Marketing Secrets to Build a Passive Income Stream on Social Media (Including Email Marketing)
You'd be happy to know that you can generate passive income via social media in many ways. However, what needs to be clarified is understanding how to start or, more importantly, where to start.
While you can gradually start to make a decent living from social media, you must first understand how to implement the right strategies to make it happen. Your mindset and level of consistency will also play a major role. You need to stay focused and committed to using the best social media tactics and marketing methodologies to get ahead of others.
But it is also true that social media is quite a competitive industry, and figuring out where to begin can be difficult or downright overwhelming. Fortunately, this is precisely what we're going to talk about in this article.
We'll comprehensively explore some of the top marketing strategies you can use to generate a good passive income stream via social media.
So without further ado, let's dive right in.
5 Powerful Methodologies to Generate a Side Income as a Social Media Marketer
Everybody knows the significance of social media and its impact on their lives. It’s become a constant in our day-to-day living.
But the thing is, many people use social media to get the word out about their brand or business. They only see it as a tool to connect with their target audience. While that's fine, you must also look at the bigger picture. And that's the fact that you can start making a good amount of money using social media!
In addition, if this is your first time using social networking platforms, you should start learning how to use them for your business merits.
Mastering social media is not rocket science. There have been several instances where beginners learned to leverage social media tools to maximize their small businesses. The most popular ways are mentioned below.
1. Collaborate with other brands.
When it comes to social media, becoming a positive influencer is one of the most popular ways of capitalizing your personality, incorporating your philosophy, and maximizing your revenue.
However, being an influencer doesn't necessarily mean you will have to take dozens and dozens of photos of yourself featuring different brands and whatnot.
On the contrary, you should consider avoiding that route. Why? Well, the modern customer will see through it. They'll know you're not being genuine or authentic. While the world is full of influencers, the only influencers that matter or make a lot of money are those who stay true to their target audience.
So, what should you do to become an authentic influencer while working with other brands? Well, to maintain your authenticity and integrity, it is ideal to partner with different brands that:
Align with your philosophy, sense of humor, personality, and content.
Have products/services that you can easily access and use.
Genuinely solve a problem or need addressing the target audience's pain points.
It doesn't matter who you collaborate with, just as long as the content on your social media doesn't undergo drastic changes. You need to be you!
2. Take up an affiliate program.
One of the best ways to make money through social media is through an affiliate marketing program. After all, according to statistics, it’s been determined that companies will be spending up to $13 billion on affiliate marketing in 2023.
It is interesting and may even help you maximize your social media exposure and propel your brand or small business. That's if you're aiming at starting your own e-commerce gig.
So, what does an affiliate marketer do? Well, affiliate marketers post links to authentic products and services in their content. In return, they earn a specific commission percentage from those brands or companies if a prospective customer buys that product via the link.
Moreover, affiliate marketers also commonly share links to their products/services via coupon codes on their websites or blog sites. Now there are a variety of different methodologies when it comes to affiliate marketing. Let's take a look at each one.
Working with an affiliate network
Multiple authentic and reputable affiliate network platforms offer social media marketers different affiliate products and services. Some of the most popular companies include ShareASale and Impact.
Collaborating with a specific brand's affiliate campaign
One of the best things about working with any company's affiliate program is that it pays better, and you won't have to search for different affiliate products and services. All you have to do is curate your social media content around the company's product or services.
Referral marketing
This is another excellent strategy to boost your social media earnings. The concept is straightforward. A company will pay you commissions for promoting its brand and onboarding new customers on its behalf.
From the passive income perspective, some apps will even allow you to share your excess internet bandwidth and pay you for it. That means you can earn passive income without an initial investment or an actual effort.
3. Sell digital products
Another great way of maximizing your social media earning is by selling digital or tangible merchandise. However, remember that selling products requires a good social media following.
We're not talking about a million followers. Even a couple of hundred will do. Then, you need to consider the nature of the product itself.
Will you be manufacturing it yourself? Is there a third party involved? Will you outsource it? One of the best ways to sell products online is by establishing an outsourcing gig. For example, you can outsource your collection of t-shirts or similar gifts via reputable platforms like Printful.
And you can sell your merchandise directly to your target audience via an Etsy storefront. Did you know that there are more than 81 million buyers on Etsy? Something to think about.
4. Build a powerful email marketing campaign.
Talking about personalization and proving your intent is the same as reaching prospective customers via email.
But how do you create an optimized email funnel? Here's one way:
Building enhanced lead magnets
Generating lead magnets is the best way to organically prompt a prospective customer to subscribe to your email list. Plus, according to research, the number of email users is speculated to grow to 4.6 billion by 2025.
Lead magnets are typically the first thing a potential customer looks at on your website. It pushes them to click on your webpage, explore your website, and understand your product/service.
Incentivization is a great way to entice potential customers to subscribe to your mailing list. For example, you can offer promos and discounts right as they land on your website. Compel them to be a part of your email list, and they stand a chance to win gift cards and other promo offers.
Bonus Tip: Incentivization can create a higher risk of fraudulent sign-ups, making it crucial to utilize email verification services to verify the authenticity of user email addresses. This approach can help mitigate the impact of false sign-ups and ensure a genuine user base.
Once you have them, you can send them short, high-quality marketing emails to get them to buy your products without sounding pushy.
5. Start a mentorship program or become a premium coach.
Another excellent way of making a good side income via social media is by designing and selling authentic consultation or mentorship programs. However, this is a specialized area; you will need plenty of innovation and creativity to market your programs.
So, suppose you're a skilled marketer and are good in specific internet niches, such as digital marketing or online money-making. In that case, you can create, market, and monetize your coaching services via social media. However, there are other niches that you can explore that aren't necessarily as specialized. For example, you can create photography coaching sessions online.
You can teach people how to take great photos, edit images, etc. These can be valuable teaching programs that resonate with the masses. Similarly, you can start a coding or developer program targeting young, ambitious individuals looking to learn coding from an experienced professional.
You could also become an online tutor, which follows a similar principle. The online tutoring industry is speculated to surpass a CAGR of 15.8%, growing to $9+ billion in 2023.
So, if you plan to create a mentorship or coaching program, create a website. Then, highlight your strengths, show why your services are unique, and build your portfolio. If you have customer testimonials on your social media, highlight them on your website.
Bottom Line
While these are all incredible ways to generate passive income via social media, understand that success will take time to come. You may not immediately see the benefits of your strategies and may not be able to make a lot of money in a short amount of time.
But that's usually how it works. Making money through social media takes time, consistency, and effort. However, it's pretty rewarding if you look at the bigger picture. The barriers to entry are low, and you don't need to have a lot of capital to start.
But the most significant advantage of generating a side income via social media is the number of followers and fans you may get along the way.