The best piece of advice I ever got was to embrace new technologies as much as possible. This is especially true if you want to make money online. If you take the time to learn about something new that most other people aren't paying attention to, you'll increase your odds of being successful.
However, becoming successful takes a lot of determination. Some people don't want to work that hard and that's completely okay. You can also embrace new technologies and learn how to use them if you want to make a quick and easy buck. At the time of writing this article, there aren't many people who use text-to-image tools like Stable Diffusion.
If you take the time to learn how to write good prompts and understand how this technology works, you can start making money faster than it takes you to develop almost any other skill that can get you paid. In this article, I will share 5 great strategies for making money with Stable Diffusion.
I want to emphasize that although it's arguably not that difficult to start making money from your prompting skills, you shouldn't expect it to happen overnight. It will still likely require you to spend months learning how to write the best prompts possible and develop your own unique style.
Can You Make Money With Stable Diffusion?
People are constantly looking for new side hustles nowadays. When I tell someone that I like to use Stable Diffusion and Midjourney to make a variety of images, the first thing they ask is whether they'd be able to start making money if they were to do the same thing.
The answer is that you can make money from this, but not everybody will be able to do it. One thing to keep in mind is that a tool like Stable Diffusion XL has become so advanced that no matter what you write in your prompt, the model will usually create a beautiful image for it. Don't confuse that with the level your prompting skills are at.
It takes a lot of practice to create images that truly stand out. You'll need to do significant research on image composition, art styles, aesthetic tokens, and so on. On top of that, you will have to work on making your prompts as concise as possible while including all the important information needed to create the image that you want.
People often underestimate how difficult it is to write unique prompts over a long period of time. Almost everybody who tries using these tools has enough inspiration to write a lot of prompts during the first few weeks. But try doing that for several months or a year and you'll see that it's not as easy as it seems.
These are some of the things I had to mention as a preface to the main part of the article. But now that you understand what you can expect going into this, let's talk about how you can make money from your Stable Diffusion prompting skills.
5 Great Ways to Make Money With Stable Diffusion
This section of the article will focus on the 5 best ways to make money by utilizing your prompting skills in Stable Diffusion. The list is in no particular order and you should only choose a way that you would feel comfortable doing for an extended period of time.
Sell Your Prompts
This is arguably the easiest way to make money if you're good at prompting in Stable Diffusion. However, there is a limit to how much you can earn by using this strategy because the prompt marketplace still hasn't become really popular. That's not to say that you can't earn any money. In fact, there isn't too much competition here, so if you're good at writing prompts you'll easily stand out.
There are a few different prompt marketplaces on the internet. I have no doubt that there will be many more as time goes on and generative AI models become increasingly popular. The most famous prompt marketplace right now is a website called PromptBase. You can use it to sell your prompts for Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, ChatGPT, and more.
The good thing about this strategy is that you can literally just create a profile on the platform and start posting your designs. Each design will be tied to a prompt that customers will have to buy in order to unlock. That means that you can upload a variety of different designs and let interested buyers discover you, thus providing you with passive income.
Of course, I wouldn't advise you to just upload completely random designs. Take at least a few hours to thoroughly research what other artists are selling on the platform. Make sure you also track what type of designs there is demand for. This research will be vital for creating a good strategy on what to create and sell.
Sell Digital Art
Since the beginning of the age of social media on the internet, artists have been able to easily connect with fans all across the globe. This completely changed the way everything from music to visual art was consumed.
There used to be a time when it was almost impossible for an artist to share their creations with the world without at least several other people "discovering" them and getting their piece of the pie. The internet, and especially social media platforms, changed that completely. Artists today can market, promote, and sell their art online and keep 100% of the profit.
Although you can't expect to grow a following if you don't spend much time on social media, you now have an opportunity as an artist that wasn't even imaginable several decades ago. On top of that, NFTs have made it easier than ever before to sell art. If you've heard this term but aren't sure what it means and how to leverage the technology, I suggest that you do some research on the topic because it might help you generate income.
It's not easy to make digital art. You have to spend a ton of time honing your skills and expressing yourself creatively. You also have to do significant research on how generative AI models work in order to write the best possible instructions in your prompts.
I'm personally not an AI artist. I like to educate more than I like to create. However, I do have a lot of experience with writing prompts. I also have an understanding of how generative AI models work. But I don't have the time or desire to promote my artwork. I will share a few pieces in this article to inspire you though.
prompt:Â magnificent digital painting that showcases an ancient temple perched atop a mountain, surrounded by lush gardens and celestial wonders
I wrote this prompt a few days prior to starting this article and I really liked how the image turned out. I knew I wanted to use it in one of my articles and felt like this was the perfect spot to include it. Notice how you don't have to write a complex prompt to generate a good result. In fact, I believe that prompts should be concise. But that's not to say that I don't write longer prompts than the one you see above. Let me share another example I wrote.
prompt: dynamic and action-packed digital illustration of a high-tech, futuristic samurai duel in a cybernetic dojo, highlighting the contrast between traditional samurai aesthetics and advanced technology, capturing the intensity and precision of the battle, sci-fi, futuristic, dystopian
This is a longer prompt that resulted in the creation of this stunning piece of digital art. There are many different keywords that I used to create the aesthetic you see here. These keywords include 'futuristic', 'high-tech', 'cybernetic', 'sci-fi', 'dystopian', and so on. You should make it a habit to include relevant keywords in prompts when possible to create better results. Doing this will make the generated images more unique.
The strategy I see people using for selling AI-generated art usually includes posting their various artworks on social media platforms until they get a following and then selling them as NFTs. There are also some who sell printed versions of their artworks.
Sell Logo Designs
Stable Diffusion XL is pretty amazing at generating logo designs. As long as you have a great idea, you can write a relatively simple prompt and the AI model will make a stunning logo design from it. If you don't believe me, you can check out my article on Stable Diffusion prompts for logos where I share many different designs.
I will also share two new prompt examples in this article. But first, let me share a bit of insight on how to create logo designs in Stable Diffusion. First of all, you'll have to do some research and learn about the different types of logos that are used today.
Secondly, you need to learn the terminology used in graphic design to give better instructions to the AI model. Finally, you'll need to dedicate months to expressing your creativity and imagination to create the best designs possible. I'm not an expert in graphic design and I cover a lot of topics on this website. I have created hundreds of different logos with text-to-image models so far, but if you want to earn money from something like this you'll need to make many more designs.
With that being said, let's check out the two prompt examples I wrote and prepared for you today.
prompt: pictorial mark logo of a stylized VR headset with virtual landscapes within, signifying the immersive world of virtual reality technology
This is a really nice design in my opinion. In fact, I'm not sure why a VR company hasn't come up with a similar idea and used it for a logo so far. Maybe a small company has, and I'm simply not aware of it. Anyway, this type of logo would easily attract potential customers who are interested in VR.
Here's the other prompt example for logo design that I was talking about.
prompt: abstract mark logo of a sleek, minimalistic circuit board forming the shape of a globe, representing global tech solutions and connectivity
This one is a bit different compared to the previous logo design. As I previously mentioned in this article, the most important thing when you're writing prompts like this is that you have a great idea that you can describe in a clear and concise manner. You can also specify an art style, color palette, or include any additional relevant information in the prompt that you think would make the design better.
There are at least several different freelancing platforms where you can sell logo designs. However, I must note that you should always mention that you create these designs using generative AI technology. Some people are completely fine with that, and others are not. While this tech is still new, it's imperative that you be transparent about how you create what you're selling.
Sell Game Asset Designs
I have an article in which I share my Stable Diffusion prompts for game assets. In that article, I talk about how to write prompts for both 2D and 3D game assets, as well as asset bundles.
Today, it's easier to create a video game than ever before. Small independent teams have been crushing it these last several years and have inspired many to try and do the same thing. However, these small teams have a ton of stuff to work on, so it's normal if they want or have to hire a few freelancers to assist them with their projects.
If you want to express your creativity by coming up with unique game asset designs, you can use Stable Diffusion XL to create some beautiful items. The designs you create will serve mostly as concept art, but it can be a great way to make a quick buck. You can find jobs like this on a variety of freelance platforms from Fiverr to Upwork.
Set Up an Etsy Store
A lot of online entrepreneurs today made an Etsy store as their first side hustle. It's actually impressive how well these stores can do when you have an audience on social media. In essence, you should use the same strategy I shared in the section for selling digital art.
The first step is to share your artwork on social media platforms in an attempt to gather a following. You should also share advice with other AI artists on how you write and structure your prompts since that will also help you gain more followers. After you build an audience, you can start featuring your designs on a variety of products ranging from phone cases to T-shirts. This is incredibly easy to do when you have an Etsy account.
There are also other platforms that you can use to essentially print your designs on a variety of different products. These platforms include Printful, Redbubble, and Teelaunch. Another thing that you can do is create your own personal online store where you can sell products that feature your designs.
Being successful on Etsy or any similar platform requires a lot of work, so it shouldn't be taken lightly. Before you even think about making a profit, you should focus all your energy on organically growing your audience on social media as much as possible.
Final Thoughts
If I'm being completely honest, it's probably difficult to generate enough profit as an AI artist to replace your main job at the moment. It'll probably take some time before demand for AI artists increases significantly and you start making big bucks. With that being said, creating designs with text-to-image AI tools can be a great side hustle.
Apart from being able to make money with these AI-powered tools, you can also learn a lot of valuable information by using them on a regular basis. You will also become more creative as you try to come up with new and original concepts every day.
It's up to you to decide exactly how you want to make money with your prompting skills. What I would advise is to find something that you're good at and continue mastering it. If you're into logo design, then you shouldn't put too much effort into creating any other types of images. Instead, put your focus on logos and you'll notice your skills improving consistently over time.
