You want to make more money but don’t want to give up your passion or freedom. Discover the best side hustles to earn passive income, even if you have a 9 to 5.
For creatives and 9-5ers alike, financial freedom is essential for reducing stress and focusing on what you love. A side hustle can be a powerful tool for achieving that freedom.
If you’re looking to generate passive income streams or turn your hobby into a profitable business, you’ve come to the right place.
This guide explores some of the best side ventures that you can do remotely or in person.
Let’s help you earn more money and break free from any financial worries.
Table of Contents
1. Turn Your Knowledge into Cash
Leverage your expertise in music, content creation, or any other niche by creating and selling online courses or workshops on easy-to-use platforms like Teachable.
If you’re considering selling courses online, creating a WordPress website is a fantastic way to get started. It’s easy to use and will help you reach a wider audience.
Envato Market has products for your online business so you can work from home, from educational video promo materials to website themes that support course integration.
If you can’t be doing with the hassle of creating a website from scratch, you should use website template builders such as Squarespace. They provide a wide range of user-friendly online course templates that you can easily modify and personalize to match your brand.
Free platforms like YouTube or paid options such as Teachable mentioned above allow you to share your knowledge with a global audience and earn money while you teach.
👉 Tips:
- Start with a well-structured course outline and materials.
- Promote your courses through social media and email marketing.
- Engage with your students and gather feedback for continuous improvement.
- If your tuition is music-related, consider using apps to help you polish your skills before taking on students, such as Hooktheory, Pickup Music, or JamPlay, which offer pro music education and tools.
2. Digital Product Craze
If you’re a digital artist, writer, or musician, create and sell digital products such as eBooks, music tracks, stock graphics, or online courses.
Even if you work in insurance sales, you can learn how to successfully sell digital products online through YouTube or online courses that cover everything you need to know.
Here are a few great digital product ideas:
- eBooks: eBooks can be on any topic, but they are especially popular for self-help, business, and fiction.
- Online courses: Online courses can teach people new skills, such as how to play a musical instrument, learn a new language, or start a business.
- Music: If you are a musician, you can sell your music online as digital downloads or streams.
- Custom Backing Tracks: Produce and sell custom backing tracks for singers and instrumentalists.
- Software: If you are a programmer, you can sell your software online.
- Templates: Templates can be for anything from websites to presentations to social media graphics.
- Royalty-Free Music: Compose and sell royalty-free music for use in videos, advertisements, and podcasts.
Custom Compositions: Offer to compose music for special occasions like weddings, birthdays, or events.
Music Production Templates: Create templates for digital audio workstations (DAWs) to help other musicians with their production process.
- Stock photos and videos: Businesses and individuals can use them for their websites, marketing materials, and other projects.
- Sound Effects: Create and sell sound effects for use in videos, podcasts, or music production.
- Fonts: Fonts can be used for websites, logos, and other design projects.
To choose a digital product to sell, consider your skills, interests, and the needs of your target market. Research what others are selling and what’s in demand.
Alright, time to find a place to sell your digital goodies. A popular choice, the Sellfy eCommerce platform is beginner-friendly. Imagine Sellfy as your own online marketplace – it’s where creative minds like yours go to share and sell their creations.
With Sellfy, you can sell your digital products and merchandise and enjoy a generous 14-day free trial. Not too shabby.
After setting up your business, create a marketing campaign to build a mailing list of customers using tools such as Brevo, Mailchimp. or Mailer Lite.
These email tools can help you promote your products and content to customers, boosting your passive income earnings. Show me the money!
👉 Tips:
- Use platforms like Sellfy, Gumroad, Etsy, or your personal website to sell digital products.
- Offer limited-time discounts or bundle deals to incentivize purchases.
- Promote your digital products through social media and email marketing.
3. Affiliate Marketing and Blogging
Blogging and affiliate marketing are two great ways to turn your knowledge and passion into a side hustle.
With blogging, you can create content that interests your target audience and promote affiliate products within your blog posts and social media.
Join affiliate programs that offer products or services that match your niche and audience. You can use platforms like ShareAsale or Amazon to find a wide range of products or services that you can promote on your website, blog, or social media.
👉 Tips:
- Create an eye-catching website to ensure the visitors keep rolling in. Choose the best web hosting from places such as Bluehost or GreenGeeks. They offer a combo of easy, fast, and eco-friendly hosting solutions that are perfect for beginners and experts alike.
- Be sure to use tools like WP Rocket to help improve your site’s loading time, ranking, and user experience or If you plan to sell products on your website, it’s recommended to use the WooCommerce PayPal plugin.
- Create informative and engaging content to drive traffic. You can use platforms like Coursera or Upwork to learn and improve your writing skills. They offer online courses on various topics, such as blogging, SEO, copywriting, and social media marketing.
4. VO Work
If you’ve got a captivating voice, there are some great opportunities available for you in the world of voiceover (VO) and audio narration.
You could offer your services for things like audiobooks, commercials, podcasts, and explainer videos.
Your voice could be the perfect fit to bring stories to life, help businesses reach their audience, and create engaging content.
So why not give it a shot and see where it takes you?
👉 Tips:
- Invest in a good-quality microphone, audio interface and soundproofing for your recording space.
- Build a portfolio with various voice samples showcasing your versatility.
- Join online platforms like Voices.com or Fiverr to find voiceover gigs.
5. Music Production and Mixing
If you have the technical skills to produce and mix music, consider offering your services to other musicians and content creators.
Many aspiring artists and YouTubers lack the equipment or expertise needed to create professional-quality tracks.
By stepping in as a producer or audio engineer, you can realise their visions while earning a substantial income.
👉 Tips:
- Invest in quality recording equipment and software, such as a quality audio interface and reliable computer.
- Create a professional website to showcase your portfolio.
- Network with local bands, artists, and content creators to find potential clients.
6. POD
Want to make money off your creative skills? Seen the craze for smelling your own merch and want a piece of the action? Then, print-on-demand (POD) is the perfect side hustle for you.
Hey there! Have you heard of POD? It’s a really cool way to turn your creative ideas into physical products that you can sell online! With POD, you can design your own custom products like t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, phone cases, tote bags, and even wall art.
And the best part? You don’t have to worry about a thing. The POD provider, such as the industry-leading Printify and Printful takes care of everything from production to shipping, so you can just focus on creating your head-turning designs. Sounds pretty cool, right?
👉 Tips:
- Use graphic design software or online tools to create your designs. Make sure they’re high-quality and eye-catching.
- Don’t try to sell to everyone. Instead, focus on a specific niche or market, like funny t-shirts for cat lovers or inspirational quotes for entrepreneurs.
- Do some research to see what other sellers in your niche are charging. Set your prices accordingly.
- Respond to customer inquiries promptly and politely. Go the extra mile to make sure your customers are happy.
7. Lights, Camera, Action
Have you ever thought about starting your own YouTube channel? It’s a really fun way to earn some extra cash!
And as you start building up your audience, there are lots of ways to make money from your content.
Ad revenue, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing can turn your channel into a source of income while doing what you love—creating content. Here’s how to get started and make some money while you’re at it:
👉 Tips:
- Aim for consistency in uploading content to keep your audience engaged.
- Partner with brands and companies related to your niche for sponsored content.
- Why not hire some freelancers to help you out with tasks like video editing? This way, you can free up your time and focus on other things that matter to you. Find them on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr.
8. VA for Content Creators
If you’re not interested in creating your own website, many content creators look to hire virtual assistants (VAs) for help.
As a virtual assistant, you can assist busy professionals with tasks like administration, email management, and scheduling.
This saves clients time and reduces stress, allowing them to focus on core business activities. In return, you can earn extra income and enjoy the flexibility of working remotely.
👉 Tips:
- Be sure to showcase your organisational skills and meticulous attention to detail when applying.
- Offer package deals tailored to content creators’ specific needs.
- Communicate efficiently and be responsive to their requests.
9. eBook Publishing and Self-Publishing
Self-publishing eBooks on platforms like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) can be a lucrative opportunity if you have good writing skills or in-depth knowledge in a specific area.
KDP offers complete control over content, pricing, and marketing, along with tools for formatting, cover design, and promotion.
You get paid a royalty for every eBook sold, making it a great way to earn a steady stream of income.
👉 Tips:
- Research trending topics or niches to target with your eBooks.
- Invest in a professional eBook cover design and formatting from reputable platforms like Fiverr to find someone to create a great book cover.
- One effective way to market your eBooks is by using social media and email marketing.
10. Take Flight with Your Lens
Did you know you can easily monetise your photography or videography skills by selling stock photos and videos? Selling drone footage is becoming a popular way for people to earn extra extra income.
Drones are an excellent way to make your videos and photographs stand out from the crowd. An added bonus to getting creative with a drone is it’s a super fun way to earn money while having a blast.
Businesses, websites, and content creators need high-quality visuals, creating a passive income stream for you.
Upload your visuals to stock photography websites like Shutterstock, Getty Images, and Adobe Stock to earn commission every time someone uses your visuals.
👉 Tips:
- Research popular stock photo platforms like Shutterstock or Adobe Stock to start uploading your work.
- Focus on capturing images or videos that cater to specific niches or industries.
- Keep your portfolio diverse and up-to-date to attract a wider audience.
11. Coaching
If you have great people skills and care about making a difference in others’ lives, coaching is a great way to share your knowledge, skills, and experience with others who need guidance, support, or accountability.
Be sure to choose a topic that you love, like fitness, business, or music, and help others achieve their goals and improve their lives.
It’s a win-win situation, where you get to do what you love, help others and make some extra cash on the side!
👉 Tips:
- Build your credibility and reputation as a coach. You can use platforms like Coursera to learn and improve your coaching skills.
- To attract potential clients, you can offer services or packages that add value to your coaching like webinars, group lessons or podcasts. You can also use tools like Brevo or Mailer Lite to send out messages to your growing mailing list and keep them connected and motivated.
- Keep your portfolio diverse and up-to-date to attract a wider audience.
Summing it Up
So, there you have it – a bunch of exciting side hustles waiting for you to explore.
Whether you’re jamming on your guitar, podcasting your heart out, or crafting digital art, there’s a way to turn your passion into some sweet extra income.
Remember, it’s not just about the money; it’s about doing what you love and feeling the joy it brings. So, go on, give these side hustles a try, and let your creativity shine.
