Social media platforms, like Facebook, have created entire new industries, business ideas, and side gigs where everyday people are making money. But if you’re new to digital marketing, you might wonder how to make money on Facebook.
If you wish you could make money online but are not sure how, you should know that earning money on Facebook is a real possibility if you work hard and find your niche.
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Here are 10 totally legit ways to make money using this social media platform, and example of real people who do it every day.
#1: Grow Your Brand
Building a community of people who are interested in hearing what you have to say is one way of bringing in money. Shane and Jocelyn Sams of The Flipped Lifestyle did exactly that after creating a plan, called The Flip Your Life Blueprint. They used this plant to find financial freedom, quit their jobs, and gain total control of their time.
The duo uses Facebook in a few different ways. First, they upload the email lists from their business to create a lookalike audience of people who’ve already opted-in or joined their paid membership sites.
“This is a great way to get a ton of new hot leads fast,” says Sams.
They also use Facebook for retargeting. “The fortune in any business is in the follow up! We show ads to anyone who has been to our site or has joined our list to remind them about our brand and products,” Shane says.
The couple also uses Facebook to target people who might sign up for a free 30-day trial for many of their products.
Finally, they use Facebook to communicate with their monthly members. “The average user spends about an hour on Facebook per day,” Shane says. “We want to be a part of that hour!”
With this combination of strategies, the Sams have been able to grow their business and take their revenue to greater heights.
#2: Run Facebook Ads for Local Businesses
Have you ever wondered who runs the social media accounts for businesses in your area? Frequently, it’s just a regular person who’s mastered the art of Facebook advertising and started offering their services to others who need help.
Bobby Hoyt of Laptop Empires is one such person.
“When I first started working online back in 2015, I started in the digital marketing world helping small business owners reach more customers,” Bobby says. “Many of them wanted to run Facebook ads for their business but didn’t know how to themselves, so I provided the service for them.”
Hoyt notes that you can typically earn anywhere from $1,000 – $1,500 per month, per client with Facebook ad management. It’s also a great way to help local business owners reach more people and generate more revenue.
Hoyt isn’t the only person who’s earned real money this way.
Thomas Blake, the editor of This Online World, got a college internship working at a digital marketing agency that offered Google and Facebook ads.
During that time, running Facebook ads for two local businesses with a friend was one of his most lucrative side hustles.
“We started doing this as I graduated and he finished school, and we each had a company on a monthly retainer in exchange for our services. We were responsible for running all of their Facebook ads, preparing for sales, responding to customers, and helping them plan their digital strategy,” Thomas says.
#3: Sell Your Online Course
Greg and Holly Johnson of ClubThrifty.com have run a profitable travel blog while traveling the world for years. They broke into the world of online courses in 2018 when Holly launched a course for freelance writers — EarnMoreWriting.com.
Greg says Facebook has been immensely helpful when it comes to driving people to the free webinar they feature in several of their blog posts. The webinar offers tips from Holly, who has grown her own freelance writing business to multiple six figures per year. At the end, viewers are offered a coupon to buy a writing course at a discount, which works well.
“Facebook is great for targeting ads at people who might want to buy one of our writing courses,” says Johnson.
Leisa Peterson of Wealth Clinic is another online entrepreneur who uses Facebook ads to drive people toward her courses.
The money coach says she runs ads to her money and chakra quiz, which brings people into a funnel to buy her courses and work with her for coaching.
Over the past three years, 35,000 people have taken her quiz, and most of that has happened due to Facebook marketing.
#4: Use Facebook to Find New Clients
Sometimes Facebook groups are a great way to connect with new clients, or even with major brands.
Samantha of How to Fire offers blog writing, virtual assistance, and project management with a focus in the finance industry, and Facebook groups helped her scale her business by thousands of dollars per month.
“I connected with a large majority of my clientele via Facebook groups by participating in discussions, offering feedback, and pitching my services,” Samantha says. “About 50% of my recurring clients were onboarded after responding to a post on Facebook.”
Logan Allec, a CPA who blogs at Money Done Right, used a similar strategy when he had his own CPA practice.
“I found clients by searching recent Facebook posts for CPA recommendations,” Allec says.
“Every day, there were dozens of people posting on Facebook, asking for accountant recommendations, and I was happy to pitch myself and my services,” says Allec. “Obviously I had a higher success rate with those in the same geographical area as I am, but I was able to close some out-of-state clients as well. This was no trouble since my accounting practice was entirely remote.”
#5: Promote Your Business
If you work in an industry where you could be a resource for people who might want to sell your products, Facebook is a great platform you can use to keep the conversation going.
Chris Abrams, an insurance agent at Abrams Insurance Solutions, helps other agents get contracted with one product (Protection Plus Guaranteed Issue Term Insurance) so they can offer it to their clients.
“I am in several insurance agent groups on Facebook,” says Abrams. “Every time an agent posts about trying to find a product that will work for their hard-to-insure clients, I reach out and educate them on this product.
According to Abrams, many of these agents end up becoming his client for this particular product. “Facebook is a great way to organically promote and grow this part of my business,” Abrams says.
Suzi Whitford of Start a Mom Blog uses the same strategy, and says running paid advertising to a small, “no-brainer offer” builds a list of buyers who don’t just want free stuff.
“Facebook is a powerful system to help build your business and brand,” she says.
#6: Drive Sales to Etsy
Do you create a homemade craft that you sell on Etsy? If so, you can use Facebook to drum up leads, sell more of your product, and make more money in the long run.
Derek from The Money Family says this is exactly how he utilizes Facebook to sell handcrafted, wooden baking tools.
“We will post pictures of, for example, our dough scraper in a sourdough baking group with no mention of it being for sale. Because we know we offer a unique, in-demand product, there will inevitably be people asking if they can buy one,” Derek says. “We can then send them a message with a coupon and a link to our Etsy shop.
A Facebook post published in May resulted in over 2,000 likes, 300+ comments, and drove over $1,000 in sales for Derek’s business.
On the blog, Derek also writes about woodworking and how to earn money on the side which helps drive even more sales.
#7: Flip Items for a Profit
If you use Facebook often, you’ve probably noticed marketplace groups where people post furniture, workout equipment, and other household items for sale. Some of them are likely selling items they just don’t want anymore. Others, however, buy items cheaply with the goal of flipping them for a profit.
Robert Farrington of The College Investor says he’s a huge fan of using Facebook marketplace to resell items whether they’re his own items or stuff he picked up at an estate sale to resell.
“Facebook marketplace is one of the best mobile listings for sale, so there is a lot of traffic and opportunities to sell,” Farrington explains.
What can you buy and resell on Facebook? Pretty much anything, but there are some restrictions (animal sales, for example, are prohibited). But you can turn a profit with items like home decor, name-brand clothing, electronics, or tools. If you have specific knowledge about antiques or other high-value items, you stand to earn even more.
#8: Grow Your Blog
Starting a blog is one way to create passive income streams that can help you build wealth, but we all know that blogging isn’t easy — and that it takes time to earn real money.
Kelan Kline of The Savvy Couple says he and wife Brittany use Facebook ads to drive traffic to their website, grow their subscribers, and ultimately sell products on their blog. “We have over $30,000 worth of ad spend experience with our site,” says Kline.
R.J. Weiss of The Ways to Wealth says this is exactly his strategy as well. “In a nutshell, I’m driving traffic to our website via Facebook Ads then monetizing that traffic,” Weiss says.
With that said, Weiss uses a customized approach. “Like most, I’ll have affiliate offers on the page. However, we also play the long-term game, using Facebook ads to grow our email list and overall brand awareness,” he says.
#9: Build a Community
If you’re in a situation where you have a specific community of people you want to communicate with regularly, Facebook is a good place to start. This is especially true if you have products to sell or you want to engage with major brands who might pay you more to access the audience you’ve built.
Emma Johnson of Wealthy Single Mommy says Facebook was integral to the growth of her blog.
“Between driving traffic to my blog, selling self-published books, and building an audience that landed me a 6-figure book deal, brand partnerships, and speaking engagements — it all started on [Facebook],” Emma says, noting that she didn’t know anything about search engine optimization (SEO) when she first got started.
These days, Johnson has a Facebook group of 15,000 moms that provide an excellent source for testing ideas, sharing new projects, and generally keeping a pulse on her target audience.
#10: Sponsored Partnerships with Brands
If you build up a decent-sized following, it’s possible to work with brands that’ll pay you to talk about their products or services. The bigger reach you have, the more money you can earn.
Daniella of I Like to Dabble uses Facebook and other social media platforms as a way to woo potential clients.
“Sponsored partnerships with brands has been the main way I’ve been able to make money on Facebook,” Daniella says. “This is usually through pitching to the brand directly or them reaching out to me.”
How much can you get paid for sponsored partnerships with brands? That depends on the size of your audience and other platforms you can promote with, such as your own blog. Generally, you can earn anywhere from $500 to tens of thousands of dollars or more.
#11: Sell Physical Products
Austin-based blogger, Jennifer Marie Garza, uses Facebook to promote her website (LowCarbInspirations.com) and her Keto-friendly recipes and cookbooks. Over 600,000 people follow her Facebook page, which makes it easy for her to get the word out each time she creates something new.
Garza also runs a Facebook group where she goes live to demonstrate recipes and makes her cookbooks readily available for purchase.
Facebook makes it easy for her followers to keep track of what she’s doing and order her newest creations, but she can also easily connect with fans on a daily basis.
#12: Promote Your Photography Business
If you’re a photographer, there is no better place to promote your business than Facebook. After all, your clients are probably on Facebook, too. You can post your pictures and tag the people in them so that more people will see your work and associate the photos with your business name.
With a business Facebook page, you can also promote your photography business to people who follow you. You’ll also easily get the word out about new promotions and sales.
The best part about using Facebook to promote your photography business is the fact that using the platform and tagging your customers is absolutely free.
#13: Sell Physical Fitness
If you’re a fitness guru who wants to sell exercise videos, classes, coaching or merchandise, you should absolutely start a fitness Facebook page and private group. Erin Young of Central Indiana has done just that with more than 5,200 followers on her page in her local area.
Using the platform, Erin sells coaching and various fitness products from Beach Body. Thanks to the social media platform, Young can connect with people on a personal level and several times a day. She shares her workouts, her weekly meal plans, and her frustrations with finding time to stay fit as a busy mom.
Young is just one example, but there are plenty of people who use Facebook to build their fitness brand, sell their products, or sell products as an affiliate for a larger brand. The sky is truly the limit when it comes to using social media to reach new people, and Facebook lets you connect with your customers where they are.
#14: Buy Facebook Stock
You don’t need a Facebook profile to buy Facebook stock, but you could potentially earn a ton of money by investing in the company. Although past results don’t guarantee future returns, Facebook stock increased from around $94 per share in 2015 to a little over $262 as of this writing. With the social media platform continuing to add new members and gain steam, it’s easy to assume that buying this stock and holding it for the long-term could pay off.
If you’re looking for a stock to buy and hold, and you have faith this social media platform has staying power, consider opening a brokerage account. If you bought Facebook stock in 2015, you would’ve received a 150-percent return on your investment so far.
The Bottom Line
If you’re considering turning to social media as a vehicle for your side hustle, remember that most Facebook income strategies require upfront work and investment. But if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, be strategic with your plans, and try new approaches until you find a good fit, you can make real money online.
All of the real people I highlight in this post prove it, so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
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