20+ Best Side Hustles to Make Extra Money

Introduction: Side hustles are now common – about 39% of working Americans have a side gig​s. The best opportunities often involve using the internet, because being easily discovered via Google search or social media is crucial. 

Smart strategies like SEO and Pinterest marketing can give your hustle an edge by attracting customers organically. Below are 21 of the best side hustles – spanning digital products, physical goods, online services, and more – and how visibility and traffic can help boost your success.

1. Start a Blog or Niche Website

Blogging is a flexible, low-cost side hustle with significant income potential (through ads and affiliate links). By creating content about a niche topic you love (from personal finance to vegan cooking), you can attract an audience over time. It takes consistent posting and patience to start seeing meaningful income, but the payoff can be substantial. Of course, a blog only pays off if people can find it – that’s where SEO and Pinterest come in.

2. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing means earning commissions by promoting other companies’ products. This often goes hand-in-hand with blogging or running a review website. You might write a “Top 10 Gadgets” article and include special affiliate links – when readers buy something, you get a cut. SEO is key (so that shoppers find your recommendations via search), and Pinterest can amplify your reach by attracting users searching for ideas or product reviews.

3. Launch a YouTube Channel

Starting a YouTube channel is a great side hustle if you enjoy creating videos. You can make tutorials, reviews, vlogs – anything entertaining or informative. As your channel grows, you can earn from ads and sponsorships. 

YouTube itself is a huge search engine, but it helps to promote your videos elsewhere too. For example, many creators embed their videos on a blog or share them on Pinterest to reach viewers outside of YouTube.

4. Start a Podcast

Podcasting is an opportunity to share your voice on topics you care about – whether it’s entrepreneurship, true crime, or sports. You can monetize a podcast through sponsorships (companies pay you to mention them) or listener donations. To grow your listener base, make sure to publish show notes or transcripts on a website for SEO benefits. Additionally, creating a Pinterest graphic for each episode (linking to your site) can help new listeners discover your show.

5. Sell Printables and Digital Downloads

If you have a flair for design or organization, selling printables (digital files like planners, habit trackers, or party decorations) is a smart side hustle. You create a template once (say a budget planner PDF) and sell it over and over on platforms like Etsy or your own site. 

Use eye-catching Pinterest pins to show off your printable designs – Pinterest’s audience loves DIY and planning resources. In fact, 85% of weekly Pinterest users have made a purchase based on a Pin​. Focus on a specific niche or theme (budgeting planners, wedding invites, etc.) and make sure your designs are high-quality to stand out.

6. Create an Online Course

Packaging your expertise into an online course can be very lucrative. People will pay to learn skills in a structured format – whether it’s photography, coding, yoga, or business coaching. For marketing, consider offering a few free mini-lessons or tips publicly to prove your expertise and entice students. Once you develop the course (video lessons, PDFs, etc.), a single course can generate income every time someone new enrolls. Good SEO will ensure potential students find your content when searching for help.

7. Write and Self-Publish an eBook

If you love writing, consider self-publishing an eBook as a side hustle. Platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing let you publish your own books (guides, how-to books, novels, etc.) and earn royalties on each sale. 

Marketing is critical: use your website or blog to promote the book with SEO-optimized content (like an article related to your eBook’s topic) and collect reviews from readers. A loyal audience that trusts your content is more likely to buy your eBook, so it helps to engage with your readers and build credibility.

8. Sell Handmade Crafts Online

Selling handmade products on the side can turn your hobby into profit. Marketplaces like Etsy make it easy to reach customers looking for unique, handcrafted items (from custom candles to knitted blankets). 

High-quality photos and descriptions of your products are essential to attract buyers. Pinterest is perfect for this – it’s essentially a visual search engine for ideas and products. Most Pinterest searches are unbranded, users are open to discovering new makers and small businesses.

9. Run a Print-on-Demand Store

Print-on-demand allows you to sell products like T-shirts, mugs, or tote bags with your designs, without holding any inventory. Services handle the printing and shipping for you, so you just upload designs and collect a margin on each sale. 

Choosing a niche theme for your designs (for example, pet lovers or nurses) will help you stand out. One catchy design can sell again and again, creating passive income from royalties. Promote your merch on visual platforms: share your products on Pinterest, Instagram, or TikTok to let people see and spread your cool designs.

10. Try Dropshipping

Dropshipping is an e-commerce side hustle where you sell products online but rely on a supplier to handle inventory and shipping. You set up an online store (say on Shopify) featuring items from a supplier’s catalog. When someone buys from your site, the supplier ships the product directly to them, and you keep the markup. 

The appeal is that you can launch a store with very little upfront cost and no need to stock items. Be mindful of thin margins and test what sells best. Many dropshippers start with social media ads, but building up free organic traffic via SEO or Pinterest will improve your profit margins.

11. Reselling (Retail Arbitrage and Thrifting)

Reselling items for profit is a tried-and-true side hustle. This can mean buying clearance products or thrift store treasures and then flipping them on eBay, Amazon, or Facebook Marketplace. To maximize profits, treat it like a small business: track expenses, research what’s in demand, and present your items well online. Start small – if you reinvest your profits, this hobby can grow into a serious second income.

12. Freelance Writing

If you can write well, there’s a huge market for freelance writers. Businesses and websites always need content – blog posts, marketing copy, newsletters, etc. Many freelancers set up a simple portfolio website to look professional and to be found by clients (for example, optimizing your site’s bio for “freelance health writer” could lead to clients finding you via Google). 

Promoting your expertise on LinkedIn or even Pinterest (for instance, pinning a writing tips infographic that links to your site) can attract additional clients. Over time, satisfied clients and referrals will keep you busy with projects.

13. Graphic Design Freelancing

Similar to writing, if you have graphic design skills, freelancing can be a profitable side hustle. Companies often need logos, social media graphics, flyers, or illustrations but may not have a full-time designer. You can fill that gap by offering design services on the side. 

Start by creating a portfolio of your best work (even mock projects if you’re new) and showcase it on your own website or platforms like Behance. Share your work on Pinterest and Instagram using relevant tags (for example, a pin of a logo you designed labeled “Modern Cafe Logo”). You can charge per project or hour, and skilled designers often command high rates for their work.

14. Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant (VA) provides remote administrative support to busy professionals or businesses. Tasks can include managing emails, scheduling appointments, social media posting, bookkeeping, and other behind-the-scenes duties. 

You can offer general admin services or specialize (for example, some VAs focus only on social media or become a “Pinterest VA” managing Pinterest accounts for clients). Many VAs get clients through networking and referrals, creating a steady, ongoing income.

15. Social Media Management

Businesses know they need a social media presence, but many struggle to keep up with posting and engagement – that’s where a freelance social media manager comes in. In this side hustle, you handle social accounts for one or several clients: creating content, scheduling posts, responding to comments, and sometimes running ads or promotions. 

You might specialize in a platform you know well (say, Instagram for boutiques or Pinterest for bloggers). By delivering results (more followers, better engagement), you can justify raising your rates with future clients. This work can often be done in flexible time blocks, fitting around other commitments.

16. Coaching or Consulting

If you’re knowledgeable in a particular field and enjoy advising others, coaching or consulting can be a high-paying side hustle. People are willing to pay for one-on-one guidance to reach their goals – this could be life coaching, business consulting, career coaching, fitness coaching, you name it. It’s also rewarding to help people make progress. 

A professional website with clear testimonials or success stories will help prove your credibility to potential clients. Pinterest can work in some coaching niches too (imagine a motivational quote graphic that links to your life coaching page or a budgeting tips infographic leading to your financial coaching site).

17. Sell Stock Photos and Digital Art

Photographers and digital artists can turn their creations into a revenue stream by selling them online. If you take high-quality photos (nature, lifestyle, business scenes, etc.), you can upload them to stock photo sites like Shutterstock or Adobe Stock and earn a small royalty each time someone licenses your photo. 

Similarly, graphic designers can sell digital assets like icon sets or printable art on marketplaces. Use keywords generously when listing your files so they appear in search results on those platforms. To draw more eyes to your work, you can also share watermarked samples on Pinterest or Instagram that link back to your portfolio.

18. Build and Flip Websites

Website flipping is like digital real estate investing. The idea is to create or acquire a small website, grow its traffic and revenue, and then sell it for a profit. It’s a side hustle that requires a mix of skills: content creation, SEO, maybe some web design, and patience. It’s wise to stick to website topics you know well so you can grow them efficiently before selling. A successful flip can net a nice one-time profit (on top of any income the site generated while you built it).

19. Online Tutoring

Online tutoring lets you earn money by teaching students right from your computer. If you excel in a subject (math, chemistry, a foreign language) or even a skill (like guitar or coding basics), there are students willing to pay for one-on-one help over Zoom or Skype. 

SEO might help if you target a niche like “online calculus tutor” or “Spanish tutor for kids” on your site – that way, someone searching could find you. You can join tutoring platforms to find students, or advertise your services through schools and community boards. The main benefit of tutoring is that it’s personal and rewarding – you see students progress, and you can often set your own schedule.

20. Subscription Newsletter or Membership

Instead of only free content, you can create a paid newsletter or membership community as a side hustle. This works well if you produce high-value content that a core audience is willing to pay for monthly (e.g. exclusive industry insights or specialized tips). 

Search engines can help you find your audience – for instance, a career coach might write SEO-friendly articles about job hunting that attract readers, then pitch a paid newsletter for weekly insider tips. Consistency is key – you need to deliver value regularly to keep subscribers engaged and happy. Even a few dozen paying subscribers can generate solid revenue – for example, 50 people at $10/month is $500 monthly.

21. Become a Social Media Influencer

Building a niche audience on social media can be turned into income. If you grow a following on platforms like Instagram or TikTok around a specific topic (fitness, fashion, travel, etc.), you can monetize through sponsored posts, affiliate links, or selling your own products. With a smaller follower count, if your audience is highly engaged, brands might pay for collaborations that target your niche. 

To strengthen this hustle, it helps to have a simple blog or website too – you can use SEO to capture people searching for content in your niche and direct them to your social channels. You can repurpose your posts on Pinterest to reach an even wider audience.

Conclusion

These side hustle ideas all have one thing in common: they need to be discovered to succeed. Having a website and leveraging SEO and Pinterest will help you attract customers without relying on ads. Remember, success won’t happen overnight, but with consistent effort your side gig can grow steadily. And if the marketing side feels overwhelming, you can always consult experts (like PinMySEO) to jumpstart your results while you focus on what you do best.