There are so many ways you can make money on the side online, it’s difficult the count them all. You can sell products or services, you can develop websites and monetize them, or you can simply telecommute for your side gig. If you’re a person who is well versed in writing and social media, you can even use Facebook to earn money. And if your writing is not that good, you can still use a custom writing service and profit off your social savviness.
Why Choose Facebook?
Facebook’s dominant position as the world’s most popular social network might be slowly eroding. But the giant still holds the number one place in well over a half of the countries in the world, and it’s still one of the best social networks for businesses big and small. And even the recent scandals didn’t compromise Facebook’s business-friendly aura, or the trust small businesses put into the social network.
Facebook is, after all, a place where businesses spend money to make money. Whether it’s through ads, growing a fanbase, improving engagement, or siphoning visitors to their website, businesses’ activities on the social network have a palpable effect on their bottom lines.
But you’re not a business, right? Facebook doesn’t let regular users earn money from just any piece of content they post. It’s a whole different model than YouTube’s model, where creators share in the profits their videos make. However, Facebook is making some headway in allowing publishers and creators to monetize the content they post on Facebook. And there are some other ways that don’t require Facebook’s explicit approval.
What Is Facebook Instant Articles?
Instant Articles is a feature Facebook rolled out back in 2015. It comes down to a delivery system that ensures some articles are delivered much faster to people viewing them on Facebook’s mobile app. The quicker loading times proved very effective, as they lowered bounce rates, increased user engagement, and made it easier to reach audiences that have a slow internet connection.
But the best thing about Instant Articles is that publishers can monetize them. Facebook acknowledges two monetization options for Instant Articles: direct-sold ads, and audience network ads. The former are the ads a publisher finds on their own, the latter are Facebook’s ads. Both are displayed in the article, and they net publishers 100% and 70% of the profits from selling ads, respectively.
How to Monetize Instant Articles?
The monetization option you want to choose depends solely on you. If you’re willing and capable to bring in good advertisers to buy ad space in your content, great. If you’re not, Facebook will take care of it for you. That’s not the biggest hurdle you’ll have to jump.
To monetize Instant Articles, you’ll need to become a publisher. You’ll need to create content that meets Facebook’s guidelines, and even more importantly — that looks appealing to audiences and advertisers alike. You can rely on third-party content creation services like WritingsGuru for a steady supply of quality articles. It might increase your expenses, but the amount of time you can save is significant.
You’ll also need a website or a blog. To get approved to Instant Articles, you need to own a Facebook page for at least a month. You need to have a website that will host your articles. You need a PayPal account to be able to receive your money, and finally, you’ll need to pass Facebook’s test. There are strict guidelines for what can and cannot be published as Instant Articles, and you better get familiar with them. By the time you’re approved, you’ll be ready to become a bona fide content creator and publisher. And a blogger.
Join an eCPM Program
eCPM is an acronym that stands for “effective cost per mille.” It’s the same type of deal you’ve heard of before — you get paid a set amount of money for every thousand of people who perform a certain action. In the context of monetizing your Facebook account, that usually means clicking on links in your Facebook posts.
But there’s a trick to it. You’ll need a large Facebook audience or a small one that’s extremely engaged. Websites will pay you for the visitors you send their way. But to get to the website, the people need to click on a link — likes and comments won’t cut it.
The other trick is that, once again, you need to have excellent content. The best way to make money on Facebook using eCPM is to set up several pages in different niches, then partner with several websites, and post fresh content on each page a couple of times a day. So, you’ll also need a high volume of content. Again, using third-party writing services can help. The websites you link to can send their own content. And if you really want to do it on your own, you better be ready to churn out articles like there’s no tomorrow.
Other Ways to Monetize Your Facebook Account
The list of ways to make money off your Facebook account doesn’t end there. You can also promote quizzes, start a group and use it to turn people to your other money-making endeavors or supply traffic to affiliate promotion pages.
If you have a social media presence of a decent size, plenty of chances for monetization will open up to you. There’s nothing wrong with being an influencer, like the people with a lot of Instagram followers are. Who knows, you might even get paid to mention certain products or services. Affiliate marketing becomes another good option with a huge following, as does helping other pages get their traffic for a fee.
But if you’re looking into ways to make as much money possible with the least effort possible, you’ll probably want to use Instant Articles and eCPM. You can do all the necessary work on your own if you’d like. But you can outsource the work and wait for the money to pile up. If you already have a good following that’s ready to engage, there’s nothing you need to wait for.