Your drone is not just for taking great vacation pictures anymore. It is a versatile tool that can serve as the foundation for a profitable side job or even a full-fledged business. Are you ready to reveal the earning capacity of your UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)? This article will unveil to you 10 new and trending methods on how you can monetize your drone skills and make money out of it. Starting with stunning stock aerial photography and ending with amazing film cinematography, we will introduce you to the vast sphere of commercial drone usage.
Table of Contents
It doesn’t matter what kind of drone you have with you when it
comes to making money out of it. Beginners should consider
getting a cheaper, lighter, and smaller drone, such as the DJI
Mini 4 Pro, which is slightly under 249g and hence does not
need to be registered. As you start earning the cash, it is
advisable to upgrade to better models in the long run. Thus, you
can apply any of the mentioned money-making strategies to
monetize your hobby.
1. Stock Aerial Photos & Videos
The easiest way to make money from your drone is by selling your aerial photographs and videos through stock marketplaces. This opportunity enables owners of drones to make good use of the footage that they have captured by posting the videos in areas where buyers can make purchases. It makes market entry very easy and fast, without the need for many procedures or infrastructure to be put in place.
Start by signing up for the leading stock photo sites, such as Shutterstock, Getty Images, Pond5, DroneStock.com, and
ArcGrid. These are the online marketplaces through which users
upload and sell videos captured by drones. Every sale makes commissions, and that means the individuals who are into hobbyist mode and the true commercial content makers as well get paid.
2. Wedding & Event Photography
Drone photography, particularly for weddings and events, has
become very common and provides angles that are not easily achievable with normal photography. If you want to earn money as soon as possible, consider aerial photography for weddings and events as your line of business. However, the field is highly saturated, and this requires a high level of performance to be achieved.
It is advisable to start by developing your portfolio. For instance, shooting your friends’ weddings for free. This not only fine-tunes your skills but is also useful in collecting testimonials and recommendations that are vital in securing paid work at a
later date.
Drone wedding photography is very lucrative, and the common
package attracts between $500 and $3200. To do this, ensure
that you acquire good equipment that will satisfy clients, learn
new techniques in service provision, and make your services
easily accessible to clients.
3. Infrastructure Inspection
To make money on drone infrastructure inspection, target
industries that require frequent inspection of structures, such as
energy (power lines, wind turbines), construction (bridges,
buildings), oil and gas (pipelines), telecommunications (cell
towers), and agriculture (irrigation systems).
Ensure that the drones in your inventory are top-notch ones with high-resolution cameras, thermal imaging, and LiDAR. Obtain the required licenses, like the Remote Pilot Certificate and, for those in the United States, Part 107 Certification.
Market the services efficiently through the development of a professional website and contacts with clients. Emphasize the
increased efficiency and cost-effectiveness of using drones for
inspections compared to conventional techniques to gain clients.
Drone inspection requires high-level skills. To get started,
consider these courses:
Aerial Drone Inspections Virtual Training – DARTdrones: If you are interested in taking a course about drone inspections, this is a perfect opportunity to do so while being at home. This is so because the course entails topics such as the application of aerial inspection, safety and efficiency of flights, and data capturing.
UAS/Drone Structure Inspector Certification – Whittier, CA (TBD) – Dronitek: This is a 2-day course which will assist students to understand fundamentals of Infrastructural Aerial Inspection. The course entails the basics of aerial inspections, their sequence and establishing prices for audit of building & structure assets such as roofs, towers, bridges, power lines, solar panels and many more.
Drone Cell Tower Inspection Training 2 – Wireless Infrastructure – ABJ Drone Academy: This course is intended for the target audience that wants to know more about drone cell tower inspections. The course also includes the information about the types of cell towers, the risks of flying near the cell towers and ways to obtain high quality data of the cell towers.
Drone Inspections – Drone Masterclass Academy: This is an introductory course on inspection with drones. The materials of the course include the types of inspections that can be conducted, the drones and additional tools that are necessary for performing the task, and how to collect good quality data.
4. Sporting Events
Covering sporting events is one of the most profitable ways to earn money. This way, you can generate some income by providing coverage for events. Improve the event broadcasts by incorporating live streams that capture aerial views, as well as the event promotion through the sharing of promotional event videos on social networks.
In today’s sports industry, drone technology plays a crucial role in improving coverage across various sports such as cricket, football, and hockey. The competition is very high, and any new entrant who wants to land important deals must develop a good portfolio. This usually starts by choosing local sporting events to cover and being compensated nothing. This way you can build a good portfolio.
Once you are on your own and gaining more work experience, individuals and companies that organize sports events will approach you. This makes it possible for you to chase larger contracts based on the experience you have gained and other factors that come into play in the market.
5. Drone Mapping
Drone mapping is a highly specialized and profitable business
that provides services helpful to agriculture, construction, and
real estate projects. In the fields of agriculture, they assist in
detecting crop status, soil status, and irrigation, increasing
production efficiency and cutting expenses.
In construction, they play an important role in site surveys, observing the project progress, and measuring the volume, which increases efficiency and security. The members of the real estate industry rely on drone maps to generate their site plans and property
specifics. These services make a point of satisfying the increasing need for quality mapping services, thus making drone mapping a lucrative business venture.
You need to obtain a general drone license Certificate to get
started. There are several Drone Mapping Courses out there on
the internet, you can check them. To get started you can watch
the video below.
6. Teach Drone Flying
It is possible to make good money by teaching people how to fly drones, and there are several avenues to reach the students. It is possible to conduct classes or training sessions, either live or remotely, educating participants on flight handling, safety measures, and photography maneuvers. There are open platforms like Udemy where one can publish courses; building a website centered around drone education is also possible. To sum up, creating a YouTube channel also provides an opportunity to educate a wide audience that has an interest in operating drones.
7. Advertise Hotels & Resorts
The hotels and resorts have found that they could use aerial videos instead of photos since the drones do a much better job when it comes to the location, and they find it very appealing for guests. For instance, if the hotel or resort is situated close to the beaches, drone photography can help provide images of the beach as well as those of the hotel or resort. However, most hotels do not have full-time in-house pilots who would film and produce this marketing material. This is where you can capitalize.
To begin with, you could send an email to the hotels of the locals and try to offer your services for free to create a portfolio. Based on this, it could lead to referral business, and later, one can fix relatively high prices for the services rendered. But you should just keep in mind that for this, you are going to require photo and video editing skills and the ability to create content that will be liked by hotels.
8. Drone YouTube Channel
Create a YouTube channel that is focused on drones. Upload
video contents such as tutorials on drone flying and tips for capturing the best shots. This way, you can attract a broad audience. Monetize your channel through ads, sponsored content, and affiliate marketing. Engage with your audience by providing valuable content, and over time, you can build a loyal following and generate substantial income.
9. Agricultural Monitoring
Specialized cameras and sensors mounted on drones can furnish crop health details, soil conditions, and irrigation requirement information to farmers so they will be in a position to make better choices, which will eventually enhance their crop output while minimizing the cost of production. To begin with, one should buy a drone that is designed for agriculture, such as one with multispectral imaging capabilities.
Ensure that you have received whatever certifications you require and understand the fundamentals of agricultural data analysis. Advertise your services locally, targeting farms and agribusinesses, by expounding on what precision agriculture has to offer. You may also gain a significant role in the agricultural industry if you engage in continuous monitoring coupled with comprehensive reports.
10 Film Industry
Drones have caused a revolution in the film industry. They offer unique aerial views that were hard and costly to get before. Filmmakers now use drones to shoot opening scenes, action parts, and moving shots that make stories better. To start in this field, you need to sharpen your flying skills and learn about film methods.
Building a portfolio as well as networking with local filmmakers
and production companies can also lead to opportunities. As you gain experience and credibility, you can pursue larger projects and potentially work on feature films, commercials, or documentaries, offering your drone services as a valuable asset in film production.
