There is a lot of fear and doubt in monetizing hobbies as a side hustle. There are arguments about it stealing the magic and ruining the passion. However, is that the case?
Some claim monetizing your hobby ruins the whole experience, but others enjoy it. It may be presumptuous, but if you doubt it, there’s a chance you didn’t do it right.
Do what you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.
Mark Twain
When turning a hobby into a side hustle, two key things are perspective and balance. Turning your hobby into a side hustle means that you’ll get to explore its fascinating aspects. Also, you won’t be overwhelmed if you take breaks, which is something a side hustle affords you.
How Do You Turn Your Hobby into a Side Hustle?
Begin with Research
You can only start researching when you know the hobby you want to monetize. Once you have decided on that, begin your research. It should include findings on
- Whether there is a ready market for your hobby.
- If it is in high demand
- Who is your audience is
- Successful people in the field and how they’re doing it
- The best pricing strategies.
Don’t let whatever information you uncover discourage you. Even if the market is saturated, you won’t have to worry if you are capable and have value to offer. Of course, you will also have to effect a working business strategy.
Revamp Your Hobby into a Paying Side Hustle
Revamping your hobby means you’ll need to improve the quality of your work. If you have been writing for fun, now you’ll want to know if it does well on Grammarly. You’ll also need to see if it is plagiarized and optimized for search engines.
It applies to whatever hobby you’re trying to monetize. You’ll be getting paid, so you must ensure the quality is top.
You should invest in tools essential to your craft and take professional courses. You could go on platforms like Coursera and even earn certifications. With this, you’ll learn more about your hobby and appear more credible to prospective customers.
You should be applying your knowledge as you learn. Create projects, collaborate, and even document your learning process on platforms like LinkedIn.
Make Your Break into the Market
Networking is vital in any business strategy. If you are starting, having a good network will do you great.
Your network is your net worth.
Porter Gale
Job searchers sometimes lament that they come across entry-level jobs that require five years of experience. How? Networking can help you overcome this barrier.
Also, your friends are not always your target audience. So, even if you start your business, you can’t rely on just your friends to patronize you. You will need to connect with people that care about the value you have to offer.
Build your network. Reach out to like-minded individuals in the same field on social media. Join online communities on platforms like Slack and Discord. You can even join these communities early and let them witness your growth.
From here, you’ll gain the experience to apply for a job on LinkedIn or start your own business. It is the right step in the direction of monetizing hobbies.
Turn Hobbies to profitable Side Hustle
Writing
The writing industry is vast, and there’s a market for whatever writing you choose. You can start a blog or apply for jobs on LinkedIn and PeoplePerHour. You can also write about your interest in comics and tech on sites such as GameRant and MakeUseOf (MUO).
Number of US writers
The best part about starting a career as a freelance writer is that you barely need any capital. The most important things are a laptop and internet access. With these, you can begin your writing career.
Yet, there are small investments you need to make to ensure you deliver quality work. You can invest in Grammarly Premium, which offers various plans, with some as low as $12 monthly.
You can also subscribe to a plagiarism checker such as Copyscape. It charges three cents per search of up to 200 words and an extra one cent for every 100 words. There are free tools, such as Plagiarism Detector, but they have limited features.
You can find a job relatively easily through networking, but you may initially have to accept cheap rates. Depending on experience, writers charge $0.01 to $0.50 per word and $15 to $150 hourly.
However, if you decide to start a blog, it may take six months to two years before you start earning. It all depends on your work and how you monetize your blog.
Also, there is no standard time you have to dedicate to your freelancing career. You may allocate time to your writing based on your availability and commitment. However, setting aside 5-8 hours a day or several days a week is advisable.
Photography
There are several ways to make money through photography. You can cover live events and freelance for publications. You can also sell your photos through social media as stock photos or NFTs.
You must invest in equipment, which may cost about $4,000. It can be lesser or more and depends on what you can afford since there is no set price for photography equipment.
Another thing you will need is a portfolio. It is a curation of your best works showing your photography skills. A portfolio helps you look more professional and more likely to get gigs.
The time you dedicate to this may vary widely, depending on how you conduct your business. Can you cover live events? Because then you will have to be free during such events.
If you choose to sell your photos online, you can dedicate a few hours a day to marketing your photos.
Photography is a saturated and competitive field, but what isn’t? Invest time and effort to build a career, and you could earn as much as $36,280 annually.
Conclusion
Few things in life feel better than getting paid to do what you love. So, do everything right, from research to constant learning, to improve your chances of monetizing hobbies.
Identify that hobby you want to monetize, put in the work, and reward yourself with an extra income source.
