You have seen them on NASCAR and Formula One race cars, trains, buses and even taxis. Big ads of small and big brands displaying their new products and services to anyone that glances their way.
You probably know that these brands pay a lot of money to have their ads put up on these vehicles.
Did you know that you can get paid to advertise with your car and make extra money while following your normal routine?
Yes, it’s not just professional drivers. If you’re someone who drives around a lot, some companies will pay you to slap their shiny attention-grabbing decal all over your car
Owning a car can be expensive. The average car payment for a new car is roughly $554 per month. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some help offsetting that expense? You can also put the extra money towards insurance, gas, maintenance, roadside assistance, and the other costs of car ownership.
If you live in or frequently visit a highly-populated area and can handle all the attention, you can pocket some extra cash every month as an on-road advertiser.
You’ll drive your car around as you normally would. The only thing that changes is the look of your car. This has got to be one of the easiest ways to make money.
In this article, we’ll discuss legitimate car wrapping advertising.
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How Does it Work?
Before we discuss car wrap advertising, let’s understand what it entails.
Companies are always looking for unique ways to advertise. Car wrap advertising is a distinctive way to earn while you drive a branded vehicle. The main motive is to grab people’s attention on the road while you’re out and about.
Many brands feel that marketing via car wraps is an ingenious way to have eyeballs on a mobile outdoor advert.
Think about it: let’s say a brand uses a newspaper or billboard for advertising. People must read that newspaper or drive by that particular billboard if they’re going to see the ad.
A car wrap is a color advert that the advertiser prints on a special adhesive vinyl covering so it can be stuck to your car temporarily. It’s a completely safe procedure and can be removed easily without spoiling the paintwork.
As one of the most effective forms of advertising in the market today, a single car wrap can reach 30,000-70,000 mobile impressions per day.
These brands contact third-party car wrapping services that have a database of drivers. These services are always recruiting drivers who have a certain car, drive in certain regions and/or clock in a certain amount of miles per month.
If you’re in the car wrapping company’s database and meet the advertiser’s criteria, then you’d probably be hired for the gig.
This way, the brands can reach a much bigger audience and for a much lower price.
How Much Can You Get Paid to Advertise on Your Car?
Ah, the fun part. Making the cash.
Getting paid for simply going about your daily routine with an ad on your car sounds exciting, right?
But how much can you get paid to advertise with car?
Well, advertising on your car can be lucrative, but it depends on a few factors:
- The car you drive
- The company you choose to go with
- The length of your contract
- How much of your car you agree to have wrapped
- How much you drive in a day
- The route you take
You can make anything from $200 to upwards of $1,000 a month.
That’s certainly a good deal since you don’t have to put in extra effort to earn this money. Not to mention you may be able to get a commission if you refer someone to the company you’re representing!
Payment is usually made by check or direct debit. And most companies do expect an initial commitment of 1-3 months.
Get Paid to Advertise With Your Car With These Legitimate Companies
1. Wrapify
Wrapify was founded in 2015. It operates in all 50 states and works with hundreds of major brands, including Petco, Microsoft, Google, and Bud Light.
To qualify to advertise with Wrapify, the company will ask you to share your driving habits first.
To do this, download the Wrapify app from the Google Play Store or App Store and activate it to track every day’s commuting miles. It’s free to download.
You’ll become eligible for campaign offers once you’ve reached 50 commuting miles. This is done to determine your usual route.
If you meet the advertiser’s driving criteria, Wrapify will then send you offers in your area.
Requirements include:
- Be at least 21 years old
- Have a clean criminal and driving record
- Drive at least 25 miles per day
- Own a car that is 2010 or newer
- The car’s body must be free from body damage and rust
How much you’ll get paid to advertise on your car will depend on factors like our location, how extensively the wrap covers your car, what times of the day you’re driving and how many miles you drive.
They currently offer 4 sizes of advertising options to choose from – full, partial, light and topper wrap. Expect to earn anything between $174 to $452 per month.
You’ll make more money for driving down a busy street than a highway to nowhere.
2. StickerRide
StickerRide is an app that will let you commute for cash.
The company matches potential commuters with businesses looking for car ads. It allows you to pick the kind of advertisement you want to wrap on your car.
To start earning, download the app, register your car and pick an active auto wrap campaign. After picking an ad, you need to apply and wait for the results. You can calculate potential earnings before you complete the registration process.
They accept applications from drivers who:
- Are aged 18 years or older with a clean record
- Have a smartphone and willing to track rides with GPS
- Are not participating in another campaign
If they choose you for the campaign, you will receive a phone call with instructions on installing the stickers. They can also send a professional to install the wrap at no cost.
Always launch the app before you start to drive.
How much you earn is dependent on the points system that includes different tariffs. The tariffs depend on your car class, location, miles, and the size and number of decals you sport.
3. Free Car Media
The highlight of Free Car Media is that its process is entirely online. I recommend it if you’re not open to the idea of wrapping the full body of your car.
To start potentially earning, sign up for free, and if you match the advertiser’s criteria, you can get up to $400 per month as a Free Car Media ambassador.
You’ll be notified via email once you’re selected for an ad campaign.
Most campaigns typically last for 6-24 months.
Just like the other companies, you must be aged 18 years, have a clean driving record and valid car insurance to be approved as a driver.
Your car will be wrapped in a high-quality vinyl manufactured by 3M. Free Car Media will send you the wrapping material and a guide to wrap.
In case your car has to be re-wrapped, the company will make the arrangements and let you know.
4. Carvertise
Carvertise is an award-winning company that pays to advertise with car.
As one of the most iconic car advertising companies in the industry, they specialize in partial (sides) and full (entire car body) wraps.
The Delaware-based advertising company claims to run hundreds of marketing campaigns and boasts a network of over half a million drivers.
With an A rating from the Better Business Bureau, Carvertise recruits and screens drivers for their brand partner’s campaigns with their 4-point quality checkpoints.
Requirements include:
- Be at least 21 years old
- Have a clean driving record
- Own a 2008 or newer car with a factory finish paint job
- Drive at least 30 miles per day (or 800 per month)
To apply, you’ll be asked to submit a simple application. If you’re selected, they’ll contact you and take your car to their facility and wrap it just in a few hours.
You’ll be allowed to approve the vinyl wraps that are placed on your car.
Typical ad campaigns last 3-6 months. You can earn up to $100 per month for the duration of the ad wrap campaign.
At the end of the campaign, the company will take out the wrap from your car via one of their professional installers.
If you want to get paid to advertise with car, apply and keep renewing your agreement after every campaign.
5. ReferralCars
ReferralCars match their drivers to commission or non-commission-based ad campaigns.
To be considered, enter your area code and the estimated number of miles you cover every day. You’ll be asked a few questions to determine whether you qualify for their ad program.
If you qualify, they’ll ship you a high-quality advertising decal kit with a number referral code that ties to you. If another driver contacts that number and uses that referral code, you could get a referral bonus of about $12.
Most of the ads are small and designed for rear windows to provide enough visibility to the driver. So no professionals are needed to install the decals.
You can see what the decal looks like on ReferralCars’ official website.
How To Find Legitimate Car Wrap Advertising And Not Get Scammed
While there are many legit car wrapping and advertising companies (as discussed), it’s worth mentioning that there are car wrap scams out there.
Here’s to avoid being a victim:
Legit companies won’t ask for any upfront payment
The idea is to get paid to advertise on your car, not you doing the paying.
A legit company should not charge you a fee. It would only send you money that you’ve earned.
Some sketchy companies will contact you from the blues and ask you to wire money or deposit “urgent” checks before they place ads on your car. Avoid them.
If you’re a victim, file a complaint at ftc.gov/complaint under Scams and Rip-offs.
Legit companies will screen your car and driving habits
If a company doesn’t seem to care about your car or driving habits, chances are they’re a scam.
Many scams begin by sending unsuspecting drivers unsolicited text messages and emails with too good to be true offers.
Legit companies ask for this information to help match you with the right advertiser.
Legit companies display updated contact info
Legitimate car wrap advertising companies have a working physical address, email and phone number listed on their site.
You can spot a scam by Googling the company name and seeing if relevant results come up. If you see scam alert articles posted about them, run and never look back.
Also, check out the company on the Better Business Bureau’s website.
To avoid getting scammed, try some of these car wrapping companies listed above.
Additional Ways To Make Money With Your Car
Advertising on your car isn’t the only way to make money with your car.
Additional venues that will help you earn with your car have certain requirements.
They expect you to have a clean driving record, a valid driver’s license and car insurance. Your car should be clean and in great shape, and you should agree to a background check.
If you fit into the above parameters, you might be able to snag some extra cash with one of these 4 ways while driving your car.
App-Based Delivery
America is on a never-ending chase for convenience. Do their busy schedules, people need their food, groceries and even liquor delivered to their doorstep.
Food delivery services have exploded in recent years. The best delivery app jobs will pay you up to $25 an hour to deliver groceries and other goods to people who don’t or can’t leave their homes to do shopping themselves.
It’s free to sign up and the process is similar across the apps – download the delivery app, create an account and set-up a payment method. Once verified, you can make money on your own terms.
Notable mentions include Instacart, DoorDash, Shipt, Postmates and Uber Eats.
Rideshare Driver
Do you like driving around town and meeting new people? If so, you might want to check out rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft that will pair you with people who need rides.
So how do these apps work? When people contact Uber or Lyft for a ride, the app searches their drivers’ database in that particular town or city. The driver closest to the rider gets the first opportunity to pick up the rider.
If that driver is not available for any reason, the app will contact the next closest driver. In other words, you get to pick which rides you take and which you don’t.
Your job will be to help people get to their destinations. When you drop the passenger off, you let the app know to get paid for the ride. Payment is usually every week.
Your earnings will depend on how many miles you clock up – the more you drive, the more money you make. It’s also possible to drive for both apps simultaneously
Another perk is being able to set your own schedule. You can open the app only when you’re available or in the mood to drive others around.
The requirements are pretty much similar: you must be at least 21 years of age, have an eligible 4-door car, own an iPhone or Android phone, have a valid driver’s license with at least a year of driving experience, and carry insurance on your car.
To check Lyft’s state-by-state requirements, click here.
To see Uber’s, click here.
Rent Your Car Out
If you rarely use your car, consider offering it for short-term rentals to travelers. You could make some quick money just by making your car available to people who need it.
Turo is a car rental online platform that will connect you with such people.
How much you’ll earn will depend on factors like your location, the make and model of your car, the year and the amount of time a driver rents it out for.
As the car owner, expect to get 65-85 percent of the total trip price.
Carpooling
You can get paid to carpool in select cities.
For example, if you live in the Washington D.C. area, carpoolers earn incentives called pool rewards to reduce traffic and pollution.
It’s not just D.C. Other states or metro areas may offer similar rewards. Google search “get paid to carpool in (your city)” or visit your state’s government website for opportunities.
Or just ask around and let people pay for gas. Put up notices in public places or at work to find riders. You could earn money in the process if you get enough riders.
While it pays, carpooling programs won’t pay you as much as you’d earn using the aforementioned ways. But it’s still extra money in your pocket, which is a good thing!
So now you have an idea of how you can turn your daily commute into a money-making trip. Remember, as a driver, you need to adhere to the regulations specified by the company.
Summary
Have you ever worked with any car wrapping company on this list? How was your experience and how much money did you make?
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