How To Make $1/Month With An iPad
A guide to overcoming buyer's remorse
Buyer's remorse is the #1 enemy of iPad users (especially if you bought an iPad Pro).
Online and even in real life, people come up to me asking "what the **** am I supposed to do with an iPad?"
Here's the 5-second answer: start projects where having an iPad gives you an unfair advantage.
The rest of this post is the full answer.
First, a story
For the first 6-ish months of using my iPad, I was constantly regretting my purchase.
It sucked.
I felt like I was wasting soooo much money on such an expensive device (I was even scared to take my iPad out of its case).
But one day, I took the decision to start Overoptimize (the same newsletter you're reading right now). As a newsletter focusing on iPads, having an iPad obviously gave me an unfair advantage for creating content about iPads.
And just like that, all of my regret vanished (imagine a finger snap).
But Adi, what is an unfair advantage?
Good question.
An unfair advantage is an advantage you have over other competitors (credit to /The Unfair Advantage/ by Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba).
For instance, a tech startup founder has an unfair advantage by being in San Francisco. Likewise, a tech startup founder from a wealthy background also has an unfair advantage because they may have connections to big investors.
Why should I care?
By starting a project where having an iPad is an unfair advantage, you'll feel less regret about your purchase.
After all, you'll actually be able to use the iPad for something useful.
Ok, Part 1 of my lecture is complete.
This is the part you're waiting for: here are 7 ways to make money with an iPad.
Become the next Picasso
Unfair advantages: Apple Pencil, Procreate
Creating art is (stereotypically, at least) a tough way to make a living.
But as a side hustle, it can be pretty freaking cool.
Maybe you could become the next wallpaper king/queen. Maybe you could record the process behind making cool artwork and make TikToks. Maybe you could create cool pop culture art and start an Instagram page.
With Procreate (or any other drawing app), there's a lot of stuff you can do to make money with artwork.
Explore.
Or become the next Mr. Beast
Unfair advantage: AirDrop, Apple Pencil
Starting a YouTube channel is usually always at the top of "How To Make Money Online in 2023"-type lists.
With an iPad, however, you have a lot of variety when it comes to video production.
Want to create videos where you show your face?
Film clips on your iPhone and AirDrop it to your iPad. From there, you can use powerful video editing tools like CapCut, Premiere Rush, or LumaFusion.
Want to create videos where you don't show your face?
Go onto the Notes app and start screen-recording while talking into your iPad's mic. Discuss and draw whatever concept you want. After editing, upload your video into YouTube.
You can also use tools like Keynote's handwriting animation to create smooth videos. I'd also check out this video for some inspiration.
Podcast time
Unfair advantage: Good Mics (?), Portable
Apple has always touted the iPad's "studio-quality" mics.
While I'm unsure if they're studio-quality, I gotta say that they are pretty good. And even if they aren't good enough for you, you can always connect a mic through the USB-C port.
The iPad also has a bunch of podcast editing apps, uploading tools, etc.
I honestly know nothing about podcasts, so check out this video for more info.
Teach stuff no one understands
Unfair advantage: Apple Pencil
As someone who tutors once in a while, the iPad + Apple Pencil is honestly one of the best combos a tutor could have.
Having the ability to share your screen and handwrite things makes virtual tutoring so much easier (I remember trying to use a mouse on a MacBook to draw out chemistry equations in a Zoom meeting 🤮).
Tutoring is also probably one of the quickest ways to make your money back on an iPad (I charge $25/hour for basic chemistry tutoring as a high school student).
Become a #influencer
Unfair advantage: Portability, Apple Pencil, AirDrop, Mobile App Support (?)
If you wanna become famous on Instagram, Twitter, or whatever new anti-Elon platform is popular, an iPad is a great tool for creating content.
The iPad is a pretty portable device, and the Apple Pencil makes it fun to use apps like Photoshop, Lightroom, or Affinity Photo.
Additionally, I've heard that uploading content through mobile apps makes algorithms more likely to push your content (not sure if this is true though).
Make me your idol
Unfair advantage: Portable, Apple Pencil
If you want to hop on the "start-a-newsletter" trend, iPad apps like Bear/Drafts, Todoist, Substack, etc, make the iPad a pretty neat tool.
The iPad's portability also means you can work from basically anywhere with an internet connection (I've personally worked on my posts in three different countries).
The Apple Pencil can also be a pretty neat tool for sketching diagrams/charts for your writing. This can make your content more fun (I really should start making these more often).
Become one of those digital nomad dudes
Unfair advantage: Apple Pencil, Procreate, Portable
Freelancing with an iPad while sitting on a beach drinking a piña colada sounds like a dream you'd see in a YouTube ad.
While I can't promise that, freelancing with an iPad could make you a free extra bucks here and there.
With an Apple Pencil app and drawing apps like Procreate, you could do some pretty neat logo design work.
For more ideas, you could browse Fiverr and see what people are offering. There's some pretty unique stuff there (you wouldn't believe how many people offer "Simpson-izing" as a service).
Final Thoughts
"If you're wasting time, you're wasting money...and that's just sick."—Eugene Krabs, world-famous restaurant entrepreneur
Thanks for reading!
Adi
Love my iPad. I've owned one since the very first one.
Does pretty much everything I need. My old mac book air hardly comes out of its case.
Running the newest iPad pro 11"