Lots of people consider turning their hobbies into a business, either to bring in additional income or as a way to change their career. For many, the key to making this happen is the creation of a website that will bring their products and services to a wider audience and from where they can sell items and generate leads. In this post, we’ll look at a range of hobbies which, with a website, can generate income.
- Fitness Training
If you are a fitness fanatic with skills in one of the many areas of fitness, there is tremendous potential to turn your hobby into a money earner. Health and fitness is big business and there is a multitude of fitness regimes that people are craving for help with, such as yoga, Pilates or body workouts.
The key to online success is in creating videos of you explaining how to do the exercises and the benefits they bring, and posting these on your website and social media accounts. Once you have grown your following, you’ll be able to create special workouts that are available on a members-only part of your website. Of course, they’ll need to pay to access these and you’ll need to keep coming up with new workouts to retain them as members.
You can always sell other products online too, such as training outfits, sports equipment and health supplements. You could even start your own brand. - Freelance Writing
For writing hobbyists with creative flair, a way with words and sound technical accuracy, working as a freelance writer is a great way to bring in extra income. And there is an expanding market, too. Today, most businesses use content marketing as a way to attract new visitors to their website and promote their products. This is mainly done through the writing of blog and social media posts. Writers who can create well-written and engaging posts, especially those who can write about niche markets, have lots of opportunities to find work. With a website, freelance writers can advertise their skills, show samples of their writing, give customer testimonials and provide a guide to pricing. - Graphic Design
With so many apps and tools available, many people do graphic design just for the fun of it. However, there is also a huge demand for graphic design for which businesses are willing to pay, making it a lucrative market for those with the right skills.
One of the key benefits is that there are many markets in which graphic design can be applied: corporate logos, web images, infographics, vehicle graphics, greeting card design, business signage, book covers – it’s a long list.
If you already do graphic design as a hobby, you’ll no doubt already have the tools you need to get started. With a website, you’ll also have the ideal place to display a portfolio of your best work which can attract clients from across the globe. - WordPress Coding
If you love tinkering about with WordPress and have developed skills in coding, you’ll have expertise that millions of website users want to get their hands on. Look at any WordPress forum and the sheer volume of posts looking for advice will show you how little people really know about the back end of the software. With 31% of the world’s websites built using WordPress, the potential market is enormous – and while millions of users will search for weeks looking for an online solution, most business users prefer to get the problem fixed immediately by someone with the right skills. Getting their websites back online and working properly means they’ll pay well for your services.
With your own website, you’ll be able to advertise your services, showcase your areas of expertise, create help forums where you can establish relationships with those who may become customers, and take online orders. - Crafts Sales
There is a market out there for many of the things people make as part of their hobbies. The list of things you can create and sell is endless: jewellery, candles, beauty and bath products, greetings cards, home-made toys, handmade furniture, bespoke clothing, original artwork, cupcakes.
What makes small crafting businesses viable is that the products are unique. They might not all be one-offs, but being a small company, few other people are going to have them – and it is this scarcity that makes people like buying them.
So, if making crafts is your hobby and you’ve been getting positive feedback from your friends about how good your products are, setting up a small eCommerce website where you can sell them from is the ideal way to start your hobby bringing in an income.
Conclusion
The hobbies we have mentioned here are just a few of many that have the potential to earn you extra money. If your hobby has given you skills that people want to learn, the expertise they need to employ or if you make things they want to purchase, then creating a website gives you the vehicle to showcase your talents and to sell your skills, expertise and products online.
If you are considering setting up a website for your hobby-business, check out our cPanel and WordPress hosting packages, which are ideal for smaller, start-up websites.