DIY (do-it-yourself) is such a rewarding hobby. It’s fun, it allows you to flex your creative muscles and depending on what you are making it can also be good exercise. There are so many different things that you can make too.
There’s woodwork, there’s crocheting and knitting, there’s arts and crafts, the list goes on and on. DIY is versatile and enjoyable and another great thing about it is that there’s a lot of people out there who will probably be very interested in the stuff you make.
Because we’ve got the internet these days, the possibility of actually making money from your DIY projects has become very real. Before the internet you could always set up a stall at a market or something, but very few people would have seen it.
Now the entire world can get a glimpse at your work and there is almost guaranteed to be someone out there who would love to get their hands on it. So how exactly do you start bringing in the cash? In this article, you’ll learn the process on how you can make money online from your DIY projects.
Here’s a few things you need to do:
1) Find the Right Store
For homemade products, the store that you’re going to hear about most often is Etsy. It’s probably already a site that you’re familiar with and that’s because it is the most popular place to sell homemade goods online.
It’s where people are more than likely going to look first and if you have a store on Etsy that you’ve worked hard on setting up and marketing and is up there among the first people see when they search for products like yours, then you have a high chance of selling.
But it’s not the only option by any means. And the fact that there are so many sellers on there might actually work against you when you’re just starting out. There are a few other sites which offer a similar service but aren’t quite as well known.
Zibbet is a great site that allows you to start selling for free for your first 10 listings and then it’s $10 from that point on. And then you’ve got sites like Uncommon Goods who will sell the items for you if they’re deemed good enough.
You will have to share the earnings with the site in this case, but it is a good option for those who are starting because all of the technicalities of setting up the store and pushing the product are covered by the site.
Alternatively, you could always just start your own website and sell from there. If you’re going to do that though, there’s something else which is very important for you to think about:
2) Leverage Social Media
To start making money, people have to be able to find your store. And that’s not just going to happen by magic. But it will happen if you know how to market yourself on social media, that’s a big help these days.
Think about all of the major social media sites. The three biggest ones are probably Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Your business should have each of these and they should be updated as regularly as you can.
In the case of Twitter, tweet things daily. Tweet your thoughts about DIY or find hashtags in regards to DIY that are trending and tweet about them. Make sure that your store is in your Twitter bio.
On Instagram, post pictures of your projects and tag them appropriately so that people who are looking for such pictures will see yours. If the visual is striking, people will be more likely to click again and end up on your store.
Again, stick the link to that in your bio. As regards Facebook, that’s used a bit less these days but it does still have its merits. What you could do is make a page for your business and through that page, engage with groups.
There are a ton of groups that are specifically about DIY. Find the ones that are local of course but also look for the most popular ones because by no means do you only have to sell locally. However, building an online business may be much more profitable in the long run than trying to sell things locally.
An important thing to remember here is to not appear as if you are only in the group to sell. That’s just going to annoy people. Participate in discussions and offer people advice. There will be a lot of people in the group who will naturally gravitate towards your page that way.
Again, make sure you have a link to your store on all of these accounts.
3) Know What is Selling
When you think DIY, generally what you would think of are a household items and decorations made out of wood. Maybe knitted clothes or a small crocheted doll. Things like lamps, end tables, maybe a desk if you like committing to longer, bigger projects.
If you are doing DIY s a hobby, you pretty much have freedom to make whatever you want, but if you’re looking to make money, it’s a bit of a different story. You can spend weeks and weeks knitting a complex rug that you think looks cool, but what if no one wants a fancy rug?
I mean you’d probably find someone to buy it, but to truly optimize your earnings, you really want to find out what is popular right now and try and cater your products to that. I’m not saying you should take up woodwork if knitting is your game but people are buying a lot of homemade wooden projects, but do keep up with what people are buying.
Check websites that specialize in this sort of industry. You could keep pages like this one from Mostcraft bookmarked and see what they’re currently focusing on. Also check the ‘Popular Right Now’ section of Etsy to find out what’s selling.
You have to bring something of your own to your projects in order to stand out of course, but you will make more money if you cater to the trends.
I know that you probably just want to focus on your projects and that is absolutely important, but this stuff is important too. And also, once you get the hang of all of the market research and advertising tricks, it won’t take anywhere near as much time as you might think.
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This article was created in cooperation with Mostcraft.com.
