Hey! In today’s post I’m sharing how to make money creating content so you can get paid to create content for your favorite brands. So, while it’s super common for influencers to partner with brands to create sponsored content for their social media, did you know that many of them are also creating content for brands behind the scenes?
It happens a lot more often than you realize! So, if you’re wondering how to get paid to create content for brands, keep reading — or watch the video I filmed on YouTube!
And, I’d just like to start by sharing that I know this strategy works because this is exactly how I started earning an income back when I began blogging. Just one month into launching my very first blog I was approached by a wellness brand to write for their blog! And that soon turned into countless other “freelance” jobs for other brands.
By the way, if you’re new here — welcome! My name is Jaye and I’m the creator of 11 St. Studio influencer agency. If you’d like to learn how you can join our private influencer community, click here. And if you’d like to gain access to all of our eCourses for influencers, live webinars, member’s lounge and Q&A forum, check out our Member’s Area.
How to Make Money Creating Content
To be honest, when I began blogging I never once for a split second imagined that I would earn an income with my blog. Now, just to be clear, that was 10 years ago when most people had no clue what a blog even WAS. So, to be honest I was even thinking about how to make money creating content. Yet just a month into my blogging journey I was approached by a popular brand to take over their blog. And they paid me really well to do so!
And, guess what? That opportunity soon turned into also creating content for their email newsletters, website and social media.
So within just a few months I was blogging for them once a week plus creating additional content, and had at that point earned enough money to enroll in a few photography courses at a nearby university.
And from there they hired me to be their photographer too! I started by taking photos of their products and services and was eventually asked to be their official event photographer as well.
Flash forward a couple years and I began yoga teacher training. Guess who the studio asked to take all their website and social media photos and videos?
Me! Then, one year later, I began teaching yoga for a small personal training company, and within just a few weeks they began paying me to create content for their social media, email newsletter and eventually, their blog too.
So you can see how just one opportunity can turn into many sources of income working with brands! And this is why I love to help others learn how to make money creating content.
Was I earning money collaborating with brands on sponsored posts? Nope! That didn’t even exist as an option at that point! Remember, this was 10 years ago! My point is, I learned how to get paid to create content for brands within a month of launching my very first blog.
Given that social media, blogging and digital content were so new, it was incredibly easy to monetize my skills, and while I hadn’t yet collaborated with any brands on sponsored content, I was still creating a lucrative income for myself.
And so can YOU! Maybe not as a blogger (unless you are a blogger) but as an influencer or content creator.
The truth is, brands small and large need digital content creators to help them create content. Especially now with the popularity of TikTok!
How to Make Money Creating Content
This digital space, while it is saturated with bloggers and influencers creating sponsored posts, CAN, easily be monetized elsewhere.
So, if you are curious how to make money creating content, first think about where brands need content. For example, websites, blogs, email, apps and well — anywhere a brand can publish and market their products.
So, how do you get paid to create content for brands? Well, let’s be real — brands expect to be pitched on sponsored content. Right? In fact, depending on the brand, some get hundreds of pitches a day from influencers hoping to partner with them.
Which is why you may not hear back from every brand you pitch for sponsored posts.
So, why not surprise them and pitch them an idea they can’t refuse and offer to create content for them instead? It’s an ideal way to get paid to create content for brands right away.
I can tell you from experience that MOST brands do not get daily pitches from influencers suggesting they create content for their website, or blog or social media. Which is why learning how to make money creating content is a priceless skill to have!
This strategy WILL make you stand out. This is an area that is very under-pitched. And like I said earlier, more often than not, brands need help creating content in those areas! Which means that’s a great opportunity for you to earn some pretty significant paychecks.
The truth is, digital content creation is still an emerging field! And some brands don’t have the slightest idea how to create effective content, or what type of content they even need.
Guess who does? Influencers and bloggers, and you guessed it — content creators.
So if you fall into any of these categories you can easily (easily) create amazing content for brands — and chances are they’ll pay you very well for it!
So, that’s one easy way to make money creating content for brands, and to be honest there are countless more!
So, what exactly can you offer brands? Well, you can offer to write for their blog as a guest or ghost writer, or to take high-quality images for their website and social media, or if you’re good with video, you could offer to create videos for them for Instagram (Reels), TikTok or a YouTube channel — if they have one.
What else? Well, I actually created a cheat sheet that you can download that lists 20 more ways you can get paid to create content for brands — so go ahead and download it NOW, because it’s invaluable for anyone wondering how to make money creating content!
Each one helps you to quickly, and easily, create an income with your current skills as an influencer.
Now, as you can imagine, these services are all priced very differently. But, regardless if a brand has a low budget or is willing to pay you in gold, there is typically a service you can offer them that fits within their budget! So you can certainly negotiate all of that.
And, keep in mind that they would typically be paying you from their marketing budget, which could very well be much larger than their influence marketing budget. So if that’s the case you could potentially earn MORE money creating content for a brand than by partnering with them on sponsored content.
Plus, you don’t have to wait until you have 5k or 50K followers to pitch your dream brand, you can offer to help them today.
Hopefully that makes sense! Because while it can seem like monetizing your influence can take forever, the truth is, you can do so rather immediately! So while you may not be chosen to create sponsored content right away, you can easily work with brands on other projects, and you’ll probably make an excellent income doing so! Especially when it comes to take images and creating videos for brands.
Plus, and this is really important, if they accept your offer to create content, you now have an “in” at that brand. Which means you may get to jump the line and work with them on sponsored posts in the very near future because while you’re creating content for them behind the scenes they’ll get a clear idea of what it’s like to to work with you, and get to see firsthand that you create incredible content that their audience LOVES. Meaning, they’re much more likely to approach YOU when they’re pitching influencers for an upcoming campaign. Win-win.
If that’s not the fastest way to collaborate with your dream brands I don’t know what is!
So, yes…pitching brands to collaborate on sponsored content IS one way to earn money as an influencer, but it can be difficult to navigate as an emerging or even long-time influencer. Which is why I strongly suggest you try to get paid to create content for brands first. Remember, brands expect to be pitched on sponsored content. Why not pitch them on something they can’t refuse instead? It’s ideal for anyone who wants to know how to make money creating content.
OK. Now, with that said, if you’re still interested in partnering with brands to create sponsored content, make sure to read my other blog post, “How To Get PAID Brand Deals” or watch my video on YouTube, “How to get PAID Brand Deals on Instagram.” because at the end of the day it’s really smart to create multiple income streams, so that’s a video you don’t wanna miss!
Now, remember, building a brand doesn’t happen overnight; it requires significant time and dedication as well as flexibility in order to pivot and implement new strategies when necessary. And when that happens, many creators suddenly need help. And that’s totally normal.
So if you’re in that position, I get it. It’s really important to hold yourself accountable, so… hire a coach, pay for the online course, take a webinar or workshop, or hire a staff to help you do whatever is necessary to help your brand thrive.
OK so remember, if you want to be successful, you should always hold yourself accountable — while also investing into educating yourself on ways to work smarter.
Being an influencer can actually be a very confusing job at some times, and burnout is a common experience for a lot of creators. It requires:
- creating content
- pitching brands
- negotiating payment
- styling
- shooting
- editing
- curating
- scheduling
- and more!
And learning how to do everything necessary to start—and continue—making money, requires ongoing research, constant shifting, and committing to giving it your all. There is always something new you can learn, or some way you can improve. And as a creator and influencer, you should be actively pursuing that—to better your brand, and because your community deserves it.
So if you’re interested in learning more about what it takes to keep growing an audience, and how to get paid brand deals consistently, make sure to enroll in our Memebr’s area because there are nearly 10 eCourses inside, as well as a full resource library that you can access immediately as a member. Plus, you gain access to live webinars each month with me where you can ask all your questions!
OK that’s it for today, hopefully you now have a much better understanding of how to make money creating content. Also, make sure to grab that cheatsheet before you go! And, if you have any questions about this post (or comments) please leave them in the comments below.
Links Mentioned In This Post
YouTube Channel — Subscribe Here
Influencer Community — Join Here
Member’s Area — Enroll Here
Blog Post — How To Get Paid Brand Deals
YouTube Video — How To Get Paid Brand Deals on Instagram
Content Creation Cheat Sheet — The Cheat Sheet
Read More
- What Brands Look For In Influencers — Read more here.
- Influencer vs Content Creator: What No One Tells You — Read more here.
- Influencer Tips & Tricks — Read more here.
- Influencer Opportunities: The Truth About Brand Deals — Read more here.
- Become a Paid Influencer: 6 Tips — Read more here.
- How To Make Money Creating Content For Brands — Read more here.
- How To Approach Brands As An Influencer: Quick Guide — Read more here.
- Influencer Brand Deals: An Ultimate Breakdown — Read more here.
- How To Negotiate As An Influencer — Read more here.
- How To Get Brand Deals — Read more here.
- How Much To Charge For A Sponsored Post — Read more here.
- The Brand Pitch Email Templates (That Brands Can’t Refuse) — Read more here.
- Get More Brand Deals With This Engagement Rate Formula — Read more here.
- How To Work With Brands As An Infliuencer — Read more here.
- What (Exactly) To Include In Your Media Kit — Read more here.
- How Much To Charge For A Sponsored Post — Read more here.
- Influencer Marketing Terms You Need To Know To Work With Brands — Read more here.
