12 Best Digital Marketing Side Hustles For 2024
There's no denying that we live in a digital world. From the content we consume to how we do business, pretty much everything is done online these days.
This also means that the digital marketing industry is massive. In fact, according to a study from the Global Industry Analysts Inc, the global digital advertising and marketing industry is anticipated to reach $786.2 billion by 2026.
So, if you're looking for a new side hustle idea and want to make money online, it's the perfect time.
In fact, it's never been better to start a digital marketing side hustle. And I've personally earned over $100,000 from a mix of digital marketing side gigs over the last few years.
In this post, I'm outlining some of my favorite online marketing side hustles. By the end, you should have an idea of where the money is in this industry and how to get started.
The Best Digital Marketing Side Hustles
Digital marketing is a pretty complex industry with a lot of sub-niches. This means it's critical to know your skills and interests when you start looking for your first gigs.
Personally, I've made money with numerous digital marketing side hustles and online jobs over the years. But specialization is what's helped me land higher-paying clients and make more money.
But if you're just starting out, it's definitely worth considering all of these lucrative digital side hustles.
1. Search Engine Optimization Consultant
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of optimizing content and websites to appear more highly on search engines.
SEO is a massive component of digital marketing. After all, it doesn't matter if you run a blog, ecommerce store, or brick-and-mortar business; getting more traffic from Google is usually a good thing.
SEO consulting is also how I've made a lot of my money since college. I started by landing some easy jobs on Upwork to get started, and I've earned over $10,000 on that platform to date:
The main SEO side hustles I've done over the years include:
- One-time website audits
- SEO roadmap plans (basically creating content maps)
- Ecommerce store optimization
- Competitor analysis
I learned my SEO knowledge from running WebMonkey and from a previous job at an advertising agency. But you can learn everything you need to know about SEO for free online or with affordable courses on Skillshare.
As for how you find clients, I suggest turning to your network first. But plenty of remote job sites also have SEO gigs you can apply to.
And for your SEO toolkit, I suggest using SEMRush. It's the all-in-one SEO tool that I've used for 5+ years, and it's what I use for all of my client work.
2. Paid Advertising Specialist
Another popular digital marketing side hustle you can try out is being a paid advertising specialist.
This is actually my most successful marketing side hustle. In fact, it's how I paid for college and how I made money while holding down my day job afterwards.
Personally, I focus on Facebook Ads and Google Ads for local businesses and ecommerce stores. At one point, one of my best friends and I were earning $3,000 a month by running ads for two local furniture businesses.
This video from YouTuber Jordan Le provides a pretty excellent overview of how to run Google Ads for local businesses.
Now, I learned how to run ads by working at a digital marketing agency during school and after college. This let me spend other people's money before risking my own, and it helped me sharpen my skills.
This is what I suggest other people do. However, you can also take free Google Ads certification and Facebook Ads certifications from Google and Meta to learn the ropes.
3. SEO Content Writer
If you have a knack for writing, one excellent digital marketing side hustle is to become a freelance writer.
Freelance writing is actually how I make most of my money these days alongside blogging. And it's the digital marketing skill that let me quit my office job and travel the world, making money from my laptop.
However, there's a massive difference between writing articles and writing articles with SEO best practices in mind.
When you know how to write articles with keywords and SEO best practices, you're more valuable. So, you can charge more and land more clients.
Some content writing gigs even require having a basic understanding of SEO and how to use tools like SEMRush and Ahrefs. So, if you know these skills, I think it's an excellent way to make money with digital marketing.
Personally, I've had clients pay anywhere from $0.15 to $0.35 per word. This means a single article pays me around $150 to $500 depending on the word count.
You can check out my new eBook, Freelance Writing For Freedom, for the step-by-step guide on how I scaled my writing income and career.
4. Affiliate Marketing Specialist
Affiliate marketing is another lucrative area of digital marketing with plenty of opportunity for side hustlers.
Personally, affiliate marketing is how I earn a lot of my blogging income. In fact, WebMonkey can make $1,000 a day or more sometimes when affiliate channels are going well.
Some of the ways you can make money with your affiliate marketing skills include:
- Offering optimization and tracking services to bloggers
- Doing affiliate and sponsorship outreach for bloggers
- Making money on YouTube with an affiliate marketing focused channel
- Making money with a niche affiliate site or PPC affiliate arbitrage
I've considered hiring an affiliate marketing expert to help with my own site in the past. And some clients I've written for have a full-time affiliate marketing manager on staff as well, so there's lots of money in this space.
5. Print On Demand
Print on demand, or POD, is another top digital marketing side hustle that blends graphic design, SEO, and ecommerce.
With print on demand, you sell merchandise to people on platforms like Etsy, Shopify, or marketplaces like Redbubble. When you make a sale, a manufacturing partner creates and ships the order to your customer, so you never deal with inventory or shipping.
I actually tried starting an Etsy print on demand business back in college. My idea was to make money with memes by selling silly mugs to people.
I used Printify, my favorite POD provider, to make the mugs I was selling. And I even managed to make two sales with organic traffic to my Etsy shop and by promoting it on Instagram.
I like using Printify since it has over 100 products you can add your designs to, including hats, backpacks, stickers, shirts, phone cases, and more.
Plus, its design tool is beginner-friendly, and you can make new products with just a few clicks by uploading your designs to them.
My post on how to make passive income with Etsy covers this topic in more detail if you're curious!
6. Blogger
I couldn't possibly write a list of the best marketing side hustles without mentioning blogging.
I started WebMonkey back in college. And in my first year, the website only earned $1,700.
However, I learned more about SEO and blogging over the years. And fast forward to today, and in 2022, WebMonkey made over $272,000.
These days, WebMonkey makes $50k a month, so this just demonstrates the income potential of this area of digital marketing.
My video above explains the steps I took to scale my blog. But in a nutshell, much of my blogging income comes from display ads that I run with Mediavine. In fact, the blog makes $500 a day from ads alone, which is largely passive income at this point.
I also make a lot of my blogging income from affiliate marketing, as mentioned.
But I love blogging as a side hustle since it teaches you so many useful digital marketing skills. Blogging is what really taught me content writing, SEO, some basic web design, and affiliate marketing.
And you can monetize in other ways, like offering sponsored posts or by selling your own physical and digital products.
Plus, there are thousands of blogging niches you can explore. And getting started isn't expensive whatsoever.
I mean, you can find affordable domain and WordPress hosting with a company like SiteGround and start a blog as a fun side project. If you stick with it, there's no telling where you might end up.
7. Dropshipping
Dropshipping is another digital marketing side gig that's been growing in popularity the last few years.
Like print on demand, dropshipping involves selling products to customers without ever handling inventory or shipping yourself. This is because when you make a sale, you purchase the product from the manufacturer and have them ship it right to your customer.
I actually launched a dropshipping store on Shopify back in college. It made one sale, but I wasn't able to break even between Facebook Ads and my product cost.
However, dropshipping can be incredibly lucrative. And I like the business model because you can test new products quickly and focus on ads and conversion rate optimization because you don't have to deal with shipping and logistics.
This video from YouTuber and dropshipping expert Jorda Welch shares a step-by-step guide on how to start dropshipping if you're curious.
Overall, dropshipping is a simple yet potentially lucrative online business to try. And you can start without spending much money with a simple Shopify store and a few products.
Pro Tip: You can also use Spocket to find the next best dropshipping products for North America and Europe and get ahead of trends and your competitors.
8. Email Marketing Specialist
Another popular digital marketing side hustle you can try is becoming an email marketing specialist.
Email marketing is one of the most profitable forms of marketing. In fact, according to Constant Contact, email marketing has a return on investment of $36 for every $1 spent. And you can use this roi calculator from Omnisend to see the impact of what a profitable email marketing campaign could accomplish.
So, if you know how to design amazing email flows and campaigns, you can make a lot of money in this space.
Companies I've worked for have paid email marketing consultants thousands of dollars for this kind of work. And if you know your stuff, it's an excellent skill to sell online.
9. Ecommerce Store Manager
Have a knack for running online businesses? In this case, one of the best digital marketing side gigs is to become an ecommerce store manager.
Brands hire operators all the time to take over general management of online brands. And you can even find these types of gigs on marketplaces like Fiverr:
Some people I know do this for their full-time income stream. And if you're relatively new to digital marketing, you can still find work in supporting roles or as a virtual assistant.
10. Social Media Manager
If you're still wondering how to start a digital marketing side hustle, one option you can consider is social media management.
Social media managers are a dime a dozen these days. But then again, more and more businesses are getting on social media to find new customers.
As a social media manager, your day-to-day responsibilities mostly include coming up with content, formatting it, and posting it online. Some of the most popular platforms you're likely working with include:
- TikTok
- YouTube
I actually have a YouTube video on some awesome online business ideas, and one of them involves repurposing social media content for content creators.
Again, this is a pretty saturated space. But with the emergence of TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts, I think there's a lot of opportunity for video when it comes to social media management.
11. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Specialist
One niche digital marketing side hustle you can consider is CRO, or conversion rate specialization.
A CRO expert generally gets paid to analyze an online business, find pain points that reduce conversion rates, and then optimize accordingly.
This type of online consultant work often carries a massive price tag. After all, if you help a business that's doing $50 million a year increase its conversion rate by 0.50% or 1%, that's a significant lift.
I don't think this is a good side hustle for digital marketers who are just starting out. But if you've been in the ecommerce game for a long time, it's worth trying.
12. Website Designer
One final digital marketing side job you can consider is web design.
Like social media management, this is a pretty saturated niche. However, businesses and freelancers still need websites built for them every day. And if you have programming skills, this could be how you make money.
My friend Grant actually made money programming and by designing websites after college. Again, it's saturated and a grind, but it's possible.
My suggestion here is to specialize in a platform and niche. For example, apparel Shopify stores could be what you excel at.
This way, you can get better at a type of web design, develop a stronger portfolio, and land higher-paying gigs.
Extra Reading – The 10+ Best Side Hustles That Pay Weekly.
Tips For Starting A Digital Marketing Side Hustle
Now that you know some of my favorite digital marketing side hustles, here are some tips to keep in mind to increase your odds of landing a paid gig:
- Get Certified: Certifications like Google and Meta Ads are free, but they show clients you care and are professional. So, look for courses, certifications, and any online credential you can to improve your resume.
- Be Honest: Many digital marketing niches, like SEO, get a negative reputation from all the snake oil salesmen. Always be honest with clients, and don't over promise something just to get a retainer.
- Learn From The Workplace: Personally, I got my start in online marketing by working at an agency during college. I think this is the best way to learn outside of online courses. And it lets you spend serious money without risking your own capital.
- Invest In Tools: Tools like SEMRush and online courses like Skillshare are worth paying for if they help you land clients and do a better job. For me, SEMRush has been a game changer for my own blog and the SEO consulting that I've done.
Extra Reading – 10+ Best Legit & Easy Online Jobs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Digital Marketing A Good Side Business?
Digital marketing is a good side business, but in my opinion, you have to specialize in a niche and service to find success. For me, it's been SEO consulting for blogs and personal finance content writing.
If you stay too general, you run the risk of being a Jack of all trades but a master of none. The Internet is competitive, so niche-down and offer a specialized service with a more premium price.
Which Digital Marketing Skills Pay The Most?
In my experience, digital marketing consulting and paid ads management pay the most. In both of these fields, I've landed monthly retainers paying several thousands of dollars, which worked out to an hourly rate of a few hundred dollars.
That said, pretty much any digital marketing side hustle can be very lucrative if you're one of the best in the world at it.
For example, I know some email marketing experts making high six-figures a year from consulting. Same goes for paid advertising specialists, or branding experts.
What's The Best Email Marketing Side Hustle?
Email copywriting and conversion rate optimization specialists are two of the highest-paying email marketing side hustles. You can also consider starting an email marketing agency and offer end-to-end solutions for your clients if you want to go the B2B route.
Some of my friends make money by offering email copywriting services to several brands and content creators. This remote side gig can pay a very high hourly rate, and clients can even pay monthly retainers or revenue shares depending on the contract.
Final Thoughts
I hope this list of digital marketing side hustles inspires you to put your marketing skills to work and make some extra cash.
Honestly, I love online marketing. And if you have the right skills, I fully believe you can sell them online and start a new, fun side hustle.
Digital marketing has honestly changed my life and career path (I studied psychology in school, after all.) I think there's tremendous opportunity in this industry, and new opportunities also appear all of the time, so be ready!
Best of luck!
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