How to Monetize The Creative Skills You Didn't Know You Had

Today’s post is a guest post by Daniella from I Like To Dabble.

“Everyone has creativity within them. It’s just a matter of unlocking that creativity.” — Christina Canters

You are a creative being. Yes, you.

You might disagree with me and if so, that is because you haven’t yet tapped into your creative self. Let’s start with identifying your skills then we will move onto tapping into your creativity and how you can monetize that (monetize = make money).

Best ways to make extra money now

Sell printables – Selling printables is the #1 side hustle to make money. This can be done on your own schedule and turn into passive income! You can earn over $10,000 a year selling printables.
Sell dog treats – Make $1,000+ selling dog treats from the comfort of your home. One of the most successful side hustles right now!
Proofreading – Earn $20+ an hour proofreading from home. Be your own boss and set your own schedule.
Surveys – Make money filling out surveys. You can take as many surveys as you want and earn up to $5 per survey.

How to Identify Your Skills

Skills are things you learn that enable you to perform certain tasks. These include 4 different categories:

Basic skills (reading, writing)
Thinking skills (creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, analytical skills)
People skills (communication, delegation, negotiation)
Personal skills (self-management)

These are skills you’ve learned over the course of your lifetime, whether that be at school, a hobby, or at work.

And no, you do not have to learn a skill through formal education or a formal workplace for it to qualify (think of skills you might’ve learned with trying a new side hustle too).

In order to identify which ones are your strongest, think of your past experiences and situations you’ve handled.

Let’s say you’ve organized a party or painted your living room and if so, you used your organization and communication skills for the party along with your planning and implementation skills for painting a room.

You also used creativity to carry those out.

Yep! You used your creativity to visualize that party you organized and what color you were going to pick for painting your bedroom.

How to Tap Into Your Creative Self

I have been a creative being for as long as I can remember. I have been drawing since I could get my hands on a pencil and paper and try to create every chance I got.

For me, being a creative being has always come naturally but there are times where I felt blocked.

When that happens, there are a couple of things I do to get me out of my funk.

Keep a journal: I’ve kept journals on and off throughout my life for jotting down ideas, gratitude journaling, bullet journaling, writing down to-do lists, and doodling. My favorite exercise to do with a journal is to start with a pen and paper and either just writing down whatever comes out or doodling whatever comes to mind. And then I continue it until the page is full – This really gets the creative juices flowing.

Spend time outside (preferably in the woods): The woods are just my personal preference, they don’t have to be yours (let’s say you live in a dryer climate where there is more desert than woods, that is totally cool). Anytime I feel a writer’s block or overall artist’s block, I go out for a run or hike and lose myself for about an hour in the woods. Nothing clears my head more and refreshes it to welcome new creative ideas.
Always be learning: I am always hungry for new education and this continually fuels my creativity. I love to read books, listen to podcasts, watch documentaries, and watch creative YouTubers. Always look to new ways of learning and doing things too, this keeps your creativity on its toes and your new ideas will blow your mind.

Ikigai

Ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy) is a Japanese concept that loosely translates to “a reason for being.”

It is also the “holy grail” for entrepreneurship as it helps you form your business model and your story with thinking of:

What do you love?
What are you good at?
What can you get paid for?
What does the world need?

See the diagram of the ikigai concept below and fill out each outer area to help you determine how you might make money with your creative skill.

Where it says ikigai in the center should be crossed out and replaced with the idea you land on “example: design”.

Ways to Make Money with Creative Skills

It is perfectly fine if you still have no idea how you would make any money from your creative skills which is why I put together some examples to give you ideas.

You can freelance write online, sell your digital designs or physical drawings/paintings online, do graphic design projects for those who need help with their social media or need logos created, edit videos for others, or post all of your creations on social media and set up an exclusive access paywall like Patreon so your followers can compensate you for exclusive content.

You will need to continuously sharpen your graphic design skills to be able to provide fresh and creative solutions for your customers, do not forget about that.

You also can provide your Venmo, Paypal, or Cash app in the description of your social media like on Instagram to let people know right away how they can support you.

If you love to code but also love design, look into interactive web design on platforms like WordPress or Squarespace (and you can monetize these with ads, affiliate marketing, sponsored partnerships, courses, ebooks, paid memberships, products, services, etc).

Platforms You Can Utilize

There are tons of sites and services out there now created especially for those looking to monetize any sort of creative online venture they are trying to get off the ground.

Platforms you can use to find freelance gigs online (whether that be writing, design, social media management, video editing, etc):

Platforms to sell your digital designs/illustrations, print your digital designs on physical products or sell your actual physical art:

Etsy
Redbubble
Zazzle
Printify
Printful
Shopify

Platforms like Patreon to allow followers to sign up for subscription access to your exclusive content or pay a small amount to help support your ongoing work:

OnlyFans
Buy Me A Coffee

Facebook groups are a great way to connect with others who are looking for creative services from you also. You can look for groups that fit your specific audience by searching for keywords using the “Groups” filter.

Example: for freelance writers, search “Freelance” or “Writing jobs” and look through the groups that pop up.

Turning Your Creativity Into a Side Hustle or Small Business

You found your killer idea and know exactly how you want to hit the ground running and start making money with your artistry.

But your mind blanks when you think of how you are going to price products and services, where to find your customers, how to legally cover it, taxes, and a million other things.

It is all mush when you think of it at once.

That is why I created the Launch Your Side Hustle Course that lays out everything I wish I knew when I got started (and help you launch something truly amazing without ripping your hair out)!

Included in the Launch Your Side Hustle Course are 7 modules, 1 bonus module, 38 lessons, 7 videos (with transcripts), and 19 worksheets to help you come up with your ideal side hustle idea for your lifestyle and the exact tools and knowledge you need to carry it out to make your first $1,000 (and grow past that). Oh, and lots of fun GIFs and visuals!

The best part is it costs less than $100.

There Isn’t a Right Way to Make Money From Your Creative Skills

There are literally TONS of ways you can monetize your creative skills and make money being your creative, authentic self. Don’t let anyone tell you there is only 1 right way to do it because there isn’t.

The only right way to do something is if it works best for you and your lifestyle.

Side hustles to start now

Sell printables – #1 recommended side hustle for people looking for a low-stress way to earn passive income from home.
Pinterest Virtual Assistant – Help businesses shine on Pinterest as a Pinterest manager. Create your own schedule, work for yourself, and work from anywhere in the world.
Sell dog treats – Make up to $2,500 a month selling dog treats with this fun side hustle perfect for people who love dogs.
Proofreading – Earn $20+ an hour proofreading from home. Be your own boss and set your own schedule.
Surveys – Make money for answering simple questions. You can take as many surveys as you want and earn up to $5 per survey.
Bookkeeping – Start your own virtual bookkeeping business and earn up to $80,000 a year from home.

Do you have a side hustle?

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