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Episode #58
I talk a lot about finding your passion and purpose and how important that is when you want to make money doing what you love. But once you know what your passion and purpose are, you need to find a way that you can make money from it using the talents and skills you have. Sometimes it’s obvious what you should do, for example, if you have a passion for what you are already doing in your day job you could either go freelance in that or start a business in the same field.
But what if your passion is a bit more unusual? Then it’s not quite as easy to spot how it can be a money spinner and give you the fulfilment, freedom and fun you want. One thing I believe for sure is that there is a market for almost everything, you just have to find your audience and how you can bring what you do to them. That’s why an online-based business can be a game changer because you have the whole online world as potential clients. There are many ways in which you can make your passion come alive and find the right audience, so here are a few to get you started:
TEACH OTHERS WHAT YOU KNOW
So, the first way you can use your passion to bring in an income online is to teach others what you know. This can be applied to most passions, because there will always be people interested in what you do and who want to know how you do it. One thing that never changes is that we all want to learn. It’s in our DNA, bettering ourselves and developing new skills and learning new information are important to us. So you can be sure, that if you have a skill or talent you are passionate about, if you have knowledge of something that others will want you to know, then there is a way to monetise it.
You also have to remember that what comes easily to you, can be a mystery to others! Particularly if something is your passion and you have a talent for it. You are inclined to think “well everyone knows how to do that” or ‘“that is so obvious, no one would pay to learn that?”. But the fact is that many people would pay to learn something they can’t do. The beauty of online is that your clients do not need to be limited to the country you live in. You can teach people all over the globe and there will be many people out there wanting to know what you know!
You don’t even need to have some crazy new way of doing things or some unique system or knowledge that very few people have. You may think “I can't do that because there are so many other people in that space already”, but there is one thing that differentiates you from all the others in the market. They are not you! They don’t have your history, your exact knowledge, your hopes and fears, your style of communication, or the unique make-up that makes you ‘you’! You don’t have to make everyone fall in love with your passion, just those that are already looking for what you have to say and someone like you to learn from.
Here are some ways you can share your passion and knowledge:
Coaching: According to the Life Coach Directory, Coaching is a process where a coach supports you to make a change, learn something new or achieve your goals. The process of coaching happens through conversation, and the aim is to help you make progress in a certain area of your life, at work or to overcome a problem you're struggling with.
Most people think of life coaching or corporate coaching when they think of coaching but they are just the more prominent paths. There are now lots of specialist niche coaches, who coach people who are trying to achieve results in a specific area of specialism. So it is likely that if your passion is something that people need help with, then you could potentially coach on the topic. You can coach people 1:1 or recently group coaching is become more popular, as the people in the group can also support each other and this lowers the cost for those being coached and makes more use of your time as a coach. You can offer both options and then see what works best for the potential coachee.
Online Masterclasses - These are one-off live video workshops on a specific topic. You can choose a topic you know your ideal client would be interested in and create a one or two-hour workshop around that topic and charge for people to attend. You advertise it on your blog, podcast or youtube channel if you have one, and your favourite social media channel or you can pay for advertising.
This is a great way to get started as an online educator and connect with people who are interested in your passion. You can find out more about them and what they are looking for. It is also a way of showing them what you can do so they can decide if they would like to work with you further.
Online Courses - An online course is where you can pour all your love, knowledge and experience about your passion into a series of workshops that people can buy and attend online. There are two main ways you can run an online course, the first is through live video. So like the online masterclass, you would book a series of times in to run the course live through the video platform of your choice like Facebook or zoom. Or you can record yourself delivering your course on video and the student can watch it at any time. If you have a topic you could teach then an online course should definitely be considered.
1:1 tutoring - You could teach people on a one-to-one basis. This is good if your passion is languages or musical instruments or if someone wants more in-depth time with you rather than being in a group. It’s also a good way to get started in teaching about your passion, as you can learn exactly what they want before creating content for a group or recording an online course. It is also a good path if you prefer not to coach but don’t want to teach groups either.
WRITING ABOUT YOUR PASSION
Ok, moving on from teaching to writing! Another way you can work with your passion and make money from it is through writing. If you like the written word then you can bring your passion to life in lots of ways. If words and writing are your passion and if it’s the crafting of the message that is ‘the thing’ that lights you up, you could become a journalist, write magazine articles writer or become a copywriter and write for others. There are a lot of freelance and business options in this space.
Or you could decide to write about your passion in a digital ebook or guide. You don’t have to be the next Stephen King or Zadie Smith to do this, if you have knowledge that other people want, you just need to share it with them in a simple and easy-to-read manner. But how do you know if people actually want to learn from you? If your passion is something that they want to learn about? Writing a book is a significant task and even if you are writing a shorter guide it takes some time, and all the while you are not making any income. So you don’t want to go to all that effort and discover that there is no audience for what you have to say, or the way you have written about it is not hitting home.
So what to do instead? Well starting a blog could be a really good option for you. It allows you to get used to writing about your passion and trying out different topics and points of view to see what would resonate with your audience most. It is possible to make money through blogging as many successful bloggers can attest to, but really what you are trying to do is to work out if people are interested in what you are saying and if they would be willing to pay for more of your knowledge. A good way to start hearing from those people and finding out what they want to know is to start a community of people who are interested in hearing more from you. You ask for their email address in exchange for newsletters from you to give them more insights into your speciality. You can then ask those people for feedback, what they would like to hear more of and if they would be interested in more from you.
Then once you have people interested and know what they would like to hear about, you could write your book. It doesn’t need to be a tome the size of the last of the Harry Potter series. It can be as short or long as you want, and actually could just be a guide. The most important thing is it needs to be something your audience would pay to learn more about.
One of the main benefits of blogging and digital ebooks is that they can be done alongside your day job until they start making you money and you are ready to leave. Once the book is written, apart from maybe some tweaks based on feedback, it continues to bring in passive income indefinitely.
CREATE A SUBSCRIPTION MEMBERSHIP COMMUNITY
Subscription memberships have grown in popularity hugely over the past decade and are predicted to get even bigger still. You can join a membership for practically everything, from Netflix and Amazon to subscribing to have gin or wine delivered to your door. You can also join membership communities for support on different development topics or just with people who have similar interests to you. . This is where you could potentially use your passion to benefit others and bring in some revenue.
Let’s use a different example this time. Let’s say you are a nutritionist. You could create an online course on a particular niche in nutrition like say children’s eating habits and how to get them to eat more healthily, and then after the course is over. offer them the chance to join a membership for a low-cost subscription each month. They can continue to access your knowledge, have more training, and support from the community to help them when they have problems with their children's eating habits or they need some motivation to keep trying with getting their children to eat better. Or you could just create a membership which people can join anytime, without the need to complete a course first. Whatever works for you ideal clients.
SET UP AN ONLINE SHOP
If you have created a physical product like jewellery or handbags, then you can sell them online either by setting up your own shop through an eCommerce platform like Shopify or Squarespace, or selling through online platforms like Etsy, eBay or notonthehighstreet.com.
Comparison sire ‘Ecommerce Platforms’ describes platforms like Etsy as “being a bit like taking your crafts to an art fair and displaying them at a booth for all the craft enthusiasts to see. Whereas, platforms like Shopify are more like opening a boutique store where you have to attract and grow your own customer base”.
Both have their pros and cons, for example selling on a site like Etsy is easier and quicker to set up and you have an instant audience, but you do have a lot of competition on the same site. Whereas you can showcase just yourself and your work on your own site, but it will take more work to set up and you have to do the marketing yourself.
USE YOUR VOICE
Finally, if you prefer speaking to writing, then use your voice to convey your passion and knowledge. You could become a speaker at online conferences or seminars. Where you just need to log into the video platform and talk about what you do and how others can do it. This can lead to in-person opportunities as well.
Or you can do what I do and talk about your passion on a podcast or by starting a youtube channel to get your message out there. There are many examples of people who have monetised their podcasts and youtube channels, and even if they don’t make money for you directly, they are a great way of marketing your products and improving your brand visibility.
So, there we have it, 5 ways you can start turning your passion into profit in the online world.
- Teach about your passion
- Write about your passion
- Start a membership community
- Set up an online shop
- Use your voice to share your passion
The ideal way forward is to have multiple streams of income and to use two or more of the ideas I have given in this episode so you can future-proof your business and ensure you always have an income. You may have active forms of income, like coaching or teaching live, or passive income where the information is pre-recorded and you literally can make money while you sleep like ebooks and online courses.
There are differing views on how many streams you should have. Some entrepreneurs think that you should keep it simple and have only 2 or three different streams. So that you can perfect them and keep track of everything and avoid overwhelm. While other entrepreneurs have more than 5 different streams of income, as they believe diversification is key. Personally, I err more on the side of simplicity and excellence in fewer products, or at the very least to bring in new profit-making products one at a time.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS…
Whatever your passion, there are many ways that you can turn it into profit in the online world. Do your research and choose the options that suit you, your passion, your personality and your skillset most and get started! The online business world is full of opportunity and potential for you and your passion but only by taking action will you be able to see what works for your specialism, how you want to run your business and how that aligns with the life you want to achieve.
To listen to the full episode and hear more stories, examples and insights, click on the play button above!
LINKS IN THIS EPISODE
What is Coaching - Life Coach Directory
Selling Products online - Ecommerce Platforms
