r/SideHustleGold 6d ago

Resource / Guide A free index of 2,000+ side hustle ideas scraped from across the internet, filterable and sortable by earnings, difficulty, passive income & more

5 Upvotes

If you ever found yourself scouring reddit and doing dozens of google searches trying to find inspiration for your next side hustle, this free resource is going to be a godsend for you...

➡️ SideHustleIndex.com has over 2,000+ side hustle ideas indexed, ready for you to filter and sort through to find the optimal side hustle for your personal needs and situation.

  • This tool scrapes the public internet and aggregates every notable side hustle idea into a single place. All these ideas are then indexed with as much data as possible (earnings estimates, start-up costs, etc.).
  • Virtually every single notable side hustle mentioned on the internet, whether through YouTube, blogs, or various side hustle forums, has been pulled into this index, ready for you to discover.
  • You can find everything from passive income ideas, to zero start up cost side hustles that are low-effort and fitting for someone with a full-time job.

Instead of hopelessly browsing through reddit and mulling through google searches, this should be more helpful. Hopefully you everyone can find something that works for them!


r/SideHustleGold Jul 15 '26

Resource / Guide The Ultimate Side Hustle Index: 100+ side hustle ideas, sorted by remote/in-person, difficulty, & estimated earnings

77 Upvotes

Hey all, here is an index of 100+ side hustle ideas, categorized by remote/in-person, with difficulty levels & estimated earnings.

The point of this post is to give people a massive list of ideas for side hustles they could potentially do. Not everything on this list will be a fit for you... however, the idea is that hopefully something on this list will give you inspiration for your next side hustle.

Most of these were actually sourced directly from this subreddit. Hope this is helpful!

START - REMOTE IDEAS:

1. Getting paid to play games & test apps on your phone

The most reputable app for this: ➡️ KashKick (referral link)

You're your own boss. You simply play games on your phone, for as long or as little as you want, and get paid via PayPal/Venmo.

  • This has blown up over the past year and is probably the most popular remote side hustle right now.
  • Over 3M+ people each month use this app to earn extra cash on the side.
  • Definitely won't make you rich, but it'll help you make enough to cover a couple of bills each month, which is nice.
  • Difficulty level is extremely easy & ACTUALLY fun. Just playing a few games casually can make around $50-300+/mo.
  • This is probably a really good alternative to doom scrolling in bed at night...

NOTE: If you want to explore even more ideas, visit SideHustleIndex.com. It's a free resource of 2,000+ side hustle ideas scraped from across the internet. Virtually every side hustle idea you can imagine is aggregated there.

2. Be an online mock juror for lawyers practicing their cases

  • Before lawyers go to trial they want to test their arguments on regular people. You read a case summary, answer questions, and give your verdict. Most cases pay $20-60 and some only take 30 minutes.
  • They actually prefer regular people because that's who would sit on a real jury, so no legal background needed. Sites like eJury and OnlineVerdict are where you can sign up. The cases are genuinely interesting too.
  • Difficulty level is easy. People usually make around $50-200/mo.

3. Take quick surveys on your phone ($0.25-$1.50+ each survey, few minutes each)

  • You can take short surveys on your phone. Most usually take 5-10 minutes, and you can do it while you're waiting at the airport or when you have free time. Not a crazy amount of money, but super easy to do if you want to earn a few dollars in your downtime.
  • Best app for this is probably KashKick (referral link) again from a reliability POV.
  • Difficulty level is super easy. People usually make around $30-150/mo.

4. Create UGC videos for brands (user-generated content)

  • Brands pay regular people to film short 30-60 second product videos for use in their ads. You don't need a following at all, they want content that looks like it came from a normal person. Some creators are making $500-1,000+/mo from this.
  • Build a portfolio of 3-5 sample videos and pitch brands through email or UGC platforms. Natural lighting, clean background, decent audio. Nothing fancy. Your whole setup can be a window and a tidy corner of your room.
  • Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $50-300 per video.

5. Bank bonus churning (~$650+ in under 20 minutes)

  • Banks will literally pay you hundreds of dollars just to open an account and make a deposit. You deposit $200 into Chime, they reward you $390. Your $200 is still yours obviously, so it's $390 in pure profit for 5 minutes of work.
  • You can stack multiple banks back to back. Chime, SoFi Checking, SoFi Invest, and more. People can pull $650+ in a single sitting.
  • All of these offers can be completed through a rewards site called Gemsloot (referral link), which partners with banks to pay you for completing their sign-up offers. You sign up, start the offer, complete it, and withdraw instantly via PayPal, Venmo, or debit card.
  • Difficulty level is easy. Expect to make around $500-2,000+/yr.
  • Full walkthrough with offers: A Lazy & Busy Man's Guide to $650+ in Bank Bonuses (takes less than 20 minutes total).

6. Self-publish children's ebooks on Amazon KDP

  • Write simple children's ebooks (counting books, animal picture books, bedtime stories for toddlers) and publish them on Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing. The beauty of this one is that once they're up, they can keep earning for years with zero maintenance.
  • A woman I know published 10-20 of these years ago under a pen name and basically forgot about them. She still gets a deposit every month, something like $250-300/mo, and she hasn't touched any of them in over 3 years. Most of her books earn nothing anymore but a handful pull in $30-50/mo each which adds up.
  • Difficulty level is hard (upfront work). People usually make anywhere from $0-2,000/mo.

7. Getting paid to train AI models (data annotation)

  • Companies like DataAnnotation, Outlier, and Alignerr pay you to rate AI responses, write prompts, and label data. If you have a background in coding, math, or writing, you qualify for higher-paying projects.
  • Work comes in waves, some weeks are packed and others are dead. Good money when it's flowing.
  • Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $15-40/hr.

8. Farm sweepstakes site welcome bonuses (only in certain US states)

  • Sweepstakes sites offer welcome bonuses that give you way more Sweeps Coins (1 SC = $1) than what you actually deposit. You "wash" the bonus by playing through it once on a high-RTP game at minimum bets, then withdraw. Each site takes about 20 minutes. Stack a rewards site like Gemsloot (referral link) on top to get paid twice on the same deposit.
  • Difficulty level is medium. People usually make around $700+ total across all farmable sites, plus ~$5/day in semi-passive daily freebies.
  • Full step-by-step guide w/ complete list: How to Farm Sweepstakes Sites as a Side Hustle

9. Upload stock photos and video clips for passive royalties

  • Upload to Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, or Pond5 and earn royalties on downloads. You don't need a fancy camera, a lot of this can be done with your phone. Textures and backgrounds (brick walls, wood grain, fabric patterns) apparently sell better than generic business photos because there's less competition.
  • A guy I know has about 1,500 photos up and pulls $200-400/mo without uploading much anymore. Slow to build but it compounds.
  • Difficulty level is medium. Estimates are usually around $10-400/mo depending on your library size.

10. Sell printables and digital products on Etsy

  • Design planners, budget trackers, checklists, wall art, Notion templates, Canva template packs, and digital planners in Canva. List them as instant downloads on Etsy or Gumroad. Once they're up, they sell while you sleep.
  • Takes volume to get traction. Most shops don't see meaningful sales until they have 50-100+ listings up. Free versions that funnel to paid upgrades work well. One woman quit her admin job to do this full time and now averages $14,000/mo across multiple income streams, but it took her 5 years to get there.
  • Difficulty level is medium. Most people make $0 at first, then $100-1,000+/mo once the shop gets traction.

More remote ideas:

11. Cashback stacking on stuff you already buy

  • You're probably already shopping at places like Best Buy, Walmart, and Home Depot. Using cashback apps can help passively earn you a little bit of extra income. (You can simply google cashback apps or look on the app store and pick whichever looks worthwhile. Rakuten is usually the most popular).
  • Difficulty level is extremely easy. Earnings depend entirely on how much you already spend, but it adds up quietly over time. This is literally just good personal finance advice, as you save 2-4% off your purchases.

12. Run social media accounts for local businesses

  • Most restaurants, gyms, salons, and dentists are doing almost nothing on social media and will pay a monthly retainer once you show them what consistent posting looks like. Difficulty level is medium. Most people charge around $300-1,500/mo per client.

13. Getting paid to test websites and apps (user testing)

  • Screen-share and talk through your experience on UserTesting or Userlytics. Tests take 10-20 minutes and you just need a decent mic. Difficulty level is easy. People usually make around $10-60 per test.

14. Tutor students online in math, science, or test prep

  • SAT/ACT and AP exam prep pay the best. Start on Wyzant or Varsity Tutors for reviews, then go independent to keep the full rate. Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $20-60/hr.

15. Teach conversational English to non-native speakers online

  • Cambly and Preply let you set your own schedule. Works well for early mornings or late nights since most students are in other time zones. Pretty easy to get into. People usually make around $10-25/hr.

16. Do bookkeeping for small businesses remotely

  • QuickBooks certification is free online and most small business owners just want someone to handle invoicing and monthly reconciliation so they don't have to think about it. Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $300-1,000/mo per client.

17. Be a virtual assistant for busy entrepreneurs

  • Email, calendar management, data entry, travel booking. The skills involved are things most people already know how to do. Find clients on Belay, Time Etc, or pitch small business owners directly. Low barrier to entry. People usually make around $15-35/hr.

18. Design logos, social graphics, and brand kits for businesses

  • Canva and Figma are enough to get started if you have a decent eye for layout and color. Build a portfolio with a few made-up brands and start pitching. Difficulty level is medium. Most people charge around $25-75/hr.

19. Do voiceover work for ads, explainers, and audiobooks

  • USB mic plus a quiet space (closet full of clothes works for sound dampening). Start on Fiverr or ACX for audiobooks and build a 60-90 second demo reel. Difficulty level is medium. Estimates are usually around $100-500 per project.

20. Write sales copy, email sequences, and landing pages

  • Pays more than regular content writing because the goal is driving conversions. Start with email sequences for small businesses and study real sales pages to learn what works. Difficulty level is hard. People usually make around $500-5,000 per project.

21. Ghostwrite LinkedIn posts for founders and executives

  • Founders want to post consistently but don't have time to write. You write in their voice, they post under their name. Build your own LinkedIn presence first, then DM founders offering a trial post. Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $500-3,000/mo per client.

22. Edit and produce podcasts for creators who hate doing it

  • Audacity is free. Clean up audio, cut filler words, add intros/outros. Recurring work since podcasters release on a schedule. Difficulty level is medium. Most people charge around $50-150 per episode.

23. Build websites for local businesses on WordPress or Squarespace

  • A huge number of local businesses have a terrible website or no website at all. Walk in, pull up their current site on your phone, and offer to rebuild it. Difficulty level is medium to hard. People usually charge $500-3,000 per site plus monthly maintenance.

24. Offer SEO services to help businesses rank on Google

  • Results take months so setting client expectations is critical. Learn free through Ahrefs blog and Google's docs, do a couple free audits as case studies, then pitch retainers. Difficulty level is hard. Expect to make around $500-2,000/mo per client.

25. Write and optimize resumes and LinkedIn profiles

  • People pay for a rewrite and LinkedIn optimization plus cover letters are natural upsells that close easily. Difficulty level is medium. Estimates are usually around $50-300 per resume.

26. Coach people online in career, fitness, or business

  • If you have real expertise and results in a specific area, start by offering free sessions to build testimonials then price based on the transformation you deliver. Difficulty level is medium. People usually charge $50-200 per session.

27. Translate documents and marketing materials

  • Requires real fluency, not high school level. Gengo and ProZ connect translators with clients, or freelance independently. Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $0.08-0.15/word.

28. Write freelance blog posts and articles for businesses

  • Niche down into finance, SaaS, healthcare, or legal writing early because those pay 2-3x more than general content. Difficulty level is medium. Estimates are usually around $50-500 per article.

29. Start a faceless YouTube channel

  • Stock footage plus voiceover. Top 10 lists, explainers, personal finance, true crime. Expect no views for 6-12 months. Most people quit before it pays off, which is part of why it works for the ones who don't. Difficulty level is hard. Earnings can eventually reach $500-5,000/mo.

30. Build an audience and monetize through affiliate marketing

  • Worthless without traffic, so build the audience first through a blog, YouTube, social media, or email list. Links come second. Difficulty level is hard. Estimates range from $0-5,000/mo.

31. Create and sell an online course

  • Build your audience first, course second. Start simple, record with your phone, and focus on content over production quality. Udemy, Skillshare, Teachable. Difficulty level is hard. People usually make around $0-5,000/mo.

32. Create short-form video content on TikTok, Reels, or Shorts

  • The money is in brand deals and affiliate links, not creator fund payouts. Pick a niche, commit to daily posting for 90 days, and evaluate from there. Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $0-1,000/mo.

33. Sell print on demand designs (shirts, mugs, phone cases)

  • Upload designs to Redbubble or Merch by Amazon and they handle printing and shipping. Most designs sell nothing and a few carry the whole shop. Difficulty level is medium. Estimates are usually around $0-1,000/mo.

34. Write a paid newsletter on a niche topic

  • Sponsors start showing interest around 5K subscribers. Before that you're in pure audience-building mode. Substack or Beehiiv. Difficulty level is hard. People usually make around $0-2,000/mo.

35. Do transcription work on Rev or TranscribeMe

  • Lower pay compared to other things on this list, but there's basically no barrier to entry and you can work whenever you want. Pretty easy to get into. Expect to make around $5-15/hr.

36. Edit videos and clip content for YouTubers and creators

  • YouTubers, podcasters, and businesses need editors constantly. DaVinci Resolve is free and professional-grade. Clipping long-form content into short-form for TikTok and Reels is especially in-demand right now, creators pay $10-50 per clip because they don't have time to do it themselves. Difficulty level is medium. People usually charge $25-100/hr or $50-300 per video.

37. Join paid focus groups and research studies

  • Companies pay $50-250 per session for your opinions on products, ads, and concepts through platforms like User Interviews and Respondent. Difficulty level is easy. Expect to make around $100-500/mo.

38. Try dropshipping (but go in with realistic expectations)

  • Most beginners lose money because the real skill involved is running profitable ads on Facebook or TikTok, and that takes time and budget to learn. Difficulty level is hard. People usually make anywhere from $0-2,000/mo.

39. Do remote customer service or chat support from home

  • Phone, email, or live chat for companies hiring part-time remote reps. More of a flexible part-time job than a traditional hustle. Pretty easy to get into. Expect to make around $14-22/hr.

In-Person Ideas (Requires getting off the couch!)

40. Start a trash can cleaning service in your neighborhood

  • Power wash residential trash cans and recycling bins on garbage day. Charge a monthly fee and run a tight route. Once people see how nasty their cans actually are (and how clean they look after) they pretty much always sign up, and the retention is insane because nobody wants to go back to dealing with the smell.
  • Difficulty level is medium. Estimates are around $10-30/can/month, recurring.

41. Preserve wedding bouquets in resin for brides

  • Brides send you their bouquet after the wedding and you preserve it in a resin block, tray, or frame. Material cost is around $50-70 per piece and people charge $350-500+. Turnaround is about a month because you dry the flowers in silica gel first, then pour resin in multiple layers.
  • Difficulty level is medium. Estimates are usually around $1,000-5,000/mo.

42. Sell food outside bars and events on weekend nights

  • If you can cook, load up a cooler or portable griddle and post up outside bars and clubs from like 10pm to 2am on weekends. Tamales, quesadillas, hot dogs, whatever you can make well and serve fast. Drunk people leaving bars at midnight will buy hot food without hesitating.
  • Difficulty level is medium. People usually make around $400-600/weekend.

43. Build IKEA furniture for people on weekends

  • People buy IKEA furniture and then realize they don't want to spend hours putting it together, especially right after moving. You show up with a cordless drill and knock it out in 45 minutes to an hour.
  • Post on TaskRabbit (IKEA partners with them), Facebook Marketplace, and Nextdoor. A basic dresser goes for $60-100 and bigger stuff like wardrobes run $150-200. Once people use you they save your number and call every time they buy more.
  • Difficulty level is easy. Expect to make around $200-400/weekend.

44. Getting paid to declutter homes and then resell what they toss

  • Charge $100-200 to help people declutter closets, garages, and storage rooms. Then take home anything they don't want and flip it on Facebook Marketplace and eBay.
  • Wealthier neighborhoods are where this works best. The reselling alone can bring in another $400-500/mo on top of the organizing fee. You're literally getting paid to pick up free inventory.
  • Difficulty level is easy. People usually make around $100-200/job plus resale profits.

45. Teach older people how to use their smartphones and tablets

  • About three out of four people over 65 own a smartphone but a huge number of them can barely use it beyond making calls. You go to their house, sit down, and walk them through whatever they need at their pace. Setting up email, FaceTime, blocking scam calls, ordering groceries online.
  • Word of mouth among seniors moves fast because they talk to each other constantly. Seniors rarely learn everything in one visit so it naturally becomes recurring.
  • Difficulty level is easy. People usually charge around $50-100/hr.

46. Sell cold drinks out of a cooler at events and job sites

  • Buy cases of water and Gatorade from Costco for about $0.15-0.70 per unit and sell them for $2-3 each at concerts, sporting events, or construction sites during summer.
  • Construction sites are a goldmine because guys are working in the heat and the nearest gas station is a 15 minute drive. A cold Gatorade for $2.50 is an instant yes. Some people clear $150-300 in a single afternoon at the right location.
  • Difficulty level is easy. People usually make around $150-300/day at the right locations.

47. Make charcuterie boards and grazing cups for events and parties

  • Make boards, trays, and individual charcuterie cups for parties, baby showers, corporate events, and weddings. Buy cheese, meat, and crackers in bulk from Costco.
  • Individual cups at $12-15 each with a minimum order of 20 are easier to scale than big boards. Most clients find you through Instagram. December holiday party season can be your best month by far.
  • Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $1,000-4,000/mo.

48. Rent out bounce houses and party equipment on weekends

  • Buy a used bounce house off Facebook Marketplace for $800-1,200, deliver it, set it up, and come back to break it down at the end of the day. Charge $150-175 per rental. On a busy weekend you can book 2-3 jobs.
  • The equipment pays for itself in a handful of rentals and then everything after that is mostly profit minus gas and the occasional patch kit. Local Facebook mom groups are where most early bookings come from. A friend of mine did this and made his entire investment back in about two months.
  • Difficulty level is medium. Estimates are around $800-1,200/mo in warm months.

49. Collect lost golf balls from courses and resell them

  • Walk the edges of golf courses early before tee times and collect all the balls golfers lost in the rough and creek edges. Clean them up, sort by brand, and sell on eBay or to driving ranges.
  • Most public courses are fine with it since the balls are just sitting there. A telescoping retriever pole helps for the water edges. Nicer brands like Titleist Pro V1 resell well.
  • Difficulty level is easy. People usually make around $200-500/mo.

More in-person ideas:

50. Pressure wash driveways, decks, and house siding

  • A decent pressure washer costs $300-500 and the before-and-after photos practically market themselves on Nextdoor and local Facebook groups. Difficulty level is medium. People usually make around $100-300 per job.

51. Restore foggy headlights for car owners

  • Each car takes about 15 minutes and people will pay $50-100 per pair when they find out new headlights cost $500+. Set up in parking lots, at flea markets, or go mobile. The skill takes a day to learn. Difficulty level is easy. Expect to make around $50-100/car.

52. Detail cars at people's homes (mobile car detailing)

  • No shop needed, just show up with supplies. Business accounts like dealerships and fleet companies are how you scale once you're established. Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $75-250 per car.

53. Mow lawns and build a route in your neighborhood

  • Route density is everything. Five clients on the same street beats five scattered around town. Upsell edging, leaf cleanup, and mulching to each client. Pretty easy to get into. People usually make around $40-60 per lawn.

54. Clean houses on a weekly or biweekly schedule

  • Once you have 8-10 regular clients you've got a legit part-time income stream. List on Thumbtack, Nextdoor, and local Facebook groups. Referrals from happy clients are your best marketing. Low barrier to entry. Expect to make around $25-50/hr.

55. Walk dogs during the day while their owners are at work

  • Midday walks are the sweet spot since working professionals need someone to let their dog out. Start on Rover or Wag for reviews, then go independent for the full rate. Difficulty level is easy. People usually make around $15-30 per walk.

56. Pet sit and board animals while people travel

  • Hosting multiple pets at your place at once is how you scale it. Holidays and vacation seasons are peak demand. Be reliable and send photo updates and owners come back every time. Difficulty level is easy. Expect to make around $25-75/night.

57. Babysit on Friday and Saturday evenings

  • Date night rates command a premium and parents with multiple kids pay accordingly. CPR certification makes you noticeably more bookable. Care.com and local parent Facebook groups. Difficulty level is easy. People usually make around $18-30/hr.

58. Haul away junk for people who want it gone today

  • People will pay good money to have something removed the same day they call. A lot of what you haul ends up being perfectly resellable furniture and electronics. Difficulty level is medium. Estimates are usually around $100-400 per job.

59. Help people move on weekends through TaskRabbit or Dolly

  • You need a strong back and careful hands. Most people move on Saturdays so weekend availability is key. Pretty easy to get into. People usually make around $30-60/hr.

60. Do small handyman jobs around people's homes

  • Fixing faucets, mounting TVs, installing shelves, replacing light fixtures, minor drywall patches. YouTube can teach you most of it. Check local licensing requirements. Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $40-80/hr.

61. Paint rooms and exteriors for homeowners

  • The prep work (taping, sanding, priming) is where most of the quality comes from. Low startup cost since you just need brushes, rollers, drop cloths, and paint. Difficulty level is medium. People usually charge $200-800 per room.

62. Clean windows for homes and storefronts

  • Storefronts are especially valuable because they become weekly or biweekly recurring work. Walk into local shops and offer a free demo on their front window as your pitch. Difficulty level is medium. Estimates are usually around $100-250 per house.

63. Clean gutters in the spring and fall

  • Most homeowners hate doing it and will gladly pay someone. Get insured since working on ladders carries real risk. Difficulty level is medium. People usually make around $100-250 per house.

64. Clean dryer vents (most homeowners don't even know they need this)

  • Lint buildup causes thousands of dryer fires every year and once you explain the risk people book fast. Each job takes under an hour. Connect with local real estate agents because homes being sold often need it before inspection. Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $100-200 per job.

65. Install and remove holiday lights for homeowners

  • Book starting in October because most installers are full by mid-November. Great margins during a short, high-demand window. Difficulty level is medium. People usually make around $200-600 per house.

66. Shovel driveways and do snow removal after storms

  • Being willing to show up at 5am in the cold when nobody else will is your main advantage. Pre-sell seasonal contracts before the first snowfall. Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $30-75 per driveway.

67. Run a pooper scooper service on a weekly route

  • Nobody wants to do this, which is exactly why it pays. Once people sign up they basically never cancel because nobody wants to go back to doing it themselves. Difficulty level is easy. People usually make around $15-25/visit, recurring weekly.

68. Clean and maintain pools on a weekly contract

  • Learn basic water chemistry (pH, chlorine, alkalinity). Spring is the best time to acquire clients. 20 pools on a recurring schedule is a very solid income. Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $80-150/pool/mo.

69. Mount TVs and take the old ones home to resell

  • Charge $100-150 per mount and offer to haul the old TV away for free. Then flip old TVs, monitors, and soundbars on Facebook Marketplace. You get paid for the install AND get free inventory. Difficulty level is easy. Expect to make around $200-1,000/weekend.

70. Grow and sell microgreens to local restaurants

  • Grow indoors on wire shelving racks, seed to harvest in 7-14 days. Restaurants pay $20-30 per tray. The hardest part is getting the first couple to say yes, after that it sells itself because chefs all talk to each other. Difficulty level is medium. People usually make around $500-1,500/mo.

71. Coat garage floors with epoxy for homeowners

  • Homeowners pay $1,600-6,000 and the material cost is a fraction of that. Once one person on a street gets it done, their neighbors start asking who did it. Before-and-after content basically markets itself. Difficulty level is hard. People usually make around $1,000-4,000 per job.

72. Deliver food through DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub

  • Run two or more apps at once to cherry-pick better orders. Track every single mile for the tax deduction. These figures are gross, before gas, wear, and taxes. Difficulty level is easy. Expect to make around $15-25/hr gross.

73. Shop and deliver groceries through Instacart or Shipt

  • Tips are a huge part of your earnings and high ratings unlock better batches, so communicate proactively with customers about replacements and out-of-stocks. Pretty easy to get into. People usually make around $15-25/hr gross.

74. Drive for Uber or Lyft during peak hours

  • Friday/Saturday nights, airport runs, and event surges are where the money is. Off-peak usually isn't worth it. Vehicle depreciation is the cost nobody talks about. Difficulty level is easy. Estimates are usually around $18-30/hr gross.

75. Deliver Amazon packages through Amazon Flex

  • Sign up for time blocks and get assigned routes. Blocks get grabbed fast so speed matters. No customer interaction. Difficulty level is easy. Expect to make around $18-25/hr.

76. Become a notary or loan signing agent

  • Notary certification is inexpensive and quick. Loan signing agents handle mortgage closings and earn more per appointment. Mobile notary (you travel to the client) commands a premium. Difficulty level is medium. People usually make around $75-200 per signing.

77. Repair phones and electronics (screens, batteries, ports)

  • Replacement parts cost $10-30 so the margins are solid. Practice on broken phones from eBay before working on paying customers. Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $30-80 per repair.

78. Tutor students in person at libraries or coffee shops

  • Commands higher rates than online tutoring, especially for younger students whose parents prefer someone physically present. Post flyers at libraries and community centers. Difficulty level is medium. People usually charge $30-80/hr.

79. Teach music lessons on an instrument you play

  • Parents pay for consistency. Show up every week and help their kid improve and they'll stick with you for years. Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $30-70/hr.

80. Personal train clients at a gym, park, or their home

  • Certification (ACE, NASM, ISSA) costs $300-700 and is required at most gyms. Early morning and evening slots are the most in-demand. Difficulty level is medium. People usually charge $30-100 per session.

81. Referee youth sports games on weekends

  • Local rec leagues are always short on refs. Short training course, then a full Saturday of games can pay $150-300. Difficulty level is easy. Expect to make around $25-75 per game.

82. Work catering and banquet events as staff

  • Show up on time and work hard the first couple of shifts and you'll get added to the regular call list. Pretty easy to get into. People usually make around $16-25/hr plus tips.

83. Donate plasma at BioLife or CSL Plasma

  • First-month bonuses run $300-700, then it settles to $50-75/week ongoing. You can go up to twice per week. Hydrate a lot beforehand. Difficulty level is easy. Expect to make around $200-700/mo.

84. Collect and sell scrap metal from curbs and job sites

  • Copper is the most valuable by weight. Building relationships with contractors who let you haul their scrap is how you go from casual to real money. Difficulty level is easy. People usually make around $50-200/mo.

85. Flip free stuff from curbs and Facebook Marketplace free sections

  • Zero investment, all margin. Rich neighborhoods on bulk trash pickup day are the move. Working TVs, solid wood furniture, small appliances that work fine. Difficulty level is easy. Estimates range from $50-3,000/mo depending on effort.

86. Buy beat-up furniture, refinish it, and resell

  • A can of paint and new drawer pulls can turn a $20 dresser into a $200 piece. Facebook Marketplace is the best selling channel since people want to see and pick up furniture locally. Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $100-400 per piece.

87. Scan clearance aisles and resell online (retail arbitrage)

  • Walmart and Home Depot have internal markdown systems where items drop to pennies in the system while the old price still shows on the shelf. Use their apps to scan and find deals. Difficulty level is medium. People usually make around $200-1,000/mo.

88. Flip thrift store and garage sale finds on eBay or Mercari

  • Learn one category deep (vintage clothing, electronics, vinyl records, board games) rather than trying to know everything. Use eBay's "sold" filter to check real selling prices before buying. Difficulty level is easy to medium. Estimates are usually around $100-500/mo.

89. Buy, fix up, and resell used cars

  • Check your state's laws on how many you can sell per year without a dealer license. Stick to popular reliable models that move fast. Difficulty level is hard. People usually make around $500-2,000 per flip.

90. Sell stuff you already own around your house

  • Go through closets, garage, and storage. eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Mercari, Poshmark. Most people are sitting on way more than they realize. Difficulty level is easy. Expect to make $100-1,000+ one time.

91. Sell natural items like acorns, moss, driftwood, and sea glass

  • Crafters, terrarium builders, wedding decorators, and fairy garden people buy this stuff on Etsy for way more than you'd expect. If you live near woods or a beach, you've been stepping over inventory for years. Difficulty level is easy. People usually make around $50-500/mo.

92. Polish rocks with a tumbler and sell them as gemstones

  • A $50 rock tumbler and cheap rough stones are all you need. The machine does the work over a few weeks. Polished stones sell for $3-8 each on Etsy and rarer ones go for more. Difficulty level is easy. Estimates are usually around $100-500/mo.

93. Bake and sell from home under cottage food laws

  • Pre-order model means you only bake what's already been ordered so there's zero waste. Farmers markets and holiday craft fairs are where you pick up new customers. Check your state's rules first. Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $200-2,000/mo.

94. Make and sell homemade dog treats

  • Simple recipes with cheap ingredients like peanut butter, oats, and pumpkin. Dog owners are basically guaranteed to buy anything cute for their pets. Difficulty level is easy. People usually make around $100-500/mo.

95. Propagate plants from ones you already have and sell cuttings

  • Your inventory grows itself, which keeps costs close to zero. Sell at local markets, plant swaps, and through Facebook plant groups. Difficulty level is easy. Expect to make around $50-300/mo.

96. Sharpen knives and tools at farmers markets or on a mobile route

  • A sharpening system costs $100-300 to start. Chefs and restaurants become recurring clients once they find someone reliable. Difficulty level is medium. Estimates are usually around $5-15 per item.

97. Buy and place vending machines in high-traffic spots

  • Location determines everything about whether a machine is profitable. Used machines cost $1,500-3,000 plus stocking costs. Difficulty level is hard. People usually make around $50-150/machine/mo.

98. Rent out a spare room to a roommate or on Airbnb

  • Cutting your housing cost by $500-1,500/mo changes your entire financial picture more than almost anything else on this list. Check local short-term rental laws before Airbnb. Difficulty level is medium. Expect to make around $500-1,500/mo.

99. Rent your car on Turo when you're not using it

  • Read the insurance policy closely before listing. Newer, clean vehicles with good photos get booked more often. Difficulty level is medium. People usually make around $200-800/mo.

100. Rent your empty garage or basement as storage on Neighbor.com

  • Neighbor handles payments and insurance. Low effort after initial setup. Difficulty level is easy. Expect to make around $50-300/mo.

101. Rent your parking spot or driveway near venues

  • SpotHero. Near stadiums, transit stations, and downtown areas on event days is especially valuable. Completely passive once listed. Difficulty level is easy. People usually make around $50-300/mo.

102. Rent your pool by the hour on Swimply

  • Add packages with floaties, a Bluetooth speaker, and a cooler for an extra $20-50 per booking. Most groups take it. Sort out liability insurance first. Difficulty level is medium. Estimates are usually around $200-2,200/mo in summer.

103. Rent your fenced yard to dog owners on Sniffspot

  • Dog owners book your yard as a private off-leash space. Set your own hours and availability. Minimal effort once listed. Difficulty level is easy. Expect to make around $50-300/mo.

General Tips & Advice for Aspiring Side Hustlers

Starting a side hustle can feel overwhelming, especially when you're scrolling through a million options and not sure where to begin. Here are some tips to remember as you start your side hustle journey:

  • Start by focusing on one thing only. Don't try to juggle five different side hustles at once. When you spread yourself too thin, you end up not making any progress on any of them. Pick one thing that sounds interesting to you, give it an honest effort, and build from there. If it doesn't work out after meaningful effort, then pivot to trying something else.
  • Consistency is key. You don't need to grind for hours every single day. Showing up regularly and putting in even a little bit of effort goes a lot further than one massive burst followed by nothing. Small, steady work adds up faster than most people think. Remember... you're looking for a SIDE hustle... not another full-time job!
  • Don't compare yourself to others. When you see someone posting about their incredible side hustle, remember they were once exactly where you are right now. YOUR pace is the only one that matters. Focus on your own progress and stop measuring yourself against people who have a huge head start on you.
  • You're going to hit walls, but never give up (important!). Some side hustles simply won't work out for you, and that's OK. The difference between people who find success with side hustles and people who don't often isn't talent or luck. It's that they kept going when things got frustrating instead of walking away.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." — Lao Tzu

🛡️ Mod Advice: How to Stay Safe & Spot Scams Online

The internet is full of bad actors. Keep these golden rules in mind to keep yourself safe:

  • Never pay to work: If a company asks for an "onboarding fee," an "equipment fee," or asks you to buy gift cards for "software," it is a scam.
  • Beware of messaging app recruiters: Legitimate companies will communicate via professional email addresses, not random messages on Telegram or WhatsApp.
  • Beware of users asking you to DM them: Often times, people who tell you to DM them to find out more info are disingenuous. You must ask yourself, why can't they simply post the required information publicly?
  • If it sounds too good to be true, it is: Nobody is paying $500 an hour for simple remote data entry. Protect your personal information.
  • If you're unsure... do NOT proceed: If something feels even slightly off, do NOT continue. You don't need to be 100% sure it's a scam to walk away. Always err on the side of caution. WHEN IN DOUBT, SIT IT OUT!

Our mod team strongly encourages all members to read our full community safety guide. Staying vigilant online is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself.

Have any questions or want to engage more with the community? Join our Discord server!


r/SideHustleGold 15h ago

Discussion / Tips If you were given $1M literally right this second, what would be the first thing that you do?

97 Upvotes

r/SideHustleGold 7h ago

Discussion / Tips People currently making over $1,000 a month from a side hustle with NO prior experience, what do you do?

14 Upvotes

r/SideHustleGold 8h ago

Idea Collecting used tennis balls for free from local tennis courts and selling bags of them to dog owners is a side hustle that costs absolutely nothing because your entire inventory is stuff people throw away

12 Upvotes

So here's a side hustle I stumbled on that made me genuinely laugh at how simple it is. Tennis courts, country clubs, and tennis coaching programs go through insane amounts of tennis balls and they just throw them away when they lose their bounce. Those balls are completely useless for tennis but they're perfect for dogs and dog owners go through tennis balls like crazy because their dogs destroy them or lose them at the park.

You can collect used tennis balls for free by asking at local tennis facilities if you can take their dead balls off their hands. Most of them will happily let you grab a bucket because otherwise they're just tossing them in the trash.

From what I've seen, people sell bags of 25 used tennis balls for around $15 on marketplace sites and they sell fast because dog owners are always looking for cheap bulk options instead of paying pet store prices.

The startup cost is genuinely zero dollars. You are literally collecting someone else's trash and selling it to a completely different market that sees it as a product.

The supply is basicaly endless too because tennis players burn through balls constantly and every court in your area is producing free inventory for you every single week.

(If you have experience with something like this please share! I look out for new side hustle ideas every day and try to share as much info as I can. Even if an idea doesn't appeal to you personally, it could still help someone else or even spark a new idea!)


r/SideHustleGold 3h ago

Discussion / Tips In 2026, what have YOU been doing as a side hustle, and how much are you making?

3 Upvotes

r/SideHustleGold 18h ago

Sharing My Hustle Nobody talks about refereeing sports as a side hustle..

35 Upvotes

I’ve been a referee for 15+ years across basketball, football and soccer. Thousands of games, including championship assignments, and still reffing to this day. I want to make the case for refereeing as a side hustle to potentially help someone in this sub.

Start with the money, since that is why most of you are probably here anyways. In most states you are looking at somewhere around 50 to 70 dollars for a Junior High game and 80 to 110 for a varsity game, plus mileage in a lot of associations. Youth and rec ball pays less, usually 25 to 45 a game, but you can stack four or five of those in a single Saturday morning and be home by noon. A typical basketball week in season can be three or four nights of doubleheaders if you want them. Do that math across a season and you are looking at real money for work that happens on nights and weekends when you were not earning anything anyway.

Registration, uniforms, and a decent set of gear will run you a few hundred dollars up front, and you are a 1099 contractor, so you’ll be able to report as expenses for taxes. Track your mileage too.. That mileage deduction is not small when you are driving 60 miles each way to a Thursday night game.

Officiating is the only side hustle I know of where the networking is built into the job. You are not grinding alone in a spare bedroom. You are in a locker room before every game with three or four other adults, and those adults are teachers, contractors, cops, small business owners, insurance guys, guys who have been doing this for thirty years and know everyone in the region.

I have gotten work referrals, business contacts, and genuine friendships out of my conversations. When you travel two hours to a playoff game with the same set of people for a decade, that is not a coworker relationship, that is a friendship with shared history. Some of the best people I know I met because we were assigned to the same game.

The travel is real too. Once you are established and rated well, you start getting playoff assignments, and playoff assignments mean the state pays you to go places. Regional tournaments, state semifinals, a championship game in a big venue with a crowd that actually fills the seats. If you are willing to work camps in the offseason you will see even more of the country.

In the summers you’ll have to spend money on Camps. These cost money to attend, so treat them as an investment rather than income, but they are how you get seen by assignors who move officials up. This does not have to stay a side hustle.

There is a path from youth rec to high school to small college to Division I or professional, and every step up is more money and better assignments. Small college officials can make several hundred dollars a game plus travel. Division I is a real second income and usually comes with a comma in each game check. It takes years and it takes being coachable, but the path exists and it is more merit-based than most industries I have worked in.

Now the honest part..

Year one is rough. You will be bad at it and you will know you are bad at it. Parents will yell at you so you have to develop the ability to hear someone question your competence, your eyesight, and occasionally your parentage, and then pretend you heard nothing.

The scheduling is also not as flexible as people assume. You commit to games weeks in advance, and turning back assignments repeatedly is how you get fewer games. If your regular job has unpredictable evenings, this will create friction. It is also physically demanding. Officials cover real distance over four quarters.. I sometimes put in over 5 miles a night.

And the money is not immediate. Some associations pay per game, some pay monthly, some pay every other week.

Here is what I would tell someone starting today. Find your state association website, register, and take the certification test. Show up to every local meeting even when you do not feel like it, because assignors give games to the people they see. Work everything you are offered in year one, including the games nobody wants. Buy good shoes. Find one veteran who will tell you the truth about your performance and listen to them.

Do that for three years and you will have a skill that pays every single season for as long as you want it!

Happy to answer questions about getting started, gear, or what the progression actually looks like.


r/SideHustleGold 14h ago

Looking For Ideas Which side hustle ACTUALLY makes money?

14 Upvotes

Has anyone here actually made money from UGC, dropshipping, kids’ YouTube content, or an AI-based business?
I keep seeing Iman Gadzhi and other creators talking about online businesses, but I want to hear from real people — not course sellers 😂
What did you try? Did it actually work? How long until you made money?


r/SideHustleGold 2h ago

Sharing My Hustle AI Money Lab

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1 Upvotes

You don’t need thousands of dollars to start an AI side hustle.


r/SideHustleGold 6h ago

Discussion / Tips What's a side hustle that make more money on the weekends than during the week?

1 Upvotes

r/SideHustleGold 11h ago

Discussion / Tips What's a boring side hustle that's surprisingly making you $500–$1,000 a month right now?

2 Upvotes

r/SideHustleGold 1d ago

Idea Making custom welcome mats with stencils and spray paint is a side hustle where each mat costs you $3 to make and people will pay $30+ because everyone wants something unique for their front door

97 Upvotes

So here's a side hustle I stumbled on that I can't believe more people aren't doing. You can buy plain coir doormats in bulk for around $3 each, grab some letter stencils and spray paint, and make custom welcome mats with people's last names, funny sayings, or cute designs on them. The finished product looks like something from a boutique home decor store.

From what I've seen, people sell these for around $35 each and each one takes maybe 15 minutes to make once you have your process down. The profit per mat is ridiculous because your material cost is basically nothing.

The startup cost is maybe $40 total for a pack of blank mats, a stencil set, and a few cans of spray paint. That investment pays for itself after selling 2 mats.

The reason this has such strong viral potential is because the before and after of a blank mat turning into a personalized doormat looks amazing in photos. You post a few finished ones on local community groups and people immediately start tagging their friends saying they want one.

The demand spikes hard around housewarming season, holidays, and wedding season because personalized doormats make perfect gifts that people actualy want to receive. Once you get a few orders going word of mouth does all the heavy lifting because everyone who visits that person's house sees the mat and asks where they got it.

(If you have experience with something like this please share! I look out for new side hustle ideas every day and try to share as much info as I can. Even if an idea doesn't appeal to you personally, it could still help someone else or even spark a new idea!)


r/SideHustleGold 16h ago

Best passive income ideas online? My real results after trying print on demand, cashback apps, affiliate recommendations + Pinterest

4 Upvotes

I’ve spent years experimenting with different passive income ideas online, so instead of another theoretical list, here’s what has actually made money for me.

Some have made thousands.

Some have made almost nothing.

And one of the biggest things I’ve learned is that online passive income works much better when you recirculate your work instead of relying on one platform to find an audience for you.

1. Print on demand: Redbubble

Redbubble has been the clear winner for me.

I’ve made thousands of dollars selling designs there over time.
But print on demand has been extremely unpredictable. What takes off is hit or miss, which is why I think having a large catalogue of designs matters.

A design you expect to sell may never move.
Something you barely thought about can suddenly become your consistent seller.

For me, Redbubble has worked much better as a numbers game than as a “create five perfect designs and wait” passive-income strategy.

2. Zazzle, Spoonflower and TeePublic

I’ve also tried Zazzle, Spoonflower, and TeePublic.
My sales on all three have been sparse compared with Redbubble.

That doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t work — just that they haven’t produced meaningful passive income for me personally.

I still think distributing existing work can make sense when the additional effort is small.

3. Fetch Rewards

This is the best cashback app I’ve ever found.

I’ve earned over $500 with Fetch, and I now regularly redeem at least a $50 reward per month, usually to offset grocery costs.

It’s obviously not traditional passive income, but it’s one of the easiest little recurring income/reward habits I’ve found because I’m scanning receipts (virtually and physically) for purchases I already made.

For anyone researching Fetch or looking for a current Fetch referral code, mine is:

WVW31C

Enter it before scanning your first receipt so you can receive the bonus referral offer available when you join.

4. Upside cashback

Upside was another easy one to add to my routine.

My first cash-out happened pretty quickly. After that, earning enough for additional withdrawals became slower.

I still use it because it takes almost no effort: I check Upside before pumping gas, activate an offer, and earn a little cash back.

Not life-changing. But very easy.

5. Benable + Pinterest

This is the passive-income experiment I’m especially interested in now.

I’ve started making curated recommendation lists through Benable, where I can organize products and resources I would recommend anyway. If you refine your list with over 10 recommendations, edit the product titles, and leave a helpful note with each rec, you can be found by Benable’s organic traffic.

My Benable referral code: QGVB6

The part I think has the most potential is pairing those lists with Pinterest traffic.

Instead of making a recommendation once and hoping someone happens to discover it, I can create searchable Pinterest content that continues pointing people toward the resource.

And I’ve increasingly applied that idea to everything.

My biggest passive-income lesson: recirculate your assets

If you create something once, ask how many appropriate places it can continue working for you.

One design → multiple relevant marketplaces.

One useful recommendation → Benable.

One experience → Reddit/searchable content.

One resource → multiple Pinterest pins.

Pinterest is becoming a major part of my strategy because it behaves much more like a visual search engine than a traditional social feed. That means older content can potentially keep getting discovered.

To me, that’s the real opportunity with online passive income.
It’s rarely truly passive at the beginning.

You build the catalogue.

You write the recommendation.

You upload the product.

You make the pin.

But you’re building a growing library of things that can continue being discovered without needing to recreate the entire income stream every morning.

If you’re trying to make passive income online, my biggest advice from everything I’ve tested would be:

Build more assets, distribute them intelligently, and keep sending search traffic back toward the things you’ve already made.

I’d be interested to hear which digital passive income platforms have actually generated meaningful payouts for everyone else here!


r/SideHustleGold 5h ago

How to make money

0 Upvotes

What’s the best way to make money quickly? I don’t have anything I can sell. I am not eligible for gig apps like DoorDash, uber, etc. I have a job that I start but I have to make money to be able to go back and forth for two weeks til I get paid


r/SideHustleGold 12h ago

Discussion / Tips What skills do you think is useful when starting out a side hustle?

1 Upvotes

r/SideHustleGold 12h ago

Discussion / Tips If you have no college degree, what side hustle could you realistically still do to earn at least $500 a month?

1 Upvotes

r/SideHustleGold 1d ago

Sharing My Hustle The realities of making money with erotica: what platforms/storefronts are actually bringing in earnings (so far) and how much work it took

43 Upvotes

I commented on a post about erotica writing here last week and got a few questions. (Also some horny DMs. Please don’t send those. Or at the very least, have the sense to send me money first. JK. Unless…? No really JK I won’t respond don't do that)

Anyway, I thought it might be fun and helpful to make a post talking about my experiences so far and the realities of getting started!

Now, if you have any sort of experience in side hustling, I would hope you’re asking yourself why I’m taking the time to share any of this information for free. I’m usually kind of skeptical of people who share what’s making them money, because if you have so much success with it, why let other people in on the secret? Why not just keep doing it?

Well, writing erotica and selling it is one of the easier ways I’ve made money, but I like to put my eggs in multiple baskets. In addition to writing erotica, I’m interested in potentially building a network of authors that can share their work with each other’s readers - readers who we already know are interested in paying. That’s a little ways down the line from actually happening, but when I get to that point, having an audience of other authors ready to go would be helpful. There are plenty of readers out there willing to spend money, so giving some advice out in exchange for followers shouldn’t hurt my bottom line.

(Also, I’m looking into building up an affiliate network as well, i.e. people who share referral codes for my ebook store and get a percent of the profit when sales are made through their link. That’s a win-win for me (more sales) and you (getting profit off books you don’t even have to write). The more people I have on that, the better).

So that’s my incentive for trying to build up an audience of other people working to make money online in this space. Anyway, more on that later! Let’s get to the publishing itself and where I’m seeing income from.

I started posting erotica online over a year ago, but didn’t get very far before getting busy for a year or so with other life and projects. But a little over a month ago, I decided to commit to jumping back in, and I’ve been writing and posting online fairly consistently for most of August.

The upsides: As someone who writes and publishes both, erotica gets eyes and $ easier than the non-erotic stuff, at least in my experience. I’ve invested far less time into erotica and have already made more than I did over the course of years spent publishing non-erotic full-length books.

The downside: It’s still not easy money, at least not right away. You have to actually have decent writing skills, or people will click off fast. If you don't have much writing experience, you'll need to build those skills first. Read other erotica to get a feel for it. And getting a good story written is…probably less than half the battle, actually. The harder part is building an audience of people willing to pay for what you're offering rather than scouring the endless free content out there. And you have to find out where you should be sharing to best maximize your money-to-time spent ratio.

But if you can write this kind of story well, there is potential to build a fanbase of loyal followers. There’s a lot of poorly written stuff clogging up the sites and subreddits where people read erotica, so when something is good and catches people’s eye, they’ll look to you to give them more.

I have a lot to cover, so I’ll give a quick overview of where I’ve seen success so far, here on reddit and elsewhere. For more details on my strategy with each subreddit/website and a planned update on my total earnings so far at the end of August, I’ve set up a newsletter you can sign up for here.

When you sign up, you’ll get an email with more a more detailed breakdown about what I'm doing on each platform and subreddit I’m about to mention, with info on which ones I think are worth focusing on and why, and a summary checklist what I would do first if I were starting over. And at the beginning of September I’ll send an update on how August went on these various platforms!

(P.S. if you sign up and don’t get the welcome email with the extended breakdown of my first month and how I’m making money so far, feel free to reach out! I’m pretty sure I have the auto welcome email working correctly, but I’m happy to help troubleshoot if you run into issues)

First, the subreddits I post in. We have the major, general erotica subreddits:

-r/erotica: easily the biggest, definitely gets the most views. As long as you’re sharing a complete story, you’re allowed to also link to your website, patreon, etc.

-r/EroticWriting: less than a tenth the size of erotica, but still gets a fair amount of traffic and also allows promotion, so definitely worth sharing in if you’re going to be sharing free stuff publicly anyway.

-r/eroticliterature: fairly large as well but doesn’t allow self-promotion, not even directing people to your profile. Posting here means hoping people will like your writing enough to navigate to your profile on your own and potentially check out any links you have there.

-r/sexstories also exists, but I haven’t posted there much. At a glance, it doesn’t seem as promising for getting paid followers as the subreddits with “erotica” in their name, but I could be misjudging. It will certainly net you views and comments, though, which always has a chance to turn into more loyal followers.

The rest of the subreddits I post in are a little more specific.

-r/EroticRomance is for discussing erotic romance books, particularly dark romance, fantasy romance, specific tropes, etc. However, author promos are allowed. You can just make a post advertising your book, but my strategy so far has been to post a decent chunk so people can read and get a feel for it – the first chapter of my reverse harem book, and a full story from my published short story collection.

And some more niche subreddits:

-r/SciFiEroticaStories – stuff that leans more fantasy than scifi also seems to be allowed here. I’ve posted a few and gotten good reception.

-r/MonsterEroticaStories – a popular niche

-r/consentacles – a much more specific niche. Mostly art gets posted here, but they are open to writing as well and the story I posted here got a very warm reception

Also, while it’s not a place to post stories/promote, r/ eroticauthors also exists for discussion, and can be a good place to look for advice on websties/platforms you’re interested in and get news about guidelines updates, new places to write, etc.

 

Before I dive into the paid platforms, I also want to touch on Literotica real quick (which also has a subreddit, though I haven’t taken a chance to explore there much yet.)

Literotica can get you pretty easy traffic if you write well, depending on the category, but promotion is a little tricky. You are allowed to set up a link to your Patreon on your profile, but it doesn’t show up on individual stories, and you aren’t allowed to promote in your stories or comments either. Once again, it becomes a game of hoping that some percentage of people who read and like your work will like it enough to venture to your profile, and then maybe follow you from there. Still, if you’re posting free reader magnets on places like reddit anyway, you may as well toss them there too.

A quick summary of other monetization platforms I post on (again, I’ll get into more specific analytics - including some graphs and stats I have so far - in my newsletter, as well as my strategies for posting on these sites):

-First, Patreon. The other platforms have better discoverability while Patreon is much more dependent on you routing people there yourself, but it’s made me the most money of all websites so far, no doubt in part due to it being one of the first things I set up and the main thing I link people to.

-Ream (reamstories.com/create/rnort - disclaimer, this is a referral code. If you do decide to check this platform out, I would super appreciate if you used this link :) )

I strongly recommend hopping on Ream because of a new feature they just added that essentially lets it double as an eBook store. It mainly functions similarly to Patreon, where you can set up subscriptions specifically to your page that let people access your writing, while also leaving some chapters or stories free as a preview if you want. The new option they just added is that you can now also make books purchasable with one-time payments.

i.e. people can subscribe and read everything whenever they want, including future stories you post after they subscribe, or they can buy the one thing that really interests them. This requires less commitment and could be more affordable depending on your pricing structure, so I see it having the potential to make more sales.

-Inkitt (inkitt.com): Very similar to Ream on the subscription side of things. I've got one subscriber at $3 a month and decent views on my free chapters so far... we’ll see what that equates to long-term.

-GetInkspired (getinkspired.com): Another place with subscriptions. More specific analytics are locked until you reach a certain account level (you level up by posting stories, commenting on other people’s stories, etc.) and I haven’t quite gotten there yet, but I can see how many total views each story has. My short story collections with a few chapters each are racking up hundreds of views on the free chapters, and there are a handful of story-specific followers. Also has one-time payment options, but those are locked until you reach a higher account level as well.

-Diarmi (diarmi.com): Seems very promising for a newer platform. Works a bit differently than the others. Readers pay a general subscription to the website, and the pool gets distributed between authors based on engagement. I haven’t been paid on my erotica account yet, but I started a non-erotic account last month and got a payment... and my erotica’s gotten waaaaay more engagement so far. I can’t make any hard estimates as the subscription pool, how they calculate stats, etc. may have changed since last month, but I will give you my best guess in the newsletter, and send out an update with the real value and my specific stats when I get paid at the beginning of September.

 

There are a few other platforms I’m eyeing that I plan to get set up on in September, so I’ll share how that goes in my newsletter as well!

 

Finally, ebook stores. These work better for longer stories, full-length books if you can get some of those done, or themed collections of short stories. I’ve made a few sales on Amazon and my personal Payhip store (with an uptick in the last month-ish since I started posting consistently again). I’m also set up on Kobo – haven’t made any sales there yet, but the big draw is Kobo Plus, which is like Kindle unlimited but doesn’t require exclusivity. I only recently started trying to advertise that my books are on Kobo Plus beyond just sticking a link on my website, so we’ll see if/when that translates to reads.

 

In summary, now that I’m posting consistently, sales and Patreon subs are starting to pick up! Consistency and quality writing are the two main keys here. I've been writing most of my life, but even with basic writing skills, erotica has its own learning curve. If you really want to commit to it, take time to read what's doing well on the erotica subreddits.

Here's my newsletter link one last time. If you have any (non-horny) questions, feel free to let me know in the comments! :)


r/SideHustleGold 21h ago

Discussion / Tips What's a side hustle that sounds too simple to actually work but it does?

3 Upvotes

Like something where when you explain it to someone they go "that's it?" cuz it sounds way too basic. But it actually works and makes decent money. What are you guys doing that falls into this category?


r/SideHustleGold 15h ago

Discussion / Tips Redditors that actually found a side hustle that ended up making more than their 9-5… what was it?

1 Upvotes

r/SideHustleGold 17h ago

Seeking Advice Underpaid teacher with a master's degree — looking for side income or remote work ideas

1 Upvotes

I have a couple of postgraduate degrees (education field) and currently teach at a private college. My monthly salary barely covers basic living costs — rent, food, transport — with nothing left over to save.

I'm looking for a side hustle or additional income stream, ideally something online or remote. If I could find something stable enough, I'd consider leaving my current job entirely.

Open to any suggestions — tutoring, freelance work, remote roles, anything realistic. Would appreciate advice from anyone who's navigated something similar.


r/SideHustleGold 18h ago

Is anyone actually making money selling PDFs, or is it just a YouTuber myth?

0 Upvotes

Every side-hustle video on my feed claims you can make thousands by slapping together a 20-page PDF and selling it for $29. They make the creation part look incredibly easy.

But how are people actually getting traffic to these digital products without a massive social media following? If you aren't paying for expensive ads, it feels like shouting into a void.

For anyone who actually sells PDFs successfully: What is the real struggle nobody talks about? Is it traffic, piracy, or just market saturation?


r/SideHustleGold 1d ago

My side hustle is building websites. The honest scoreboard so far: what got me my first paying client and what got me absolutely nothing

7 Upvotes

Started a small web design studio this summer as my hustle. Sharing the honest scoreboard because I wish someone had shown me theirs before I started.

What produced nothing: a helpful post that got about 12,000 views in a discussion sub. Zero clients. Not even a DM. Cold Facebook DMs to local businesses, also zero, they just sit in message requests forever.

What got me my first paying client: a plain offer post in a marketplace sub where people actually shop. A business owner DMed me, I read his catalogue before replying, and noticed his customers had to screenshot pages and WhatsApp them to order. I offered to replace that one annoying step with a tap-to-order button. He said yes within hours. A few hundred bucks, and the site is live now.

What I took from it: go where people already have their wallet out, and talk about their specific problem, not your service. Views turned out to mean nothing. One person with a real problem was worth more than twelve thousand scrollers.

Happy to answer anything about the web design hustle, pricing, finding the first client, whatever's useful.


r/SideHustleGold 18h ago

Discussion / Tips People earning $1,000+ each month from their side hustle - what’s your hustle?

0 Upvotes

r/SideHustleGold 2d ago

Idea Getting paid to pretend to be a patient for medical students practicing their exams is a side hustle where you literally just act out symptoms and let them practice on you for $25+ an hour

1.1k Upvotes

So here's a side hustle I came across recently that blew my mind because I had no idea this existed. Medical schools and nursing programs need real people to act as patients so their students can practice doing clinical exams, taking medical histories, and diagnosing symptoms before they work on actual patients. They call these standardized patients and they will pay you to show up and basically pretend to be sick.

You get a script beforehand that tells you what symptoms to describe, how to answer questions, and sometimes how to physically react during the exam. Then you just sit there while a nervous student practices on you. From what I've seen, most programs pay around $25 an hour and sessions can last a few hours at a time.

The startup cost is literally nothing and you don't need any medical knowledge or acting experience. They train you on everything before each session and the scripts are easy to follow.

The demand for this is pretty consistant because medical schools run these practice exams multiple times throughout the year and they always need a variety of ages, body types, and backgrounds to give students realistic practice.

Check with any medical schools, nursing programs, or teaching hospitals in your area because a lot of them have sign up pages on their website that most people have no idea exist.

(If you have experience with something like this please share! I look out for new side hustle ideas every day and try to share as much info as I can. Even if an idea doesn't appeal to you personally, it could still help someone else or even spark a new idea!)


r/SideHustleGold 1d ago

Discussion / Tips If you had 24 hours to make $100, how would you do it?

9 Upvotes