In the internet age, it’s easier than ever to make money, and perhaps even a living, from skills you possess. As well as being able to harness the use of the web to bring a few extra dollars in 2023, your day job may well be shift based, offering you the potential to top up your income with additional revenue from other sources in those hours you are free to do so.
Most of us will look to the possibility of making additional money from hobbies and other pastimes as a hugely important way to make ends meet, while others may just be seeking that extra bit of disposable income.
Whatever the reasoning behind your push to do so, here are six ways you can look to make money from your hobbies and interests.
Illustration, Painting, and Design
If you are an avid painter or illustrator or have a design background, and perhaps you don’t have a day job that utilizes this skill set, you may look to use your talents to bring in some much-needed income.
Doing so on a freelance basis is easier now than ever before. Simply set up an account with relevant sites, build up a portfolio of your work and then sell your wares to the highest bidder and cover tasks that you were born to do.
Perhaps a company is looking to rebrand with a new logo, or you might seek to sell your own illustrations, perhaps on posters, t-shirts, or other products; this is very easily achieved.
You would do well to set up your own website while also using these third-party sites, thereby bringing more exposure to your work. Who knows, maybe in a year or two, you can use this as your sole income and therefore make a living from something you truly love.
Creative Writing
If you are a keen writer but have, until now, only used these skills for personal enrichment, why not consider using these as a side gig? You can sign up for relevant third-party provider sites like Fiverr or Upwork and offer your services on the side.
This can prove very effective as an additional source of money coming in, and you can do this on the side from your day job or your studying. The best thing about writing via these outlets is that you can do as much or as little as you like, and you set your own hours.
Video Editing
If you have cultivated an interest in making your personal YouTube channel a success, then you may well have gotten very proficient at video editing, and this is a skill you can outsource to aid others and make a very good sum of money when doing so.
Perhaps you’ve become very adept at using After Effects while boosting your up-and-coming social media influencer channels.
Your abilities may include the skill of using stock video assets expertly as part of your push to make your own personal social media videos all the more professional in appearance or perhaps entail the prized talent of being able to make the most of long-form content when it comes to producing a range of enticing teasers and reels.
All of this is very bankable stuff, so look into using these talents to earn you a decent additional revenue stream.
Blogging
Almost all of us have an area of expertise or something we are hugely interested in, or perhaps they are one and the same thing. You can use this as a way to make a decent wage by setting up a relevant blog.
Perhaps you are a keen amateur cook, or maybe you actually work in a restaurant kitchen and therefore have invaluable knowledge to impart. Then you might want to start a blog where you can inform and educate your followers.
Turning this kind of hobby into a money-making stream won’t be easy and will take some time, but if you are simply passing on the knowledge of a subject you are intensely interested in, then this will feel more like fun than a job. So why not give it a go?
Music
Another creative pursuit, music, can also be harnessed to your advantage. If you are a talented musician and have failed to break into the big time, why not sell your talents to the highest bidder?
You can put together music and align it with royalty-free music providers, who then offer the work you produce to individuals and businesses looking to jazz up their visual campaigns.
Alternatively, maybe you could consider some session work, or if you want to teach, you can set up a YouTube channel and record some tutorials or reach an instrument to budding musicians via Zoom.
All of these possibilities are within easy reach and are perfect for many as they can be set aside as options to pursue outside the 9 to 5 grind.
Pet Sitting and Dog Walking
If your hobby is animals and you can’t walk ten yards down the high street without interacting with someone’s pet dog or a stray cat, this could actually be the basis of a potential job opportunity.
The area of dog walking and pet sitting is actually a booming trade. Perhaps this is because more and more of us are working longer hours and may be away from home for extended periods, leaving pets stuck at home, getting bored or stressed.
Perhaps you can therefore use your love of animals as a chance to make an extra buck.
