How Can I Make Extra Money From Home in the Evenings? (Self-Publishing & 17 Other Ideas)
The truth about 17 common work-from-home side hustles.
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Are you looking to make some extra money from the comfort of your own home during the evenings? Let’s be honest—that’s most people these days, which makes the competition pretty tough.
If you’re here, you’ve probably already seen all the ads and courses for freelance writing, taking online surveys, and teaching or tutoring online. It seems like a new gig or side hustle pops up every two minutes, yet 99% of them can’t even pay for a week of groceries.
If you are looking for some extra income after your day job, in this article, we’ll give a quick rundown of 17 legitimate side hustles that you might consider to make money from home. We’ll also offer a realistic analysis of how much work goes into them and how much reward you can expect.
Spoiler Alert: Self-publishing pays more for less work and requires zero experience. See the #1 Amazon publishing model in action at our free webinar!
How Can I Start Working From Home?
There are many online jobs that can help you earn money without leaving your house. Of the thousands of remote positions available around the world, you’ve basically got the following options for work:
- Standard W-2 work as a regular part-time or full-time job as an employee
- 1099 work as a contractor or freelancer
- Forming an LLC or becoming your own boss under a sole proprietorship
Start By Identifying Your Skills and Interests
The first step you should take is assessing what skills you bring to the table and things that interest you. Here are some tips to reflect and identify them.
Assessing Personal Talents
Once you decide on the type of employment opportunity you’re seeking, take a moment to reflect on your abilities and experiences. Ask yourself the following questions:
- What are my strengths and talents?
- Have I gained any specific skills through my previous jobs or hobbies?
- Are there any subjects or topics I’m particularly knowledgeable about?
- What type of work or what activities make me forget about the clock?
- What did I most enjoy doing as a kid that I miss doing now?
You can also take personality tests and skills assessments online to help you brainstorm new ideas.
Exploring Market Demand
Certain skills are more in demand than others, so once you’ve narrowed down your list to the top five or six skills you’re most confident in, it’s time to conduct market research.
Here are some steps to follow:
- Search online for similar services or products and see how much competition there is.
- Check the amount people are willing to pay for the services you can offer. (P.S. Glassdoor is a great resource for checking median salaries and growth potential)
- Pay attention to any relevant trends or changes in your chosen field. (For example: AI is exploding across most fields right now, from healthcare to edutech)
Next, we'll go over our favorite way to make extra money from home in the evenings.
5 Reasons Why Self-Publishing Is Better Than All The Other Side Hustles Combined
There are way too many side hustles out there that promise the moon and then don’t deliver anything even close to that. To be clear, we’re not bashing any of the side hustles listed below—we’ve even done a few of them ourselves!
In fact, one of our founders decided to try dropshipping, while his twin brother decided to try self-publishing. The two competed to see whose side hustle could make them a living, and the results weren’t even close.
Self-publishing made them more than every single side hustle they had EVER tried combined! One thing led to another, and the Mikkelsen Twins founded Publishing.com with the mission of helping other everyday people make meaningful streams of income online.
Why are we such super fans of self-publishing?
1. You Choose Your Schedule
With self-publishing, you are in control of your schedule. Unlike traditional side hustles that require you to work certain hours, you can decide when and how often to work on your publishing business. This makes it perfect for working in the evenings, early mornings, or on weekends–yes, even as a busy college student or single parent. You can make it work for YOUR timeline.
2. You Can Work From Anywhere
The flexibility of self-publishing goes beyond just scheduling. You can work from anywhere in the entire world! All you need is a computer and an internet connection. This means you can write from the comfort of your own home, a cozy coffee shop, or even while traveling abroad. Your work becomes portable, and so does your source of extra income.
3. There’s No Inventory Management
One of the main issues with typical side hustles is inventory management. With self-publishing, you don't have to worry about stocking physical goods or coordinating shipping. Thanks to platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and print-on-demand services, your books will be printed and shipped on demand, reducing the risk of unsold inventory. They also handle all chargebacks or refunds and customer service complaints for you.
4. You Don’t Need Any Experience to Get Started
There are tons of jobs and side hustles with degree requirements and skill assessments that won’t let you in unless you’re already an expert. The whole point of self-publishing was to erase that model. There are many strategies and ways to write an eBook with no experience.
As long as you know how to conduct basic research and follow directions, programs like our AI Publishing Academy show you everything you need to know step-by-step.
We’re also very transparent about the fact that you DON’T need our course to be successful with self-publishing. It’s there for students who need to start bringing in a passive income more quickly and could benefit from the extra support.
5. You Can Earn True Passive Income from Royalties
Self-publishing not only provides the flexibility of working at your own pace but also generates a virtually passive income from royalties. Once your book is published, you'll earn royalties every time a copy is sold without any extra work on your part. You'll continue to earn money even when you're not writing or publishing, making this a much more valuable source of extra income than any of the other side hustles we listed earlier.
Don’t Leave Your Side Hustle Up to Chance. Follow a Proven Method for Passive Income Generation
What would you do with an extra $300 per month? What about $3,000? $30,000?
There are self-publishers who are making four, five, or six figures off just ONE book even though they had never published anything before.
If fear and doubt are holding you back from your ideal income, you might resonate with Kristen’s story:
Here’s the thing. There’s one self-publishing model that’s already generated millions of dollars in collective royalties for its students, and you’ve found it.
See it in action at our free webinar!
Freelancing Opportunities
Working from home in the evenings opens up a world of freelance opportunities, but how much time/energy/money will these side hustles actually cost you in the long run? Your answers down below!
Writing and Editing
If you have a knack for writing or editing, there are tons of platforms out there for you to showcase your talent. Content creation, copywriting, blogging, and proofreading are all in demand right now.
💰 Earnings Potential: Anywhere from $15-50/hour or $1,500+/project
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: The hours can be long
💸 Financial Commitment: You’ll likely need to invest in books, courses, and conferences to keep your skills sharp and network with other creatives.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: You’ll typically be competing with those who have more experience than you and those who are willing to work for much lower wages, which can make landing worthwhile projects much more difficult. It’s also not uncommon for freelancers to run into late or unpaid invoices from time to time.
Graphic Design
If you have a passion for design, working as a freelance graphic designer in your evenings can help boost your income. You can offer your services in various areas, such as logos, social media graphics, digital ads, and print materials.
Platforms like Behance, Dribbble, or even Instagram are useful for displaying your talent.
💰 Earnings Potential: Anywhere from $5/project to $1000+/project
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: Designing and formatting graphics can take a lot longer than most people realize, and you’ll likely run into rushed deadlines at some point.
💸 Financial Commitment: You’ll need to create and maintain an online portfolio showcasing your work to attract potential clients. You’ll also be responsible for all of your equipment, including a laptop, tablet, digital pens, graphic design software, printers, etc., which can get pretty expensive.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: If you don’t like putting yourself out there, it’s easy to get lost in the sea of competition.
Web Development
As businesses increasingly rely on digital means of customer acquisition and retention, web development has become an increasingly sought-after skill. If you have experience in coding languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or Web3 technologies, working as a freelance web developer can bring you decent money from home.
💰 Earnings Potential: Anywhere from $25/hr to thousands per month
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: Web development takes a lot of brain power and can get tedious.
💸 Financial Commitment: You’ll want to make sure you have the best equipment and top-notch security programs, which can get pricey.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: The tech field has seen tons of layoffs over the last few years, so job security might be looking a little iffy.
Consulting Services
If you’ve become an expert in a particular field or skill, you might consider offering consulting services from home in the evenings. Many businesses and organizations are looking for knowledgeable professionals to provide advice, guidance, or training.
Possible consulting areas include:
- Business strategy
- Management
- Marketing
- Human resources
- Financial planning
💰 Earnings Potential: Can range from a few hundred dollars per session to thousands per month
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: You’ll typically be at the whim of other companies’ schedules and constantly have to source new clients.
💸 Financial Commitment: You might incur significant travel expenses.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: You’ll have to brush up on your public speaking and presentation skills.
Online Sales and Marketing
Here are some ways to make money online and marketing gigs you could work in the evenings on your own schedule.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a popular way to make extra money from home. It involves promoting products or services from other companies and earning a commission for every sale made through your unique referral link.
💰 Earnings Potential: Can vary greatly each month from $0 to $1,000+ if you’re lucky.
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: Affiliate marketing can be a real slow boil and might take months or even years to see any progress.
💸 Financial Commitment: Many programs won’t let you join until you can prove you already have a significant amount of traffic.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: If you don’t properly disclose affiliate links, you can put yourself at major legal risk for thousands of dollars in fines.
E-commerce
You can sell physical or digital products through your own e-commerce store using platforms like Shopify.
💰 Earnings Potential: Can range from $0/month to upwards of $1000+/month
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: Can take months or years to become profitable
💸 Financial Commitment: You’ll need to invest time, energy, and money to creating high-quality product images and descriptions that will grab the attention of customers. You’ll also be responsible for maintaining your marketing, advertising, website, and/or email campaigns.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: This space has become SUPER crowded over the last five years, and unless you really know what you’re doing, your chances at replacing a full-time income with this side hustle aren’t the best.
Selling Handmade Goods
Websites like Etsy are the perfect marketplace for things like jewelry, clothing, accessories, and home décor. As you build up your reviews and work on your customer service skills, you can become a top seller with a loyal “fan” base.
💰 Earnings Potential: Most artists are getting by with a few hundred dollars per month, but the top sellers can rake in thousands of dollars per month.
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: You’re essentially a one-man band in charge of crafting your items, marketing and selling them, handling customer complaints, and shipping.
💸 Financial Commitment: Etsy takes a pretty big cut of sales, and chargebacks/refunds can be a real pain.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: Sites like Etsy are starting to get overrun with dropshipping accounts, hurting the profits of artists who actually handmake their items.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping lets you sell products without having a physical inventory by partnering with a supplier who fulfills and ships orders directly to your customers.
💰 Earnings Potential: The majority of people who try this side hustle actually LOSE money, although some top dogs earn thousands of dollars per month.
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: This side hustle can quickly turn into a full-time, round-the-clock job when you factor in all the website, marketing, and coordinating it takes to stay afloat.
💸 Financial Commitment: The competition is high, and the profit margins are very low.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: If things go wrong during the fulfillment process, handling customer service yourself can quickly turn into a nightmare.
Remote Part-Time Jobs
Here are some remote part-time jobs you can work in the evening:
Customer Service
Remote customer service jobs involve assisting customers through phone calls, email, or chat support. This type of work usually requires excellent communication skills and problem-solving abilities. Many companies seek part-time customer service representatives and offer both traditional and non-traditional schedules for those who prefer to work evenings or overnight.
💰 Earnings Potential: The hourly rate typically starts at minimum wage
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: Dealing with angry customers all day can quickly take a toll on your mental health, and the long shifts might not always be ideal.
💸 Financial Commitment: Most companies will provide a headset, but you might be responsible for your own laptop.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: There isn’t a ton of upward mobility or growth potential in these positions.
Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistance is another opportunity to make money from home during the evenings. As a virtual assistant, your responsibilities may include:
- Scheduling appointments
- Responding to emails
- Managing social media accounts
- Organizing documents
💰 Earnings Potential: Just like above, the hourly rate typically starts at minimum wage
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: You might have to be available at odd hours or on-call
💸 Financial Commitment: You might have to deal with reimbursements
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: Again, there isn’t a ton of upward mobility or growth potential in these online jobs.
Data Entry
Remote data entry jobs involve entering or updating information in a computer system. The pay for these roles may vary depending on speed, experience, and the type of data being entered. The hours are typically flexible and can be done in the evenings.
Key skills for data entry specialists include:
- Typing speed and accuracy
- Proficiency with data entry software
- Attention to detail
💰 Earnings Potential: You can find jobs as low as minimum wage or as high as $20+/hour
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: This type of work can get tedious pretty quickly.
💸 Financial Commitment: You’ll need a laptop or desktop computer.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: The pay and benefits are typically pretty marginal (if there are any at all).
Income Through Content Creation
Blogging
Niche blogs were all the rage a few years ago, and there are still plenty of people making money blogging in the evenings at home, but nowadays, you typically need to be well-versed in SEO to make good money.
💰 Earnings Potential: Can range from nothing at all to thousands of dollars per month
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: Might take months or years before seeing any traffic, let alone monetizing it.
💸 Financial Commitment: You’ll be responsible for the website domain, hosting, marketing/advertising, and SEO tools.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: This is not a quick side hustle by any means.
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Video Production
Creating videos is another avenue for earning income from home using platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, or Twitch.
You can make money from video production through:
- Ad revenue
- Sponsored content
- Affiliate marketing
- Paid subscriptions
💰 Earnings Potential: The majority of people who make videos will never see a cent.
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: Filming is one thing, but editing is another. Both can take hours to make just one video.
💸 Financial Commitment: Video cameras, tripods, ring lights, and microphones aren’t cheap.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: As we’re seeing with the proposed TikTok ban, if you don’t own the channel you’re posting on, you can lose years of content overnight.
Podcasting
A podcast lets you share your thoughts, expertise, or interests in an audio format. You can then monetize the podcast through:
- Advertising: Selling ad slots during your episodes
- Sponsorships: Partnering with brands who align with your podcast's content and audience
- Affiliate marketing: Promoting products within your podcast and earning commissions
💰 Earnings Potential: Brand deals can be lucrative and rake in thousands of dollars, but most amateur podcasters won’t make a dime.
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: Just like putting out a video, recording and editing audio takes massive amounts of time and energy.
💸 Financial Commitment: Podcast microphones, recording equipment, and editing programs are going to cost you quite a bit.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: This side hustle definitely won’t bring you income ASAP unless you’re one of the lucky ones.
Bonus: Listen to one of our students share his experience with going from self-publishing to making radio appearances and doing interviews:
Educational Services
Online Tutoring
Online tutoring is a great way to earn extra money from home in the evenings. As an expert in a particular subject, you can help students of all ages across the world with platforms like VIPKid and Upwork.
💰 Earnings Potential: You could make anywhere from $15/hour to $45+/hour
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: You’ll be stuck working around other people’s schedules a lot, especially if one of your students needs extra one-on-one time.
💸 Financial Commitment: You’ll need a reliable internet connection and might also need to invest in textbooks or other study materials.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: The competition for online tutoring is incredibly high, and you’ll be competing against others who are willing to work for much lower rates.
Course Development
Online learning platforms like Udemy and Coursera let you develop and sell your courses to millions of users worldwide.
💰 Earnings Potential: You could make a few hundred dollars per month or even thousands of dollars per month if your course becomes popular enough.
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: Building a good course takes time.
💸 Financial Commitment: Many platforms will take a cut of your sales in exchange for hosting your courses.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: If you’re in an industry that’s growing pretty quickly, information might become outdated faster than you’d like, requiring you to either update your course or put out a new one. Chargebacks and refunds can also be a hassle.
eBook Writing
eBook writing is another way to share your knowledge while generating income. It has the advantage of requiring minimal investment and offers limitless opportunities for monetization.
To write and publish a successful eBook, follow these steps:
- Choose a topic you are knowledgeable in and conduct thorough research.
- Write a well-structured and clearly formatted manuscript (or outsource the work to a professional ghostwriter).
- Edit and proofread your content to ensure quality and consistency.
- Design a visually appealing cover for your book (or outsource this to a designer).
- Publish on reputable platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing or Apple iBooks.
💰 Earnings Potential: Unlimited
⚡ Time & Energy Commitment: You get to choose how much or how little you want to work, and once a book is published, it can continue to bring in royalties forever.
💸 Financial Commitment: You’re in charge of how much work you outsource to other creative professionals or how much you take on yourself, which means you’re always 100% in control of the budget.
👎 Other Downsides to Consider: This also isn’t a get-rich-quick side hustle. Although you can outsource 90% of the work, you’ll still need to put in the 10% to see returns.
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