Over the last year, people of all walks of life and industries have experienced very difficult circumstances in one way or another. This is especially true for those of us in the beauty industry. Personal care services have been shut down in the Toronto area for over 300 days during this time, and it’s no secret that the industry is hurting.
With that said, I wanted to take the time to provide some great ways that artists in the beauty industry can bring in different streams of income. Heeyyy! I’ve got ya, sis!
The first option is to go virtual. While you may think that transitioning your skills online will be difficult, it can actually be really fun! There are so many ways to run things virtually through zoom, facetime etc. A great example of this is offering 1 on 1 makeup lessons for your clients. Reach out to your email list or advertise your lessons on social media to get the word out about your new online service.
As a makeup artist you could also create a guide for a specific makeup look. Online PDF guides are a great way of using your knowledge to bring in some extra cash while you can’t actually be doing makeup for your clients. If you’re primarily in the bridal industry you may choose to create a guide for ‘Wedding Beauty Prep’. In the guide, explain to your client exactly what they should do and purchase for flawless makeup on their big day. You could charge anywhere from $5-$35. This doesn’t have to take too long to write and should come fairly naturally—remember that you know exactly what you’re talking about! Once the info is there, use Canva to design it to your liking and then advertise it on your socials. Just like that, you have a whole new stream of income!
Offering a discount or exclusive flash sale that is too good to turn down may seem obvious but is often overlooked. A large discount is a great call to action that will encourage clients to act quickly. For example, you could offer a 25% discount on all bridal services, or a ‘buy one get one free’ deal. By doing this, you can make more sales which actually generates more money than you would have at full price. The great thing with this method is also that you will earn quick cash and get new faces into your world, which could mean returning clients and more income in the future.
Have you ever thought about teaching others? Starting a virtual class on makeup sanitation practices is a great way to share your knowledge. If you’re in the beauty industry, then you already know exactly how to clean your kit, disinfect your products, and make sure things do not get cross-contaminated. But guess what? Someone just starting out in the industry OR the average gal or guy might not know these things. To teach people about sanitary practices, you could set up a ‘Sanitation 101 Masterclass.’ For a class like this, you could charge anywhere from $5-$15 for a 1 hour lesson. Throughout the class you could explain exactly how to disinfect your kit and the products that you recommend using for this. Think of it this way, if you get just 30 people at $15 to sign up, that’s $450. And if you do two classes, that’s $1000! This is something that you could also turn into a PDF guide and sell to other artists.
Artists who often deal with brides can create a digital ebook or video explaining the timeline for all beauty related steps leading up to the bride’s big day. This may cover booking vendors, beauty trials, getting nails done, booking a spray tan, facial and planning beauty services on the big day. Most brides are super anxious on and leading up to their wedding, so a guide that helps prepare and get organized is surely appreciated.
Another great way to get some money coming in is by teaming up with a photographer and offering a great discount. While you are losing some money on the sale price, this will be made up for with your booking numbers. Bonus if you can take some great pics! I used to do this all the time when I was in a pinch and wanted to make some fast cash. I would call this the ‘Ultimate Glam Experience’. You could advertise it by saying “Get makeup, hair styling, and headshots for just $500, regular value $3000!”. You can split the income in half between you and the photographer. If you can bang out 5 of these, that’s $1250 right there! This would be advertised for when services are permitted, but you could take a deposit to secure the booking like any other service.
Providing a virtual shopping experience is a great way to generate income while also engage with followers more intimately. Promote an exclusive 1:1 consultation with your clients and/or new customers and do a 30-minute facetime consultation to talk about your client’s needs. For example, some brides are eloping due to Covid and can’t bring along their makeup artist. If that’s the case, you could discuss what their goals are for their wedding, then put together a shopping cart for them to buy all the products you think would best fit their needs. You could also put together a step-by-step guide explaining how to use each product to custom fit their ‘ask’. You could charge anywhere from $50-$200 for this. Book 10 people for this and you could be $2000 richer.
Do you have a specific skill? People will pay to learn from you! Let’s say you work in bridal and you know a ton of other makeup artists in the bridal industry. But what if you are also amazing at SFX makeup? That’s a BIG DEAL! You could easily offer 1:1 lessons to your friends and followers, demonstrating a specific SFX lesson (cuts, bruises, zombies etc). People always love upgrading their skills or learning a new one. Just because it might come easy to you, doesn’t mean it’s easy to do!
Have you ever thought about reaching out to brands for sponsored social media posts? Though this one might be a little scary to think about, brands are actually a lot more willing to pay you for ‘sponsored posts’ than you may realize. I started getting paid on social media when I had about 4k followers, and now I have 37k followers and get pretty good revenue from sponsored posts. Regardless of if you have 1000 or 100k followers, what matters is that you take action. My best recommendation is to ASK! Pitch yourself and just SEE what happens. In my 8- week online course, I explain exactly how to pitch yourself to a brand and negotiate rates. And guess what? Two of my recent graduates have landed paid brand collaborations and they both have less than 3k followers! To be successful in this, make sure that you reach out to brands that have the same target audience as you, then give them a really good pitch on why you have something great to offer them. You don’t know if it could happen unless you try!
Lastly, much like Instagram and sponsored posts, affiliate marketing is a great way to earn extra income ‘passively’. There are a ton of brands that will give you a custom affiliate link then give you commission on your sales. You could use your email list, Instagram, or even just tell your friends and family about the product and make extra money this way. Some brands will give you anywhere from 10% – $40% commission. I actually even have an affiliate program for my courses where I get students to authentically talk about my program and then they can make money! It’s a win-win for both the brand and the affiliate!
Overall, the important thing is that you try to diversify your income streams (pandemic or not). Creating products or services that allow you to make money without having to work on an hourly basis can help to give you more security & financial independence. Hang in there, you got this!
WORDS & PHOTOS: JULIA DANTAS