How do people actually make money with drones? Is it all real estate or are there other ways?

Hey everyone, I’ve been seeing a lot of discussions about making money with drones. Is it really just for real estate or are there other ways to earn money using a drone? Right now, I’ve just been uploading videos to YouTube, but I don’t think it will ever turn into a steady income for me. Anyone got tips?

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Drue said:

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I make money through real estate, but my story is a bit different. I started a YouTube channel just for fun after being a broker for eight years. That turned into a video marketing job at a brokerage, and now I do real estate photos and short videos with drone footage as a side project.

@Fin
Oh that’s cool, do you work with a company selling the houses or do you reach out to homeowners yourself?

Drue said:
@Fin
Oh that’s cool, do you work with a company selling the houses or do you reach out to homeowners yourself?

I’m in a unique situation. I’m a real estate agent with a big team, but I also handle their video marketing for a salary. Lately, I’ve been doing all the property photography too.

Most people making money with drones are using them as a tool for other work or getting paid to fly drones for someone else. When you think about what a drone can do, you’ll probably come up with some creative ways to use it. Often, the drone is just one tool to help achieve a bigger goal.

I got my first paid gig the other day. The money wasn’t great for the amount of work, but it was fun getting paid to do something I enjoy. Real estate is probably the easiest way to get started, but the market is super saturated, at least in the US. Where I live, it’s almost nonexistent, but people don’t see the value in it yet. So it’s a weird time right now.

There are tons of other ways to make money like inspecting cell towers, roofs, land surveys, solar panels, filming events, business marketing, photogrammetry, 3D modeling, and more. The opportunities are pretty much endless.

@Spencer
I agree, drones have so many uses. Besides the ones you mentioned, there’s also facade inspections, indoor or confined space inspections, infrared mapping for buildings or areas, agriculture analysis… and who knows what else will come in the future. I’m not even bothering with real estate because it’s too crowded.

Try Instagram or TikTok.

Well, if you have your 107, social media channels are a safe place to be anyway. The great thing is you’re legally covered for earning money. So, you’re good to go .

Merrick said:
Well, if you have your 107, social media channels are a safe place to be anyway. The great thing is you’re legally covered for earning money. So, you’re good to go!

I live in the Netherlands, and you don’t need a certificate to make money, but thanks for the advice :smile:

Nobody really makes money flying drones. You just make money to buy your next drone.