Start An Animation Business - Business Ideas

Updated: September 15th, 2022
Start An Animation Business

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

Animated posts and animated ads have become more prevalent today than ever before. Starting an animation business focusing on helping brands create animated ads and illustrations can be fun and profitable.

The animated videos can be posted on Instagram and other social media platforms. To start an animation studio, you should start by hiring some specialists. You need a pair of illustrators, animators, and a scriptwriter to bring the idea to life.

As an animation artist, you can create animation and visual effects for films, gamers, ads, etc.

Becoming an animation business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell animation, or selling animation online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Want to learn more? You can check out our full guide on how to start an animation business ➜

Key Stats

revenue (monthly)
$3.75K
starting costs
$31.6K
gross margin
27%
avg product price
$25
time to build
180 days
growth
Word of mouth
business model
Subscriptions
time investment
Full time

Startup Costs

Min Startup Costs Max Startup Costs

Office Space Expenses

$0

$7,000

Employee & Freelancer Expenses

$151

$352

Website Costs

$223

$7,215

Business Formation Fees

$5,600

$20,400

Equipment & Supply Expenses

$63

$200

App Creation Costs

$1,000

$20,000

Software Expenses

$162

$3,094

Advertising & Marketing Costs

$75

$4,736

Total Startup Costs

$7,274

$62,997

Successful Businesses

Business URL Rank

GIPHY

giphy.com

524

Vyond

vyond.com

11,267

GreenSock

greensock.com

26,020

Animate.css

animate.style

34,285

Wyzowl

wyzowl.com/

57,779

SVGator: Free SVG Animation Creator Online

svgator.com

58,791

Cartoon Brew

cartoonbrew.com

61,346

GIFGIFs

gifgifs.com

63,002

Piskel

piskelapp.com

64,865

Bloop Animation

bloopanimation.com

87,853

Online 3D Animation School

animschool.com

118,172

Pros & Cons

Pros Description

Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

Ability to start your business from home

It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!

Rewarding work

Starting a animation business can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

Meaningful business connections

You never know who you will meet as a animation business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!

High customer retention rates

Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer.

Pick & choose the clients you work with

Animation Businesses have the ability to choose the clients they work with. You have the freedom to work with only a few loyal clients or with hundreds of clients!

Cons Description

Motivation of employees

If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.

Longer Sales Process

A animation business can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.

Low margins

The gross margins for your animation business are typically around 27%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability.

High employee turnover

In the animation business, employee turnover is often high, which can be quite costly and time consuming for your business. It's important to try and avoid this as much as possible by offering competitive pay, benefits, and a positive work environment.

Stressful work

This line of work can be stressful for both you and your clients. This type of transaction is a significant financial decision for your client, so expectations are very high for you. Although this career path can be very rewarding, it also comes with its challenges and stressful moments.

Niche Market

A niche business is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it can be the key to your success. However, it can be more challenging and time consuming to find the perfect niche market and target audience.

Marketing Ideas

  • 1

    Affiliate Program

    Affiliate marketing is a great way to bring in a new revenue stream, especially when you don't sell products or services.

    Simply put, an affiliate program is an agreement where a business pays another business or influencer ("the affiliate") a commission for sending traffic and/or sales their way.

    The affiliate typically gets a unique link where clicks and conversions can be tracked.

    Learn more about affiliate program ➜

  • 2

    Direct Sales

    Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.

    For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.

    Learn more about direct sales ➜

  • 3

    Word of mouth

    Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.

    Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.

    According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.

    Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.

    Learn more about word of mouth ➜