You might not see Facebook as new and trendy these days, but it’s still incredibly popular. Over 2 billion people use Facebook every month, and 1.37 billion use it daily.
Because of this massive user base, lots of people and businesses want to make money on Facebook. It’s a smart move considering the huge audience.
This article will show you some of the best ways to earn money on Facebook.
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Who is Eligible to Monetize Their Pages on Facebook?
Facebook Pages have significant potential to earn money. However, to make money from your Facebook Page, you must meet some basic requirements:
- Have a Facebook Page connected to your account.
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Make sure you have an active payment account.
In addition, there are more requirements for page monetization from Facebook itself, every page must:
- Have between 10,000 to 30,000 followers.
- Have posted content in the last 60 days.
- Target an audience in the following countries: US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand.
- Follow Facebook’s terms and conditions.
- Comply with Facebook’s Monetization Eligibility Standards.
- Abide by all relevant laws.
- Do not promote or engage in illegal activities.
Apart from that, content creators need to follow these rules:
- Create original and unique content, videos, and ads that meet Facebook’s Monetization Eligibility Standards.
- Follow Facebook’s Advertising Policies and Community Standards.
- Make sure your content doesn’t have things like adult content, hate speech, or illegal stuff.
- Don’t make your videos, ads, or live streams misleading or deceptive in any way.
Facebook also requires that you have a valid payment method to to get paid. This can be a credit card, debit card, or PayPal account. And remember, you must be at least 18 years old to make money on Facebook.
How To Make Money On Facebook
1. Sell On Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace is not just for people looking to get rid of extra stuff. It’s also a platform for entrepreneurs, ecommerce businesses, Amazon sellers, woodworkers, handmade artists, and even brick-and-mortar stores.
Seller strategies on Facebook Marketplace are quite similar to other platforms like Amazon and eBay.
The good news is that Facebook charges no fees for listing items if you’re selling them locally. If a customer orders for shipping, sellers are only charged 5% of the sale price or a flat fee of $0.40 for shipments valued at $8.00 or less. This low overhead makes listing products on Facebook a great choice for both new and experienced ecommerce sellers.
In terms of fees, Facebook has announced that they will waive their standard selling fee for all orders marked as shipped until 11:59pm Pacific Time on June 30, 2023.
To start selling on Facebook Marketplace, all you need is an active Facebook account. It’s really that simple!
The best thing is, it doesn’t matter if you have little money or no product; you can dropship on Facebook Marketplace.
2. Create A Facebook Group
Facebook Groups can be like forums and notice boards. You can also do live videos in Facebook Groups.
There are different kinds of groups based on how private they are:
Public Groups: Anyone can join, and anyone on Facebook can see what’s inside.
Open Groups: They welcome new members, and they’re free to join, but sometimes you have to answer some questions to get in.
Closed Groups: These groups can be seen by people outside, but you can only join if someone from the group invites you or the owner says you can.
Once you have a good number of supporters in your Facebook group, you can use your influence to:
- Do affiliate marketing.
- Sell products or services.
- Drive traffic to your website.
These things can make money for you in the long run.
You can even make an app for your community. Members can pay for personalized recommendations or services.
That’s what FITTR, a fitness startup, did. The founder, Jitendra Chouksey, turned his Facebook group into a money-making business.
I’ll tell you how.
His group is a safe place for people to learn, share, transform, and get inspired in the fitness industry.
He got people to pay for advice from coaches and trainers in his group.
Then, he made an app called Fittr. People can join for free and get lots of valuable content. They only pay if they want personalized coaching.
He didn’t spend any money to get people to use his app. He used his Facebook group for that.
3. Create videos with in-stream ads
In-stream ads are short ads that appear before, during, or after your videos on Facebook. They’re a great way to earn money if you regularly share videos from a Facebook page (not your personal profile).
Facebook offers three types of in-stream ads, each with its own purpose:
Pre-roll ads: These ads run before your video starts. They work best when people actively seek out your content. When viewers search for your content, they’re less likely to mind ads at the beginning of a video.
Mid-roll ads: These ads appear during your video, usually in natural breaks. It’s a good idea to plan your content ahead so you can place mid-roll ads at the right moments.
Image ads: These are static images displayed beneath your videos. They are suitable for videos that don’t have a good spot for a mid-roll ad break.
To start earning money with in-stream ads on your Facebook page, follow these steps:
Enable in-stream ads in the Creator Studio or on the in-stream ads landing page.
You can automatically add in-stream ads to any eligible videos you’ve uploaded in the past 30 days.
For older videos, you can place in-stream ads through bulk monetization.
If you want to use mid-roll ads, you have a choice. You can let Facebook automatically put them in your videos or do it yourself.
Automatic Placement: Facebook is pretty good at finding good spots for ads. They look for short pauses of 1 to 2 seconds. If you want this, just enable it in the Creator Studio. It saves you from searching for those pauses.
Manual Placement: If you prefer control, leave the automatic box unchecked. Facebook will then let you decide where to put your in-stream ads.
When you’re placing ads, be thoughtful. Random ads can make viewers leave.
Let’s say you start a Live video, and it goes on for 4 minutes with at least 300 viewers, you can just tap a button that says, “You can take an ad break now.” Most people appreciate these reminders.
4. Add a paid subscription to your page
Fan subscriptions are a way for your audience to support you and your content directly. It comes with perks like exclusive content, discounts, and more.
Facebook now offers this support option, but it gained popularity through Patreon. It’s perfect for podcasters, video creators, authors, artists, and others.
In simple terms, it’s like paying for special content access.
Fan subscriptions can help you make money from your Facebook page. People might want to support your page because they believe in your brand, want exclusive content, or desire a closer connection with you.
This is especially beneficial for brands and creators with active followings, as it lets them earn from their page and offer special content and discounts to their fans. The “stars” feature also allows users to send tips to their favorite creators for added income.
For example, The Vegan Baker has a special Facebook Group for brand supporters. Fans pay $4.99 each month for exclusive content, discounts, and the option to give extra tips using Facebook’s stars feature for content they love.
This helps The Vegan Baker earn money from its active followers and gives fans something special. The stars feature also helps the brand figure out which content works best and boosts engagement with a close-knit group of followers.
This Facebook money-making method is new and by invitation only. You can get fan subscriptions if you have 10,000 followers, 250 returning viewers, and either 50,000 post interactions or 180,000 watch minutes.
Once you get invited, you can decide what perks your subscribers get, make a promo video for your subscription service, and create a thank-you video for new subscribers.
5. Collaborate With Brands For Paid Sponsorships
Brand partnerships on Facebook are when a page collaborates with a brand and shares content that either features or is sponsored by the brand, which Facebook calls “business partners.”
The brand pays the content creator to showcase their products or services to their followers, potentially influencing their buying decisions.
To make the most of branded content, promote brands that are relevant and helpful to your audience. This not only benefits the brand but also builds trust with your audience, creating a win-win situation.
It’s worth noting that personal Facebook profiles cannot engage in branded content; only pages are eligible. While you need to seek approval to use branded content, Facebook doesn’t specify a minimum number of followers required.
Once you’re given the green light for branded content, you’ll need to set up a profile in Brands Collabs Manager (this tool becomes accessible once your page is approved for branded content). Your portfolio in Brands Collabs Manager serves as a way for brands to assess whether your audience aligns with their target demographic in terms of interests, gender, age, and more.
Here’s what your Brands Collabs Manager portfolio should include:
- Information about you and your personal brand.
- Contact details.
- An introduction to your page.
- Previous partnerships you’ve had.
- Showcased posts.
- Metrics and insights demonstrating how your past branded content has performed.
If you’re just beginning to earn money through branded content on your Facebook page and don’t have prior collaboration history to showcase, don’t worry. Brands understand that everyone has to start somewhere.
The Brands Collabs Manager will also display project briefs from various brands. These are formal proposals from companies seeking to partner with a page for collaborative work.
If you come across a project that catches your interest, you can send in a pitch. In your pitch, explain why you and your page are a great match for the project. Typically, project briefs don’t mention payment details, so you’ll also need to include your proposed compensation.
After you’ve executed the branded content, it’s crucial to monitor your post analytics. Brands value this data to evaluate the effectiveness of the partnership. This information is vital if you aim to secure more partnerships down the road.
6. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a way to earn money by promoting products or services on different websites or platforms. You get paid a commission for each sale made through your special tracking link, which tells the company where the sale came from.
As an affiliate marketer, you might join affiliate networks like Amazon Associates, ShareASale, or CJ Affiliates. These networks connect you with products to promote. But you can also promote products directly from a company that isn’t in your affiliate network.
To promote a product, you can share it on Facebook with your unique affiliate link. When people click your link and buy the product, you earn a commission.
You can promote products on Facebook in different ways:
- On your profile
- On your Facebook page
- Through a chatbot in Facebook Messenger
- In a Facebook group
- By buying Facebook ads
But, remember, Facebook has rules for affiliate marketing. They don’t allow links to questionable advertisers, and they’ll let you know if you break these rules.
If you want to make money with affiliate marketing on Facebook, you can use it on either a personal or business page.
If you plan to run Facebook ads, you must use a business page.
Page owners who are affiliate marketers can use this to earn money.
Make your affiliate links look professional. Use good pictures, interesting descriptions, and clear calls to action.
It’s best to promote brands and products you truly believe in.
7. Create Paid Online Event
If you want to earn money through live streams on Facebook, you can use Facebook Paid Events. Here’s how it works:
You can stream pre-recorded videos like concerts or classes and charge a fee for people to watch them.
You can also stream special content like interactive games or educational stuff and make it accessible only to those who pay to get in on Facebook.
Now, let’s begin with the basics. Make sure your Business Page is eligible for Paid Live Events on Facebook. Once you’ve done that, here’s what you can do next:
Step 1: Start by logging into your Facebook Business page. Go to your page, click on ‘Events,’ choose the ‘Online’ option, select ‘Class,’ and then choose ‘Paid.’
Step 2: Fill in the event details like the name, time, and duration. Then, click ‘Next’ at the bottom.
Step 3: Enter the fee you want to charge for attending the event (the cost to watch your live stream), and then click ‘Next.’
Step 4: Choose ‘Present a Live Broadcast’ and click ‘Publish event.’ After that, you’ll see a button to set up a live video.
Step 5: Go to the event you created on your Page and click the blue ‘Go Live’ button. This will open Facebook Live Producer.
Step 6: Go to the LiveReacting Studio and set up your stream.
Step 7: Once you’ve set everything up, press ‘Settings’ and connect your Facebook Business Page (the one from which the event was created).
Step 8: Make sure to set the start time for your stream. Under ‘Advanced Settings,’ enable ‘Use Existing Stream Key’ and paste the stream key from your Facebook Event. Then, click the ‘Save’ button.
Step 9: Click ‘Schedule,’ and your stream will be scheduled within the event.
Step 10: Finally, go back to your Facebook event and click ‘Save Changes.’ That’s it! You’re all set to host a paid live stream event on Facebook.
8. Sell Your Services
Many of us know about selling stuff on Facebook Marketplace, but what if you want to offer a service? Well, the Marketplace is for physical products only, but you can still promote your service through your Facebook page.
For instance, if you’re a freelance photographer, you can set up a business page with all the important info about your photography business. You can use it to share special deals, discounts, upcoming events, or anything related to your work.
To make it easy for people to reach you, add your website link and contact details wherever you can.
When you post, keep these in mind:
- Have clear goals
- Include call-to-actions.
- Use attractive graphics, high-quality images, and videos.
You can reach friends and family organically on Facebook, but for more exposure, consider using paid ads.
You can use either a personal or business page to promote your services. If you plan to use Facebook ads, a business page is better.
If you offer other services such as
- Freelance writing
- Business consulting
- Personal training
For example, the Facebook page of the personal training company Ultimate Performance has 152k followers. They have been using this page to promote their fitness programs and engage with their audience.
Keep in mind though, you should treat your business page professionally, just like your website or other communication channels.
Avoid controversial topics and images. Stick to promoting the services you offer. Make it easy for followers to find your contact info – phone number, email, or website.
Final Words
With Facebook’s new suite of features made especially for entrepreneurs and brands, it’s easier than ever to engage new and existing audiences. You can easily use the platform to start an ecommerce business, sell services, and create digital products or merch.
But don’t get tied to just one feature or just one platform. Try to diversify your offering so that if one platform dries up you have other streams of traffic and revenue. This is especially important today, when the organic reach of mammoth social media sites like Facebook are dropping by the day and consumers are becoming increasingly skeptical of paid advertising campaigns.
While some may deem it too challenging to reach the minimum requirements to monetize their content, Facebook can still be profitable if you implement the right strategies, know how to make good content and are consistent.
Anthony Smith is an internet entrepreneur. He created the Side Hustle Ideas Database to help people find side hustles for making extra money, with the potential of turning into a full-time income.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a business degree, he gained business experience at a consulting firm. At the same time, he tried various side hustles including freelance writing, blogging, and eCommerce. He managed to turn his side hustles into a full-time business, earning over $3 million. Now, he enjoys financial freedom and travels around the world as a digital nomad.