5 Reasons It’s Easy to Earn Passive Income with Catch+Release Using Photos in Your Camera Roll

Every TikTok and Business Insider article tells you they’ve discovered the next best side hustle. Whether you’re already an avid side hustler or you’re curious to know what opportunities are out there, we want to show you what’s possible with Catch+Release.

First, let me explain what we do. We help brands license visual content that they don’t produce themselves. We do that by connecting them with people who capture photos and videos in their everyday lives. To be clear, we’re not facilitating influencer partnerships. We’re helping brands license content that already exists. These are photos and videos that people post online or that they share directly with Catch+Release. And they don’t have to be influencers. They can be regular people with day jobs, freelance photographers, small business owners, and really anyone who has a camera or a smartphone.

1. If You Take Pictures and Videos on Your Phone, You Qualify.

When our CEO and Founder, Analisa Goodin, previously worked in advertising finding existing content on the internet to use for campaigns, she noticed that brands were hungry for content made by consumers. Today this trend continues. Consumers have grown apprehensive toward traditional marketing tactics. Gen Z especially (the fastest growing consumer demographic, globally) gathers information and looks for recommendations from fellow consumers (like you) and wants to consume media produced by “normal” people rather than actors.

Therein lies the first benefit of joining our Creator Community: Brands are hungry for your content, and they come to Catch+Release looking for it. The video you took of your kid scoring the game-winning goal last weekend. The photo of you and your bridesmaids getting your makeup done. The video you took on vacation capturing the beauty of a quiet beach at sunrise. These are the kinds of shots that brands are scouring the internet for daily. Yes, daily. And they will pay well for it.

It’s easy to make money on this because you don’t have to do any extra work. All of the “goods” are sitting on your camera roll and social media profiles. We want your Instagram and TikTok posts. Think about the thousands of shots on your phone, too. All of that could make you some side cash. You could be sitting on the perfect shot that a brand wants to use in a commercial. If only they could find it!

Payal D. is a creator who makes funny videos about parenting, teaching, and fashion on TikTok. Even as someone who creates content regularly, she was speechless when Catch+Release told her that a well-known brand wanted to license one of her videos. “It’s such a cool opportunity to be approached about my content. I was like, ‘Whoa, are you serious?’ I just put this out there on my page, and then Catch+Release approached me on behalf of this huge brand. That’s insane! I really love the fact that this is organic content. I created it on my own, and then it was scouted.”

2. Our Platform and AI Technology Make It Extremely Easy to Get Your Content in Front of Brands

Joining the Creator Community is completely free. You’ll start by creating a profile, as with any online platform. You’ll pick a username and have the option to add a profile picture and personal bio. Once that’s done, it’s time to add content to your portfolio. The fastest way to do this is to connect your Catch+Release profile to your social media accounts. Anything you’ve posted there will automatically import to Catch+Release. Anything new you post will also show up in Catch+Release automatically.

You can also upload shots directly from your phone or computer, too. Log into Catch+Release from your device and pull straight from your camera roll. Once you’ve uploaded the content to your portfolio, you can sit back and relax. Our AI technology automatically analyzes your photos and videos to understand what is in the shot. When brands search our marketplace, we show them your content when it fits what they’re looking for. No need to write lengthy descriptions and dozens of hashtags for your posts so that people can find you.

In fact, our AI is so powerful that it does more than take into account the objects it sees in your content. It considers the emotional and situational elements in a shot. Let’s say you post a picture of a beach, where the clouds are overcast and the wind is blowing hard on the trees. If a brand looks up “gloomy day at the beach”, we’ll be able to populate your photo in the search results. Our AI search engine is prompted by more than just recognizable objects, because it considers the intent behind a search.

3. You Get Paid a Fair Compensation

Your content is more valuable to brands than you might think. Even if it only takes a second to snap a photo on your phone, you’re capturing something organic that brands would never be able to reproduce. Typically, brands build advertisements with either original production or stock content. As I mentioned earlier, consumers are less responsive to scripted advertisements and paid actors. Stock is definitely no better. Remember those cringe stock photos of Simu Liu that resurfaced in 2021?

At Catch+Release, we’re offering a much better alternative. The content that you can provide is genuine and unique. Brands are very willing to pay handsomely for it, too. Whether you’re casually snapping shots on your phone or you’re a seasoned photographer or filmmaker, we work with you to make sure you feel properly compensated, and we’ll advocate for you. So whether you’re posting a home video or a high resolution cityscape, you’re providing something valuable, and we believe that your payment should reflect that.

"Catch+Release truly values its creatives and their art. In the past, I've spent days uploading my photos and videos to other stock photo websites only to make a few cents. At Catch+Release the upload process is a lot simpler and the pay is a much better reflection of my art's worth.” That quote comes from Brandon Yavas, a creator based in Los Angeles, California.

Our founder, Analisa Goodin, and several members of the team are artists themselves, so protecting creators is in our DNA. “It brings a giant smile to my face when I get an email saying we’ve just paid another creator. This is why I started this company!” Analisa said this a few days ago in a message to the whole team.

4. You Stay in Control of Your Content

You see, the reason stock offers cheap pricing is because they pay the creators and models peanuts for it and also have them sign restrictive agreements. Simu Liu said on X (formerly Twitter), “[I] got paid 120 bucks and signed away all my rights to them because I was in credit card debt. Now they are everywhere.” Unfortunately, these types of deals and others like it — such as influencer brand deals — can be misleading or inflexible. Often in these situations, you don’t get to own the rights to your content after the deal is done.

In contrast, when you share content on the Catch+Release platform, you still own it. Even when you successfully license your content to a brand, you are still the legal copyright owner of the content. That means you might have the opportunity to license the content again or use it for other purposes in the future. Every time there’s an opportunity to license your content, we show you the details. You will know which company is interested in your content, how much money they’re offering you for it, what type of project they plan to use your content for, and how long they intend to use your content. If anything seems off to you, we can work with you to make sure that you feel comfortable. And even if you simply don’t want a particular brand to license your content, you don’t have to accept the offer.

Monicque Silva, a creator based in Sydney, Australia, has 40.8K followers and 5.2M likes on TikTok. She posts videos of her life, including her family and dog. Earlier this year, we helped her license a viral TikTok of her puppy dancing in anticipation of mealtime.

“As an avid creator, I’ve been approached by multiple companies that promised to take my content to new heights, but I was always left disappointed,” she explains. “I decided to take a chance with Catch+Release and never looked back — they’re incredible. The team was so comforting, addressed my concerns, and were empathetic about my prior experiences with other companies. They were reassuring and understanding, and most importantly, delivered on their promise by licensing my content. They truly care about creators. I can’t wait for the opportunity to work with Catch+Release again!”

5. Catch+Release Is Committed to Connecting, Protecting, and Celebrating Creators

Once you publish your content to Catch+Release, it becomes immediately available for brands to discover. For more than 10 years, top brands like Disney, Meta, Uber, Amazon, Google, Nike, Oatly, Jeep, and others have come to Catch+Release for content licensing. We want to connect you and your content with these brands. Your content has the power to inspire people, bring them to tears, and put a smile on their faces. I’ve actually seen it happen. Best example: The Teleflora ad for Mother’s Day 2023. Tell me this doesn’t make you cry?!

Whether you’ve joined the Creator Community yet or not, want to connect with you. We have a specialized team that gets in touch with creators. Most people are skeptical when we first reach out — and for good reason, in today’s age. Trust is important, and if you have questions, we’re here to answer them. We can hop on a call with you, show you our past work, and give you the space to make informed decisions.

Joining the Creator Community has advantages over being discovered organically by a brand. At Catch+Release, we have an expert team of curators that brands hire to help them find best-fit content for their various campaigns. The Creator Community is our “first stop” in the curation journey, because we know that this community produces amazing content, and since we already have a relationship with you, the process of licensing content can go much faster. Brands and agencies are always working on tight deadlines, and they like to know we can “find good fast.”

Sign Up for Free Today

Now that I’ve convinced you that Catch+Release is the best way to make passive income, I know you’re itching to get started. As I mentioned above, all you have to do is create a profile and start uploading content. Visit this link to create your account, and let us know if you have any questions!

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