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If you love your family enough to spend all of your time with them and create media around them to an obsessive level, then yes, you can definitely make a business out of sharing your family’s lives on Instagram and YouTube.
As long as you are prepared for what you are getting into, your family’s life could be the next big thing. Or, at least a source of side cash and an excuse to do what you love: spend time with your family and create masterful social media campaigns.
Americans love the type of entertainment that allows us to glimpse into the lives of others. They also love Instagram and YouTube.
Advertisers love maximizing profits, expanding their consumer base, and building brand loyalty. When you put these two sets of interests together, you end up with a symbiotic relationship made in entrepreneur heaven.
Reality shows are less expensive than any form of advertising using major Hollywood celebrities, and they are a perfect way to get products in front of consumers without being sales-y.
Ways You Can Make Money
Instagram and YouTube Sponsorships
Brand sponsorships are the primary way most YouTube stars and Instagram influencers make money. Pay is not usually extremely high in the beginning, especially if your following is small or not very engaged.
Sometimes the pay comes in the form of free products, which is also pretty cool. But once you have built an engaged following, you should be able to find sponsors who will pay more for your posts.
To develop your following, you need to really make full use of all the tools available on Instagram. Build relationships with all of your followers, engage with them, and share their content—especially when it is about your family.
You are building a brand of your own, and Instagram is the perfect platform to help you do that.
Crowdfunding
In addition to finding brand sponsors to pay for your influence, crowdfunding sites like Patreon and Kickstarter can be a source of income from your fans once you have them. People love to be part of their favorite forms of entertainment, and you may be surprised at how many viewers are happy to kick in a few dollars to make sure they can keep watching what is going on in the life of their favorite online family.
Especially when it means they get cool extras as a special gift, like behind the scenes footage or a personalized message from a family member.
Merchandise
You can include links in your YouTube videos to send viewers to your website, or you can sell merchandise right on Instagram with their shoppable posts. Either way, creating great merchandise emphasizing your family’s unique quirks makes money from the sale, and it provides advertising when your fans wear your t-shirts or drive around with your bumper-stickers.
Making Money Directly YouTube
YouTube offers several ways to make money from their platform, though there are mixed reviews about each of them. The biggest complaints are the number of restrictions YouTube imposes, and the meager pay for each of these avenues.
You can sell merchandise through approved retailers right within your videos, sell memberships to your channel where subscribers get unique badges and access to exclusive content and let companies embed ads within your video.
You can also join YouTube Premium, where members can watch your content ad-free for a membership fee. Your channel will then get a cut for every view you receive.
Your Family’s Angle
To share your family’s life and make money from it, you need an angle that is different from other people’s perspectives. Maybe your family has a specific activity that is a significant part of your lives, like vending at craft fairs, participating in church activities, or performing arts.
Even if it seems there is nothing special about things you do, maybe there is something special about the way your family sees things. Or perhaps you have an adorable pet. Doug the Pug has 3.8 million followers on Instagram and is a major social media influencer.
No matter what your family does or does not have going for them, there is always an angle that people will enjoy feeling a part of.
Conclusion
You can definitely use social media to make money from sharing your family’s life for the world to see, but it is not an easy road. Success will require diligence, perseverance, and patience.
You need to build your following and keep fans engaged for brands to take notice and hire your family to promote their products, and you need to create content your fans can’t get enough of to get them to pitch in and support your work. If you are willing to stay authentic and put your love into building a community around your family on Instagram and YouTube, there is a chance you could make a thriving business out of it.
If all else fails, it is a fun project that may get you some merchandise from brands you love to use. Happy filming!
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.
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