Introduction
I’m always trying to find new ways to make money, and this time, I thought I’d use my writing skills to share with you how I was able to make significantly more money every day than I ever could as a writer. The best part? You can do it too, and it’ll only take you about 10 hours, a little bit of creativity, and the drive to change your life. (And no, this isn’t some clickbait – this is real, practical guidance that can work for anyone).
Remember that iconic scene in “Good Will Hunting,” where Will Hunting tells one of the snooty university students, Clark, about the futility of his college education? Will Hunting says, “You dropped $150,000 on a college education you could have gotten for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library.” Ouch, that’s a mic-drop moment if I ever saw one.
But in Will’s day, even with that measly $1.50, it would have taken months, if not years, to assimilate all that knowledge. Who has the time to visit the library, let alone read through fifty books? Nope, not anymore. These days, it’s so much faster. And the quality of the instructional content available is far better than it’s ever been.
You know the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”? Well, the right how-to video can be worth thousands of dollars if you apply it correctly.
I’m going to show you how to make thousands, and even hundreds of thousands, in just a matter of months, not decades. And I know this because I’ve done it myself.
Now, I run a successful branding agency (which has been ranked as one of the top 20 packaging design agencies in the world according to Clutch.co), so I often make thousands of dollars in a single day already. But an extra couple of grand per month can be a huge motivator and a glorious opportunity for someone who’s struggling to make ends meet or who wants to change their lives and financial status quickly.
So, let me tell you my story, and as it unfolds, I’ll show you exactly what you’ll need to make it happen with some practical applications.
My Story
A few years ago, I invented a fitness product that turns any backyard pool into a muscle-pumping gym. I gained 30 pounds of muscle in just three months and transformed my skinny-fat body into a well-shaped machine, all while getting into the best cardio shape of my life (here’s the result). As a branding expert, I designed the logo, the brand, the actual design of the aqua fitness board, the product packaging, the website – you name it. But the one thing I didn’t have a clue about was the video content.
I had no idea how to create decent video content, and the online documentation to learn a decent video program like Adobe Premiere looked more than daunting.
Practical Application:
To get started, you’ll first need to purchase an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, which will cost about $59 per month (or even less for the student version). And guess what? It’s 50% off this Black Friday!
I already had the full Adobe suite of products, since I use Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop in my agency work all the time. But Adobe Premiere, Adobe’s video offering, was completely foreign to me, and to be honest, it was pretty daunting.
Instead of learning it myself, I ended up hiring videographers and editors to do all the video content for my fitness product and my branding agency work. This cost me between $500 and $1,000 per minute, and I spent a ton, often reselling the videos with just a minimal markup.
Money wasn’t the biggest obstacle, though. Time was far more vital. I’d request a quick video, and two weeks later, I’d get what I was looking for. And even simple changes would take even longer. Yes, there are easy-to-use video systems like iMovie, but I wanted super high-quality work and content.
Finally, the time and money issues collided, and I’d had enough. I didn’t want to waste any more dollars or be bound to the timetables of others. So, I opened up Adobe Premiere and thought, “I’ll just learn this myself. I already know other Adobe products; how hard could it be?”
A decade ago, the answer would have been “really freaking hard.” I would have had to scour about 400 pages of exhausting tutorial content, only to maybe get enough info by page 50 to do the most rudimentary video project.
But this time, I jumped on YouTube.
First, I had to learn the basics:
Practical Application:
- Search for “Adobe Premiere for beginners” and watch at least 2-3 videos. (Follow along in Adobe Premiere with each tutorial)
- Search for “Make your first Adobe Premiere video” and watch at least two videos.
- Search for “Using Effects in Premiere Video” and watch at least six videos.
- Search for “Top 10 Adobe Premiere cool effects” and watch 3-4 videos.
- Search for “Expert tools/strategies for Adobe Premiere” and watch 2-3 videos.
Total time in videos: about 3 hours, with about 3-4 extra hours in hands-on application and follow-along.
Within 6 hours, I was designing my first videos, knew how to use most of the basic effects, and was layering videos on top of each other for unique visual looks. Next, I needed to learn text strategies, “masking,” and how to master sound.
Practical Application:
- Search for “How to master text in Adobe Premiere”
- Search for “Masking basics in Adobe Premiere”
- Search for “Professional sound tutorials in Adobe Premiere”
That took another hour or so.
By now, I was producing decent quality videos in what, 7 hours of study?
I was also hungry for more specialized content, and thankfully I found this guy.
Practical Application:
Search for “Two Minute Tuesday by Peter Mckinnon”
Once you have learned the basics and started to master effects, lighting, sound, and masking, Peter McKinnon will throw the coolest tutorials at you in, you guessed it, TWO-MINUTE lessons! His other stuff is great, too, but these microwaved insights will take your video skills to the next level. Yes, after 7 hours, you will already have skills.
By now, I was producing my videos for Hydro Shred. Just a few days in. But did I have the skills to get paid professionally?
Practical Application:
You’ll need to have GOOD video content, so I recommend a monthly subscription to ENVATO ELEMENTS, which will cost about $10 a month and has millions of videos, fonts, pictures, effects, and so much more to create incredible videos!
I already had a subscription to Envato Elements, so I just started grabbing video content, and snatching up clips for things like snowboarding, auto racing, hip-hop dancing, etc. Anything that I could create to “stack” a portfolio with cool videos I didn’t have a few days earlier.
I went to one of my clients with ten videos in place, at a bunch of sizes and lengths. “Hey, just so you know, we now offer video services…” I said, hoping not to sound too uncertain. “Oh, great! I have a video I need to be done right now!” came the reply from one client the very next day. It was a three-minute video for a faith-based travel agency. Looking at standard rates, I charged $3,000 for the video. It took 7 hours to complete.
In the following three months, I produced:
- Intro Web video and social media videos for a Protein brand: $2,500.00
- Intro Web Video for an essential oil brand: $1,500.00
- Video for a film label: $4,000.00
- Intro Web video for a nutrition bar brand: $1,500.00
- Intro Web Video for a Skincare Brand: $1,500.00
Here’s a few of the videos I completed during that three-month period:
I had the market already in place with my agency, but I’ll show you how to establish yourself as a Video Editor online.
Practical Application:
Sign up for an Upwork account, which costs about $15 per month, and set up your profile. Add your new 6-10 videos you’ve created using your skills and the video, images, and text you’ve grabbed from Envato Elements. Then, start bidding on projects.
Within a month, a little creative intuition (and most people reading here are creative thinkers) and shelling out about $80 a month in software and services, you can be making this kind of money. Plus, it’s freaking fun! Now, freelancing, especially in certain states, comes with challenges, but you can easily make $500 – $2,000 a month of ADDITIONAL money if you just spend a few hours a night playing around after work. And I learn anything I don’t know in minutes with each new tutorial. (Including animation in After Effects and how to design Phone Apps without coding experience, but that’s ANOTHER story).
Can you make $15K in three months? Absolutely! I barely spend time creating videos, unlike the rest of the work I do at my agency. For those who want to do it full-time, you can make sizable money, well over what you can make at most service jobs, internships, or jobs that don’t require a degree. (And even with degreed jobs, you can make more money quicker and with far more flexibility).
To recap, here’s what you’ll need:
- A subscription to Adobe Creative Suite ($59 per month or less)
- About 10 hours of study following my search terms (or start using your own)
- A subscription to Envato Elements ($10+ per month)
- A freelance platform, and I recommend Upwork ($20 per month)
- Motivation and some creativity
- A willingness to continue always learning
Conclusion… But Not the End
A few years ago, a TV show launched called “Undercover Billionaire,” where men like Grant Cardone dropped into an unknown city with $100 bucks, a beat-up vehicle, and a blank mobile phone. The goal was to create a company with $1M in corporate value in 3 months. He proved it was possible.
Well, I’ve proven that you can make $10K within months, if not in the first two.
This could be the thing that gets you out of your parent’s home, pays off student loans, and brings that Lexus you’ve been dreaming of. It could help pay off your home faster or fund your children’s college fund. I encourage you to let me know if you start, then hit me up again after you’ve mastered your first few videos. If you are motivated, you’ll reach out in a few weeks. I can’t wait to see what you’ve been able to do.
Maybe you’ll write a story even better than this…
Live Inspired.
