Creativity is all around us. It’s romanticized in the books we read and the shows we watch. Yet, in our working lives, the concept eludes us. We get stuck in traditional job roles and absolutes.
But, work is becoming far more abstract. As avenues open and industries evolve, jobs are redundant and hobbies become our career. We are able to ask: can I do what I love? And the answer is yes.
From Instagram to YouTube, the modern world is reaching out for creatives to realize their potential. But the transition is hard. Finding financial success in your skills is a difficult task. It takes dedication and consistency while offering little support.
Read on to learn about four brilliant ways to harness your creative skills and get a little extra cash on the side.
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is a notoriously difficult industry to break into. But over the last decade, YouTube has given cinematographers a way to get themselves noticed. The internet giant is a powerhouse of home entertainment. Attracting Hollywood stars Like Will Smith to its doorstep only reaffirms the case.
If you have a passion for film, the only things holding you back are a camera and an internet connection. YouTube sets you up with the tools and you have the freedom to create whatever you want. Like Instagram, subscribers are gained through self-promotion and hard work.
There are many avenues where you can make money on YouTube too. However, creating a liveable income takes a lot of hard work and persistence. With hundreds of videos posted every minute, you need to establish a brand for your YouTube channel that makes you stand out from the crowd. And assuming you are starting out, crowdfunding can be a great way to finance projects.
Take Kickstarter for example, which uses a rewards-based funding model. Your followers become investors and are involved with your work every step of the way. To get to a place where funding is possible you must garner a following, by creating content on a personal budget.
Photography
Photography is one of the most lucrative options for a creative side project. People are willing to pay good money for professional photos for all sorts of reasons. You could focus on wedding and event photography, fashion photography, product images, portraits, and headshots, or even sell your images as stock photography.
Instagram is a good place to kick start your photography business. Amidst all the brand deals and waves of reality stars cashing in on fame, Instagram turns hobbies into a portfolio of work.
With over one billion active users, Instagram’s reach is unmatched by any single domain and it’s the perfect way to showcase your photography skills at an amateur level. In the digital age, photography is more fashionable than ever before. But on social media, followers are currency. So, making cash relies on exposure, consistency, and effort. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Instagram is your gallery and the more you put into it, the higher the reward. Include a link in your profile to your business website or link to a stock photography site like Stocksy. Followers and engagement on Instagram will help build your reputation, but it’s crucial to find a way of monetizing your skills to turn it into a lucrative side project.
Ecommerce
Ecommerce is booming, so why not set up a website and sell your creative products online? If you’re able to make something unique that people want to buy then selling online can be a very lucrative side project. You could sell anything from prints and artwork to clothing, home decor, or handmade furniture. Customizable products are also hugely popular, or you could take commissions for bespoke items.
When you’ve decided what it is that you’re going to sell, you need to get yourself set up with an online store. Many creatives and independent businesses will start on a marketplace platform such as Etsy where there’s a ready-made customer base. However, if you want to grow your side project into a successful business it’s a good idea to sell on your own website.
There you have complete control over your website design, the products you sell, you can establish a brand, and you don’t have to lose a percentage of every sale to the platform. One of the best choices for setting up a creative online store is the GoDaddy website builder. You can get your site up and running in less than an hour, it’s straightforward to manage sales, and it offers excellent marketing and SEO features, which is important for a small brand trying to connect with its target audience.
Writing
Writing promotes critical thinking, allowing you to specialize in something different every day. How and what you write is up to personal taste. On Monday you could be completing a column about the latest political scandal; then on Tuesday, begin work on a fantastical space opera.
But writing is not easy and securing a paid role can be even harder. You must spend time building your craft and creating a body of work. Unlike YouTube and Instagram, finding an outlet to write on the internet is varied. Whether it’s on your own blog or posting article style posts on platforms like Medium. More niche forms of writing can be found in unusual places. Take Twitter for instance where aspiring authors create haikus or a hundred and fifty character long installments of a short story. Regardless, the aim is to become good enough to be paid for it.
Once you are a confident writer, you can look into freelancing. Popular blogs across the internet are hungry for content and willing to pay you for it. If you’re struggling to find work then look at freelance marketplace Upwork for opportunities to get you started. Freelancing is great as you are rarely restricted to a rigid form of writing. Fancy writing a games review? Contact a technology blog. What about your exercise routine? A fitness blog it is then.
As the world modernizes, we are enjoying a creative renaissance. The demand for creative work has never been so high. Nowadays you can find a way to make money out of pretty much anything. But with such demand, comes a degree of saturation. Everybody is chasing their dream, so it can be hard to get noticed. Try to be as original as possible with your hobby, where that isn’t possible — be the best.
Recent Comments