If you have a passion for writing poetry, you may have been told there isn’t a large market for this type of creative work. While it may be difficult to sell your poetry through conventional channels, you’ll discover a variety of ways to make money from poetry if you think out of the box. Here are a few ideas for selling your poetry writing talents that you may not have considered:

Create custom poetry for special occasions

Why not start a service offering custom poetry for special occasions? There are lots of people who would love to give a loved one a special one-of-kind poem written just for them. You could set up a website offering this service as well as advertise locally. Occasions for which people may want a customized poem include birthdays, weddings, graduations, births, deaths, holidays, among others. Why not co-market your custom poetry writing service with a wedding planner? You could offer a referral bonus for each customer she refers to you.

Create poetic sayings and sell them on t-shirts.

To sell your poetry in this manner, you don’t need to manufacture the goods. You can upload your poems and clever sayings to http://www.cafepress.com. Café Press will place your sayings on a variety of items including t-shirts and mugs as customers place orders. In turn, you will receive a commission on each sale. Those commissions can really add up.

Sell self published poetry books through local retail outlets in your area.

Why not write a book of funny, get well poems to sell in your local hospital gift shop? Could you write poetry for other potential niche outlets? How about a book of nature poetry to be marketed in local gardening and nature stores? Think in terms of poetry you could sell to particular niche markets.

Sell your poetry through independent book stores.

If you have a smaller independent book store in your area, offer to do a free poetry reading on site. Bring along your self published poetry book to be purchased after the reading.

Sell poetry about your local area.

Why not sell publish poetry about your hometown and various landmarks in your area? To make your poetry even more marketable, combine your poem with an appropriate photo of local scenes. Your poetry book could be marketed through a variety of local gift stores and independent book stores in your area.

Consider the greeting card market.

If you can write poems and sayings that are appropriate for greeting cards, you’ll find a receptive market for your talents. Do a Google search for “sell greeting card verse” and you’ll find a variety of resources that will help you get started in this potentially lucrative area.

Frame your poetry.

This is another excellent market for your poetry writing skills. Compose a poem and arrange it on your computer with a beautiful font. Print it out on high quality card stock and frame it. Framed poetry tends to be an excellent seller at local craft shows and festivals.

This is only a few of the many ways you can successfully sell your poetry. If you want to successfully make money from your poetry, it pays to think of less conventional outlets and niche markets. Give some of these ideas a try.

Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry returns to HBO for a sixth season, now airing every Friday at midnight.