If you’re curious about how to make an extra $1,000 a month, you’re not alone. Did you know over 44 million Americans have a side hustle? And, according to this survey, nearly 1 in 3 side hustlers need their side hustle income to stay afloat.
People are always looking for ways to make more, and making extra money every month is definitely within reach.
Side hustles can change your life. We are so excited to share these awesome ideas to make extra money every month.
Here’s what you can expect to take away from this:
- Starting a side hustle is possible, but it can be hard (and sometimes require upfront capital)
- It may require multiple side hustles to reach $1,000 a month
- Specialized skills and background may not be required
7 Ways to Make Extra Money This Month
Here are 7 ways to make an extra $1,000 a month.
1. Start a Blog
Blogging is a cool side hustle that lets you share your knowledge, interest, and passion for a topic with an audience.
You can blog about literally anything under the sun, from travel to homeschooling, vegan cooking, and more.
How To Get Started?
Starting a blog is easier than you might think.
Here’s the full process for starting a blog.
How Much Does It Cost to Run A Blog?
You can run your blog for around $5/month or less.
Your costs will include:
- Hosting
- Domain
If you pick our recommended hosting service, BlueHost, your domain cost will be included in the price and you can get hosting rates as low as $3.95/month.
So, while a modest investment is required for blogging, you can see that running a blog is very affordable.
Although there can be additional costs like an email marketing software system, automation software, and other paid tools, they are completely optional and not required to make money blogging.
How Much Money Will You Make Blogging?
The amount of money you will make will vary.
Some new bloggers start making $2,000/month in the first few months, while others only make a few bucks, years into their blogging journey.
There are certain things you can do to improve your chances of making the most money possible:
- Be consistent: Blog on a schedule, whether it’s twice a week or twice a month. Keep in mind, the more content you have on your blog the better, because when a reader lands on your blog, you want them to stay as long as possible and become a return visitor. You increase the chances of that happening if you have more content available for them to consume. A more aggressive blogging content strategy in the beginning, may be helpful to help you get content on your blog quickly.
- Aim to solve your reader’s problem: Your goal should be to provide value and help your reader with their problems, whether it’s saving time cooking weeknight dinners or successfully travel hacking a free family vacation.
- Pick a profitable blog niche: Not all blogging niches are created equally. Choose a profitable blog niche that you can make money with.
- Monetize your blog: This is critically important. To make money blogging, your blog must be monetized in some way (affiliate marketing, ads, sponsorships, etc.).
- Start an email list: Don’t skip this. You can get ConvertKit for free (for the first 1,000 subscribers) and start growing your email list. An email list will help improve your traffic and earnings.
Can You Blog Full-Time?
Yes, you can blog full-time but, will you make a full-time income? Maybe, maybe not.
If your goal is to make a full-time income, can you do it? Yes.
Is it difficult? Yes.
The key to making the most money with your blog is traffic. A blog receiving 100,000 monthly visitors will likely make more than a blog getting 1,000 monthly visitors.
Many argue that you should create content 20% of the time and promote 80% of the time. Because if you have amazing content but nobody gets to view it, what’s the point, right?
Check out these 17 free blogging courses to blow up your blog!
Pros:
- Unlimited income potential
- Flexible schedule
- Independent work
- Be your own boss
Cons:
- Unstable income
- Slow growth for some
- Writing-intensive work
2. Freelance Writing
For writing lovers, you can make an extra $1,000 a month or more as a freelance writer. Among many other opportunities, you can find various writing assignments like:
- White papers
- Blog posts
- Magazine articles
- Ebook writing
A lot can go into the writing process so if you’re looking for a challenging side hustle that will allow you to work in solitude, writing is for you.
You will be researching, outlining, creating multiple drafts, and, putting together a polished final draft of your work for your client.
Who Will Be Your Writing Clients?
You can write for many different clients, from bloggers to magazine publishers, small businesses, e-commerce stores, and more.
You can find work online through networking in forums, social media, and industry groups. You can also apply for work on writing sites like ProBlogger Job Board, Media Bistro, and Freelance Writing Gigs.
How Much Can You Make?
The amount you can make as a freelance writer will vary based on the amount of work you bring in.
New writers can command $.02 to $.05 per word, which means that a 1,000-word blog post could run $20 to $50.
At this rate, writing 10 pieces per month could make you $200 to $500 per month.
This falls short of the $1,000/month goal we’ve been talking about but consider that this is just one client. Most writers have multiple clients they work for, so multiply this income by 4 clients, for example, and your income changes to $800 to $2,000 per month!
Experienced writers or niche writers can earn $.10 to $3.00+ per word.
If you’re new to writing but experienced in a specific niche, cater to that niche only to make more money.
Pros:
- Independent work
- High-income potential
Cons:
- Deadline-driven environment
- Unstable income
- Report to your client, the boss
3. E-commerce Store
You can start an e-commerce store and make $1,000 or more per month in your own business.
How to Get Started?
You’ll follow a 4-step process for starting your e-commerce store:
- Pick a niche
- Find a supplier
- Build your store
- Launch your site
First, figure out what you’ll sell. This is when you come up with your niche.
Will you sell pet supplies, kid’s clothing, equipment for cars, etc.?
Make this decision and then move on to researching how to source your inventory or supply.
Finding your supplier can take little time or it can be a drawn-out process. It depends on what you’ll be selling and how difficult it is to source your goods.
Take your time here. You will probably only need to go through this process once so make sure you do your due diligence. Talk to suppliers and wholesalers, get samples, and fuel your warehouse with inventory.
Then, it’s time to build your store. We recommend using Shopify to build your e-commerce platform. This multifaceted website builder makes the process super easy.
You can customize your store any way you want with endless colors and fonts, free or paid themes, and any number of pages. Then, just add your products.
Shopify gives you access to their library of experts, called Shopify experts, to help you navigate everything from customer service, to order fulfillment, marketing, and more.
Each step you take in building our store gets you closer to your launch and introducing your e-commerce business to the public.
What’s the Easiest Ecommerce Business to Start?
This can be controversial because what’s easy for some may be difficult for others.
With that said, here are some ideas to get you started:
- Digital services: Accounting, bookkeeping, auditing, writing, graphic design, photography, etc.
- Home decor: Including decor for home, office, car, etc.
- Seasonal: Products for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Holiday, etc.
- Apparel/footwear: For women, men, and kids.
How Much Does it Cost to Start an Ecommerce Business?
To get started with a website builder, like Shopify, you can start with $29/month plus the cost of domain (around $20).
Another reason why Shopify is so awesome is that they offer a free 14-day trial. You get 2 weeks to test the platform and see if it works for you.
Aside from your website and hosting costs, you have the cost of inventory to consider, along with other potential costs like:
- Warehouse fees (rent, utilities, etc.)
- Office space
- Paid marketing
- Paying employees or assistants
You can bootstrap a lot of these costs, too.
Or, if your budget is limited, you can consider dropshipping.
What is Dropshipping?
Dropshipping is a business model in which you carry no inventory. When a customer orders from your store, you will place the order with your supplier and the supplier will direct-ship to the customer.
This saves you a lot of money on holding inventory, which can start at $1,000+ for supply.
For more on dropshipping, read Shopify’s ultimate guide to dropshipping.
Is Ecommerce Profitable?
Yes!
Ecommerce is profitable and the media is calling it the future for a lot of markets.
If you’ve got a product to sell, don’t be afraid to dive into e-commerce. It’s a great source of additional income, with full-time earning potential.
Pros
- Unlimited income potential
- Flexible schedule
- Be your own boss
- Work independently or on a team
Cons
- Capital required to start
- Unstable income
4. Drive for Uber or Lyft
If you have access to a vehicle, consider driving for Uber or Lyft.
There are a ton of perks that come with working as a driver, including:
- The ability to set your own schedule
- The comfort of working from your car
- Casual dress
- Weekly pay
This is a great gig for introverts since you won’t have to work with a lot of people at once, and it’s generally pretty independent work.
How Much Do Drivers Make?
Your pay is broken down in a few different ways. With Uber, you have the base fare and then there’s a trip supplement, possible promotions, and tips.
To learn more about how the pay is broken down and potential earnings in your area, click here to read more about how Uber’s earnings work.
You can also check out this article about how a Minnesota Uber driver makes about $500 in a 30-hour week.
What are the Driver and Vehicle Requirements?
Check the Uber and Lyft website for more on the requirements to drive for each company.
Pros
- Work from your car
- Independent work
- Create your own schedule
Cons
- A vehicle is required, and you’ll have to pay for any wear and tear
- Must pass driver requirements to work
- Heavily performance-driven (if your rating falls below their threshold, you could lose your job)
5. Delivering Food and Goods
Another side hustle opportunity that involves driving your car is delivering food and goods to customers.
You can work as a delivery food and groceries for companies like Doordash, Uber Eats, GrubHub, or Postmates.
How to Get Started?
First, sign up to be a delivery driver with your company of choice.
Once you’re accepted as an independent contractor, you’ll go through the onboarding process and start deliveries.
This is a flexible gig that allows you to work when you want. That means if you’re looking for a weekend-only job, this will be a great fit. And some of these jobs have the potential to earn up to $27 per hour!
You can also deliver groceries, through companies like Instacart or Shipt. It’s been rumored that seasonal pay as a grocery delivery driver can lead up to $200/day just in tips!
These jobs are very in-demand so if this sounds interesting, jump on this opportunity before it’s gone.
Pros
- Work from your car
- Casual dress
- Pick your own schedule
- Be your own boss
Cons
- On-demand work with unstable income
- A vehicle or bike is required
- Ratings can impact your work
- On your feet all day
6. Voiceover Artist
As a voiceover artist, you’ll get paid to lend your voice for projects like audiobooks and more.
Where to Find Voiceover Jobs?
How Much Can Voiceover Artists Make?
It’s not unusual to make a full-time income as a voiceover artist. Gigs can pay up to $500-$4,000 per project!
This is a bustling industry. If you’re interested in breaking into it, you’ll find tons of communities around voiceover on social media, Facebook groups, etc. This will give you some behind-the-scenes tips and support for landing your first gig!
Pros
- High-income potential
- Flexible schedule
- Work from home
Cons
- Unstable income
- Competitive industry
- Can be difficult to break into
7. Selling Your Stuff
Selling stuff around the house is one of the easiest ways to make $1,000 fast.
You start by rummaging through your home, piling up things that you no longer use (or never used) and want to sell, like clothes, power tools, home decor, small appliances, and more.
Next, sell your stuff.
You can sell in places like:
- LetGo
- Offer Up
- Mercari
- Poshmark
- eBay
- Amazon
- Facebook Marketplace
- Craigslist
- Local buy, sell, swap groups
How Much Can You Make Selling Your Stuff?
It depends on the value of your stuff and how much of it you have to sell.
Is it possible to make $1,000 or more?
Yes, definitely.
What Happens Next Month?
What happens when you run out of stuff to sell? This is where flipping comes into play!
What is Flipping?
Flipping is where you buy or find goods at a low price and sell them for a high price, keeping the difference as your profit.
For example, you could find a vintage t-shirt at a flea market for $2 and resell it on eBay for $25, making a $23 profit (before fees).
Starting by selling things around the house can easily transition to flipping stuff for profit.
When it comes to flipping, you can source stuff all around you! That means when you’re wandering in Walmart and see an Instant Pot on sale for $20, you can scoop it up and resell later for it’s regular price of $65!
Or maybe you love to thrift? Our friends Rob and Melissa are flipping geniuses (pun intended)! They turned their part time flipping hobby into a full-time business, which earned them over $133,000 dollars last year! They even created a course to help others start their own flipping side hustle.
What are Products That Can Be Flipped?
You can flip digital goods and physical goods. Almost anything you buy can be flipped for a profit. Here are some examples:
- Websites
- Houses
- Cars
- Home goods
- Antiques or vintage goods
- Appliances
Pros
- Get paid quickly following a sale
- Easy to get started
- Minimal to no startup budget required
- Ability to scale for full-time income potential
Cons
- Unstable income
- Time-intensive
- Selling a high volume of products may be needed to make a decent income
- Repairs or improvements (DIY) may be required before reselling
Final Thoughts on How to Make An Extra $1,000 A Month
It’s easier than ever to bank an extra $1,000 per month. You can see the opportunities above are diverse and hopefully one of the seven options shared sounds appealing to you.
For more ideas to make money, check out these resources:
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