Building A Personal Brand Side Hustle
Authenticity is key. It’s so much easier to consistently be yourself than to try and be someone else. If you think about your favourite celebs, they’re just being themselves - and it’s so much easier to invest in them and like them.
If you are wanting to start a side hustle, one of the first things to consider is how to position yourself, whether you are the “brand” or your product is the brand. For side hustles, where you are brand, the only way to make it work is to put yourself (and not someone else you are pretending to be) out there.
“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
This quote comes from Jeff Bezos. And as much as he is controversial, he is a business mind and he’s managed to make a pretty massive success, starting Amazon as an online side hustle.
Your personal brand is what you do and how you do it. Since it’s centred around you, it’s not something you can (or should) try and fake.
The best side hustles that pay you to be yourself
YouTube Video Streaming
More and more people are interested in making and consuming bite-sized content. This means authentic homemade videos have skyrocketed in popularity.
Vlogging and YouTube channels are now sitting on potential pots of gold with niche, loyal followers available for each industry. With a little effort (and a lot of consistency), it’s possible to start a pretty lucrative side hustle with a focus on video production.
Consistency is key if you want video content to be a serious income stream. You also need to be comfortable behind a camera and have some skill editing video (but that you can easily learn “on the job”).
For example, Casey Neistat is one of my favourite YouTube vloggers. His authenticity and consistency won me over completely.
Even though Casey does things which are simple in practice, the fact that he does them daily is what makes him impressive. He often messes up, stumbles over words, slips, slams doors, cuts open packages that end up cutting through his products. Whatever. Push on and be consistent.
Remember, with all content-related side hustles: Done is better than perfect.
With video streaming, revenue is possible through ads (either paid through the platform or by partner advertising), selling products or merchandise or by crowdfunding in your video content.
Instagram Influencing
So many people grow up dreaming of a life of fortunes and fame. It’s what the media shows us as glamorous, so we’re obsessed with the potential of the razzle and dazzle. The hard truth: So many people want A-lister fame, but so few people get it.
Luckily, you don’t need to have to be in the Hollywood spotlight anymore to have a profitable personal brand. With the world living on social media, the stage is set for you to make a profit from your personal brand from behind your screen. Using Instagram to market your side hustle with a business account, you can monetize the platform by finding the right niche, building a good following and creating a consistent strategy.
Part of the side hustling process is developing the right voice and targeting a loyal customer base or audience, so building (or harnessing an existing) following on the social platform also acts as a great way to focus up and promote your side hustle product.
Blog Writing
Content is king, but it’s not easy to sell, not itself at least. While you might not be able to monetize just the content of your blog easily, you can make use of the platform where it lives.
If you have a blog which you update regularly with authentic educational, informative, and entertaining content and are able to drive readers to it, you’re already on your way to make it a side hustle income. A blog which gets traffic is a fantastic way to generate extra revenue because there are a couple of strategies you can use to make money with it. There is space for advertising, selling merchandise, books, products, services, and coaching on blog platforms. You can also diversify and have affiliate links to make money if you partner with a relevant company to your industry and offer discount codes on your blog’s site.
Twitch Streaming
Like with all content-specific side hustles, consistency is the key to unlock the potential revenue.
Avid gamer and Twitch streamer Jordan Slavik commented on building a following on Twitch: “Successful channels — like companies — are built up over years, not over days or weeks. The most important thing is to keep producing materials.”
Twitch is a platform which has many supportive fans tuning in to watch their favourite gamers. And that support can come in the form of steady revenue. Starting a side hustle through Twitch streaming requires a niche and consistent hard work, but once you’ve got a loyal following - even if you’re not the best gamer - you’re on the path to profiting from your time. Top tips: Make sure you stream with a regular schedule too, so your fans know when to tune in. Once you have a following, don’t pretend they’re not there for you. They are, so engage with them! Ask questions, make jokes, reply to their comments. Provided you stay consistent - and if you’re authentic, this should be pretty easy - they’ll stick around to watch you.
