Most of us were taught to go to school, apply ourselves, get a job, work hard and everything will work its way out. That may be fine and dandy for some, but when I had my baby girl. . . the idea of going to work and leaving her with a stranger terrified me. Not to mention, we were living in a new state and I didn’t really have a local support system in place. I needed to figure something out. I dove into Network Marketing. I knew the gig, applied myself and even found some mild success. There are so many people who are wildly successful with Network Marketing. So, I’m not here to put it down at all. I just reached a point where it wasn’t working for me. I was lost. Yet, the one thing that remained constant was that I wanted to be able to stay home with my little girl and little boy on the way.
Between the research and the trial and error, I’ve been there, done that and still came out swinging, even when I often felt defeated. I found things that definitely did NOT work for me in particular. On the flip side, I definitely found several very helpful venues to add money to my pocket book. I’m not blowing smoke or here to sell you on any crazy get-rich scheme. I’ve tested these and have found them very helpful to get you started! In no way is this blog an ad. These are tried and true steps that have helped me get going.
Have you heard of Micro Influencers? Before I really got started, I remember seeing “Influencer” on Instagram and a few Facebook ads as titles to these individuals with amazing and lavish lives. I’m pretty sure I had rolled my eyes to the idea and secretly thought something like, “must be nice” or something completely not helpful to my circumstances. Then, by happenstance, I stumbled across a few different mom bloggers that used the same title, but they had 11K Instagram followers and 15K Instagram followers and 18K Instagram followers. At the time. . . I had barely 1K and the idea of reaching 10K was pretty outlandish.
I put my booty in gear and got working. I scoured the internet looking for answers. I tried so many different things. My husband thought I was crazy. He probably still does, but sees paychecks starting to roll in with bigger numbers and with more consistency. . . so, he trusts the crazy. (Insert smiley wink face!)
- 1. AmbassadHer
How it works: Sign up with an account and start getting matched with brands. They have a paid membership at $2.99 a month that allows access to a lot more brands and at earlier times. In most cases, you receive free product and cash rewards to promote. This is a great group to start with because you don’t have to have 5000 followers to be looked at. You can have 100 followers and still be accepted to promote the brand.
Here are a few of examples:
Orgain paid post on Instagram: $20
Bio Origins paid review on Amazon: $40
Puracy paid post on Instagram: $20
Febreeze paid post on Instagram: $20
You’re already sharing your favorites with your friends and family, right? You can actually get paid for posting your favs on Instagram. Boom!
- 2. Heartbeat
http://hrbt.io/join/1086712 (This is my personal referral code. If you sign up, I would love for you to sign up here and help me earn an extra $5)
How it works: Sign up with an account, connect your social media and start getting matched with brands and more campaigns. Fill out surveys to be better matched. Once I found this particular app, I started having more fun! AND, they pay usually within 7 days. SO easy!
Here are a few examples:
The Little Mermaid 30th Anniversary paid post on Instagram: $20
PuroQuiet headphones paid post on Instagram: $20
Multifunctional Natural Skin Repair paid post on Instagram: $20
Maleficent paid post on Instagram: $60
- 3. Influence.co
How it works: This is where I feel like I started to put my big girl pants on! Influence.co is a great place to go once you’ve gotten your feet wet a bit and it takes a bit more footwork to get going in the beginning. Sign up for an account, connect your social media, complete a profile including a bio and demographics. From there, start searching the different campaigns available. You may find that a lot of these require a substantial following to apply. However, I’ve found a few that don’t require a huge following. Some of the campaigns are for product only, some are paid and you can actually search accordingly.
Fear no Feeling: Free Shirt for Instagram Post
Lavishluxlash: Free Fake Lashes for Instagram Post
- 4. Amazon Product Review Work (FREE Stuff)
How it works: Did you know that tons of Amazon sellers are looking for people just like you to review their product and leave a review? You can actually search on Instagram for Amazon sellers. Check out their profile and see what they have. Send them a DM and see what is available. I’ve ended up with some great educational toys for the kids, clothes for myself along with skincare that I’ve really enjoyed using. With more experience, I’ve started asking for paid collaboration. It’s really a hit or miss on whether Amazon sellers will pay or not. So, if you request payment, always do it beforehand and be willing to walk away if the answer is ‘No’. It’s totally worth a try though. Your hard work deserves a reward.
- 5. Massive Sway
Woo hoo, you guys this one is big!
How it works: Sign up, create an account and start applying to campaigns with bigger brands. This one does take a little more time to fill out the profile portion (maybe 15-20 minutes), but it’s worth it. Start getting paid for the content you create and work with brands you love. I have friends who have landed $500+ deals with Massive Sway. They have different campaigns at different times and it’s always worth keeping on your radar.
If you’re not on Social Media, and these have you a bit giddy, I recommend getting on Social Media and start building your reach pronto. If you’re not on Social Media and you’re completely turned off, this may not be for you and that’s totally ok. If you’re on Social Media, needing some extra cash, what are you waiting for!? These are just a few to get you started. (More to come!) Reminder, these are in no way Get Rich schemes. Does it involve work? Yup. A big Yup! I actually work my booty off. I work each and every naptime and late at night and even before the kiddos wake up in the morning. Is it a lot? Yup, but 100% worth me being able to help provide for and support my family.
As much as I love working from home and being with my kids, I will be completely honest. . . being a stay at home mom is the hardest job I’ve ever had! And the clock doesn’t stop after 8 hours and lunch. And I’m sure more than a few of you are thinking, “lunch, what lunch?”. Ha! I’m with ya mama! Even though being a mama is incredibly rewarding, snuggles and cuddles just don’t pay the bills! If you’re looking for some extra cash, these are some excellent starting points.
I have more coming you guys! I’ve had several of you ask me how I’ve gotten such a large following on Instagram. What’s engagement? And how on earth do I make that happen? I hear ya; it’s a lot! Well, you’ve asked and I’m going to do my best to answer. So, stay tuned!
I love hearing from you guys! Be sure to comment below. Have you tried any of these and what do you think? Do you have others you love? Also, what content would be helpful to you?
Wishing you a beautiful week!
XOXO,
Classy Mama Bear
