In previous posts, we looked at how to get started making money in Blender, where to find a job and how to create training materials. Today, we close the series by talking about how to go about selling Blender tools.

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Selling Assets and Addons

Admittedly, we are biased, but let's say it anyway: selling your assets and addons is the easiest way to get started making money with Blender. Selling your 3D assets and addons on an established marketplace or your own site is a great way to start making money with Blender. What makes this a solid option is the passive nature of the income, meaning that with some work at the beginning, you can make money in the future with very little upkeep, depending on what you are selling. So what are the things you need to do to start selling online?

Research

Start researching the type of products you would like to offer on the marketplace. Make sure there isn't too much competition and that your offerings will be unique and among the highest-quality out there. If that is not the case, then either stop and learn more, or find another area where you can offer the highest quality.

Keep the Buyer in Mind

You may really love Comic Sans, and your animated Comic Sans alphabet may be crazy nice, but you failed to realize that everyone on earth hates Comic Sans and chances are you won't sell many copies. So the million-dollar question is: What do buyers want? While nobody has the ultimate answers, it helps to look at available market data to help you get an idea. You may also browse the current offering on Blender Market or check out the most popular items on the homepage to explore what is in demand. Most importantly, remember the golden rule: successful products solve a problem. They may save time, make your workflow more efficient or simplify a difficult task. The bigger the problem your product solves, the more people will respond to your product favorably. Think about your own workflow: is there any part of it that is tedious, time-consuming, annoying? What tools do you wish Blender had? Which assets are the most useful but take a lot of time to create? Go ahead and conduct your own mini market research by talking to fellow Blenderheads to see what their biggest pains are.

Create an Awesome Product

Your product should be of the highest quality. How can you tell if it meets a high standard? Check out the competition and see how your product compares. Whatever you create, it should fall into ONE of the following categories:

• Innovative product, with no existing competition
• Better than the existing competition, meaning it is easier to use, faster, or sexier in general
• Cheaper than the existing competition. If you can't innovate or beat your competitors, make sure to price your product lower to make it more attractive to buyers.

Bells and Whistles

Let's face it: your potential customers are busy people and as they scan the available products, they need something eye-catching. Make sure you create a stunning featured image that sells your product. Once you've got people visually hooked, tell them how amazing your product is! Writing a powerful product description is essential. Similarly, great documentation is also a must-have.

Learn from the Masters

What are some of the pitfalls of creating Blender plugins? Read the story of RetopoFlow, the best-selling product on the Blender Market and the team behind its success. As the story reveals, some plugins are more maintenance-heavy than others, so make sure you are ready for a long-term commitment. If you follow the above steps and do it right, the financial reward can make it really, really worth your time.

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  This is the final post in our series on How to Make Money with Blender. In the future, we will bring you more success stories from creators who did everything right and launched plugins or assets that became financially successful on the market. Stay tuned, and let us know if we missed any useful tips!