Snapchat…

It started out as an app created so that “eager” high school and college students could send questionably appropriate photos without having to worry about them ending up on the internet.

Now, it has become one of the single most influential, powerful, and (potentially) lucrative social media platforms in the world.

How wrong we were…

While Snapchat has been around for years, it remained a largely untapped marketing resource until mid-2015.

However, once companies realized that they could use this simple platform to quickly grow their business and increase their revenue, the craze was on.

For some people…

Most marketers are still completely clueless about how they can actually make money with Snapchat.

After all, the initial draw of the platform was the fact that pictures only lasted 10 seconds before disappearing into cyberspace forever.

You can’t make money when you only have 10 seconds right?

Wrong.

Think of Snapchat as the Geico of the online marketing world.

“Snapchat, 10 seconds can earn you 10% or more in increased revenue”

So, if you have more than 10 seconds to spare right now, I am going to show you how individuals and businesses are leveraging Snapchat to make some serious money.

1. Shout outs

Alright, get up on your feet right now and gimme a loud “Booyah!”

Nobody?

Really…

Well, you better get comfortable with standing up and giving shoutouts.

Because if you have grown a substantial Snapchat following this is one of the easiest ways to make big money very quickly.

Corporations and individuals are willing to pay top dollar for influential “Snappers” to give their brands, products, or companies a shout out.

All you have to do is give a company or a product an honorable mention during one of your snaps or stories and you are off to the races.

It’s easy publicity for them and easier money for you.

But, and this is a big but, you must have a substantial following.

Your numbers will probably need to be in the thousands to tens of thousands before you will be able to make significant cash with this method.

If you are not yet at this point, then start focusing on growing your Snapchat following before you try and use this monetization method.

2. Promote other people’s music

Not too long ago, Snapchat added a feature to their platform that allows you to use your phone to play music in the background of your Snaps.

I’ll admit, it’s pretty cool that you can blare your favorite Disturbed or Metallica song while you take SnapChats of yourself breaking through bench press PRs.

But what’s cooler is that you can use this feature to make your wallet even bigger than your recently pumped up chest.

You see, musicians are starting to realize that the way forward in the 21st century is self-promotion and publication.

Platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and (now) SnapChat, have made this easier for them than ever before.

And because of this trend, many budding musicians are willing to pay large sums of money to market their music on Snapchat.

Unlike shout outs, however, if you want to make real money with this method, you will likely need to use the musician’s song(s) multiple times instead of simply a one-off story. .

If you consistently use their music and add in the occasional shout out about their song, you can easily make a few thousand dollars a month simply by promoting your favorite new tunes.

Once again, this requires a pretty substantial following to pull off.

But once you have achieved the necessary numbers, you can easily generate revenue on a weekly or even daily basis with little effort.

3. Offer limited time discounts

Have you heard of a psychological principle called “FOMO”?

OF course you have… and if you haven’t, you’re really missing out.

Basically, the human brain is in a state of perpetual fear that you will miss out on potential opportunities.

From an evolutionary standpoint, this was essential to survival.

Without this FOMO, we as a species would have been less likely to pursue opportunities that could have resulted in resources, shelter, or mating opportunities.

Now, FOMO is the reason why people are more likely to spend money on one of your products if you offer disappearing/limited time offers.

Especially with Snapchat.

Think about it.

For starters, whenever people are on Snapchat, their fear of missing out forces them to pay attention to every snap they see.

If they aren’t glued to their screen when they click on a snap, they will never be able to see it again after the 10-second limit expires.

This makes Snapchat, unlike any other marketing medium.

Most people ignore commercials, social media banners, and YouTube ads.

But if you have developed some trust with your audience, they will not want to miss any of the snaps that you send out.

This gives you the perfect opportunity to spring the pitch for your limited time offer.

The massive amounts of FOMO they will feel whenever they see a snap offering a “1-hour only 20% discount” will lead to ridiculous sales for whatever you are promoting.

But, there is a catch.

You must follow through with your promise of the offer being limited time only.

For example, if you offer the 20% off for the next hour, you need to immediately return the price to normal after the 1 hour concludes.

This will train your audience to know that you are serious when you set a time limit on an offer and will cause them to act on the limited-time offer much more quickly.

4. Use affiliate partnerships

Affiliate marketing has been one of the most effective methods of making money pretty much since the inception of the internet.

All that you have to do is find a brand that you know and love, join their affiliate program, promote their product to your audience, and then get paid per view or purchase.

You don’t have to deal with inventory, employees, or returns.

You just have to get on the mic, profess your undying love for whatever they are selling, and then sit back and watch the money roll in.

If you want to use affiliate marketing with Snapchat, it requires only two things.

An audience of at least a few hundred people
An audience that trusts you and your recommendations

Unlike shoutouts and music promotions, affiliate marketing on Snapchat doesn’t really require a huge following.

You can easily make some substantial cash with only 500 followers.

As long as you have integrity and only recommend products that you have actually used or tested, this is a great long term method to leverage your following and convert views into cash.

5. Sell products with Snapcash

Ok, so this technically isn’t how Snapcash is supposed to be used.

But since when has anyone great ever allowed a technicality to stand in the way of their social media domination?

Snapcash is a joint venture with Paypal that was designed so that friends and family could easily send money to each other.

However, if you use it properly, you can actually use Snapcash to sell your products or other people’s products.

Granted that you do it in small quantities.

A great example is the recent surge in the demand surrounding the hoverboard market.

After people like Justin Beiber and Wiz Khalifa started making appearances while using these products, the $350 product sold out at nearly every big retailer.

However, a few industrious entrepreneurs and Snapchat personalities took advantage of the lack of supply and started posting stories with their new hoverboards with ITS.

Or intent to sell.

Then, whenever people sent snaps inquiring about the Hoverboards, they made an offer to sell them at a 50% markup using Snapcash.

Not a bad ROI for a 10 second story, huh?

If you know how to leverage it effectively and stay ahead of market trends, you can use Snapcash to quickly make some extra cash each month.

While it is not nearly as lucrative as other methods on this list, it is still a great way to make money regardless of the size of your following.

Conclusion

Snapchat is the future of social media marketing.

It panders perfectly to this generation’s minuscule attention span and chronic fear of missing out.

And it allows savvy entrepreneurs and marketers to easily convert their followings into substantial paydays.

But don’t be fooled.

Making money on Snapchat when you are starting from scratch is not easy.

It will take time and effort to build up your following and create a trustworthy brand that people will love.

However, once you have put in the groundwork, Snapchat is almost unrivaled in its ability to generate rapid income for you or your business.

So get out there.

Quit using Snapchat from in front of your bathroom mirror and start using it to make money.

What methods have you used for making money with Snapchat?