With recovery slow after the huge economic impact of the pandemic, and current global upheaval disturbing markets, PLUS the cost of living crisis, it’s easy to see why many people are worried about their jobs, while others know it could be time to change careers to secure their future.

Here are some professions you should consider if you’re looking for a change:

• Adult Social Care
• Architects
• Programmers and Developers
• Plumbers 
• Drivers
• Got a question about employment?

1. Adult Social Care

Adult social care is a bigger employment sector than the NHS – and yet there are around 152,000 open vacancies. This number reduced slightly when the Government introduced the Health and Care Worker Visa, but with strict immigration laws in place now, the number of open vacancies remain open as retirement living centres, residential carers, and those working with adults with learning or physical disabilities in independent living homes cry out for support workers.

You don’t need qualifications to get started in many adult social care professions, as training will be provided. Hours can also be more flexible if you want a part-time job, and others might offer accommodation with the role as a live-in carer. If you’re compassionate and like people, adult social work could be for you. Most jobs will require a DBS check – it is worth registering for the annual check update to ensure your DBS is always up to date which makes moving jobs much easier.

2. Architects

This is one of those long-game professions that will pay off big time. Training to be an architect takes seven years – but the end result can be a healthy salary of £80,000 or more.

You can train solely on a university course, or take an architect apprenticeship which gives you work experience and a salary to learn ‘on the job’. Starting salaries for fully qualified architects are around £30,000 quickly rising to £75,000 or above, particularly in London and other metropolitan areas.

Architects are in demand as the UK tries to keep up with the need for more housing as well as improving city centres with public architecture that is accessible and provides pleasant surroundings. It is the type of job that will always be needed, even as we move into a digital age – computers can do the drawings, perhaps, but the vision and skill required will always be human-focused.

3.Programmers and Developers

Software developers and computer programmers are in increasingly high demand as world digitisation shows no sign of slowing down. Companies that previously had openly spoken against tech developments like AI are now investing in the UK and crying out for staff – such as Microsoft’s new centre for AI, which is opening in London soon.

It might seem that getting a computer job while we’re teaching computers how to run without our input is putting yourself out of a future job, but that won’t be the case. AI is a tool that will always need human input at some stage – and we’re still very early stages in the technology development. A software developer starting salary is around £26,000 but can quickly and easily rise to well into six figures for those who show they can handle complex scripts and have good problem solving skills.

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4. Plumbers, Bricklayers, Construction Workers

Professions that can’t be automated, like plumbers and construction workers, are in dire need of new recruits. A recent study by Checkatrade revealed over a million new recruits are needed in the trades to fill the huge skills gap the industry currently faces.

Some of the problem is recent changes to UK immigration law, which has eliminated a large portion of the potential workforce from qualifying and taking up vacancies. Schools are also not promoting the possibilities of apprenticeships to their students, while parents are worried about the stigma of taking an apprenticeship instead of following a university-based further career path and that it might limit their child’s financial opportunities.

These fears are unfounded: the average salary for a qualified contract plumber in the UK is £31,000 – and self-employed plumbers earn around 8% more. Bricklayers can expect to start on around £20,000 rising quickly to an average £46,000. Carpenters and joiners earn an average of £37,000 a year rising to over £50,000 with experience. These salaries also rise considerably if you take further qualifications and specifications, such as being able to operate heavy machinery.

5. Drivers

Logistics companies and local courier services are crying out for drivers. The pandemic saw so many businesses turn to online ordering and delivery – and most have kept it in the years since. Food delivery, for example, is a popular way for many people to earn some extra money on the side a few nights a week – and there are always vacancies because it’s a service that is in constant demand.

There is a national shortage of bus and coach drivers, which impacts travel infrastructure. Since the pandemic, there has also been a shortage of national and international HGV drivers. In response to this, the Government is considering relaxing the age rules from the current minimum age of 21, to allow for recruiting drivers from a wider age range.

Professions in driving don’t have to be something that takes you away from home for a long time – such as bus and coach drivers working relatively regular shifts in a local area on a salary around £30,000 a year. However, if you are prepared to drive longer distances, the salary can be significantly higher: an HGV driver can earn upwards of £50,000 a year.

Disclaimer: MoneyMagpie is not a licensed financial advisor and therefore information found here including opinions, commentary, suggestions or strategies are for informational, entertainment or educational purposes only. This should not be considered as financial advice. Anyone thinking of investing should conduct their own due diligence.

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However, many people don’t realise collecting certain mobile phones from these decades past and selling them on eBay can be a good way to make extra money.

Here’s our quick guide to doing this successfully:

• The basics
• Phones worth selling
• How much can I make?

The basics

As with all commodities, the rarer your vintage mobile phone, the more you will be able to charge for it. Which, in this case, means that handsets dating back to the 1980s are typically worth a lot more than those manufactured between the 1990s and now.

However, age is not the only thing that matters. Here are a few factors to keep in mind:

• Is the phone in mint condition? Phones that are well-preserved can fetch a much higher price than those that have nicks, scratches or cracks.
• Do you still have the original packaging? If you can sell the phone in the very box it came in, your price can shoot up even more.
• Has the battery caused any damage? If you own an old phone, it’s wise to take the battery out and store it separately as they have a tendency to corrode with age.  Rather than risk damaging the phone, remove the battery and keep it safe.

Phones worth selling

Wondering if your old brick is worth a listing on eBay? Mobile Phone History has a great price and rarity guide that you can use to cross-references prices on eBay and the likes.

However, we conducted a quick search of our own and found the following are all good bets to get you more than £500 a pop:

• 1981 Mobira Senator – the ‘daddy’ of them all and the the first ever Nokia phone currently fetches around £1400 (if in a good condition)
• Orbitel Citifone – just about as rare as you can get, selling a 1985 Citifone could make you around £900 richer.
• Motorola DynaTAC 8000x – the world’s first commercially-available hand portable mobile phone first arrived in the UK in 1985 and cost £3,000 per handset. These days you can sell one of these mobile dinosaurs for between £300 and £800.
• Motorola 8100L – first manufactured in 1988, this rare find can go for up to £550.
• Nokia 9000 Communicator – fast forward a decade or so, the Nokia 9000 Communicator is considered to be the forefather of the modern smartphone and was first introduced to the market in 1996. If you have one in good condition, you could sell it for close to £1000.
• Nokia 8800 – stepping into the new millennium, the Nokia 8800 slide phone was considered super chic, luxurious and highly fashionable at the time. It’s making a huge comeback among vintage fashion lovers and – depending on the condition and the colour – you could get more than £1,500 for your old phone.

How much can I make?

Anything from small change to hundreds depending on what you’ve got.

If you have owned one of these phones and can’t remember what became of it, you might still have it in your attic or at the back of a cupboard, so it’s well worth having a rummage.

While the phones listed above can get you the big bucks, let’s just be honest – most of us don’t have these models lying around. And if we do, it may be too late to salvage them from the toy box or the junk drawer.

No need to despair, however, as you can even get pretty decent prices on eBay for more common stalwarts such as the Nokia 3310 and the Blackberry Pearl Flip.

Of course, there is also always the option of selling your discarded devices at electronics fairs or car boot sales. While you may not be able to market it to an audience as big as eBay’s, people who frequent these types of sales normally know exactly what they’re looking for (which might just be your old phone) and will pay good money for rare finds.

If you’ve just upgraded to a snazzy new phone and want to cash in on your old one, check out our article about recycling mobile phones.

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Not being able to find work is one of the most daunting parts of being a self-employed freelancer. Luckily, though, there is a tonne of work out there for those who are bold enough to strike out on their own. Often, freelancing can feel more stable than a traditional career path – especially if you have multiple income streams that you can rely on, rather than just one. Also luckily, this is true of most industries that hire freelancers. 

So, where do you look? In this article, we’ll introduce you to a few different routes that you can use to find clients. Let us know if you’ve found work in a way that we’ve missed… 

• Job Boards 
• Recruiters 
• Newsletters 
• Mine Your Network 
• Freelance Communities  
• Your Website and Online Portfolio 
• At Conferences 
• Social Media 

Job boards

Job boards – the Reed, Monster, Indeeds of the world – are ten a penny, and you might need to sift through a lot of irrelevant postings before you find work that’s appropriate to you. They can still be useful, though. Just make sure your email alerts are filtered so you’re only seeing the jobs you might want. Freelance journalists should keep an eye on Cision, where hundreds of roles are advertised. For the wider media, Mediargh and The Media Mentor are good options. 

There are freelance specific job boards, too. Check out The Dots and Underpinned for great roles across numerous creative freelance areas. 

Recruiters 

You might not think you’ll find clients for your freelance work through recruiters, but hear us out!  If you’re looking for longer term gigs (maternity covers, for example, or one-off projects that might take a few months to complete) this can be a great option.

Recruiters can really help you out when it comes to things like pay and contracts. Best of all, they’ll find the opportunities so you don’t always have to. Taking on contracts can be a great option if you want a reliable income stream for a few months. Look for recruiters that specialise in temporary contracts, and be clear about the kind of work you do (and don’t) want to do. 

Newsletters 

Freelance journalists across the land have been singing the praises of Freelance Writing Jobs, the weekly newsletter by writer Sian Meades-Williams, for a while. Landing in inboxes every Thursday, FWJ lists all the best (paying) opportunities of the week – from in-house poets to editors laying out pitching guidelines for their glossies. Sign up if you’re a writer of any kind. Look for similar initiatives within your own industry if you’re not. 

Journalists should also check out journalist Anna Codrea-Rado’s The Professional Freelancer, a newsletter with a wealth of invaluable advice and relevant musings. 

Mine your network

This is the time to make sure everyone you have contact with know that you’re self-employed and open for business. This includes the random connections on your LinkedIn profile, and extended family members. Spread the message widely, and don’t be afraid to reach out to old colleagues or acquaintances who might be able to help. Meeting people for coffees to update them on your work is a great way to stay in touch. You never know, that person from your old job could introduce you to a potential new client or spark the best idea you’ve had all year… 

Freelance communities  

As the freelance workforce grows, more and more groups are popping up to support both the newly self-employed and those with existing experience. Across the creative industries, the culture of community is rife. Everything from advice on finding clients to financial management (and even just the company of others in a similar position) is being freely offered.

Look for Slack communities within your industry, and check out organisations like the Society of Professional Journalists, Women in SEO Tech, and Freelance Heroes. This is, of course, the tip of the iceberg. 

Your website and online portfolio

You’ll probably have heard a million times that you need to display your best work online via your website and online portfolios. But it doesn’t make it any less true! If you display your work clearly and your story is engaging, and if you’ve got details of how you can be contacted displayed prominently, you’re on your way to having clients coming to you rather than the other way round. If you need to, invest in a graphic designer to get your website looking as professional as possible. You won’t regret it! 

When it comes to online portfolios, you know better than us about the ones that are best suited to your specific industry. Do your research, and make sure you’ve got profiles and work displayed on the general freelance portfolio sites (Behance, The Dots, Underpinned) as well as the ones that are more specific to your sector. 

Find clients at conferences

Conferences can be great places to meet people within your industry. That can include potential new clients as well as those in a similar position to yourself. Even virtual events, which have largely replaced face to face ones in 2020, can be a great springboard for conversations. It’s time to get involved…

Social media 

Finally, we couldn’t end this piece without giving a shout-out to the behemoth of freelance opportunity that is Twitter. In journalism circles, editors with a pitching budget often head straight to the timeline to shout about the opportunities they have, what they’re looking for, and how you can contact them. Is that the same in your industry? Maybe – and you won’t know unless you’re paying attention. Believe us, the time you spend scouting for new clients on Twitter is rarely wasted! 

We hope this has given you some inspiration on where to find clients for your upcoming freelance projects. If you’ve got an idea that we haven’t talked about, we’d love for you to share it. Let us know over on the forums! 

Now read:

Need more help setting up your freelance business? Read these articles next!

• Best Free Websites for a Freelance Portfolio
• How to Set Up a Website for Your Freelance Business
• 5 Common Objections Freelancers Hear (and How to Overcome Them)
• 10 Ways to Stay Motivated as a Freelancer

The post The Best Places for Freelancers to Find Clients appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

Music is everywhere and part of our everyday lives. We listen while we work, play, drive, walk, exercise, clean, cook… you name it! These days, we can access music wherever we are, create and share playlists instantly, discover new artists and book gigs whenever we want.

As the great Jimi Hendrix said, “Music doesn’t lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.”

Nicely put, Jimi. But did you know you can earn a little extra money on the side just by listening to music? Yes, really!  There are apps and websites out there that let you do just this. Some take a bit of effort on your part, others take a lot of effort but for a bigger reward.

Read on to find out how you can make money by listening to music…

• Slicethepie
• Playlist Push 
• SubmitHub
• Earnably

Slicethepie

When we say music scout, we don’t mean a boy in shorts with his trusty Swiss army knife, warbling next to a campfire.

It’s what Slicethepie calls a music reviewer. Get paid to share your opinion on new songs before they’re released.

Luckily, you don’t need to know much about music to write a good review! Explaining how it makes you feel and comparing it to the other artists and songs is enough to be useful. If you still feel a bit daunted, you can find some handy tips via this link.

1. To review a piece of music, you need to listen to at least 90 seconds of the track before you can start writing. The more in-depth and specific your opinion, the better. However, you will need a minimum of 45 words in your review
2. Next, rate the track from 1-10
3. Then, fill in a checklist for how you would describe the song if it was a person. For example, is the music funky? Playful? Sexy?

And you’re done! Just click ‘Submit’ to move onto your next review.

Getting Paid…

The tricky bit is getting the maximum amount of money out of your review.

Rather than a flat rate, Slicethepie pays you depending on your star rating. This, in turn, depends on the quality of your reviews. Reviews are judged on the following criteria:

1. How close your rating of the track is to the average score the track has received from other reviewers. For example, you will have a low accuracy if you think a track deserves a 9 when most of the other scouts only gave it a 3.

2. Whether your feedback is detailed and meaningful, and will actually benefit the artist.

3. How active you are as a scout is also a consideration. The more reviews you do, the higher your rating. However, this doesn’t apply if you aren’t taking the time to correctly review the tracks.

Based on our tests, your rating goes up one star for every 30 tracks you review. That’s assuming that you listen to enough of the song and put effort into your reviews.

When you first register with Slicethepie, they’ll ask for your email address. This is important, because you must make sure it’s the same one as your PayPal account, which is how you get paid. (For some reason, despite it being a UK company, Slicethepie pays everyone in US dollars. But not to worry: you can convert it back easily with your PayPal account.)

Although it’ll be a little while before it starts mounting up, as soon as you hit $10, you can make a withdrawal and access your cash. Just remember to keep an eye on that star rating.

To sign up to Slicethepie, click here.

Playlist Push

Spotify is pretty ubiquitous these days. According to Statista, Spotify has over 602 MILLION active subscribers across the world.

You can’t actually earn money listening to music directly via Spotify itself, but for those of you with a big enough following on Spotify or TikTok, there are ways and means to earn money as a music curator by submitting reviews via Playlist Push.

On Spotify you need to meet these criteria:

Minimum of 1000 followers per playlist as well as playlists that are focused on genre or a specific band or artist; playlists with ‘follow me’ in the title; and a minimum of 30 active Monthly Listeners per playlist.

If you meet these criteria Playlist Push give you songs to review and include in your playlist. If they like your review you can earn up to $12 per track, paid weekly via bank transfer.

On TikTok you need to meet these criteria:

Be a TikTok video creator – Playlist Push will give you songs to use in your videos. You must have at least 30,000 followers to qualify as a creator.

This way you can earn up to $10 per TikTok video you make. Earnings have to reach a minimum amount of $20 before payments are made.

We won’t lie, it isn’t easy to earn money this way and it really is for the dedicated music aficionados amongst you – there is some serious effort involved to get set up and maintain your listeners – but once you do there is the chance to make a decent amount.

Click here to find out more.

SubmitHub

SubmitHub connects you directly with performers who want to pay for reviews of their new music. Even better, their Marketplace allows the sharing of skills (to earn money!) to help artists create merchandise, digital content, and even help with the mixing and mastering of their tracks.

You can sign up either as an influencer or curator. Influencers use their Instagram and TikTok accounts to drive popularity of artists’ music by using it on their platforms. SubmitHub is very transparent, so when you go to sign up as an influencer you can see what each of their influencers has earned to date with them – and some are in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Sign up as a curator to create playlists and earn money writing music reviews – so you can make money by listening to music without having a huge online following.

Earnably

Earnably is an established online reward site that pays you to do things like complete surveys, review podcasts, download apps or play games, amongst others. It will also pay you to listen to music (often via radio stations) or watch music videos.

It’s quick and easy (and free!) to sign up to – you just need to fill out a quick demographics survey to get started.

Once you’re in, you can scroll through and select whatever you want to do to earn. You will never make enough to live off, but it’s a nice little earner with payments made in points and then converted into cash either via a Paypal account or gift cards, such as an Amazon voucher.

Have you tried one making money by listening to music? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!

The post Make Money By Listening to Music appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

If you’re the sort of person who likes to take some reading material into the bathroom with you, then why not try to make money on the toilet instead?

Here are 10 things you can try:

1. Do an online survey – or three
2. Check Free Postcode Lottery for a chance to win money every day
3. Slogan competitions
4. Save money by switching your gas and electricity
5. Earn while you surf
6. Save money by switching your car insurance
7. Save money by your home insurance
8. Come up with a killer business idea
9. Come up with a new TV game show format
10. Sell your toilet roll tubes

Do an online survey – or three

Online surveys are a quick and easy way to make money on the toilet. They can be quick or long, depending on which one you do.

We like Inbox Pounds. It’s easy to sign up simple to use wherever you are. Including the bathroom.

In fact they give you £1 just for signing up, so you’ll be making money even If it’s a very quick visit.

Take a look at our article on how to make money with online surveys to see even more survey sites that will can be used to make money on the toilet!

Check the Postcode Lottery for a chance to win money every day

Now this really is a quick and easy one.

Check the Free Postcode Lottery for an opportunity to win money every day. On some days they have over two thousand pounds to give away if it’s been a roll-over.

All you need to do is sign up with your email address and postcode. Then you check the site each day to see if your postcode is the winning one. It’s that easy. Read our article about it here.

They also have other ways to win such as an Emoji Lottery and a Video Lottery. So if you happen to be someone who takes a little while on the toilet, then this may be worth a try.

Check it out and sign up for free here.

Come up with slogans for competitions

We love competitions at MoneyMagpie. In fact we run one every week in our newsletter (sign up here to get them sent to your inbox).

As you can see in our article on how to get money and freebies through competitions, some companies run slogan competitions, here you have to come up with a clever little phrase about their product to win the prize.

Why if you’re looking for a way to kill some time and make money on the toilet, maybe try your hand at this?

Save money by switching gas and electricity

If you’re reading this on your smartphone right now, you could be saving yourself a tidy sum just by switching your gas and electricity provider. You don’t even need your bills to see how much you could save. Just put your postcode into the box here and see which companies are offering you a cheaper deal.

It’s likely that it will be one of the smaller suppliers. They are doing their best to get into the market and compete with the larger providers who dominating it.

Check it out now and make some money!

earn while you surf

You could win £1,000 a month just for surfing the net with this competition site called Neilsen.

They have been known to give up to £30,000 away every year.

 save Money by switching your car insurance

Again, while you have your mobile phone on you consider switching your car insurance. Your car insurance premium may have gone up since you last checked, but you can save yourself money by switching to a cheaper deal than you have now.

Take this time do explore the different options that are available.

Switch to a better car insurance deal here.

 Save Money by switching your home insurance

According to Which? Magazine you should be able to save money by switching your home insurance. While sitting on the throne you may have some time to kill. Why not try this?

Do it here. Switch to a better home insurance deal.

Come up with a killer business idea

Is visiting the loo the only time you get some peace and quiet and time to think? It is for some people, if so then spend a bit of extra time to ponder a killer business idea.

You probably already have one rattling around your mind. Use this time to work out how to do it, what you will need to start and how to make a profit.

We have plenty of ideas for you, as well as lots of help and advice to hey you started here on our small business section. For example, take a look at this article with twenty tips for setting up your own business.

Come up with a new TV game show format

Feeling creative? Being on the toilet can be a good time to come up with story ideas for a novel or other creative pursuit.

But have you ever considered creating a TV game show idea?

Game shows can be hugely lucrative if you can come up with an original concept it right. People make hundreds of thousands from a successful idea they came up with which was then sold to production companies all over the world.

See our article here on how to come up with a winning TV game show format.

Sell your toilet roll Tubes

It’s possible to sell the cardboard insides of your toilet rolls on eBay. There really are people who need them for craft projects and will buy them off you. Sell them for about £7 per 50. If you have a family you will probably get through a lot and will be able to gather 50 rather quickly.

It’s not a major income by any means, but it’s simple enough to do.

While you’re here, why not get our eBook on 101 Ways to Live for Free which has more fun ways to earn money for free. Download it here for free.

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The post Ten ways to make money, while on the toilet! appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

Many mystery shopping companies will provide you with different assignments depending on who their clients are. We show you here how to get mystery shopping jobs and bag lots of freebies as a mystery shopper.

• What is mystery shopping?
• Jasmine’s experience of mystery shopping
• In-store Opportunities
• Online Opportunities
• How to get involved as a mystery shopper
• A Money Magpie’s mystery shopping experience
• Find a mystery shopper job

What is mystery shopping?

Nowadays, all industry sectors employ mystery shoppers – retail, automotive, financial services, hospitality, property, call centres, public services, travel, and even the voluntary sector – so there’s a huge range of work available.

If you become a mystery shopper you could be enjoying a weekend break one month and phoning a call centre to complain about your gas bill the next.

You don’t need any formal qualifications to be a mystery shopper – but you do need to have good observational skills and a good memory.

Mystery shopping (sometimes known as secret shopping) has been around for 60 years and is now highly regulated in the UK. The Market Research Society has created a code of conduct, and standards are maintained by trade bodies such as the Mystery Shopping Providers Association.

Good part-time work

Mystery shopping is very flexible and not usually suitable as a full-time job, but it can be good to fit around other jobs in your life.

And remember that mystery shoppers count as self-employed, so you’ll need to declare your earnings to HMRC. Find out here about paying tax when you make extra money.

Want to get a FREE MoneyMagpie eBook about how to be a mystery shopper? Download it HERE…

Jasmine’s experience of mystery shopping

See here what Jasmine thinks about mystery shopping after her experiences of it.

Check out our bumper article on freebies and bag yourself even more free stuff.

In-store opportunities

Report-only mystery shopper

This is the most common option. You’ll be given a brief and a checklist of things to look out for. You need to follow your instructions (without letting anybody know you’re testing them), evaluate the response and then provide feedback, usually by way of an online questionnaire.

Covert video mystery shopper

This is specialist stuff and only for well-trained shoppers. Essentially, you’re given a brief; you enter the premises as a customer, and then you record the entire process using covert video cameras. Companies need clear pictures, so don’t go for this if you record your feet at family events!

Site inspection

For a site inspection, mystery shoppers may be asked to do one of two things. You may be asked to go to a store and buy specific items from a specific retailer. This is to ensure customers are getting what they pay for, as well as the availability of stock.

The mystery shopper may also be asked to interact with staff when searching for and purchasing their items. This is to check how staff interact with customers. You will then provide your feedback to the company conducting the mystery shopping.

Eating at restaurants

Getting paid to eat at restaurants? Sounds like the dream. This dream could become a reality for you if you take up mystery shopping, and could be a fun side hustle.

Multiple chain restaurants use mystery eaters to ensure their customers are getting brilliant food and even better service. They will pay you to go to their restaurants, have a meal and report back to them. In some cases, your meal will be paid for and in other cases, your meal will be covered and you will be paid for your time on top.

It is important to be aware that some agencies will offer you a fixed amount of money to eat at a restaurant. Remember, it may not be enough to cover the cost of the meal, so you will need to check beforehand.

watch films

As with restaurants, cinema chains want to ensure their customers are getting the best experience possible. So, if you’re an avid cinema-goer or movie buff, this may be the perfect job for you.

Not only will you be able to watch films for free, but agencies will often allow some cash for snacks and drinks. This allows you to interact with the staff, try the yummy goodies available to munch on whilst you watch the film.

You will be asked to review many things, from the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff, the availability of snacks, the prices and even the comfort of the seats. Your overall experience will be asked for. It is important to keep in mind that reviews can take time and agencies require detailed responses, so keep this in mind when you apply.

Online opportunities

Telephone mystery shopper

If you’re better at playing a role on the phone than in person, you might prefer this option – there’s plenty of work available. You’ll be given a company to call with a set of questions that a typical customer may have. Again, you’ll need to assess the response and provide feedback.

Postal monitoring

This one requires minimum effort. Your home address is simply used for receiving brochures and other promotional material. You return the items, and the content and speed of delivery is measured.

N.B. don’t be conned by ‘mystery shopping’ scams that get you to receive money into your bank account and then send most of it on to a foreign account to ‘test’ the money transfer company. These are totally bogus and should be avoided and, ideally, reported to Action Fraud. Be careful only to use the mystery shopping agencies we mention on MoneyMagpie so that you’re not scammed.

Email mystery shopping

You’ll be sending specific enquiries to websites and monitoring the speed and content of the response. Depending on your personality, writing emails is potentially much easier than talking to businesses in person or on the phone!

Again, you’ll need to assess and then pass on your findings.

giving your opinion online

It’s not mystery shopping as such, but giving your opinions about products or services through online survey companies is the same type of thing.

It’s another easy and quick way of making some extra cash in your spare time.

You have to be careful which online survey companies you join though. These are the ones that we like:

• InboxPounds
• Swagbucks
• LifePoints

Make sure you set up a separate email address before you sign up to any of these. Give this separate email address to them when they ask for contact details so that your usual inbox isn’t flooded with offers and ads (that’s one of the ways they make their money).

Find out more about online surveys and how to make the most money from them here.

How to get involved as a mystery shopper

Step 1: Find the right mystery shopping agency for you

Check out the list below and sign up with one of the many mystery shopping agencies on offer. It’s not a complete list, the full list of genuine agencies can be found in our mystery shopping eBook (which is absolutely free!)

Some specialise in specific industries, others are more general. You could try investigating the major department stores – Selfridges for example has its own mystery shopping panel.

Be sure to check out…

• ESA
• iShopFor Ipsos
• Grass Roots
• JKS Mystery Shopping
• Market Force

This list contains some of the better mystery shopping agencies in the UK. We have the complete list in our Mystery Shopping eBook.

Most of the agencies will get you to take a test before they’ll let you in. These can be quite tricky so you might have to do them a few times before getting them right. Don’t be put off though – persist!

If you want to find a company on your own…

• Make sure they’re based in the UK with a UK phone number and address.
• Don’t just put ‘mystery shopping’ into your search engine. All sorts of dodgy companies could come up.
• If you see a company you haven’t heard of before, put their name into the search bar and see what websites like ours say about them. Check the forums too as people who have had experience of them will say what they think.
• Make sure you keep an eye out for the small ads too. Local papers and recruitment agencies often carry mystery shopping adverts.
• You should be looking for the ones you’ll get the most out of, whether that’s the pay you receive for the jobs you do, or the freebies you get from the places you inspect.
• It should never cost you to join a company – they should be paying you for the work you do.

Step 2: Go out in the field

Once the agency accepts you, you can begin looking for jobs on their website.

You need to go and shop – or eat – or enjoy a show – but the main objective is to follow the guidelines exactly, without having the instructions in front of you.

You’ll need to report on products and services, which can include anything from aspects of the decor, cleanliness, atmosphere, how the staff deal with other customers, how many staff there are and what they’re all doing.

Most mystery shopping agencies ask that you don’t write notes or make what you’re doing obvious while you’re ‘on the job’, as it can affect the way you’re treated by the staff. The company’s main objective is to get an impartial experience.

Note that at time of writing, the UK is on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic and you should only be doing minimal shopping trips for essential groceries right now. You can however make a note of the in-person mystery shopping opportunities available and apply for them when life returns to normal!

Step 3: Report on your mystery shopping experience.

This will usually involve filling in an online questionnaire with short or longer answers about your experience as a customer.

You’ll receive payment/reimbursement after you’ve reported on your job, which you’ll ideally do within 24 hours of completing the task.

Pay rates differ from company to company and depend on the complexity of the work.

Generally, you can expect to earn £5 – £25 per task plus expenses (but as little as £1 – £5 for phone work).

A Money Magpie’s mystery shopping Experience

Our Publishing Editor, Marc Crosby, decided to join up to a mystery shopping agency to see just how easy it was to earn money. Here he tells us about the experience:

“I joined up to one of the online mystery shopping agencies and, after putting in a few details, was asked to do a mystery shop for a fast food chain in my local area. It didn’t take long to be offered the job and they were willing to pay £20 for completing it.

It really did feel like going undercover, little did the staff know I was watching their every move, mwahahaha…well, except, they probably did, because mystery shopping takes a little practice. I was told to note down how long it took from asking for my order to the meal being handed to me, which meant using my phone as a stopwatch. That’s easier said than done when you’re juggling your wallet around.

By the time the meal was handed to me and I’d fumbled for the ‘stop’ button, they probably knew what I was up to (which might explain why a member of staff held the door open for me as I left, wishing me a good day – not a normal procedure at fast food stores!) But, hey ho, good service and I gave a good score. All I needed to do was go back and quickly answer a few questions that took no longer than half an hour to complete.

I was paid within two weeks and was offered loads of mystery shopping work after. Honestly, it could have been a nice little earner if I had more time to do it.

So if you’re in doubt, I’d say give it a go. Mystery shopping really is quite easy money, plus the company usually pays for your food/item, so that’s another bonus!”

Whatever you do, don’t miss our number one article 10 easy ways to make quick cash – featuring the very best money makers around including mystery shopping!

The post Mystery shopping: Become a mystery shopper and get paid to shop and eat out appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

Miles on set

“You may have seen the show Extras and thought, do all these people in the backgrounds of TV and films get paid to be there? The answer is yes they do. Then you might wonder, is the money good enough for me to consider trying this? 

Now, personally I’ve done a bit of extra work, and this was partly because I had nothing better to do one week a few years back, and also because I was interested – filmmaker that I am – to see what it was like from the other side of the camera: being turned into a period film extra. The fact that the TV show and film I signed up to extra in were about, respectively, a serial killer (I’d just made a movie about one) and the other one starred Alan Rickman, I thought why not? For me, being on a couple of film sets would be an invaluable experience.”

WHAT DO EXTRAS DO? 

Put simply, extras or SAs (Supporting Artists) are paid to fill out the backgrounds in TV shows or films that need crowd scenes, passers-by, pub regulars and so forth. Generally an SA won’t have a featured or speaking role: their job is to blend in and seem like they’re part of the scene unfolding in the foreground. That said, you can (and I have) gained the odd extra role with a speaking line, for which you get paid more – and more on that in a bit. 

MY EXPERIENCE 

Bear in mind I did both the extras jobs for a bit of fun, not because I particularly needed the money or want to be a professional SA or anything. I must say though, the respect I garnered for extras after being one skyrocketed immeasurably. 

For the first job, the TV one about the serial killer, I was required for a funeral scene in a graveyard in a pleasant Yorkshire field, so I was driven by my long-suffering partner (I don’t drive… yet) to set very early in the morning, where I was stuffed into the period suit I’d been fitted for a week earlier (you get paid for that, too). That was a pleasant enough day, a bit boring, with lots of standing around while the crew set up shots (something I’m more than familiar with, so I watched and waited patiently). 

The scene involved me ushering mourners out of the church, nodding at the actor playing the vicar, who’d worked with Johnny Depp and on just about every TV show and film I’d ever seen, and shutting the door. I did that about ten times. The shot didn’t make it into the movie, presumably not because I was so awful in it but probably because the scene was too long. The camera crew will get a lot of what they call ‘coverage’, most of which they don’t need but which covers them in the edit. Come to think of it, that’s probably one of the reasons it’s called coverage. 

THE FILM 

My second extras job, with the same agency, was not as pleasant because it was in a dank, dark, cold, crumbling building, and I was a semi-featured extra (I didn’t have a speaking role but I had to tip my hat at the only other extra in the scene.) The main actor in the scene was a now-very famous British actor from TV and film (including a Spielberg movie) and she was nothing but friendly and courteous as we blocked out the scene and she ran her lines again and again.  

After a few goes through the blocking – which is where the actors and extras work out who’s standing and walking where – it was relayed to me that I wasn’t moving fast enough through the scene, then too fast, then not tipping my hat correctly, and then they gave up the idea of me doing any of the above, and made me sit in a quiet room in the dark next to a heat lamp, presumably to think about what I’d done. Or hadn’t done.

It then took about five hours for them to escort me from the set (you can’t just leave when you want), remove my itchy fake beard and set me free into the wild, where I met with my partner to enjoy a nice cold beer. Oh and Alan Rickman didn’t show up, and then later I found out the reason was that sadly, he’d succumbed to cancer. But, it was an experience, I will say that. 

THE PAY 

I did of course get paid for all of the above: for my costume fittings and for my extra time on set, and it was paid when they said it would be. But I wouldn’t say it was an easy couple of days: early starts, random locations, uncomfortable clothes… however, we did get some nice food and drink during the breaks. 

So, if you fancy having a go at being an extra (and I’ve had many offers since), here’s what to look out for. 

TALENT AGENCIES 

First off, you need to sign up with an agency, who will require photos of you and a biography, with front, side and back pictures of you with no makeup, plain enough clothes and a clear expression: sort of like taking a passport photo. This way, the talent agency will be able to see what you look like. Be honest with your photos, because you may just have the exact look they’re going for depending on the project: being the size and figure you are with the hairstyle you have (although sometimes you may be asked if you’re amenable to changing your appearance) could be exactly what they need, so don’t go changing.

Do some research into the best UK talent agencies. Some of these include: 

• Andrea Casting 
• The Casting Collective 
• The Casting Network 
• Catnap Casting 
• Euro Kids & Adults (EKA) 
• Extra People (this is the one I’m a member of) 
• The Extras Dept. 
• Greenlight Casting 

Google around and make sure the agency you apply to is legit, and adheres to the laws of talent work in the UK. As an agency worker, you have the same rights as other employees and workers to: be paid at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage, to not have any deductions from your pay that are not legal. To be paid on time and by the agreed method. 

Once you’re signed up to the agency, you’ll have to wait for opportunities to come your way, which is the shaky part of being an SA. I stayed signed on with my talent agency, mostly to keep track of the productions happening in my area, and in the past six months for example, I’ve had several emails a week asking me to try out for several big productions – we’re talking BIG Hollywood films with huge stars, and new TV shows for Netflix and the BBC.  

THE MONEY 

The money is pretty good for a side job, as I say, but not as a main career, as you’re at the mercy of whatever productions are running. Covid was disastrous for the film and TV industry but it’s slowly coming back: these days you’ll HAVE to be Covid-compliant on set, so that means masks and hand san as well as social distancing: it’s the law! 

You could make as much as £100 a day being an extra, but as mentioned before, half of that could potentially be spent on your travel costs. Plus, the schedules are often mercilessly last-minute and inflexible, so if you have a regular job or family commitments, it’s very hard to fit SA work into your monthly schedule. If you fancy it though, and you ideally have your own car, you may want to look into it.  

ESSENTIALS 

Ideally you’ll need to drive to the locations, which are usually near-ish where you live but frequently in the middle of nowhere, and the start and finish times often leave a lot to be desired. The longest extras day I did myself started at 5am and ended at 3am, for which I was paid overtime, but it was a long, uncomfortable day where I had to wear a false beard and tight suit. You’re not allowed to have your phone on set so you can’t sit around texting, and there’ll often be long periods of time where you’re sitting on set or in a trailer with nothing to do. So for God’s sake take a small book to have handy, or strike up chats with other SAs: that’ll get you through the day. Lots of interesting people work as SAs!

You’ll be answerable to firstly the Costume and Makeup Departments, where you’ll be tousled and buttoned into your outfit, then to an Assistant Director who’ll spend a lot of time speaking into a radio and ushering you back and forth from set to make sure you don’t wander off. And you can’t make a lot of noise on set between takes either, or you’ll incur the wrath of the 1st AD, who are scary by nature as theirs is one of the hardest jobs on set. 

There is the camaraderie of the other SAs however, and I made some good pals on set. I was nipped and tucked and combed and glued into my costume all day long, and my legs were killing me by the end of the day – and all for often not making it into the final cut.  

And you do get paid on time, more if you worked overtime, and it’s a reliable payment system, if not a reliable career

Did you Get any Further Offers to be a Film or TV Extra?

“Yes, after a silent patch due to the pandemic, I now get almost daily offers of work at the moment, and over the past few months I’ve had multiple opportunities to become involved at various levels of SA work on some major TV and film productions: not all of them fit around my other work, but every week my inbox buzzes with notifications about productions in or near where I live.”

The post An Extra’s Story: Can you Really Make Money Being a Film and TV Extra? appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

Here are some scarily easy ways to earn a bit of pocket money that could serve you well over the festive season:

• Get paid to scare people
• Sell terrifyingly delicious home-made treats
• Earn cash as a Halloween make-up artist
• Fix and tailor Halloween costumes
• Create a haunted house

Get paid to scare people

Do you enjoy playing pranks on family and friends? Revel in the look of momentary terror/shock/horror on their faces as you spring yet another nasty surprise on them?

Well, perhaps it’s time you put that talent to good use and earned some cash while at it. The first way to make money from halloween is to scare people!

Not sure where to start? Draw inspiration from Wrinkles the Clown, a mysterious resident of Naples, Florida in the United States, who – for the fee of a few hundred dollars – will scare the heebie-jeebies out of misbehaving children. He can, of course, also be appointed to perform a range of other pranks but, so far, his most successful gigs have come from parents desperate to discipline their unruly children.

In one case, Wrinkles was caught on CCTV emerging from under the bed of a sleeping little girl. The carefully planned prank was orchestrated by the girl’s parents, who wanted to save the footage and scare her with it whenever she misbehaved.

Another famous case saw Wrinkles appear across the street from a bus stop where a naughty 12-year-old boy with a bad case of Coulrophobia waited for a ride.

Wrinkles’ pranking prowess has even resulted in a documentary about his life.

Sell terrifyingly delicious home-made treats

If you’re a whizz in the kitchen, you can harness those skills to make some unique and delicious Halloween treats.

As people are becoming more aware of their health, as well as the environmental impact of things like discarded sweet wrappers and the like, home-made sweets are making a massive come-back.

With Halloween less than two weeks away, the best way to market your products will probably be word of mouth. Do a post with beautiful photographs of the types of goodies you’ll be making on social media and ask your friends to share. Be sure to include the price, your contact details and what type of delivery methods will work best.

Read our article on how to make money from selling cakes, jams and sweets.

Earn cash as a Halloween make-up artist

Another way to make money from Halloween is to do scary hair and makeup. Halloween is the one event of the year where people really go all out with dressing up for parties. Thing is, not everyone knows how to do this well. So, if you can do a mean cat eye and whip up a glam hairdo in a matter of minutes, you may just have struck gold.

According to Bidvine, the average price hair and makeup artists charge between £60 – £130 (an average of £75) per job. Not bad!

You may, however, want to consider charging a special price for Halloween to get more people interested.

Once again, advertising your services to friends and family, as well as on your social media pages, will be the quickest way to reach a relevant target market.

Find out more by reading our article on making money as a mobile hairstylist.

Make, fix and tailor Halloween costumes

While sewing may seem like second nature to you, some people have never pushed a needle through a piece of fabric, let alone wound a bobbin!

In the run-up to Halloween, you can be sure that those with a tendency toward procrastination will be on the lookout for last-minute costumes.

Take advantage of this by offering a selection of quick-and-easy costumes that people can pre-order. You can offer them for sale or rent them out, depending on what works best for you and your client. Furthermore, you could consider charging a premium fee for custom outfits and special requests.

If you’re not that confident in your sewing skills just yet, you could always test the market by offering alterations and quick fixes for outfits that need some TLC.

If you need a further boost, read our article about how to make money sewing.

Create a haunted house

Finally, something for those with a little extra chutzpah and panache! This is one of the most thrilling ways to make money from Halloween.

Become the talk of the town, the hero among your friends and acquaintances, the legend of Halloweens to come, by transforming your home into a truly chilling haunted house.

There are, of course, different levels of scariness when it comes to creating a haunted house. So, start by trying to determine who your target market is. If it’s for the neighbourhood kids, steer clear of anything too disturbing. If, however, your audience is made up of adults with a penchant for horror film aesthetics, you can take things up a good few notches.

Depending on how much effort and money you spent on creating the experience, you can charge an entry fee of anything between £2 and £25.

Check out this article on Spruce Crafts for some ghoulishly good ideas

The post Fun ways to make money from Halloween appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

A growing number of people buy Lego with the hope that its value increases over time. In other words, these people see buying Lego an investment, similar to buying stocks & shares.

In this article, we’re going to explain how it’s possible to make money from Lego. Keep on reading for all the details, or click on a link to jump straight to a specific section…

• Why invest in Lego?
• Which sets should I buy?
• Storing Lego
• How much can I make?
• Top tips

Why invest in Lego?

If you have a child, you’ll probably know that Lego regularly launches special sets alongside big movies or TV shows. You may have seen the plastic bricks themed with Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And that’s in addition to the regular ones, like police stations, castles or haunted houses. There are also limited edition ‘Creator’ and ‘Insect’ sets which are also popular right now.

It’s also worth knowing that the Lego brand now also extends to video games and cartoons – it’s a huge business.

Buying and selling Lego could turn into a good money-making opportunity and it’s all about the life cycle of Lego sets. The company produces and sells sets for a couple of years, after which they retire and won’t be sold in traditional outlets anymore. Those who miss the boat and are desperate for a discontinued set will then need to look for the special editions on eBay or Amazon. So, if you choose to invest in Lego, this is your chance to command high prices for those unique sets that can no longer be bought directly from Lego.

Which sets should I buy?

Do your research first. Like with any other investment, to buy and sell Lego for a profit, you’ll need to know your market. Certain genres and sets do better than others. The trick is that nobody really knows if – or when – the brand might discontinue a special edition. This means there’s no way of telling whether a certain set could be sold later at a higher price.

To choose wisely, check out some of the specialist sites dedicated to buying and selling Lego. For example, the online price and investing guide Brickpicker offers plenty of analysis on price trends. This could help you make more informed Lego purchases.

Bear in mind, though, that because Lego is under no obligation to discontinue their sets, there’s never any guarantee that what you buy will be a good investment.

Brick for brick, the sets linked to films or cartoons tend to be more expensive. Make sure you calculate the price per brick of the sets on offer, then wait to buy it when it’s on sale or a special offer. For instance, the resale value of the Star Wars sets has done well in the past, but previous success is not necessarily an indicator that these’ll be good buys for the future.

If you’re interested in seeing which Lego sets have been the top performers over the past year or so, then BrickNerd has an interesting graph on its website. The Lego specialist says the Star Wars Fighter Pilot Helmet, the Monkie Kid ‘Demon Bull King’, and the Fiat 500 sets were its top three performers in 2022.

Storing Lego

It’s crucial that you keep your Lego in pristine condition. This means the box must be unopened and stored correctly – away from anyone who might be tempted to open it and play with its contents.

Keeping your box out of direct sunlight is also a must, as a faded set will be less desirable than a set in pristine nick.

Some of the more serious investors in the US lease climate-controlled facilities to keep their Lego in optimum conditions. That’s not to say you should too. Those tend to be the people investing on a bigger scale, for instance, buying 3,000 boxed sets!

Lego: How much can I make?

There’s no doubt that Lego has enormous potential when it comes to buying it for the purposes of an investment, with double-digit annual returns not unheard of.

If you think that sounds a little ambitious, then its worth digesting a recent study by the Research in International Business and Finance. Its study tracked the prices of 2,000 Lego sets sold on secondary marketplaces between 1987 and 2015 and the typical Lego set in its study rose by 11% annually. This translates to a whopping 2,273% return over this 28-year period.

Compare this to other assets, and you can see just how well Lego performed during this period.

For example, the price of Gold rose just 21% between 1987 and 2015, with an average annual return of 5.17%. Meanwhile, the price of crude oil rose by 8.19% over the same period, which amounts to a 2.88% average annual return.

And its not just alternative assets that Lego has outshone over the recent times. The blue-chip FTSE 100, rose 237% between 1987 and 2015 – a 6.81% average annual return. Again, this is a long, long way off the 11% annual Lego returns reported by the study.

Here’s an illustration…

Now at this point, we should say that just because Lego has performed (very) well in the past doesn’t mean this trend will continue. It’s also worth knowing that the returns in this sample were ‘average’ returns, meaning that not every single set rose by 11%. According to a previous study into Lego returns, profits from buying the plastic bricks can vary from -50% to +600% annually, so don’t assume every set will automatically make you rich.

Where to sell Lego

If you want to sell old Lego sets in bulk then MusicMagpie, Zapper, and Brick Bin will buy the bricks off you.

Alternatively, you could try your luck on other specialist sites, such as BrickNerd, BrickLink, WeBuyGames. And don’t forget the traditional marketplaces – Facebook, and eBay.

Some serious collectors often need a spare piece for their set which might just be hiding in your pile of Lego.

Some inspiration

If you’re on the fence about whether to invest in Lego, then you might be swayed after reading about Josh Mangleson, a Lego collector from Brisbane, Australia.

Mangleson says he first started buying Lego as a child, before noticing how the value of his sets had skyrocketed over time.

“In high school before I had my first job I’d try and find ways of making money to buy new LEGO sets. I’d look at buying them online, and I started to see the values on some of my older sets and could hardly believe my eyes. So I started to see my own LEGO collection as a bit of an investment”

Mangleson explained how he sold a total of 250 sets, netting him a $20,000 (£10,600) profit, which he has since used to put down a deposit on a house.

Meanwhile, US-based collector, Lucas Lettrick, says he makes a typical 150-250% return when buying a selling Lego sets. Lettrick says he’s spent a cool $65,000 (£53,000) buying Lego in a recent video interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Yet despite his steep investment, Lettrick recently explained on his YouTube channel, that you don’t need to lots of capital to start out.

“The better strategy I would say, especially if you’re starting out and is the way I started out, is putting smaller amount of money into purchases and then building your way up.

“Start small with a small amount of cash, buy really good purchases that are on really great discounts that you can really maximise what you’re selling them at and how much money your’e getting back out of them and then slowly, as you build up that pot of Lego money, you can start buying bigger sets.”

Top tips

• Be patient. It’s unlikely that you’ll instantly make big bucks buying and selling Lego. The profit arises from making a smart purchase, sitting on it for a while and waiting for the price to rise. Like any commodity, the price may fall before it rises. Or it may never rise.
• If you intend to sell your Lego on eBay, read our How to Make Money on eBay article.
• Learn as much as you can about the market. Use Brickpicker or BrickNerd to gather information and study the price research.
• When you decide to buy, look out for deals and check out various retailers. If you buy your set at a low price, there’s more potential for profit later on when (or if) the set has been retired by Lego.
• There’s also a market for mini figures. It’s definitely worth the investment as they may become collectible later on.
• If you do decide to invest in Lego, then make sure you do so as part of a diversified portfolio. And if you can, you may wish to buy more than one type of set.  For example, stick solely to Star Wars sets and you could be in trouble if the public’s interest in the franchise fades in future.

Useful links

• Brickpicker
  
• Brick Nerd
• Brick Link
• eBay
• Amazon
• Facebook Marketplace

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The post Make money buying and selling Lego appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

As of January 2021, there were 53 million active social media accounts within the UK. This is equal to 77.9 per cent of the population having a social media account. There is no surprise, then, that Britons take their own picture a whopping 1.2 billion times a year in total.

We all take pictures of ourselves, whether it is to share them on social media or send to friends and family. But what if you could make money from the photos you take of yourself? It is entirely legal, and a legitimate way to make some extra cash.

• Sell your photos as stock images
• Try your hand at modelling
• Take some headshots
• Become a social media influencer
• Tips to take good photos

Sell stock images

Stock images are those which are supplied for specific uses and are often licenced. They are made available to those who pay a fee, which goes directly to the artist who produced the images. The host website, which displays the photos, will also take a small cut of the fee.

Most often, stock images are produced for editorial use, appearing in newspapers, magazines, online and even on the television. There are plenty of websites available for you to upload your photos onto in order to make some extra cash.

Shutterstock:

Perhaps one of the most well-known stock image providers, Shutterstock have paid out over $1 billion to their contributors in the past 15 years. As a shutter stock contributor, you will receive between 15 and 40 per cent of the total price Shutterstock receives when your content is downloaded by other users. Your commission is based on the number of downloads your photos receive.

iStock:

Owned by Getty Images, iStock is used by 1.5 million users in 200 countries globally. You can apply to be an iStock contributor in three easy steps. Once completed, you will be able to start earning commission.

Adobe Stock:

Adobe is a name known by millions of internet users. You earn 33% of all royalties for every photo you sell. The more photos you upload, the more earning potential you have on the website.

Here are a few more of the best stock image websites to consider:

• Alamy
• 500px
• Foap
• SmugMug
• PicFair

Try your hand at modelling

Modelling is one of the most obvious ways to make money from photos of yourself. It may seem a silly idea, but you don’t have to look like Kate Moss to try modelling. In fact, many modelling agencies want to find people of all different shapes and sizes to model for them.

You may not have considered modelling previously, but you may be just what a certain company or agency are looking for. There are also a huge number of different types of modelling, from catalogue to advert modelling. There are also many agencies in search of hand and foot models, and even hair models!

We have previously written an article all about modelling and how you can get yourself scouted. Read it here.

Take some headshots

It may seem farfetched, but if you have ever fancied getting into acting, or becoming an extra for film and television, getting some headshots taken is the place to start.

A headshot is an actor’s brand and can help them market themselves in the entertainment industry. It is key to helping actors secure auditions. Plus, having a visual image of yourself can help others remember you for future work. Although you will not make money from the photo itself, it will help you make money down the line.

We understand acting may not be for everyone. But even if you don’t fancy the spotlight yourself, you can make money as an extra. Whilst filming, TV shows and movies are always on the lookout for people to help out. Plus, the pay can be pretty good for an easy and fun days’ work. Plus, it can be a great experience and a chance to meet new people!

Rates of pay vary across the UK, but there are three main agreements used in and around London when it comes to paying extras. It is always a good idea to check with the production team beforehand, but here are the three main pay agreements:

The FAA/PACT Agreement

The rate is £92.69 for a 9 hour work period including a meal break, between the hours of 7am and 10pm.

The BBC Equity Agreement 

£86.40 for a continuous 9 hour period, including up to 8 hours of work and a meal break of at least an hour. Or, a 7 hour continuous period without a meal break.

ITV Equity Agreement 

£79.89. Up to 10 hours, during which up to 8 hours of work may take place. Not required to give any individual characterisation or dialogue.

As mentioned, guidelines vary across the UK and between production companies, but it gives you a rough guideline. Plus, there are many opportunities to earn extra money on set, such as working night-time hours or bagging yourself a small amount of dialogue. Plus, if you have a special skill, such as horse riding, dancing or being able to drive, you may be paid more.

We have previously written a thorough and helpful guide all about how to become a film and TV extra. You can read it here.

Become a social media influencer

It may seem like a long shot, but becoming an online influencer can make you plenty of money. An influencer is someone who has a certain level of influence online. They may have a large number of ‘followers’, people who subscribe to them, engage with their content or even look up to them.

Brands and companies use influencers to help them promote or advertise their products and services to their audiences. Some influencers may be paid a set fee for doing a post, whereas others may be paid commission for every sale made as a result of their promotion.

Although it may seem difficult to become an influencer, a new brand of ‘micro-influencers’ is on the rise. A micro-influencer is someone with 3,000 followers or more. This means you don’t have to have millions of followers to start earning money from photographs of yourself.

According to Tribe, micro-influencers can earn anywhere from £50 to £250 per sponsored post. A photograph of yourself holding a product or a short video discussing the benefits of a product could earn you a nice little income.

But how can you grow your social media influence? Pick a niche, start posting, and begin to engage with other accounts similar to your own. It is all about networking and creating new contacts online. Once you start to gain a small following, you can reach out to brands and companies and ask them about a working relationship. You will be surprised at how many brands are willing to work with smaller influencers, particularly small and local brands.

Tips to take good photos

Of course, to make decent money it is imperative the photographs taken are of the best quality possible. Luckily, you do not have to be a professional photographer to begin selling your photos, and many mobile phone cameras take beautiful, high quality images.

There are also plenty of helpful guides and tips online to help you take beautiful photos on your phone. The School of Photography suggests a few ways to ensure you get the best photos possible via your smartphone. These tips include taking multiple shots, use good lighting, and natural lighting where possible, and using editing tools to help transform the photos your capture.

It is also a good idea to have a play around with the camera you are using, whether it be your mobile phone or a digital camera. This will help you understand how the camera works, any settings you can change and different modes to help you capture the perfect shot.

So, why not try your hand at photography and make money selling photos of yourself? You may be surprised at how much extra cash you can make!

When it comes to billing, you might want to use an invoice software. For example, Zintego.com invoice software streamlines the billing process for businesses by automating invoice generation, tracking payments, and organising financial transactions in a user-friendly digital platform.

Make sure you don’t forget about tax if you make good money taking photos. You probably won’t have to pay VAT as you’re allowed a £85,000 turnover before you have to pay it. However, if your taxable turnover is over £85,000 then you’ll have to contact HMRC to register for VAT. You can use VAT software to help you keep on top of this. 

Other useful articles:

• How to sell your photos online
• Make money as a nightclub photographer
• How to make money on Snapchat

Disclaimer: MoneyMagpie is not a licensed financial advisor and therefore information found here including opinions, commentary, suggestions or strategies are for informational, entertainment or educational purposes only. This should not be considered as financial advice. Anyone thinking of investing should conduct their own due diligence.

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