If you're a creative do-it-yourself type who likes to dabble in making things, then why not consider earning some extra cash doing so!
We are all natural-born creators and there is no better joy than being paid to do something you love! And now with the vast array of innovative technologies, there is no better time to start than now.
The internet has opened up a whole new world of opportunities, where your location is no longer a limitation to making sales. The evolution of e-commerce, not to mention new software and apps being created daily coupled with various social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tiktok - you name it! There are so many new media applications out there to help share your newest creation.
Television is no longer the medium of choice.
New media is here to stay. And if you can evolve and take advantage of just a few of these few players, it can be enough to take your creative venture to the top!
Some things to consider before you decide what you’ll make:
Before you even start creating, it’s important to first think about what takes you the least amount of time to create. You would also have to ensure that the item you choose to create can be made in a decent amount of time to make it a worthwhile venture.
Can you make it fairly quickly?
This is important to ask yourself because the quicker you can create and sell the item, the more money you can make. Now if you can create a bunch and sell in bulk then that’s even better. You’ll be able to turn-over more - meaning you can sell more of your items in less time. And if you can market this product well, you’re in an even better situation in terms of adding to your income and bottom line!
The key to your success is to have systems in place that you can leverage your efforts to create the most rewarding results for both you and your customers.
So the question remains …
What things can you make and sell online?
Well, you'd be surprised at the selection of simple things you could easily make and sell online. I have over 40 ideas, but I know there are plenty more.
Now if you are one who wouldn't mind earning some extra income from selling things you make online, then this vast list is going to be a real treat!
Ready to start creating?
Here are 40+ Things to Make and Sell Online (with Examples)
1. Templates - Ready-made templates that people can use to complete projects are often an overlooked sale item for many businesses and solo-entrepreneurs.
There are a wide array of template choices. Templates are basically a framework by which a project can be completed.
For example, Powerpoint Templates are pre-formatted and pre-designed with placeholders for text and images. So all you have to do is replace the image holder or dummy text area with your own text and images and voila! You have a professionally looking Powerpoint presentation that you can now use to present your work.
As long as the template is designed by a highly-skilled designer who understands layout and presentation styles, there is no reason why you cannot have your own professionally made presentation that looks highly professional and functions like a charm without you having to put in grueling hours of work trying to format and design your presentation. A pre-built template is an excellent option.
There are so many templates from content templates, email templates, and business plan templates to web design templates (just to name a few), creating templates for others can be a very lucrative business.
2. Checklists - People need to stay organized and checklists are one of the best ways to do it. Think of a checklist as a type of to-do list to get tasks completed. Now if you can create a system where the task can be completed well and have a checklist for that particular task that guarantees success upon completion, then your checklist has value! So many people would benefit from your checklist. Actually, there are apps that can help with this. Apps like Planable.io or Redbooth.com make the process of creating checklists easy. However, with their easy online app tool, you can create checklists from anywhere even on the go! They even give you access to other checklists created by others for tasks that you too may need to create a checklist for. You can use these checklists as is or tweak them to add minor tasks to the list where necessary. This makes task creation easy - not to mention it will keep you organized!
3. Planners & Journals - Planners and journals can make staying organized fun and easy because you’re adding some creative flare with the use of stickers, doodles, and drawings. You can even add fancy lettering with calligraphy to make your planners and journals even more beautiful! Now if you sell these planners and journals to the right people (and there are a ton of people to sell them to, you can make a nice little income from this business).
4 E-books - Ebooks, manuals, reports, etc., that inform, educate, or entertain your audience can sell well. The fact that they are instantly downloadable after your customer purchases it saves you the time and money to have to ship the product. This is what makes digital downloads so appealing.
5. Online Courses - educating your audience with a course can make learning fun and easy for your students, while allowing you to support them and earn an extra income. It’s a win-win situation! Online courses are in a wide variety of topic areas, from calligraphy, drawing, and graphic design classes, to writing, coding and photography! If you have something you have expertise in, then an online course may be just the thing you could sell online!
6. Affiliate Products - If you have a blog or website, promote industry-specific products to your audience. What’s create about this method is that you’re still meeting the needs of your audience by sharing a product you know they can use and benefit from. And best of all, you don’t have to go through the work to plan, create and market the product. You simply need to sell an existing product that someone else made, but you get to make a commission off of any sales when your audience chooses to buy through the link you place for the affiliate product on your site. A cool and easy way to sell and make a bit of cash online.
7. Services (tutoring, writing, designing
8. Paintings - Whether you paint on canvas or digitally, you can use online print-on-demand sites like Printable.com or Etsy to sell your paintings to happy customers who admire your work.
9. Cakes / Food - Love baking or cooking? Create and ship/deliver your tasty treats for the right price.
10. Sell Old Clothing (sell on sites like Poshmark.com) - Sell your used clothing that’s still in good condition on a site like Poshmark.com. Clothing, bags and purses sell quite well and many people are willing to invest in your old treasures!
11. Old Textbooks from school or old novels etc.
12 Sell Your Notes (if you've taken a class and are neat and detailed, good notes are a commodity!)
13 Music
14 Art (Paintings, Wall Murals, Prints)
15. Rent Your Home or room with nice decor - If you have some skills in interior design and decor and are skilled in making a living space unique, comfortable, and aesthetically appealing and you have a property you’re willing to rent out, there are people willing to pay you.
Many have gone this route and it’s a global phenomenon since it can be a lucrative business for many. Now if you are creative or know someone who is who can help you create a memorable living space that can accommodate those looking for a relaxing getaway, then Airbnb.com may be something worth pursuing.
16 Merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, home goods) - Design and sell your own merchandise on sites like Printful.com, Etsy.com, or Teespring.com.
There are a ton of sites popping up all the time that allows you to create your own designs on merchandise and sell them from their platforms.
What’s great is that these sites have already built their brand and people are already making purchases on these sites. So you already have a built-in audience.
It’s just up to you to market your site well using the right keywords and descriptions to effectively make the sale. Many people have taken this online route and become quite successful at it!.
17. Soaps and Bath Products - Love getting creative in the kitchen? How about selling your own beauty products like handmade soaps and bath products? And if you can go the all-natural route making healthier products with delightful scents, then you’ll most likely have no shortage of buyers. Soaps and bath products like bath balms and creams are doing very well selling online. It’s a fast and easy way for your customer to access your unique blends while being incredibly convenient too.
18. Consultant Services or Teacher - You can sell packages of your services online. If you have knowledge and expertise in something package up those ideas into a kit or package with accomodating worksheets or workbooks to add even more value! This model has been very lucrative for many and is worth pursuing if you have a skill with expertise that your audience values. If you can take your audience through a transformation so that they get the result they are looking for, you will be highly sought after and may find more success than you ever thought was possible.
19. Carved signs - Wood, plastic, bamboo, metal signage etc., have always been sought after. If you have a lot of sign ideas, why not create and share your work and see the response from your audience. There are a ton of people on Etsy.com doing this right now. And many are very successful at it!
20. Car Decal Designer - dell and ship the sticker decals as kits for people to use to decorate their cars. As long as you include instructions, this could be a nice little venture.
21. Language Teacher or Tutor - If you speak a language or are good at teaching others, you can easily sell your services online. Sites like Udemy.com, Udacity, LinkedIn Learning or even your own website could produce some happy clients.
22. Kits (art kits, sewing kits, craft kits etc.) - Creative kits are big sellers. From sticker kits, to sewing kits, the make-your-own candy kits, if you can package your product in a way that appeals to your audience, you may very well have a successful venture worth pursuing.
23. Tea/Coffee baskets - basket sales are always a favourite!
24. Beauty Services (eyebrows, makeup) - If you’re a beauty lover, why not serve others to make them more beautiful. They’ll appreciate it by paying you for it!
25. Sticker Designer - If you love stickers and decals and you have a knack for designing, then sticker designs could be your next venture. Using sites like Etsy.com, Society6.com and others could be worth looking into.
Nowadays, people love placing stickers not only on their cars, but also on their laptop computers, bags, bikes, doors, and just about anywhere!
Students are a great market to also consider since they are often seen with stickers on their laptops, lockers, and love placing them in their planners, journals, and schedules. People still love paper and stickers are a great way to add some creative juice to add a bit of flair!
26. Video Creation Expert / Video Editor - sell pre-made videos, teach courses showing others how to do what you do, or offer your services to YouTubers! This is huge in the YouTube community! If you can network well and market your expertise, you could go very far with this creative idea!
27. Ceramics - Online ceramic classes or printable lessons or even selling at-home ceramic kits is an idea that could make a nice business.
28. Calligraphy - Sell quotes, sayings or offer calligraphy classes online!
29. Personalized Cards - for business or personal events
30. Chalkboard Art - Cafes love this and chalkboard are is selling very well. Many even love them in their home kitchens! Check out etsy.com for some amazing creators doing just this!
31. Websites (pre-made and designed)
32. Essential Oil Blends for sale.
33. Flower Arrangements - Ship or offer a how-to DIY class online
34. Wall Mural Art (e.g., painted designs on wall … think kids bedroom)
35. Printed Wall Art i.e., prints for office or home
36. Wrought iron fences (stairwells, gates of properties etc). If you’re a welder, there is a huge opportunity to customize gates and fences for homes. Most stores have limited designs etc., If you’re skilled in this area, there is a huge opportunity. Even just drafting out the designs for customers and linking up with welders who will actually do the work in different cities, this could all be done online if your process and online tools are set up well. Huge opportunity here!
37. Candles - making and selling nicely scented candles never goes out of style. People love candles! And if you can make beautiful scents, then you could be quite successful in this new venture.
38. Meals (especially cultural meals that are not widely available). E.g., Kimchi, side dishes, BBQ meals, etc.
39. Garden vegetables or fruit you grow. Sell them a set, kits or get a bit fancy and make them into healthy gift baskets.
40. App Design - There are many no-code app tools out there. If you have an app design idea, sites like Figma.com can make your idea come to life without any coding experience. If you’re more of a visual creator, tools like this can easily make your vision come to life in less time and without the use of programmers or extra programming experience. Don’t you just love technology! Then you can make your app available for a small fee or make it free and perhaps the ad route may be another lucrative option.
41. Logo design can be quite lucrative if you have design expertise.
42. Sell prints and textures! Did you know that you can make an art brush with a textured surface you took a picture of? Well, it’s true!
Take a picture of those wood floors, the knit on your sweater or the textured fabric of your towel.
Programs like the popular Procreate artist app has amazing brushes built within the app that you can use to draw, color, and paint with. But what’s amazing is you can also create your own textures or prints too to make unique creations! Best of all, you can sell these brush textures and prints to others - even big companies like Target or Lulu Lemon! If you love dabbling in art and are a curious creator who loves seeing new outcomes with your creations, then I think creating and selling your very own prints and textures could be something worth looking into. It’s become a lucrative side business for many creatives and it could for you too!
43. Make and sell your own icons! Icon art that is unique and distinctive are big sellers - especially with businesses!
There are many easy things to make and sell online for cash. You just need to think about your skills and what you’ve seen sell well online. After all, if you see a market for it, then most likely it’s selling very well. And there is always plenty of room for new creative types just like you!
So, brainstorm and start working on this next venture. Even if you don’t make it a full-time gig, it never hurts to earn a bit of extra income doing something you really enjoy that doesn’t even feel like work.
Why not right!? You’re worth it!