Having an extra income for some individuals can be life-changing. As bills flood in, and surviving becomes even harder to afford, starting a side hustle idea can make all the difference in the world.
But the thing is, it has the potential to also replace your full-time income and when that happens you will be thankful that you even started in the first place and stuck to it through its ups and downs.
Once you reach the $5000 a month mark, you’ll know that you can scale it up even more, however, the very first thing you have to do is to find a side hustle idea that has the capability to earn this much.
This article listed 11 of these side hustle ideas that not only can supplement your income but completely replace it and more.
The Best Side Hustle Ideas That Can Make You $5,000+ Monthly
1. Publish Articles Online and Earn Through Display Ads
Potential Monthly Income: $100 – $10,000+
Publishing articles online through different channels like your own website or other social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Medium, and Twitter, can help you earn and replace your full-time income.
There are a lot of methods to monetize the content you publish but one of the most passive ways is through displaying ads especially if the platform is your own site.
However, the amount you can earn will depend on two factors, and that is your monthly pageviews and ad network. There are several ways of figuring out how much you can earn, but the simple equation is more traffic means more earnings.
Now, in terms of ad networks, most beginners will choose Google Adsense and just stick with it for years, not knowing that Mediavine and Raptive exist.
Those two premium ad networks will double or even triple your earnings as long as you qualify on their requirements such as having 50k a month sessions for Mediavine and 100k a month page views for Raptive.
This is a good side hustle idea because you can do it whenever and wherever you want, but keep in mind that the result will also depend entirely on the time and effort you put in.
2. Publish Review Posts and Earn Through Affiliate Marketing
Potential Monthly Income: $100 – $20,000+
Publishing review posts is kind of similar to publishing articles online, but the main difference is it involves a specific product or service, with the author talking about their experience and opinion about it.
It is one of the most lucrative side hustle ideas that can even be a strong foundation of a whole business operation. This side hustle has also created countless millionaires in recent years because of its low entry point.
This is how it basically works, marketers partner with established brands and promote their product or service in exchange for a commission for every sale. Some big companies even offer a monthly recurring commission for each sale if the product or service itself is a subscription type of sale.
Examples include VPNs and Website Hosting Providers. If you search it up on Google, you will see that the result is dominated by large websites that you can never hope to out-rank.
However, there are many ways to get traffic to your review post and earn some of these affiliate commissions such as the different social media platforms.
This idea might need several trials and errors as you gain more experience in finding the right product or service to promote and the best brands to work with. Just don’t give up early as it will take some time, but the rewards are worth your patience and hard work.
Related: 10 Best Business Ideas For Introverts To Start Today
3. Pinterest Virtual Assistant
Potential Monthly Income: $500 – $5,000+
Creating a Pinterest pin is relatively easy, but designing thousands of them is not. Being a Pinterest virtual assistant can be a good side hustle idea if you already know how to use it to drive traffic to a site, or you are really creative in designing a pin.
It is a straightforward way of earning, you can sign up on some of the freelancing platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork and advertise your service there. You can also contact Pinterest accounts directly and message them professionally if they need some help in their Pinterest strategy.
The amount of income you can earn from this side hustle will totally depend on how many clients can you find and how many can you actually handle without reducing the quality of work you have promised them.
4. Freelance Writing
Potential Monthly Income: $500 – $10,000+
Freelance writing is also one of the side hustle ideas that will be recommended by almost everyone. It is because it involves minimal interactions with people, and can be fitted to your own time and schedule.
The hardest part is finding clients because of how saturated the market can be. The best way to stand out is to choose an industry and be an expert in it. Focus your writing on that specific niche and create a portfolio centered around it.
Then do not limit the ways to find a client to only select platforms, you can leverage Facebook groups and even directly message blog owners and large publishing companies if you think your writing is that good.
Even in the age of AI, human-written content will still be the best for brands and business owners so freelance writing will still have a future and large demand.
5. Create a Digital Course to Sell
Potential Monthly Income: $1,000 – $50,000+
Out of all the ideas on this list, selling a digital course will be the most lucrative where some individuals can even earn upwards of $50,000. There are many reasons for this but the main factor is the ability to set your own pricing.
Anyone can just sell a thousand-dollar course but ultimately your customers will decide if it was worth it. A single review from an unsatisfied buyer will crash your sales whether you like it or not, but the opposite could happen too if it is positive.
So, the hard part is creating the actual course that will provide actual value based on your expertise and knowledge through experience or education. With all the online channels we have today, marketing should be manageable.
Although, the actual course is the most important part of this side hustle idea, creating a brand around it will be the difference in your earning potential.
6. Photography and Videography Services
Potential Monthly Income: $1,000 – $10,000+
The online world is slowly moving towards more visual content, as you can see from the rise of popularity of video content platforms such as TikTok and YouTube and even influencing other social media apps to incorporate the same features.
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even Pinterest have all evolved to add video and visual content to their apps. That is why it is more profitable than ever to start a photography or videography service for brands.
If you also have some skills in editing these raw photographs or videos then it will be a lot easier to find clients. The key is to create a portfolio of your sample works. You can do this by creating a TikTok or YouTube account yourself and using them as proof of your skills.
7. Dropshipping
Potential Monthly Income: $200 – $20,000+
Dropshipping has been around for several years now and a lot more people know about how profitable it can be. This has caused it to have massive competition.
However, there are still some untapped niches and industries that you can start a dropshipping business around and still be at the top of the game. Also, once you have gathered enough experience you will know how to find the gaps in the market and create a money-making online brand about it.
For someone who does not know what dropshipping is, it is a business model that allows someone to sell a product that they do not own. They will also not handle any inventory or even shipping. Its very nature is the reason why there are a lot of entrepreneurs drawn to it.
8. Become a Bookkeeper
Potential Monthly Income: $1,000 – $6,000+
If you are already working in the finance or business industry, bookkeeping might be a suitable side hustle for you. Since the job requires some knowledge of how financial concepts work in the business world.
This side hustle only requires you to find one client, since many will probably consume a lot of your time, making it a full-time job instead of a side hustle. The key is to focus on the best client or company you can find to work with.
Also, you have to account that in some countries they will require you to pass some sort of exam and earn a license to be a bookkeeper. As mentioned in the beginning, this side hustle will only be worth it for individuals who already have a background in the industry.
9. Facebook Ad Manager
Potential Monthly Income: $1,000 – $10,000+
Facebook has gathered a huge amount of users during its rise, and this number just keeps on increasing every year. This is why knowing how to successfully manage an ads campaign on the platform is in demand.
Your ability to have a good return on investments or ROI for companies will help you earn more in this side hustle. If they are paying you $1000 a month and gives you a budget of $5000 for a campaign, then you better bring in more than those amount combined.
But just like any business model, once more people recognize its profitability then it will quickly become a battleground for big companies and small business owners.
However, nowadays you will need a large budget to see a good return on money too, that’s why brands invest a lot in their ad campaigns and ad managers.
10. Print on Demand T-Shirts
Potential Monthly Income: $100 – $10,000+
Print of Demand T-shirts is a good side hustle idea, as it will not require a huge amount of your time. If you know how to design a good t-shirt then your earning will now just depend on your marketing efforts.
The best way is also to create a brand around it. Find models and take good quality images because more customers are inclined to buy clothing that they think looks good on others.
One of the best marketing strategies for this side hustle is influencer marketing. Finding a good influencer that aligns with your brand vision can be hard, but once you find one, it will make all the difference in how much you can earn.
To get started you just need to create a website where you can showcase your designs and their different sizes. You can do this through Shopify or WooCommerce, they will handle most of the work and transactions for you, and just as I said earlier, your marketing efforts will decide its profitability.
11. Making Videos on YouTube
Potential Monthly Income: $100 – $20,000+
Building wealth through YouTube is no longer a secret, everyone knows that it has created countless millionaires and has started large brands and companies that are some of the most popular now. It has also resulted in the rise of influencers and celebrities.
As glamorous as it is, some individuals might just want to do it to earn some extra income, or they don’t want to expose their identity online. That’s the good thing about the platform, you can create videos anonymously and still earn some income with it.
Your ability to connect with your audience and create high-quality videos that they will find interesting whether it is educational or for entertainment will be the key. The important part is to create a community of followers that will support you and your videos since its income potential is also dependent on the number of viewers you can generate.
Final Thoughts
These are only 11 of the side hustle ideas that can generate more than $5,000 monthly, there will be a lot more if you just continue searching for it. But, these are all proven and have been around for some time now. They are some of the safest ways that you know you can earn at least that much.
However, instead of settling with them just being a supplementary income generator, I would suggest making them a full-side business that you can scale and grow over time. You never know, in 5 years it might evolve to be a company, a brand, or an asset that you can sell for millions.
As a professional web and software developer, the author possesses a strong foundational background in Computer Science. This equips him with both academic rigor and practical insights into the world of web-based entrepreneurship. As the founder of this platform, webpreneurships.com, he stands at the intersection of technology and business.