Electronics hobbyist? Learn how you can make money from your pastime

Spend most of your time soldering switches, tinkering with thyristors, or perspiring over PCBs? There’s no more interesting and rewarding hobby than electronics, but have you ever considered getting a little extra cash from your pastime? Whether you’re looking to start a business or just make a little money on the side, here’s how you can muck down and monetise amateur electronics.

Start a YouTube channel

If you find yourself getting excited whenever anyone asks you about electronics and love nothing better than teaching others about your pastime, a YouTube channel could be a great way of learning more about your passion and earning some money while you’re at it.

Start out by conducting some market research, finding out what content people are searching for, then think of a niche you could focus on. For example, you could start with tutorials focused on Arduino projects, which are popular with electronics DIYers.

As your audience grows over time with more views and subscribers, then options for monetisation will appear, such as collaborations, advertising revenue, sponsorships, and more. For an in-depth guide on how to start up your own YouTube channel, check out the guide from the marketing gurus over at Hootsuite.

Write a blog

If you don’t fancy sitting in front of camera and the written word is more your cup of tea, writing a blog is a great choice. Create articles about electronics, guides on the projects you undertake, and product reviews, and over time you’ll be able to attract a readership which you can earn money off via advertising revenue or premium, gated content.

When blog writing, it’s crucial you optimise your content for SEO, conducting keyword research so it appears on Google. A good SEO agency will be able to help you form a strategy in the beginning until you get a hang of it yourself. It’s also a good idea to structure your content in a clear and logical way that guides the user down the page, making it easier for them to enjoy your writing. As with YouTube channels, selecting a niche is also crucial – you don’t want to be writing in a space that has too stiff a competition.

Sell your inventions online

If you enjoy inventing electronics products as a hobby, have you ever considered selling them? To become a full-time inventor, you need to structure your creating the right way. Start by understanding whether there’s any demand for your idea, chatting to family and friends, or putting out a survey over social media to gauge a bigger audience. You can do this with free resources like SurveyMonkey.

If the answer to step one is yes, there is demand, you need to prototype your design and hone it. Once complete, show it to people you know and refine the design further to make your product even better. Then, once you’re happy with it, it’s a matter of visiting trade shows, courting would-be investors, and getting your product off the ground. It’s not a simple process, but if you have the passion and knowhow, you could go professional and have a job you adore.

Build an online course

You could also build an online course around an area of your electronics hobby you know a lot about. It could be an introduction into the topic for children starting out on their journey with electronics, or perhaps a more complex course for more advanced hobbyists. There are plenty of online platforms out there you can then create and sell your course with, such as teach:able and podia.