If you’re looking to start an online business, here’s how you can turn a profit!
So I have some pretty awesome news for you, every single activity has an industry and every single hobby can be monetized. Thanks to the internet and social media, anything is possible.
Love scrapbooking? There’s a market for that. Love styling and putting together outfits? There’s a market for that! Love makeup? There is definitely a market for that! What’s even better is that there are MULTIPLE different ways to turn a profit with your specific skillset.
When choosing a niche to build your online business around, you want to make sure that you are being extremely intentional about this decision. This can’t just be anything, or something that’s currently trending, or just has your interest for the moment. You want to make sure that this is a passion that is going to coincide with your skillset, you like the industry it lies in, and it's not something you're going to burn out on.
It needs to be an interest that is truly a part of who you are.
Have a niche in mind? Good, now I’m going to tell you about 7 different ways you can use your passion and skills to make money online.
Create a course
Selling knowledge is catching a major wave in the online space. People are wanting to learn new skills and information fast and they are willing to pay to avoid wasting time researching or doing the trial and error themselves.
There are courses for parents with newborn babies that have trouble sleeping. There are courses that teach people about manifesting money. Courses on how to train puppies. If you have the knowledge, you can package it into a sellable course.
A course can look like a video series, a PDF, a PowerPoint presentation, a series of LIVE streams, audio recordings, etc.
Write an e-book, or self-publish a book
Same concept, you're selling your knowledge but this time in the form of a short e-book or a full-blown book.
For an e-book: all you have to do is go into Canva.com use an e-book template and input your content. Export it and upload to a site like PayHip that will sell it for you.
For a self-published book: write your book, design the layout, and create an account with Kindle Direct Publishing. You can have your Kindle and/or paperback book on the market without an agent or publishing house.
Create a Patreon account
This one is really big for vloggers and content creators. You do not have to wait to be monetized by YouTube or be an Instagram influencer before you get paid! Patreon is a platform that allows people to pay a subscription to your brand.
What many people will do is say they have a YouTube channel and they have followers that like their videos. On that creator's Patreon account they will show "uncut" versions of those videos with content that YouTube doesn't allow (like swearing, etc.). They will also provide videos, merch, discounts, chat access, and experiences that are exclusive to Patreon subscribers.
Think about someone you admire and follow online. Would you pay $3-$10 a month to have more access to them? Most people would.
Affiliate Marketing
A SUPER easy way to start making money online is to become an affiliate for brands that you already use and love. This is when you have a special link that's connected to a product, and if someone buys that product with your link, you get a little kickback.
With Amazon, you can simply create an Amazon Affiliate account, connect your bank information, and start selling right away. Many people will use their Instagram and TikTok accounts to showcase items that they have affiliate links for (many women do this with clothing hauls).
If you have a podcast, YouTube channel, or blog you can incorporate your affiliate links into your content, and as your platform grows you can pitch yourself to bigger companies or they might just come straight to you!
Offer your services
If you have a specific skill, sell it to people that could use it! This is kind of like having a job but on your own terms.
This is you being a contracted service provider or a freelancer. For example, when I was getting started I freelanced my blogging services, did virtual assistant work for businesses, and did social media marketing.
This could also look like getting paid to make viral TikToks for businesses, getting contracted to paint a mural, speaking at an event, etc. Your skills are profitable, you just need to find people who need them!
I personally found a lot of my freelance work in Facebook groups, but you can also create accounts with Fiver and UpWork. That being said, there are ways to make a lot more money as a freelancer if you do your own branding.
Coach
If you have a special skill or desire to help people in a specific area, then you might really enjoy coaching. You can literally teach people how to do what you do for money. Crazy right?
You can do one-on-one coaching either in-person or via Zoom meeting. You can do group coaching programs where you teach a bunch of people at the same time. Then you can also host events and retreats where people pay to meet and learn from you.
There are coaches in ALL different industries too. There are language coaches, mental health coaches, manifestation coaches, life coaches, style coaches, fitness coaches, hormone coaches, business coaches, money coaches -- you name it!
Sell products
T-shirts, hats, stickers, journals, planners, keychains, tumblers, mugs -- the possibilities are endless! There are so many people turning a profit on their creative talents on Etsy, and some are literally using a manufacturer and mass selling generic products. You can also sell merch for your own online brand.
There are so many ways to make money online, it just comes down to what you can get your head around and what will make the most sense for the industry your passion lies in. Like I said at the beginning, you can also incorporate multiple of these avenues to generate money in your online business.
For example: Say you’re a makeup artist
You can offer your services as your day-to-day income, doing weddings, etc. Then you can have a coaching program where you teach other makeup artists how to recreate their looks or build their own makeup artistry business. You do this by teaching LIVE workshops once a quarter. Then you take that content from the coaching session and turn it into an online course that people can buy at any time.
While you’re doing all of this, you’re also marketing your services by creating Instagram posts and TikToks, right? While you’re doing this why don’t you become an affiliate for the makeup brands you’re using and recommend the products you use to your audience?
Now you’re making money in 4 different ways and you don’t have to rely on wedding season for your income!
If this was helpful to you and you’re looking to take one or more of these avenues to build an online business and you want some help doing it, I invite you to check out the Shine Fucking Bright group coaching program!
We will literally get you up and running in 6-weeks!
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