10 Freelance Ideas to Fuel Your Side Hustle
Side hustles are here to stay.
As of 2022, 40% of Americans have a side hustle, and over a third of people have started or plan to start their side hustle this year, according to Zapier.
Not only are side hustles a great way to pad your income, but they can also be a beneficial way to explore freelancing — and may even lead to full-time entrepreneurship.
If you’ve been toying with the idea of starting your own side hustle, here are 10 ideas to get you started using our community-sourced scope of work templates.
1. Marketing Retainer
If you’re a social media manager, copywriter, or graphic designer, consider teaming up for a marketing retainer scope of work template worth over $46K.
Companies of all sizes and across all industries can benefit from a value-packed marketing package like the one outlined in this scope of work template — so there’s plenty to explore as a side hustle.
Not only will teaming up make the workload more manageable (this is a side hustle, after all!), but it will give you an idea of what it could be like to eventually move from solo to studio.
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2. TikTok Strategy, Growth & Account Management
With over one billion active users on the platform, TikTok is a force in the social media world — and brands are clamoring to get in front of those users. But they need a strategy and account management to grow their TikTok presence, and that’s where creative directors and content creators come in.
If you fall into either of these roles, consider teaming up for a large scope of work like TikTok strategy, growth, and account management.
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3. Website Design
For UX and UI designers, freelance website design makes for a great side hustle. If you want to take the leap to become a freelance website designer, this scope of work template is a great way to get started.
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4. Content Strategy
In today’s content-driven world, a content strategy is essential for brands that want to be a resource for potential customers, clients, and leads.
If you’re a content strategist, consider lending your editorial expertise to companies that are in need of a solid strategy to help create, publish, and distribute content.
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5. Corporate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy
As a DE&I strategist, you help inform and guide a company’s policies on all things diversity, equity, and inclusion. Offering your expertise to the corporate landscape can easily be done on a freelance basis through a DE&I strategy.
A comprehensive corporate DE&I strategy includes everything from audits of the company’s current policies, hiring practices, and digital media assets to training, interviews, and employee surveys.
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6. Campaign Creative Direction
If you’re a creative director, you can take your creative skills solo by offering creative direction for campaigns as a side hustle.
With this type of project, you can work with a wide variety of clients across any industry you choose to create a brand campaign strategy, design ad concepts, and lead the creative direction.
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7. Email Marketing Management
Email continues to be a powerful way for brands to reach customers directly and drive traffic to their websites — which makes email marketing a valuable offering.
With a clear scope of work, email marketing management can be offered on a freelance basis if you’re an email marketer toying with the idea of a side hustle. Not to mention, an additional stream of income each month sounds pretty nice, right?
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8. Local SEO
If you have a heart for local businesses and a knack for search engine optimization (SEO), combine the two by offering local SEO strategies as a side hustle.
This scope of work includes setting up the client’s Google profiles and implementing on-site implementations. But it also includes ongoing SEO maintenance, making it a great way to secure ongoing work if you’re looking for a consistent side hustle idea.
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9. Motion Graphic
If you’re a 2D or 3D animator, try offering motion graphics on the side. Plus, this is a type of project that you can offer on a monthly basis if your clients are in need of ongoing creative assets.
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10. Project Management
If you’re a project manager, there are plenty of companies that can benefit from your organizational skills.
This project management scope of work template includes developing a campaign timeline and budget, reporting on campaign data, and conducting review sessions — all of which can be applied to a variety of campaigns or industries.
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