Diversifying Your Income: Do We Actually Make Money?

This entire episode is dedicated to clarifying something we mentioned in a previous episode: the fact we take on a dozen or less invitation suites a year. (We almost caused on Internet riot because no one believed we were making a living!) So today we are clearing the air and talking about how we bring home the bacon, the ways we’ve both diversified our income over the years to make sure we have multiple revenue streams and why pricing DOES matter. Of course, we know all creatives’ income streams will look totally different from the next, so keep in mind that your own income journey will benefit from “testing” to see which avenues are sustainable and profitable for YOU.

Why is it important to have diversified income?

You are no longer putting your eggs in one basket. You have the ability to possibly discover a new or more successful avenue of revenue.  Because being a “freelancer” can be unpredictable, having income coming in from several sources can add up and be a security net when one area of your biz isn’t seeing any traction. Invest a little in a lot.

What is the difference between diversifying income & having passive income?

Diversifying your invoice means that you have multiple avenues of income and multiple ways to earn revenue. For example, maybe as a photographer you don’t only shoot weddings, but family sessions as well during your off season. It can be something as simple as that! Passive income means you’ve discovered ways to make money without “lifting a finger” – of course, there’s usually a lot of work that goes into this before hand! Both can offer you more financial freedom in your creative pursuits.

ACTION TIP: Start with active, build up passive. Aim to have 3 streams of income in your biz (a heavy weight, a medium weight and something passive like affiliate revenue)

How do you diversify your income?

Simply start brainstorming what else you might be interested in within your creative realm. Maybe you have an idea for a product that you could introduce into your business! The key is to diversify within your business & not OUTSIDE of it. (Otherwise you’re coming up with entirely new businesses and that can be hard to manage).

Start thinking “what else can I add” to my services that I’m maybe not adding right now? If you’re a photographer, can you add photo albums to your wedding package, if you’re a stationery designer can you add addressing or variable printing to your services? Don’t stretch yourself too thin, keep these additions ACCESSIBLE.

What we’ve done to diversify our income:

• Invitations

• Custom commissions

• Resources for other creatives

• Products

• Envelope calligraphy

• Part of multiple affiliate programs

• Revenue from YouTube channel

• Biz Birthday Bash!!

• Print on demand sites

• Licensing artwork

Building all of your ideas takes time! Some are much bigger money makers than others & you always need to keep you main focus on the key services that you offer. If you can set yourself up for success behind the scene with diversified AND passive income you could be unlocking the door to higher revenue than ever before.

The KEY to making money as a full-time creative:

• solid pricing

• diversified income

• passive income
  

How do you create passive income for yourself?

You create passive income by putting some sort of product / download out there that can be paid for without you lifting a finger! The key is to set up everything beforehand. If you can, work on building yourself an email list by offering some sort of FREE download (make sure it’s valuable and relevant to your audience) so that you can then market your new products & ideas to them!

What can I do RIGHT NOW to create passive income?

Our easy tip you can do right now? Create an Amazon Affiliate account – it’s totally free to sign up and you can start compiling a list of all the gear/supplies/materials that you use on a daily basis for others to view. Either link this list on your website OR offer it as a free download to help build your mailing list!

OH, and let’s not forget that you can make money as an affiliate by being a member of the A-Z Directory. You earn a 30% commission (almost $50 cash) for every member you refer, which is an AMAZING way to turn you “where did you print that” DMs into a revenue stream.

Get in on the goodness and start earning today: JOIN THE A-Z DIRECTORY.