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In this post we’ll share our Top 5 side hustles to Boost Your Finances In 2022. Which one you choose should depend on how much time you have, your specific skill set and most importantly if you have the patience and determination to stick it out. No doubt you’ll have read that there are ways to earn a second income online with little or no effort. From experience, we can tell you that’s just not the case.
Our Top 5 Side Hustles
1. Start a Blog
Blogging has to be at the top of our list. In terms of earning potential, the sky really is the limit. That said, creating a successful blog can be both challenging and time consuming.
Over the longer term, blogging could turn out to be a life changing side hustle with endless ways to make money. Some blogs have training materials or sell physical products while other use their website to generate income from advertising and affiliate marketing.
How Easy Is It to Get Started?
If you’re interested in earning real money online, starting a website or blog really is a no-brainer. The great thing is that it’s much easier than it used to be, even if (like me) you’re not exactly a technical wizard. To get started all you need to do is buy a domain name e.g. www.beamoneypro.com and choose a hosting plan.
Hosting services such as Bluehost or GoDaddy store the pages of your website on their servers so they’re accessible to people browsing the internet. The amount of space needed to store your site and any related features make up your hosting plan. Basic hosting plans can be purchased for less than £5 per month.
Start your blogging journey right here….
I’d advise using a hosting plan which includes WordPress. This will allow you to quickly choose a theme and starter site to get you going and is very easy to customise as your Blog progresses over time.
After a good deal of trial and error we built this site using the Blocksy Theme which is packed full of useful features. There are both free versions and a paid PRO version available which will have you up and running in no time with a professional looking website.
How Long Does It Take to Start Earning Money?
This is where the hard work comes in. You’ll need to regularly write articles and blogs and publish them on your website. Next, you’ll need to learn how to ensure these articles to show up in Google search results and promote yourself on social media platforms such as Pinterest or Twitter to encourage people to visit your site.
This can be a pretty thankless task and in the first few months there is a lot to learn. Realistically it’s likely you’ll end up with little or no return in the first year or so. As I mentioned above if you stick at it and get through those first few hard months, you’ll see things gradually start to pick up. Just don’t expect too much too soon.
2. Create a YouTube Channel
A YouTube channel is another really great side hustle. Do you have a passion or hobby that you think would translate well into video? It can literally be anything you want it to be, from home decor to fitness and everything in between. How to guides and tutorials can be great if you have expertise in a specific area.
How Easy Is It to Get Started?
Starting your channel couldn’t be easier. All you need to do is sign in, click on your profile picture, and select “create a channel”. Follow the instructions and that’s it you’re done.
As with blogging, this is another slow burner so it will take time to record, edit and upload enough content to generate a decent audience. However, once you’ve built your channel, the income it generates is completely passive and will continue for as long as your videos are viewable. The beauty of YouTube is that you’re getting paid for talking about the things you love.
Once you start to generate some income you could invest in equipment such as lighting and video editing software if you think you need it, but to start with all you really need is a decent smartphone.
How Long Does It Take to Start Earning Money?
It can take a while to start making money from YouTube advertising. You’ll need a minimum of 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours of views in the last 12 months. This might seem a lot when you’re starting out but all it takes is one of your videos to go viral and you’re off.
The more videos you upload the more earning potential you have, however there are other ways to monetise your channel. These include affiliate marketing, sponsored content and brand deals or creating and selling your own products.
3. Affiliate Marketing
We’ve already touched on affiliate marketing above as a great way to earn money with a blog or YouTube Channel. Here we’ll explain what affiliate marketing is and how to get started.
What Exactly Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is where a company pays you to promote their product on your website, YouTube channel, blog or social media account in order to generate sales. The company then pays you a commission for the sales you have generated. Once you recognise them, you’ll find that specific affiliate marketing links are on just about every page you see on the internet.
How Easy Is It to Get Started?
Affiliate marketing can be easy to start, however you need to think about your strategy. Making money from affiliate marketing depends on two things – which products you choose to promote and the size of your audience.
To get started just sign up to an affiliate program such as Clickbank or Amazon Affiliates and choose the products and offers you want to promote. You’ll be given a unique link to that product to post on your chosen platform which will take your viewers directly to the product page. If that generates a sale, then you earn a commission.
How Long Does It Take to Start Earning Money?
If you’re just starting out and don’t have a ready-made audience then social media platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram can be a good place to build a following by posting interesting, targeted content in your chosen niche. These are perfectly good alternatives to building a website or YouTube channel if you want to generate income from affiliate marketing but just be patient and consistent.
If you already have a website, blog or YouTube channel which generates lots of traffic in a particular niche then all you need to do is select the correct products and promote them on your page. Because the products are tailored to your viewers specific interests there’s a good chance you’ll start earning straight away.
Finally another way to generate targeted traffic to your affiliate links is through paid ads. By paying a fee to Google you could have your page shown at the very top of the search results for a particular keyword. The more competitive the keyword the more you’ll pay. You just need to be sure that the traffic you’re paying for converts into sales, and any commissions you earn cover the cost of those ads.
4. Survey Sites
We’ve found a number of blog posts suggesting that survey sites are a quick and easy way to earn extra cash, however our research shows that many of these can be a complete waste of time. Many survey sites use clunky points systems and only pay out in vouchers, others have glitches which mean the page could time out after you’ve spent half an hour answering questions. Not great if you only end up earning a few pence for your efforts!
There are, however, a couple of exceptions. We’ve found two survey sites that we think are very much worth your time. If you’re in need of some fast cash and have some spare time on your hands these are a great way to give your finances a quick boost.
No1. People for Research
People for Research are recruit people to take part in consumer research studies both in person and remotely over the telephone or internet. They recruit members of public to carry out usability testing for apps and websites, bespoke user research studies and a host of other market research for their clients.
The surveys and studies can be relatively interesting and most importantly pay well, in cash, usually by bank transfer. You could expect to be paid as much as £70 to £80 for a 60-minute survey. Not bad at all.
Their studies and surveys can vary in terms of the subject matter or duration with some studies carried out over a number of days. You’re unlikely to be accepted for every study you apply for but even if you completed just one each month, that’s a significant addition to your household budget if things are tight.
No2. Prolific Academic
Prolific Academic is used by researchers who want to understand how people feel, think and behave. They collect behavioural, user and market data on a wide range of subjects including new products and services in order to gain public opinion.
Prolific Academic also pay out in cash and their rates vary depending on the type of study you choose to take part in. Again these can range from a few minutes to hours, to multi-part studies over longer periods. Rates are between £6 to £8 per hour and payments are usually made via your PayPal account. So what are you waiting for? Sign up in minutes and get cracking.
5. Matched Betting
What Exactly is Matched Betting?
Matched Betting is where you take advantage of the free introductory bets offered by bookmakers to make money by placing opposing bets. To be crystal clear this is not gambling. If you follow the steps correctly then you’re mathematically guaranteed to make a profit every single time.
How Easy Is It to Get Started?
It has to be said, the process can be a little difficult to get your head around at first but persevere and it’ll soon start to make more sense. There are lots of matched betting videos online to guide you through your first steps.
Alternatively, you should also consider signing up to a matched betting service such as Odds Monkey or Profit Accumulator. They have lots of tools, trackers and how to guides and they’ll help you calculate the most profitable bets. They also have free trials to get you started if you just want to dip your toe in the water. That said if you do choose to pay the small subscription, you’ll easily make it back in profits.
Is Matched Betting a Scam?
No it’s not. Matched betting wouldn’t have made it into our Top 5 Side Hustles if it was. It really is a genuine way to make some fast cash and beat the bookies at their own game. There are plenty of resources online which discuss the subject including national newspapers and the Money Saving Expert website.
How Much Can You Make from Matched Betting?
The amount you can make from matched betting depends on how much time you have and how much of your own money you can afford to start off with. We think £200 to £400 per month is realistic when you’re starting out, but it can be much, much more. The other bonus is that these earnings are completely tax free.
Conclusion
In this post we’ve shared what we think are the Top 5 Side Hustles to Boost Your Income in 2022. If you’re looking for some fast cash or you want to build something for the long term, figure out which one suits you best, have a go, and be sure to let us know how you get on.
As always, we welcome your feedback. If you found this article useful, please let us know. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact us and we’ll try our best to help.