Capitalize on what you know. | Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Unsplash

In previous decades, working a second job was often born out of necessity—a means to pay the bills in times of financial stress. But the modern economy has taken a much different approach. While netting extra cash is still an incentive, having a second job, or side hustle, is not only about making ends meet.

Today multiple income streams are used to launch businesses, create more flexibility and independence, dabble in new interests or passions, and fund hobbies, travels and experiences.

In fact, this side hustle trend has nearly become the norm. As of 2018, an estimated 35 percent of professionals worked a side hustle in addition to a full-time career, and the average side hustler earned $12,609 on 11 hours per week which factored out to around $25 an hour, according to data from The Hustle.

If you want to pursue a side hustle in marketing, you’re in luck. In the last eight years spent in the marketing industry, I’ve found that there are many ways to monetize your in-demand skills—use these ideas to get started.

Marketing Coaching

Across the globe, 5 million startups are created each year, but of this number, Failory found that around 90 percent of them don’t survive. In order to beat this statistic, many entrepreneurs and small business owners need the expertise of a marketer to promote brand awareness and drive customer connections and leads.

As someone who knows how to use print or digital media to drive successful campaigns and stays up-to-date with the latest business trends, you could offer coaching for entrepreneurs. Consider coaching in a specific marketing area, like social media coaching, something that I’ve found to be both lucrative and rewarding.

Website Flipping

Just as real estate investors can turn a profit from buying, renovating and selling houses, you can earn revenue by flipping websites. Online platforms such as Exchange or Flippa allow you to purchase an ineffective website, transfer its domain, redesign and optimize its features, boost its traffic and authority, then sell the website to another ecommerce business or entrepreneur for its new resale value.

While this process does require time and financial investment, when done right, website flipping can be a lucrative side hustle. For example, consider the success of digital nomad Michelle Schroeder who purchased her first website in 2015 for less than $1,000, and then sold it for $11,000, according to her income report on Making Sense of Cents.

If you get really good at this, you can even move into domain dealing. Selz explains what this is in their digital businesses blog post:

“Entering the world of domain real estate can be a great side business. Develop a portfolio of different domains to spread your risk, and sell them for higher prices to turn a profit. The average portfolio turnover rate is between 1 and 2 percent, so make sure your portfolio is large and diverse to make regular sales.”

This means, you can slowly earn more as you continue to hone the skills you already have and learn the ins and outs of this side hustle.

Not only is there a need for your expertise, but you set the pace and pricing and can write anywhere and anytime. | Photo by Al ghazali on Unsplash

Online Course Training

In your marketing career, you’ve learned numerous soft- and hard-skills that other professionals want to learn and benefit from. Turn this knowledge into a series of online courses that people around the world can pay to access on websites such as Udemy, Teachable or SkillShare.

The e-learning industry is projected to exceed $241 billion by 2022. What’s more, on Teachable alone, 36.5 percent of instructors earn as much as $2,500 per month, with the top 18.2 percent of instructors earning upwards of $10,000 each month, as reported by Teachable.

Capitalize on what you know and create a course.

Social Media Management

As of 2019, social media remains the most widely used outlet for motivating consumers to buy, according to PwC. Yet, nearly 40 percent of small businesses are not active on social media, and of those who do have a presence on these networks, just 30 percent share content and engage with their audience on a daily basis.

Because social media is such an important resource for marketers, yet often underutilized or overly intimidating for small businesses, there’s an opportunity for you to step in. If you can create successful Facebook Ad campaigns, produce creative and unique Instagram content, write pithy and smart updates on Twitter, and create effective strategies, you can offer social media management services.

Freelance Writing

This is one of the easiest side hustles to start if you’re a great writer. Content marketing costs businesses 62 percent less than traditional outbound approaches and generates three times as many leads, says Demand Metric. Not to mention, 56 percent of B2B companies outsource their content marketing, which includes writing the content itself.

If you’re a great writer, this is your side hustle opportunity. Not only is there a need for your expertise, but you set the pace and pricing and can write anywhere and anytime. Start with sites like UpWork to find writing gigs and build a portfolio. Don’t forget to reach out to companies you already know—many businesses are always looking to add to their lineup of great freelance writers.

Find Your Marketing Side Hustle

As someone who’s worked in marketing for eight years, and turned a content marketing side hustle into a business, I can say with certainty that this industry is ripe for people with talent. Use your expertise to earn more money, create flexibility, and even get a taste for what it’s like to be your own boss. Who knows, it may even turn into a full-time business one day.

Guest writer Jessica Thiefels is the Founder and CEO of Jessica Thiefels Consulting, a content marketing agency, and an upcoming author. Living life with intention has helped her move across the country, build a thriving business, and travel the world. Now she's sharing her experiences to help others live powerfully and create a life they're stoked to call their own. Follow her on Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

5 Side Hustles for Savvy Marketers