How to make extra money alongside your day job: 30 quick and easy ideas to try today

I'm no stranger to side hustles. Picking up a side hustle made my life so much better years ago, giving me the financial freedom to live my life the way I wanted.

The side hustle turned into a full-time job for me, but it's totally possible to just have a gig on the side while you also work a 9 to 5 (or any variation of it). It's often really worth it, too.

Why? Because the global side hustle market is booming. Valued at $556 billion in 2024, it's set to reach a staggering $1.8 trillion by 2032. Picking up a hustle now means you'll be able to participate in that insanely quick growth.

But, if you're also working a day job, it can be hard to find a gig that works well with your hours and lets you preserve a good base level of work-life balance. I found that the easiest way to do that is to sell digital products and services, but other options exist, too.

Below, I'll introduce you to 30 of the best ways to earn extra money alongside your day job.

30 ways to earn money with a full-time job

There's no one-size-fits-all recipe for the perfect side hustle. Some of us have more time, and some of us have less. Some of us need to earn a lot more, and others just want some so-called beer money for a night out every month.

Ultimately, I've found that the best gig to pair with a job is one that you enjoy and one that's super flexible. Having a second job with a rigid schedule often makes life harder than when you get to set your own hours.

But, again, it's not that simple. That's why I've split the gigs into a few categories to help you pick based on your situation.

5 gigs that help you put your skills to good use

You may have the key to a great side hustle already prepped and ready to go but you just haven’t considered your options yet.

Here are some side hustles that use skills you might already possess. With a little bit of planning, they could become cash in your bank account.

1. Freelance writer or editor

If you want a versatile side hustle that can let you choose between a variety of platforms, job commitment lengths, and subjects, then writing or editing may be exactly what you’re looking for.

Freelance writing jobs can adapt to fit almost anyone’s availability and interests. For example, if you're into sports (or sports betting) you could become a sports writer and get paid for talking about what you love.

This is how I started my own side hustle. I had a full-time job (which was crazy unfulfilling, but that's a story for another time) and I started picking up one-off writing gigs. The good thing about this is that you get to pick your own hours and work as much as you like. The bad thing is that the market is pretty saturated.

If I could give you just one piece of advice, it's this: Pick a niche. If you know any topic in and out, such as the sports betting I mentioned above, you can charge more. But before you get started, you'll need a portfolio—mock-ups will do if you haven't done any commercial writing just yet.

Time required: Flexible depending on the job specifics
What you need to get started: A computer, internet access, writing or editing skills, a portfolio
Cost to start: Minimal; you’ll likely already own everything you need
How often it pays: Per project, weekly, or monthly; terms can be arranged directly with a client
How much you can earn: $20 to $150 an hour depending on the niche and your skill

2. Graphic designer

If you're artsy, you could make bank as a graphic designer. This includes things like logos but also bigger projects such as website designs.

You can sell your designs as is or let your customers commission you. Either way, Whop is great for both.

Selling digital products on Whop only takes a few minutes to get started and doesn't cost a penny.

A popular service model offered by graphic designers is a monthly subscription. That way, people who run a business and need regular custom deliveries of designs get to commission you on a monthly basis.

Many designers start out for free selling designs made with Canva, so that's another plus.

Time required: Flexible depending on the job specifics
What you need to get started: A computer, graphic design software, portfolio
Cost to start: Cost of software (like Adobe Creative Suite or Canva Pro), but you can also use free alternatives
How often it pays: Per project or milestone depending on client arrangement
How much you can earn: $30 to $500+ per design

3. Software developer

If you're a dev, even if you just do it for fun, you've got yourself a goldmine of a side hustle on your hands.

Sure, most devs long for a full-time job at one of the famous FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google) companies, but you can build a business if you follow your own path. And even if you do have a day job in programming, there's no reason why you shouldn't make even more money on the side.

What can you do? Let's see.

Sell SaaS
Make and sell your own apps and software
Work in web design
Offer IT and coding support
Make and sell online courses
Host a community for people who want to work in coding

You can do all of the above with Whop. Sign up, set up your own whop, and choose what you'll be selling. Then, assign prices to each product tier.

Whop is especially great if you want to be paid on a subscription basis. Developers can license software as a service (SaaS) and see the money come in every month, which is a sweet deal.

Time required: Depends on the project—from hours to months
What you need to get started: Coding skills, a computer, internet access
Cost to start: Cost of software tools and hosting fees
How often it pays: Per project, or regularly on a subscription
How much you can earn: $50 to $500 per hour

Social media is one of the cornerstones of digital marketing, so there's lots of demand for solid SM managers.

Many people and companies could use a social media manager but have no use for a full-time employee, and that's where you come in.

As a social media manager, you can usually block out a few hours a week to create and schedule content. While engagement is important, this generally can take as little as fifteen minutes a day to make sure that your (or rather your client's) followers feel like they’re having a good experience.

To get started in social media, you need a portfolio of social media accounts (which can include personal ones to begin with) to show off your skills. If you end up wanting to expand into something more time-consuming, you can create entire social media campaigns or bring on influencers for collaborations.

Time required: One to ten hours per week, depending on how many clients you choose to take on
What you need to get started: Social media knowledge, a computer, and programs like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Canva, and analytics tools
Cost to start: Computer and internet connection, potentially more for paid ads
How often it pays: Monthly retainer, hourly, or per project
How much you can earn: Between $20 and $100 per hour based on experience

5. Marketing consultant

Marketing consultants operate in the same realm as social media experts but with less of a focus on the social side and more of an overarching view.

If you have experience in digital marketing, analytics, or advertising in general, you can make bank as an independent consultant.

You can also choose to focus on a specific type of marketing based on your interest or a difference in income. For example, the digital marketing industry is one of the fastest-growing niches, worth around $700 billion in 2024.

You can work with startups, established businesses, or even solopreneurs who want to build a solid marketing strategy. You can use Whop to streamline your client onboarding and payment processing, for example by setting up calls using the Video Calls app.

Time required: Flexible—you decide how much work you take on
What you need to get started: Marketing expertise, a computer, analytics tools
Cost to start: Low; you may need a software subscription for some tools but others are available for free
How often it pays: Per project or retainer-based
How much you can earn: $50 to $2,500+ per client

5 gigs for exploring the gig economy

If you want something less committal, you can explore the gig economy.

These jobs are often facilitated through a third-party app or website, meaning that you just show up, do the thing, and go home. They're flexible but not very scalable.

6. Food delivery

Food delivery is one of the most flexible side hustles. Similar to being a driver, you can choose when to clock in and out of the app and select only the jobs you want.

But, unlike being a driver, this job involves little to no personal interaction and slightly less of a safety risk because you aren’t inviting strangers into your car. You also don’t need any specialized skills besides the ability to drive and reliable transportation.

Two of the most popular food delivery services are Uber Eats and DoorDash. The downside to gigs like this is that they can be pretty draining if you work too hard, and sometimes, you have to rely on tips to make any decent money.

Time required: Flexible by your choice
What you need to get started: A car, a smartphone, and a valid driver’s license
Cost to start: Fuel costs and vehicle maintenance
How often it pays: Weekly or daily based on the platform
How much you can earn: $15 to $25 per hour

7. Tasker on TaskRabbit

TaskRabbit is a platform that connects you with people who need some help and are willing to pay for it. This includes tasks like furniture assembly, yard work, cleaning, delivery services, or even helping someone move house.

As a Tasker, you have the benefit of setting your own pay and choosing which jobs you want to do. With more skills or expertise, you can get higher-paying jobs, but even if all you have is time and the ability to work, you can still succeed on TaskRabbit.

Keep in mind that TaskRabbit is also full of seasonal gigs. Those pay well (because who loves shoveling snow?) but can be very physically demanding.

Time required: Depends on the area
What you need to get started: Smartphone, transportation, ability to complete the required task
Cost to start: Registration fee, tools if doing a task that requires them, and transportation
How often it pays: Per task
How much you can earn: $20 to $100 per hour

8. Pet sitter or dog walker

If you’re good with animals, platforms like Rover and Bark exist to connect pet sitters or dog walkers with people in need of those services. Ultimately, you have the final say over the gigs you take.

To take on this job, you need to have some experience with the animals in question, but many pet owners aren't picky. Rover’s tagline is even “Get paid to play with pets," and who wouldn’t want to do that?

Mind you, boarding pets is a lot of responsibility—if you choose to have one stay with you, keep in mind all the things that could go wrong, from destroyed property to an emergency vet visit.

Time required: Varies based on the specific job (pet sitting during the day, overnight pet sits, or dog walking)
What you need to get started: Transportation, familiarity with animals
Cost to start: $25 processing fee, Rover takes 20% of your earnings
How often it pays: Per gig
How much you can earn: $15 to $150 based on length of gig

9. Mystery shopper

Being a mystery shopper sounds like a pretty cool gig, right? It actually sort of is.

As a mystery shopper, you go into a business and evaluate its customer service and the general state of the store.

Mystery shoppers are usually hired by market research companies or oversight companies that work directly with brands. This means that these jobs tend to not stay up permanently and may take a little more work to get.

To get started, check out these companies that often hire mystery shoppers.

Mystery Shopping Services
Sinclair Customer Metrics
Intouch Insight
Market Force Information
Intellishop

You may be asked to report back on how clean the store was, how helpful or friendly the workers were, and if you had any issues locating the products you’re instructed to buy.

Most often, you'll have to report on whether you were offered that extra serving of fries or any other thing that the store is upselling.

Time required: 1-3 hours
What you need to get started: A smartphone and transportation
Cost to start: Minimal, though you may make reimbursable purchases
How often it pays: Per assignment
How much you can earn: $10 to $50 per assignment

10. Uber or Lyft driver

Being a ride-share driver is so similar to being a food delivery driver that apps for both are often owned by the same companies…but, as you can imagine, there are some key differences.

If you've ever worked in customer service or hospitality, you know what I mean. Driving an Uber means picking up people who are drunk, unpleasant, or even dangerous. You'll also meet lots of awesome folks, but there'll be both good and bad experiences.

If you’re the kind of person who isn’t swayed by having to deal with the entire range of human personalities (sometimes in a single day, if you’re unlucky enough), then platforms like Uber and Lyft can be a good side hustle. If you keep your car clean and comfortable and your customer service face on, you can keep your ratings and tips high.

These companies also sometimes offer drivers incentives for working a certain amount of time or picking up a specific minimum number of rides. If you strategize well enough between your availability and when peak surge pricing happens, you can come away with a tidy sum at the end of every day.

Time required: Flexible
What you need to get started: A car, a valid driver’s license, insurance, a smartphone
Cost to start: Vehicle maintenance, gas, and platform fees
How often it pays: Weekly or instantly based on the platform
How much you can earn: Between $15 and $30 per hour

5 side hustles that let you make money by teaching others

If you have experience teaching, that can very easily translate into side hustles on the internet.

You can go the route of working directly with people who want to learn, or you can focus on creating content that educates a lot of people at once.

Here are some of the best options for putting your expertise to work for you with a side hustle.

11. Language tutor

Given that so many people want to be bilingual, if you speak more than one language you can definitely utilize that for profit!

Platforms like iTalki and Preply are a great way to connect with learners, but you're often better off just setting up your own whop.

With Whop, you can easily share course materials, set up quizzes, host webinars and other live events, and offer one-on-one calls with your students. That makes becoming a tutor a whole lot easier, and it doesn't eat into your profit margin the way many other platforms tend to do.

Time required: Typically 1-2 hours per lesson
What you need to get started: Language fluency and a computer
Cost to start: Minimal, though language certification is optional and can result in more money
How often it pays: Per session or weekly
How much you can earn: Between $15 and $40 per hour

12. Nutrition consultant

If you have a passion for helping people reach their personal health goals and a background in nutrition or dietetics, you can teach people how to improve their diets.

There are a few different ways to sell your services as a nutrition consultant. You can meet with clients one-on-one; you can make customized, downloadable meal plans; you can even host lectures or webinars.

If you have a specific interest or expertise in a niche diet (like keto, veganism, or sports nutrition), all the better—many people want specialized advice like that.

Making money as a fitness guru or nutrition expert is super approachable with Whop. You can sell courses (including exercise routines!), send your clients various downloadables, and even set up a motivational community to help everyone stay on track.

Time required: One hour per consultation; flexible if you offer more services
What you need to get started: Nutrition expertise/certification
Cost to start: May include certification costs
How often it pays: Per client, item sold, or on a subscription basis
How much you can earn: $50 to $150 per private session

13. Fitness coach

Along the same lines as a nutrition coach, you can help people improve their overall health by offering fitness coach services. As a fitness coach, you can offer generalized routines and online training programs anyone can download and do themselves, group classes, or individual sessions.

You can also specialize in an area like strength training, yoga, or high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to draw in clients who want specific advice.

One of the best parts of being a fitness coach is that your results are measurable in the clients whose lives you’ve helped improve. Client success stories can be the backbone of a successful fitness coach's side hustle.

The other best part? You can get started in minutes with Whop, so you can sign up today and start making money right away with no upfront costs.

Time required: Sessions usually last 30 to 90 minutes
What you need to get started: Fitness expertise, certification, workout equipment
Cost to start: Cost of certification and workout equipment if you don’t own it already
How often it pays: Per session or monthly
How much you can earn: $30 to $100 per session

14. Career coach

Students, recent grads, or people who have been in the workforce for years and really need a change—you can be their hero for hire as a career coach.

Some of the most popular services in this area include one-on-one sessions, resume reviews, and webinars for larger groups.

If you want a non-committal way to make money like this, just send your clients a checkout link when you're done with the session. Otherwise, dive deeper and start selling courses and coaching online to make more money.

Time required: 1-2 hours per session
What you need to get started: Career development expertise, a computer
Cost to start: Minimal, though you may want software to make presentations
How often it pays: Per session or monthly
How much you can earn: $50 to $200 per session

15. Crypto expert

Cryptocurrencies can be as profitable as they are volatile, and new things are popping up literally every single day. This is especially true if you invest in altcoins, which can go up and down at a roller coaster-like pace.

Because of how complex and unpredictable crypto tends to be, there's a lot of money to be made in teaching people how to invest.

In this line of work, you'll need to be super plugged in and keep up to date with all the latest developments. People are after investment tips, and those tend to expire faster than milk.

As a crypto advisor, you can offer services like portfolio analysis, risk management, or general advice. Another popular option is setting up a community for traders, where you can offer specialized advice but also let people trade insights outside of that.

Time required: Flexible
What you need to get started: Crypto knowledge, a computer, portfolio analysis tools
Cost to start: Minimal; cost of analytical software
How often it pays: Per session, project, or subscription package
How much you can earn: $100 to $500 per session for advising

4 passive income ideas to try alongside your day job

You may be looking for more of a "set it and forget it" type of side hustle. These are ideas for income that don’t require you to be constantly involved.

There are two primary types of side hustles in the passive income category. The first is investment-based, which might not result in instant money in your pocket but can pay out in the long run.

The second requires a certain amount of work to be done once, and the products of that will continue to make you money with little upkeep needed.

16. Earn dividends from the stock market

The stock market can be a great way to grow your wealth passively, though it does take more time and patience than most side hustles on this list. Investing in companies that pay dividends is a good way to set yourself up with multiple streams of income.

Of course, you'll need some capital to start with, and the gains won't amount to much to begin with. That investment combined with the performance of the stocks you choose will dictate how much you can make in dividends.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that this kind of investment shouldn’t just be jumped into impulsively. You should research the companies you invest in and make sure they have a stable history of growing dividends.

Time required: Up to 30 hours of research upfront; next to nothing after that
What you need to get started: Brokerage account, initial capital, stock market knowledge
Cost to start: Brokerage fees and initial capital
How often it pays: Quarterly or monthly
How much you can earn: Between 2% and 6% of your initial investment annually

17. Create a print-on-demand store

A print-on-demand store is the type of side hustle where you may block out a chunk of hours or even a weekend so you can create a lot of interesting designs. You don't even need to be an artist—sometimes, all it takes is a bit of Canva and a few clever quotes.

Once you have those designs, you can use a platform like Printify or Printful to create your storefront. (Better yet, sell your designs on Whop for more profit.)

Time required: 1-5 hours a week
What you need to get started: A computer, design tools
Cost to start: Low; $30 to $100 approximately for design tools
How often it pays: Depends on sales frequency and platform, but usually weekly or monthly
How much you can earn: $100 to $500 per month based on sales volume

18. Create and sell stock photos

Selling stock photos is one of those things that you do once and then collect the benefits for months or years.

If you have a backlog of photos already, this side hustle could pay off without you having to put any more effort in than it takes to hit upload.

Here are some of the platforms you can sell your stock photos on:

Whop
Shutterstock
Adobe Stock
Alamy

No backlog? No problem. Look up some of the most popular image sites and see what's in demand. More often than not, it's lifestyle images of all sorts, so think less "beautiful landscape" and more "angry man shouts at phone."

Time required: 1-5 hours a week
What you need to get started: A quality camera and editing software
Cost to start: Low if you use a smartphone, $1,000 and up if you buy a new camera
How often it pays: Monthly
How much you can earn: Between $0.25 and $2 per download

19. Cashback apps

Cashback apps are a great way to earn money on purchases you’d already be making. Apps like Rakuten, Ibotta, and Fetch let you claim cash rewards or discounts on everyday purchases.

You can compound the money you make by using multiple apps and combining cashback offers. You won’t see a lot of money coming in from these, but they take almost no time and it will eventually add up.

Time required: Minimal
What you need to get started: A smartphone or computer
Cost to start: The cost of whatever you're buying
How often it pays: Monthly or upon reaching the app withdrawal amount
How much you can earn: $20 to $100 per month

4 ways to make extra money from home with digital products

If you are looking for a side hustle that can scale with your time and the success of your business, selling digital products offers a huge amount of flexibility. There are almost countless niches of products you can sell. Here are just a few!

20. Selling online courses

Let's circle back to that "teaching other people things" section, because it's truly one of the best ways to make money alongside your day job. I don't mean literally tutoring people (although you can do that, too). I mean making and selling online courses.

You can make a course about anything. Knitting and crocheting? Sure! Cryptocurrencies? Of course! The sky is the limit.

My favorite thing about making money from selling courses is that you can make a course once and get paid for it as long as it's selling. Some courses aren't evergreen—for example, financial topics tend to need frequent updates. However, other subjects can be covered once and left alone forever, resulting in a nice source of passive income.

Selling courses is super quick and easy with Whop. You can make and upload your content via the Courses app, then add extra material like quizzes, knowledge checks, or videos. Split your courses up into lessons and spruce them up with images and PDFs.

There's honestly no quicker way to get started, and some courses can fetch hundreds of dollars.

Time required: 5-30 hours upfront; occasional upkeep later
What you need to get started: A computer or a phone
Cost to start: Free with Whop, but may cost something if you use specialized software
How often it pays: Per sale, or based on platform payout periods
How much you can earn: $500-$5,000 per month

21. Write and sell your own ebooks

Ebooks are the type of side hustle that's both active and passive income. It's active at first, because hey, someone has to write those books. But once they're out there, they're out there forever.

You can choose to write fiction or nonfiction, novels or novellas, self-help guides, how-tos, and so much more. If your book can provide value—as in, teach people how to do something profitable or important—it can sell for a lot, but obviously, even novels can fetch a pretty penny.

Selling ebooks online can be done with zero initial investment, but editors are worth their weight in gold. If you have a budget, invest in working with an editor and getting your work professionally edited.

Marketing is also a vital part of making money through ebooks. Get yourself set up on social media (BookTok is huge if you're writing fiction) and join some relevant communities to advertise your book.

Time required: Weeks to months based on writing and editing speed
What you need to get started: Computer or phone, writing tools
Cost to start: Technically zero, but it's good to spend some money on an editor, which can cost between $20 to $100 an hour
How often it pays: Per sale, and based on the platform payout schedule
How much you can earn: $5 to $300 per book

22. Sell downloadables

The term "downloadables" can refer to anything that you make and other people can buy to download later. This includes stuff like:

Digital journals and planners
Ebooks
PDFs
Software and apps
Templates
Spreadsheets
Graphic designs
Notion dashboards

This is a great side hustle because it helps you combine something you're good at (or are willing to learn) with complete flexibility.

Whenever you have a couple of hours to spare, you can sit down and create a few more digital products to sell. Then, once you're ready, put them all up on Whop at no charge and wait for the sales to start rolling in.

This is also a good thing to do if you're already doing something else, such as running a community. Adding additional materials to your whop will make it stand out more, and that means more sales.

Time required: A few hours
What you need to get started: A computer or a smartphone
Cost to start: Minimal, but some downloadables require paid tools
How often it pays: Per sale, or based on the platform’s payout schedule
How much you can earn: $100+ depending on the product

23. Make a paid community

A paid community is a pretty unique opportunity for a side hustle. It helps if you already have a platform (like a YouTube channel or a blog), but with enough determination, you can spawn a paid community out of anything.

Come up with a topic you care for or know a lot about and start to build on that. You can offer access to one or two channels for free, and paywall the rest. This lets people get a taste of what your community can offer, which may incentivize them to pay.

Alongside the community, you can host other paid activities or offer access to resources. There are a lot of online platforms that can let you do this, but few have the diversity of features that Whop offers.

Whop gives you Telegram and Discord integration, but you can also host your community entirely within your whop. People can chat with you and each other, book calls with you, or attend events without going all over the internet to various platforms.

To make even more money, you can turn your community into a mastermind. This means running a highly exclusive, intense program that helps a select group of people achieve a common goal. Some creators on Whop charge up to $15,000 for an eight-week mastermind, so it's highly profitable, but it's also a huge time commitment.

Time required: 1-10 hours a week
What you need to get started: A computer or a smartphone
Cost to start: None
How often it pays: Monthly subscriptions or one-time payments
How much you can earn: $100 to $5,000+ per month

4 ways to make money through completing microtasks

Microtasks won’t make you rich, but they can still put some extra coffee money in your pocket. These are the types of side hustles that are monotonous, but someone’s gotta do them.

If you want a low-stress side hustle that won’t keep you up at night worrying about the workload, keep reading.

24. Complete online surveys

Online surveys are a way to kill some time during your daily commute and earn a few dollars in the process. Platforms like Branded Survey, Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, or Pinecone Research are some of the best ones to try out for this.

Be mindful of scammy platforms. Many will have you sign up and happily collect your data but will never pay you a dime. Keep an eye out for some of the best apps to make money on your phone if you want to stay safe.

Time required: 3-25 minutes per survey
What you need to get started: A computer or smartphone
Cost to start: None
How often it pays: Payouts typically upon reaching the platform’s threshold
How much you can earn: $10-$100 per month depending on time invested

25. Freelance data entry

Data entry can be a full-time job by itself, but when you take on data entry microtasks you do so with the understanding that the job won’t have a heavy time commitment.

These jobs often come in the form of helping someone complete one-off tasks, like plugging addresses into a spreadsheet from a scanned paper file, or reading receipts and entering the information into a document.

Some of the most popular places to find this type of work include Clickworker and Reddit.

Time required: From 5 minutes to several hours per task
What you need to get started: A computer, internet access, and basic data entry skills
Cost to start: Minimal to free
How often it pays: Per project based on client agreement
How much you can earn: $5 to $25 per hour

26. Use Amazon Mechanical Turk to tag images

Amazon Mechanical Turk (often referred to as MTurk) lets you make money by tagging and categorizing images.

The tasks are usually repetitive but don’t take long, so it gives you the chance to make small amounts of extra money just in your free time between other responsibilities.

The jobs you can get through MTurk often involve telling a system what is in an image or what category an image or block of text should go into. You can also check Amazon Mechanical Turk for data entry microtasks.

Time required: Between 3 minutes to an hour based on the task
What you need to get started: A computer with internet access
Cost to start: Minimal to free
How often it pays: Per project based on client agreement
How much you can earn: $2 to $10 an hour based on task complexity

27. Review products

As a product reviewer, you’re generally given the product itself for free, so it's a nice way to get some free stuff and maybe get paid for it too. You may also be asked to buy it yourself and get reimbursed later.

Here are some of the platforms you can find product review gigs through:

Influenster
BzzAgent
UserTesting
Vindale Research
TryIt Sampling
Smiley360
Amazon

You want to give an honest, fair, and thorough assessment of whatever you’re being asked to review. Once you’ve shown your credibility with a brand as a reviewer who gives them meaningful feedback, you can build a long-term relationship with them.

Time required: Depends on the product; generally 30 minutes to 3 hours per product
What you need to get started: The means to test the product
Cost to start: There may be some upfront costs that you should be reimbursed for
How often it pays: Per review
How much you can earn: $20 and up depending on the product and testing process

3 gigs that could turn you into an influencer alongside your day job

In the world of social media, everyone knows the appeal of becoming an influencer. What everyone doesn’t know is that it’s actually easier than you think to work influencing into a side hustle.

The following two options can be combined with a job and may still turn out to be lucrative.

28. Create a YouTube channel

For anyone who doesn’t mind being on camera or putting in some time editing, making a YouTube channel can be not just a side hustle but a fun hobby.

Find an area that interests you and may be of equal interest to other people, and then you can genuinely enjoy this money-making venture.

Mind you, making money with YouTube is a tedious process. The platform itself won't start paying you for some time, so your best bet is to sell digital products or try out affiliate marketing alongside your channel.

As an example, once you've built up your channel a little bit, look into the various ways to monetize YouTube, such as setting up a community for your followers or putting out extra content behind a paywall.

Time required: 3-10 hours per week
What you need to get started: A camera, editing software, and a YouTube account
Cost to start: Between $100 and $1,000 for equipment and software expenses, but you could start with just a smartphone
How often it pays: Monthly via YouTube AdSense; by client or platform agreement for other methods
How much you can earn: $100 a month and up based on views, sponsorships, and how much time you spend on marketing

If the idea of having a platform where you can share your expertise and earn income at the same time appeals to you, then it sounds like you need a blog or a newsletter.

It’s important that you do have something available for free so that people know your writing is quality enough to hand over some coin for, but there’s also room for making money.

When blogs were new (which feels like an eternity ago at this point), many people wrote a blog about their lives.

These days, most people are looking for opinions and guidance on specific topics rather than a "day in the life" type of thing—but if you're an influencer, that kind of a blog is usually very well received, too. Otherwise, pick a blogging niche and get to it.

You can use Whop to set up your newsletter with MailModo integration or to sell access to specific paywalled blog posts.

Time required: One or three hours per post based on your writing speed
What you need to get started: Domain or platform to host your content on
Cost to start: Minimal; up to $50 based on domain or hosting fees
How often it pays: Monthly via ad revenue, subscriptions, or sponsorships
How much you can earn: $100+ depending on your traffic

30. Become an Instagram influencer

If you want to be on camera but recording longer-form videos doesn’t appeal to you, then Instagram may be the perfect platform. After all, who doesn’t like pretty pictures?

As an Instagram influencer, you’ll post content that varies between still images, short video Reel content, and more up-to-date Instagram Stories.

You won’t hit it big right away, though. Instagram requires marketing yourself and growing your follower base before brands are interested.

Even if it might take a while for you to make money on Instagram, you can start early by tapping into the Whop affiliate program. Pick some Whop creators who align with your niche, check out their content, and recommend it on your Instagram. You’ll get a hefty cut out of each sale for minimal effort.

Time required: 1-5 hours per week
What you need to get started: A camera, photo and video editing software, and an Instagram account
Cost to start: Between $100 and $1,000 for equipment and software expenses for peak quality, but you can start more basic and scale up your quality as you go
How often it pays: By client or sponsorship agreement for brand deals, and by platform payout schedule for affiliate links
How much you can earn: $100 a month and up based on sponsorships and affiliate links

Start making money alongside your day job with Whop

When you're already working a full-time job, you're usually exhausted at the end of the day. That's a tough place to be in and also a tough spot to climb out of.

After all, jobs aren't really "scalable" in a traditional sense. You might get a raise and you might get promoted, but there's only so high you can go, and if you want some extra income, side hustles are your best bet.

But even then, picking something worth the energy is tough. You don't want to work for hours a day only to earn a little bit of money—it needs to be worth your time.

This is where Whop comes in.

Whop is the best place to make money alongside your day job, and that's largely thanks to how flexible it is.

Whop is a social commerce platform that lets you sell digital products and services for free. That's right—no upfront costs. Whop only takes a cut out of the sales you make, which makes it easier to get started.

And there's a lot you can sell, including some of the most profitable products to sell online:

Ebooks
Online courses
Access to paid communities
SaaS
Templates
Coaching services
Webinars and live events
Extra content
Downloadables
Masterminds and other high-ticket products
And so, so much more

Whop makes it easy to get started. With a set of built-in apps, all you need to do is pick and choose what will be part of your very own storefront. Then, upload your content, set your pricing, and you're all set.

Pick your own hours, your own gig, and your own future.

Start selling with Whop and make extra money alongside your day job without burnout!

Sell on Whop