This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
How can you make and sell your own crossword puzzles? That's what we've got today from a caller. Caller in, well, I was gonna say, where are they? I'm not sure what their location is. Maybe that's not even pertinent.
What is pertinent is her quest to make and sell crossword puzzles. Now, as you may be aware, millions of people complete crosswords every day. It is, in fact, the original Pokemon. Well, I'm not totally sure that analogy makes sense, but the point is lots and lots of people do crossword puzzles. They've been doing it for a long time.
You've got the New York Times crossword now. The New Yorker has one. USA Today has a crossword. There are many, many other independent ones as well. So what are the business opportunities for someone who is one of these hobbyists and doesn't want to just complete the crossword, but actually go about making and selling them?
And what are the obstacles that she might need to overcome? So that's what we're gonna hear about today from Jessica. Well, she's gonna ask this question. And I did a little bit of research to make sure I can give her a helpful answer. Maybe it'll get somebody else out there thinking about their idea as well.
Detailed question from Jessica coming right up. [Music]
Hi, Chris. This is Jessica and I love crossword puzzles. After many years of completing them every day, I'm ready to design my own. There are lots of resources that explain how to do this.
And I think I've got that part figured out, or at least I'm on track. What I don't know though is how to sell them. The New York Times and USA Today crosswords are completed by millions of people every day. And my sense is that they have a near monopoly on the market. I can't compete with them.
Is there another path to getting my crosswords out to a dedicated fan base? Thanks, Chris. And looking forward to hearing from you. [Music]
Well, Jessica, I think even though the New York Times and USA Today crosswords are pretty big and they're completed by millions of people, I don't think you're really competing with them. I don't actually think they have a near monopoly on the market.
And in fact, sometimes people discover crosswords through these really, really big sources, but then they end up interested in a more independent source or something that is just more topical for them, a different difficulty level. There are easier ones, harder ones, et cetera. So it's not about competing with them. Where do crossword fans congregate? I think that is the thing you want to figure out.
Like what is the Ravelry.com of crossword puzzles? Ravelry, of course, being the hub for knitting and other fiber arts. I know there are some popular subreddits. I'm sure there are some other forums as well, big Facebook groups. And so once you have identified a few sources and spent some time maybe just learning the language, the vocabulary, how people kind of speak, what are the ethics of conversing, as you kind of dive into any forum, you just kind of figure that out by osmosis, just by like reading posts and such.
So after you immerse yourself, and then also as you have studied how to design your own crosswords, you may have already thought about what will make them interesting. And I think that's important because as we said, you don't need to be the New York Times crossword, you just need to have some kind of gimmick or trick. I recently purchased a jumbo crossword puzzle as a gift. And then when I was doing some searching, I saw there were all kinds of thematic puzzles, including an adults only series. So there's probably all kinds of other directions you can go in it.
And then one other tip is, consider sharing your puzzles for free. I know we're trying to build a business model here, but at least some of them for the New York Times, again, they do this every day with the mini puzzle. Like you don't have to be a subscriber of the New York Times games to be able to play the mini puzzle. But lots of people are like, "Oh, I like the mini puzzle, I want to try the puzzle." There's a little bit of an upgrade, upsell lead generation strategy there. You can also look at maybe some indie games as well.
One that I like is Clues by Sam. I think it's cluesbysam.com, but if not just search Clues by Sam. It's a very fun daily game made by this guy in Finland, I believe, and it is attracted just a really broad audience. So he's found a way to do something interesting. There is a business model behind it.
So with the right puzzles, there definitely are opportunities out there. I would love to know how it goes. If you get a report, an update, we can pass on to our listeners, let me know that. Listeners, if you have a question, a comment, an idea, something you're working on, sidehustleschool.com. We will continue to feature them throughout the year, along with updates from other listeners as they launch and grow their projects.
Thank you so much for being out there. More on the way. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
