Turn Your Hobby Into Money For You

Wouldn't it be great to work less and play more? Doesn't it sound heavenly to spend more time doing the things we love than in the office?

It's a dream we all have at one time or another, but it's often just that, a dream. Well my friends, I'm here to tell you that it can become something more.  Think for a minute about a hobby you have.  If it's truly a hobby then I'll bet you know a thing or two about it. If you've been doing it for years, then you've gained experience and knowledge that probably millions of people would love to hear about.  I'm telling you that you can take that knowledge and put it to work for you.

Did you know that according to marketingvox.com, online retail spending totaled $81.6 billion for all of 2005, up 24 percent from $65.8 billion in 2004. The figures are not in for 2006 but undoubtedly they've gone up. What does all this mean for you?  It means that you can personally take advantage of the internet sales potential by developing an informational site based on what you know about. 

So how is it done?

First of all, you must understand what people come to the internet for.  No, they don't come to buy things, they come to the internet for information.  Think about it, if you want to buy a lounge chair, will you go the internet? Most likely not, however, if you want to find out about the best lounge chair to buy, you may just check out the web.

Having a successful web business is about offering information to an information starved society, but it doesn't stop there.  By offering good, useful information you are laying the ground work for convincing a viewer to buy a product that you have or that you endorse, but first you must present your case.

The mistake that many online business owners make is building a website, loading it up with products and expecting people to buy. If you're not someone like Amazon.com, Dell computer or Overstock.com, you're not likely to make a sale, why? Because you are a stranger. In the minds of most people, Amazon, Dell and Overstock are not. Therefore, you are first going to have to win your viewers over.

There's a tried and true formula presented by one of the internet's foremost online marketers, Dr. Ken Envoy.  Ken has spent several years cultivating a sales formula that works. It not only works, it has made many a successful business owner of the online business community. His concepts include creating a content website, bringing traffic to your site, pre-selling your products and finally monetizing your visitors into income. His concepts are most associated with affiliate marketing, however they are a firm foundation for any online marketing strategy.

Probably the most important concept is pre-selling which means a viewer needs convincing. Your visitors have to trust you. They have to feel they are not being sold to. They have to know that your are a trusted resource. This is done by knowing your products and offering as much useful information about them as possible. For example, if you are in affiliate sales you should always use or purchase whatever it is you are selling.  You must feel and experience the benefits. In doing so the process of promoting a product is so much easier and certainly more believable.

So what's your hobby? What's your Passion? Where do your interests and experiences lie?  Unless you've been under a rock all your life, you have something to offer. Why not turn that knowledge into revenue for you.

Here's just a few of the endless possibilities:

Infopreneurs/Information-Publishing
Publish what you know and love... and monetize it. Build a knowledge site with a blend of affiliate programs along with Google AdSense ads and earn several nice paychecks a month.

Service Businesses 
Offer a service related to your expertise. For example, if you like to write, offer a copywriting service.  

Create Needed E-Software
Are you a programmer? Create a niche-filling software program. If you are not a programmer, hire one.  

Create an E-Book
Take your expertise and write an e-book.  Ebook software makes it so simple.

Are You a Photographer?
Create a site with collections of e-photos, the e-photo sales market is booming!  Digitize it and sell it.

Hard Goods Creators/Sellers
Are you a small business or a craftsman that creates/manufactures/retails your own hard goods (i.e., products that you can actually touch and that you ship -- non-digital products)?  You can create your own store.  Either use your own products or find a wholesale dropshipper. 

Affiliate Sales
Add hundreds-to-thousands of dollars per month to your diversified monetization plan, without having a product of your own -- no warehousing, packaging, shipping, etc. If you do sell a product of your own, simply choose merchants that complement your  product line.

Referrers/Finders
Get paid a referrer or finder's fee by an offline business for finding a customer or a "lead". There are lots of programs that pay website owners who send them leads. 

Net Auction Sellers
Put eBay to work for you, not vice-versa. Use them as a supplemental source of income to auction a product that relates to your theme. Especially useful for local businesses or vendors that sell hard goods, and even for service-sellers. And obviously, for those who want to start an online auction business.

Local Offline Businesses
If you own an offline business, a Web site is a must. Use it to grow your business locally and, in many cases, to extend your market globally.

Putting your hobby or your expertise to work for you is an excellent way to create a side business, a full time home business or simply create some extra income while helping you do more of the things you love.