It seems that it is more expensive than ever to live in our society. As a result, many people are looking for easy side gigs to help make extra income from home.

The Internet gives us a variety of opportunities to make money online in 2024, but it’s essential to know which opportunities are legit and which ones aren’t worth your time.

To make the process a bit easier for you, we have come up with our favourite 2nd income ideas for 2024. These legitimate opportunities can help you get one step closer to reaching financial independence from the comfort of your own home.

The Best Second Income Ideas

1. Create A Blog

Blogging has long been one of the best second income ideas in my opinion and that is coincidently why I do it! It allows you to talk about a topic you love and earn money whilst doing so, It doesn’t get much better than that.

What perhaps stops people from starting is they believe you can’t make money blogging. This couldn’t be further from the truth! Not only can you make good money but you can also make it in more ways than one, here are a few examples:

• Sponsored Posts – A company paying you to mention them or talk about a product
• Affiliate Marketing – Selling other people’s products for a commission
• Advertising – Getting paid for having ads on your site
• Products – Selling your products/services

So as you can see you have quite a few options when it comes to making money with a blog.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly for some people, it can be challenging.

Why is that a good thing?

Because you need something that will keep you engaged and interested.

Any side income worth pursuing should be able to fulfil those two things. Often if something is too easy, it becomes boring quickly. Which isn’t ideal if you want to build a stable second source of income. The old saying goes something like:

‘Everything worthwhile takes time’

I feel inclined to agree.

For those of you who are interested in starting, I have a step-by-step guide on exactly how to create a blog. It will show you:

• The Host I Recommend (Same Price As A Coffee A Month)
• How to Make The Blog Look How You Want
• How To Start Your First Piece Of Content
• Best Strategies To Make Money From Your Blog
• And Much More (Including a Bonus)

2. Proofreading

As you may have figured out already, my spelling and grammar leave something to be desired. Fortunately for me, it turns out I’m not the only one. That’s why many publications enlist proofreaders.

Proofreading is ideal for someone who enjoys correcting mistakes and applying the finishing touches to an article. If that sounds like you, proofreading could be an excellent side income idea to start.

Since I’m no good at grammar or spelling, I don’t have any sort of walkthrough or tutorial on the blog (probably for the best). Fortunately, that doesn’t matter because I know Caitlin Pyle who teaches people how to get started in the world of proofreading.

She’s been kind enough to put together a free introductory workshop to help put you on the right path. Caitlin will show you how to turn proofreading into a full-time business but you can apply her teachings to create opportunities for a second income stream instead.

3. No-Risk Matched Betting

No-risk matched betting sounds quite complicated, but once you get it it’s easy. I’ll do my best to explain it as simply as possible. So bookmakers often create promotions to, for example, attract new customers.

Let’s say Bet365 gives all new customers a free £30 bet when they place a £10 bet. If we were to do this process normally, it would be gambling. That’s because we could lose the £10 and the £30 free bet.

So how do you make this process risk-free and guarantee a profit?

By matched betting.

To use the same example, you would place your initial £10 but instead of leaving it there, you place another bet against your initial one. As a result, they cancel one another out.

But because you placed the initial bet, you are still entitled to the free bet. With that £30 free bet, you repeat the process and you’ll extract around £20 profit. Since this is merely an introduction to matched betting I left a few small stages out to keep it as simple as possible. Nevertheless, you have the core of what matched betting is all about.

If you want to get started, you’ll need the help of a matched betting site for these reasons:

• Show You All Promotion Opportunities For Every Bookie
• Video Tutorials For How To Do Each Offer
• Special Calculators To Help You Work Out How Much To Bet

There are a couple of options to choose from but my favourite is Outplayed.

It is the leading matched betting site that has everything you need to make money. Not to mention the fact they’ll show you how to make up to £40 for free when you use my link. That’s a pretty good deal if you ask me!

If you want to learn more, check out my comprehensive matched betting guide.

4. Start A Youtube Channel

I’m going to start this second income idea off a little differently because first I wanted to address a response I get a lot whenever I mention starting a YouTube channel.

That is, isn’t YouTube too saturated? My answer has always been no, here is why:

• YouTube Is More Popular Than Cable TV
• 2.3 Billion Monthly Active Users
• 1 Billion Hours Of Video Watched Everyday

In other words, the market is massive.

So it’s safe to say that there are enough users to go around. You also have to consider how many current channels are:

• Not Used
• Not Posting Good Content
• Not Attracting Subscribers

When you take these factors into account, starting a YouTube channel looks much more attractive. And just like starting a blog, creating a YouTube channel is a great way to make money talking about something you love. The ideal combination.

I can’t tell you it’s going to be easy to get started, but once you get going you’ll be glad you did. Perseverance and consistency will be key to building up this 2nd income idea.

Once you’ve started to build an audience you’ll be able to earn money through things like:

• Advertisements
• Sponsorships
• Sale Of Your Products

So If you’d like to know how to get set up, I put together a free guide that will walk you through the process.

Related: How To Become a Youtuber

5. Freelance Work

A freelancer is simply someone who completes work as per a contract.

Here is an example:

I’m an expert in Photoshop and I want to offer my services, so I set up a gig around it.

(A gig is just another way of saying a project proposal)

When creating the gig, I can choose things like:

• My Prices
• Type Of Work I Will Complete
• Time Duration

After I’ve done all that and set up my gig, I just need to wait for someone to place an order. Once I receive an order, I conduct the work in the given timeframe and I’m paid.

It’s that simple.

I like to think of it as a flexible job, which is essentially another way of saying a second income- making it a perfect match.

Now in an ideal world, you’d like your second income to be different from your primary. No one loves their primary job that much (I could be wrong). So if you have another skill you could make money from, consider freelancing as a second income idea.

For those of you who are interested, I’ve put together a walkthrough guide that shows you how to get set up on one of the most popular freelance sites. It’s a site I use to hire and even sell on, so check it out.

Related: How To Become A Freelancer

6. Start A Podcast

Podcasting has somewhat exploded in popularity over the past few years.

Why?

Because it’s so accessible and easy to consume, all you need is a pair of earphones.

You can then listen to your favourite podcasts in bed, whilst exercising, travelling, and the list goes on and on. This growing demand for podcasts has opened up a window of opportunity for those of us looking to make some extra money.

If you’ve got a topic or series of topics you love talking about, then creating a podcast could be a good side income option for you. The tricky part, as with most options on this, is building up an audience from scratch. The best and most proven methods for doing effectively with a podcast are:

• Providing Valuable Content
• Be Involved In Your Target Market’s Communities
• Make Your Podcast As Visible As Possible (Social Media, Podcast Download Sites etc.)
• Be Consistent And Persistent

So essentially it’s all about making yourself known, through both being actively involved in your target community and the quality of the content itself. If you can do this and be consistent, there is no reason why your audience and the money you make won’t grow.

For those of you who are interested in starting your podcast, I have put together an actionable tutorial that lays out everything you need to get off the ground.

Related: How To Make Money From A Podcast

7. Take Surveys

Companies and marketing agencies need to know what real customers want from their products. As a result, they pay real customers, such as yourself, to fill out surveys about their products or the market as a whole.

Although you certainly can’t make a fortune, you can take free surveys for cash.

Taking paid surveys is a good way to make a side income because you don’t need any experience or skills. Not to mention the flexibility it grants for those of us who are stuck for time! All you need is access to a computer and an opinion. That’s something that we all have in today’s times, now more than ever.

When you take an online survey, you’ll often receive points that can then be cashed out when you have earned enough.

It’s super easy.

Here is a list of online survey sites:

• Gobranded
• Swagbucks
• Inboxpounds

8. Stream Games

Is playing video games one of your favourite pastimes? If so, you can build up a side income as a streamer.

It’s a great way to build a community of people who enjoy your company and the games you play. After all, why would you not want to make money from something you would happily do for free? The only difference is you are communicating whilst playing.

Whilst playing games, streamers often:

• Narrate The Gameplay
• Talk About Day-To-Day life
• Engage In General Chit Chat

So if you are a confident speaker or want to become more confident, streaming could be an interesting second-income idea. Here are the 2 best game streaming platforms:

• Twitch
• Youtube Gaming

If you’d like to know how to get set up, check the guide attached below. It takes you through everything.

Related: Streaming Set Up For Beginners

9. Tutor Online

Due to the pandemic, many classes have moved online. This has left many students feeling as though they don’t get the one-on-one help they need to fully understand the content. As a result, now is one of the best times to start an online tutoring service.

Of course, you’ll need to choose something you are experienced in. The more experience or degrees, the better, though you don’t technically need a formal degree to be an online tutor.

You can use online tutoring sites or reach out to local universities for a way to connect with their students. When it comes to online tutoring, here are the sites I always recommend:

• Chegg
• Club Z
• Tutoreye
• Lessonpal

10. Make Online Courses

Another way to take advantage of online education today is to create online courses. Online courses require a lot of time and effort upfront, but they have a large payoff. Select a topic you know a lot about and spend time creating a killer course that can last many years.

The key is to just provide TONS of value so you’ll get great reviews and prolonged coverage. Once you put your courses online, you’ll start racking up the money. The best part is it’s a great way to find out the best ways to make passive income.

I say that because you won’t need to put in a lot of extra work after the course is done. You can create a course and put it on sites like:

• Udemy
• Skillshare
• Teachable

11. Become An Influencer

In the 21st century, a lot of money goes into social media. You can become an influencer if you love being on social media and love promoting various products.

The key is to know how to build a large audience. Common methods include:

• Chatting With relevant audiences
• Reaching Out To Other Influencers
• Be Active On The Platform In General

You can start by promoting lesser-known brands but work your way up to being an influencer for highly respected and known brands, allowing you to earn a lot more money.

The best social media sites to become an influencer on include:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• Pinterest

These three sites are the best way to earn large commissions for your social media-influencing job.

Number 12. Start Investing

Investing is a great way to supplement your income by learning and evaluating public companies. A public company simply means a business that issues shares to the public in exchange for the money-making of an investor. By investing your money in a strong business with potential, you can make money when the price of the company’s shares rises.

Just be aware, that investing always comes with risks because share prices can go down just as much as they can go up. So how do you minimise the risk? By making sure you do your due diligence and having the mindset of a long-term investor.

You can get started by signing up with any stocks and shares broker, popular names are:

• Trading 212
• Freetrade
• IG

Related: The best stock trading apps in the UK

Number 13- Property

Whether it’s buying a second home with a buy-to-let mortgage and renting it out, buying properties to flip and sell for a profit or just renting out a room in your own home- property makes a great second income.

Speak to a real estate agent about your options based on your current financial situation.

Related: How much will I make from a rental property

Number 14 – Consulting

Well, have you ever thought that your knowledge and expertise in one area can solve problems for others and bring a steady income? Let’s see – a second income that is not just about the numbers but about the unique value you bring to others! Yes, it’s all about consulting!

Blog posts, webinars, social media snippets or just calls: it can become a unique experience for you and your target audience. You can create clear consulting packages with clear pricing. It will help gain and target potential clients and give them a clear idea of how they can benefit from your expertise.

The best platforms you can offer your services:

• LinkedIn or other Social Media Channels
• Create a website
• Industry-Specific Platforms
• Blogging

Final Thoughts On Second Income Ideas Uk

Now, this post is drawing to a close, I hope you managed to find at least a handful of options that suit you on this list. I tried to vary the options so there was something for everyone.

Not only that but to try and include some different and easy second income ideas that not many people had considered.

If you think I have done a good job in that respect, I’d appreciate you sharing this and so would your friends.