Many people are making a passive income simply by advertising with their cars. If you like driving, but think driving strangers around, doing errands for them and renting your parking space are too social, than this passive income source is for you. Here is how you too can make passive income by advertising with your car.
Can You Make Passive Income by Advertising with Your Car? You can make passive income advertising with your car by “renting” the available advertising space on your car to companies looking to place mobile advertisements. By doing so, you are providing advertisers a place to display their ads, while you benefit from a commission or a monthly passive income.
It’s a win-win situation for advertising companies and anyone with a car. These companies don’t have to get their own cars and drive them around. And you get to earn money without having to make any investments, or take time off your day job. Sounds easy, right? Indeed it is. So, if you think this is the perfect passive income stream and are wondering what it takes to get started, this guide is for you. Here is how to make a passive income by selling advertising space on your car.
Steps to Making Passive Income by Advertising with Your Car
You may have to meet some minimum requirements before you get started. One of the best ways to get in touch with advertisers is via platforms that can help you through the entire process. We will have a look at some of those platforms and how to choose the right one.
1. Requirements to Advertise With Your Car
Just because you drive around in your car doesn’t mean you are good to go as far as this advertising on your car. There are some basic requirements you need to meet. Of course, each company has their own set of requirements, but some basics include the following. You should:Be the legal driving age
- Be an active driver
- Have your own car
- Have up-to-date full auto insurance and a clean drivers license
Depending on the company you choose, you will probably have to agree to keep the ad on your car for the entire contract duration. These companies may also require a millage you have to drive each week/month. In some cases, you might be required to be driving in urban areas with high amounts of traffic (both auto and pedestrian).
But even if you don’t meet these requirements, you might still get lucky and land a deal. So, there is no harm in trying. Some companies might also need you to install a GPS on your car if you don’t already have one. This is to ensure that you will be giving their ads the kind of exposure they want.
2. Finding the Right Company
Even though there are many operators in this space, most will offer very distinct services to their customers. So, you might find a certain operator to be more favorable to you than its competition.
For instance, maybe you like getting paid a commission, rather than a fixed amount of money every month. Since each company uses a different model, you have to work with a company that can offer you the kind of payment arrangement you prefer.
You also have to consider whether you meet the requirements the company has in place to ensure that you will actually get opportunities to advertise on your car when you sign up. So make sure to give their websites and policies a good read before signing up.
You also need to be aware and stay away from scams Back in 2013, the Federal Trade Commission shared a warning about scams related to fake checks in the car wrap space. These companies should not ask you for money. Give the FTC’s blog post a good read before getting started to learn a couple ways you can ensure not working with a scammer.
Make sure to research the company before getting started and look for peer reviews for authentic feedback on the entire process (from signing up to getting paid). Here are some well known companies in the car wrap space.
If they do not serve your area, you may have to do more local research. There probably is a company that offers this service in your area. Just make sure to stay away from any illegitimate operators.
3. How to Find the Company with the Best Offers
It is also important to look into the amount of money you should expect to earn once you decide to use a certain company. There is no need to sign up with a company that will pay you only $400 a month when there is another company willing to give you $600 a month.
“With Wrapify, for example, drivers are paid per mile and make about $400-$600 per month with no upfront costs.”
Quote from Forbes
But take note that the amount of money you actually receive will also depend on the company you choose, the size of the advert the company sticks on your car, and sometimes on how many miles you drive.
Basically, there are two types of car-based advertising campaigns – commission and non-commission based campaigns. With a non-commission advertising arrangement, you will get a fixed sum of money each month for driving around with an ad on your car. The other option is to get into a commission-based car advertising campaign, whereby a company will pay you a commission based on the ads you have on your car.
A great way to get a good idea of this is to search for online communities of people who are offering this service to see how much they are making. Look for peer reviews and do research the company before signing up.
4. Sign Up to Advertise with Your Car
For most companies, signing up is free. During this process, you will have to fill a form that proves to them that you are an ideal candidate based on your driving behaviours and other factors.
Just because you have filled this form does not mean you will be automatically accepted. The company will typically have to go through your form and see if you fit the profile. But once you are accepted, you can expect that they will start using your car to advertise and pay you for it.
5. Get the Ad Placed on Your Car
After the platform accepts your application, they will make a request to put an advertising wrap on your car. They may put the ad on themselves if it is fairly large. Otherwise, for a small window ad, you might be asked to install it yourself. But don’t worry, you will get clear instructions on how to do this.
Before the advert goes on your car, you will have to sign a contract providing your obligations as well as the company’s obligations with regard to the advertising deal you have struck. Basically, you will get details as to the amount of distance you should drive every day or every month, and the sort of places you should park your car.
However, before you sign the contract, be sure you are comfortable with the kind of advert they will be putting on your car. Some adverts could be simple window stickers, but others might be wraps that cover the entire car. Also ask about what will be advertised and make sure you are comfortable with the actual content of the ad.
6. Start Driving and Getting Paid
After the ad is on your car, you can start driving, but don’t feel the pressure to do anything differently. Remember that they accepted your offer to advertise on your car after knowing what your driving habits are like. That said, keep in mind that you have a formal contract that outlines how you should drive around in order to meet your end of the deal.
In case they have a GPS installed on your car, they will know if you are failing to keep up your end of the bargain. But if you were honest about your driving behaviour in your application, you should have nothing to worry about as there will be no deliberate effort on your part to use certain routes or parking spots in order to meet your contract terms.
After the contract is over, you should have the ad removed from your car and you can get another ad installed on your car. Also, note that you should inform the company in case the ad gets damaged or the car gets damaged and you might not be in a position to meet your contract terms.
How Passive is Advertising With Your Car?
Advertising on your car is incredibly passive. As long as you are honest on your application about the routes you use and how often you drive, you will not have to make any additional effort to make cash off this gig. You will drive around as you normally do, go to work as usual, and basically live as you did before. The only difference will be that you will be getting some money because there is an ad on your car.
Scalability
As interesting this business model is on the passive-income side, it is not at all scalable. You only have so much space on your car. Unless you wrap both cars in your garage (assuming you have two cars, and drive both frequently), the income this business model can provide you will plateau at some point.
Startup Costs
You can start with zero dollars. On most sites that allow you to make a passive income in this manner, you get to sign up for free. From there, you get the ad placed on your car and the next step is getting paid after driving around with it as agreed. Some sites request membership fees so make sure to read everything thoroughly before signing up.
Difficulty
What could be easier than earning more money doing what you already do on a regular basis? That is what car advertising is like. You will go about your life as if nothing has changed. You do not have to learn a new skill or do anything different from your regular routine.
Time
You can get started with this business fairly quickly away. If you live and drive around in places where there are high amounts of traffic, odds are that you will get approved to have an ad on your car within a very short time. Even if your car spends most of its time on a parking lot. The only thing that may take up some of your time initially is getting your car wrapped.
Risk
Generally speaking, there is no serious risk to be concerned about when you get into the car-based advertising business. Some concerns you could legitimately have are razor blade-sized scratches on your car paint in some scenarios. This may happen in the car-wrapping process. Be sure to read the company’s policies for these issues.
This form of passive income will definitely be more risk involved if you do not do your homework. Be aware of the Car Wrap Scams that have been taking place. Read this article on the FTC’s blog to learn how you can avoid these scams and work with legitimate companies. Make sure to do your research and read peer reviews on the companies from signing up to getting paid.
Seasonality
Advertising on your car is incredibly immune to seasonality. There will always be an advertising company willing to pay for premium advertising space on a car. The only thing that could change the seasonality in your case is your own agenda. If you do not drive certain months of the year, or if you drive less in the Summer for example, you may see a decrease in revenue. Be aware of this when making your choice.
ROI (Return on Investment)
Advertising on your car has a pretty good return on investment. Generally, you can expect to make a few hundred dollars a month to have an ad on your car. The only expense might be having to pay a membership fee to join a site that puts ads on your car. But this is not a requirement for certain companies, which means your ROI can be pretty high when using this passive income method.
Related Questions
Here are some articles and related questions to advertising with your car for cash.
How Much can You get Paid to Advertise on your Car? Carverse’s standard payment rate is $100/month. Sometimes they offer up to $200/month for specialized campaigns but this is not common. Wrapify offers approximately $450/month for full wraps. Forbes stated some Wrapify users make between $400 and $600/month.
Will companies pay you to advertise on your car? Legitimate companies will pay you to advertise on your car. Wrapify offers approximately $450/month for full wraps. Make sure to work with legitimate companies like Carverse or Wrapify. You can read this article from the FTC to help avoid any scams.