If you have a video camera, you may be able to turn it into a serious money-maker with any number of side hustles. Plus, since most of us carry a high-resolution camera right in our pocket everyday (smartphones!), most of these hustles can actually be started for almost zero extra money! Throw in a laptop, some video editing software, and a slightly better camera… and you actually have everything you need to start a pretty serious money-making hustle! Here are some of the best ways to make money with a video camera!
These methods can be pursued by almost anyone with a passion for videography… and can even pave the way to a full-time business if you continue working to improve and get better at your craft!
If you’ve always loved video and photography, then one of these may be the perfect opportunity to monetize your passion for the arts and do it!
How To Make Money With A Video Camera
- Shoot YouTube videos for local influencers
- Film music videos for local bands
- Do video product reviews for local businesses
- Start filming weddings
- Start your own YouTube channel
But First… A Word About Passion
You are probably reading this article because you want to make some extra money while pursuing a passion for video. If that describes you, then you are already on the right path. The simple fact of the matter is that true passion often leads to better work. If you enjoy what you do, you will probably find that you will be much more successful than if you were to pursue things just for the sake of earning an extra buck!
So as you read about these side hustles, remember to stay true to your love for the craft of video-making. And even if you have to change your methods a little bit, remember that every good side hustle starts with the desire to do what you love to produce something of value for someone else.
At first, you may even have to start working for free… but there is nothing wrong with that! That is how many of the greats got their foot in the door.
So, with that being said, here are some side hustle ideas that video-makers everywhere can pursue to make their video-making dreams into a reality!
1. Shoot YouTube Videos For Local Influencers
Every community is going to include at least a few people who want to be influencers. And some of them may actually already be making money producing YouTube videos and leveraging their popularity for sponsorships or affiliate sales.
I know several such people. And one thing that I’ve come to realize is that, once they grow to a certain level in their business, they usually hire other people to help them with their video work.
Volunteer to produce four or five videos for local influencers. Then, when the project is over, pitch them a deal where they pay you for future video work. They may benefit from having a dependable, helping hand to take an active role in their business, and this can help you to build up some street-cred as you work on developing your video skills.
If you can bring some video or editing gear to the table as well, you may be able to demand an even better rate! You can even cut and edit videos for Instagram and Facebook for these people as well!
I know a guy who did this for $50 a video when he was first starting out. He actually found local businesses who were trying to start YouTube channels, and did all of their video work for them. It took him about 3 hours to finish up a video, so he made pretty good money and got a lot of experience.
But even more than that, he got references that helped him to earn better video contracts in the future!
2. Film Music Videos For Local Bands
Do you enjoy the local music scene? If you live in a larger city, you may be able to make easy money filming and editing music videos for bands on the cheap. If you don’t mind working for a day to make $100-$300, you could easily film and edit music videos for local bands while building up a profile.
Many professional videographers will not even consider shooting a music video for less than $1,000! So if you can undercut this by a few hundred bucks, print up some awesome business cards, and shoot a few sample videos… you can probably scoop up quite a few projects!
3. Do Video Product Reviews For Local Businesses
I once knew a local YouTuber who started an entire website dedicated to local businesses. He used local SEO to get a bunch of traffic to his WordPress site, and then started offering to do video reviews of local businesses. He not only published the videos on his own channel, but also let the businesses use the videos on their own websites as well. This resulted in cheap, high quality publicity for the businesses, and put quite a bit of cash in his own pocket as well!
4. Start Filming Weddings
If you have an interest in becoming a wedding videographer, you can break into this industry by offering to film weddings for free, and then supplying the edited video to the bride and groom after-the-fact. If you do this enough, and get good enough at it, you can start building a portfolio that you can use to…
- Launch your own website
- Find your own paying clients
- And start filming weddings as a side hustle
The only thing about weddings is that they tend to be a bit on the high-pressure side. Some videographers actually don’t want to film weddings because they find them tedious, boring, or even a little stressful.
But if this is the kind of thing you enjoy filming, there is a lot of work to be done and money to be made… especially if you are willing to start out cheaply and undercut the bigger companies on cost.
5. Start Your Own YouTube Channel
This is a bit more time-consuming… but in the end, it may turn out to be the most profitable. There are many ways to leverage YouTube for a profit. You can…
- Monetize your channel
- Get sponsorships
- Put affiliate links into your video descriptions
- Sell your own ebooks or materials through your YouTube channel
There are a lot of ways to leverage this for a profit if you are willing to do the work.
To start this side hustle, just start a channel and start making videos about something you love. It could be about video games, dating, auto repair, working out, reviewing TV shows… it could literally be anything. The main thing to keep in mind is that you want it to be something you enjoy. You also want it to be something that you know a lot about.
The hard part of this hustle is that it will take time to build up your channel… and therein lies the big problem. You need a lot of views to start monetizing. And in order to get those views and subscribers, you need to create a bunch of content and continue creating it. If you can bring real value to your audience, the right types of viewers will find you… and that will start you down the road of gaining the kind of following you need to grow your channel and make it profitable.
In Conclusion
Video work is in higher demand now than it has ever been before… mostly because video is a format that everyone is using. There is really no shortage of opportunity… but if you want to make this side-hustle work for you, you need to keep a few things in mind.
- It takes time to build up any side hustle, including this one
- At first, you may have to work for free (or close to it) to start building up a portfolio
- It is going to be hard work… but if you love doing video work and see yourself doing it full-time one day, then it is worth it to get started
- It is very important that you continue to re-invest back into your business. And in video, that pretty much means buying better equipment and finding better ways to market yourself
- The videographer market might look saturated sometimes… but keep in mind that a lot of people end up giving up before they succeed
Those who stay the course, however, may just survive long enough to make some pretty decent money.
Just keep leveling up your skills, upgrading your gear, and honing your craft.
Above all else, get started and stay consistent! Slow and steady wins the race with skill-based hustles like this. The good news is that you can start with nothing but your smartphone, and work your way up from there!
Our Final Opinion Of Using A Video Camera As A Side Hustle
Should you use your video camera to make some extra money?
There are a lot of ways to make money online. Some are good, some not, but ALL of them are still just trading hours for dollars.
Starting your own affiliate website really is the best way to build passive income and “make money while you sleep”. Affiliate websites earn income in every timezone, and can be instantly accessed by billions of smartphones across the globe!
What’s up ladies and dudes! Great to finally meet you, and I hope you enjoyed this post. Sign up for my #1 recommended training course and learn how to start your business for FREE!