INTRODUCTION
If you’re looking to boost your income with side hustles that fit your schedule and are worth your time, our comprehensive guide offers the best ideas to help you make an extra $500 per month. Whether you’re seeking flexibility or entrepreneurial opportunities outside your main job, these side hustle suggestions can inspire you to earn additional income effectively.
Engaging in side hustles offers the opportunity to boost savings, clear debts, invest for the future, enjoy vacations, have discretionary funds, and potentially transition away from a traditional 9-5 job, as we have done ourselves!
Drawing from over twenty years of personal experimentation with various side hustle concepts, I’ve curated a selection of top ideas known for their exceptional flexibility, lucrative prospects, and scalability. For those seeking greater autonomy and financial independence, embarking on a profitable side hustle can pave the way to a more liberated lifestyle.
Table of Contents
Best Side Hustle Ideas
1.watch video
The side hustle idea with an income potential of $1-$10+ an hour involves making money by watching new movie trailers through Swagbucks. This opportunity allows you to earn extra income by engaging in an activity you enjoy, like watching TV shows. With Swagbucks, you can set up the task to watch movie trailers and continue being productive in the background while earning additional income.
2.Take Paid Online Surveys
Taking paid online surveys can be a lucrative side hustle to earn extra income in your spare time. Various reputable survey sites like Swagbucks, Branded Surveys, and others offer opportunities to earn money by sharing your opinions on products and services.
By signing up with legitimate survey companies, you can participate in surveys that pay anywhere from $0.25 to $20 or more, depending on the complexity and length of the survey. It’s essential to be cautious of scam survey sites and avoid those that ask for payment upfront or sensitive information like your Social Security number without valid reasons.
By following best practices like completing your profile, sticking with trusted sites, and being honest in your responses, you can maximize your earnings from taking online surveys
3.Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a popular way to generate passive income through promoting products and earning commissions. It involves becoming an affiliate marketer, promoting products through various channels like websites, blogs, or social media, and earning income when users make purchases through your unique affiliate links
Decide on a Niche: Choose a specific area of focus for your affiliate marketing business to target a particular audience effectively
Consider joining an affiliate program like Amazon Associates or ClickBank to access products for promotion and earn commissions
Monetize Your Content: Utilize tools like Pretty Links to easily insert affiliate links into your existing content and monetize your website or
Starting an affiliate marketing side hustle can be a lucrative venture with minimal startup costs and effort, offering you the potential to earn significant additional revenue.
By focusing on niche products that appeal to your target audience and joining suitable affiliate programs, you can increase your chances of success in the affiliate marketing space
4. Sell Feet Pics
Selling feet pictures online can be a lucrative side hustle, with potential earnings of up to $500 per week. To get started, you can create an online presence on platforms like FeetFinder, Feetify, OnlyFans, Dollar Feet, or All Things Worn. These platforms provide a safe environment for sellers and buyers to communicate.
It’s important to understand the foot buyer’s market, which includes brand advertisers, artists, foot fans, and stock photography websites. By tailoring your marketing strategies to diverse buyer segments, you can increase your chances of making sales
For those who are considering selling feet pictures, it is important to note that although the idea may seem attractive, the reality is that the average person may struggle to make significant money from this venture.
The market for selling feet pictures can be competitive and difficult to generate significant income. Instead of focusing on selling feet pictures, exploring alternative methods like affiliate marketing can be a more sustainable and profitable option to make money online.
Additionally, if you are interested in making money through photos, you can explore affiliate programs like the FeetFinder Affiliate Program. This program provides opportunities to earn money by promoting feet pictures and provides a special ID upon registration
5. Online Bookkeeper
You’ll be sending and receiving invoices, tracking payments and bills, and other basic financial documents. But you must be wondering if you need to be an accountant for bookkeeping- you’re in luck! here is a summary of the key points:
QuickBooks Live offers virtual bookkeeping services with certified accountants who update financial statements, manage the books, and provide ongoing support
Remote Books Online provides online bookkeeping services starting at $95 per month, including accounting software subscription fees, and offers services by certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors and Xero experts
NerdWallet lists the top online bookkeeping services for March 2024, including Bookkeeper360, Merritt Bookkeeping, Bench Accounting, Pilot, QuickBooks Live, and 1-800Accountant.
Forbes Advisor highlights the best online bookkeeping services like 1-800Accountant, QuickBooks Live, and Bookkeeper360, each offering different features and pricing plans
Fit Small Business recommends Bench as the best online bookkeeping service overall, emphasizing benefits such as increased efficiency, expert advice, cost savings, and real-time financial reporting. It also mentions the factors to consider when choosing virtual bookkeeping
6. Sell Digital Printable on Etsy
You can spend a few hours creating documents to sell, again and again, making you profit over and over in passive income.
What are printables on Etsy?
Printables are digital products such as graphics, wall artwork, or templates that customers can download and print at home. They provide a way to create passive income without having to store or ship physical items.
Advantages of selling prints:
Selling printed materials allows for an endless supply of products, reduces overhead costs, and creates a passive revenue stream. It’s a low-cost way to test the market and discover the best-selling products.
Get started selling printables on Etsy:
Open an Etsy shop:
Create an account, set up shop preferences, choose a shop name, and start adding listings.
Printable List of Materials: Add high-quality images, upload a demo video if possible, and provide a detailed description including title, creator information, category, tags, price, and quantity.
Pricing Strategy:
Consider your target audience’s preferences when setting prices. Research competitors to determine the price range for your products.
Tips for success:
Quantity of products: Having several hundred products increases the likelihood of sales.
Optimize Listings: Use titles and meta tags to improve visibility in search results.
Quality and Uniqueness: Creating high-quality products that stand out from the competition.
By following these steps and tips, you can effectively start selling printables on Etsy to generate passive income.
7. Download the Steady Side Hustle App
The Steady App is a legitimate platform that connects users with part-time, freelance, and gig work opportunities to earn extra income. Here are some key points from the reviews:
Features: The app offers a free version with income tracking tools, job search capabilities, and income history tracking. The paid version, Steady Plus, at $4.99 per month, provides additional features like downloading earnings data and job matching tailored to your needs
Earning Potential: Users can earn between $10 to $15 per hour on average, with tasks paying anywhere from $2 to $25 per hour. The app claims that members can make an average of $5,500 more per year
Legitimacy: Steady has received positive reviews with a Trustpilot score of 4.4 out of 5 stars and a Google Play score of 4.4 stars. The app has paid out over $10 million in cash incentives and has helped users increase their income significantly
How It Works: Users can sign up for an account, link their bank account to track earnings, search for side hustles based on their preferences, apply for jobs through the app, and get paid directly by the hiring company
Comparison: While Steady is a popular option for finding side hustles, there are alternatives like TaskRabbit and DoorDash that offer different types of gig opportunities
To download the Steady Side Hustle App, you can visit the official website at steadyapp.com. The app is available for both iOS and Android users, and you can set up your account by following the steps provided on the app, which include entering your name, email address, phone number, setting up a password, and answering survey questions to match your skills and experience to opportunities
8. Ride Sharing
When considering the best ridesharing app for your needs, factors like location and preferences play a role. Uber is known for its comprehensive services and global availability, while Lyft focuses on customer experience. Other notable apps include Careem in the Middle East and North Africa, Ola in India, which offers free in-car Wi-Fi, BlaBla Car, which specializes in car sharing, and provides traditional taxi rides without increasing prices, and Via, which emphasizes environmental responsibility.
RideConnect is a versatile ridesharing platform that allows you to create ridesharing communities, which cater to different groups such as families, businesses, and cities. You can efficiently coordinate transportation, deliveries, and general logistics. The platform offers features such as ride requesting, ride scheduling, price negotiation between passengers and drivers, and privacy settings to enhance safety.
In the world of ride-sharing apps, Uber stands out as a leader in the industry, offering a wide range of services beyond ride-hailing such as package delivery and food delivery. Uber provides users with options to share trip details, split fares between riders, integrate trip schedules with calendar events, and choose from various payment methods for added convenience.
Lyft is another prominent player in the ride-sharing market, providing users with friendly drivers for on-demand rides. Lyft emphasizes a personalized customer experience and transparency in its services. Additionally, Lyft allows users to set their driving hours
9.Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants (VAs) are remote workers who provide services on a contract basis to handle various tasks for individuals and businesses. These tasks can include administrative duties like scheduling appointments, making phone calls, managing social media accounts, and even content writing or marketing assistance
VAs typically offer flexible working hours, with some services providing packages for as few as 10 hours per week, while others charge based on tasks completed rather than hours worked
The cost of hiring a virtual assistant can vary depending on factors such as experience, location, and the services provided. On average, a VA based in the United States may cost around $60 per hour
Using a virtual assistant service can be cost-effective for small businesses as VAs work on an as-needed basis without being on the payroll, saving money by avoiding additional costs like insurance, vacation pay, and equipment expenses associated with traditional employees
Various platforms like Fiverr and Upwork offer opportunities to hire virtual assistants online. These platforms provide a pool of freelancers offering services ranging from data entry to administrative assistance and more specialized tasks like ecommerce product research
10.SEO Specialist
If you have some technical skills and know your way around the internet, you can make a lot of money as an SEO specialist.
An SEO specialist is responsible for improving a website’s ranking on search engines by using strategies such as keyword research, content creation, link building, technical auditing, and more.
They play a crucial role in driving traffic to a website through organic search results. SEO specialists typically work within marketing or growth departments and collaborate with content writers and SEO analysts.
Although there is no specific degree related to SEO, many professionals come from fields such as communications, marketing, English, or related fields.
The average salary for an SEO specialist in the United States varies based on experience, with those with more than 7 years earning around $82,200 and those with less than 1 year of experience earning around $51,867.
11.Flip Items
Flipping items for profit involves buying items at a low price and selling them at a higher price elsewhere. It is a practice in which individuals purchase undervalued goods to quickly resell them for a profit. Common items to flip include antiques, musical instruments, photography equipment, mechanical items, video games, and consoles.
Flippers often monitor online marketplaces, attend sales events, or buy from wholesalers to find profitable items. Starting a flipping business can cost just a few hundred dollars for initial inventory and equipment, but larger items like furniture or cars may require an investment of thousands of dollars.
When it comes to flipping merchandise, marketing plays a crucial role in success. Quality merchandise is important, but building customer relationships and asking for referrals can significantly boost sales. Personal recommendations from satisfied customers can boost the success rate of selling products or services
Flipping items for profit online involves finding undervalued items at places such as thrift stores, garage sales, flea markets, and auctions, then selling them online for profit. It’s a simple way to earn extra money and can be turned into a full-time business.
Steps to get started flipping items include organizing your space to find items to sell, taking photos of items to list online, researching prices and demand for the items you want to flip, listing them on platforms like eBay or Facebook Marketplace, and shipping them out. For customers who purchase it
12.Freelance Copywriting
Copywriting can be a lucrative side hustle for you if you are looking to earn extra income. If you have a bachelor’s degree in English or a similar field, you can earn $36 per hour.
It involves writing compelling content for marketing purposes, such as websites, emails, social media posts, and ads. Copywriting is different from content writing because it focuses on motivating the audience.
For beginners interested in copywriting, it is essential to practice writing sample essays to become familiar with the format and flow. Building a portfolio is crucial even if you haven’t been paid for copywriting yet. The process involves research, discovery, writing, editing, checking, and experimenting
Freelance copywriting offers flexibility regarding remote work and control over your work hours. The average freelance copywriter in the United States earns about $27 per hour or $55,743 per year, with the potential for higher earnings based on experience, clients, set rates, and workload.
This is a great side hustle if you’re a good writer, but it’s also very persuasive or persuasive when you’re talking to others.
Conclusion
side hustles are an excellent way to earn extra income, and there are many fun and creative ideas to choose from. Whether you want to start with passive income or work hard for your money, there’s something for everyone.
Remember, every step you take toward your financial goals is a step in the right direction, and you should never discount your accomplishments, no matter how small they may seem. Side hustles can change your life, and can help you pay off debt, save for a vacation, or achieve your financial dreams.
So, try one of these best side hustle ideas and let us know how it will change your life in the comments below!
FAQ for Side Hustle Ideas
Q: What are some popular side hustle ideas for beginners?
A: Popular side hustle ideas for beginners include freelance writing, virtual assisting, graphic design, tutoring, and selling handmade crafts online.
Q: How can I choose the right side hustle idea for me?
A: To choose the right side hustle idea, consider your skills, interests, time availability, and income goals. Research different options to find a good fit.
Q: Are side hustles profitable?
A: Side hustles can be profitable depending on the effort and time invested. Some side hustles can generate significant income with dedication and smart planning.
Q: Can I turn my side hustle into a full-time business?
A: Yes, many successful entrepreneurs started their businesses as side hustles. With growth and scalability, a side hustle can evolve into a full-time venture.
Q: How important is it to focus on a niche for a side hustle?
A: Focusing on a niche can help you stand out in a crowded market, attract your target audience, and establish yourself as an expert in that specific area.
Q: What role do focus keywords play in optimizing a side hustle website?
A: Focus keywords are crucial for SEO optimization as they help search engines understand the content of your website. By using relevant focus keywords strategically, you can improve your website’s visibility and attract more organic traffic.
Q: How can I effectively promote my side hustle online?
A: You can promote your side hustle online through social media marketing, content creation, email marketing, collaborations with influencers or other businesses, and utilizing SEO strategies to increase visibility. Consistent promotion is key to reaching your target audience effectively.
