You already have a social media account. You probably check it daily. What if that same account could put $200 a day in your pocket? Not by going viral, not by waiting for a brand deal, and not by begging followers to support you on Patreon. In this video Alston Godbolt breaks down 10 ways to monetize social media right now, and the surprising part is how many of them work even with a small audience.
The core principle underneath every single method is the same one Alston keeps coming back to: connect a solution to a problem. Social media already tells you what millions of people want. Your job is to show up with the answer and point them toward something that pays you when they click. Once you see the pattern, you will spot opportunities on every platform you already scroll.
What You’ll Walk Out With
- A Twitter strategy that runs on autopilot and earns affiliate commissions while you sleep
- The TikTok tutorial format that drives buyers to affiliate links without showing your face
- How to flip Facebook Marketplace listings on eBay for fast cash
- The Facebook Groups method that turns 300,000 strangers into paying customers
- Why Pinterest is an underrated traffic machine for affiliate bloggers
- How to stack six income streams from a single YouTube channel (the Brian G Johnson model)
- The one question you must answer before picking your monetization method
- Not sure which platform matches your skills and situation? finder.platformproof.com gives you a personalized answer in two minutes
Method 1: Twitter Stock Alerts Bot (Affiliate Marketing on Autopilot)
The first method Alston covers is one of his favorites, and once you understand it you will see why. He pulls up a Twitter account built around PS5 stock alerts. When PlayStation 5 launched, getting one was nearly impossible. Demand outran supply for months. This account solved exactly that problem by automatically tweeting every time PS5 consoles came back in stock at Walmart, GameStop, or any major retailer.
Every tweet contains a bit.ly link. As Alston puts it, 99.983 percent of the time those shortened links are affiliate links. When a desperate buyer clicks the link and completes a purchase, the account owner earns a commission. The buyer gets the console they have been hunting for. The affiliate gets paid. Everyone wins.
Here is the part that makes this especially powerful: the whole system runs on a bot. The logic is simple. Check if the product is in stock at the retailer. If yes, send a tweet with the affiliate link attached. Once you build or license that bot and connect your affiliate links, you can walk away and let it run. No content calendar, no video editing, no face on camera. The account earns passively because the bot never sleeps.
Alston points out you do not have to limit this to PlayStation. Any hot product with consistent demand and supply shortages works. Xbox, limited-edition sneakers, seasonal toys that sell out every holiday season. The formula is the same: find a product people desperately want, connect an affiliate account at the retailer, build or configure a stock-checking bot, and automate the tweets. Set it up once and walk away.
Method 2: TikTok Product Tutorials With Affiliate Links
TikTok may be famous for dances and trends, but Alston shows a different use case entirely. He spotlights a video on his TikTok account where a creator shows viewers how to install a bottle washer. No talking. No face. Just a clean, step-by-step visual walkthrough of setting up a product most new parents want but do not know how to install.
The monetization hook is in the creator’s bio. She has a Linktree link that takes viewers straight to Home Depot product listings. Those listings are affiliate links. Anyone who watches the video, decides they want the bottle washer, clicks through the bio link, and makes a purchase puts a commission in her pocket. She does not need to sell anything. She just shows people how to use a product they already want.
Alston specifically calls out who this format serves: new mothers who want to quickly sterilize bottles for newborns, large families that need to process a lot of dishes fast, anyone who looked at a product page and thought “I do not know how to set this up.” You are connecting a solution to a problem. The problem is that people buy household products and immediately feel confused. The solution is a thirty-second video that makes it look easy.
This same format works for any physical product with an installation or setup step. Kitchen gadgets, shower filters, garage organizers, baby gear. You do not have to be an affiliate either. If you have your own physical or digital products, or even custom t-shirts, TikTok tutorials can drive buyers directly to your own store. The audience and the infrastructure are already there.
Method 3: Facebook Marketplace to eBay Flipping
This one requires no followers, no affiliate account, and no content creation. It is pure arbitrage. You find underpriced items on Facebook Marketplace and resell them on eBay at a higher price.
Alston walks through a live example. He finds a 125-piece vintage-style key set listed on Facebook Marketplace for $13. He copies the title, pastes it into eBay’s search bar, and pulls up sold listings. Similar sets are moving for $12.99, $13.88, and $11.87. That particular example is tight, but the point is the process, not the single item. You scan Marketplace for products listed below what they sell for on eBay, buy them, ship them out, and pocket the difference.
He also checks iPhones. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max units show up on Marketplace, and when you cross-reference them with eBay sold listings, you can spot gaps where Marketplace sellers underpriced their phone. Electronics, name-brand tools, collectibles, and vintage items are especially productive categories because prices vary widely and buyers on eBay often pay a premium for the convenience and buyer protection eBay provides.
Alston also mentions you can take this further and list on eBay before you even buy the item on Marketplace. Once the eBay order comes in, you go pick up the Marketplace listing and ship it directly. That eliminates the risk of holding inventory you cannot sell. Social media becomes your sourcing tool, and eBay becomes your sales channel.
Method 4: Facebook Groups as a Niche Sales Channel
Facebook Groups represent one of the most underused monetization opportunities on the platform. Alston searches “how to start a blog” and immediately sees groups with close to 300,000 members. Every single one of those members has the same core desire: they want to build a blog, probably to make money or share something they care about, and they are looking for guidance.
That concentration of intent is worth real money if you know how to serve it. Alston lays out three specific ways you can monetize within or around those groups.
First, web hosting affiliate partnerships. Bluehost and similar hosts pay solid commissions for every signup you refer. If you participate in a blogging group and consistently give helpful answers about getting started, people will click your recommendation when you mention a hosting provider. You are already helping them; the affiliate link just lets you earn from the help you were giving anyway.
Second, done-for-you blog setup services. Plenty of people in those groups want a blog but have no desire to figure out WordPress, domain setup, theme customization, and plugin configuration on their own. If you can do that work for them, you can charge anywhere from $300 to $1,000 per site. The client gets a working blog; you get paid for a skill set you could build in a weekend.
Third, courses. If you create a step-by-step course showing people exactly how to set up a blog themselves, the same 300,000 potential students are right there in those groups. You can sell it, give away a free version to build an email list, or use it as a lead magnet to upsell a higher-ticket coaching program.
The key insight Alston drives home here is the same one that runs through every method: put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Figure out what they want, what they need, and what would remove the biggest obstacle between them and their goal. When you solve that, the money follows.
Not sure which of these methods fits your actual situation?
Answer a few quick questions at finder.platformproof.com and get a personalized recommendation based on your skills, time, and starting budget.
Method 5: Pinterest as a Traffic Engine for Affiliate Revenue
Pinterest is not just a place for recipes and home decor. It is a search engine with a visual interface, and the buyers who use it are often in purchase mode. Alston demonstrates this by typing “playstation 5” into Pinterest. The results are full of pins selling accessories, bundles, and gear, with most of them pointing back to blog posts or product pages.
The traffic path looks like this: a user searches on Pinterest, finds a visually appealing pin, clicks through to a blog post, and then clicks an affiliate link or display ad on that post. The Pinterest creator earns whether the monetization is through affiliate commissions, display advertising revenue, or their own digital product sales.
The advantage Pinterest has over other platforms is longevity. A pin can drive traffic for months or even years after you post it, unlike a TikTok or Instagram post that fades within days. If you create content around products that stay relevant, like gaming gear, parenting supplies, home improvement items, or fitness equipment, those pins keep working long after you publish them.
Alston also points out the options available once someone lands on your blog: ads, physical products, digital products, and courses. Pinterest is really a top-of-funnel tool that feeds any of those monetization channels. It works best when you have a content hub, a blog or website, that converts the traffic into revenue. If you do not have that yet, building one is a natural next step.