12 Legitimate Side Gigs to Make Money: Boost Your Income Effectively

While the unemployment rate is at a 17-year low and the number of jobless claims is falling, wages are not growing as fast, and inflation Is rising.

Therefore, while the chances of being unemployed in the country are low, many people are still struggling. A good indicator of this is the record number of people who are currently enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, and food stamps.

A good way to beat the odds, is starting a “side hustle”. Here are a bunch of legitimate side gigs that anyone can start today to earn extra money.

DropShipping

As you already know, most people are today shopping online. While Amazon and eBay are the dominant players in e-commerce, there are many other small local companies are trying to break out in the e-commerce space.

This is where you come in.

Through drop shipping, you can create and market an e-commerce store that features products that you are owned by local retailers. When a customer purchases the products, you will either buy it from the retailer and ship it to them, or you liaise with the seller to ship it to the customer.

Through drop shipping, you will make a commission from the retailer for every sale you make.

Quick tips

• In drop shipping, it will take time before you start making good money.
• Don’t be a general seller like Amazon and focus on one niche.
• Use Woo-Commerce instead of Shopify and other platforms that charge you a monthly fee and a commission.
• Focus on an unpopular niche like hunting gear. For example, if you start selling phones, chances of you being found in social media will be very limited.
• Strive to create a strong social media brand.

Create a Network of Niche Sites

This is another popular way of making a lot of money online that is similar to drop shipping. It involves researching about an unpopular niche, create a website, and getting commissions from each sale you generate.

In niche sites, you identify an unpopular niche, create a website, and blog about different products. Then, when people use your link to shop in the e-commerce platform, you make a commission.

To succeed in this, you need to have several websites that focus on singular product categories. The good thing is, most retailers and e-commerce sites have a referral link which you can use to refer customers to them.

Like in drop shipping, it will take time before your niche sites start generating revenue.

Quick note

If you are interested in niche sites, I highly recommend visiting a website called Niche Pursuits.

Freelancing

Many companies and startups are now turning to freelancers or online contractors to perform quick tasks like content writing, website design, graphic design, and translation.

By turning to freelancers, companies are avoiding hiring employees to work on a 9-5 basis. It is estimated that more than 50 million Americans have tried working as freelancers and this number is estimated to grow.

The good thing about freelancing is on the number of opportunities that exist out there. This means that you can make money regardless of your skillsets.

There are many online platforms that you can use to make money as a freelancer. They include:

• Academic Writing. Some of the companies you can use for this are Uvocorp, EssayWriters, WritersHub, Academia Research, and Writers Labs among others.
• General contracting sites. These sites provide a platform for people to offer multiple freelancing services. They include Upwork, Guru, PeoplePerHour, and Fiverr.
• Graphic and website design. These sites include DesignCrowd, 99Designs, and CrowdSpring.
• Transcription. Websites include: TranscribeMe, Rev, and QuickTate
• Website and application development. Examples are CloudPeeps and Toptal.
• Home Services. Websites include AngiesList, HomeAdvisor, and Thumbtack.

Quick Tips for Freelancers

• Always offer the best quality services to your clients.
• Always ask for a positive review and rating from your clients.
• Since hundreds of people want the gig, make your application shine.
• Always have a good portfolio to showcase your skills.
• Create accounts on multiple platforms that offer similar services.
• Have a website to showcase your services.

Start an online company

Depending on your skills, you can start an online company and promote it online. For example, if you are perfect at writing cover letters, resumes, and LinkedIn profiles, start an online company offering these services.

After creating a good and well-optimized website, start marketing it using social media and search engines. You can also market your website on the freelancing platforms I mentioned above.

Drive for Uber and Rent your Spare Room

If you have a decent car and a spare room, every month, you can offer your services to potential customers.

The good thing about these gigs is that you don’t need to quit your job to do them. For example, you can activate your Uber or Lyft driving account when you are going to work or leaving. If you get one customer every day on your way to work who pays $50, then you make $1,000.

If you have a spare room and rent it out for $50 every day, that will be $1,500.

This means that by doing literally nothing, you can make about $2,500 every month.

Apart from Uber and Airbnb, other companies you can use are Expedia, Getaround, Curb, HomeAway, and VacayHero.

Become a Blogger or Vlogger

You can make a lot of money by becoming a blogger or vlogger. Every month, many bloggers and vloggers make thousands of dollars doing what they love.

To succeed in this, you first need to find a niche to blog about. In the niche you select, you need to be very good at it.

As a blogger or vlogger, you make money by advertising on your blogs or video blogs. For example, YouTube gives you tools to monetize your videos.

This list compiled by BusinessInsider lists the best-paid vloggers on YouTube. You can be one of them too.

Quick Tips

• Focus on a niche topic.
• Produce quality content. For example, if you are a vlogger, use a high-quality camera.
• Build a network of highly engaged followers. One way of achieving this is by responding to your audience and following up.

Start a Podcast

Podcasts are the in-thing today. Every day, millions of people listen to their favorite podcasts. Podcasters make money from companies that sponsor their podcasts.

The good thing is that you don’t need to have a marketing team to pitch to advertisers. There are companies like PodBean that provide advertisers for podcasts.

Quick Tips for Podcasters

• Focus on a topic you understand well.
• Make your podcasts short and interesting.
• Engage your listeners.
• Make your podcast regular, preferably weekly.

Do What You Love

Today, there is a market for doing what you love. If you are good at poetry, do poetry and build a community around it. If you are good at content writing, come up with interesting content.

Provided you are really good at what you do; you can monetize your passion through websites like Medium and Patreon.

As shown above, Vi Hart is making more than $3,200 every month creating videos on Mathematics.

Start a Niche e-commerce store

Above, I have written about starting a niche site network and dropshipping. In this part, I explain how you can start your own e-commerce store and make good money.

The beauty of an e-commerce store is that you don’t need to invest in a physical retail store. This means you can create or buy cheap items from China, and sell them in the United States for a higher fee.

We have seen a lot of success from people selling singular items. For example, MyPillow, BrookLinen, and Stance have made millions selling pillows, bed sheets, and socks respectively.

You too can start a similar company. For example, if you focus on a niche like duffle bags, you can buy bulk bags like these from China and create a duffle bag giant.

To make more sales, you can sell your products on leading websites like Amazon and eBay.

Quick Tips

• Focus on a niche product.
• Update your site regularly
• Ask your customers to leave reviews.
• Offer giveaways and coupons

Build a Game App

You can also make money by creating a mobile game app. Today, billions of people around the world have access to smartphones. You can serve them by creating a good game app.

With a mobile game, you can make money from advertisements or charge people to go up different levels.

The good thing about this is, your game should not be complicated. In fact, some of the best performing games are created from a very simple storyline. For example, Temple Run has made millions of dollars from a very simple concept.

Quick Tips

• If you have a concept of a game, but you don’t know how to develop, get someone who does.
• Create a very simple but addictive game.
• Publicize your game by creating guest posts to leading websites.
• Test your game first before you release it.
• Respond to the reviews.

Become a Day Trader

You can make money by buying and selling stocks. The good thing about this is you don’t need a lot of money to start with, and you can trade for free using platforms like RobinHood.

Quick Tips

• Read books and watch videos on investing.
• Always do your research before you buy or sell any company.
• Diversify your account.
• If you can’t trade, invest your money using robot-advisors like Betterment and Wealthfront.

Sell your Research

If you are good at analyzing companies, commodities, or the economy, you can create and sell your research. Several companies like Seeking Alpha and Benzinga provide a platform for you to sell this research.

Quick Tips

• Focus on quality over quantity.
• Make your research affordable.
• Always be engaged with your subscribers.
• List your research on different platforms.

In short, there are many ways you use to make money online. The key to success is to find what you are passionate about and being perfect at what you do.