When the first version of Midjourney was released back in July 2022, it immediately attracted a large number of AI enthusiasts. People were using this AI model simply because it was fun. Since then, a lot has changed and many users began making money solely off their Midjourney prompting skills.
Today, I'm going to talk about how you can leverage your Midjourney skills to start making money.
Before I get into the details, I want to mention that you should first develop good skills in Midjourney before you attempt to make money from them. I've seen many cases in which people are amazed at how good the Midjourney AI model is and think they can immediately start making bank.
There are countless people across the world who are currently leveraging their prompting skills to make money. A lot of them have been using Midjourney for more than a year and have picked up a significant amount of knowledge on how the model works.
In my personal experience, I became confident in my prompting skills only six months after I first started using Midjourney. And in those six months, I experimented with the model several hours per day.
How to Start Making Money With Midjourney
I view using Midjourney as a superior interactive learning experience. I get to use different art styles and aesthetics, combine them, and then observe the results all in less than a minute. This makes it incredibly efficient to learn new things.
Every time I try to create something I haven't before in Midjourney, I always look for relevant information online. For instance, if I want to create abstract art, I spend hours researching the topic and find either useful information or interesting keywords I can use in my prompts. This is a never-ending cycle, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
So, I'm writing all of this to let you know one thing - to start making money with Midjourney, you have to become really good at interacting with this AI model.
You have to learn how to write good prompts, and you have to learn how and when to use Midjourney parameters. You also need to have a lot of knowledge about aesthetics and keywords that can make your AI-generated images better. And the only way to learn all of this is to use Midjourney regularly for an extended period.
One more thing I want to address is that you should be completely transparent about the fact that you use Midjourney for creating images. Transparency goes a long way and will always lead to respect.
7 Ways to Make Money With Midjourney
Now that I've addressed everything I wanted to, it's time to get straight to the point. How can you make money with Midjourney? There are several ways to do it, and I'm sure people will find even more strategies to utilize their prompting skills in the future. But for now, here are the top 7 ways to make money with Midjourney.
Design Logos
You can design beautiful logos in Midjourney. The easy way to do it would be simply to describe the logo you want to see in layman's terms.
However, if you want to sell your AI-generated logos, I believe that you should take the time to write quality prompts that will help create designs that stand out.
The first thing you should do when you're creating a logo in Midjourney is define the type. When broken up into popular categories, you can say that some of the most common types of logos include pictorial marks, emblems, lettermarks, combination marks, abstract logos, and mascot logos.
If you want to learn more about the different types of logos that exist and learn useful tips on how to write good prompts for logos in Midjourney, I have an excellent article on that topic. I suggest that you read it if you plan on selling AI-generated logos.
I'd also recommend that you use one or two parameters at least to get truly unique results. Of course, you should do this only when it makes sense. I believe that the best way to learn how to use Midjourney is through prompt examples. That's why I'm going to show you how to write a good Midjourney logo prompt with the following example:
/imagine emblem logo for a data security company, anthropomorphic parrot that's a top secret agent wearing glasses and holding a briefcase filled with top secret documents, flat design, 2D logo, polished, peculiar --weird 50 --s 150 --c 15
Let's say that you've been approached by a data security software company in need of a new logo. The company either has the word 'parrot' in its name or their brand mascot is a parrot. In this scenario, you would probably aim to write a prompt similar to the one above.
Let's break down the prompt.
I started it off by writing the type of logo I was looking for and provided context as to what type of company it was for. I then described how I imagined the character in the prompt, followed by certain keywords that provide additional instructions as to how the logo should be designed.
I finished the prompt with three different parameters. I assigned a low weird parameter value to introduce a bit of randomness and uniqueness to the generated image. I slightly increased the stylization value from the default 100 to make the logo more artistic.
Finally, I assigned a chaos parameter value because I wanted the initial image grid to feature mild variety so that when I run the prompt several times, I'd increase my chances of finding the right logo.
That's pretty much what I was thinking as I was writing the prompt.
Sell Custom Art Prints
The print-on-demand market is quite popular and can be your ticket to making big bucks from your Midjourney prompting skills. With platforms like Redbubble, Teelaunch, and Printful, you can have your designs featured on a wide range of products.
Some of the most popular items you can feature your designs on include phone cases, T-shirts, and mugs. The reason why so many people choose these products for print on demand is because they're cheap to the end seller, which increases the likelihood of it being sold.
You will have the option to choose which products you want your designs featured on. The next part is tricky, as it involves actually selling these items. You can do this either through your personal website or on big online marketplaces like Etsy and Amazon.
It's up to you to decide which strategy you're going to go with. I've spoken with a few people who decided to use the print-on-demand method to make money from their Midjourney images, and they've found the most success on Etsy.
It's recommended that you also start an account on at least one popular social media platform if you plan to sell your customized art prints. This will make it easier for you to build an audience and market your products.
Sell NFTs
Do you enjoy making digital art or interesting characters in Midjourney? If so, you might be able to find a market for your images if you dive deep into the NFT space. There are many AI artists who are currently selling their work on different blockchains.
From what I could gather on Twitter, the most popular blockchains for selling AI art include Tezos, Ethereum, and Solana.
What's great about this approach is that you could develop a certain style and then become known in the space. You will have to put in a lot of work to stand out from the crowd and build a following, but it can definitely pay off. The best social media platform to market your NFTs is without a doubt Twitter.
If you don't know what an NFT is, I suggest you read my article on Midjourney prompts for NFT art. It will bring you closer to the concept, and you'll see some interesting prompt examples.
I personally don't make or sell NFTs, but if I were to do it I would most likely focus on making digital art. I'd also always use the default aspect ratio because nearly all of the NFTs I've seen so far (and I've seen a lot) feature the 1:1 aspect ratio.
I'll show an example of a Midjourney NFT prompt. For this example, I'll create an abstract art piece.
/imagine abstract art, the iterative process, sequences that keep repeating until perfection is achieved, the perfect design, abnormal, atypical, unusual, neopunk aesthetic, vibrant colors --s 250 --w 150 --c 25
I like to use the combination of these three parameters when it makes sense to do so. I also think carefully about how I'm going to structure the prompt.
If I'm making abstract art, I won't be describing exactly which objects I want to see in an image. Instead, I'll be describing the idea behind the image I want to see generated.
Sell Game Asset Designs
The popularity of indie games has been on the rise for years. It's now more affordable than ever before to make your own game from scratch. There have been many examples of popular indie games that were created mostly by one developer.
One of the ways you can utilize your skills in Midjourney is to create AI-generated game assets. I actually wrote about this in-depth in my article on Midjourney prompts for game assets. You can read it if you want to find out some additional information as well as see numerous prompt examples.
You can create either sprite sheets or individual assets for video games in Midjourney. Some of these assets can be directly used. Most notably, you can use 2D pixelated assets you create in Midjourney.
If you want to create complex 3D assets, then they will serve only as inspiration or a reference image to a 3D designer. But that doesn't mean you can't sell the designs. Some developers are looking for unique assets that look cool and will gladly pay for a reference image.
Provide Services on Fiverr
As far as I'm aware, Fiverr is the freelance marketplace that first decided it was going to give a lot of attention to creators who use AI tools. Since AI-powered tools became popular, Fiverr has put immense focus on this industry. And it definitely paid off.
You can find many jobs on Fiverr that involve using AI tools. In most cases, you won't be able to make a lot of money from a single job. But you can complete multiple jobs in a single day without putting in too much effort.
Although you can find a lot of jobs on this platform that involve using several different AI tools, the most popular category is dedicated to AI artists. Midjourney is arguably the most popular platform, but you can also sell AI-generated art you made using DALL-E and Stable Diffusion.
Sell Your Prompts
Did you know that you can sell your Midjourney prompts online?
Despite attracting an impressive number of buyers and sellers, it seems that prompt marketplaces still haven't reached a significant level of popularity. And that's why it might be worth it to make a name for yourself on one of these marketplaces now, before they really take off.
The way these marketplaces work is that you upload AI-generated images that were created usually with a complex prompt. When I say complex prompt, I mean one that features aesthetics tokens or keywords that aren't really popular but can produce incredible designs.
At the time of writing this article, the most popular prompt marketplace online is PromptBase. You can find a lot of people who are interested in either buying or selling prompts on this website.
The people who sell their prompts often include a description of how to use the prompt properly or make slight changes to it. There are many interested buyers because they can get a great prompt for a few bucks that they can then modify to make countless images without having to spend a lot of time learning how to properly use Midjourney.
The sellers are also motivated to sell their prompts because when you're experienced you can literally write an extremely good prompt in a minute.
I couldn't even imagine prompt marketplaces being a thing a year ago, but here we are. I suspect that the popularity of marketplaces like this will only continue to grow in the future and will be bigger than most people can imagine.
Create an AI-Themed Social Media Account
If you create an account on social media that you use to promote your AI-generated work as well as engage with other community members, you may encounter some incredible opportunities.
The best part about it is that you'll be doing what you love and picking up knowledge from other people along the way. If you use X/Twitter to promote your AI-generated images, you can even make money from impressions.
Although you can't make a lot of money from this unless you have a big following, you'll surely be able to cover your Midjourney plan and try other paid AI tools if you qualify for X payments.
But even if you use TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, or any other social media platform, you'll surely be able to attract followers if you're consistent. This will make it easier for you to make money if you decide to launch a course. You can even set up a donations page.
But one of the best feelings is when someone sends you a DM and asks you to design something in Midjourney for money. It's always unexpected and truly a pleasant surprise.
Final Thoughts
If you have good Midjourney prompting skills, I advise that you at least consider trying to utilize them to make money. There are several ways you can do this, and it's up to you to figure out which method you're most comfortable using.
One thing I want to reiterate is that you should always be transparent that you're using an AI model to create images. If you're using Midjourney, you should never mislead people into thinking you created them any other way.
Another important thing to remember is that you should take the time to learn how to write prompts properly before you start charging money for them. Even if you start learning today, you'll still be ahead of an overwhelming majority of people who it might take years to catch up to the tools in the AI space.
In case you're not sure where to start learning to write Midjourney prompts, I suggest that you read some of the other articles on my website. They cover a large range of topics and collectively contain hundreds of unique prompt examples.
