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I have a lot of hobbies/interests, how do I profit from that?

by arkitech
6 replies
I've always been interested in almost any and everything. I love books, music, movies, photography, djing, anime, math, science, technology, natural medicine, engineering, video games, etc.. And because of these interests I'm constantly reading and researching on a variety of different subjects.

I've always wondered how I can use my interests to earn a living and then I discovered this site. For the first time I'm starting to see how I might be able to earn income by writing about the things I'm most passionate about. I just recently learned about the Amazon Affiliate program and I can see how that might work out for me. But I'm curious about other revenue streams as well.


I would love to hear feedback from you guys on how you got started and what works well for you. Also for those of you who have websites and blogs, do you create those on your own? Do you pay someone to build them for you? Or do you use some kind of template to get your blog/site up and running?



Finally one last question. My biggest passion is music, I've spent 10 hours straight DJing and building compilations. How do I work with copyright laws to share my mixes/compilations and use that hobby to make income? I would really like to host an internet radio show where I discuss and play music, but I'm always hampered by copyright issues of music.
#hobbies or interests #lot #profit
  • Profile picture of the author Mark Tandan
    Hey - from the questions you've asked and the info you provided you sound like a natural blogger to me.
    A lot of bloggers are people just like you, that have several interest (or in many cases just 1 or 2 with a lot of specific knowledge) and then start a blog sharing articles and tips along the way. And eventually they figure out a way to get paid for this by adding affiliate links (such as Amazon) and other options.

    Have used both paid designers to build sites, and built my own. If you're new I'd suggest starting free, where you can learn the ins and outs. Check out blogger.com - it's a free blogging service where if you're patient you can learn all the basics. Then if you decide to use a more advanced platform later or hire a designer, you'll be far better informed.

    Hope this helps!
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  • Profile picture of the author bwh1
    Being passionate does help but is not a necessary item in IM to make money online.

    And straight away - doing A LOT is a good way into nowhere as one of the keys is

    BEING FOCUSED and staying relevant to your topic, or in other words the Niche.

    So first thing you have to do is identify a good niche which has a lot of hungry buyers and plenty of stuff to sell what indicates a great value. The last you want is to spend your time in a free stuff niche.

    Then you have to pick in that segment a niche where you have a chance to build yourself a business and include as soon as possible LISTBUILDING into your marketing.

    Look always at products which sell well NOW and try to mirror (not copy) what they do and offer something even better.

    If you have your site and offer setup you need to plugin yourself into the traffic flow which already exist for that niche. Go free and if you have the cash paid.

    Test and tweak till the business makes a profit, then scale it up or sell it and start all over again.

    Don't hold yourself back and spend too many time with all that, set yourself goals in terms of time and values and if you are not getting the results you have planned then check why and maybe skip to a new keyword and/or Niche and start all over again.

    Money loves speed so your time is your most valuable asset, never forget this.

    And if you have the gift to compose music, you can record those clips and sell those (copyrighted of course) as author at sites like videoblocks etc. just Google "royalty free music clips".
    Wishing you good luck

    G.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mateenyall
      Completely agree with the post above me,

      I found many times that as soon as I started to 'monetize' my interests it just felt burdensome.

      If you like reading and learning, maybe blogging is the way for you. Start blogging about a topic you ENJOY writing about.

      Blog one to two posts a week and use affiliate programs like Amazon, ShareaSale, etc to monetize.

      Making money through the internet via your interests require a whole set of new age skills such as 'using online mediums to market your content'.

      I personally spent a while learning everything from scratch through youtube and google, (its really not that hard to set up a blog!).

      It also took me some time to learn what I enjoy writing about, and how to get the word out there.

      Just pick something, try it out for a set amount of time, (define your goals and be specific), then re-evaluate.

      Monetization or business in general is a lot about throwing things out there and seeing what hits, (testing & tweaking),

      Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author Stuart Walker
    Don't try and write about all of your passions on one blog that's for sure. Be super focused and pick one interest then find a unique angle.
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    • Profile picture of the author sanhal
      I wrote a book about the subject I knew a lot about and was passionate about. I then wrote a free report with a link to my book in it and put it on a squeeze page to promote it and build my list.

      Once you have a list you can promote affiliate products to your subscribers.

      A started a blog too. I would go with a self hosted Wordpress blog from the start. It's not that easy to change from a free blog site to a self hosted one once you have traffic.

      You can find Wordpress plug ins that enable you to create squeeze pages so you can do it all from the one domain.

      You can easily install a blog with Fantastico which you get through C-Panel when you sign up for a hosting account. I have always used Hostgator but others prefer other companies.

      I would agree with what the others have said. Pick one interest and go with that.

      Good luck

      Sandy
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  • Profile picture of the author Tom Addams
    Two words: authority site.

    You're the perfect candidate for a webmaster of an authority site. If you want a long-term, and effective business strategy, here's a blueprint:

    - Create a authority site in a niche that interests you (greatly), has an audience of purchasers, and low enough competition to make market entry feasible;
    - EMD;
    - 200 pages of articles (drip-feed thereafter);
    - Blog;
    - Newsletter;
    - Forum (use something paid like VB).

    Obviously, there's a lot more to it than that, but that kind of setup seems perfect for you, and it's future-protected, since eventually your traffic will not rely on Google; although, Google should always love such a site anyway.
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