According to TheStreet.com, more than a quarter of people age 18 to 26 have a side hustle, another way of making money in addition to their main job.
And many people over age 26 are getting in on the act as well. Plus, as we’ve seen on Easy Money, people are turning their side hustles into their main gigs when they start making more money or having more freedom thanks to their side hustle. SO, the street.com put together a fascinating list of the 5 most lucrative side hustles that I just have to share.
Number 5: Social Media Influencer. Sure enough, I have a friend who makes a nice living based on a list of about a million politically like-minded people he cultivated on Facebook. But the current trend is to be an Instagram Influencer. If you have a few thousand followers, companies will pay you to promote their products. And actually, on Episode 15 of Easy Money, we talk with a top Instagram Influencer about how she does it and what it takes.
Number 4: YouTuber. If you can create YouTube videos that garner millions of views and subscriptions, you can become a millionaire through advertising or sponsorships. And there’s CRAZY stuff that attracts views. For example, my daughter watches some lady who plays with Shopkins toys on camera and she has 8 million subscribers! The Street gives the example of Colleen Ballinger who has a You Tube channel called Miranda Sings. The YouTube site has gotten her a standup comedy tour, a Netflix series, a book deal and $5 million dollars since 2008.
Number 3: Online dating consultant. What??? Yes, people are paying other people to write clever dating profiles for them, take or choose the best photos of them and even write witty chit chat for them to use when interacting with potential dates. I wish I had known! I’ve written profiles for many friends for free! TheStreet says you can make up to $200 dollars an hour as an online dating consultant.
Number 4: Domain Name Prospector. You know how you sometimes come across web pages that are listed for sale? They’re owned by people who dream up great domain names, register them for a few dollars a year and wait for big business to come a calling wanting to buy that domain. I recently tried to buy a couple of domains myself and they wanted $25,000 for them. Domains are like virtual real estate and they can be ultra-valuable. For example, according to The Street, in 2009 the domain insure.com sold for $16 million dollars! And finally Number 5: Search Engine Optimizer. These are pros who help businesses get more web traffic by choosing the keywords people are searching the most often, helping them get links back to their site from other sites, and staying on top of Google’s ever-changing search rules to take advantage of them. Some also specialize in “referral networks” of professionals who support each other. And how much money can you make in SEO? According to one SEO pro, he can make as much as $100,000 for a single job.
There you have it, an overview of 5 modern ways to ‘make more’ money. I will try to do in-depth interviews with people in each of these fields in the coming months on Easy Money.
