20 Incomes For Artists

by Paul Barry

Unless you are independently wealthy from a previous career, an expert in trading shares, or the beneficiary of a sugar-daddy (or mommy), then it’s highly likely you struggle as an artist to pay the rent. With countless income streams at your fingertips on the internet, all you need is to be directed to them. If you can imagine it, someone has become rich from it.

I have assembled 20 ways for artists to earn an income. I’m not suggesting you quit your full-time job just yet, but with careful research, planning, and a little creativity, it may not be too long before your income streams all come from things you can do in your own home and/or in your own time.

Check ’em out!

1. Homeshare

HomeshareWhether you subsidise your rent by subletting on Airbnb, or simply share couches with strangers in exchange for a meal, housecleaning or a bottle of wine, there is fun to be had and cash to be made in Homesharing. At the very least, subletting that spare room or alcove may just subsidise your rent enough for an extra half a tank of gas to get to an audition.

If you are good at creating a homely environment for the weary traveller, then your modest home to them might just seem like a palace. And they will pay for it. On the flip-side, you’d be surprised at how many backpackers are simply looking for a dirt-cheap hole-in-the-wall. Their few dollars may pay for some groceries at least. There are obviously legal considerations with the landlord and insurance, but read T&Cs clearly and go in with your eyes open.

2. Rideshare

LyftAside from the coin that can be made from driving strangers to and fro for companies such as Lyft, SidecarUber and others (a friend of mine made over $600 on NYE alone last year), the ability to offset your ridiculously high new earnings with the costs of maintaining your car as a legitimate business expense has got to appeal as well.

Once again, every venture has pros and cons. Your car must be a quite recent model, well-maintained, and you must have a clear driving record. Natural fears of scary passengers are highly unlikely since all users must be registered before being able to request a lift. As usual though, check the T&Cs and if it fits give it a try.

3. Crowdfund

Got a great concept that is crying out to be realised in glorious 3D IMAX detail? We all know about friends trying to have us contribute to their independent film about some depressed guy preparing to leap off a bridge, but the majority of crowdfunded projects on Kickstarter and Indiegogo and others aren’t films, just simple ideas which grab imaginations.

Don’t forget to read tips about crowdfunding and test the idea with people before launching. #1 rule – Unless what you have is literally one-in-a-million idea, crowdfunding invites existing crowds to fund – it doesn’t create crowds.

4. Intern

InternNot all internships are unpaid, but even those that are will often employ you once you bring them a demonstrated return on investment. You may have prior training that suits someone else’s business, or you may wish to learn something new in return for what they can teach you along the way. Once you are an expert you can demand an income from it, or at the very least create a contra deal for the services they provide.

Many people don’t want to feel they’re working for nothing, even if they are gaining vast amounts of experience that could make them that much more employable. To mix my metaphors, sometimes seeing the glass as half full and putting the horse before the cart is the only way to get up and running.

5. Microgig

MicrogigSmall tasks performed for small financial returns might seem a waste of time, but don’t forget that creating templates or work and selling them to thousands of people is incredibly lucrative. Fiverr, Zaarly, Twentyville, and others offer clever folk the market within which to charge $5, $10, $20 or more for small ‘gigs’ that may end up making them financially comfortable to say the least.

Are you good at illustrating, joke-writing, copyrighting, voice overs, social media, or clowning around? From useful, to whimsical, to abstract, to downright to disturbing, someone’s making a modest incomes stream, if not a fortune, at it every day.

6. Design

Creating designs or funny t-shirt slogans is not everyone’s cup of tea, but imagine that wonderful eagle photo you took on holiday selling thousands of prints and postcards, or the clever cartoons you drew in high school being the next big thing on coffee mugs. There are many ways to put your talents to work.

Many sites offer zero setup costs for a larger slice of pie when it comes to profits. If your idea fails, then it only cost you the time to set the design up. If it succeeds, you may just be looking at a sweet little passive income that covers your car insurance bills once in a while.

7. Freelance

freelanceWe have all heard of crowdfunding, but there are also many crowdsourcing sites online these days, which offer the opportunity to perform tasks freelance – online (mostly), in your own time, from your own home. If you have extensive experience in a specific field this may be easy for you, but if you don’t, then seek out what already exists out there and learn how to do it.

These sites operate on the premise that for every job you need done, regardless of the size of job, there’s someone who will be very happy to get paid to do it. Why should that person not be you?

8. Research

ResearchThough you will not qualify for every demographic required to answer surveys or participate in paid polls, you may just be lucky enough to do one or two of these a day. At $10-$15/survey, you could certainly earn the kind of money from aiding researchers that will take a lot of stress of your everyday existence.

Every single person in the world with access to a computer will qualify for at least some of these online surveys, and for the most part, the more ordinary you are the more likely you’ll be selected. After all, products are sold to ordinary people, not celebrities. Just make sure you don’t ever pay to join one of these sites. That would be a sign of a scam, and totally defeat the point of joining in the first place.

9. Sit

dogsittingThough the usual reward for taking care of someone’s house is free rent, there are paid opportunities for trustworthy people. There are similar paid opportunities for individuals who are good with pets.

If you have (or can ask friends and family for) good references, don’t mind short-term living situations, and are completely trustworthy with other people’s belongings, property, and pets, this is definitely something to explore. Do your research first, search for something in your area or where you’re moving to, and do it well in advance of any proposed move. You may just find that you can score free accommodation, dramatically save, or at the very least subsidise your travel. You may just score one of those rare long-term living arrangements too!

10. Upcycle

UpcyclingDo you know how to sand back an old table and put a coat of varnish on it? Or sew a cool pattern onto an old coat? Perhaps you made nifty coasters from an old cork noticeboard. Great, you’re an upcycler!

Every city has thrift stores, or weekend markets somewhere nearby, and every street has old furniture, toys, and bric-a-brac sitting on the curb once a month. If you have the space to collect some of it, and the time to sand it, clean it, coat it, or repurpose it, you’ve got some wonderful items to sell at a market, or on sites such as Craigslist or Gumtree.

And don’t forget the power of selling your own hand-made crafts, jewellery, or upcycled wares on Etsy. If you’ve ever made something by hand, or returned an item to its former glory, then  if you aren’t making money from it, your talent may just be being wasted.

11. Flip

From houses to domain names there is money to be made by ‘flipping’ properties. Buying low and selling high. Domain names are real estate just like their physical counterparts.

Though there is a good deal of skill, research, and luck required in making money from such ventures, they offer the opportunity to buy sometimes at incredibly low prices and sell for dizzying profits, but like any business opportunity there are pros and cons. Aside from the messy legalities of buying Cocacola.net and attempting to extort millions from its rightful owner, there are ethics to consider, as well as the demands of cold-calling (or emailing) businesses to offer them back something which is rightfully theirs in the first place.

If you’re smart though, with good business acumen, you may just land a special deal. As with anything that offers potentially rewarding returns, play smart and do your research. If you can imagine it, someone has become a millionaire from it.

12. Busk

Every single artist worth their salt should have something tangible to offer, or else what are they selling? Busking is the likely the oldest form of professional entertainment, and has helped millions of people through small financial funks or the dire poverty of Depression.

If you imagine that busking is only strumming a guitar, clowning around, or juggling flaming ten pins atop a unicycle, then perhaps it’s your imagination keeping you broke. Any unique skill you have, or every common skill you have employed in a unique way, can be ‘busked’. Instruments, juggling, and magic are obvious examples, but rap, improv, gymnastics, dance, comedy, performance art, and so many more activities could bring you an income. All you need is a permit for the location, a crowd and a hat to place down for all the loot. Like most things though, these practicalities will all fall into place as soon as you have a catchy, contagious, and clever idea. And don’t forget to post videos of it on Youtube!

13. Freecycle

BarterWhether you’re looking to swap books, DVDs, clothes, apartments for a week, or even last night’s leftovers (seriously), there are sites to help you ‘freecycle‘ safely and conveniently. In a world consumed with, well, consumerism, we often forget that we have something someone else wants, and vice versa. We just need to connect with them.

Wander around your house (or your storage facility – i.e.: mum and dad’s place), and you’ll be surprised at how many things that someone else might be looking for in his or her life. Well, YOU wanted them at one point, right, so maybe someone else now does. The fact is, you’ll never know until you put it out there. You may be sitting on something incredibly valuable to someone, who may be hiding away on something you desperately need in their basement.

14. Go Viral

Star Wars KidWhen one thinks of viral videos, Star Wars Kid, Sneezing Panda, and Susan Boyle spring to mind, and yet there are so many extremely successful viral videos that you will never hear of. Just because you haven’t though, doesn’t mean millions didn’t. And with Youtube paying content creators per view, there’s gold in them thar hills

Blogs abound on how to ‘create virality’, as ad execs might say, in Youtube videos, and each will be seeking hundreds of millions of views, hits, and shares. But keep in mind that depending on what you’re pimping, you may only need 1000 views to make your point. Possibly even 300, depending on who those 300 are. Imagine approaching the pub you love down the road and offering to make them an online video to promote their awesome business. If you bring an extra 20 people into their establishment every week with your videos of hipsters playing backgammon over a brew on Sundays, then you may just increase their profits enough to earn free drinks for you and your friends each time you visit, if not some actual tangible moola.

15. Freegan

FreeganBefore you think of Freeganism as licking month-old hummus off the inside of a dumpster, remember that Seinfeld sketch where George eats the éclair from the trash can? George and Jerry debate the point at which food becomes trash, which ultimately comes down to ‘above or below the rim’. Hilarity ensues.

After Christmas I found a gift basket sitting in a back alley by a dumpster. It was covered in plastic and wrapped in a ribbon, and I walked past three times before plucking up the courage to even examine it. The plastic was open just enough for the recipient to take what they wanted and the rest sat waiting to become landfill. Inside was a bottle of red wine (unopened), a bottle of sparkling rose (unopened), a large packet of spelt pasta (sealed), a jar of pasta sauce (unopened), and a jar of organic Roasted Onion Garlic Jam (unopened). All set to become landfill unless someone took them home and consumed them.

Craiglist in my area today shows hundreds of free items of clothing, beds, furniture, and books. If they are things you don’t need, then upcycle or freecycle them. There’s meals to be had, money to be saved, and cash to be made ! With 40% of food in the US ending up in the trash, this is a $165 billion dollar-a-year waste, and a freegan goldmine (pun intended).

16. Edit/Proofread/Transcribe

PrrofreadMany actors and artists have degrees or diplomas, many majoring in English or some kind of writing discipline, with some even proficient in highly in-demand legal and medical terminology transcription and proof-reading skills. Why waste such talents writing witty text messages and conducting redundant Slacktivist campaigns when one can be earning an income online from those very skills?

Sites such as Academic English, CrowdSource, and Freelancer.com offer employment opportunities for people with the skills, aptitude, and initiative to transcribe either vast volumes or specific terminology for those who simply don’t have the time to do it. Transcription services such as Take Note also offer opportunities for those with decent typing skills, including time coded transcriptions for film and television. They save money, you make money, and it’s all done from anywhere in the world, as long as the worker has an internet connection.

17. Translate

Los Angeles, New York, London, and Sydney are all incredibly cosmopolitan cities. They have wide varieties of ethnic populations, each wanting to preserve their languages and personally attempting to learn English. Translation services cannot keep up with the demand for what they offer, which means employment in these areas is always available for someone with another language under their belt.

Whether translating documents for a large company or offering to interpret for a medium-sized business or local restaurant, Spanish, Madarin, Hindi, English, and Arabic are the most commonly spoken languages in the world. If you comprehend and speak any of these, as well as possess a strong written command of grammar, syntax and spelling, then why aren’t you rich yet? With billions of the world’s inhabitants engaged in some kind of business with those who don’t understand them, you could be the link between them and tremendous profits. Definitely worth looking into and taking your cut…

18. Test

If you think it would be fun to be paid to play video games all day, then you’re right. It is. And there are many thousands of people making money from it every single day around the world. But video games aren’t the only things to need testing, and paying for testers is an extremely common practice with websites, apps, and internet startups.

Obviously the lineup for paid video game testing is the length of the Great Wall of China, and many people simply fall outside the demographics being marketed to, but you’ve got to be in it to win it, right? Most other testers though, are simply seeking feedback on the user-friendliness of their creation, and Conversion Rate Optimisation (monitoring mouse movement and keystokes required for new users to find the ‘buy’ button). Incredibly essential to their business growth, they are willing to pay. And you, as a serial internet user (for free), should put your hand out for some of the cash they throw at it every single year.

19. Shrink

ShrinkDo you sometimes fear you may be just that little bit screwed up? Perhaps you’ve actually sought out therapy before, or even paid for a series of sessions with a shrink? It might be time to earn some money back from the head-shrinkers and get your therapy for free.

Career Personality and Aptitude, Emotional Intelligence, and Interpersonal Communication Skills are all being tested online each day. And the great thing is, you can’t fail! If someone is a dyed-in-the-wool loser, they just make an even more interesting case study. Being paid to participate in anonymous surveys of the psychological kind is far less painful and invasive than testing dodgy exercise equipment or backyard pharmaceuticals, so it may just be the opportunity to you need to get something off your chest and something into your wallet.

20. Co-op

Fruit & VegSometimes it’s good to remind yourself that it’s not all about making money. We make money because we need food, shelter, and clothing, but if those things can be free, traded, or just inexpensive, then chasing the Almighty Dollar becomes less of an essential pursuit.

How much fruit and veg do you and five of your closest friends buy each week? A lot. Farmers markets, wholesalers, and local fruit and veg vendors are more than happy to offer substantial discounts for bulk buys. Imagine the savings to be made by buying in bulk, splitting into separate boxes, and selling to friends for a modest profit. That’s how supermarket chains make billions of dollars annually.

A sack of potatoes, a box of bananas, a bucket of cherry tomatoes, a swag of celery or spinach and you’re on your way. Spend $50 at a market and make yourself $100 for the effort. With careful planning, good timing, and some nifty haggling or regular deals, you might even stretch the profits further. Either way, you’ll end up getting all the fruit and veg you personally need for free, and that’s got to be a good thing.

As actors an artists we are often at the mercy of low incomes, no incomes, or stagnant incomes, which all prevent us from pursuing what we have been placed on planet Earth to do. It’s good to know that you can earn an income anywhere, anytime, with just a little bit of research and a touch of creativity. It doesn’t have to buy you a yacht, it just has to keep you alive long enough to keep doing what you love until it makes you rich.

And remember, if the job you want doesn’t exist – create it! If you can think of any way that a business can make more money from what they do, offer to do it for them and ask for a percentage. If you can prove it, why would they say no?

Get creative!

For other thoughts and useful advice on acting and the creative lives we lead, check out the rest of my blogs here. And remember to say thanks by liking, sharing, and helping me promote them. 🙂

 

(Another way to make a side income is to blog. The blogs you see on www.acting4camera.com are free, but they don’t write themselves. If you find the information useful, feel free to donate below to keep them coming. Your contribution of any amount is graciously welcomed. Now go make your millions!)



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