It’s 2021, and the food delivery space is different. Very different. Why? Covid. It changed everything. As a matter of fact, it almost killed rideshare. Covid causes demand for food and grocery delivery to skyrocket. And we’re still in the Covid era. So here are some Covid-era tips on how you can maximize your delivery earnings with gigs in 2021.
Note, all of the points in this article will build on each other to form a complete strategy. Read on.
How To Maximize Your Earnings As A Food Delivery Gig Driver In 2021
Increase Delivery Earnings By Exploring New Areas
In the past, everyone’s list of advice for food delivery includes this one: “know your city.” Everyone had this on their list. It became tiresome to read it over and over almost. Why was this so important? To avoid wasting gas and positioning yourself poorly relative to the clusters of restaurants. And save a few seconds on your delivery (I honestly don’t understand why some sites make this last detail sound like a manner of life or death).
Once couriers know their city, they tend to get comfortable and stick to only certain pockets on the map. But in 2021, going into new territories and exploring areas you’ve never delivered for can help you increase your delivery earnings.
I recently did DoorDash in an area of my city that had previously been a dead zone. Now? $30 an hour.
There are so many new people using food delivery services as a result of Covid-19. And many new restaurants using food delivery apps. The old advice of “know your city” now means “know more of your city.” Venture into new neighborhoods and areas of the map. Discover the new pockets.
Ignore In-App Hotspots To Boost Delivery Earnings
Yeah, we’ve (veteran drivers) all been doing this. Keep doing it. Why? Many new customers started using food delivery apps. Still, a lot of people lost their income and signed up for food delivery gigs also.
There are more competitions from novices, and they will do what rookies do: crowd the hotspots on the map. Ignore those hotspots more than ever.
Add To Your Delivery Earnings By Rejecting Fewer Orders With Long Pick-Ups
Drivers do not get paid for the distance they drive to the pick-up location for many food delivery platforms. So in the past, it was wise to reject orders with long pick-up distance unless the order value is significant (potentially a larger tip).
But these days, there is so much more demand for food delivery. The frequency of assigned stacked orders is higher due to the new waves of customers. So it’s okay to reject fewer orders with extended pick-ups. You’ll likely catch another order for the same restaurant by the time you get there.
Speaking of stacked orders, read the next point.
Focus On Drop-Off Locations When Stacking
Okay, so we’re accepting more orders. And the frequency of stacking is greater. So then, do we take every order so we can stack? No.
When stacking, prioritize the drop-off location of that 2nd or 3rd order. Whichever one is the last to be dropped off in your stack is the most important. Ensure the drop-off location will put you into an area where you can turn a stacked or batched order into a chained or continuation order. The dream scenario for food delivery drivers is the elusive batch to the batch chain.
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Knock It Off With The Mass Driver Referrals
Read the last couple of points. Drivers increase delivery earnings by delivering more orders and avoiding competition.
There is a reason this site does not have a lot of referral codes for food delivery platforms plastered all over it.
If you’re a food delivery driver, how does referring many drivers make you money? It doesn’t. It just creates more competition for you—especially when a bonus comes along. All the casual drivers come out to compete for orders.
The only people making money are the content creators (YouTubers, bloggers, influencers, etc.) who refer drivers to these brands. But even then, there’s a cap to how many drivers they can make money off (they do not know this).
Besides, driver referrals don’t pay out most of the time. It’s because the new drivers need to deliver like 240-300 orders to get you that money. The chance of that is slim. Primarily if everyone refers drivers, long-term, this hurts delivery earnings for the folks who aren’t casual drivers.
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Refer More Eaters
Okay, so we shouldn’t try to refer new drivers (if we are serious drivers ourselves). What should we do then?
Instead of mass referring drivers to compete with us, refer many new eaters to pump the number of orders. It creates more work for drivers.
It’s much easier to recruit new eaters than drivers anyways. Brands offer a lot of discounts for new customers. They make it easier for new customers to join the platform.
On the other hand, they make it a lot harder for new drivers to meet the referral bonus requirements.
If you refer new eaters, you get a free discount on delivery for yourself (usually the case). Win-win.
Read Up On Tax and Assistance Policies
Remember, you’re not just a food delivery driver. You are a business owner of your own food delivery business. There are many initiatives and efforts to assist businesses and business owners because of the impact of Covid. There might be tax reliefs of special deductions for people who do independent contractor work in some regions.
Do some research into your local or regional politics. Look for new reliefs or assistance programs that might be of interest to you.
Conclusion
We’re not finished with Covid yet. And for now, the food delivery space is hot. And there is a lot of opportunities out there for those who are delivering goods to homes. Explore new areas. Be selective in your acceptance of orders, focus on securing more batch-to-batch chain deliveries. And invite new customers. It’s way easier than referring drivers.
Good luck out there. Drive safe. Hack those food delivery gigs.
