Turning your hobby into a business …Hobbies that can make money

I try to provide some free or at least cheap ways to still enjoy life when unemployed and with little or no spare money for leisure activities. As I have written previously, it is actually more important than ever when looking for a job that you stay in circulation. It is important because meeting people and networking is one of the best ways to get a job, with many jobs being found through word of mouth and someone who knows of jobs being available rather than advertised jobs, this is called the hidden job market.

 Also, being unemployed has a very powerful and negative effect on mental health as well as finances and issues with mental health such as stress lead to physical health problems such as high blood pressure . For further information on this subject Google the psychological effects of unemployment, effect unemployment has on people and also articles on this blog

https://valeriehedgescareers.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20psychological%20effects%20of%20unemployment

When unemployed, there is no money in your benefits allowance for leisure activities. However, becoming a job hunting bore, talking about nothing other than looking for a job and the problems of having no money is a big turn off when you do meet people and can make you look desperate and leaving people more likely to wonder why you cannot get a job than to think off anyone they might know who could help you.

So, try to do something other than read your job alert emails and apply for jobs. It is true that many hobbies such as the arts and sports cost money, but if you are reading this then quite possibly at home you already have one of the best tools, that is the internet, for finding or developing further, hobbies that that are free or at least cheap and can even lead to a job.

Google hobbies that can make money online and look up writing, sharing knowledge, selling your photographs online , selling your crafts and cooking, gardening and sewing , all hobbies that can lead to making an income from your skills.

Also search terms to use are: Hobbies that make money ideas, hobbies that can earn you money and hobbies that can be a job.

If you have hobbies that you can write about then you can make money from writing about it and getting paid for your articles. If you do not already have a blog, start one and write articles for it, then look up ways to… Monetize your blog, with advertising and products relevant to your topic.

Google search: Websites that pay you to write:

Some examples:

  http://www.epicpassiveincome.com/pay-per-article-websites/

http://www.malleeblue.com/best-article-writing-sites-for-earning-money-online/#

http://allindiewriters.com/websites-and-blogs-paying-100-per-article/

http://www.writersincharge.com/110-websites-that-pay-writers/

http://www.makealivingwriting.com/140-websites-that-pay-writers-updated-2014/

http://www.amylynn.org/home/paidtowrite

Reading also can be turned into a means to make some money by writing paid book reviews.

https://dramaquill.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/get-paid-to-review-books/

http://www.sellbox.com/5-resources-for-paid-book-reviews/

http://www.findextrawork.co.uk/reviewbooks.php

Start a blog about your favourite books and books that you read and join Amazon’s affiliate programme, get the links to the book and advertise and promote your blog or website so that you can sell the books.

Quite likely you are already on Facebook and or Twitter, they are not just for fun and posting pictures of cats and writing on walls. Use the job hunting pages and groups and also search free advertising in the Facebook search bar , advertise your skills or crafts , post your CV or resume and share the groups and pages to your own page. Interact with other posts and almost without knowing, you will be building up networking connections and learning the basics of social media marketing.

Be sure to get some exercise, even just a walk into town if you have had to give up your gym membership, clears your head and reduces stress.

Valerie

Ways to make money from your blog

Of course, quite a few people who start a blog are not thinking about using it to make an income, many blogs are started for events such as weddings and holidays, but the chances are that if you are on my blog, looking for a job over 50, then you are looking for ways to get a job, or start a business or just make some money from home, and if so, maybe you have thought about blogging.

Many people would have understandable doubts but there are ways to make money from a blog, and some blogs do very well indeed.

There are differing views on whether or not a blogger should monetize their blog right from the beginning, or not do so and build up a strong readership base first. I personally think it does not matter which decision you make about your blog. Many readers, especially if they know you personally are going to know that you need to make some money, it may seem intrusive to others reading your blog for the first time when they do not know you, but the etiquette in blogging is to interact with your readers and respond to comments and to also interact with other bloggers , this builds up your readership and if you are blogging and blogging well on a popular niche then selling products and services related to your topic on your blog will quite likely do no harm and even a lot of good .

http://www.sparringmind.com/successful-blogs/

https://fizzle.co/sparkline/81-blog-topic-ideas

http://www.tropicalmba.com/101-monetizable-blog-topics/

However, as in all things moderation is the key, remember a blog is primarily to be read rather than being a shop, so don’t make the advertising too intrusive. I admit I have a lot of advertising space in use on my blog, but I do need to maximise the earning potential and also I had a large readership before I increased the advertising space being used. It seems to work for my blog but you may need to experiment with what works best for the layout of your own blog.

Pay Per Click Ads

http://www.infolinks.com/join-us?aid=1701335

Many bloggers setting out to make money on their blog start with and like pay per click ads, such as infolinks . Such schemes are often easier to get accepted for than the more well-known and very popular AdSense. My blog was accepted for Adsense but no ads ever appeared and so I gave it up to maximize my advertising space for infolinks and other schemes instead. Pay per click ads show links and a short description of the advertiser and are matched up to your sites niche. I warn you, it is slow and you will not earn much to begin with at all, as you have to have a lot of page views and ad clicks and the pay is worked out per ad as something like a percentage amount of the total clicks that ad has got, or this is kind of how I understand it …. anyone wishing to have a chance to guest blog for me on pay per click is very welcome, indeed I am happy to consider all requests to guest blog for me. Some site owners have claimed to be very successful with this method of monetizing a blog or website.

Sell Advertisements

Selling your own advertising space on your blog or website can be a great way to make money, but you do need a lot of traffic (visitors) for this to be successful. After all, nobody will pay you to advertise on your site unless they have a good chance of getting business from you. There are various ways that you can sell advertising, including text links, banner ads and mentions in a newsletter. If you are not yet ready for selling your own advertising spaces, then instead sign up to paid or sponsored blogging programmes. Here are some suggestions, I have used all of the updates to this link as they have some differences ….

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/sites-that-pays-you-to-blog/


http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/sites-to-get-paid-blogging/

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/sites-pay-writing-blogging/


Affiliate Programmes
There are affiliate schemes for everything under the sun from airlines and travel agents to London Zoo!! And you can post affiliate links selling products and services relevant to your site. For example, I have a jobs board on my blog from Work Circle and am exploring other career related affiliate programmes .

jobs by workcircle

Another very successful way to place affiliate links on your site is via the Amazon scheme where you can place on your site links and widgets for all kinds of products relevant to your niche.

Promote yourself and your business

Remember that while you are writing, as long as you are getting your work out there and seen, you are making a name for yourself as a writer and hopefully an expert in your chosen field. Google promote your blog free, blog promotion sites, how to promote a blog post on twitter, blog post promotion checklist, how to promote blog content and promote blog on Facebook and the more you are seen, the more chance there is that you may be asked to write for others, or indeed can use your site as a portfolio of your work to apply for paid writing jobs

If you work steadily and regularly at publishing good content and building up your readership, there is no reason why you cannot make money with your blog or website.

Valerie Hedges

Work Online... a beginner’s basic guide part 1

Almost everyone now knows that people are using computers to make a living working from home, however fewer people really know the basics and how to be properly organised to begin and exactly what is involved. It is NOT staying home all day in your pyjamas and spending much of the day watching the telly and playing on Facebook.

There are different ways to work from home, you may actually not be self-employed at all but have all the benefits of a regular salary, a contract, pension rights etc, but just be allowed by your employer to work from home. Maybe you run your own business from home as a freelance accountant, copywriter etc or you make and sell things on line.

Many companies recruit people to work from home and the opportunities are increasing regularly. It is not only beneficial to the workers but also to the company, who do not have the same overheads as they would have for a building full of staff and all the things they have to pay for them as employees such as pensions. However, this does mean that self-employed people often have to take care of these benefits for themselves, unless they are willing to work until they drop and work even when they are sick. It is a very good idea to look at income protection polices for the self-employed.

The Internet has really changed the world of work and how and where people work. Quite a few people remain highly suspicious of anything to do with working from home and refuse to view it as a proper job, which is hard if you are trying to do it and these people are your family and friends. There are scams yes but it is also quite possible to make a successful living working from home or as a self-employed person wherever you work from. Many things that earn money can now be done from home or your own office as long as you have the technology required, usually a computer, maybe Skype and mobile Internet such as Smartphones and tablets to stay in touch with people you are working for. Just a few examples of self-employed careers include telesales, writing, admin work, being a PA, marketing and web design but there are many more. Lots of self-employed opportunities require little or no set up costs and ideas for a business can come from your hobbies, interests or skills. Even if you would really quite like to just listen to music or play games all day, it may be surprising how many opportunities there are advertised for writers with a knowledge of music, the movies, Internet games etc. Write about your skills or interests and get paid.

However, before becoming self-employed, your mindset and preparation needs to be just the same as if you were looking for a traditional job. Know your skills, be able to present your experience, be confident about it and have a good CV ready for any applications you make on freelance job boards such as those listed here:

http://dailyjobsinfo.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/huge-list-of-147-freelance-job-boards.html

http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/freelance-jobs/

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245953

http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6965-freelance-job-websites.html

http://benrmatthews.com/find-freelance-jobs-online/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2014/04/04/10-great-sites-to-find-gigs-and-part-time-work/

http://skillcrush.com/2014/10/10/sites-finding-remote-work/

http://smallbiztrends.com/2015/09/freelance-sites.html

http://www.writersincharge.com/freelance-job-boards/

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/08/24/9-websites-to-find-freelance-writing-jobs/

http://blog.creativelive.com/best-sites-finding-remote-jobs/

Working for yourself is not an easy option but it can be a lifeline for those who are older, sick or disabled and have had pension plans not perform as expected or had disability benefits stopped as part of welfare reform and told by the government that they must look for work, when not fit enough to hold down a demanding job outside the home. There are attitudes that someone considering working for themselves need, you will not make a go of it if you are one of those who does not see it as a real job and is just giving it a go out of desperation, you need a lot of self-belief, motivation and skills such as discipline in things like time management.  

I won’t pretend that IT skills are not a big help, I still know older people who do not use a computer and insist they have no intention of doing so, but even selling things on sites such as Ebay and Etsy require an ability to use the site software. Yes, you can just go to the local flea market and get a stall but the advantage of the web for any business at all is the reach that your business can have.

Remember too that your computer and other equipment are only an aid to your business when they are working and if not then not only can you lose a lot of money but it can cost you a lot in repair bills. Put into your business plan and projected expenses such things as insurance policies and or emergency funds and if you cannot do the repair jobs yourself, then get to know reliable people who can from recommendations. As you earn money remember too that the tax man wants his share, either find yourself a well recommended accountant or software that will help you do your taxes yourself.

Get and stay organised and focused. One of the most important skills when working for yourself are those of time management. The housework and shopping still needs to be done, you need to eat, your laundry needs doing and letters and bills need to be attended to. One of the advantages of working for yourself is that work is available online all the time, but this does not mean that you work 24/7. Being so busy that you are swamped with work and get nothing else done either is NOT productive. If you were working at a regular job, you would not be there round the clock seven days a week, so when working for yourself, know when to stop and keep a work/life balance … and be confident that you can do well. 

Valerie Hedges 

Turning your hobby into a business

                                                      

I try to provide some free or at least cheap ways to still enjoy life when unemployed and with little or no spare money for leisure activities. As I have written previously, it is actually more important than ever when looking for a job that you stay in circulation. It is important because meeting people and networking is one of the best ways to get a job, with many jobs being found through word of mouth and someone who knows of jobs being available rather than advertised jobs, this is called the hidden job market.

 Also, being unemployed has a very powerful and negative effect on mental health as well as finances and issues with mental health such as stress lead to physical health problems such as high blood pressure . For further information on this subject Google the psychological effects of unemployment, effect unemployment has on people and also articles on this blog http://valeriehedges.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/The%20psychological%20effects%20of%20unemployment.

When unemployed, there is no money in your benefits allowance for leisure activities. However, becoming a job hunting bore, talking about nothing other than looking for a job and the problems of having no money is a big turn off when you do meet people and can make you look desperate and leaving people more likely to wonder why you cannot get a job than to think off anyone they might know who could help you.

So, try to do something other than read your job alert emails and apply for jobs. It is true that many hobbies such as the arts and sports cost money, but if you are reading this then quite possibly at home you already have one of the best tools, that is the internet, for finding or developing further, hobbies that that are free or at least cheap and can even lead to a job.

Google hobbies that can make money online and look up writing, sharing knowledge, selling your photographs online selling your crafts and cooking, gardening and sewing , all hobbies that can lead to making an income from your skills.

Also search terms to use are: Hobbies that make money ideas, hobbies that can earn you money and hobbies that can be a job.

If you have hobbies that you can write about then you can make money from writing about it and getting paid for your articles. If you do not already have a blog, start one and write articles for it, then look up ways to… Monetize your blog, with advertising and products relevant to your topic.

Google search: Websites that pay you to write:

Some examples:  http://www.epicpassiveincome.com/pay-per-article-websites/

http://www.malleeblue.com/best-article-writing-sites-for-earning-money-online/#

http://allindiewriters.com/websites-and-blogs-paying-100-per-article/

http://www.minterest.org/how-to-make-money-writing-articles/

http://www.writersincharge.com/110-websites-that-pay-writers/

http://www.makealivingwriting.com/140-websites-that-pay-writers-updated-2014/

http://www.amylynn.org/home/paidtowrite

Reading also can be turned into a means to make some money by writing paid book reviews.

https://dramaquill.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/get-paid-to-review-books/

http://www.sellbox.com/5-resources-for-paid-book-reviews/

http://www.findextrawork.co.uk/reviewbooks.php

http://writersweekly.com/this_weeks_article/001002_12172003.html

Start a blog about your favourite books and books that you read and join Amazon’s affiliate programme, get the links to the book and advertise and promote your blog or website so that you can sell the books.

Quite likely you are already on Facebook and or Twitter, they are not just for fun and posting pictures of cats and writing on walls. Use the job hunting pages and groups and also search free advertising in the Facebook search bar , advertise your skills or crafts , post your CV or resume and share the groups and pages to your own page. Interact with other posts and almost without knowing, you will be building up networking connections and learning the basics of social media marketing.

Be sure to get some exercise, even just a walk into town if you have had to give up your gym membership, clears your head and reduces stress. 

Valerie Hedges 

A book that makes it easier to know where to sell your crafts, with some sites listed that you may not have known of , and several I have never heard of . Written mainly for the USA market but many of these online stores operate worldwide , so this is not always a barrier .