With many of us spending a good chunk of our time on social media, it’s normal for us to start to think how we could use this time to make some money. And wondering how to make money on Snapchat is definitely part of that.
After all, Snapchat is now one of the fastest-growing social media platforms – including being one of the few that’s publicly traded.
And one of the reasons for its rapid growth is because of how popular it’s become for users looking to make money on their platform, as well as for businesses looking to promote their brand.
Both of these things together can mean that if you do it properly, Snapchat can be a great place for you to make some extra cash.
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What is Snapchat?
Snapchat is a platform that lets you send photos or short videos of up to 10 seconds – known as “snaps” – either to select contacts or the public.
You can add masks, filters, emojis, captions, drawings and more to your snaps, which are then made available for a short period of time. When time’s up, the relevant snap is no longer accessible to your followers.
And based on this simple concept, since it was established in 2011, Snapchat quickly became a massive player in the world of social media.
This included then-innovative features like, in November 2014, when Snapchat created “Snapcash” – although this was shut down three years later.
It then introduced its “Discover” area in 2015, which contains channels of ad-supported short-form content from major sites, like BuzzFeed, CNN and Vice.
In early 2017, Snapchat started trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Then, in June that year, Snapchat began allowing users to add links to snaps.
As you’ll see below, this was a game changer for those looking for how to make money on Snapchat, as it allowed users to direct viewers to specific websites, such as their own products and services or those of affiliates.
Related: Is Swagbucks Worth It? The Ultimate Review
Users and other numbers
According to this article, a few quick facts about Snapchat are:
- 1.3 trillion Snaps were created last year
- It’s used by 218 million daily users
- 90% of 13 to 24 year olds and over 75% of 13 to 34 year olds in the US use it
This means that any efforts to make money on Snapchat must be with a focus on these key demographics.
(It also means that Snapchat could be a great way for teens to make money – or anyone else in those age groups.)
How to make money on Snapchat
The ways to make money on Snapchat are a little different from the other social media platforms, largely due to a difference in how messages are sent on it.
For example, with something like Facebook, you can post something that aims to make money and know that it will be there until it’s bumped down by something else.
With Snapchat though, you have to use to your advantage the fact that messages are only viewable for a short period of time.
This means things that can grab attention quickly are probably going to do better than the more slow-burn method of other platforms.
Some specific ways for how to make money on Snapchat are listed below.
1. Create Snap Ads
Snap Ads are a great way to promote any products or services you offer. In fact, Snapchat’s ads have a click-through rate that’s around five times as high as those for equivalent platforms, according to this article.
This means that once you have eyes on your ad, you’ve got a far better chance than on other sites for someone to actually click on it and start making you money.
How to make money on Snapchat ads
By running ads for your business or perhaps a specific product or service you offer, you can send Snapchat users to anywhere you want then to potentially purchase or sign up for something.
Reports are that between 500,000 and 1 million users check Snap Ads every single day, so you’ll definitely have an audience for your ads. Just make sure you target them towards the main demographic using the platform.
Related: The 42 Best Passive Income Apps to Make Money on Your Phone
You can also make literally thousands of dollars from posting ads on your very own website – which you can launch for less than $3 per month?
Check out our step-by-step guide on how to start a blog to launch yours today.
How to buy Snapchat ads
Snapchat has a built-in ads manager to help you buy and manage any ads you run.
Given the higher click-through rate for Snap Ads compared to other platforms, you’re going to pay more than on sites like Facebook to run your ads. For example, it’s reported that one campaign could start at $3,000 per month in ad spend.
And one thing to note is that Snap Ads aren’t available to buy in every country. If you find the option doesn’t appear for you, try using a VPN app, like one offered by Hola called Fake GPS Location.
2. Use geofilters to promote a place or event that relates to your business
Geofilters are designs that users can put over their pictures and that are only available if you’re in a certain area at a certain time. That is, they’re “geofenced”.
People often use them for events like weddings, to show the couple’s name and the wedding date on photos taken by attendees, and major sports matches, to put the name and logo of the team you support on your photo. They also work as a way to show where you were when a specific photo was taken, like at a certain beach or park.
Can you make money from Snapchat filters?
You can definitely make money from Snapchat filters.
All you have to do is design your filter, choose a start and end time, pick a location and submit your order.
If you’re a business, you’ll need to include your business name so those who use your filter know it’s sponsored.
But whether or not you’re looking to use them for personal reasons or to promote your business, geofilters can be a great way to increase awareness for your brand in the location you select.
Keep in mind that you can’t include phone numbers or URLs when making a geofilter available. But with a bit of creativity in terms of how to get your business’ message across, there’s no reason why you can’t use Snapchat to make money in this way.
3. Promote your products through your content
Using content you post to make money on Snapchat can be one of the best, most organic ways to use the app to generate income.
This is different from a sponsored post, which we’ll discuss below.
Instead, this involves using your creativity to harness the power of the app to get people to know who you are.
There are literally hundreds of emojis, sticks, filters, drawings and other things you can add to your Snaps to capture people’s attention.
And noting that you only have a few seconds for them to take notice, you’re going to have to make your message strong.
You’re also trying to appeal to the millennial demographic, so it’s a good idea to tailor your message accordingly.
But noting that you can add links to your snaps, this is your chance to craft the perfect call to action to encourage people to actually click the link they’re being shown.
Related: 25 Websites Where You Can Get Paid to Type
4. Promote using Sponsored Lenses
Snapchat Lenses are often confused with filters, so it’s important to clarify the difference.
That is, lenses are special effects you add to your photos or videos. Have you ever seen a video of someone with the dog face? That’s a lens.
The main difference between lenses and filters is that filters only add layovers to your snaps. Lenses, however, can change the appearance of your face, the sound of your voice and more. Essentially, they’re more interactive.
This also means that the way you use lenses to make money on Snapchat is similar to filters but not identical.
That is, businesses can pay for Sponsored Lenses which users then access as a way to promote what the company offers.
L’Oréal showed exactly how this can be done well by providing a Sponsored Lens that lets users take selfies with the company’s make up on. The aim was to promote its new eyeliner which the filter did superbly.
It’s worth noting that this won’t be cheap. In fact, it’s reported that Snapchat lenses for major events can cost a business anywhere from $450,000 to $750,000.
But if you’re a marketing manager looking for how to make money on Snapchat for your client, this has been shown to be one of the most successful ways to do so.
This is because they tend to be more memorable than some of the other options, which means that customers may continue to be influenced by them even when the lens is no longer available.
Related: The 29 Best Companies that Pay for Ideas
5. Promote your business with sponsored posts
Sponsored posts work similarly to these kinds of posts on other platforms.
That is, a business can pay you to advertise for them by promoting their product or service through posting content.
For example, if you see your favorite user suddenly showing you how much they love a certain weight loss tea, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be a sponsored post.
Prices for this can vary depending on who’s posting your sponsored content. Clearly, the bigger audience they have, the more you’ll charge.
But costs can be relatively reasonable for influencers with a more limited audience, so be sure to look around the app to see who may fit your brand – and your budget.
6. Promote affiliates
Affiliate marketing on Snapchat works like it does on other platforms. For example, if someone mentions a service then includes a link to where you can sign up for this, they may be receiving a small commission for you clicking through to do so.
If you’re looking for how to make money on Snapchat by promoting other people’s products or services, this can be a really lucrative way to do this.
If, say, you post a Snap that reviews a product and then include an Amazon Associate link to where people can buy that product, you’ll make a commission from anything they buy – not just the item you linked to – when they click through the link for a certain period of time.
As you can probably tell, for those with a large audience who can generate a lot of clicks, affiliate content can be a massive way to make money on Snapchat.
Of course, for any affiliate marketing, it’s important to be genuine. Don’t just mention a product because you want to include the link.
Instead, make sure it’s something that you honestly want to recommend and that aligns with your brand. That way, you’re more likely to be able to convince your followers to check it out through your link.
You may also be interested in: 13 Sites Where You Can Test Websites for Money
7. “Snapchat Premium”
Snapchat Premium isn’t an official feature of Snapchat. Instead, it’s a coded term used by Snapchat users who sell private content on the platform.
Essentially, it’s for those who want to make “adult content” available to others for a fee.
It was originally one of the main uses of Snapcash, until that was shut down – largely for being associated with this concept. People have, however, found ways around that to still get paid.
So, sure, it’s a way to make money on Snapchat. And it’s up to you how you want to make some extra cash, of course (as long as it’s legal and you’re in compliance with applicable tax laws…).
But the other options on this list do have the chance to make you more money overall so may be worth a second look before going down this route.
Related: 22 Proven Ways to Get Cash Urgently If You Need Money Desperately
How does Snapchat Premium make money?
Snapchat Premium isn’t an official feature of Snapchat, so the feature itself doesn’t generate money for Snapchat.
How much money can I make with Snapchat?
With Snapchat, you can make anything from a few dollars to literally millions of dollars in sales.
Obviously, the top level of earnings is only going to be open to massive influencers or major companies.
After L’Oréal’s success with the Sponsored Lens mentioned earlier, they ran another marketing campaign on Snapchat to promote their new clay mask. That ad alone resulted in a 51% increase in sales of that product.
But even if you’re not at the “massive cosmetics company” end of the scale, you can still use Snapchat to make serious money.
Affiliate marketing, for example, can generate tens of thousands of dollars in commission payments.
Sure, it will take some time to build your audience up to that level. But once you do, the pay off can be huge – literally.
Related: 37 of the Highest Paying Online Jobs
Which Snapchat users make the most money?
It’s hard to find information online on who the major Snapchat money makers are. Some older articles mention “Snapchat stars” making $100,000 per week but that amount would almost certainly have risen by now.
What most people assume is that those who make the most money with this app are the same people who make the most money on other platforms, like Instagram.
Kylie Jenner, for example, makes over $1.2 million per sponsored Instagram post, so we can assume she makes a similarly massive amount on Snapchat.
That said, this is the same person who, with one tweet, wiped about $1.3 billion off Snapchat’s market value, so maybe they’re less inclined to help her out these days.
Tips on how to make money on Snapchat
So we’ve run through the different ways for how to make money on Snapchat. Now you’re wondering how to actually put them into action.
Well, there are some tips you can use to maximize your earning potential with Snapchat:
Increase your audience
This may sound obvious, but the bigger your following, the more money you’ll make. So, logically, it’s a good idea when starting out to focus on building your audience as much as possible.
(We’ll go through some expert tips on how to do this below.)
Post consistently
The more consistent you are, the more people will regularly check back to see what your latest Snap is about.
If they know to expect something epic from you every day, for example, you may start to build a following of people keeping an eye out for what each day’s post is going to be.
And the more views you have each day, the more chances you have to make money from your audience!
Be genuine
People are far more savvy these days in terms of knowing when they’re getting a sales pitch. Marketing ploys that used to work are now ignored by a generation that’s used to having ads thrown at them on every single platform they visit.
This means that one of the best marketing tricks you can use to make money on Snapchat is to be as genuine as possible.
Sure, you may be trying to make a sale and that’s fine. But make sure you actually believe in what you’re trying to sell instead of simply doing whatever you can to make a buck.
Having a following is key on platforms like Snapchat and the best way to turn off your audience is for them to constantly feel like they’re having ads thrown in their faces.
This makes it important to strike a balance between making a dollar and making a follower.
Related: 31 Legit Ways to Make Extra Money in the Military
FAQs on how to make money on Snapchat
If you’re still not sure how to make money on Snapchat, these FAQs may help to clarify things for you.
Related: How to Make $100 a Day: 41 Ways That Actually Work
Do you get paid for Snapchat views?
You don’t get paid for Snapchat views.
You can, however, make money based on the people viewing your content. This means that while the views themselves don’t generate money, the more views you have, the more likely you are to make money on Snapchat.
Does Snapchat pay for pictures?
Snapchat doesn’t pay for pictures. The app is totally free to use so you can post as much as you want at no cost. In return, Snapchat isn’t going to pay you for what you post.
You can, of course, make money on Snapchat by posting pictures, although that money won’t come from Snapchat itself. I’d recommend going back and reading over this article if you want to find out how to do this.
How do you get popular on Snapchat?
There are a ton of strategies for how to get popular on Snapchat that you can implement to grow your follower count – and, ideally, your income.
So to see how to build your Snapchat audience, read on:
- Use other social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, to promote your Snapchat account to your friends and other connections. Bonus points if you use those platforms to provide teasers for your Snapchat content that they can only see if they visit your Snapchat account.
- If you have a website, put your Snapchat link on your about page or even a link in the header or footer. It’s also a good idea to provide a link to your account in any content you post on your site, like in blog posts
- Post regularly to get people interested in what you’re going to post next
- Promote other people on Snapchat who are likely to follow you or even promote you back
- Harness the power of Reddit to drive up your follower count – even if they’ll mostly be random users. The sub-Reddit r/snapchat is a good place to start.
- Do a Story Takeover on big accounts of major companies in your niche. This can take some work to get into but it can be a goldmine for increasing your traffic.
- Encourage influencers in your area to use your geofilters or Sponsored Lenses.
- Create a Facebook Ad that tries to get people over to your Snapchat account. The benefit of these is that you can target specific demographics. In this case, this can be an excellent way to focus on the age group that makes up most of Snapchat’s users.
Related: Is Lucktastic Legit or a Scam?
How to get thousands of followers on Snapchat quickly?
One kind of sneaky way to get thousands of followers on Snapchat is to buy an existing account.
They’re surprisingly cheap, starting from only $10. And by coming with a pre-made following, you’re going to save yourself a lot of the initial time needed to build up your audience.
Can you really get paid from Snapchat?
While you can’t get paid from Snapchat, you can absolutely make money on Snapchat.
Are these ways for how to make money on Snapchat actually legit?
The options listed in this article are definitely legit, with thousands of people and companies making money in this way every day.
It’s true that some of the ways to make money are more for major companies than individual people looking to promote something. Sponsored Lenses, for example, may be way outside your budget.
But the other options also work for showing you just how to make money on Snapchat, no matter if you’re only one person or an entire marketing team.
With consistent posting and a focus on building your audience, it’s clear that you’ll be able to grow your brand while growing your income through taking advantage of everything that Snapchat’s users have to offer you.
