A side hustle from your phone: paid videos about apps

What is this side hustle, in two sentences?

You film short videos about mobile apps on your phone and post them on your own TikTok or Instagram Reels account. The app's owner pays you a set rate, from $1.00 per 1,000 views on Markapping, for views inside the campaign's counting window. No inventory, no clients to chase, and no extra app to install.

Many side hustle advice posts for creators point to TikTok or Instagram paying you directly. Those programs have entry bars. Here is how the options compare. TikTok figures are as reported by Metricool in March 2025, so check TikTok's current rules before relying on them.

Metricool also reports that ads and sponsored content don't qualify for Creator Rewards (Metricool). An app campaign video is paid by the app owner through Markapping, not by TikTok. More on the model: how getting paid per view works.

What do you need for a side hustle from your phone?

A phone that films vertical video, a TikTok or Instagram account that belongs to you, and the platform's paid partnership label turned on for every campaign video. Markapping works in the phone's browser, so there is nothing extra to install. You are paid per counted view, not per follower.

• A phone. Its camera, a screen recording of the app, and the editor built into TikTok or Instagram cover most app videos.
• Your own account. Connect it with the platform's official login (read-only; Markapping never posts for you) or verify it with a short code in your bio. Bio-code accounts are marked less reliable, and their views are read from public pages.
• The label. On TikTok, turn on the disclosure toggle under "Content disclosure and ads" and pick Branded content, which shows a "Paid partnership" label (TikTok). On Instagram, add the paid partnership label, which Instagram says works only in its mobile app (Instagram). Videos without the label don't count.
• Time to try the app. The FTC says you can't talk about your experience with a product you haven't tried (FTC). Some campaigns give out premium codes so you can use the app's premium version.

Full steps: our guide to the paid partnership label.

How long does one video take, and what can it pay?

In the example plan below, one video takes about an hour once you know the app. Pay depends only on counted views: views divided by 1,000, times the campaign's rate, minus Markapping's 5%. At $1.00 per 1,000 views, 20,000 counted views earn $20, and you keep $19. These are examples, not promises.

1. 01

   Try the app (20 minutes)

   Use it for real. Note one thing that surprised you and one thing that annoyed you.

2. 02

   Write the hook (10 minutes)

   One opening line that says what the app does for the viewer, then three short beats.

3. 03

   Film (15 minutes)

   A screen recording plus your face or your voice. Vertical, good light, quiet room.

4. 04

   Edit (10 minutes)

   Cut the pauses, add captions, and say out loud that it's sponsored.

5. 05

   Post (5 minutes)

   Label on, post on your own account, then add the video to the campaign.

For scale: in Bankrate's 2025 survey, 27% of US adults said they had a side hustle, and the median side hustler earned $200 a month (Bankrate). At $1.00 per 1,000 views, matching that median would take about 211,000 counted views in a month after the 5% fee. A higher rate or an install bonus would need fewer.

How hard is it, and what can go wrong?

The steps are simple, and you can do all of them from your phone. The money isn't guaranteed. You earn only for views counted in the campaign window, at the campaign's rate, up to its limits. Some videos may earn a few dollars and some may earn nothing, so treat your first videos as practice.

Here is what doesn't pay on Markapping:

• Videos without the paid partnership or branded content label.
• Views after the counting window ends.
• Views that fail the fake-view check. Every video gets one; suspicious videos are held, a person makes the final call, and you can appeal once.
• Views past a campaign's caps (per video or per creator), or a video that stays below the campaign's minimum view count.
• Videos rejected for breaking a rule written in the campaign. The app owner must name the rule and give a reason.
• Videos posted on someone else's account.

Some rules work for you. In a campaign that reviews each video, a video the app owner doesn't review within 48 hours is approved automatically. Views count from the moment you post, so slow approval doesn't shorten your earning time.

What kinds of app videos can you make?

Short videos that show the app solving one real problem. A simple shape is to open on the problem, get the app on screen within a few seconds, and end with an honest take. These formats are starting points, not proven winners. The label itself isn't a reach penalty: TikTok says a Paid partnership label doesn't change how it recommends content (TikTok).

• Lead with the viewer, not the app. "If you forget every bill" beats "This app has reminders."
• Say it's sponsored, out loud. The FTC says not to assume a platform's disclosure tool is enough, and that the disclosure belongs in the video, not only in the description (FTC).
• Keep one honest downside. It makes the rest believable.

The same TikTok page warns that commercial content without proper disclosure may not be eligible for the For You feed. Starting from zero? Read how to make money on TikTok without followers.

How do you avoid side hustle scams?

Never pay to join, never deposit money to withdraw earnings, and skip anyone who pays you to watch, like or rate videos. The FTC calls these task scams and says to never pay anyone to get paid (FTC). Reports rose from about 5,000 in all of 2023 to about 20,000 in the first half of 2024 (FTC).

• You pay first. A joining fee, a starter kit, or a deposit before you can cash out.
• You're paid to watch, like or rate. The FTC says not to trust anyone who offers to pay you to give a positive rating or like things online (FTC).
• Guaranteed income or a "proven system". The FTC says that kind of promise is likely a scam (FTC).
• Job offers by surprise text, WhatsApp or Telegram. The FTC says to ignore them (FTC).
• Shortcuts that break platform rules. Bought views, engagement pods and fake accounts. On Markapping, every video gets a fake-view check, and suspicious videos are held.

How do you start?

Join the creator waitlist now. When the panels open, you connect your account, pick a campaign, try the app, and post a labeled video on your own account. Markapping isn't live yet, so the waitlist is the only step today.

1. 01

   Join the waitlist

   Add your email on the Markapping for creators page. Creators and app owners have separate lists.

2. 02

   Connect TikTok or Instagram

   Use the official login (read-only; Markapping never posts for you) or a short code in your bio.

3. 03

   Pick a campaign

   Read the rate, counting window, bonus, limits and written rules first.

4. 04

   Try the app, then film

   Use a premium code if the campaign gives one.

5. 05

   Post with the label on

   Post on your own account, then add the video to the campaign.

6. 06

   Get paid after the checks

   View earnings become payable after the counting window and the 3-day check. Bonuses follow when install, trial or subscription data arrives.

What campaigns look like: how to get paid to promote apps.

Questions