What are the best side hustles for writers?

The good news is writing is a great, in-demand skill to make money from. Yes, even in the age of Chat GPT, there are lots of writing side hustles that can earn you money in your spare time.

I compiled this list based on:

My own 15+ years of experience as a writer
Interviews with dozens of other side hustling and professional writers
The potential earning power for each option

Ready? Let’s do it!

1. Build a Helpful Website

If you enjoy writing, building an informative website is the first side hustle I’d consider. I wouldn’t call it “blogging,” but more creating content that answers people’s questions.

I’ve done this several times, including with this site and another project that earned over $500,000 over its lifetime. Websites make money in several different ways, but most commonly through:

advertising
affiliate partnerships
selling your own products and services

One trend that’s been successful recently is what I’ll call “the modern comparison shopping site.” This model involves creating in-depth content comparing and contrasting two or more products in your niche.

For example, Fin vs. Fin does this really well with direct-to-consumer brands. Similarly, Tami Smith employed the same strategy with fitness equipment.

Next Step: If you’re ready to get started, my free 6-part video course will walk you through how to set up your site for less than you might think.

2. Sales Copywriting

Daniel Throssell was an electrical engineer working 12-hour shifts on a remote island off the coast of Australia.

He stumbled upon copywriting as a side hustle, and landed his first jobs on Upwork. “Because I had no experience, I just resolved to out-prepare my competition, and overdeliver on all my jobs,” Daniel explained.

Within a year, he was charging $200 an hour for his work — and left the engineering job behind.

3. Freelance Writing

Another common side hustle for writers is freelance writing. Most freelance writers get paid on a per-word basis, with rates ranging from $0.05-0.35 per word. That adds up to around $50-$350 per 1000-word article.

(This article, for the sake of comparison, is around 2,000 words.)

I sat down with Georgia Austin, who found customers for her content writing service on Fiverr. As demand increased, she raised rates and ultimately hired other writers to help fulfill all the work!

To learn more, check out this free guide from the American Writers and Artists Institute:

4. Tutoring

Writing is such an important skill, and one that many students struggle with. That’s why there’s an opportunity to turn your writing prowess into a tutoring business.

You could focus on English vocabulary, spelling, essay writing, creative writing, or reading comprehension.

And there’s money in this niche too — one Side Hustle Nation reader reported earning $1000 a week with his part-time tutoring business.

Platforms like Wyzant help connect students with tutors. As a tutor, you get set your own rate (typically between $20-60 per hour) and availability.

This side hustle could be a rewarding way to help the up-and-coming generation of engineers.

5. Teaching Online

While one-to-one tutoring can be rewarding and even pretty lucrative, it’s still trading time for money. One side hustle with a little more scale is to teach an online group class through a platform like Outschool.

On The Side Hustle Show, Jade Weatherington shared how she was earning $10,000 a month on the platform, primarily teaching middle school English writing classes.

Who knew all that 5-paragraph essay practice would pay off!

The peer-to-peer education marketplace focuses on students ages 3-18, and has courses on nearly every topic imaginable.

6. Create an Online Course

Since late 2014, I’ve earned over $20,000 on Udemy from a course I created about self-publishing.

With Udemy, you can create a video course in your area of expertise, and put it up for sale on their platform of more than 50 million students.

7. Email Newsletter

I think there’s a cool scaleable side hustle for writers in creating a “niche newsletter.” In this model, you email out your favorite content in a given niche on a daily or weekly basis.

The topic you choose could be based on your writing experience, or any other hobby you’re into. Since you’re probably already consuming content in the niche, it would be a valuable service to curate the best of the best for subscribers.

For example, Danielle Desir-Corbett took her grant-writing expertise and started a newsletter called Grants for Creators. With both free and paid versions, she shares grant opportunities she finds every two weeks.

Once you have people paying attention, you can monetize with affiliate offers, advertising, or your own products and services. This is a side hustle that’s low overhead, relatively simple to manage, and may even have a lucrative exit strategy — the popular daily business newsletter Morning Brew sold for a reported $75 million!

8. Publish a Book

Self-publishing is one of my favorite writing side hustles. It’s earned me over $80,000 over the last decade.

My titles have all been non-fiction so far, but fiction actually sells more as a category. Through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, you can set your own price and earn a 70% author royalty on Kindle books sold between $2.99 and $9.99.

9. Children’s Publishing

Matthew Ralph is a children’s book author from England, who quit his full-time marketing job to focus on his publishing and freelancing business.

His bestselling work to date is Sam the Speedy Sloth. The idea of which came to him while walking through an airport, and by the time his flight landed, the book was almost written!

Matt has since added more books to his portfolio, while freelancing to help other self-publishing authors.

10. Proofreading and Editing Service

If you have an eye for detail, there’s money to be made as a proofreader or editor.

Like I mentioned above, self-publishing is exploding, and all those authors (at least the serious ones) need help editing their work.

For this side hustle, I found my first clients on Fiverr, but ultimately established positive word of mouth referrals in some Facebook Groups and among students of a popular self-publishing course.

I started out charging $100 for every 10,000 words, but slowly inched up rates as I improved. (And as a bonus, I got to read some pretty interesting books!)

According to PayScale.com, proofreaders can make an average of $12-$30/hour.

Check out companies like ProofreadingServices.com to apply for a remote part-time or full-time position.

11. Writing Coach

Through her business, Paper Raven Books, Morgan Gist MacDonald helps authors turn their ideas into books they can be proud of. 

The service starts at $10,000 and includes:

narrative arc outlining
accountability check-ins
editing and design
building a launch and marketing plan

Could you start a similar service for first-time authors?

12. Ghostwriting

My friend Joshua Lisec is a freelance writer turned sought-after ghostwriter, specializing in entrepreneurship books. Over the last few years, he’s helped create over 80 titles and built a multi-6-figure ghostwriting business.

When we last spoke, he had a unique way of generating qualified leads through YouTube.

13. Creative Writing Workshops

Jeff DiOrio, a math teacher and high school dean in Illinois started teaching after school chess lessons. Today, EliteChess is a 6-figure side hustle with classes both in-person and online.

I believe there’s an opportunity to create a similar business for students (or adults) to get together and just write. You could provide story prompts, guidance on structure, and constructive feedback.

14. Social Media Management

Another side hustle idea for writers is to manage Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. These are still primarily “writing first” platforms, meaning if you can craft compelling hooks and threads, you can help other business owners grow their following.

For example, Pete Macleod (@petecodes) turned this into a $10k/month business. Creating Twitter and LinkedIn content was something he enjoyed doing anyway, and began offering it as a service to other content creators.

15. Resume and Cover Letter Writing

Mike McRitchie has a unique writing service, specializing in cover letters and LinkedIn profiles for the telecom industry. 

He’s been doing this for years on the side from his day job. Because of his industry expertise, he’s able to command premium rates. 

And since the outcome of a strong resume and cover letter is so strong — a new job — candidates are happy to pay for help in this area.

16. Mystery Shopping

Mystery shopping is directly related to writing, but many of the tasks involve writing a report about your experience at the store or restuarant.

Jenn Trinidad reported earning $2,000 a month as a mystery shopper. 

17. Virtual Assistant Service

Virtual assistants generally charge $15-40 an hour to provide remote administrative support to clients. Those tasks might include:

Drafting social media posts
Managing email and scheduling appointments
Creating blog content or email newsletters
Providing customer support

If that sounds like a fun side hustle you can set up shop on your own or jump on board with an established VA company.

To learn more about starting your own virtual assistant company, check out the free video training from my friend Abbey Ashley, who started her VA business on the side.

18. Live Chat Customer Support

FlexJobs is the leading site for work from home jobs. With more than 50 career categories, you’re sure to find options here for your writing experience.

One area that comes to mind is live chat customer support jobs, where skills like compassion, speed, and multitasking are critical.

FlexJobs does charge a nominal monthly fee to access their listings, but you’ll easily earn that back — and then some — with just one job.

Pro Tip: Before you join, use their job search filter to see what part-time positions are currently being advertised for.

When you see something that’s a great fit, you can join the site to apply.

19. Transcription Service

Transcription—turning audio recordings into text—is often a part-time work-from-home position. Many transcribers specialize in a given industry, like medical, legal, or podcast transcriptions.

Several sites, including Rev.com, hire transcribers. If you’re fast, you might be able to earn up to $15 an hour.

To learn more about transcribing work, check out this free 7-day mini course on how to get started.

20. Translation

More and more businesses are realizing the importance of translation. In fact, the employment of interpreters and translators is projected to grow 19% from 2018 to 2028.

That’s pretty surprising in the age of Google Translate, right?

Spanish, French, Arabic and the Asian languages are all in high demand.

However, being a translator isn’t just about translating. It’s about having strong writing skills and an understanding of the niche.

21. Online Surveys

Finally, an old fall back of pretty much every list of ways to make extra money: surveys.

These definitely won’t make you rich, but they are an easy way to for writers to make a little extra money in between projects or during breaks in your day. 

Here are some of Side Hustle Nation’s top picks:

The Best Writing Side Hustles: Your Turn

What do you think is the best side hustle for writers? Of course, which option you choose depends on your unique experience, interests, and goals.

Some writing side hustles (like freelancing) are relatively easy to start earning money quickly. Others, like starting a website, will require a bit more time and education to start to see results.

Looking for More Side Hustle Help?

Start Your Free $500 Challenge. My free 5-day email course shows you how to add $500 to your bottom line.
Join the free Side Hustle Nation Community. The free Facebook group is the best place to connect with other side hustlers and get your questions answered.
Download The Side Hustle Show. My free podcast shares how to make extra money with actionable weekly episodes.

Making extra money on the side often requires finding ways to create leverage.

Leverage means getting paid multiple times for work you only have to do once, and making money without having to actively do the work yourself.

One side hustler who has cracked the code on leveraged profits is Steve Slagle. By day, Steve works construction jobs. But outside of his 9 to 5, he now earns over $2500 a month from Beachside Ice, his ice vending machine business.

In this episode, Steve takes us through the world of vending machine location negotiations, landowner compensation, and the importance of maintaining positive relations. We explore the finer details of partnering with manufacturers, securing permits, and overseeing installation and delivery.

Tune into Episode 579 of The Side Hustle Show to learn:

Ideal locations for steady demand with ice vending machines
Financing options for starting an ice vending operation
Local customer promotion with grassroots marketing
Maximizing profits through maintenance strategies
Scaling ice vending for semi-passive income

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Finding the Idea

The original concept for Steve’s ice vending venture came when he realized that ice is a product with inherent, constant demand. “We see the demand there is constant. It’s not going anywhere,” he explains.

While bags of ice can easily be purchased at gas stations, grocery stores, big box retailers, etc., Steve noticed that profit margins are extremely thin for traditional ice distributors and suppliers. As middlemen, traditional ice companies make just pennies per bag sold.

This led Steve to realize there could be a major opportunity to cut out the intermediary suppliers and claim much higher profit margins for himself by installing automated ice vending machines.

This automated approach meant minimal effort was required for high profits once the machines were up and running.

Validating the Business Idea

Before investing in equipment, Steve validated the idea by surveying the competitive landscape. He took trips to visit existing ice vending machines in his area to assess customer demand and take note of any flaws in the user experience.

What Steve found is that most machines weren’t located in prime spots with high traffic flow. Customers still had to go out of their way to access them.

He also noticed a lack of branding and contact information on the machines. If something went wrong during a transaction, customers were left frustrated with no recourse.

Steve saw these issues as a chance to improve on the existing model.

He would place machines directly in the path of customers where ice was wanted most, and he would provide an exceptional customer experience if any problems arose.

“We do put our phone number on every one of them and we’ll get calls from some folks that’ll say, ‘I put my money in and nothing happened.’ And 99% of the time, it’s just us kind of giving them a brief instruction of how to use the machine.”

Startup Costs and Financing

The most significant startup costs that Steve encountered were for the ice vending machines themselves. Top-of-the-line fully automated ice vending machines range from $50,000 on the low and up to $60,000 or more on the high end.

In order to finance this major equipment investment, Steve thoroughly explored various options including small business loans, loans from banks or credit unions, and financing directly through the ice machine manufacturers.

Ultimately, Steve chose to work with a company called Everest, who partners with a financing company called Leaf Financial to approve loans for Everest’s customers.

With competitive industry financing lined up, Steve confidently moved forward and ordered two brand new Everest ice vending machines totaling over $100,000 in upfront costs.

This was a major financial commitment, especially since he did not yet have secured locations to install the machines.

But the looming delivery deadline lit a fire under Steve to start hustling to secure homes for his soon-to-arrive investments. As he explains this feeling:

“I like that a little bit of a nudge by having the pressure and having that deadline knowing a considerable investment was getting delivered,” he shared.

Identifying the Best Locations

Coming up with the optimal location strategy was an extremely critical component to Steve’s future success in the ice vending business.

He started by brainstorming where people typically buy ice when they need it. Gas stations, convenience stores, and similar quick-stop shops were the first options that came to mind.

But Steve knew he needed to pursue a smarter “destination ice” placement strategy. Rather than just convenient pit stops, he would target locations where people naturally congregated for recreation, events, and during vacations. This included:

Marinas where people needed ice for boating and fishing
Public parks and beaches where families gathered in the sun
Outdoor event venues and stadiums hosting crowds
Hospitality spots like resorts and condo complexes for vacationers

For his first two locations, Steve decided to cold-call condo complexes in his local beach town area. He pitched the managers on having a 24/7 self-serve ice vending machine exclusively for their guests and visitors.

The property managers loved this idea of a convenient new amenity for visitors that required zero effort from staff. It was a total value-add for guests.

Steve negotiated a monthly flat fee around $200 – $300 per machine instead of a percentage of sales. This avoided the hassle of collecting and accounting for sales data.

The condo sites quickly proved to be fantastic performers, validating Steve’s “destination ice” placement strategy.

“Some of the first things that come to mind are marinas, parks, any sort of outdoor recreation areas. And the more we thought about it, the more we started to kind of craft what we call destination ice.”

Spreading the Word with Grassroots Marketing Tactics

While location plays a major role, Steve couldn’t rely on foot traffic alone. He still needed to spread the word so customers knew about his new ice vending options.

To promote the new ice vending machines to nearby customers, Steve employed several simple grassroots marketing tactics:

Posting flyers in surrounding businesses to raise awareness
Placing vibrant branded signs and banners near the actual machines
Creating social media pages
Optimizing Google My Business listings to drive local SEO

Populating his ice vending locations on Google My Business proved to be a very powerful free marketing channel. Now when users search “ice near me”, Steve’s ice machines appear right on the map making them extremely easy to find. As Steve explains:

“The nice part now is you get on there and you Google ‘ice near me.’ It tells you how to get there. And that’s a free service. We don’t pay for advertising on Google.”

This organic search visibility allows Steve to attract customers who are already looking for ice in the area.

Maintaining the Business

With his machines up and running in prime spots, Steve developed a straightforward repeatable process for ongoing maintenance.

He visits each ice vending machine personally a few times per week to handle necessary maintenance tasks.

This hands-on work takes Steve about 10 minutes per location to check supplies, collect cash, clean the machines, and deal with any technical issues or restocking that’s needed.

To maximize flexibility and uptime, Steve can also remotely monitor and manage the machines from his smartphone whenever needed. This functionality allows him to travel and take time off without constant hands-on oversight of the business.

After the demanding upfront work of securing optimal locations and fine-tuning operations, the majority of income from the ice vending business is now almost entirely passive. The machines reliably churn out profits with minimal ongoing effort.

Results

In just the first year and a half after launching his ice vending side hustle, Steve has seen remarkable growth and results:

His first two machines fully paid for themselves within the first 12 months
He’s rapidly scaled up to operating 4 consistently profitable machines
Sales spike over $1000+ per machine around major holidays when demand surges
He nets a solid $2500+ per month in passive hands-off income

And the business continues to accelerate and compound its growth.

As word has spread, new locations now proactively reach out to Steve inquiring about having a machine installed on their properties. Steve has shifted from cold calling to warmly receiving inbound requests.

Mistakes or Surprises Along the Way

When operating a business with physical assets like vending machines, vandalism is an unfortunate risk. Steve has been fortunate so far not to deal with any major vandalism or theft issues.

He attributes this to a few key factors:

The machines are fairly robustly built. They’re designed to keep honest people honest.
All of their locations have security cameras, either pointed at the machine or in the area.

While the machines can withstand some effort to break in, security cameras help deter crime and catch any bad actors. For additional protection, newer machines also have cashless payment options to remove the lure of burglary for cash.

Overall, through smart placement and security measures, Steve has avoided major surprises or crimes against his ice vending assets.

Growing the Business

Given the demand, Steve plans to continue steadily expanding his ice vending operations.

He’s currently looking at placing machines at complementary venues like RV parks, campgrounds, construction sites, and existing businesses with owners unhappy with their current ice providers.

Long term, Steve hopes to scale up the ice vending side hustle into a full-time endeavor and minimize the time spent on traditional construction work.

The leverage and automation potential of the machines makes ice vending a much smoother path to profits compared to physical contract work.

Steve is also exploring opportunities to expand into offering additional machine vending services beyond just ice. He sees adding in popular options like cold beverages, snacks, and food as a natural next step once the ice machines are running smoothly.

Key Takeaways

The keys to replicating Steve’s success with an automated side hustle like ice vending include:

Seek out high-traffic locations where demand is concentrated
Get your business visible online via Google My Business
Provide amazing customer service
Build relationships with location hosts and partners
Look for ways to systematize operations for passive profits

By putting in sweat equity upfront finding locations and optimizing processes, over time you can step back and let machines do the work.

The result is the dream combination of high-profit margins and minimal effort required to operate the business day-to-day.

For those interested in exploring a similar ice vending venture, Steve’s experience proves it can be a lucrative semi-passive income stream when executed strategically. His Beachside Ice business offers a model for tapping into consumer demand for convenient ice access.

Steve’s #1 Tip for Side Hustle Nation

“Keep your word.”

Links and Resources from this Episode

Beachside Ice
The 29 Best Items to Flip for a Profit: $50-5,000 a Month Part-Time
Side Hustle Showdown: Sweaty Startups vs. Laptop Lifestyle
Everest
Leaf Financial
Google My Business
How to Dominate Local SEO: From Side Hustle to $300k a Year

Looking for More Side Hustle Help?

Start Your Free $500 Challenge. My free 5-day email course shows you how to add $500 to your bottom line.
Join the free Side Hustle Nation Community. The free Facebook group is the best place to connect with other side hustlers and get your questions answered.
Download The Side Hustle Show. My free podcast shares how to make extra money with actionable weekly episodes.