The perfect side hustle for students: How to make money from social media!

The perfect side hustle for students: How to make money from social media!

Post-secondary education provides valuable information for anyone’s future, but what about the here and now? Life as a student is tough, especially financially so finding a way to make a quick buck in the midst of your studies is extremely advantageous.

The term “side-hustle” has been popularized in more recent years, especially after COVID-19, when it seemed like the world collectively shifted to remote and online work. When I use the term “side-hustle” I’m referring to the ability to leverage the skills and interests you already have to make money from them. Instead of leaning on a rolodex of people, we have access to the internet, specifically, social media, where we can speak directly to almost anyone we want. This includes not just individuals but businesses, companies, and brands. So how can you capitalize on this idea of utilizing social media, shifting to online modes of working, and making money all while still attending school? Let me explain in 5 steps!

Now, before we begin, it must be noted that anyone is capable of succeeding in their chosen “side-hustle” but you must be driven and focused on your goals. Don’t let imposter syndrome tell you that you aren’t qualified to succeed. Remember, everyone starts somewhere. It will take work and some time but by being focused and setting priorities, there is nothing you can’t achieve.

The 5 steps to success:

1. Maximize your “free-time”

Maximizing your free-time is all about developing your personal branding and using effectuation, or a logical way of entrepreneurial thinking. What I mean by this is seeing everything as opportunities and giving people the language to describe you. Personal branding is the intentional process of informing people about what they know about you. This is where you ask yourself three questions: What qualities and characteristics do I want to be known for? What titles do I want to feel qualified to hold? And what proof do I need to showcase it? The answer to these questions will help you discover skill-building habits, which we will dive into in step 2.

Before we get there, to determine your personal brand you can categorize your time in 2 ways. If it freezes your present self or if it helps your future self. Think about how you spend your free time. Do you watch a lot of TV, play a lot of video games, or take a lot of naps? Whatever it is, decipher if you are spending your time in a way that will help you, keep you on a path you want to be on, and benefit your future self? If it's not serving your future self, switch it out for a skill-building habit. Watch a how-to youtube video instead of a tv show, create digital art or designs instead of playing video games, and maximize your time by listening to an interesting podcast while getting ready, cleaning, or cooking. Think about how good you could get at a specific skill in one week if you used even just 30 minutes a day practicing and learning about it, and think about all the time you spend on unfulfilling activities that could be switched out for productive ones.

2. What is your skill-building habit? - Finding your entrepreneurial sweet spot

Your entrepreneurial sweet spot is the in-between of stuff you love to do, stuff you're good at, and stuff someone will pay you to do. This could be digital content creation like photography, videography, graphic design, and more. For example, throughout this article I’ll be talking about creating branded video content for social media. This hits my entrepreneurial sweet spot because I love filming and editing videos, I’m good at it, and there are so many companies and brands out there already paying for digital content, so it checks all the boxes.

Once you’ve discovered a potential money-making hobby that hits your entrepreneurial sweet spot, start practicing. This is where we utilize step one of maximizing our free time by building skill-building habits that help in your chosen hobby. To continue the example of branded video content, a skill-building habit for me to practice would be creating videos. I use random products I already have in my house and make videos of it, of the product itself, using the product, unboxing the product, etc. For example, I make a matcha latte every morning, so I might as well create a video of me making it. If you love to cook, take some clips or make an explainer of a recipe. If there’s a specific clothing brand you love, make a video, showing off a haul of all the pieces you own. There are so many ways to incorporate content ideas into your daily life.

Learning is just as important as doing so incorporate the skill-building habit of watching and learning from experts. This could mean watching how other content creators film and edit videos, what their end results look like, and hearing podcasts explaining the background work going into it. Research how people are doing it, find successful ones, and imitate them. This is one of the best ways to learn.

Once you've found your skill-builders, incorporated them into your life, and have started to make them more of a habit, you should be on your way to accumulating examples of your own work by now. Before getting too ahead of yourself, reach out to friends and family for feedback. Show them what you’ve already done and ask for constructive criticism on how to improve. Use this feedback as market validation and an opportunity for growth.

Throughout all of this practicing, you’ve already made multiple examples of content to add to a portfolio or resume, which brings us to the next step.

3. Build the portfolio

Portfolios are crucial in showcasing your skills to potential customers and it’s now easier than ever to make a stand-out one for free. You can create aesthetically pleasing portfolios using free websites like Canva, WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, and more. More importantly, the content needs to have these headings or pages: about you, what you do, why what you do has value, examples of your work, and how to contact you. If you already have experience or want to add extra content you can add customer testimonials, a publications page, etc. but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a short and sweet portfolio to showcase your best work. Potential customers will be looking at this portfolio so think about what the user and customer experience of viewing it will be, and their train of thought. They’re going to wonder who you are, what you do, and how they will benefit from you. Then, they’re going to wonder if you’re good at it so you need the proof and examples to back you up. Less is more when it comes to examples or proof of your work. Make it very simple and clear to the viewer of your strengths by showcasing your very best examples.

It shouldn’t be hard or confusing to understand your portfolio. It should be able to read itself. A creative portfolio needs to be organized and purposeful and it should clearly give insight into who you are as a professional from the literal content to the overall design, so show off your personal style. Do some research and get inspired by other people's portfolios to use as inspiration. An uncluttered, simple, and modern design goes a long way. Lastly, remember to continually evolve and update your portfolio as you progress, by keeping it up to date with your current work and trends.

4. Determining Logistics

Before you get working and start making money, you need to make sure that the steps to actually getting that money are set. First, determine your rates. What exactly are you offering and how much time does it take you to make? Back to my example of making matcha, one video takes me about 5 minutes to film and 25 minutes to edit, so 30 minutes in total. Keep in mind it will take time to contact your customer, communicate with them, and come to a mutual agreement on the actual idea for the content. So let’s say a simple video will take roughly 1-3 hours with communication factored in. Secondly, determine how much you want to make per hour and is realistic to the going rate. A going rate for branded TikTok videos or UGC videos as a beginner is around $100. For my matcha video, that would make me around $33-$100 per hour, depending on how long it takes me and if I have to do revisions. Make a list of all the different potential factors that you may need to accommodate for and find a value you feel comfortable with. You can also ask friends and family for advice or do some research on what other people are charging at your level.

Consider the psychology of pricing. Undercharging your product or service can be a red flag to customers because price is interpreted as an indicator of value. Low prices are assumed as poor quality, while high prices are considered luxury. The majority tend to go for a middle price as a safe zone. However, every consumer is different. Another idea to consider is bundles. If I was to sell one TikTok video for $100, I could offer a bundle of 3 videos for a discounted price. The brand may have only needed one video but seeing 3 for a greater value may be more enticing. It’s the same psychological trick that chip companies use to sell “family-size” chip bags.

Next, make a simple contract template where you can list the type of product or service you plan to sell, the amount of money you’ve agreed upon, the mode of payment, the deadline you’ve agreed upon, if you’re allowed revisions and how many, and the terms of use for your intellectual property. By terms of use, I mean determining the boundaries of how and where they can use your product and for how long. For example, I could license my matcha video to a client for commercial use on their TikTok and Instagram accounts, but if they wanted to post it on another site like Pinterest

then I might want to charge more. Additionally, I would charge more if they planned to place ads on it or pay to promote it as an ad.

Templates that follow these guidelines can be found online for free! Overall, it’s important to be prepared to have each aspect of the transaction in writing.

Another piece of documentation to have prepared before the deal is made is an invoice. Invoice templates can also be found online for free. An invoice will be the final documentation that is sent to the customer, giving them a copy of the requested payment.

5. Outreach

Finally, now that you’ve built your skills, built some proof, and built your portfolio to showcase it, it's time to reach out to brands and offer your services. This is where social media really comes in! For digital content creation, look for smaller businesses and brands on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and wherever your style of content lives. Determine if you could provide them value and if their products are something you would want to work with. For example, I would look for small tea and coffee brands, who would see value in my matcha-type videos. Once you find a bunch, develop a friendly message with a quick intro of who you are and description of what you do with a link to check out your portfolio. Even better, if it's a brand you already know and love and possibly own, make a video utilizing their product and send it to them giving them a direct example of what you can do for them. From there, copy and paste your message and use it for multiple brands, tweaking where necessary to keep it tailored to the specific brand or company.

A company will know when it's a template. Use your own experience as a resource. You can tell when someone else has sent you a template and you probably have ignored it, most people do. Make it tailored and sincere, value-based, and individual. This doesn’t mean you need to re-write each message, but change up a couple of sentences and use specific language for each specific brand.

Don’t be discouraged if you only hear back from 1 out of 10 brands. It really is a quantity game, so this just means to keep going and reach out to even more companies. When you do hear back, keep the language professional yet personable, after all, you are speaking to human beings just like yourself and they want to get to know you to know if they can trust you and your work. Once you start making deals, sign those contracts, and get to work!

then I might want to charge more. Additionally, I would charge more if they planned to place ads on it or pay to promote it as an ad.

Templates that follow these guidelines can be found online for free! Overall, it’s important to be prepared to have each aspect of the transaction in writing.

Another piece of documentation to have prepared before the deal is made is an invoice. Invoice templates can also be found online for free. An invoice will be the final documentation that is sent to the customer, giving them a copy of the requested payment.

5. Outreach

Finally, now that you’ve built your skills, built some proof, and built your portfolio to showcase it, it's time to reach out to brands and offer your services. This is where social media really comes in! For digital content creation, look for smaller businesses and brands on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and wherever your style of content lives. Determine if you could provide them value and if their products are something you would want to work with. For example, I would look for small tea and coffee brands, who would see value in my matcha-type videos. Once you find a bunch, develop a friendly message with a quick intro of who you are and description of what you do with a link to check out your portfolio. Even better, if it's a brand you already know and love and possibly own, make a video utilizing their product and send it to them giving them a direct example of what you can do for them. From there, copy and paste your message and use it for multiple brands, tweaking where necessary to keep it tailored to the specific brand or company.

A company will know when it's a template. Use your own experience as a resource. You can tell when someone else has sent you a template and you probably have ignored it, most people do. Make it tailored and sincere, value-based, and individual. This doesn’t mean you need to re-write each message, but change up a couple of sentences and use specific language for each specific brand.

Don’t be discouraged if you only hear back from 1 out of 10 brands. It really is a quantity game, so this just means to keep going and reach out to even more companies. When you do hear back, keep the language professional yet personable, after all, you are speaking to human beings just like yourself and they want to get to know you to know if they can trust you and your work. Once you start making deals, sign those contracts, and get to work!

Imagine if you maximized your free-time, developed skill-building habits, built a portfolio of proof, became equipped with logistical knowledge and documents, and built relationships with clients. Now, that is not just beneficial to the here and now, but for your entrepreneurial future as well. It’s the best of both worlds by helping you financially, and giving you real world skills and experience to further pursue your future career goals. As entrepreneurs think, every experience is a stepping stone for the next opportunity.

About the Author

Kaylee McCullough is a university student at Toronto Metropolitan University studying Creative Industries. She works as a digital and social media marketer and content creator. She enjoys photography and video editing and is published to various websites and companies' social media pages. Her experience working in the creative industries shapes her writing and pushes her commitment to making entering the field more accessible for others.