Despite what you’ve been told a job isn’t the only way to make money. There were many times where I had to resort to creative side hustle ideas to make extra money from home. Education is no guarantee that you’ll get a job.
Many people think that there’s just no legit way to make money online. They think it’s all online surveys or some type of scam. I’m here to tell you that it’s not true. If you’re serious about it and ready to put in the work you can do it.
I had a hard time getting a job after college. That’s one of the reasons why I started my blog. So, I could earn money from home doing something I loved.
I’m so happy I started my blog. It wasn’t easy at first. But now I can honestly say my blog brings me passive income.
I know from experience that it’s possible to make money from home. Before I started my blog I also freelanced and was an eBay seller. There are many people out there doing creative things to make money.
If they can do it, If I can do it, why can’t you?! That’s why I put together this list of side hustle ideas. These are all legit.
Keep reading to find out how to get started today.
*Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please see my full disclosure for further information.
Creative Side Hustle Ideas
1) Make Money Blogging
I can tell you from personal experience that you can make money blogging. But no matter what anyone tells you it won’t happen overnight. It does take time, effort, and strategy. What I mean by strategy is having a money-making roadmap.
There are many ways to make money blogging. You have to figure out what’s best for you. There’s affiliate marketing, courses, ebooks, printables, ads, sponsored posts, services, or coaching programs. Or you can do multiple. I know many bloggers who do affiliate marketing, courses and offer services.
Here are some resources I recommend:
–How to Start a Successful Money-Making Blog
–The Ultimate Blogging Resource Bundle
2) Sell your own digital planners
Digital planners sell pretty well. You can sell them for more than you can printable planners. You don’t have to create them yourself. You can buy digital planners that come with commercial rights. Digital planners can be sold on Etsy.
There are no catches or gimmicks. But keep in mind that other people will be selling the exact same products.
I recommend changing them where possible. For example, changing them to match your brand. Or offer them as bonus content when someone buys your course, program, etc. You can even add more pages, or change the cover photo.
I recommend the digital planner templates from Melody. They come with commercial rights. Meaning you can sell them as your own.
3)Become a Freelancer
I did freelance for four years. It was my main source of income for a while. There are a number of services you can offer as a freelancer. You could be a freelance writer, graphic designer, etc.
Basically, any service or skill you have can be freelance. When you are just starting out, I recommend Upwork, Freelancer, or doing a job search. Just type in freelance writer or service you offer.
There are many resources available to help you. Elna Cain from Twins Mommy has a blog dedicated to helping you be a freelance writer.
When you’re just starting out as a freelance writer, I recommend going to ProBlogger and clicking on jobs. They always update their listings.
Related post: How to Make Money on Pinterest Without a Blog
4)Become a Pinterest VA or Use it to sell your products
There are so many ways to make money through Pinterest. You can make money from Pinterest without your own blog. You can offer Pinterest VA services, sell affiliate products, or sell your own products. Now you can tag affiliate products in idea pins.
Pinterest VA services are when you help potential clients manage their accounts. I know many bloggers who only offer this service in addition to blogging.
I made my first affiliate sale through Pinterest. Pinterest even helped me to sell some of my printables. I find it easier to make money from Pinterest than any other social media platform. If you would like to learn more check out the resources below!
5) Graphic design services
There are lots of ways to make money as a graphic designer. You could create social media templates then sell them. You could create clipart like watercolor flowers then sell them.
You could create logos, branding, and other graphics for entrepreneurs. You can even create t-shirt designs then sell the designs to print-on-demand businesses. There are a lot of ways to make money as a graphic designer.
If you already have a background in graphic design then this is a good creative side hustle idea for you.
I recommend this course on how to start a successful graphic design business. If you have a knack for design then check it out!
Related: 15 Easy and Popular Christmas Crafts to Sell
6) Sell Your Own Print on demand Products
Selling your own products isn’t like it used to be. Before you had to know manufacturers, get items through wholesalers, etc.
But now thanks to print-on-demand you don’t need any of that. Print-on-demand companies like Printful make and ship out the products.
All you do is create a design for them, and bring the customers. You can connect Printfulto Etsy or BigCommerce. You don’t need to be a graphic designer to create your designs.
You can use Canva to create them. It’s free. Or go to Creative Fabrica. Use their graphics that come with a full pod license.
7)Start Your Own Online Store
Starting your own online store isn’t as hard as you think. There are many free online store platforms such as Etsy. You can get your first 40 listings free with Etsy.
If you want to create your own store with your own domain name then checkout BigCommerce. You can get a free 30-day trial with no credit card.
You don’t have to sell physical products either. You can sell digital products like workbooks, planners, design elements, etc. I wrote a whole blog post all about all the places where you can start your own online store for free.
But your store won’t be successful overnight. This isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. You have to be willing to put in the work.
8) Web design
Web design is where you design websites or blogs for people. You could create themes or templates then sell them. You could work for companies or get clients for your own business. It depends on how you want to work.
But being a web designer also means knowing how to code. If you think this is for you then check out Shannon Mattern. She helps web designers build their own businesses by selling their services.
9) Sell SVG’s
SVG stands for scalable vector graphics. This file format is very popular among Cricut machine users. SVGs can be used for a number of things. Most Cricut machine users use SVGs to decorate physical items.
For example, they’ll take a quote SVG that says Cheer Mom, cut it using a Cricut machine, then place it on a coffee mug, T-shirt, or other items. They’ll either use it themselves or sell it. You don’t need too much to create SVGs.
All you need is a computer and a graphic design program like Inkscape. You don’t need fancy clipart either. All you need is fonts and an eye for design. You can sell SVGs on Etsy, Creative Fabrica, Design Bundles, or the Hungry Jpeg.
It’s easy to make SVG’s with Canva Pro. I make my own all the time with Canva Pro. It’s a lot easier than using Inkscape. This is the perfect creative side hustle idea for you if you’re a crafter.
10) Sell printables
I started selling my own printables last year around September. I absolutely love making them. Selling printables is a great creative side hustle idea you can do from home. There are tons of printables you can make and sell. Here are a few that you can sell:
- Printable wall art
- Printable invitations
- Printable planners
- Printable journals
- Printable games
Those are just a few of the types you can make. The best part about making printables is they cost almost nothing to make. You can use a free program like Canva to get started. I use Canva to create most of my printables.
11)Sell graphics
These are the types of graphics you can sell:
- Clipart
- Digital paper
- Mockups
If you can draw and are good with digital drawing tools then I recommend selling clipart. Clipart can be anything. It can be flowers, animals, balloons, etc. I buy clipart all the time for my printables. It’s definitely a lucrative business or creative side hustle.
If you aren’t good at drawing then selling digital paper could be for you. Digital paper is also called patterns or backgrounds. It’s very easy to create. You can make it by using simple shapes like lines.
Mockups are product images store owners like myself use to sell their products. You can create mockups for people to sell their digital products or physical products. There are many stores on Etsy that only sell mockups. I buy mockups all the time for my Etsy store.
12) Create Your Own Coaching Program
A coaching program is slightly different than a course. When you coach, you’re helping people solve a problem. You can be a blog coach, social media coach, etc.
Your goal is to give your students/clients results. It’s different than selling your services because you aren’t trading time for dollars.
With most coaching programs they pay upfront. They don’t pay an hourly fee. In a coaching program, you can take on one client at a time or many. You can create a group coaching program where you take on a group of students at once.
The setup is different than a typical course. You can create a private Facebook group for your clients. Then do Facebook lives or video training exclusively for the group. You assign homework or funwork for your students to complete.
You can take enrollment whenever it’s best for you. It’s different than an online course that’s open all year long. I know many that are only open twice a year.
13) Online Course
Online courses are still very popular. It is one of the best creative side hustle ideas out there. You can create a course on any subject you’re knowledgeable about.
Your course doesn’t have to cover an entire topic. It just has to solve one problem your audience has.
You need to guarantee results with your course. Your course doesn’t have to be full of videos either. I’ve taken many courses that were text-based. You can create a course on any topic in any niche. When you create your course be sure to give your audience tons of value.
You don’t want to create a course that makes them feel underwhelmed. Don’t make your course too basic. I created a blog post all about creating an online course for free if you want to learn more.
14) Ebooks
You can create and sell your own ebooks. Selling your own ebook isn’t as hard like it used to be. Nowadays anyone can be an author.
Your ebook doesn’t have to have the most beautiful cover either. I know plenty of bloggers who sell ebooks with plain cover images.
Your ebook doesn’t have to be beautiful on the inside either. As long as it helps your reader solve a problem it will sell. Do market research first before you make it.
Make sure there’s an audience willing to buy it first. I suggest creating a freebie related to your ebook idea.
Then see how well your freebie does. Then start collecting an email list full of people who would buy your ebook. Then when you get ready to launch it, you’ll have a list of buyers already.
I recommend the ebook Bestseller Bootcamp. You’ll learn exactly how to create and sell an ebook. You’ll even learn how to create an ebook for Amazon.
15) Virtual assistant
Virtual assistants offer a variety of services to potential clients. You can be an administrative virtual assistant or creative virtual assistant. Administrative virtual assistants are basically administrative assistants.
Creative virtual assistants help with tasks like graphic design, blogging, social media, email, etc. There are many resources online that’ll help you get started. Bloggers, entrepreneurs, and large businesses hire virtual assistants.
Virtual assistants can make anywhere between $15-$75 per hour. You can start a virtual assistant business serving clients. Or you can get hired by a company. To get started I recommend the My VA School from April Herndon. She specializes in helping women get hired as VA’s.
16) Sell Items on eBay
I sold items on eBay for many years. For a while, it was my only source of income.
I find it way easier to sell on eBay than on most platforms. I never had to promote my eBay items on social media. I didn’t have to learn SEO for my items to sell.
If the item was in demand it sold. That’s all there is to it.
The easiest way to figure out what’s being sold is to go under the filter settings. Then click on only show items that sold. Then you can easily see if something is actually selling on the platform.
17) Sell Your Own Templates
This is one of my favorite creative side hustle ideas. There are so many templates that you can make and sell. Thanks to programs like Canva it’s never been easier to create templates. Here’s a list of some of the templates you can sell:
- Opt-in Templates
- Email newsletter templates
- Pinterest templates
- Instagram Templates
- Instagram story templates
- Printable templates
The best part is once you’ve made them you never have to remake them. You can even make your own template membership program. You can have people pay a monthly fee then send them brand new templates each month. I know many bloggers who do this already.
18) Sell Handmade Items or Crafts
This is one of the best creative side hustle ideas to make extra money from home. Selling handmade items doesn’t require a large investment. You can sell something that you already know how to make.
For example, if you know how to make your own soap you can sell that. If you know how to make your own sugar scrub you can sell that. Even if you don’t know how there are tons of free tutorials online.
I learned how to make printable wall art by watching a tutorial from Nancy Badillo on YouTube. If you have a Cricut machine there are tons of things you can make and sell from it.
There are tons of free tutorials online that show you how to make items from your Cricut. Jennifer Maker has tons of free tutorials on YouTube, blog posts, courses, and freebies all about Cricut projects.
19) Sponsored posts
There are two types of sponsored posts. There are sponsored posts for social media. Then there are sponsored blog posts. I’ve been more successful with sponsored blog posts than sponsored social media posts.
In my experience, in order to get sponsored Instagram posts, you need a following of at least 1000. Even then it can be hard. But if you are lucky enough to have more than that then sponsored social media posts are for you.
There are tons of networks that you can sign up for in order to get access to these opportunities. Here are a few:
20) Social media manager
This means you create, schedule, and come up with social media strategies for entrepreneurs. Or you could be a social media coordinator.
A social media coordinator schedules content for entrepreneurs. But most entrepreneurs won’t hire just anyone.
You need to demonstrate that you know how to use social media professionally. Some may even want you to know about Facebook ads or Instagram ads. It depends on what the potential client or job wants.
You can work for companies or yourself. Working for yourself means starting your own social media management service/business.
If you want to learn more, I recommend checking out Alma Bradford. She helps women open up their own social media management agencies.
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Conclusion
I recommend that you try at least one of these creative side hustle ideas. You don’t have to do surveys or sell Avon to make extra money from home. Most of the ways I listed don’t require a monetary investment. They just require your time and effort. You can even start your own online business with any of these ideas.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.
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