10 Sides Hustles You Can Do To Make Money Online
Because of Africa’s comparatively lower level of socioeconomic development, residents in most of its countries have to contend with underemployment. While this is not to suggest that the continent lacks high-paying jobs, the reality for many working-class individuals in Africa is underemployment. Notably, the underemployment phenomenon does not spare even the highly educated.
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If you find yourself in this unfortunate situation, you can take advantage of the several income-earning opportunities the internet has to offer to earn more. Many men and women have jettisoned their regular nine-to-five jobs where they were struggling to make ends meet and transformed their online side hustles into lucrative full-time remote jobs.
This post offers a walk through to 10 side hustles you can do to make money online. Note that none of them is a quick fix. In contrast, all of them require consistent hard work, patience, and dedication if you wish to succeed.
10 Sides Hustles You Can Do To Make Money Online
There are may ways to earn money on the internet. Below are ten that you can explore to help support the income for your primary job.
Freelance Writing
Freelance writing offers a great opportunity to earn extra income remotely if you have the skills. This side hustle includes writing articles and blog posts, marketing copies, academic papers, PPT presentations, video scripts, ebooks, and more. All these are highly sought after by those looking to connect with their audiences. All you need to start freelance writing is language mastery, knowledge, research skills, a laptop, and internet access. Once all these requirements are in place, you are good to go.
Sign up with reputable freelancing websites or marketplaces like Freelancer, Fiverr, and Upwork, and start bidding for projects that match your skills. At that early stage, you should not prioritise earning big sums but instead landing gigs through which you can get positive client reviews to help boost your profile. Each new project you complete to a client’s satisfaction will likely yield a good review that raises your profile and your likelihood of getting more gigs and earning more money. It is important that you critically scrutinize the terms and conditions of any freelancing website you are partnering with.
Blogging
Blogging is a great online remote working opportunity through which you earn money to supplement your main income. It is similar to freelance writing, but in this case, you don’t need to sign up with a website but instead own and work to grow your own website.
To start, select a specific niche you are passionate and knowledgeable about, create quality content, build an audience, and then monetize your blog using platforms like Google AdSense or through direct advertising partnerships. As your website starts growing in terms of the number of visitors or traffic, you can create and market products such as software, tutorials, and ebooks, as well as allow sponsored posts, among other monetization options.
Virtual Assistance
Virtual assistants are multi-skilled time management experts who assist people with everyday tasks, from appointment setting to email management and travel scheduling. They are usually well-paid because of their versatility and multitasking abilities. Being a great virtual assistant requires advanced communication skills and mastery of communication and collaborative tools, which you will use to stay in constant touch with your clients who may be in different time zones.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is another way a website or blog owner can monetize their blog. It allows you to earn money online without creating your own products or services. All you need to do is find products and services from other businesses to sell and earn a commission on them. With just internet access, some background knowledge, and a product or service to promote, you can start affiliate marketing. As your status grows, a company or more can make you their brand ambassador and award you benefits such as earning passively per month and others.
Social Media Management
In Africa, social media is a growing trend that has turned into a rewarding side hustle for many, including influencers and celebrities. Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have millions of monthly users, making them attractive avenues for money-making. Many businesses are constantly seeking individuals to help manage and optimize their online presence, engage with their existing customers, and help attract new ones.
As a social media manager, your main responsibilities include creating relevant content and communicating with visitors to the page you are managing. Additionally, if you have a sizable followership, you can transform into an influencer by partnering with brands to assist them in promoting their offerings among your followers, earning commissions in the process.
E-commerce
E-commerce is one of Africa’s leading methods of making money online. It involves finding products to purchase and sell over the internet. As online shopping continues to grow, e-commerce is now an effective way to earn lucratively. In Nigeria, for example, you can take advantage of e-commerce mediums such as Konga and Jumia to create an online store for free to enable you compete for customers and market your products.
Online Coaching
If you have knowledge or skills you can share with others, then you may want to consider becoming an online coach or tutor. For example, if you are somebody passionate about formal education, you can start teaching students in your subject matter area. Apart from coaching them, you can also help them out in areas like university admissions documentation (such as SOPs, LORs, etc), assignments, term papers, PPT presentations, projects, thesis, and more.
Apart from formal school subjects, you can also teach people skills like graphic design, web development, photography, content creation, video editing, and many others.
To ensure a wider reach, you can leverage popular learning platforms such as Coursera and Udemy to upload your learning resources and earn income from them.
Cryptocurrency Trading
Cryptocurrency trading is thriving in African countries, notably Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya. You too can join the bandwagon and see if you can become a crypto millionaire like many others all over the world. Crypto trading does not require humongous capital to start. However, this area can be quite technical. Make sure you at least understand basic trading concepts and terminologies such as technical analysis, fundamental analysis, crypto wallets, bullish markets, bearish markets, and more. Another area to keep a close eye on is the ever-evolving cryptocurrency regulatory landscape, especially in the jurisdiction where you are trading. You can start trading with smaller amounts until you gradually build up your expertise.
CV And Resume Writing
In today's competitive job market, it's essential to make a strong impression on potential employers. Well-crafted CV and/or resume can help you do just that. This makes writing CVs and resumes a valuable side hustle. You can also offer cover letter writing to boost your income. To get started, all you need is a laptop, internet access, and knowledge. If everything goes well, you can expand into career counseling and consultancy services or even start aggregating jobs for your audience if your main job permits.
Event Planning
Event planning is a side hustle anyone with a high level of organizational skills and attention to detail will do successfully. There are so many events you can help plan, for example, birthdays, weddings, naming ceremonies, award presentations and more. In Africa, where socio-cultural and religious events and celebrations are a big part of life, being an event planner can be a profitable venture that brings in good income.
To get started, you can offer to plan events for those close to you, such as members of your family and friends, or seek an internship with a well-known planner in the industry. This experience will help improve your skills and establish your event planning reputation.
Conclusion
Since its modest beginnings many years ago, the internet has continuously matured and has now become a goldmine of opportunities. If you’ve been searching for a way to supplement the income you earn from your regular job, then any or a combination of the ten side hustles discussed above can be a good option. But remember that Rome was not built in a day. You have to work hard, be patient, and remain dedicated since the beginning may not be instantly rosy.