Best Side Hustle Ideas for 2021

As we move forward into the new year, a lot of people are bracing themselves for what’s to come. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that nothing is impossible. In order to ensure a successful 2021, we need to move forward prepared and with backup plans ready to go. Today I want to talk about financial backup plans, ways to make money off of skills you may already have, or skills that you can obtain for free. These side hustles range from part time to full time and can generate a lot of passive income going forward into the new year with proper time investments.

Without further hesitation, let’s start to look at the best side hustle ideas for 2021 that you can do from the comfort of your home!

Affiliate Marketing

This is one we’ve talked about a few times before but I want to get a bit more in depth and provide a few examples to put things into perspective. Think about it this way, an average NFL football stadium seats 70,000 people. All of these people have spent hundreds of dollars on tickets or season passes in order to just get in. Once there, they buy snacks, drinks, and souvenirs. A trip to a stadium like that on average costs a family $421. Some people will spend more and others will spend less. The point is what they do when they are already there is how the company makes more money off money they have already made.

Affiliate marketing works in a similar way. If you can manage to get hundreds of people to your website a day through search engines, someone is guaranteed to be the person that buys the souvenirs, beer, and hotdogs! All you have to do is spread the word to those people. Countless companies are willing to pay you to find those people for them and direct them to their websites or services. Depending on the products you promote and the content you produce, you can begin to net a few hundred dollars a month from part time work for some extra spending money or paying bills.

We’ve talked about it before but the hands down place to go for affiliate marketing is Wealthy Affiliate . Wealthy Affiliate provides you with all the tools you could need to learn about affiliate marketing and they give it to you for free! There is a premium option and things locked behind a pay wall but if you’re looking just to get started and make some side hustle money part time, this is the way to go! Check out the link to their site posted above to see if it makes sense to you. Also check out our in depth review here for more information.

Copy Writing

Copy writing often consists of putting together blog posts and simple essays for websites across the internet. These websites get paid for ads placed on whatever content they produce so naturally they outsource the work to freelancers for cheap. Luckily for us, we can use those outsourced opportunities to put together articles and posts for these websites.

Generally what it comes down to is learning how to market yourself to get more consistent writing jobs and better paying ones at that. It’s easy to get one or two a week but that won’t pay any bills. Finding substantial work means diving into a network of writers and bloggers who need your help. For this side gig I recommend investing time into Writer Help Wanted. This program is full of modules that can teach you how to find jobs, improve your writing, and learn from experts who do this full time.

The biggest reason I can confidently recommend this is because I used their service myself to generate extra cash during my time at university. I was already writing papers and such everyday so why not use it to make money as well? They are also offering a 40% off coupon so there is no better time to get started than now going into 2021.

Another service that utilizes freelance writers is Evolution Writers. Evolution Writers is a service that is more suited for college students and recent graduates. You can write papers and outlines for cash. The job is a bit more niche but pays well and is an excellent example of how easy it can be to make money online when you know the right sources.

Last service I want to recommend is Writers Work. We’ve spoken about them at length here on the site before so if you want more information. check out our review here. The gist is that they provide top quality tools to track your writing and get it published quickly. The network is not as strong as Writer Help Wanted but the efficacy is still there. There are people you can directly network with and the job finder is top notch. The program you choose is totally up to personal preference so make sure to do research.

Writers Work - Get Paid to Write

Freelance Variety

A lot of people have talents and skills they may have picked up through the normal course of their lives from video editing to voice acting and use it only as a hobby. The great part about this going into the year 2021 is that there are so many freelance networks that are willing to pay people to do almost anything. If you’re good with the adobe suite of products, you can get commissions on editing photos, sequencing videos, and creating logos for up and coming businesses.

Upwork. Upwork is a similar platform to Fiverr focusing on more professional grade work. This ranges from copywriting to web design and everything in between. I would recommend Upwork if you are looking to create income over a longer period of time and work closer to full time hours as it is very competitive. It is still worth checking out and creating an account however because you never know what kinds of jobs and references you could get there if you have the applicable skills and credentials.



10 thoughts on “Best Side Hustle Ideas for 2021

  1. What a lovely one.  I like how you started your article with the wisest decision in the 21st century.  Affiliate marketing has come to stay and I am glad I’m in wealthyaffiliate.  Thanks for Looking highlighting some other means of side hustle.  I will like to try  copy writing.do you have an idea how to start? 

    1. To start, just search up any copy writing job either on Fiverr or Upwork or similar freelancing sites.  It could be hard to find the jobs without a resume of writing or portfolio but it can never hurt to try on some of those sites.  

  2. Hello there, Thanks for sharing this awesome article I know it would be of great help to the public as it has been of help to me… I have been think of Going into blogging as it has proven to be one of the most effective means of earning very good amount of income monthly.

    1. Blogging is definitely a good source of side income when the right time is put into it!  I wish you well in the future!  Be sure to check back here from time to time for blogging tips too

  3. Knowing myself and my skills, I think I can only manage to do affiliate marketing. I have thought so much about trying freelance writing but being so insecure about my writing and English not being my first language that it actually intimidated me. I still would love to try it but for now, I’m sticking with affiliate marketing. 

    1. English being a second language is definitely something that can hurt your chances as a writer but it also can be a strength.  Having a second language is a skill most writers wish they could develop and affiliate marketing requires a lot of writing as well so I’m sure it will work out for you!  Good luck!

  4. Yesss! I’m all about them side hustles! ðŸ™‚ You’ve spoke some truth here: 2020 taught us to expect the unexpected. This year was a big learning curve for me in so many ways, not least many business failures that came due to the pandemic. Diversifying my income streams through various “side hustles” has been absolutely amazing. You have some great niches listed there and for me, the affiliate aspect has been so powerful for high cost items! 

    1. Affiliate marketing is definitely one of the most lucrative ways to make consistent money online but freelance writing is starting to blow up this year since more and more people are producing content on the internet like with affiliate marketing

  5. Indeed, 2020 has really taught us that nothing is impossible and it’s quite significant to be prepared and to have back-up plans if we have to move forward with financial back-up plans for the next coming years. Affiliate marketing helps in attracting that traffic and hence potential clients or buyers of anything we are selling. This piece of writing is really equipping us with tools and strategies of making a living and earning from home.

    1. Now is the best time to get started in creating your own online business for sure!  There are countless resources to get started and even more people willing to help!

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