A recession isn’t just coming, it’s already here. 

2022 has made the first signals of this fact loud and clear. Now, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but….. we have yet to even feel the full wrath of a recession, let alone one of the worst recessions in over a century! 

2022 has made the first signals of this fact loud and clear. Now, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but….. we have yet to even feel the full wrath of a recession, let alone one of the worst recessions in over a century!

So with 2023 looming and conditions only set to get worse, what are we going to do about it?

‘errrm, bury my head in the sand?’  , no goddammit, we are going to do what we do best – survive, hell, we are going to not only survive, we are going to try to prosper!

‘And how are we going to do that?’

By reducing our expenses and increasing, or at the very least, sustaining our income.

In this article, I’ll share ways to increase your income. I’ll save the talk about reducing expenses for another day.  😉

So, let’s get to it. Here are 5 realistic side-incomes for 2023 that anyone can do, anywhere, anytime. 

They require zero set-up costs and, if done properly, work!

1. Freelance Copywriter

This one you have probably seen a million times before. YouTube is spilling over with videos of how easy it is, and how much money you can make doing it.

Which can be true. But how much you make really depends on how much work and effort you put in.

If you don’t know what a copywriter does, they write all the text you read from any company offering products or services.

In a nutshell, it’s sales text. Carefully constructed persuasive writing designed to hook the reader in, and spit them out at the checkout.

Every headline, every landing-page, every about us page and blog, are all just glorified forms of advertising. 

How do I get started?

The first thing to do is understand copywriting. Do some research. About 20 hours of self-education will suffice to get you going. You don’t need to be a literacy wizard, in fact, this may actually hinder your ability as a copywriter. 

All you need is a basic understanding of what it is and how to do it. The hardest part comes after when you begin  pitching to potential clients.

Personally, I’d get started by going to Jacob McMillens website and signing up to his mailing list here. Following sign up he will send a series of useful emails and help guides for beginners in this field.

You can also check out his YouTube Channel here for dozens of quick and simple easy to follow guides on getting into copywriting.

Once you feel you have a good understanding of persuasive writing and how it’s used out in the field, it’s time to write.

This applies to everything, from learning a new skill to  pursuing a passion. People often spend too much time trying to educate themselves into a comfortable place before taking action. It’s best to get started right away. It’s important to educate yourself, but don’t spend too much time studying…get started!

So, just write! It doesn’t really matter at this point where you practice your copywriting skills, it just matters that you begin doing it. If you have your own website, do it there. But it doesn’t matter if you don’t, just pick an industry niche, open up Google Docs and get to it.

The more you write, the easier it becomes and, the better you get. Try to write for at least one hour a day.

For another hour of the day, look for potential clients to pitch your work too. Using tools like rocketreach or hunter.io you can easily obtain the email addresses of potential clients in the industry areas you intend to write for.

Don’t aim for businesses killing it in their industry already, and don’t look for the bottom end either. Find businesses in the space who appear to have good consistent turnover, but seem to be failing to scale. Take a look at their website, try rewriting their copy – can you do better for them?

Email them and pitch your services. This itself is part of the art of copywriting. You need to use the very best persuasive writing you have to convince potential clients why they should hire you!

Send out 5 – 10 emails a day to potential clients, write at least one piece of text per day. For starters, two hours of your time is all you need. More if you can, but don’t over do it, consistency is far more important.

How much can you expect to earn?

If you were to base this on what influencers tell you, you might be thinking you’ll be pulling in four figures per gig, and this isn’t out of the question. But, realistically a newbie copywriter with no experience may get as little as absolutely nothing for the first few gigs. But, these free gigs give you the beginnings of a portfolio of published work. 

However, there is no reason why you couldn’t expect to get $200 – $500 for a simple landing page sales copy. The key is always consistency.

Keep writing, keep pitching, every day.

I wrote one article a day for 5 years. That’s almost 2000 articles. Starting with nothing under your belt in any new field of work seems daunting. Trying can seem futile, but actually, if you just start and remain consistent, you’ll soon have a significant amount of experience behind you.

Think about it, in just 1 month you could have your own blog with 30 articles. If you carefully select your topics and write each article with an intention, you can basically build the ultimate portfolio in a month.

So to recap:

1. Educate yourself on copywriting for 20 hours.
2. Start writing for 1-2 hours a day
3. Build a potential client email list
4. Pitch these potential clients for 1 hour a day.
5. Stay consistent

💡 Tip:  People have been writing copy for centuries. Don’t reinvent the wheel; start with templates and well-tested strategies. This will make things easier. Everyone else does this, so don’t feel bad!

2. Arbitrage Selling

Again, you’ve probably seen hundreds of 5-second intros before that ‘skip advert’ button appears of some dude trying to sell you the ‘5 steps to arbitrage selling’ course, promising $20k per month returns ‘in just 3 months!’. Sure, ok buddy, whatever you say! 

These adverts are enough to make just about anyone sceptical. But is it a valid business plan and is it practical in 2023?

Yes, and…. Yes. But, can anyone do it? 

If you have a smartphone and $100 in the bank, you’re good to go! If you’ve got a credit card, even better.

What is Arbitrage Selling?

Ever seen a stupidly cheap clearance in your local supermarket for some product which normally sells much higher? 

Ever noticed how that same item is often still at retail price everywhere else?

Well, imagine you take pictures of those ten 64GB USB Memory Sticks that were going at 50% off in Walmart. Then you list them amazon, eBay, Facebook marketplace at a fraction below their retail price and, boom, they sold and minus the postage and selling fees you’ve just made 20 -30% on your initial investment. 

Welcome to arbitrage selling. 

It sounds easy, and everything about it is easy, except one thing, actually doing it.

It is an infinitely scalable business with little startup costs.

You don’t even need to look for clearance sales and total bargains. There are literally thousands of products that sell on one platform for a vastly cheaper price than they do on another.

As long as the purchase price is less than the selling price + selling fees + postage, you can turn a profit with just a few clicks.

Check this out as a quick example which took me at least 10 seconds to find:

This first listing is from eBay. This seller has sold over 40 of these in 24 hours for £25.99

Meanwhile, the exact same item is for sale on Amazon for £6 less.

If I list the item on eBay for £25.50 each sale will cost me £3.20 in transaction fees.

Once sold, you simply order the item from amazon and have it delivered directly to your buyer on eBay.

Total profit: 

£25.50-£19.99-£3.20= £2.31

Not much huh?

OK, consider if you sold 40 in 24 hours. That’s £55 in 24 hours. 

The total time it takes to list and handle each sale is about 5 minutes for the listing and 1 minute for each sale. 

For 40 sales you’d have spent about 45 minutes of your time.

That’s about £65 per hour!

Now imagine you had an additional 10, 20, 100, 1000 items listed in this way. All making a profit, some small, some large. Suddenly, you have a very profitable business!

The beauty of this is that you can spend as little or much time with it as you like. 

💡 Tip: Organization is the key to arbitrage selling. Use a spreadsheet to monitor and keep track of all sales and purchases, keeping an eye on your profit margin at all times.

One thing a lot of people forget to mention, is how important seller feedback and reputation are when selling on platforms like eBay and Amazon. But if you don’t have much or any feedback at all, it’s ok.

The more products you sell, the more feedback and reputation you get!

And so, the more you sell, the more you sell!

So, to summarise:

1. 1. Find items on two separate marketplaces with a large enough price gap to make a profit from selling the cheaper item on the platform with a higher price after fees.
   2. List the item.
   3. Once sold, have the item sent directly from your (cheaper) supplier to your buyer. 
   4. Repeat the process with as many items as you want.

💡 Tip: Start small and be patient. Don’t expect to make huge money right away. Try one product at first—you can always add more products later. Keep track of how long it takes you to make a profit and how much profit you make. If it’s not worth it, try something else. Once you’ve got the hang of this, you can double your sales every month.

3. Blogging

Despite the similarities to copywriting, the two are not the same. Blogging is a far more profitable avenue to go down.

Blogging can be monetized in several ways. 

You can write blogs for other‌ people. Or, you can start your own blog and generate income through affiliate marketing and product sales. 

As with copywriting, the best way to get started is by doing it. Just start writing. 

What to write about?

The topics for your blogging ideally should be things you are interested in. So, if you have any hobbies or interests, start here. 

Look for current trends in your areas of interest. One good way to do this is using  google trends. Here you can type in keywords, and find what is trending right now on google. This will give you clues to where attention is currently going and what would be good to write about.

Let’s say you want to write about technology. Just type in ‘Technology’ in the Google Trends search bar and see what related search queries pop up…..

So what about a post on deep fakes? We know search trends are up, all we have to do now is create an interesting and informative article.

First stop, headline. 

Headlines should be between 6 and 12 words where possible and leave the reader wanting to know more. Something like ‘What Is Deepfake Technology And How Will It Change The World?’, or ‘Deep Fakes are here. And it’s a problem’.

Now you just need to do a little research on deep fakes and start writing.

All the usual rules of copywriting apply here, so remember to hook your readers in with that first opening paragraph and always make the purpose of every sentence that follows to be getting your reader to read the next sentence!

This is how you write a blog, but how do you monetize it?

Substack

Substack lets independent writers and podcasters publish directly to their audience and get paid through subscriptions. Anybody can set up an account and begin monetizing their content for free. Substack takes a fee for every subscription and that’s it. 

Over the past year, substack has grown in popularity, and its current policy of free speech is one major  reason for that.

From independent journalism to personal diaries, Substack has everything(literally, everything!). Nothing is off-limits and it’s great for growing an audience from scratch because substack will inform users of your content if they think they might be interested.

HIVE/STEEM/Odysee

Cryptocurrency driven platforms like Hive, Steem and Odysee allow content creators to upload their content to their blockchain. The more attention your posts get, the more tokens you receive.

In the early days these platforms could provide substantial income for bloggers, however over time monetizing your content has become less fruitful.

But as they say, ‘Every Little Helps!’

Medium

Medium has become one of the most popular resources for publishers and readers alike. 

Content creators can monetize their work through Mediums partner program. The more time people spend reading your content, the more you earn.  Additionally, for every new reader that you convert to a paying Medium member, you’ll receive half of that new reader’s membership fee.

If you’re new to blogging, I’d recommend publishing all your content on the platform. 

As your audience grows, try offering exclusive content on the platform as a way to increase income through their partner program.

Start your own Blogging website

I would recommend doing this alongside publishing on all the other platforms I’ve mentioned above. It would be wise to distribute your content as widely as possible, particularly when you begin.

Creating your own blog has never been so easy. 

To do this, get a basic hosting package. I use cloudways because they allow me to easily scale my server as traffic increases. They also allow me to create a wordpress site with a couple clicks and have a full suite of add-ons and tools to make managing my websites a breeze.

You’ll also need to get yourself a website domain. I use namecheap simply because they are typically the cheapest and offer a wide range of domain extensions.

Cloudways help guides will show you how to point your new domain name to their servers. But if you need additional help, just reach out to me in our community chat. 

You don’t need a fancy-looking website to begin, the basic wordpress template is enough to get you started. Just start posting and begin building your audience.

You can monetize your content through affiliate links relevant to your content. Getting this right is quite an art, relevance is the key. Courses, eBooks and health supplements are one of the most profitable affiliates to try to partner with.

Your own website will also act as the central point to all the other platforms you post on. Providing contact information, a little bit about yourself, where people can find you on social media etc.

Blogging for other People

Creating your own blog and establishing audiences on platforms like Medium and Substack will have given you two things, confidence and a portfolio of work. 

While a portfolio is necessary for selling your services as a blogger, it helps…. A lot!

How much you can expect to get from writing blog posts for other people will depend greatly on the niche and how good you are. 

You can earn anywhere from $50-$5000 per blog post, depending on your niche and experience. But don’t let the fact that you are new to this field intimidate you; many new writers earn more than those who have been in the industry for years!

Make a list of businesses in a niche that interests you. Check out their websites and current blogs, could you do better?

Pitch your services to them in a well-constructed email. Give them some examples of your work by referring them to articles you already have published on medium or your own personal blog. Securing gigs is something you’ll get better at in time, but practice makes perfect, not listening to endless courses!

4. Cleaning

Ok, so I know this isn’t necessarily everyone’s cup of tea – but bare with me.

A recession is here and most have yet to feel the consequences. Many seemingly thriving industries of 2022 will flip-flop into a state of decline. Redundancies will skyrocket and many will be left scrambling for any job they can get their hands on. 

People will find themselves working more hours for less money, often working 2 or 3 separate jobs. 

Those that keep their positions will find themselves with more responsibility as the workforce declines. 

Either way, people will be leading more manic lives. But they’ll still want their house cleaned!

Businesses will also  still need their offices cleaned. A recession is the best time to sweep in and offer a service they already have at a lower price. 

Cleaning work is always needed and the going rate isn’t as terrible as you might think. Startup costs are minimal and you can begin tomorrow.

If you have a spare two or three hours a day, simply make up some business cards for as little as  $25, post them through doors in your local area, commercial and domestic.

Advertise your service on local groups on social media and share what you are doing with your friends.

At between $30 – $60  per hour, a couple hours a day for a few days a week can really help boost your income. 

And, what’s great about this is that you can easily scale it up to a fully fledged cleaning business. There are plenty of young people who would happily clean for $15 – $20 per hour. When you have too many clients to handle alone, you simply offload them to a new member of your staff. 

It sounds too simple, that’s because it is. The bit that isn’t simple, is actually getting off your arse and doing it!

5. Transcribing

When someone needs material transcribed, they send a file to a transcriptionist. The files can be videos, audio notes, phone calls, or even legal proceedings. A good ear and quick fingers are crucial.

There are many automated services for this. YouTube has this functionality built in – however, computer generated transcription isn’t always accurate. This is where a human transcriptionist comes in…. possibly you?

It is as straightforward as it sounds; you receive an audio file from your client, you listen to it and write down what you hear. You get paid. Next!

Transcribing can pay anywhere from $15 – $100 per hour, it really does depend on the service you provide. 

The best place to get started here is with a platform like Transcribe Me. You can sign up here as a freelancer and get work sent to you for transcription. It isn’t going to make you wealthy, but it might just be enough extra to cover the bills next month. 

There is always a demand for transcribers, so if you do a good job, clients will be more likely to hire you again.

💡 Tip: It’s well worth getting a little practice in. Go to YouTube and transcribe a few videos. Adjust the playback speed to suit your typing speed. The more practice you get, the quicker you will be and the quicker you are the more money you can make.

Just a few pickings from a very large basket of opportunities……

There are many ways to make some extra money. You just have to decide what works for you and then do it. The hardest part about getting started is taking the first step.

Don’t expect to ‘make $1000 in 24 hours’ in any of the above ideas when you are getting started – this is not realistic. But put the time in and work hard and anything is possible. Even $1000 in 24 hours!