Content and media side hustle ideas

46 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

  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

  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

  Directory of flagship stores in a city

  Photographed top brand stores in London and published a directory blog that earns from ads.

  Under $100Hands-off

  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