Abby B. Wondering what are some suitable side hustles for digital marketers? Unsure what you can do with your digital expertise? Here are 15 ideas!
There are many areas to explore when it comes to digital marketing. Perhaps the best thing is that you can choose to major in a certain field while also exploring another segment that interests you. For me, that’s writing for my blog and making videos for YouTube.
In this article, I’ll be sharing 15 suitable side hustles for digital marketers and recommendations of what you’ll need to start. At the end of the post, you can find more tailored options for making money online on the side as a digital marketer.
*This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission (at no cost to you) if you sign up for a program or make a purchase using my link!
15 Best Side Hustles For Digital Marketers
1. Become a part-time online community manager
Building an online community takes great marketing knowledge, consistent effort and online socializing skills. If you have what it takes, you can become a community manager!
Depending on what the community is build for, your part-time pay can be quite high. You’ll need experience and expertise in using community platforms like Discord and Twitter as your work will be primarily online.
| What do I need to start? | – Experience managing online communities – Ability to plan and execute activities online – Knowledge using relevant online platforms |
Check out: All you need to know about community managers
2. Start making videos for your own YouTube channel
Need a more creative side hustle? YouTube is the platform to be on!
Make a list of type of videos you’re interested in making and get inspiration from others on the platform. My favorite videos to watch include personal vlogs, food adventures, travel and also self development.
As long as you make your content educational, informational and entertaining, your channel will surely grow over time. The key is to be consistent with your postings and make necessary improvements as you progress.
Common ways to earn with YouTube include advertising income, affiliate income, sponsorships and earnings from selling your own products.
Interesting YouTube channels in the digital marketing niche:
| What do I need to start? | – A camera to record – Portable microphone for better sound – A video editing software |
Read: What I spent for my vlogging gear in first 6 months
3. Build a podcast in a niche you’re passionate about
When embarking on your journey of becoming an online content creator, it’s important to recognize what type of content you’re really interested in making – and not do everything.
If making videos for YouTube sounds like a daunting task for you and you’re short on time, building a podcast may be a more probable move. You’ll be posting audio files instead of videos, which are easier to create and edit even with a busy schedule.
Podcasts can be as short as 15 minutes and as long as 3 hours – your pick!
Podcasting also takes less equipment to set up and start compared to video-recording. You’ll need a good microphone to speak into and to learn how to use an audio editing software.
You will still need to put in effort into marketing your podcasts (Spotify or Apple) as they don’t work like YouTube where people are suggested random videos to watch.
Good thing is, as a digital marketer, it should be an easy task for you. There are various ways to make money with podcasting, including earning from downloads and getting paid by brands for sponsorships.
| What do I need to start? | – Good desk microphone – Set of quality earphones – An audio editing software |
Check out: 29 digital marketing podcasts you should listen to
A personal favorite way of mine that allows me to share my opinions and knowledge without social pressure is by writing for my own blog. I highly recommend blogging as a side hustle – especially for introverts!
Similar to YouTube and podcasting, you can share any kind of knowledge with a blog. If you’re unsure what to write about and don’t know how to blog the right way, learn how to with this course right here.
Just like other online content platforms, blogging allows you to earn from advertising revenue, affiliate income, sponsorships and from selling your own digital products e.g. courses. Blogging works very similar to YouTube and it may take some time before you can earn anything from it.
Not planning to buy courses yet? Check out my article for step-by-step guide on how to set up a blog.
| What do I need to start? | – A WordPress Website – Domain name & hosting – Passion to write for a specific niche |
Read: Why I invested in a blogging coach before doing anything else
5. Promote affiliate products and services for commission
Like I’ve mentioned above, there are multiple ways you can earn affiliate income, whether it’s with a blog or a YouTube channel. But it’s fair to say, they’re not the only platform you can share affiliate links on.
Social media like TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest are great for promoting affiliates – especially if you have a good number of followers and active on any of these apps.
Popular affiliate marketplaces to check out are Amazon Associates, CJ affiliate, Clickbank, Share-a-sale and Rakuten Advertising. All you need to do is sign up for an account, get a link for a suitable product/service based on your audience and start promoting!
Best to stay genuine and only promote products or services you personally use yourself. It’s also much easier to convince others to purchase using your own photos.
| What do I need to start? | – Affiliate products or services you can promote – Social media account with growing followers |
6. Learn photography and sell photos online with stock websites
As a digital marketer, you already know the various uses of stock photos and the importance of them in the digital world! So why not learn photography and earn passive income from selling stock photos yourself?
Content creators and large companies are always purchasing photos online to use within their content. However, depending on your niche, the demand can be seasonal. Some evergreen recommendations are street photography, food and nature.
When it comes to building passive income streams, you got to put in a lot of work first to reap the benefits later. This is the case with YouTube, blogs and even selling stock photos.
Take time to learn what works and build your portfolio. It would also take some time for your photos to be approved for sales and attract buyers.
Selling on stock websites is much easier to get into as an introvert, compared to taking photos for events and clients. Your photos can be sold any time even when you’re asleep.
Stock websites you can join to start:
| What do I need to start? | – A good camera & photography skills – Basic photo editing skills – Consistency to upload photos frequently |
7. Get paid writing for other blogs and websites
Love sharing your opinion and knowledge with content writing but unsure about creating your own website? You can start small by writing for others first!
Compared to writing for yourself, you’ll need stronger skills to be working for others and get paid doing so. This includes good writing skills (in the language you’re writing for), SEO knowledge as well as ability to do better-than-others research.
If you’re eager to explore, I highly recommend this beginner freelance writing course. The course creator teaches you how to pitch topics, write for client’s content websites and even lets you become a writer for her blog (she only hires writers that goes for her training). Win-win!
The pay for freelance writers vary according to experience and niche but earning $100 per article is not impossible. Popular websites and blogs outsource their content writing as it allows them to scale faster.
| What do I need to start? | – Writing skills – Good command of English – Promote your freelance writing service |
8. Create and sell online courses for digital marketing
If you’re well experienced in your field, consider teaching the relevant skills to others online. Personally, I have purchased numerous courses on SEO, Pinterest, Etsy and even Facebook ads.
I was an economics finance major that wanted to pivot to online marketing and I’m sure with the rising of digital businesses, there are so many others would want to do the same.
Instead of offering face-to-face classes, its better to record your classes and sell them as short courses on online learning platforms (I’ve listed some down below). This way, you get to reach a wider audience and set a lower price than if you were to just sell to a handful of people.
The usual price points for a single payment short online course are $30, $47 and $67. Aside from digital marketing topics, you’re free to create courses for anything you want as long as it’s helpful to others and is high in demand.
Some sites you can host online courses on:
| What do I need to start? | – A niched course idea – Well thought out module – Tools to record your lessons e.g. screen record, microphone |
Creating courses is too much work for you? Here’s a list of digital products you can make to sell on easy platforms like Etsy. I’ve made a quick guide on how to make these products too!
9. Self-publish your own e-book with Amazon KDP
There are numerous ways to learn new things in this digital era. One method that’s often undervalued is by selling an e-book online!
Most people are unaware that they’re able to self-publish their own books with sites like Amazon KDP, Lulu or Book Baby.
Compared to printing out hard-copy books, you can place affiliate links in e-books as an extra way of making side income. When a reader clicks on a link within the PDF, they will be directed to the product or service you’re promoting (as long as they’re connected to the internet). This is possible even when selling Kindle e-books!
Whether you plan to write a book yourself or hire ghostwriters, it’s not too difficult to get it done. You’ll earn a commission on every e-book sale just like traditional publishing.
| What do I need to start? | – Book writing skills – Join an online self-publishing platform |
10. Offer freelance online marketing services
If you’re more interested in working with a team, you can do so by offering freelance services for digital marketing. Upwork and Fiverr are two popular platforms for the freelance gig economy but they are quite different.
The type of services you can offer varies depending on your skills and capabilities, but it can be as simple as managing social media or doing virtual assistant work for others.
Even if you’re not entirely confident, you can start small by offering a cheaper rate and accommodating to clients’ requests better than experienced professionals. You might be surprise of how many small businesses and solopreneurs are needing people to perform digital marketing tasks for them.
Digital marketing services you can offer:
- Ads management for social media
- Google Ads
- Copywriting
- Content writing
- Social media management
- Virtual assistance
- Technical SEO
- Community management
- Google Business set up
- Web design and development
- Email marketing
- Leads generation
Ways to promote your services:
- Fiverr
- Upwork
- PeoplePerHour
- Indeed
- TikTok (because anything can go viral here)
- Build your own website
| What do I need to start? | – Computer literacy skills for a specific task – Your hourly rate charge |
If you’ve been managing social media for your company or clients in your full time job, you already probably know the importance of social media templates. It just allows you to get so much done!
Digital templates whether its for social media, websites or using tools like Notion can be sold for a good amount of money on sites like Etsy. Since you’ll only be making the products once and probably update it from time to time, there is no production cost involved and you can make more than 100% profit margin.
Etsy allows listing of digital products that require no shipping on the seller’s end. Once a customer makes a purchase, they will immediately be prompted to download the digital file. As sellers, you’ll only need to make products, keep them updated and respond to customers’ messages.
| What do I need to start? | – A digital product idea – Tools to create the digital product – Platform to sell on |
12. Make coffee professionally as a café barista
Looking for a side hustle that lets you socialize, pick up a useful life skill and not stay home all the time? Becoming a part-time barista gives you all that benefit!
If you love coffee and have always wanted to learn how to make latte art, consider going for professional barista classes and actually work for a coffee shop.
Whether it’s in the office or at home, coffee making is a super useful skill. You’ll be saving a lot of money just by making your own coffee everyday. Your future self will appreciate it!
A barista is just one of the many retail jobs you can go for as a side hustle. Depending on where you live, it’s fairly easy to find a local coffee shop that’s looking to hire.
| What do I need to start? | – Barista training certification – Love for coffee |
Check out: 6 tips and tricks on becoming a barista
13. Become a professional pet-sitter in your area
Love pets and don’t mind taking care of them in your free time? You can become a pet-sitter in your area for your friends and neighbors!
Pet sitters usually make $15-20 per visit and can bring in at least $200 in a single weekend with just 10 visits! I highly recommend pet-sitting as a side hustle for anyone with great pet skills and experience handling their own furry friends.
Becoming a professional pet-sitter would require upskilling on your part to offer other kind of services like grooming and even home boarding.
Services you can include with pet sitting:
- Walking
- Home boarding
- Sleepovers and night care
- Training
- Bring to vet
- Basic grooming & care
- Travel trips
| What do I need to start? | – Good skills with pets e.g. dogs, cats – Tools for the service you want to offer – Socializing to get clients |
14. Get paid as an influencer for brand sponsorships
Not everyone wants to be making passive income with a YouTube channel, a podcast or a blog. Sometimes all you want to do is to share what you love, get famous and be paid doing so.
If you love using social media and actively share things about your everyday life, it’s time to make money from it as an influencer.
You can start by taking photos and videos of products or services you’re using and sharing them on social media – even if you’re not being paid YET. Once you have a good number of followers, brands will start to recognize you!
It’s important to stay consistent with your postings by sticking to your main niche e.g. fashion, food, travels or design, whatever they may be. Although brand sponsorships require active work, its one that’s paid well!
| What do I need to start? | – Smart phone to record and share content – Video editing app e.g. CapCut – Photo editing app |
15. Design and sell your own merchandise with print on demand
Want an ecommerce business that gets you sales every day without much work? Print on demand is one I recommend to anyone starting a side business online – here’s seven reasons why POD is for you.
Much like dropshipping, you don’t need to be purchasing stock or use any hard earned savings to start print on demand. It’s even more possible for a lot of people as they don’t need to be creating their own ecommerce website and can be selling on sites like Etsy or eBay.
You’ll only need to make designs using tools like Canva or Kittl then upload them to merchandise you want to sell. This includes t-shirts, phone cases and tote bags – more down below. Alternatively, you can purchase ready designs on marketplaces like Envato Elements or Creative Fabrica.
Two best suppliers I usually recommend are Printify and Printful – both integrates seamlessly with Etsy.
If you’re always working at your desk, you’ll love these beautiful mats in your study!
| What do I need to start? | – Basic designing skills – A laptop to work with – An initial niche and product |
Can’t decide what product to design and sell? Check out my product guides before deciding!
- Tote bags for print on demand
- Tumblers for print on demand
- Phone cases for print on demand
- Posters for print on demand
- Leggings for print on demand
- Jewelry for print on demand
- Candles for print on demand
- Doormats for print on demand
- Hoodies for print on demand
- Pet products for print on demand
- Socks for print on demand
- Pajamas for print on demand
- Blankets for print on demand
- Baby clothes for print on demand
- Wrapping paper for print on demand
- Puzzles for print on demand
- Stickers for print on demand
- Athletic wear for print on demand
- Hats for print on demand
- Journals for print on demand
- Greeting cards for print on demand
- Mugs for print on demand
11 Social Media Marketing Side Hustles
Here are 11 ideas on social media marketing side hustles:
- Copywriter
- Ads manager
- Pinterest virtual assistant
- Community manager
- YouTube SEO specialist
- TikTok live administrator or host
- Videographer for social media
- Social media shop manager
- Content creator
- Social media chat support
- Graphic designer
9 Free Side Hustles For Digital Marketers
Here are 9 free side hustles for digital marketers:
- Promote affiliate links on Twitter
- Freelance content writing
- Selling free Canva templates
- Starting a personal YouTube channel
- Build online sales funnel for clients
- Basic logo designing for businesses
- Teach others via recorded online courses
- Design and sell merchandise with print on demand
- Reselling stuffs you no longer use for extra cash
Which Side Hustle Should I Choose?
Unsure which side hustles for digital marketers you should go for? Here are the top 6 things to consider when deciding which is best for you.
- How much time can you commit to it?
- Consider how much time you can set aside for your side hustle for weekdays and weekends
- What type of income are you looking for?
- Do you want to make income actively or passively while you sleep?
- What sparks interest & passion in you?
- Choose a side hustle that aligns to your personal goals and interests as it keeps you motivated
- Are you an extrovert or an introvert?
- Different side hustles requires different level of communication with the outside world, are you comfortable meeting new people every day?
- What is your current partner or friend up to that you can leverage on?
- Doing something with a friend or partner makes things easier and more manageable
- How soon do you need to make extra money?
- Not all side hustles make the same amount of money in the same pace, do you need money today or in a year’s time?
Bottom Line
With or without experience, it can be scary to start something new – I’ve been there myself too. The key to achieving great things is to just start!
Not every digital marketer is looking to build a side hustle within the digital marketing niche. It’s fine if you wish to explore a different passion you have and take time doing so.
Life is all about exploring so find what resonates to you the most. I always encourage my readers to build passive income streams aside from having a stable full-time job.
Don’t miss out!
Here are 15 best side hustles for digital marketers:
- Become a part-time online community manager
- Start making videos for your own YouTube channel
- Build a podcast in a niche you’re passionate about
- Share digital marketing knowledge with a blog
- Promote affiliate products and services for commission
- Learn photography and sell photos online with stock websites
- Get paid writing for other blogs and websites
- Create and sell online courses for digital marketing
- Self-publish your own e-book with Amazon KDP
- Offer freelance online marketing services
- Sell digital products for social media on Etsy
- Make coffee professionally as a café barista
- Become a professional pet-sitter in your area
- Get paid as an influencer for brand sponsorships
- Design and sell your own merchandise with print on demand
I’m not one to brag, but blogging has changed my life. I’ve been able to earn an income passively while on a coffee date and traveling with my family. With everything, it takes time to learn and not an overnight success – to speed things up, get yourself a blogging coach before starting.
These are my blogging resources to help you out:
- Step-by-step guide how to start blogging in your free time
- Why you need a blogging coach right from the start
- Worried of exposing yourself? You can blog anonymously
Photo by Karolina Grabowska
