5 Smart Additional Income Streams for Film Freelancers – Part 2
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A few weeks ago I wrote about some additional income streams to help film freelancers survive in our tumultuous industry. Here’s part two of that post, and it has some more ideas for revenue streams to bolster your income.
Working in our industry can be a wild ride in the best of times. I know from personal experience that jobs can pop up unexpectedly and end abruptly. It can wreak havoc on your finances, not to mention your state of mind.
Having at least one additional income stream can soften the blow and help compensate for the uncertainty of our business.
(Note: This page may contain affiliate links. That means I make a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.)
Here are five more smart additional income streams for film freelancers:
- Rent out a spare bedroom
A friend of mine rented out a spare room in her house for years, and it helped her pay her mortgage when interest rates were above 10%. I know because I was her tenant for eight years.
It was a beneficial setup for both of us. I had a safe, reasonably priced place to live in an expensive city, and she had a reliable tenant who paid the rent on time and took care of the house when she was working on location.
If you’re advertising for a roommate on a site like Craigslist, be very specific about what you’re looking for and check references. Make sure your potential tenants are financially stable and establish the house rules upfront.
The right tenant could be a financial godsend, the wrong one a trip to hell. Choose carefully.
- Design and sell printables
Our industry is full of creative types, and that probably includes you. This would be my choice after blogging and freelance writing as an additional revenue stream because designing things is fun and creative.
It’s also not difficult with versatile design tools like Canva. I use Canva for all my blog graphics, so I know how simple it is to use. They’re constantly improving Canva and adding new features, too.
You can make digital products that you can sell to be downloaded and printed at home. You can sell them through a site such as Etsy or even on your own website.
Drive people to your site via social media and optimize your listings using keywords.
Once you’ve created and listed your printables, they could prove to be a steady source of passive income.
- Create an online store
In case you haven’t noticed, more and more people are shopping online, especially since the pandemic began. It’s a great time to have an online store.
Pick a product to sell. It can be a physical or a digital product.
Once you’ve picked your product, source it, choose a platform like Shopify to sell your product, buy your domain name, and start promoting your store.
If you have your product drop shipped, you don’t have to worry about fulfillment.
There are so many options for selling online that didn’t exist before. I had a product I was trying to sell online before individual online stores existed in the pre-social media era, and it never got any traction.
This is a golden age for individual online sellers. Because of the flexibility an online store offers, it could be an excellent fit for people in our industry to earn extra money.
- Online surveys and focus groups
A few months ago I was contacted by a production company based in Brazil asking me to take an online survey about conditions in the film industry. After doing my due diligence to ensure it wasn’t a scam, I took the survey and received a $25 gift card. They sent me another longer survey for which I received a $50 Visa card.
The total time I spent completing the surveys was about half an hour.
You won’t get rich taking surveys, but it’s another way to earn additional income.
Check out companies like American Consumer Opinion or Survey Junkie for paid online surveys.
Joining a focus group pays a bit better. Check out a company called User Interviews to get matched with focus groups.
- Create and sell templates
Another great use of Canva is to make templates for things like ebooks and presentations and sell them. Canva has templates for just about anything, so use your creativity to design a few and sell them.
Of course, you don’t have to worry about a physical product, as buyers will download your creations.
I used Canva to design the free checklist I give to Magic Hour Blog subscribers. Canva’s a terrific tool and can help you make money.
Your creations can be sold repeatedly and can be another solid revenue stream if you actively promote them.
Conclusion
There are plenty of opportunities for additional revenue streams for film freelancers waiting for you to take advantage of them. You’ll never be caught without an income stream again, no matter how slow the industry may be at any time.
And that’s money in the bank.
Stay tuned for part three of this series, with additional revenue stream possibilities for film freelancers coming soon.