#Collaborative post
Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year, but it can also be expensive. Here, Peter Watton from OddsMonkey outlines five great ways you could boost your income online this festive season.
With Christmas on its way, you might be wondering how you can make a little extra cash to help make this festive season the best one yet. Aside from your usual job, choosing a side hustle can be a great way to boost your income, and it’s an incredibly popular one, too.
At OddsMonkey, we surveyed 2,000 British adults to find out what extra sources of income they have. Our results showed that one in four Brits has a side hustle, and make an average of £230 per month. 62% of respondents said that they had a job on the side to provide an extra source of income. And, after this year, it’s likely that more and more Brits will be turning to at least one side hustle to get through the festive season.
Although some of the most popular sources of income like babysitting, bartending, and renting out a spare room aren’t possible at the moment, there are a few ways you can make extra money online. Below, I’ll be going through a few side hustles you can try from the comfort of your own sofa, just make sure you have a good internet connection to support your business. Check out these optimum internet plans if you need to upgrade.
Create an online shop
Creating an online shop is one of the most traditional ways of making money over the internet. The likes of eBay, Depop, and Etsy are great platforms for people looking to make cash online. All you’ll need is a business idea to get started.
Christmas is the perfect time to set up your own business, especially as more people are willing to shop with small businesses this year. If you’ve picked up a particular hobby through lockdown, such as baking or crafts, you could set up an online shop and start selling your creations.
This is a spend money to make money approach, and you’ll need to invest some of your own cash to set everything up. But, once you start to earn a profit, you can begin to pump it back into the business and build it even more.
Start dropshipping
Unlike traditional online shops, dropshipping can be a relatively low-cost and minimal effort approach to making money online. To do this, you won’t need to carry any stock yourself, as a third-party supplier (usually a wholesaler or manufacturer) will make and ship the item directly to the customer for you.
As you won’t be paying to manufacture, pick, pack, and ship your products, your overheads will be relatively low. This can make it much easier for you to upscale your business, as your main focus will be on customer service and earning a profit rather than fulfilling orders on time.
Give blogging a try
If you’ve got a keen interest in a particular topic, it might be a good idea to start blogging about it. There are a few ways you can make money from running a blog, but the most common ones are ad revenue, working with affiliates, offering content behind a paywall, and working with sponsors.
Before starting your blog, it might be worth spending some time planning what topics you’ll write about. This kind of side hustle can take a long time before it becomes lucrative, so you’ll need to have a vested interest in order to keep it going.
Try matched betting
If you’re looking for a more short-term side hustle, matched betting could be for you. This involves using free bets and deals from betting exchanges to make a profit. For this to work, you’ll need to bet on both potential outcomes of an event. This means you’ll win something back, no matter the result.
To do this, find a deal that you qualify for. Most betting exchanges offer free bets to new customers. You can then use this free money to bet on an outcome of an event (this is your back bet). Then, you can use your own money to bet on the opposite outcome (this is your lay bet). If your lay bet wins, you’ll earn a profit from your winnings plus your initial stake. If your back bet wins, although you’ll lose the money you placed on your lay bet, the profit you make from your winnings will make up for it.
Figuring out how much to stake on your lay bet in order to make a profit can be tricky for even the most experienced matched betters. So, it’s worth using an online matched betting calculator to help you get the most from your side hustle.
Fill out online surveys
Filling out online surveys can be another great way to earn a bit of extra money on the side. There are a number of websites that can offer money or vouchers for filling out surveys, and the reward can vary depending on the survey length.
The cash rewards for each individual survey probably won’t be much, so you’ll need to fill out quite a few and fairly regularly in order to make a profit. It’s worth filling out as many as you can to maximise your profits this Christmas.
Most online surveys are conducted for market research and some may be looking for a particular audience, for example, a certain age group. So, you’ll need to search around for a survey or focus group that you fulfil the criteria for.
If filling out surveys sounds like the right side hustles for you, remember to create a brand new email address so you don’t miss any opportunities. You should also make a note of every survey you fill out and the reward promised so you can chase it up if you don’t hear anything back.
By trying out some of these side hustles, making money from home has never been easier. Just remember that some may be more time-consuming and may take longer to be profitable. But, with a bit of persistence, you’ll be able to treat your family this Christmas.
Hopefully, this guide has given you plenty of inspiration to help you start your own side hustle this festive season. For more tips and tricks for making extra money, please take a look at the rest of our Savvy Squirrel guides.
