We have alllllot of extra time on our hands lately, and like us,
you’ve probably been wondering what to do with it all. When it comes to learning a new language or
instrument… well, check back in a few months, and I might be able to give you some tips. But
when it comes to rocking a new side hustle, we’ve got you covered.
We’ve compiled 7 website ideas that have the biggest potential to earn you a side income.
First off is affiliate marketing, or promotion on steroids as we like to call it.
As an affiliate, every time you promote a brand’s products or services, you could earn a commission.
Affiliate marketing works best when your website has a HUGE following
and the results just grow exponentially when you partner with an affiliate network.
Just check out Riley Adams who promoted the company PocketSmith in a blog post on the
Young And The Invested, which is a finance website with over 9,000 monthly visitors.
Whenever a reader signs up for the financial app, he earns 20-30% in commissions.
Obviously running an affiliate website or any website really is A TON of work. But
the cool thing is that if you ever find yourself burned out or wanting to free up your time for
another passion project, you can just sell it on a website broker marketplace. And here’s a pro tip:
do a quick scroll on Empire Flippers to see all the affiliate websites that are in demand.
Like I said, people are making the most of their extra downtime and diving back into
old hobbies or picking up new skills. So our #2 is Online Learning. Udemy alone has seen a 425%
increase in its online course enrollments. You could get a slice of that educational
pie by setting up an online membership site. Make it a one-stop destination for members
to ask questions and build meaningful relationships with like-minded people--
Traffic Think Tank is a great example of this. You could also create an online teaching
marketplace and partner with people at the top of their field to create bite-sized courses.
But if you’re just looking to create great courses, consider using an online course
platform like Teachable or Thinkific. If you’re working on a small budget,
just start with a simple website to promote your online course. Then create a Facebook group and
upload your course content directly there. Just make sure your group is set to private,
so non-members won’t be able to access them.
But what if you have a different skill that you can offer to businesses to make them more money?
Well that’s where our Website Idea #3 comes in: freelancing.
But what kind of freelancing business should you start? You could start as a virtual assistant,
or if you write well and possess the marketing know-how, maybe you want to work as a content
writer. If you’re reallllllly slick with words you could start a new business as an editor.
Just check out Autumn Tompkins, who launched The Grumpy Grammarian to offer editing services,
as well as a three-month apprenticeship to help writers become exceptional copyeditors.
The more you work, the more you’ll want to think about building your community. Once you’ve built
an audience, you could even consider selling products to earn some more passive income.
Best of all, you can establish yourself as an authority in your industry. If you want
more tips on how to navigate all the work it takes to become a successful freelancer, be
sure to check out the video right here.
Almost 40 million Americans lost their jobs this year,
but here’s where you can help with our fourth idea: launch a job board to help people take
back control of their lives. Whichever industry or niche your job board focuses on, offer value-added
perks to your users — this means for all users of your website aka the employers and job seekers.
But how do you make money off a job board besides charging for job postings? Well,
there are plenttttty of ways. The first is through affiliate marketing. Take a look at how Hey
Marketers promotes marketing-focused products and services on the sidebar of its website:
Second, you can drive targeted traffic to your other businesses.
Hey Marketers does this by linking paid marketing courses in the top navigation menu,
so don’t be shy about cross-promoting your other websites in your job board.
Just make sure these websites are relevant and useful to your target audience -- and maybe
don’t promote your tuxedos-for-babies business on your job board website.
Ready to dip your toes into the world of eCommerce? Here’s #5: Dropshipping. With
dropshipping, you can sell without going through the pains of packing and shipping to customers.
This saves huge chunks of time, because you’re able to test and see which types
of products could bring you the biggest sales. But what should you sell? Try to focus on products
that are growing due to the recent pandemic. For instance, sell work desks and executive chairs,
or maybe board games and jigsaw puzzles. Indoor activities and games are in suuuuper hot demand
right now. This also means that tons of people are worried about becoming couch potatoes,
so you could also sell fitness equipment to beat the home workout blues. Figure out your niche
and be sure to check out our helpful guides on the Sumo blog, linked in the description below.
Number Six: start a Fan Club. It’s no secret that my nickname is Snack Bauer,
because I’m obsessed with the hit TV show of the 2000s, 24. So if you create that fan club,
I will be on that website every day. One-stop digital communities for fans to share outrageous
theories and thrilling episodes are a great place to earn extra income. Just use Watchers
on the Wall, the Game of Thrones / A Song of Ice and Fire fanclub website, as your northstar.
You can use affiliate ads or even encourage fans
to support your website monthly with PayPal’s donate button or Patreon,
so that you could use your earnings to create custom merch and organize events for supporters.
And finally our number seven. Tools like calculators and quizzes make
effective interactive content that generates conversions up to 70%.
They are also great ways to drive targeted traffic to your website.
Take “How Much To Make An App” for example, a tool built by a digital product studio called Z1.
It calculates how much it costs to make an app based on specific needs.
To the untrained eye, “How Much To Make An App” looks like a boring, unoriginal name.
But to the marketer, it adds value by solving a pain point in a sleek way. It attracts visitors
because searchers are encouraged to share their results on social media. It increases visibility
because the backlink to Z1’s website is at the bottom, increasing its ranking position on search
engines. And lastly and most importantly, it acquires leads, because searchers move from the
problem-aware-stage to the solution-aware-stage immediately after interacting with the tool.
And that wraps up our 7 website ideas to create profitable side hustles! Go
and build your website! In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for
more tips and tricks on improving your side hustles, and when you’re ready to level up,
browse the AppSumo’s directory for tools to streamline your process.