How to Make Extra Money in Event Promotions and as a Brand Ambassador

The most profitable, and often the most fun way I have found to make a little extra cash on the weekend is doing promotional work on a contracting basis. I first read about this in Jane magazine and scoured craigslist ads applying to work for companies that hire promotional models and brand ambassadors (as they call them in the industry).

My first job was a 3 day stint working for a promotional company called Event ProStrategies at a fairly local raceway track at an NHRA event. The company I worked for was called the National Tailgaters Association (yes, it really does exist). I arrived at time on the first day and found, surprisingly, that I there was only one other female working with me and three young men. We were all under 25 years old, although the ad for the job specified you had to be less than 35 years old. When you sign up with these individual companies they ask for a recent photo of you, a resume, and any relevant event promotion experience although I do not think they are very discriminating when it comes to your sex and appearance. The duties of the job included helping set up and take down the set in the parking lot everyday, and throughout the day we were sent out to walk around the parking lot and ask tailgaters to sign up to become a member of the tailgaters association. Since most of the attendees of this event were male, this is where having more male event promoters did not come in handy. As the event progressed other duties included passing out flyers for the band that was along on the tailgaters association tour, handing out samples of food that sponsored the tour, and getting people to give us their address, phone number and email address anyway possible.

After this event I have worked all types of promotional events including: handing out spam samples, handing out Willy Wonka candy samples at a mall, and working promo for the National Guard at a local college. Some are clearly more fun than others and generally you are given a free t-shirt to wear and sent home with free product. While I only worked short weekend stints for these events, many people go out on tour traveling regions of the country and setting up and conducting these events all over. (Although clearly this becomes a full time job at this point). The best part about these events is the pay which far exceeds the amount that most part time jobs offer. The pay is anywhere from $15 to $22 an hour depending on the company and the event. In addition, the money is tax free since you are an independent contractor and responsible for paying your own taxes. The company only reports your earnings if you make $600 or more working for them. The only issue there is the time it takes to receive your payment. It can take anywhere from 15 to 45 days and it all depends on the company and how they pay. Unfortunately I have been told that many companies are taking longer and longer to pay and in the very rare case are not paying at all. You certainly do take this risk and as an independent contractor you are responsible for collecting your own money due. In this respect, there is a website called eventspeak.com where event promoters can network and discuss good and bad companies to work for. This is also a good place to find local jobs that you can not find on craigslist or through direct e-mail from the companies.

Overall, despite the bad reputation a few companies might give regarding payment issues I have found the work to be enjoyable and I have never worked for a company that did not pay. I highly recommend to anyone that loves to be around people to seek part time employment or intermittent employment this way. You should begin by scouring craigslist or event speak to start out.