16 Best Side Hustle Ideas 2022 (Make $1,000 or More Per Month)
Stuck in a dead-end job or trying to pay off your outstanding loans, or need some extra money every month?
These side hustles are one of the best ways to increase your income, so start on your own, pay off debt, grow your retirement savings, reduce your financial stress, or save up for that big purchase.
The best side hustle ideas are flexible and pay well for the work you're doing.
Personally, I like side-gigs that are scalable (I mean, that can be built into a much larger business). And I also get that not everyone is looking for a new career. In fact, if you're looking for something simple to make some extra money in your spare time, you might consider doing surveys.
But if you're looking for serious money (like $1,000 per month or more), you'll want to keep reading. No matter what's driving your need to find a side hustle, I've got 16 of the best side hustle ideas for 2022.
Number 8 is my favorite.
1. Run Facebook ads for small businesses
If you have a flair for running paid ads on Facebook, you can pitch your expertise to the small businesses in your area to supplement your income.
Running Facebook ads for small businesses is simply digital marketing through Facebook, which continues to be one of the best online platforms for small businesses to increase their traffic and visibility. And, you can make around $1,000-$1,500 per month/per client with just a few hours of work each week.
Digital marketing on Facebook includes:
Finding and acquiring clients
Creating effective ads
Testing ads
Maintaining client relationships
This is hands down, one of the best side hustles because Facebook has a massive reach that small business owners are just starting to tap into. Of course, big companies have been doing this for a while, but many small business owners lack the resources and time to run an effective ad strategy.
When you learn how to run Facebook ads for local business owners, you're helping them strategize and grow their business.
2. Start a blog
Blogging easily has the highest earning potential of anything on this list. Many bloggers run a seven-figure business from their laptops after working hard on their blogs for just a few years.
As a blogger, you're in complete control of when you work, how you monetize your blog, and what you blog about.
If you are a traveler, foodie, or tech enthusiast, blogging can be life-changing. Of course, the massive growth trajectory isn't guaranteed with blogging anything, but you get out of it what you put into it. You can grow your blog in the evenings, on your lunch break, and on weekends.
3. Sell printables on Etsy
Selling on Etsy is worth it because it's one of the quickest and easiest ways to get your handmade products online and hooked up with a shopping cart function. It's also a low-risk option financially when compared to building a website.
What most people don't know is that millions of these sales come from printables and digital downloads.
Products like…
Calendars
Planners
Wall Art
Trackers
Clipart
Printable Games
Business Cards
Stickers
And that's just a small sample of printables you can sell on Etsy.
The best part?
Since it's a digital product that you're selling, all you have to do is create the product once, and then you can sell unlimited copies with no additional overhead. You don't have to spend hours handcrafting an item just for one measly sale. Each digital item you create is potentially a new passive income stream!
But just like with anything else, you need to understand the supply and demand of the market. You need to know which products to sell and when.
After you've created your first product, though, you can open your Etsy shop in a matter of minutes and list your first item at an insanely low price. This is a side hustle that could earn you hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month if you know what you are doing.
4. Become a freelance writer
Freelance writing is a broad field that can encompass a number of different jobs, including:
Marketing campaigns
Blog posts
Email newsletters
Online and print articles
Catalog descriptions
Ghostwriting
Web copy
Grant writing
Technical writing
Content mills
Resumes
As a freelancer, you own your business and contract your work out to companies or solopreneurs. You work on your own schedule and can set competitive rates, making this one of the best side-hustles to grow into a full-time job.
5. Work as a virtual assistant
For many website owners and authors, as their business grows, they started to lean on a team of people who help them with jobs that they don't necessarily need to do… like setting up appointments, manage social media accounts, handles billing, inbox management, schedules meetings, etc.
That's the kind of work and responsibility that comes with being a virtual assistant, and with a growing number of online business owners, VAs are even more in demand. To work as a virtual assistant, you'll need to have good time management skills, be highly organized, and communicate well.
A few other things a VA could do are;
Data entry
Responding to emails
Project management
Bookkeeping
Blog management
Preparing reports
Research
Simple digital marketing tasks
Content creation
Event management
That's a pretty wide range, and what you do will depend on the clients you take on and how you niche down your work. Some business owners have multiple virtual assistants who are all highly experienced and trained in different areas.
What you'll love about this side hustle is that it's extremely flexible – with just a laptop and an internet connection, you're able to work.
6. Sell on Shopify
Shopify is the world's largest and most popular online selling and commerce platform. It helps amateur and professional store-owners alike to build an online store from scratch. And if you're thinking that it sounds like a lot of work running an online shop, it can be surprisingly passive if you use Shopify for dropshipping.
Wait, what is dropshipping?
When you use Shopify to build your eCommerce store, then you select items to sell on your site that can be drop-shipped (You don't touch, store, or ship these goods. You're listing them for sale, then connecting the customer with the supplier).
After your site is built, you don't have to manage or ship orders actively — Shopify does this for you. You will only need to generate web traffic to your site and check in to maintain it.
The average dropshipping profit margin is between 15%-20%. This can vary greatly depending on your chosen dropshipping niches and the average cost of your goods.
If you don't want to do dropshipping or sell on Shopify, even then, you can make money on Shopify. The Shopify affiliate marketing program lets you earn money per successful referral made from your account to the Shopify platform. The more sellers you're able to bring into the fold for Shopify's platform, the more you'll earn.
7. Social media manager
Social media has become critical to businesses. And let's face it. Many businesses struggle with social media. Whether it's a technical limitation, or a lack of time to regularly posting and engage on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube Channels, or Snapchat. Consider reaching out to local businesses and offer to become their social media manager, for a small monthly fee. With this side hustle, find just 20 customers paying $50/mo will make you $1000 a month. And, the best part is that you can do this from anywhere there's an internet connection.
8. Write A Book
Without a doubt, this is my favorite. If writing comes naturally to you, writing a book costs next to nothing to produce. Publish it on a site like Amazon (KDP) or Apple iBooks, which allows you to easily sell ebooks.
And, if writing isn't your forte, don't fret. Writing is something anyone can learn! The best part is that you earn royalties when you sleep! While royalties on ebooks might not be high, with the right marketing, you could potentially make 4 or 5 figures a month selling books online. Check my book cover below.
9. Turn your Ebooks into Audiobook
Use a platform such as ACX or Findaway Voices to create and sell audiobooks on platforms like Audible and iTunes. You can even begin by creating the audiobook for the book you just wrote!
With ACX or Findaway Voices, you can easily make at least $1000 a month income with the right volume of audiobooks.
10. Online course
Online courses can be a great way to educate yourself on a particular subject. But they can also be a great way to earn extra income. If you have a particular skill that you know others could benefit from, then consider creating a course.
I love these because they can be taught without you being present!
Here's how it works. Sites like Udemy and Teachable offer you a platform to upload materials like text files and videos for your course. Then, you can sell them for a hefty profit! The best thing is that for those who create an online course, they'll be making money while they sleep! If your course is $50, all you need to do is sell 20 a month to make an extra $1000 per month.
11. Overhaul LinkedIn Profiles or write resumes
Do you have the creative flair to write resumes?
A good resume can help someone land the job they need. Whether someone is a new graduate or a seasoned expert, most need help crafting the perfect resume. With that, you can help them create a resume that helps them land the job. You could earn hundreds of dollars per resume!
The largest social media for business networking site is LinkedIn. Fortunately for you, many people don't have a professional LinkedIn profile. Why not connect with folks on LinkedIn who you think could improve their profile?
Pro tip: Offer the first 10 services for free, in exchange for a positive review. Not only order you learn what works/doesn't work, but you'll also have a no-brainer product.
12. Graphic designer
Graphic design is something that requires a combination of skills and creativity. Not everyone has that combination. But if you do, business owners will be happy to pay you for help.
With the right skills and experience, you could charge around $75 per hour for your services.
But it may take some time building your portfolio before you command such a high rate. You can find gigs on sites like Fiverr and Upwork.
13. Website designer
A website is a critical component for most businesses in today's world. With that, many are willing to hire a website designer to help them create a website that stands out.
Although it can take some time to build the skills needed to design a website, you could find a big payoff for your efforts. Similar to graphic design, sites like Fiverr and Upwork are great places to get your starting gigs.
14. Transcribing audio files
Transcribing audio files into text can be a way to earn extra money. In most cases, you'll be paid a rate based on the length of the audio file. With that, you'll need to be quick at understanding the audio and clearly writing down the text. It can take some time to develop an understanding of this type of work.
But if you have a lot of patience, this could be a great opportunity. Pitching podcast hosts who need transcripts services for their websites is a great way to get hired.
15. Sell Services on Fiverr or Upwork
Fiverr and Upwork have created two wonderful platforms to make $1000 or more online, every month. Although services start at $5, Fiverr sellers can earn $100k+ annually through upselling. Upwork sellers earn an hourly or project rate. Both platforms are review-heavy, so make you do your best, each and every time. And, on Fiverr, consider becoming a Super Seller as you can increase your hourly or project rate.
Also, Upwork is a platform that allows people to hire graphic and web designers for both short and longer periods. Not only that, Upwork also provides a platform for lawyers, accountants, and other professionals to earn money. Keep in mind that you're competing with thousands of other service providers, so making money here might take a little time.
16. Affiliate marketer
One of the most popular ways to make money online is affiliate marketing, as it can be done by anyone who can build a decent audience.
Through affiliate marketing, you talk or post, blog, podcast, or vlog about a specific product, then direct your audience to make a purchase through a certain web link (or, sometimes, with a special code). Each purchase made through your affiliate link will earn you a small commission.
How much you earn from each lead will depend a lot on the type of product. In general, digital products, like ebooks, will have a higher affiliate rate than physical products. And the larger your audience, the more power you have to negotiate higher rates.
Best side hustles – the final word
The truth is there is no magic pill that is out there that can help you earn more money. The sad thing is that still people sell a lot of shady products online touting them as magic pills. That has driven me to produce lists like this because I want you to have the best options available.
The point being, not all side hustles are created equal. Do your research, read the reviews, and find the best side hustle ideas to make your goals happen.
