Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
If you’re a regular cyclist around town, you can make some easy extra cash by putting advertising on your bike!
This is a simple way to make money whilst you’re just going about your day.
Here are the five steps towards making money advertising on your bike (as well as getting your daily exercise!) by cycling.
If you don’t already have a decent bicycle, consider a second hand one from Gumtree or Cycling Weekly online.
If you are a working adult, you can also save some money off the cost of a bike by enrolling for cycle-to-work-scheme. A similar scheme that allows you to buy a bike and ride to work at a discounted price is green commute initiative.
Minimise the starting costs in this respect, but make sure you have everything you need to service your bike yourself and keep things in good order. After all, the aim is to use the bike daily, to maximise your value to a potential advertiser.
It can be very worthwhile to ask a bike repair shop or someone similar for some hints and tips to make sure you pick the best possible bike for you and one that you can maintain well.
Before you are too gung-ho about your cycling adventures, make sure you understand the road rules and how to keep yourself safe as a cyclist. This is especially important if you’re in a major city, where traffic and congestion can be real problems for commuting cyclists or frequently cycling down narrow country lanes where cars often go faster than they should.
Have a read of UK safety hints and suggestions from Think! before venturing out. Don’t forget your helmet and lights (if cycling at night)!
You should also consider taking out insurance on your bike as you’re going to be using it a lot, and relying on it for income. You can compare bike insurance quotes here.
To make money advertising on your bike to sign up for a service like Ads on Bikes. You’ll need to create a free account online and enter your information as fully as possible to register for potential ad placements. It’s simple to do online and once you’re accepted, you will be sent opportunities to follow up.
The aim for companies that take up these schemes is to engage in eco-friendly advertising possibilities, and have their products seen around town in a more dynamic way than a simple billboard!
For some companies you will have to travel to mount the sticker onto your bike and then go there again at the end of the campaign to remove the sticker, so if you live quite a distance away this could be a problem, but it’s perfect if you’re in the city!
Once you sign up for these services, you will have to wait for approval and for advertisers to take up a placement on your bike. You’ll then be sent an advert to attach to your bicycle, and once you’ve done that, you’re ready to go!
Remember, always check reviews of a company before signing up to one – you’ve got to be on the look out for people trying to rip you off at all times!
Factors determining how much you will earn include:
You shouldn’t expect to make huge amounts of money advertising on your bike, just a little extra cash to supplement your other forms of income. Adbike say the average payment is £30 a month, with most of their cyclists riding an average 62 miles a month (if you do this, you’ll also be burning off 13,500 calories a month – which will make you feel good!)
If you have a flair for cycling and coming up with interesting information about the major sites in your city, you could start a bike riding tour group to make some extra cash!
It takes a little planning and some self-marketing (maybe you could use your bike!), but once you have a few people on board you can start making excellent extra cash with this neat little side gig. Combine your fitness, knowledge and a chance at extra income.
You can also add on the chance to deliver items on your bike as an added revenue stream. Explore sites like Ecourier, where there are regular requests for new couriers to deliver items (particularly in London).
There is also a whole section of Indeed dedicated to bike courier jobs, many of which will see you make money advertising on your bike and offer flexible working hours.
This way, you can add on work for whenever you’re in need, working around your schedule!
Once you’ve signed up to an advertising company, started a group, or found a courier service to dedicate your talents to, all that’s left to do is go out and get cycling! The great benefit of using your bike as a revenue source is that it’s flexible, you’re in control, and you can do as much or as little as suits you.
Another way to make money advertising on your bike is by customising it. You can do this by changing the color of the pedals, cranks and stems. You can also add stickers on the decals, spray paint, add spokes of different colors, etc.
As you ride it, bike lovers are going to notice your finished work and will enquire how to do it. You can then offer to do it for a fee. Through word of mouth your clients will increase, and you might end up actually opening a workshop to customize bikes.
Get your bike in order, make sure you’re comfortable on the roads, and you can benefit from this great way of combining fitness with making extra cash.
Are there any other websites or apps that do ads on bikes?
My bike and I are 120+ miles apart – but when we ger reunited – I think this may be one for me
Interesting idea to advertise using your bike.