THERE is an easy-to-start side hustle that could make you thousands of dollars per month without costing a cent.
The “promotional” gig is one of the most popular ways to make passive income in 2024.
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Influencer and side hustle expert Nora (@noratheaffiliate) offered a step-by-step method to get started with the opportunity — affiliate marketing — in a recent clip on TikTok.
Nora stressed that when done right, affiliate marketing could potentially make those interested anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 monthly.
“What is affiliate marketing? And why is it the best side hustle on TikTok?” Nora questioned.
She quickly explained to viewers that affiliate marketing involves simply working with another company or brand to promote their products or services on social media.
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The companies give you an affiliate link where you can direct customers, and when they buy products or services through it, you get a commission payment.
“Being an affiliate marketer is a fancy title for saying you promote a company’s product or service in exchange for a commission to make money online,” Nora noted.
“It’s pretty simple.”
She emphasized that affiliate marketing, as opposed to other side hustles, has several benefits and limited downsides.
RISK AND REWARD
For starters, affiliate marketers don’t have to create their own products or services, as they are provided by the brands they work for.
Additionally, there’s no handling of selling the product on the customer’s end, no customer service requirement, and the affiliate marketer doesn’t handle any inventory.
“It’s low cost and low risk because you’re selling someone else’s product,” Nora stressed.
To get started, she advised viewers to pick a niche for which products or services they’d want to affiliate market.
NARROW NICHE
“The biggest mistake people make is going too broad with their niche,” Nora warned.
She gave an example of choosing specifically wedding photography instead of photography in general.
Side hustles and tax implications
Extra income you make from side hustles may need to be reported to the IRS.
If you receive more than $600 in gross payouts from a selling platform like eBay, the site will issue you a Form 1099-K to use in your tax return.
Individuals should calculate their adjusted gross income, taxable earnings, and deductions for the year.
Once they have that, they can use the 1040-ES form to calculate estimated taxes.
Additionally, the influencer encouraged prospective affiliate marketers to avoid reaching for a niche that would be their “passion” as it won’t necessarily guarantee they make money.
Instead, she recommended the four content areas of either wealth, health, or relationships.
MORE VARIETY
There are still plenty of side hustle opportunities for those who feel the affiliate marketing route might not be for them.
Those looking for simpler side hustles with more physical involvement could make around $600 a day walking and babysitting dogs.
Even creating a lawn-mowing business in your neighborhood could earn you up to $250 daily.
More involved gigs could bring in even more cash, like $20,000 a month with a car flipping side hustle.
Writers should also make note of side hustle that only requires their laptop and makes around $192 per hour.