Can you make money doing calligraphy? In this article we shared the 10 best ways to earn money from calligraphy. And we included the best and realistic ways to make money from calligraphy. We talked in detail about every idea and also shared inside information about it.

To be honest I also belong to calligraphy. And guess what, I have been doing calligraphy for the last 7 years. And I also faced that time period when we were seriously picking a career option for our entire life.

And also guess what? I belonged to a business family. So since a young age I have been taught about money and business a lot. My parents always educate me about money and business related factors.

Therefore I know these things better than others, because I have been very well educated about these things since a very young age.

Therefore you are at the very right place to find information about this topic. I Also went through the phase you are in now. One time in my life I also thought about seeing calligraphy as my primary career.

I gathered so much information about this. And did a very good research from my perspective. I shared everything about it in this article. It will help you a lot to pick the perfect way to earn money from calligraphy.

So now let’s get started without wasting any time.

Best Realistic Ways to Earn money from Calligraphy (Table form)

Following are the best primary ways to earn money from calligraphy. In the below table I explained their main factors, So you can choose the best suitable one for you. And also I provided a short note which explained that factor in detail. It will be very helpful to you.

This table explains very well all the important factors (with insider tips) in that career. How much money there is in that particular career option. 

Or what are the pros and cons of that particular factor. As well as whether you are going to get enough flexibility and freedom or not. 

If you are introverted then it is clearly mentioned in the 4th column, how much you have to deal with people in that career option. Also whether you have to acquire skills outside of calligraphy or not.

For example in a job you don’t want any extra skills outside of calligraphy. Your work will define your earnings. But in business even if you are not good at calligraphy, but your social skills are good. And you can easily convince the client then you can hire a good artist and complete the order. etc.

Career option in calligraphy	Difficulty	Flexibility and Freedom	Other Skills Required (Social Skills, Management Skills)	Potential to Earn Money
Calligraphy job	Low (You can easily get a good paying job on your skills.)	Low (Doesn’t have any flexibility and freedom)	Low (Doesn’t need any social or management skills)	High ($4000- $5200 USD per month)
Business	Very High (You have to create a brand and maintain it. Also had to handle client)	Very high (You can work according to your time. There is a lot of flexibility and freedom.)	Very High (It  requires good communication skills, marketing skills, management skills, and all other business related skills.)	Very High (You can earn a lot of money, the sky is limit here.)
Freelancing	Medium (It’s a little difficult, but not impossible. You have to do hard work in starting)	Very High (There is a lot of flexibility. You can work from anywhere and any time)	Medium (You had to deal with clients, but it’s not that difficult and it’s limited.)	High (You can earn a very good amount of money with a lot of flexibility and freedom.)
Sell Fonts	Medium (Once you figure it out, it will be easy. But it’s an part time thing)	High (You can work from anywhere according to your time.)	Low (Doesn’t need much extra skills.)	Low (You can earn little extra money from it. but it will be not enough)
Online courses	Medium (You have to do hard work in the beginning, but after that it’s going to be easy)	Very High (You just have to make course first, and then market it very well)	Low (You just have to do marketing. Or you can use platforms like skillshare.)	High (You can make good money from it. But you have to work continuously. You can not sit and expect to earn money from one single course that you made years ago.)
Offer teaching	Low (You just have to be a good teacher)	Medium (You can mutually decide the time)	Medium (You had to have some conversation)	Medium (Normally you can not charge much money. But eventually and depending on your own skills you can charge a good amount of money. Also it depends on your locality and country.)
Personalized Artworks/ gifts on Etsy	Medium (You have to struggle little bit in starting)	Very high (There is a lot of flexibility. You can work from anywhere and any time)	Medium (You had to deal with clients, but it’s not that difficult and it’s limited.)	Medium (You can earn a very good amount of money with a lot of flexibility and freedom. But if you select a specific niche like gifts or something. Then it will be a little tough to expand. Don’t stuck on etsy, expand further)
Blog About Calligraphy	High (you had to know about setting up a website. And all the technical knowledge. And also had to know about blogging very well. Otherwise your efforts will go to waste.)	Very high (There is a lot of flexibility. You can work from anywhere and at any time.)	Low (You just have to know about maintaining a website, and blogging. And there are no social skills required here.)	High (Not in the short term, but in the long term you can make a lot of money from it. But in the first year you can not earn any money. because it takes a lot of time and patience. So see it as a long term)
Calligraphy Youtube Channel	Medium (You have a lot of opportunities, plus enough people to reach. And it’s not hard as blogging, just your content has to be good.)	Very high (There is a lot of flexibility. You can work from anywhere and at any time.You can decide your content on your own. Also the quality of it.)	Medium (Once you grab enough attention from people, then you have to keep a good relationship with them and camera. You’re a public figure now! If you choose to be. Or otherwise you can not show your face in front of the camera. That will also work.)	High (You can earn a lot of money from youtube. It can be your full time job.You can earn through showing ads on your channel and brand sponsors. Your earning will depend on your views.)
Sell Your Calligraphy On Social Media	Medium (You have to struggle a little bit in starting. In my opinion we can not depend completely on this. It can be a good side earning source.)	Very high (There is a lot of flexibility. You can work from anywhere and at any time.)	Medium (Your marketing skills have to be very good. Also you have to communicate with people to convert them into your regular clients, it would be a nice idea to make good relations with them.)	Low (Firstly it depends on your work and how much you are charging your client. But you have to keep in mind that you have to include your paper, pen, inks and also shipping. Therefore it’s not going to be as profitable as you think. And normal people on social media can not pay you much for calligraphy work.)

Below is a detailed breakdown and important information about every career option. It includes all the insider information as well as the ground level situation. Read further for comprehensive details about every career option. Which you should know before thinking of it.

10 Best Realistic Ways to Earn Money From Calligraphy-

Here are some of the best ways to make money with calligraphy.

1. Get a Calligraphy Related Job.

The best and safest method to earn money from calligraphy for an entire life is to get a calligraphy job. This is by far the most realistic and simple way to earn money from your calligraphy skills.

When I say simple, it doesn’t actually mean simple and comfortable. It means that you don’t have to adopt any business, communication skills. Or you don’t always have to make sales or convince the client.

Therefore it is the best uncomplicated way to earn money from calligraphy. Anyone in the world can do this. You don’t have to special or adopt any special skills, outside of calligraphy. 

You anyways have to get a job to make a living on it. So therefore anyone in the world who can survive a normal job can do this. You don’t have to be blessed with other skills. Even introverts can deal with it without much problem.

And it is very long term. You can spend your entire life in a job as normal people do. And it is such a reliable and safest way to make money from calligraphy. 

Now let’s jump on numbers, How much you are going to earn from it? As I promised you, I have great inside information about this topic. So I’m going to share exact numbers and salaries with you.

In calligraphy jobs there are mainly two categories to go with. First one is a calligraphy artist. And the second one is calligraphy teachers.

Let me educate you more! If you love to do calligraphy artworks and art pieces. Then surely go with a calligraphy artist job. If you don’t really like to do it (means if you are not that creative. And always face creative burnouts). but your teaching skills are quite good, go with a calligraphy teacher job.

 There are a lot of differences between the two. And think a little deeper and realistic! Everyone’s brains are different. And also their personalities.

Some people love to do creative stuff and crafts. Some people like to do repetitive things daily. Some people are good at listening (what to do and what not to do). And some do not like to listen to others. It mainly happens because of the development of our left hemisphere and right hemisphere of the brain.

I am not going deeper into that, though I would like to. But for now understand that, everyone’s brain development and nature is different. So think seriously about what is most suitable for you. Whether it’s a calligraphy artist job or calligraphy teacher job.

And for exact measurement. If you choose to do a calligraphy artist job, you can earn an average of $40 per hour. And it’s very normal to get anywhere. (obviously it may differ from country to country. We are talking about the United States average).

And to be more precise you can expect around $4000 to $5200 salary per month. This same goes with a calligraphy teacher job.

So you can earn $4000 to $5200 per month for doing what you love. (depending on your work and work experience). But choose wisely, if you want to do it for the long term.

Now let’s move forward and see other great ways to earn money from calligraphy.

2. Set Up a Calligraphy Business.

The reason this is second in our list is, it has a lot of potential. You can earn a lot of money from a lot of different methods. Although it’s the toughest way, but the sky is limit here. You can earn a lot of money from numerous methods.

You can sell the product related to calligraphy, or sell custom artworks, or tie up with brands and help them with marketing. You have a lot of choices to go with. Also get a lot of flexibility and freedom to earn money.

The reason why I said it’s toughest is, you have to suggest a lot in the beginning. You have to build your brand and reputation. And sometimes it becomes very tricky, if you don’t have too much knowledge about business. Also it requires good communication skills, marketing skills, management skills, and all other business related skills.

So you have to be a little talented here with all other parts.

But in a job even if you’re not great with other skills you can earn a certain fixed amount per month. So now everything is in front of you, you get a lot of flexibility and freedom. Also, you can earn a lot of money from it. But you have to do a lot of hard work and acquire other business skills.

3. Freelancing

When I say freelancing it includes all the platforms and online and offline freelancing. There is quite a lot of scope in calligraphy freelancing.

But one thing you have to keep in mind strictly, it’s not going to be as easy as you think. While shipping the product you have to take special care of it. Otherwise if it gets ruined then it will cause you trouble.

Also you have to keep in mind  some minor things, which will increase your reputation among clients. For example, sharing a mockup of the final product. Asking them in detail about artwork.

It not only saves you from troubles later on but also creates good relations. And the client will came back to next time.

Therefore you have to learn these all precariously before getting your first order. 

Here is the link to an amazing article that will help with all of these things. 7 Mistakes That I Made as a Freelance Calligrapher and Artist

You also have to be very careful about some little things like, your pricing, quality you offer, your speciality, etc. if you really want to be successful very early.

Otherwise it just not takes your time, but also becomes very annoying and frustrating for you. Therefore look after these. And you will definitely become successful very soon.

Also try to reach the vast majority of the audience. Try to be on every platform. Keep your pricing fair. And I mean fair, not low. And provide good quality of work.

The Best insider tip I can give you is to use good and premium quality paper for actual order. It works like magic. It actually looks very amazing. And made a lot of difference. So don’t compromise on that.

It will increase your work quality overall.

4. Selling Fonts

Selling fonts could be a good idea for part time earning. Or secondary earning in Calligraphy. So if you choose one of the above as a primary career option and this one as a secondary it would be a good choice.

But you can’t ever be dependent on it for living. Because first of all its not that profitable and reliable. People don’t necessarily purchase fonts regularly. So sometimes you get a sale and sometimes you don’t.

And this makes it a very unreliable and less profitable way to earn money from calligraphy.

Therefore my personal opinion is to see it as a secondary option. And never focus much on it. Keep your earning source different. And don’t invest much money on it.

5. Online Courses

This would be the best option to earn money from calligraphy. It can be a side income source or full time job.

You can make several paid courses and publish them. And you can earn good money from it.

Let me show you how this thing works. And math behind it. I did a good research and found out that one course can be around $5-$10 USD. Let’s suppose your one online course costs $10 USD. And then somehow you reached 1000 views (tip: always try to reach a targeted audience. Which means the audience is highly interested in your topic). And you’re able to convert 10% of them which is 100.

So if you sell your course to 100 people out of 1000. And your course price is $10 USD. Then you made 100 X 10 = $1000 USD.

But you have to keep in mind that all the expenses are going to be minus from it. For example, if you made an ad campaign then it will going to minus from it. Or your expenses while making the course. If you have your own website, etc.

Therefore don’t expect it to be free money without expenses. But you can definitely earn good money from it, if you take it as a primary.

You have to work on it continuously and daily. It will take a lot of hard work from your side.

Don’t expect to do it once and it will earn you a lifetime. Because you had to market it and make sales from it continuously. 

And if you have a fixed audience base then it will work as a charm. 

Suppose you have 10,000 followers/ subscribers on youtube. And you atleast sell your course to 500 of them. Then you will earn 5000 in just a few minutes. And if your conversion rate is higher then it will give better results. You just have to be good at math.

6. Offer Teaching 

You can earn money from calligraphy by teaching other people. You can either open your own calligraphy coaching center/ classes. Or you can work in one of these and earn a good amount of money and respect.

It is a very respected work/ Job. Also there is a lot of money in it. But silver to every career it’s not going to be a piece of cake. You had to think about a lot of factors. 

If you want to open your own calligraphy classes and offer teaching to others, then it depends on your locality a lot. It depends on which country you are in and whether the people are interested in learning calligraphy or not.

Because if you are opening your own classes, you have to invest in it a lot. As well as you had to take a lot of effort to teach. Therefore you had to take a lot of admissions, few students are not enough students to manage expenses.

Because you have to keep in mind that you have to pay rent for the place, then it’s electricity bill, etc. there will be a lot of expenses.

The best tip is first start it from home. Start teaching a few students from your home to go to their home for teaching. Students will refer to each other and gradually the number will increase. It cuts down your expenses.

And once you get a good idea about whether there is demand for calligraphy in your locality or not then you can think about expanding it at a big level.

Keep in mind you have to invest a lot. Following is the list of all expenses- Mortgage of place/ rent, furniture, calligraphy tools (paper, ink, pen, etc), electricity bills.

Now let’s talk about factors- You will get a little freedom and flexibility in it. Because you can mutually decide time with students. Also once it becomes a big business you can expand it a lot. But it clearly depends on your country. There is enough money in it, you can see it as a full time job.

And you have to keep in mind that your locality will be affected a lot. Means if you are from Arab countries then there are many people interested to learn Arabic calligraphy. Similarly your locality will affect the interest of your student and the script of calligraphy they want to learn.

Keep this thing in mind. And do good research about it.

7. Selling Personalized Artworks on Etsy 

You can also earn money from calligraphy by selling personalized artworks on etsy. Etsy is a platform for all types of artists to sell their art pieces. It is a very famous platform. And there is potential in this platform.

Because it is focused artists a lot, and it has an already generated audience base. You get a lot of leverage in the beginning. And you are more likely to make sales.

Therefore it is a very effective platform. And looking forward to it is very worth it. You can earn good money from selling custom and personalized artworks on etsy. But you have to have a lot of skills for it.

Firstly it will not be as easy as you think. You have to generate sales continuously. You have to convince your client, sell them a product, you have to do SEO for it. And pay attention to many more things.

I shared detailed information about the etsy shop. How to use it? Do’s and don’t. Advantages of Etsy Compared to setting up our own website. And all the things you have to keep in mind. I even talked further and mentioned how to do SEO for it. You can check it out here- Start an Etsy Shop.

It will help you a lot. Because i covered everything about etsy. What to do and what not to do.

So creating an etsy shop will also give you a lot of freedom and flexibility to work. You can expand later by creating your own website or store.

It is a good side hustle which can be a primary earning source later.

8. Creating Blog About Calligraphy 

If you get excited by the name of a blogging, then stop right there. Like other people if you also think blogging is free passive money. And it’s easy. Then it’s not.

Blogging is not at all a side hustle. It’s a full time job. But you can earn a lot of money from blogging. And trust me, a lot of Money!

Also there is an advantage if you live in another country. Because you are going to get paid in dollars. And in a few countries dollars are more valuable than their currency. 

So it’s a plus point.

But one thing you have to keep in mind. Although there is a lot of money in blogging, it’s a very time consuming and very hard working business.

You have to write a lot of articles on your own. And if writing is not your thing then you will be going to face a lot of burn outs. You at least have to write 100-200 articles to earn sufficient money.

Also you have to have deep knowledge about blogging. You have to maintain your own website, do SEO, Do article writing on your own. 

So it’s become very overwhelming for one person.

And trust me it’s very time consuming. Besides these hardworking things. You have to know one thing.

Even if you do everything right, you have to wait for 8-9 months for the result to start. And to be settled in blogging you atleast have to wait 1 years. Even if you did everything right!

You can not expect any money from blogging in the first year. Instead you have to invest in it. But besides that if you are a student and you have the time then you can try blogging.

But my personal suggestion is that there is not a lot of traffic in blogging. Therefore if you want to start a blog try a different niche. Going with the calligraphy niche was not a great idea in the beginning.

But yes there is absolute flexibility and freedom in blogging. And you don’t even have to communicate with a lot of people. So if you are an introvert then it’s a good sign. 

And there is a good amount of money in calligraphy blogging, if you know how to earn it. But it’s a very hardworking, and time consuming process. 

Especially if you don’t have a lot of patience then you should stay away from it. It requires a lot of patience.

Insider Tip:- The best insider tip I can give you is to always use wordpress and .com domains. Using any other will ruin your half life. Because your time and efforts will be wasted. 

You can not earn any money from other types of domain. They are cheap comparably but they are also less valuable so you can never rank with them. 

If you seriously want to make money, use the .com domain and wordpress. And a private Hosting. But you have to invest more money in them. Also try to get more knowledge about blogging. It will help you a lot.

9. Start a Youtube Channel 

The best option you could go for instead of blogging is creating a youtube channel. They both are very similar. In both ways you earn money with views by producing content. But here you don’t have to be that much patience.

You can grow your channel very quickly on youtube. You don’t have to wait for it. And also you don’t have to take care of other things.

You don’t have to manage all of the stuff like on a website. You just have to create content and publish it on youtube. your tube will take care of the rest of the things.

And you can make good money from youtube. And the audience base of calligraphy is larger in youtube, so you’re not facing this problem here.

And therefore you’re getting more views on youtube and earns quite well. Therefore it’s a great option to go with, instead of blogging.

But here also you have to keep in mind a few things, you have to create good quality content. And you have to do SEO for it. 

Youtube SEO-

• Use 1920X1080 pixels high quality thumbnail.
• Do good keyword research about your video topic.
• Pick keywords with high search volume and low competition.
• Use these keywords in title, meta Description, thumbnail.
• Keep your info in description and use the same description for all the videos. (you can change a few lines about. The reason we are keeping them the same is, youtube will identify all your videos and suggest them for autoplay.)

So keep these things in mind. And create your own audience base, interact with your audience. So they come back to your channel and you get a fixed viewership.

Do research well about youtube so you won’t get any trouble in future. And don’t hesitate to create a channel, just go for it.

Obviously your content will not be best in the beginning but as you grow the content will get better and better with you. So don’t shy to post ugly videos, it’s a part of your journey.

And similar to blogging you get full flexibility and freedom. You can post content according to your liking. You can post at any time there are no restrictions on you. So it’s a great thing.

But unlike blogging you have to communicate with your audience and create a strong relationship. You become a public figure now. You have to communicate a lot with the youtube community. And if you are camera shy then it will be awkward for you in starting. But after a while you get used to it.

The best tip is to create your own community and engaging content.

In the beginning you can create videos with just your phone, it’s absolutely fine. And later once you start earning you can invest in good gears. It is absolutely worth it.

10. Sell Your Calligraphy On Social Media 

You can either sell calligraphy products or calligraphy artworks on social media. And earn money from it. But let me make it clear you can not earn much money from it. And it’s not that profitable at all.

People on social media don’t pay you much for calligraphy artwork. And you also have to include all expenses (paper, ink) as well as your shipping cost. So it’s not that profitable.

And also you can not rely on it. They don’t regularly purchase from you. So it could be a good side hustle. But you can not take it as primary.

It would be nice to earn money and create a good social media feed side by side. But I don’t think you should rely on it.

I am not saying it’s impossible to rely on it. Social media is very big and you can get a lot of orders regularly. But imagine what if your account gets hacked or disable? Then you will become helpless.

Therefore don’t rely on it. And you need very good marketing skills for doing this. So see this as a side income source. And it would be worth it a lot.

You get full flexibility and freedom in it. And earn money from it. But don’t expect it to be very profitable. Focus on other full time income sources instead.

The best thing is, start with social media then join Etsy shop. And from then slowly create your own audience base and send them on your own website.

It’s the best plan to follow. You can create a very large audience base from social media. And use them to convert in your own client. Ultimately it gives a dramatic boost to your business. That’s how a business mind should Work!