Testing market demand
If there is interest in your hobby or interest in your advertisements, then the next question you need to know is whether there are real demand and potential for monetisation.
Given that your aim is to ultimately make money from your hobby, do address this all-important question early. You don’t want to waste time doing something that is not going to make you any money.
The best way to find out if there is any demand for your hobby is to test out the market demand for your product or service with a potential group of people.
Testing customer demand early
Don’t waste time in doing anything else at this early stage except testing for consumer demand for your service or product including their willingness and ability to pay you.
There is no need to invest time and money into a business when people aren’t interested in.
Testing for customer willingness and ability to pay
Some people can pay your asking price but can be unwilling to open their wallets (e.g., misers). While others are willing to pay but don’t have the ability to pay (e.g., students).
Testing both ability and willingness to pay your asking price will be your next assignment. Both conditions must be satisfied for you to make money from your target customer group.
Asking friends
Testing out your product or service with friends can be an option if you do not want to spend money on paid advertising or time on local community advertising.
Here’s an example of how this could be done.
“Jonathan Heine, owner of You Are Loved Foods in Los Angeles, was a Wall Street banker for 25 years before turning a passion for health foods into a new business. Suffering from diabetes and fibromyalgia, Heine’s journey began with a simple search for ways to live a healthier life. He created a selection of sugar-free, gluten/grain/starch-free, strictly certified paleo foods, and snacks. They were a big hit with friends and family, which eventually led to the inception of You Are Loved Foods.”
(Source: https://www.success.com/how-to-turn-your-hobby-into-a-career/)
Rather than closing off the idea of turning your hobby into cash or monetising your hobby, test it out first.
Be creative in your testing methods.
Don’t limit yourself
The information received from your testing will be invaluable for you to determine the commercial viability or feasibility of your hobby. It will provide information on whether you can make some money from your hobby or not.
You will never know until you try it out.
Here’s another example.
“When Terry Finley bought his first horse, Sunbelt, for $5,000 in 1991, he felt stuck in his job selling life insurance. Finley had been betting on horses for years but had never made an investment like this. After Sunbelt won his first race that year, Finley started running small ads in racing papers and attracted an investor who paid $5,000 for partial ownership of Sunbelt. Within two months, he bought his second horse, Cal’s Zen Jr., and continued buying more horses on credit cards.”
(Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224357)
(PS. I am not suggesting your max out your credit card for your hobby business.)
Using social media to reach the world
Social media is another avenue for you to promote your hobby business. When there’s enough commercial interest, you can monetise it.
Here’s an example of how this could be done.
“After chemical relaxers destroyed her hair and forced her to shave it off, Rochelle Graham-Campbell—then a college student—experimented with an online journal of styles for her natural hair while she tested out homemade organic conditioners. She began posting her tutorials to YouTube, and the channel BlackOnyz77 grew to attract more than 104,000 subscribers. Graham-Campbell went on to create Alikay Naturals hair care, which is now available in many stores nationwide.”
Source: https://www.success.com/how-to-turn-your-hobby-into-a-career/