University marks an interesting phase in one’s life. You get to be independent, meet new people, and acquire life skills. This can come with great financial responsibility which usually falls on one’s parents and guardians. 

While there is wrong with relying on relatives, sometimes life gets in the way. Bank transfers may not go through, and family emergencies could make sponsoring your stay in school harder for your parents. These issues make having your own source of income as a student very important.

In this article, we will look into some ways to earn money as a student living in Kenya. You may have heard of some of these strategies before, while others may have never crossed your mind. Either way, being open to trying out the ideas below can really help you attain financial independence. 

Let’s look into them.

1. Sell Digital Products

In today’s digital age, selling digital products is an easy way for students to generate income. Digital products are items that are delivered electronically, removing the need for physical inventory or delivery. They include e-books, online courses, stock photos, digital art, printables, and more.

Digital products are great because they are not very costly to make. Once you’ve created a digital product, you can sell it to an unlimited number of people without any additional production costs. If you are a student with limited time and resources, this is a very ideal option for you.

You can sell your digital product on platforms like Selar. Selar is an e-commerce platform that helps people sell their digital products online. With Selar’s intuitive user interface, uploading your digital products won’t be a hassle. This way, you can go about your day, attending lectures and other campus activities while making thousands of shillings a week!

Let’s say you notice a problem or need in your university environment. You could look into potential solutions for that problem and write an ebook about it. Once finished, you can promote your ebook on social media or use affiliates. With the right execution, other students would be willing to pay for it. You can also sell consultation tickets, test materials, templates and so much more! 

2. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is another idea you should consider as a Kenyan student. This activity involves promoting the goods and services of people to customers in exchange for a commission. For every customer who buys the product through your link, you get paid!

Let’s say a person does a review of an expensive camera and places their affiliate link in the description. If he gets a 10% commission and the camera was worth 6000 shillings, he’d have earned 600 shillings from every viewer who buys that camera through his link. Sounds amazing, right?

Before starting your affiliate marketing journey, there are a few things to consider, the most important of which is your affiliate marketing platform. Affiliate marketing would be impossible without a platform, so your job as an aspiring affiliate marketer is to look through the available sites and analyze their respective features and commissions. The choice is yours!

Selar has a great affiliate marketing platform you can explore. For just 900 KES per year, you can be part of the network, and promote products for people which will help you gain some passive income, and be a lot more financially independent. 

Next, you want to find a good product to sell – something appealing and profitable that you’re passionate about would be ideal. Passion plays a huge role in your success as an affiliate marketer. Without it, it would be hard to recover from setbacks.

Finally, you want to look at how to promote products and services through affiliate links. You want to make discovering the right affiliate marketing strategy your aim and for this, you’ll need to try out several different approaches to determine what works best. You could post your affiliate links on your social media, write a blog, or build an email list for affiliate marketing! Feel free to use any strategy that suits you best and adapt them to your needs. 

3. Copy/Content Writing

If you have a talent for writing, taking on one or two writing jobs can enhance your student life. You can try freelance writing or contract writing. Freelance writers work independently on a project-by-project basis, while contract writers have formal agreements with employers which are similar to regular jobs. Freelance writers are not tied to a particular organization, while contract-based writers have more job security. Each option has its benefits, so choose the one that fits you best. 

Your writing tasks can vary based on your interests and the needs of your clients. You can explore writing sales copy, technical articles, or creative pieces, depending on your niche and the assignment. Sometimes you’ll pitch ideas for articles, and other times you’ll be given specific topics to write about. For example, you might be assigned a topic like “10 Best Fruits to Help You Lose Weight” for a lifestyle brand. 

To succeed, research the topic thoroughly. If you’re a visual learner, read articles online; if you prefer audio-visual materials, watch YouTube videos related to the topic you’ve been given. Once you’re well-informed, write your article according to the provided guidelines. If the organization doesn’t give you any guidelines, consider drafting some to guide your writing. This will help you stay disciplined, and preserve a good standard of work.

After submission and editing, your article will be published, and you’ll be paid as per your contract. For instance, if you’re paid 8 shillings per word for a 1500-word article, you’d earn 12,000 shillings from that piece alone!

As you gain experience, you might want to consider expanding your business. One option is to hire and train other writers, thereby creating a small agency. This allows you to scale up your services, potentially earning more than you could on your own. You would then pay those writers from your earnings and enjoy increased income and flexibility.

4. Graphic Design

You may have heard about graphic design, but what does it entail exactly? Graphic design is the art of creating visual content to communicate messages or ideas. It involves combining text, images, and other elements to produce designs that are both aesthetically pleasing and effective in conveying information. 

As a graphic designer, you’ll create various visual materials such as logos, business cards, company profiles, and promotional content for businesses. Each project has specific requirements and rates, and your role is to meet those needs through your designs. 

To start your journey, you’ll have to learn how to use industry-standard, graphic design software like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Adobe Photoshop is an excellent tool for manipulating images. It allows you to do everything from enhancing colors to cutting out unwanted things from your photos. On the other hand, Adobe Illustrator is a great tool for creating vector graphics like logos, infographics, brochures, and illustrations! Aside from those two, there are a lot of other graphic design software at your disposal, some more complex to use than others. Canva is a graphic design software that is beginner-friendly. You can learn how to create basic posters, and social media content with it.  

When it comes to any form of creativity, it’s important to learn and stay inspired. Consume to content of other graphic designers, read widely, take courses, and meet with other designers to learn things that will help you improve your craft. 

Now that we have talked about the craft aspect, let’s discuss the money aspect. One way to make money as a student is to offer your graphic design services to event planners on campus. Perhaps they have an event coming up and may need a poster to advertise online and possibly print. You can reach out to them and discuss your terms. Be sure to do a great job when the opportunity arises! This way, they’ll be open to sharing your work with others and getting you more potential clients. You can also start a graphic design boutique on social media, and sell design template packages on Selar.

5. Web Design

When talking about web design, it’s easy to imagine it as a daunting task that will require you to learn programming languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP. You may feel discouraged just thinking about all the new libraries and technologies you’ll need to learn, but it doesn’t have to be that way. 

While it is great to have technical knowledge and know programming languages, the world is changing and content management systems like WordPress eliminate the need to design and code your own website. By using these systems, you can create beautiful, functional websites without any programming knowledge through the use of themes and plugins. Themes determine how a website will look while plugins control the functionality of the website. 

For example, someone could reach out to you with a web design job. In the job description, he could also ask for some website interactivity, something like clicking a WhatsApp icon to redirect people to his group chat or a popup notification asking visitors to subscribe to his newsletter. In the past, you’d need a combination of CSS and JavaScript to add such visual and interactive elements to your website, but now, no-code tools can do the same, and it’s a lot easier to learn!

Final Thoughts

Life in the university can be a wonderful time full of learning, socializing, and truly discovering who you are as a person. Having your own money enhances this experience, guiding you as you navigate adulthood, and giving you more access to opportunities.

As we’ve seen above, these benefits come with a price. The skills themselves are accessible and easy to learn. You need a device and internet connection to get started, but the commitment to learn and master these skills will be crucial to get financial freedom. 

There are hundreds of free YouTube videos that can teach you how to design or use WordPress. Watch them, then spend a lot of hours practicing. At the end of the day, you’ll thank yourself for investing time and effort into learning. 

Beyond traditional freelancing, consider selling digital products as a creator or an affiliate. Selling digital products like e-books, courses, or design templates, can provide a steady stream of passive income for you. To maximize your earning potential in these areas, Selar is an excellent platform to use. 

Selar simplifies the process of selling digital products by providing an easy-to-use interface, secure payment options, and marketing tools to help you reach a wider audience. By using Selar, you can focus on creating high-quality content while the platform handles the complexities of selling and delivering your products.

Investing in these opportunities not only enhances your university experience but also sets a strong foundation for your financial future. Start today, and you’ll soon see the rewards of your efforts!