How to Make Money Selling Videos From Your Phone [Side Hustle Case Study]

Here’s the next installment in our side hustle case study series, where real people share how they make extra money in their spare time!

This week Sian from the Little Miss Frugal blog is spilling all the details on an awesome side hustle I hadn’t heard of before – selling videos from your smartphone!

Pretty much all of us have got a smartphone, even if we don’t have a laptop, so this is a great way to make some extra cash that anyone can get involved with.

Read on to learn how it works!

How to make money selling videos on your smartphone

Please tell us a little about yourself and your side hustle.

I run a money blog called www.littlemissfrugal.co.uk where l share the best money making and saving opportunities. I’m always looking for ways to make a little bit of extra money here and there to enable help fund a better lifestyle.

One of my favourite side hustles is to upload my smartphone videos to a platform called Newsflare, for them to be distributed and sold to the likes of newspapers, online publishers TV production companies and brands.  

If you’ve ever captured a video which makes your friends say: ‘Aww’, ‘Oh my God’ or ‘What the hell?!’ then there is a good chance that you can make money from it. 

The best-selling videos are those that have a compelling moment, whether it’s shocking or laughter, but you’ll be surprised at what can sell! For example, people love to watch babies falling asleep eating, Britain’s wild weather moments from waves crashing at the seaside to your cat or dog in a cute moment.

How long have you been doing your side hustle? How did you get into it?

I have been side hustling my videos for about 2 years now. I worked within publishing and living in London was always looking for new ways to be frugal. I actually got approached about a job at Newsflare and worked there for 3 years having left in early 2019. Although l no longer work there l am a huge advocate and still upload my videos to Newsflare.

What does the work actually involve? What does a typical day/work session look like for you?

Submitting a video to Newsflare is super easy, it’s more about having an eye and capturing that moment with the possibility that it could make money. 

If you have a video that you think could potentially go viral – whether its breaking news or a funny or heartwarming video than its worth taking the 5 minutes to upload to the platform, making it available to be sold to news outlets. You are always the owner of the video and can request deletion at any point! 

How much can you make doing this side hustle?

The amount you earn is never going to be guaranteed, it really depends on how compelling the video is and the demand from the buyers. 

I have earned over £2000 in the last two years from my videos – some of which are surprisingly not what l would have considered compelling! 

Uploading videos is really a long game, l have had sales months down the line and it is always a nice welcome surprise when l get the congratulatory email. 

The best thing to do is to sign up and give it a go and be patient! And upload plenty for more chances of making some money. 

Are there any start-up costs and/or ongoing expenses with this side hustle?

Newsflare is completely free to sign up to, you just need to get onboard that videos have value and you never know, videos sat on your smartphone right now may have value! 

Other than that it’s just taking the 5 minutes to upload and fill in details, such as a title, description of what’s happening and a location. 

What advice would you give to somebody who wants to get started?

Don’t underestimate what makes a great video, you will be surprised at what sells! 

My best selling videos have been of a march against knife crime filmed from my window and a dog who won’t walk lying on the pavement! 

Any recommended websites or resources?

You can sign up for a free account at Newsflare here. 

If you’re stuck for inspiration, you can also check out the video briefs or even the trending videos for an idea of what  videos Newsflare are looking for. 

Others companies that offer similar opportunities are Jukin Media, StoryFul and ViralHog – however, most operate a closed platform meaning they will contact you if you have a newsworthy video whereas Newsflare is open for anyone to start uploading! 

Where can we find you?

Blog: www.littlemissfrugal.co.uk 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lmfrugal/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/LittleMissFrugal/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lmfrugal

Thank you Sian for sharing your experience with making money from videos!

I love this idea for making extra money, and I love how accessible it is. I bet most of us right now have some videos on our phones we could upload – especially those of us with cute babies or pets! It’s great to hear that you retain the rights to your video too.

Want more work from home ideas? You can find the other posts in the side hustle case studies series here.

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