Ways to Creatively Monetize?

I love my day job, but there are times I wonder about taking better advantage of monetizing my blog and/or my creative endeavors. I’ve done assorted research and while I can’t say anything has worked as well as I would like, I tend to dabble and perhaps fully embracing one of these would offer more fruitful results. I’m sure many of you know these but here is a list of things I’ve investigated with starting points for research if you are further interested. This is a place of reflection for me and I hope to add to the list!

Etsy –

Perhaps the most obvious for creatives, this offers a respected, easy platform for the sale of your handmade creations.

Affiliate Marketing –

This is a way on your blog to offer resources or products you value and get a cut of the purchase. I do this via Amazon and have before done it for particular authors I value as well. It is important to only share products you own and value as it can threaten your credibility with readers.

RedBubble –

A wonderful artist community where you can also sell reproductions of your artwork. You upload quality images and set the prices, RedBubble deals with printing, distribution and money handling. I love this because it is truly a community of artists first. Yet, it also offers a venue for artists who don’t want to manage all the details of printing and distribution themselves.

Zazzle –

Similar to RedBubble in that you can have your designs printed on anything from invitations to T-Shirts. I know less about the community on Zazzle so I can’t speak to it as I do on RedBubble. It comes across as a bit more commercial to me but seems to have a wide reach.

Arts Licensing –

I recently discovered this through the blog by the artist Tara Reid called Art Licensing Info. The artwork on paper towels, tissue boxes, dishware, you name it, has to come from somewhere! I just discovered this and want to learn more. Tara very kindly shares how to get started and her personal experiences working in the industry.

LetterLy –

Several bloggers I follow offer subscriptions to letters that offer enhanced, additional material outside of their blog. I have yet to subscribe to any. Have you?

Stock Photos –

Somewhere like iStockphoto allows photographers to earn some from the photos they take! iStockPhoto has an application process. Shutterstock is another big one that you can earn money from your photographs. With stock photos, the more quality photos you contribute, the better your earnings are.

E-Books –

Many bloggers, myself included, sell e-books. If you have knowledge and experience in something people want to learn about, this is a great chance to share it with others while also earning something for your skill set. Right now I’m working with  SelfSelfSelf Digital Publishing to reformat my ebook ARTSpeak. I had written it and put it in a PDF format. I was going to do all the reformat myself for making it digital reader friendly and then a wonderful reader suggested this company. I’m all about not having to deal with the logistics and SelfSelfSelf not only reformats the book for it to work on digital readers, but uploads it to major distributors. I was impressed that all they do all of this and pay me 85% of net sales.

Its important to note many if not all of these demand time from you to market and advertize your work. Uploading your artwork to a site and magically hoping someone will find it is seriously limiting to your success. I’m sure I’m missing some ways to monetize. And I’m sure there are additional details I’ve missed you readers know are worth hearing about. Feel free to share your journey and consideration of creatively monetizing!

BE COURAGEOUSLY CREATIVE: What is one means of monetizing that might enhance your creative income and support your creative endeavor? Research a bit more and offer yourself a pros and cons list.