When we think about income streams, the funeral industry might not be the first that comes to mind. I went to school to become a funeral director, but ended up leaving the industry due to how predatory it was. This idea is a great way to get into the funeral industry and really help families, without preying on them to upgrade to the next best casket.
There’s an opportunity to create multiple income streams within this space, and the potential for financial growth is, in fact, limitless. I call this approach “Infinity Dipping,” where you can tap into both active and passive income streams while scaling your business over time.
Active Income: Offer Obituary Writing Services
One of the simplest and most direct ways to get started is by offering obituary writing services.
Many families need help writing obituaries during emotionally difficult times, and this is where you come in. You can provide a heartfelt service by crafting personalized obituaries that truly honor their loved ones who have passed on.
By the way, I use affiliate links in my blog posts. This means I earn a commission when you purchase something through my links.
As you can see with a simple search on Etsy, there are already people doing this successfully. This is a good sign!
How to Get Started:
- Advertise Locally: Spread the word about your services in your community. Advertise in your local newspaper, community bulletin boards, and through Facebook groups. Word of mouth will also be a powerful tool.
- Build a Blog: Create a blog focused on end-of-life topics, such as how to write obituaries, funeral card etiquette, and even end-of-life planning. Your blog can educate people while driving organic traffic to your service.
Active Income: Obituary Prints
I accidentally discovered this while writing this post, so I added it in: obituary prints!
This shop has over 90,000 sales. You can do this on a home printer, or do it as print on demand.
Passive Income: Funeral Industry Blog
By now you know my favorite thing to talk about is blogging, so of course that’s something I’m going to mention in this Infinity Dip plan. 🙂 You can create a blog about everything that has to do with planning funerals/end of life celebrations. My brain is on FIRE with how many blog posts you could write!
I popped “how to write an obituary” into Keysearch and the search volume and competition look good. But what do you write about? The possibilities truly are endless. Think about it… you’ve got obituaries, eulogies, funeral cards, prayer cards, and everything in between.
Then I popped the same phrase into RightBlogger and got like 30 blog post ideas using the cluster generator (free). This is 30 blog post ideas JUST about writing obituaries. That means you’ve got 100s of ideas, literally in seconds, if you include your other topics.
And that’s just with the cluster generator tool. If you use some of the other tools, you get even more ideas – and could turn some of them into products (PDF guides/ebooks, for example… something like “The Ultimate Funeral Planning Guide”).
Yes, you can even create a course to teach people how to plan a funeral. Create a mini course about how to write obituaries. Then, you can promote it to your blog readers but you can also use it to teach other people how to do the same thing and monetize it (Infinity Dipping).
I used RightBloggers blog post ideas tool and got some great ideas for more blog posts. Like I said, the possibilities here are just insane… and so far, this is just talking about obituaries. There’s so much more to planning a funeral/end of life celebration.
Passive Income: Selling Templates
Once you’ve established yourself and have a steady flow of clients (or at least know what you’re talking about so you can teach it), you can tap into passive income by selling funeral niche templates. These templates can include obituaries, funeral cards, prayer cards, and everything else you can think of that would be involved in end of life celebrations, funerals, etc.
Where to Sell:
- Etsy: This marketplace is great for selling digital templates for obituaries and funeral cards.
- Your Own Website: You can also create a separate website (or use your funeral blog) where people can purchase these templates directly from you.
Bonus Tip: Offer a custom ChatGPT tool that helps people write their own obituaries. While some will still prefer hiring you for a personalized service, many will appreciate a DIY approach with the help of AI.
Infinity Dip: Growing and Scaling Your Business
As your business begins to grow, others will naturally become curious about how you’re doing it. This opens up the potential for additional income streams by teaching others how to start their own obituary writing service.
Create a Free Facebook Group
If you’re looking to build an audience, launch a free Facebook group where people interested in the funeral industry can join and learn from you.
I have tons of Facebook group growth tips here on my blog so read those if you are new to growing groups. I’ve grown many groups to 50K+ members, it’s one of my specialties!
Create Freebies
Put freebies on your blog. On the “thank you” page, lead everyone to your Facebook group until you have your low-ticket membership set up. Then swap your Facebook group info out for a low-ticket membership sales page.
Low-Ticket Membership
Once your audience grows, you can launch a low-ticket membership that teaches others how to start their own obituary writing service. This membership could include commercial-use templates and insider tips on marketing and scaling the business.
What I’ve created in this post follows the PIPs Path. If this path resonates with you, I’d love to have you in my VIP mastermind!
The Limitless Potential of Infinity Dipping
By combining active services, blogging, and more passive options like a low-ticket membership, you can create a robust business model in the funeral industry with limitless income potential. The beauty of Infinity Dipping is that it allows you to diversify your income streams, ensuring financial stability and growth over time.
