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.

101 ideas, page 1 of 3

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
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
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
Flight and hotel deals search site
Runs a white-label flight and hotel search engine and shares deals by social media and email subscription.
Online
Hacker News, 2024
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
Cheap flight deals site for Australians
Runs a flight deals blog and newsletter with an embedded flight and hotel search tool, earning from bookings.
Online
Hacker News, 2022
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
Tech blog with ads and Patreon
A blog that earns from ads and Patreon support, covering hosting costs and a bit more.
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
Eyewear comparison affiliate site
Built a site comparing glasses retailers that earns affiliate commissions.
Under $100Hands-offOnline
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
Textbook price comparison site with affiliate income
Started a price comparison website for college textbooks that earns affiliate commissions, mostly from search traffic.
Hands-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
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
Curated recommendations site with affiliate links
Runs a curated list of Hacker News recommendations and products. Earns small amounts from affiliate links.
A few hours a weekOnline
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
Better Amazon search earning affiliate commissions
Built a search tool that ranks Amazon products by ratings and review volume, grouped by price range. Money comes from affiliate links.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2016
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
Domain price comparison site with affiliate income
A website comparing prices for domain extensions across registrars. Earns through registrar affiliate commissions and paid data downloads.
Hands-offOnline
Hacker News, 2016
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
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
Searchable product catalog with affiliate links
A website with a searchable product catalog that earns from Amazon affiliate links.
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
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

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