Content and media side hustle ideas

44 ideas

• Content and media

  Practice website for learning Excel

  A simple website that helps people learn Excel through exercises. The founder built it with very little effort and grew it as a dead-simple, boring niche site.

  Hands-offOnline

  Starter Story, 2026
• Content and media

  Free sudoku sites supported by ads

  A group of free sudoku websites that earn steady income from minimal ads.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2024
• 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

  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

  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

  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

  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

  Fun small websites earning ad revenue

  A small project built for fun that earns a little from display ads and has grown slowly.

  Under $100Hands-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

  Technical blog post monetized with AdSense

  Published a how-to post on single sign-on between two business platforms on an old blog and added AdSense. Earns small ad revenue from search visitors.

  Under $100Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2016
• Content and media

  Ad on a jQuery plugin documentation site

  Maintains a documentation website for a jQuery plugin and earns a small amount from a single ad placed on it.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2016
• Content and media

  Maps in your own language site

  Built a site that forces Google Maps links into a chosen language. Ad revenue covers its hosting.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2014
• 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

  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

  Host a nonprofit's forum for ad revenue

  Hosts a forum and website for a nonprofit, in exchange for placing ads that cover the hosting costs.

  Online

  Hacker News, 2014
• Content and media

  jQuery credit card validator with ad revenue

  Built a credit card validation plugin with a demo site that earns small ad revenue.

  Hands-offOnline

  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

  Logo gallery supported by ads

  A logo design gallery where designers submit work, earning from ads and ad network placements.

  Online

  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
• Content and media

  Small single-purpose websites from an agency

  A studio builds quick websites that solve small problems, getting traffic from blogs and earning from AdSense.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2014
• Content and media

  White label dating websites

  Runs three white label dating sites that earn with little maintenance.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2014
• Content and media

  School directory funded by ads

  Evolved a failed school-focused social network into a directory site that earns from ads with little maintenance.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2014
• Content and media

  Solar power blog driven by a YouTube video

  Runs a simple blog on solar power, linked from a YouTube video, that earns from AdSense ads.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2014
• Content and media

  Animated GIF sites funded by ads

  Runs cat and dog GIF websites supported by advertising.

  Under $100Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2014
• Content and media

  Architectural models niche blog

  A hobby blog about architectural models that earns from ads and Amazon affiliate links.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2014
• Content and media

  Career website for Marine Corps members

  A career site for Marines with a mailing list, earning a modest amount with about a day of work per month.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2014
• Content and media

  Local niche job board

  A jobs site that earns from affiliate links and AdSense, being rolled out as a network.

  Online

  Hacker News, 2014
• Content and media

  Prank website hosted on GitHub Pages

  Runs a simple prank site hosted cheaply on GitHub Pages that brings in a modest monthly income.

  Under $100Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2014
• Content and media

  Rhyming dictionary website with ads

  Built a rhyming dictionary site where an ad unit covers the hosting costs.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2014
• Content and media

  Showcase gallery of sites built with Bootstrap

  Runs a showcase website for sites built with a popular front-end framework, with very low running costs and steady traffic.

  Online

  Hacker News, 2014
• Content and media

  Tax calculator website with ads and affiliates

  A site of tax and finance calculators that earns from AdSense and affiliate income, needing only occasional upkeep.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2014
• Content and media

  Face-filtered image search site with ads

  An alternative interface to Google image search with the face filter on, which earned from ad clicks on an image-heavy site.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2011
• Content and media

  Lyrics website earning AdSense

  Runs a lyrics website that earns a small amount from AdSense.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2011
• Content and media

  Micro niche sites built for AdSense, then sold

  Built many small niche websites on keyword-rich domains with SEO copy to earn AdSense revenue, then sold the whole set on Flippa.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2011
• Content and media

  Network of crowdsourced humor sites

  Runs several user-submitted humor sites and earns from them plus licensing for a paid iPhone app tied to one site.

  Online

  Hacker News, 2011
• Content and media

  Niche sites earning from sold text links

  Runs two small sites that earn mostly by selling text links through a link marketplace, plus some AdSense.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2011
• Content and media

  Pancake day recipes and activities site

  Ran a seasonal site of pancake recipes and ideas for pancake day. It earned yearly ad revenue.

  Under $100Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2011
• Content and media

  Personal electronics blog with AdSense

  A technical blog documenting electronics projects, earning small ad income.

  Online

  Hacker News, 2011
• Content and media

  Pull-up bar video review with ad share

  A YouTube review of a pull-up bar that ranked well in search and pays a periodic share of ad revenue.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2011
• Content and media

  Sudoku website with text-link advertising

  Built a Sudoku website that now earns from advertising, mostly sponsored text links, with free signups seeing no ads.

  Hands-offOnline

  Hacker News, 2011
• Content and media

  Expired-domain niche site and job board

  The operator buys an expired exact-match domain for a niche, rebuilds it as a site that earns from the niche audience, and adds a niche job board. Upkeep is minimal.

  Hands-offOnline

  The Koerner Office