7 ways to use your blogging & social media skills

Want to make money with social media? There are ways to do it beyond sponsored posts.

Doing social media combines a range of skills – marketing, communications, strategy, reputation management, analytics, writing and more. Even if you have only used social for your personal blog or brand, you have built up skills that you can turn into paid opportunities with other businesses or paid projects on your own site.

Here are just a few ways to turn your social media skills into paid work.

1. Write eBooks

You can create an eBook on any topic you are knowledgeable about. It can be a short pamphlet-style project or a larger more-book-like endeavour. Distribute it for free via your blog or email newsletter as a way to grow your email or subscriber list. Or charge a fee for it and create yourself a passive income stream.

2. Create online eCourses

These days eCourses are easier to create than ever, with demand on all kinds of topics. You can combine your blogging, podcasting and vlogging skills to create an engaging course on anything you know a lot about. It can be a one-hour seminar or a multi-part course that combines Facebook discussions, interactive sessions, homework and more! Start by zeroing in on what you want to teach then break it down into easy-to-digest sections.

3. Write books

With some blog posts running to a few thousand words, it’s great preparation for writing a book. If you have blogged extensively on a topic, you may find you have a lot of the material already and just need to pull it together.

4. Market a skill you have

This is where you employ your social media skills for yourself, treating yuourself as if you were a client. Highlight your special talents on a dedicated site or a section of your existing site. These could be your skills in website creation, blogging and social media, to promote yourself as a freelancer or consultant. Or it could be something totally different — catering children’s parties or knitting tutorials. You don’t to create something huge or complicated to marketing yourself this way. Find affordable hosting and a ready-made theme to showcase your skills, be sure to feature bits like contact information, case studies and previous clients, and you’re off!

5. Do small business marketing

There are lots of businesses who need folks to run and create a strategy for their Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and other social media feeds. You don’t need a marketing degree for your real life experience to be an asset to a small or big business. It can be perfect if you want flexible or part-time working hours and you can work with a range of businesses, which builds up your skills and keeps things interesting. It’s also very fulfilling to see small businesses grow as a result of your work.

6. Speaking/coaching

Many people want to learn about how to use social media effectively. You can teach people through speaking engagements or personal coaching. Research rates for people with similar experience or start by ‘coaching’ some friends for free to help you craft your pitch for paying clients.

As you can see, understanding how to set up, use and manage social media and blogs is an essential part of business these days. As a blogger and influencer, you already have the base to create new income streams and pivot your experience to new areas.

Have you used your social media skills in these or other ways?