5 online side hustles that could boost your income in 2021

The uncertainty of the pandemic has left many of us a bit strapped for cash. But with brighter days on the horizon, it might be a good idea to look at ways you can boost your income this year. Here, Peter Watton from matched betting site OddsMonkey shares five online side hustles that can line your pockets in 2021.

Many of us may find ourselves wishing for a little extra cash to treat ourselves and our families every so often. But with the coronavirus pandemic causing financial crises globally, it’s unsurprising that so many people are trying to think up other ways of topping up their income. Luckily, there are many ways of doing so, and making a pretty decent profit, too!

In fact, our survey on side hustles revealed that picking up an extra money-making scheme can earn you, on average, an additional £230 per month. Here, I’ll be talking you through my top five online side hustles that could boost your income in 2021.

Sell your unwanted goods
With more people having extra time on their hands, it’s the perfect opportunity for you to have a clear out and identify things you no longer need that could go to a new home. I’d recommend going through each of your rooms one by one and seeing if the things you have no use for are likely to be sellable.

It might help to look at what products others are selling and for what price and using this as a benchmark — just make sure you also take delivery costs into account. There are so many sites like Depop and eBay that you could list your belongings on, depending on what you’re wanting to sell.

Participate in paid surveys
Surveys can be a simple way to make money, and all it usually requires is a laptop or computer and an internet connection. Surveys can come in a range of different formats, including questionnaires, and usually the aim is to gather market research from willing participants. Although the fees aren’t always very high, if you’re able to dedicate your time to doing a few a week, you could make a great profit.

To ensure sites or providers are reputable, I’d also recommend checking their reviews before giving up your time.

Try your hand at matched betting
Matched betting is a great way to earn some extra cash on the side, as it’s low-risk even for those who aren’t really into sports or more traditional types of betting! Matched betting operates on a ‘back and lay’ technique where you’ll place a bet on a particular outcome (known as a back bet) and place an equivalent bet on the opposite outcome (this is your lay bet), so that even if you lose one, you’ll win the other. This allows you to unlock the promotional free bets offered by bookies.

By following this method, you typically make around 80% of the free bet amount, and the best part is that there are matched betting sites that can do a lot of the work for you. So, you can walk away with around £25 profit per bet for only a few minutes of your time.

Matched betting can only go wrong through the odds changing last minute or from human error, so it’s worth getting to grips with the technique yourself and double checking all of your bets before placing them.

Sell your own crafts
If you have a creative flair, why not turn your hobby into a way of making some extra income? Whether you’re a knitting fanatic, or you make your own jewellery or candles, there’s potential to sell any of your handmade goods if you have a unique selling point. This could involve using only sustainable materials or specialising in a specific type of weaving pattern.

You could then sell these on a crafting website like Etsy, or you could even make your own. I’d also advise making social channels for your brand to help draw traffic to your website for free.

Set up a blog
Blogging has really taken off in recent years, giving rise to the possibility of sharing posts online becoming a full-time career. However, you could also do this as a hobby alongside your current employment to make some extra money — just note that building up a blog following can take many months or even years, so you’ll need to stick with it. But with our survey revealing bloggers can fetch £333 per month on average, it’s certainly worth trying.

It’ll be a good idea to take a few hours per week (or at the start of every month) to plan out your content and analyse your previous post’s performance.

Making extra money doesn’t have to be complicated, and with our survey showing there are so many avenues you can go down to increase your income, it’s well worth trying one of these five side hustles. Just make sure you dedicate the time needed and stay consistent!