Content and media side hustle ideas

A blog, niche website, newsletter, YouTube channel, podcast or social account that earns from ads, affiliate links or sponsors.

64 ideas, page 1 of 2

Content and media
Personal finance YouTube channel earning affiliate commissions
A YouTube channel of personal finance reviews and tutorials built on search traffic. Income comes from affiliate commissions on products like budgeting apps and savings accounts.
Online
Side Hustle Nation, 2026
Content and media
Ad-supported specials boards for restaurants
Free chalkboards and whiteboards placed in restaurants and busy venues, which use them for daily specials. Income comes from selling small ad spots along the bottom to local businesses.
Online and in person
Side Hustle Nation, 2026
Content and media
Amazon product review videos for commissions
Short product review videos uploaded through the Amazon Influencer Program, which appear on product listings and earn commissions. The approach relies on filming high volumes of products found close to home.
Online and in person
Side Hustle Nation, 2026
Content and media
Guides to bureaucracy for immigrants
Documents government processes for immigrants and earns commissions on services they need, such as banking, insurance and translations, plus some consulting.
Hacker News, 2026
Content and media
Bedtime story podcast for adults
An intentionally boring bedtime story podcast that helps grown-ups fall asleep. Income comes from a premium membership, books and other streams around the free show.
Online
Side Hustle Nation, 2026
Content and media
Niche newsletter funded by sponsors
A free newsletter grows an audience and sells sponsor placements to advertisers. Subscriber growth is helped by paid ads and referral tools.
Online
The Koerner Office, 2025
Content and media
Cleaning motivation podcast membership
A paid membership that delivers private podcast episodes mixing public domain radio shows with cleaning routines and prompts. Members pay a monthly or quarterly fee.
Online
Side Hustle Nation, 2025
Content and media
Facebook content monetization posting
Posting engaging content, much of it screenshots of other people's posts, to a Facebook page enrolled in Facebook's content monetization program. Facebook shares ad revenue with the creator.
Under $100A few hours a weekOnline
Side Hustle Nation, 2025
Content and media
Nonfiction book notes site
Publishes personal notes from nonfiction books on a site and earns some money from it.
Online
Hacker News, 2024
Content and media
Newsletter featuring creators' workspace tours
Runs a newsletter that profiles the home workspaces of makers and creators, earning recurring revenue.
Online
Hacker News, 2022
Content and media
YouTube channel about tech and photography
Posts videos on tech and photography and earns from the channel.
$1k to $10kOnline
Hacker News, 2022
Content and media
Blog about cash flow investing
Runs a small blog about cash flow that earns a modest monthly income.
Online
Hacker News, 2022
Content and media
Coding interview tutorial YouTube channel
Posts weekly programming problem tutorials on YouTube and earns from ad revenue.
Online
Hacker News, 2021
Content and media
Product review blog with affiliate income
A product review blog that earns from affiliate commissions.
Online
Hacker News, 2021
Content and media
YouTube coding tutorials
Makes coding tutorials on YouTube to support themselves while building a product, earning a small amount from the channel.
Online
Hacker News, 2021
Content and media
Frontend development blog with SEO traffic
A long-running blog on frontend topics that earns from ads and search visitors with only occasional new posts.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2019
Content and media
Medium paywall for back catalog of articles
Moved all past writing behind Medium's paywall and removed calls to action to qualify for distribution. Earns a monthly share from reader time.
Under $100Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2019
Content and media
Web hosting review affiliate site
Runs a site that reviews web hosts and earns affiliate commissions. Competition is heavy.
Online
Hacker News, 2019
Content and media
Weekly web tools newsletter
A regular newsletter about web tools that earns income and leads to paid writing work.
A few hours a weekOnline
Hacker News, 2019
Content and media
YouTube channel restoring an old car
Documents fixing up an old sports car on YouTube. Income comes from ads and Patreon support.
Online and in person
Hacker News, 2019
Content and media
Arduino video tutorials with referral income
Makes video tutorials on Arduino programming on a personal site. Earns referral commissions when visitors buy parts.
Online
Hacker News, 2019
Content and media
Long-form article and podcast site without ads
A site publishing original long-form non-fiction in article and podcast form, funded by donations, a published book and content licensing instead of advertising.
Online
Hacker News, 2019
Content and media
Music gear review site with Amazon affiliate income
Runs a website reviewing music equipment, especially MIDI keyboards, and earns commissions through Amazon affiliate links.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2019
Content and media
Satirical tech newsletter with sponsorships
Runs a weekly newsletter that satirizes the tech industry. Revenue is from advertising to the subscriber base, with live events being considered.
Online
Hacker News, 2019
Content and media
Engineering licensing blog with affiliate links
A niche blog about getting a professional engineering license, carrying affiliate links to a prep package seller. Earns passively from affiliate commissions.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2019
Content and media
Old unedited YouTube video earning ad revenue
A video published years ago that YouTube keeps recommending, paying out ad revenue with no promotion by the owner.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2019
Content and media
Paid daily tech industry briefing
A morning briefing about the technology industry that readers pay for, with sponsorships that avoid ad-style promotion.
A few hours a weekOnline
Hacker News, 2019
Content and media
Health condition information website with ads
An information site about a specific skin condition that earns from display ads and Amazon affiliate links and is mostly left on autopilot.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2018
Content and media
Football tips site with memberships
A football tipping website built on WordPress that earns from paid memberships and sponsored posts.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2018
Content and media
Professional engineer licensing blog with affiliate deal
A blog about earning a professional engineering license in a niche with little coverage. Income comes from an affiliate deal with a company selling licensing prep packages.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2018
Content and media
Tech blog supported by advertising
A personal technology blog that earns small amounts from on-page advertising.
$100 to $1kOnline
Hacker News, 2018
Content and media
Watch strap blog earning affiliate income
Runs a blog about watch straps featuring photography from brands and custom leather makers plus interviews. Income comes from affiliate links.
Online
Hacker News, 2018
Content and media
Blog documenting an engineering licence application
Wrote a blog about the process of getting a professional engineering licence, which draws search traffic. Earns from ads and affiliate referrals to a seller of exam prep materials.
Under $100Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2016
Content and media
Content and gift idea sites with affiliate links
Maintains a handful of websites, including a gift ideas site that earns through Amazon affiliate links and some content sites.
Online
Hacker News, 2016
Content and media
Guide with affiliate link for router setup
Wrote a how-to guide for bypassing an ISP's required modem and router, and recommends a tested router through an Amazon affiliate link. Costs almost nothing to host.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2016
Content and media
People-search information site with AdSense
Built a WordPress website for people looking up information about others. It earns from Google AdSense and needs only software updates now.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2016
Content and media
Silicon Valley tour guide website
Runs a guide site for visitors interested in Silicon Valley sights. Income comes from ads.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2016
Content and media
Travel blog with Amazon affiliate links
Blogs about travel and working remotely from an RV. Money comes from Amazon affiliate links placed in posts.
Online
Hacker News, 2016
Content and media
Long-running AdSense content website
An advertising-supported website running for about a decade that grew its income yearly with mostly passive upkeep.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Affiliate links on tutorial blog post
Added Amazon affiliate links to a popular Raspberry Pi garage door tutorial and earns from purchases.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Architectural models niche blog
Runs a niche blog about architectural models and earns from ads and Amazon affiliate links.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Fan site supported by ads
A fan site run by a community of contributors that earns small ad revenue to offset server costs.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Free background images site earning AdSense
Runs a free background picture website with steady search traffic and links from other sites, earning from AdSense.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Information website earning AdSense
Built a content website covering a niche in a non-US market, with a lot of long-tail search traffic monetized by AdSense.
A few hours a weekOnline
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
jQuery plugin blog with daily listings
Runs a blog that lists a jQuery plugin each day and earns from advertising.
Under $100Online
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Local sports and politics AdSense blogs
Runs blogs on local sports and politics, with posts built from repackaged government data, earning from AdSense.
Under $100Online
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Niche humor blog with ads
A humor blog on Tumblr earning from ads.
Under $100Online
Hacker News, 2014
Content and media
Publish a friend's writing with ad revenue split
Hosts a friend's political writings on a site and splits the advertising revenue.
Under $100Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2014

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