You might be skeptical about side hustles. Probably due to overhyped content like "10 Ways to Make 10K/Month from One Side Hustle with No Experience." 

However, the gig economy and side hustle culture are very real. People make a ton of money from side hustles and you can do it too. As you read in the title, this article focuses on digital marketing side hustles, so let's get started. 

PLEASE NOTE: This article goes beyond just learning skills; it's more about methods to secure clients. Another thing is having a side hustle is about earning while learning, so don't get trapped in a cycle of perpetual learning.

1. Short Form Video Editing

Short-form content is booming nowadays. Reels, TikToks, and YouTube Shorts are bringing billions of views daily. Social media platforms are encouraging creators to produce more short-form content by offering attractive rewards, similar to Instagram's Reels Play Bonus.

Businesses and personal brands are aware of this and are eager to tap into it. Many of them lack the skills or time to create and edit their short videos, and we all know that hiring a full-time video editor is very costly. This is where you position yourself as a freelance short-form video editor.

Editing short-form content is neither hard nor time-consuming to learn, unlike editing long-form content. Another point to note is that there are various animation trends and plenty of tools available to help you in this process. Some of these tools include CapCut, InShot, Lumen5, and Veed.io. You will be amazed at how much time and effort these tools will save you.

Here's a step-by-step plan to land your first short-form video editing client: 

This strategy targets podcasters who haven't yet started transforming their podcasts into short-form videos. What sets this approach apart is that we don't merely pitch our work; instead, we create something for them in advance and offer it for free. It's like giving them a free sample of the cake to let them taste it before discussing the price.

  1. Identify lesser-known podcasts, which likely don't have a video editor.
  2. Look for podcasts that aren't already producing short-form videos.
  3. Suppose you've identified 30 potential leads. For each, create a high-quality short video from their most recent podcast.
  4. Contact these podcasters via email, LinkedIn, or any other available method.
  5. Present the short video you've created for them, offering it for free.
  6. If they express interest, then pitch your services.

2. Social Media Management

“Attention is the new oil.” 

You've probably heard this quote before. Over the last decade, social media has proven itself to be a great source of the attention businesses crave. This attention often transformed into sales and, ultimately, money. 

Businesses compete daily to capture this attention. However, most businesses either lack the time to manage their social media effectively or don't have the budget to hire a full-time social media manager. Here is where you get the chance to position yourself as a freelance social media manager.

Here's a step-by-step plan to land your first social media management client: 

As a beginner, it is hard to attract big clients, so we can start with local businesses. 

  1. Use Google Maps to search for local businesses like car rental agencies, and coffee shops.
  2. Identify businesses that lack a social media presence or have inactive accounts without substantial content or a consistent strategy.
  3. Contact these businesses through phone, email, or preferably, by visiting them in person.
  4. Explain the opportunities they're missing out on by not leveraging social media.
  5. Offer your services with a 14-day free trial, during which you'll manage and create content for their social media channels at no cost before discussing pricing.

The best part is you don't need to limit yourself to just one client. Find a reliable social media management tool to reduce time spent on tasks, and start getting more clients to manage them simultaneously.

3. Virtual Assistance

Any business owner knows this: The key to scaling the business is delegation. However, most are hesitant to delegate because they struggle to find trustworthy and skilled assistants. In our digital age, this often means virtual assistants. 

Tasks like email management, scheduling meetings, booking appointments, and research can be completely removed from a business owner's to-do list with the help of high-quality virtual assistants. This is where you have the opportunity to be that high-quality virtual assistant.

Usually, the business owner will explain exactly and in steps what tasks you will handle for them, which means no experience is actually needed. One of the primary groups that need this service is small-to-medium e-commerce businesses.

Here's a unique step-by-step plan to land your first virtual assistance client:

  1. Select a product that is in high demand in the market.
  2. Type the name of the product into Google.
  3. Extract the contact information of all e-commerce websites selling it.
  4. Reach out to those you believe will need help and pitch your services.

To stand out, try using popular tools for e-commerce businesses. Learn a bit about each one. Then, when pitching to business owners, explain which tools you have experience with and how you use them. 

This will convince them that you're ready to integrate into their business, and they don't need to invest time teaching you the basics. This approach isn't limited to e-commerce, of course. You can apply it to other sectors too.

4. Link Building

Links are one of the most important signals that Google uses to determine a website's authority, thereby influencing its ranking for the better. Every business with a website stands to gain significantly from organic search traffic from Google, especially if it ranks high for relevant keywords. However, acquiring actual quality links is far from easy. It demands skills, connections, and considerable time and patience—resources most businesses lack.

And well know that purchasing fake links from platforms like Upwork and Fiverr often yields low-quality links and, in many cases, a Manual Action Penalty from Google. This is your opportunity to introduce yourself as a link-building specialist.

Here's a unique step-by-step plan to land your first link-building client:

  1. Network with link-builders on LinkedIn, Slack channels, and Facebook groups.
  2. Choose a specific business niche to focus on, such as SaaS tools in the Email Marketing sector.
  3. Search on Google for keywords like "Email Marketing tool."
  4. Use the free versions of SEO tools like Ahrefs and Semrush to study their backlink profiles.
  5. Create a list of websites that could benefit from your link-building services.
  6. Begin pitching your link-building service to these potential clients.

To increase your chances of securing a client, negotiate with your contacts from Slack channels and Facebook groups to secure a backlink to the prospective client's website. This will demonstrate your ability to deliver on your service's promises and can significantly impress your potential client.

5. Online Tutoring

Ask any language teacher about the best way to become fluent in a new language, and they will all give you the same answer: Practice Speaking!

The challenge is that people interested in learning a new language often struggle to find native speakers to practice with. They find it awkward to approach strangers, and even online platforms designed to facilitate language practice meetings don't always meet professional standards.

This is where you have the opportunity to introduce yourself as a one-on-one online tutor. Regardless of your native language, many people are looking to learn it right now. Your task? Find them and offer your one-on-one online tutoring services.

Forget the usual, and often dull, method of using tutoring platforms to find clients. It's highly competitive. We need to stand out. We'll do this by dedicating our services to a selected type of client, rather than trying to be everything to everyone.


For example, if you are a native English speaker, consider offering your services exclusively to non-native English-speaking CEOs from European countries. You can help them practice English so they can speak confidently during international meetings.


Here's a unique step-by-step plan to land your first online tutoring client:

  1. Use LinkedIn search or other lead-sourcing tools like Apollo to find your target audience. For our case, look for CEOs from European countries who are non-native English speakers.
  2. Create a spreadsheet of all the potential leads that fit this category.
  3. Begin reaching out to them individually.
  4. Pitch your idea, and make sure that your services are very niche down, and deliberately designed for them.
  5. Offer the first session for free as a gesture.

Takeaway

Whether you are a student, a full-time employee, or a stay-at-home mom, side hustles can generate a respectable income that can significantly change your life. Despite all the promises from gurus, side hustles require real skills, dedication, and patience to reap their benefits—just like anything else in life.