Over the last few years, I've made all of my income from working online and with various digital side hustles. And let me tell you, I absolutely love the flexibility and freedom it brings.
However, for the last couple of years, I've tested out dozens of ways to make money online. Most of these ideas didn't work or didn't make nearly as much as I thought.
The truth is that there's tons of side hustles out there. But a lot of them aren't worth your time or take forever to actually make money.
So today, I'm covering some legit digital side hustles you can try out if you want to begin making money online.
I've personally tested all of these hustles or know people who have found success with them. If you want to make money with a laptop and work completely online, this is the post for you.
Let's get to it.
Table of Contents
The Best Digital Side Hustles
As mentioned, I've been earning money online with different digital side hustles for the last few years. In fact, digital marketing and working online is what let me quit my office job to travel the world.
There are so many ways you can make money on the Internet today. And as long as you play to your strengths and pick a legitimate side hustle idea, there's no reason you can't find success.
1. Freelance Writing
Freelance writing is one of my favorite digital side hustles because it's how I make a lot of my income these days. It's also what let me quit my office job to begin traveling the world, living like a digital nomad.
Brands and publications all need content to market their products and services. As a freelance writer, this means there's immense opportunities to make money if you become an authority in your niche.
For me, I became a freelance personal finance writer around 2018. My first writing gigs were all ghostwritten content that paid about $0.05 per word.
But as I gained experience and met more editors, I slowly increased my rates. Within a year, I was making about $5,000 a month from freelance writing and left my office job behind.
I also know dozens of other freelance writers making excellent money, all in various niches. And it's a flexible, fun job that also lets you be your own boss.
To get started, you can ask people in your network if they know of any writing leads. But looking for beginner jobs on Upwork, Fiverr, and various remote job sites is also an excellent starting point.
2. Blogging
Another one of my favorite digital side hustles is blogging. And, like freelance writing, blogging is another one of my main income streams.
I like this digital side hustle because the income potential is immense.
For example, I started This Online World in 2018. The site only made $1,700 in its first year. But with consistent effort and content, This Online World ended up making $272,000 in 2022.
Most of my blogging income comes from Mediavine advertisements and affiliate marketing. I also earn money with sponsorship deals once in a while.
Mediavine income alone is about $20,000 a month. And a lot of this is autopilot income at this point since posts I wrote years ago still get views and generate revenue.
Plus, I think blogging is a great digital side hustle because it's a low cost side hustle.
I mean, you can start blogging on WordPress for free to learn the ropes. When you're ready to invest a bit, you can find affordable domain names and hosting with companies like SiteGround.
Ultimately, blogging isn't quick money, and you need to put in the work and time to grow an audience.
However, blogging has been my most successful digital side hustle to date, and it's also incredibly rewarding to help other people.
3. Play Games For Money
Do you enjoy playing games on your mobile phone? If the answer is yes, one online side hustle you can try is to use apps that pay you for playing games.
There are actually tons of game apps that pay cash or free gift cards these days. All you have to do is download them and then play sponsored apps to earn rewards.
Several gaming reward apps I've tested and like include:
- Cash Giraffe: My favorite Android gaming app with a low $0.20 cash out minimum.
- Rewarded Play: This Android gaming app pays you with free gift cards for trying hundreds of different games.
- Mistplay: Another leading gaming rewards app with PayPal money and gift card rewards.
- Money Well: This app like Mistplay also lets you earn real cash or gift cards for gaming.
- JustPlay: Another Android gaming rewards app with no minimum cash out requirement.
My YouTube video also covers some more ideas you can try to make money playing video games.
Rewarded Play and Mistplay are my two favorites, but again, there are dozens of apps that all work similarly. And I've started using Cash Giraffe more recently and have found it's quick to cash out with.
Just note that this digital side hustle doesn't pay very much. It's passive income if you already spend time gaming anyways, but don't expect hundreds of dollars.
Also note that if you have an iPhone, you can read my post on the best iPhone games that pay for even more ideas!
4. Make Money On YouTube
Like blogging, another digital side hustle you can try if you want to build an audience is to start a YouTube channel.
Making money on YouTube is also something I've been doing for the last few years. I began my channel back in 2020, and since then, it's passed over 18,000 subscribers, which is pretty incredible to me.
I like YouTube since it's a pretty fun side hustle; you get to design thumbnails, edit videos, and come up with captivating scripts for your own content.
Plus, YouTube is a pretty nice passive income source. Even my small channel makes $50 a day or so in Google AdSense revenue, and even some of my old videos make money.
You don't need to spend a fortune to start this digital side hustle either. A simple smartphone, phone microphone, and tripod are all you need to get your channel off the ground.
5. Online Survey Taker
If you want to make money online as a beginner, one digital side hustle you can try is to answer surveys for money.
Paid survey sites and get-paid-to websites are actually one of the main ways I made money in college. In fact, I've earned thousands of dollars over the years with these sites and have tested dozens of them.
Several popular survey sites and apps you can use to make money include:
- Branded Surveys: One of my favorite survey platforms to earn free PayPal cash and gift cards.
- Swagbucks: This site pays you to answer surveys, download apps, shop online, watch ads, and more!
- Kashkick: Another survey and gaming website with PayPal money rewards.
- YouGov: Lets you share your opinion to get free gift cards and extra cash.
- InboxDollars: Another popular U.S. survey site with a $5 bonus when you sign up.
- Toluna: One more survey site that has gift card and PayPal cash prizes.
My YouTube video shares some other paid survey sites you can use if you really want to dive into this digital side hustle.
Again, like gaming apps, you won't get rich. Expect around $10 to $20 a day tops with these sites if you put in enough time.
However, you don't need any experience to get started. And this is an easy way to make some extra cash while watching TV or in your down time.
6. Print On Demand
If you have a knack for graphic design, one of the best digital side hustles you can try is print on demand selling, or POD.
With POD, you upload your designs to different products to then sell online. When you make a sale, your POD partner manufactures the product for you and ships it to your customer. They take a cut of the sale, and then the rest is your profit.
This business model is similar to dropshipping since you never touch or ship your own products. This also means you can spend time focusing on growing your store and coming up with new designs.
POD selling was actually a college side hustle of mine. I tried running an Etsy + Printify POD shop where I sold funny meme mugs to people.
The store actually got two sales, and I really like working with Printify since it has 100+ products you can upload designs to. And, its design tool is also super beginner-friendly.
But Etsy is just one option for selling your print on demand products. A lot of people I know prefer selling through ecommerce platforms like Shopify or Sellfy, both of which support popular POD integrations.
You still need unique and eye-catching designs for this to work. But I think it's an excellent digital side hustle if you're creative and enjoy designing new products.
7. Online Tutoring
Did you ace any of your high school or college classes? If so, another popular digital side hustle is to become an online tutor.
Parents are willing to pay for tutors to help their children succeed. And even older students often pay for private tutoring or test preparation help to do well in college.
There are also plenty of ways to start. For example, online tutoring gigs like BookNook pay U.S. tutors around $15 to $22 per hour to tutor students in math and English. And you can work on your own schedule, so it's flexible.
If you prefer teaching ESL students, you can also apply to companies like Qkids or VIPKid to teach English.
These tutoring gigs require having a degree in many cases, so keep this in mind. But hourly pay is high, and the work is also rewarding.
8. Make Money With Freelancing
Personally, I make most of my income through freelance writing. But writing is just one of many skills you can sell online for your digital side hustle.
In fact, plenty of other industries and online jobs are quite lucrative for freelancing. Some popular examples include:
- Accounting and bookkeeping
- Email marketing specialist
- Graphic designer
- Paid advertising specialist (I did this for years)
- SEO expert
- Social media manager
- Transcriptionist
- Web designer
- Video editor
All of these gigs can easily pay $25 to $50+ per hour depending on your experience level. And with a handful of clients, it's possible to make full-time income just from freelancing.
I actually did this during and after school with paid advertising and SEO consulting. Making $3,000 a month or more was very manageable, even while finishing school and holding down a day job.
9. Start An Ecommerce Store
I already mentioned print on demand selling, but starting a general ecommerce business is another digital side hustle you can try.
People do this all the time by selling physical or digital products on their own Shopify store. But you could also explore other ideas, like dropshipping, Amazon FBA, or online reselling.
I made a video that outlines some of my favorite online business ideas you can watch if you want a bit of inspiration to get started.
I know a few people who resell clothing and shoes online. And they're able to make a few hundred dollars a month with this type of flipping side hustle.
But all you really need is a product idea, dedication, and marketing. It takes time to grow and scale an ecommerce side business, but it's certainly one digital side hustle with immense income potential.
10. Sell eBooks & Courses
Do you have an audience or following on social media? If you do, another online side hustle idea you can try is to sell eBooks and courses.
I know plenty of bloggers who do this in several niches. And some of them make six figures just by selling printables, eBooks, and niche courses to their followers.
And even if you don't have an existing following, you still have options for selling courses or eBooks online.
For example, you can write eBooks and publish them on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. This is a low-cost way to get into the eBook market, and you gain access to Amazon's massive marketplace of readers.
Creating and selling courses on online education platforms like Udemy is also an option. This lets you get paid for your advice, and you don't have any startup costs whatsoever.
11. Virtual Assistant
If you're great at organizing and have a high level of attention to detail, becoming a virtual assistant, or VA, is another digital side hustle you can try.
Virtual assistants, or VAs, help business owners manage day-to-day operations and administrative tasks. Some of their common roles include:
- Answering emails
- Scheduling meetings
- Planning trips and booking flights and hotels
- Social media posting
- Various marketing tasks
According to Indeed, virtual assistants earn about $1,000 a week. But I know of VAs who earn more or even start their own business and hire several VAs to work under them.
Overall, it's an excellent online job for beginners. And a few clients are all you need to make decent money each month.
My post on the best side gigs that pay weekly has even more ideas you can check out!
12. Write On Medium
Medium.com is a free blogging platform where you can write stories and articles under your own author profile. And if you want to make money with writing without starting a blog, it's the perfect digital side hustle.
I've been writing on Medium since 2019, and even though I stopped to focus on This Online World, it was a nice source of extra income.
In fact, I made over $1,000 a year just by republishing a few stories from this blog on Medium. But the top Medium writers have tens of thousands of followers and can easily make six figures.
Making money on Medium is also easy. Once you sign up, you get paid whenever paying Medium members read your content.
It's basically a pay-per-view kind of system, so the more readers you have, the more you earn. This means a viral post can earn hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Plus, you don't have to worry about the technical side of running your own blog by using sites like Medium.
13. Sell Artwork
If you're an artist, one natural digital side hustle you can try is to simply sell your artwork online.
Once again, I think print on demand is a pretty obvious choice here. POD lets you sell things like prints, canvas artwork, digital stickers, and digital artwork to your fans at scale.
And the best part is that there are plenty of POD marketplaces where artists can upload designs.
For example, a few artists I know make money on Redbubble, which is one of the largest POD marketplaces out there. They sell t-shirts, buttons, stickers, and prints with their unique designs.
There are also tons of sites like Redbubble, like Zazzle or Society6, where you can sell.
Selling custom prints or pieces is also an option, and you don't have to use print on demand. However, I like print on demand for digital side hustles since it's a nice passive income side hustle.
14. Start A Podcast
Like blogging or YouTube, making money with podcasting is another online side business you can consider.
Podcasts have been all the rage for the last few years. And while it's difficult to grow an audience and monetize, if you can capture regular listeners, it's very lucrative.
Podcast hosts generally make money through sponsorships or selling their own products. But sponsors tend to pay a lot since the value-per-listener is quite high.
This video from YouTuber Shelby Church shares insights on how much a podcast with 50,000 downloads makes for an example.
But even a smaller podcast with a niche focus can land small sponsors that pay a few hundred or thousand dollars.
Extra Reading – Podcast vs Blogging – Which One Is Best?
15. Website Testing Gigs
One last digital side hustle you can try is to make money by testing apps and websites.
Plenty of microtask sites pay website testers for trying new apps and sites and then sharing their feedback. You generally earn $10 to $15 per test, and tests take around 20 minutes.
Several legit website testing gigs you can apply to include:
- PlaytestCloud (for mobile games)
- UserTesting
- TestingTime
- TryMyUI
- Userlytics
Again, these gigs only pay around $10 to $15 per test. And tests are given on a first-come, first-serve basis, so getting consistent work isn't easy.
However, you can realistically earn an extra $50 to $200 a month if you get enough tests. And the work is easy and doesn't require any experience.
If you want some similar micro jobs, you can check out companies like Appen and Clickworker as well.
Tips For Starting A Digital Side Hustle
Now that you know some of my favorite digital side hustles, here are some tips you can use to increase your odds of finding success:
- Set An Income Goal: If you set a goal, you accomplish it. So, decide how much you want to earn with your digital side hustle and pick one or more ideas that has that income potential.
- Play To Your Own Strengths: I stick with blogging, writing, and YouTube since these cater to my skills and interests. Think about what you excel at, and pick digital side hustles that play to these strengths.
- Stay Consistent: It took me over four years to make full-time income with blogging. And it took me a year before finding traction with writing. Consistency is key for making money online, so don't give up!
I also made a video outlining some of the most common mistakes people make when trying to start a digital side hustle. Hopefully, watching this one can give you a decent idea of how to make money online without running into any problems I had when starting out.
Extra Reading – How To Make $100 A Day Guaranteed.
Final Thoughts
I hope this list of the best digital side hustles helps you make money online and start a successful side gig.
Again, consistency really is the key here. It doesn't matter if it's blogging, freelancing, or starting an online business; you need to stick with it and trust the process to find success.
However, if there's one thing that I've learned, it's that online side hustles have immense potential. Making $10,000 a month or more is very realistic with many ideas. But you need to put in the work and have patience.
Thanks for reading, and best of luck!
Looking for more money-making ideas? Checkout:
- The Best Apps That Pay You Real Money Instantly.
- The Best Work From Home Jobs That Provide Equipment.
Tom is a full-time blogger and freelance writer with a passion for side hustling, passive income, and the gig economy. His work has appeared on dozens of personal finance websites like Money Crashers, The College Investor, Investor Junkie, and more. This Online World is all about providing people with honest ways to make and save more money by using technology. To learn more about Tom, read his About Page!
If you're interested in freelance writing services or want to partner with This Online World, please use our contact page to get in touch!
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