Make money while doing what you love with these profitable hobbies

It’s a 6:30 a.m. alarm that gets you out of bed to go to work on a weekday, but what gets you moving on the weekend? Is it working on your latest DIY craft project? Going for a long run? Preparing a delicious meal? Some other hobby?

Whatever your passion, the beauty of hobbies is that we do them for the sheer joy of doing them, not because anyone’s paying for it. But what if someone could pay you? And who’s to say someone wouldn’t? What if you could make a side-hustle out of something like picking out the perfect heirloom tomato at the farmer’s market or knitting a scarf? What if you could monetize your Saturday morning run?

Here, we’ll show you how to take your favorite hobbies and turn them into extra money. Sure, it’s work. But it’s work that doesn’t feel like work, which is definitely the best kind!

How to make extra income from your favorite hobbies

Profitable hobbies and handicrafts are nothing new. Look no further than Etsy for proof.

But with social media and ecommerce platforms giving hobbyists, crafters, and freelancers the opportunity to sell their brands like never before, homegrown products and services have gained a lot of reach. Here’s how to take your weekend DIY projects and post-work relaxation activities and turn them into money-making hobbies:

• Get paid to write (bloggers/freelance writers): If you’re good with a pen or a keyboard, you can turn your skills as a scribe into cash by doing freelance writing for companies or individuals. Check job posting sites looking for ghost-writers, content creators or translators, and put your literary skills to work. If you write fiction or poetry, you could send your work to online and print journals, which sometimes offer payment upon publication or contests that reward excellent writing. If you have your own blog, try partnering with the Amazon Associate affiliate program to make some passive income promoting products on your page. A plus? Writing is one of those cheap hobbies to make money – the real investment is time, creativity, and effort.
• Get paid for your crafts: If you’re an avid knitter who’s running out of people to gift scarves, why not sell them? (To all the boomers and anyone who’s old at heart out there: Yes, there are “retirement hobbies” that make money). You can sell all sorts of crafts on platforms like Esty, making profitable hobbies of engraving, embroidering, painting, drawing and so on.
• Get paid to play: Playing video games is not just a way to relieve some of the day's stress. You can earn money by showing off your skills in YouTube tutorials, writing reviews, streaming on Twitch or testing games. If you’re a hardcore gamer, you could even give an online course.
• Help others work out: Many people feel more motivated to work out when they’re in a class or a group – hence, the popularity of pop-music-driven cycling classes and running clubs. Create tutorials on YouTube so people worldwide can follow along and monetize the traffic on your account through the YouTube Partner Program. You could also go old-school and start a class locally or offer your services as a personal trainer.
• Sit or walk dogs: This one’s at the top of the list of easy hobbies to make money. All pups love to hit the park, and plenty also love to destroy their parents’ shoes. Earn a bit of extra income by taking these little guys out for some fresh air or simply keeping an eye on them while no one is home. Who wouldn’t want to hang out with puppies in their spare time and make some extra cash?
• Partner with a brand: If you have a hobby, you’re probably passionate about the tools you use to do it. Love painting? Why not contact the makers of your go-to supplies and see if they offer social media affiliate marketing, sponsorship, or brand ambassador opportunities? Great at soccer? Use your local sports celebrity to help promote that mom-and-pop sneaker store in your neighborhood in exchange for goods or money.
• Grocery shop for others: If you don’t mind heading out in iffy weather for groceries and find joy in finding the perfect avocado, try putting your skills to work as a shopper. You can get started with a popular delivery app or even start your own biz, advertising your services on social media. If you don’t mind running errands, consider signing up with an app like TaskRabbit to help others with all sorts of chores.

How to monetize almost anything

You can try getting your hobby business to take off through grassroots marketing efforts on your own social media pages, but it’s better to get the power of the internet behind you when you try to make money online. We’ve mentioned partnering with platforms like Esty, TaskRabbit or freelance job posting sites that can expand your reach as an entrepreneur. Many social media platforms also have affiliate marketing and creator programs that can easily connect you with brands related to your hobby.

Here’s how to get started when finding the right money-making route for you:

• Identify your interest: Decide what kind of products and services you plan to offer. If you’re going to try to make money on social media, start building a niche audience around your interest that’ll be attracted to the brands with which you hope to partner.
• Find an opportunity in the market: On many platforms and social media sites – whether grocery shopping apps or Instagram – opportunities will come to you. You just have to register, make a profile and actively look. Remember, the platform is there to help connect you with brands or customers. But if you plan to go out on your own, identify what people in your community (online or real-life) want to buy. Is there really a need for graphic design or is the market already saturated? Maybe what your community really needs is an expert in interior design or landscaping.
• Keep crafting (and writing and running and gaming): Whatever you do, keep practicing so that you continue to get better at it. Becoming an authority on your craft makes you a more attractive influencer for brands looking to partner with talented people in their niche. Plus, as you master your craft, your products and services will also improve.
• Start out with a side hustle: There’s nothing wrong with having high hopes and low expectations. Work part-time and see how your sales go at first before you try to take your hobby into a full-time job. Making a profit off your hobbies is definitely possible – but it takes time, patience and dedication. Some influencers earn good money, and if you have a talent like, let’s say, writing, you could turn that into a job creating content, editing or proofreading. For those of you hustling on social media, don’t sleep on an opportunity to boost your following. Pop a Linktree URL in the bio of your social media accounts to direct traffic to the rest of your internet presence – from your Etsy listings to your online store to your YouTube channel to your podcast.