How to make money on whatsApp writing as a student: (a practical guide) 

‘You can make over #100,000 per month on whatsApp if you follow this strategy.’

One of the wishes of a student is to know how to make money while in school or during breaks as a side hustle. This kind of life cannot be overemphasised enough. Making money as a student in a legit way can come in diverse ways; it could be through social media, physical products and service rendering. Today, we are focusing on one social media platform, which is the WhatsApp platform. This post will teach how to make money on whatsApp as a student in Nigeria. 

Before you skip to the first step, you must understand that this is not just a day thing; it involves process and consistency. But if one is consistent, it won’t take more than 3 months to start cashing out from WhatsApp. 

You must have read a lot of guides online on how to make money on WhatsApp, but they are not practicable. This one is not one of them nor written by ChatGPT. It involves real guidance and practical steps to make actual money on WhatsApp. 

STEPS TO MAKE MONEY ON WHATSAPP 

I will spare you the time of discussing what WhatsApp means because we all use it, and I am sure you got this article via WhatsApp, so I will save you the stress while we move into the discussion proper. 

STEP ONE – GET THE NICHE YOU LOVE

One important thing is to understand that you can make money on whatsApp through several means and ways, and these includes but not limited to: 

1. Tutoring and teaching online – run mini-classes or exam prep (WAEC, JAMB, IELTS, etc.).
   
2. Writing services – essays, CVs, scholarship statements, blog posts.
   
3. Affiliate marketing – promote other people’s products and earn commission when people buy through your link.
   
4. Selling physical products – clothes, shoes, thrift items, perfumes, phones, etc.
   
5. Selling digital products – eBooks, courses, guides, past questions, and templates.
   
6. WhatsApp TV or status ads – build a large status viewer base, then charge brands or sellers to advertise.
   
7. Drop-servicing – take freelance jobs (design, writing, video editing) and outsource the work for less.
   
8. Mini importation/reselling – import small goods from sites like 1688, Alibaba, or Jumia and resell via WhatsApp.
   
9. Consulting or coaching – share your expertise (career tips, health, study abroad, business advice).
   
10. Paid WhatsApp communities – create a private group where people pay to access exclusive tips or opportunities.
    
11. Event promotion – help others sell tickets or promote school events and take a small cut.
    
12. Freelance gigs via WhatsApp – use it as your client communication channel after finding clients on X, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
    
13. Selling airtime/data – small but steady income, especially among students.
    
14. Network marketing (legit ones only) – join real product-based programmes and recruit responsibly.
    
15. Offer social media management – manage WhatsApp broadcasts or content for small businesses.
    

But in this guide we will be writing on how to make money via tutoring and writing. So, if you can write and want to sell your knowledge, this is the best one for you. Mind you, it can be duplicated to other niche and you make money on whatsapp. 

STEP 2 – USE THE WHATSAPP BUSINESS APP 

Since we are working on writing and tutoring, we must use the WhatsApp business. To get this app if you don’t know how; 

A. Download the right app

Go to your Play Store or App Store → search for “WhatsApp Business” (not the normal WhatsApp).
It has a green icon with a white “B” inside a chat bubble.
Install it.

B. Register your number

• You can use your current WhatsApp number or a new one.
  
• If you use the same number, your chats and contacts can transfer (it will just upgrade your account).
  
• Verify with the 6-digit code sent to you.
  

C. Set up your business profile

You’ll see a setup page that says “Create your business profile.”
Fill it like this:

• Business name: Use something short and clear, e.g., BrightMind Tutoring or PenPro Writing Hub.
  
• Category: Choose what fits – “Education”, “Writing Service”, or “Freelance Tutor”.
  
• Description:
  Example:
  
  “Helping students improve English & write winning essays. Fast delivery, simple rates.”
  
• Business hours: Set when you’re available (optional).
  
• Location: Add if you meet clients physically (or leave blank).
  
• Email/website: Optional, but helps you look legit.
  

4. Add a profile photo

Keep it clean and recognisable.

• If it’s personal tutoring, use a bright headshot.
  
• If it’s a writing brand, use a simple logo you can make on Canva.

After you have done all  these, it is time  for you to explore the business tools that are there and the finding your audience. 

STEP 3 – Explore the business tools and use it to your advantage, 

These are what make the app powerful:

• Catalog: Add your services with names and prices. Example:
  
  • “Essay Writing – ₦3,000”
    
  • “Private English Class – ₦1,000/per week”
    
• Greeting Message: Auto-replies to new contacts.
  
  
  “Hi there 👋, thanks for reaching out to BrightMind Tutoring! How can I help you today?”
  
  
• Quick Replies: Save common answers like payment info or lesson times.
  
• Labels: Tag chats as “New”, “Paid”, or “Pending” to stay organised.
  
• Broadcast list: Send updates or offers to many contacts at once.
  

When you are done with this, it is time to start getting an audience and getting money through the system you have built.

One of the tough sides is getting an audience for your new business or those who will patronise your service. Since you are a student, it should not be hard. 

1. Create a WhatsApp group and share to groups that will allow the sharing into them. At times most groups don’t allow this and this is where you make use of your contacts and WhatsApp status. 

Send a dm to some of your contacts that have your audience of students and speak to them about posting your business. For example, 

‘If you are a jambite, fresh from school but scared of the almighty PUTME, don’t worry, Dr Brightmind is here for you for just a little change. Join  this group.’ 

Ii. Give a bait

You might not even start by stating the price but use free formats to gather an audience first. Nigerians love free things; tell them you will teach them for free and then gather those who are interested into that group. 

iii. Nurture the group

Don’t just gather but nurture them in the sense that you are giving tips or useful materials that will help to build trust. One of the best ways to sell is when there is trust between you and the student. As you continue reading, you will see the usefulness of building the trust amongst them. 

Iii. Advertise with little money – you can go to Facebook and share your link to several academic groups, and if you don’t have any, there are some influencers with WhatsApp TV or Facebook pages that charge as low as 2000 to 4000 naira, and they have huge followings. One of them is ‘Oluwanishola Akeju’; when you search for the name, it will pop up on Facebook, and you can run some cheap and effective ads with them. But make sure you create a good landing page. 

iv. After you have done this, the next step is getting paid. 

You don’t have to keep doing it for free, and this is where trust comes in. Since you have built that trust within the student, you can start charging them as low as 1k for a one-on-one lecture. Let’s say you were able to pull in about 500 students, and 50 decided to pay for the masterclass; you will have nothing less than 50k for your service. Okay, let’s say just 20 students agreed; you are still earning about 20k at the end of the month. 

Apart from this, you can now add other services, like personal coaching and writing some tips on how to get some academic work done and make money from it. You can even advance your group to the next phase as the student progresses. 

If you are dealing with university students, you can organise a tutorial via live calls. I am sure many students will want to pay for this because it is not everyone that can face the stress of reading the materials. 

Another method you can use is solving all past questions and likely questions that you know might come out in the exam and placing them in your business cart while they purchase it. 

Let’s say you have an idea of how some questions are being repeated; then you can solve that work and sell it to them. Better still, offer to answer the questions for them when they ask for your service. 

Project writing – One of the surest means is offering to write a project for a student in the university. The least you can charge is from #30,000 to #80,000, depending on the course involved. 

How to go about this – 

1. Since you already built trust via the WhatsApp group that you created, the next thing is to give them the offer of writing their project work. 
2. Do it in the form of business; if not, you will lose money, as many will promise to pay and never pay you back. 

To earn from writing, you can check out this platform; 

Konnect Africa

Writerpenny

Upwork

Fiverr

WritersGig

ContentNaija

Scribesbay

TalentDesire

Medium Partner Program

Zikoko (and other paying literary magazines)

However, I will suggest Writerpenny; they pay you with the number of views your stories attract. Check the other ones listed above. One of the ways you can drive views is when you share on WhatsApp. 

More updates are still coming, and keep your eye on this space on how to make money as a student. If you have any questions, you can ask in the comment section, and don’t forget to join our WhatsApp group here.