7 Need-to-Know Ways to Make Money on Facebook

By Rita Cunha

If you’re using your Facebook page just for connecting with friends and sharing funny memes, you’re missing out. The social media platform wants more content creators to make a sizable income. That could be you—if you learn the ins and outs of how to make money on Facebook.

We put hours of research into this definitive guide. In it, we walk you through the top seven ways of earning money online.

Can You Make Money on Facebook?

Yes, you can earn money online from Facebook. There are seven main ways to put money into your bank account using only the social media platform:

Play ads in your videos;
Sell items you don’t need any more;
Start your own business;
Receive money from your followers;
Promote other brands;
Earn affiliate commission on sales;
Sell your social media expert services.
Enable Ads in Your Videos

Have you ever noticed that paid ads play during Facebook videos? Some Facebook users who create videos on the platform get paid for those in-stream ads. If you’re already posting videos, why not get some Facebook ad money?

How to Make Money on Facebook with Ads

First, you need to set up a Facebook page. You can’t post monetizable videos from a personal account.

Then, to get paid for Facebook ads, you should post engaging videos. The point is to get a lot of views on your videos, so make sure to knock it out of the park.

You can even include popular hashtags to make sure you bring in lots of views.

Who Can Do It?

Not everyone can make money on Facebook from video ads. To monetize videos, you need to:

Be at least 18 years of age
Publish videos from a Facebook page (not a personal Facebook account)
Follow the Monetization Policy
Have a minimum of 10,000 followers
Have at least five active videos
Have at least 600,000 total minutes viewed in the past 60 days.

How Much Money Can You Make?

When running Facebook ads, you get paid per view. Thus, you get paid more the more people watch your Facebook videos without skipping the ad.

Moreover, different ads pay different rates. If you run ads for expensive products (e.g. luxury watches), you will get even more money. What type of ads you get depends on your video content, as calculated by the algorithm.

Host a Virtual Garage Sale

Another way to make money from Facebook is by selling things you don’t need anymore. You can sell them to your Facebook friends or people in your area. If you have good t-shirts you don’t wear or items of tech, for example, you can find a new home for them.

How to Do It

Start by taking pictures of the items you want to sell.

Then, make a Facebook post on your news feed about the sale. Make sure to include a thorough description with information about the item. You can do this on the Facebook app and the desktop.

You can reach more people if you share the post on a local Facebook “Buy and Sell” group. This way, other group members will know what you are selling.

Adding a listing to Facebook Marketplace is another good idea. Potential buyers can contact you through Facebook messenger to arrange the sale.

Some people even host a Facebook live showing off their items so that users know what the piece looks like. If you have the time, this could be a good way of boosting your sales.

Who Can Do It?

Anyone can sell their things from their personal timeline. You don’t even need a business Facebook page.

How Much Cash You Can Make

You can make quite a lot of money from Facebook this way. Especially if you list in-demand items, such as a new-ish console or a beautiful vintage decor piece.

Sell Your Products and Services

Setting up an online business and making money online is easier if you use Facebook. You can run your own ads or sell services and products all by yourself for free. As a business owner, you should take advantage of this awesome tool.

How to Get Started

The first step is deciding where to post the items: on a Facebook business page (it’s easy to set up and it looks professional) or o your personal feed.

Then, you need to take good-quality pictures of your items so you can advertise them.

Next, you should post eye-catching listings. You can share them on local Facebook groups, Facebook pages, or on Facebook Marketplace.

You may also want to spend money running Facebook ads. This will get your products to show up on people’s news feeds and, hopefully, bring in customers.

Who Can Do It?

Anyone can make money from Facebook this way. As long as you have a product or service to sell, you’re set.

You don’t even need to splurge on ads. Posting your products on Buy-and-Sell groups can go a long way. Plus, you can take a free course on social media marketing to boost post sales.

How Much You Can Earn

You can make thousands every month (or more, if you nail your target audience on FB ads) from your online shop.

Collect Donations from Your Audience

Did you know you can earn money directly from your followers? Yes, you can raise money to keep making the great content you put out.

How to Do It

Your fans can buy subscription passes directly on your Facebook page. It may get them access to extra content you publish as well as access to your own group. It’s up to you how you reward fans.

This is the best way of them ensuring you have the means to continue making the awesome content you post.

Who Can Do It?

Your FB page has to meet some requirements before you can sell fan subscriptions:

Have at least 10,000 followers OR at least 250 returning viewers
Have 50,000 post engagements OR 180,000 watch minutes

How Much Money You Can Make

There are no limits on how many fan subscriptions you can sell. The more fans you have, the more you make.

Post Sponsored Content

You probably have heard of Instagram influencers, but did you know you can become a Facebook influencer? If your Facebook presence is strong enough and you have a large following, you can earn money promoting brands and their products.

How It Works

If you have a large potential audience, brands will pay you to share their products on social media posts. You can do this directly from your personal profile.

The goal is to have your followers go to the brand’s landing page and, hopefully, convert Facebook traffic into customers. These posts are part of a brand’s influencer marketing campaign and act a little like image ads or video ads.

How to Do It

You need to get in touch with other companies to do sponsored posts. You can either reach out to them yourself or enroll with an influencer agency. Alternatively, you can wait for them to message you about doing Facebook ads.

Who Can Do It?

Anyone with a large platform can earn money with influencer marketing on Facebook. Having high engagement rates also helps. In fact, for many companies, engaged followers are more important than numerous “ghost” followers who don’t interact with your posts.

How Much You Can Earn

The more followers you have, the more cash you can make. As a mid-sized influencer, you can expect to make anywhere from $100 to upwards of $1,000 per post.

Do Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is another popular (and effective!) way to make money from Facebook. You post affiliate links to products you love and, if your friends and followers purchase that item, you get a commission from the sale. Pretty neat, right?

How to Do It

First, you need to choose what product to promote. Stick to something you use and think your followers would appreciate.

Then, create your unique trackable affiliate link. You can do this by signing up with an affiliate network such as Amazon Associates, Rakuten, and ClickBank.

Next, make a post with your link. Make sure to disclose you may make a commission from any sales.

After that, all you have to do is sit back and wait. Visit the affiliate network website to check how many clicks (and sales!) your link has generated. That is how you earn money.

Who Can Do It?

Everyone can do affiliate marketing! It’s an affordable way to earn money on Facebook with little work. The most important thing is that your followers trust your reviews enough to buy what you promote.

How Much Money You Can Earn

You could potentially make a five- to six-figure salary with affiliate marketing. Especially if you expand your affiliate business to a website that is optimized to drive traffic from search engines.

Become a Paid Social Media Expert

Lastly, you can also earn money by taking on one of the many Facebook jobs out there. Use your extensive knowledge of the platform to help companies reach their audience more effectively. You can become a virtual assistant, a social media manager, or a digital marketer with your savvy skills.

How to Do It

Create a resume to showcase your social media skills. Make sure to highlight what you are good at—for example, moderating Facebook groups and turning paid traffic into product sales.

You can then browse online job boards to find companies looking for a social media expert. Send your resume and, if you stand out well enough, you might get called for an interview.

Alternatively, you could try your luck as a freelance professional. Websites such as Upwork and Fiverr connect talented experts like yourself and companies in need of social media guidance.

Who Can Do It?

If you have strong knowledge of how social media platforms work—and what users want to see from brands—you can start selling your digital marketing services. While this is an indirect way of making money from Facebook, your understanding of the platform pays off.

How Much Money You Can Make

You can make money from Facebook this way regardless of your experience, but the more experience you have, the more you can charge. Successful social media professionals can make six figures throughout the year.