You could have a goldmine sitting in your pocket, according to an expert. Photo / 123RF
You could have a goldmine sitting in your pocket, according to an expert. Photo / 123RF
You could have an untapped goldmine sitting in your pocket.
Most of the countless photos and videos on our smartphones are destined for the digital scrap heap — but there are usually at least a couple of great shots.
While those typically end up on Instagram or Facebook, you might actually be able to make some money off them.
"People might not realise how much you can make from generating stock photos," said innovation expert Nils Vesk.
Sites like Getty, Alamy or iStock may be willing to buy a great photo or video and will pay the creator a commission of anywhere from 15 to 40 per cent for each download.
"If you looked over your photos, everyone's got a classic," Mr Vesk said. "If people really looked at their photos, there's a little bit of money in there."
To mark World Creativity and Innovation Week, the consultant has come up with nine "creative" ways people can make money "doing as little as possible".
Mr Vesk, who has worked with brands including CommBank, Nestle and Microsoft, said he started researching the list after speaking to a pregnant client who was "really worried about how she could make some money without having to work full time".
"There are some really cool, creative techniques and innovations out there for people that they could be tapping into to make money or save money," he said.
"The most common thing is you can usually get paid for something you're already doing. Mystery shopping, for example, it doesn't pay a lot, it might be A$25, but if you're already shopping it doesn't hurt."
Stock photos can be a money spinner
In addition to selling your Instagram-worthy snaps, he recommends everything from turning your car into a mobile billboard to becoming a human guinea pig and participating in paid market research.
Sites like Respondent.io, Ipsos i-Say, Brand Institute, Inspired Opinions and SIS International Research often pay consumers to answer survey questions and take part in focus groups.
"I did one last night, it was like A$150 for literally about 10 minutes of work," he said.
Nine lazy ways to make money:
1. Become an advertiser: Use your car as an advertising banner for a brand and earn anything from A$150 to A$450 a month.
2. Sell your snaps and your vids: If people like your photos and videos, chances are people would pay for them. Earn anything from 15 per cent to 40 per cent commission for each download of your photo or video.
3. Share your opinion: Become a market research participant and complete quick online or face-to-face interviews netting you between A$50 to A$400 an interview.
4. Share your car: Your parked car could be generating income for you right now if you sign up to a car-sharing scheme. Lease out your car for a year for A$12,000 or hire it out per hour or per day.
5. Become a hotel for a night: AirBnB is a simple, trusted and reliable income generator. Rent out a room or rent out the house.
6. Become medically advanced: Paid clinical trials can help you not only financially but also physically by being on the cutting edge of medicine to help you through illness, pain or disease.
7. Be a book lover: If you're an avid reader and like sharing your recommendations, become an Amazon affiliate and share the books you've just read. Share your latest list and links through a blog, a newsletter or email to friends.
8. Go shopping: Mystery shopping is a simple way to add income when you're going shopping. If you can remember what a retailer says, and how they made you feel, this one's an easy one to make some extra cash.
9. Round up your payments: Use an app to force you to save more money when you purchase goods. The extra five cents from a A$4.95 purchase can be collected and redirected to a savings account or into a share market account, helping you to save and grow your money without even feeling the loss of it. On average people save between A$40 to A$60 a month using these apps.
