & CONSISTENCY.
