As an introvert, you may think you’re limited when it comes to side hustles – that there’s nothing that’s both high-paying and enjoyable.
But that’s not true.
At all.
Many online side hustles can provide you with a low-stress, flexible, work where you want type of situation. Side jobs that will allow you to be in control.
And if you play to your strengths, these side hustles could provide you unlimited income potential.
Ready to get started? Here are the best side hustles for introverts.
10 Best Side Hustles for Introverts
1. Freelance Writer
2. Proofreader
3. Graphic Designer
4. Virtual Assistant
5. Transcriptionist
6. Blogger
7. Affiliate Marketer
8. Social Media Influencer
9. Thrift Store Reseller
10. Stock Photographer
1. Freelance Writer
Freelance writing is a growing industry.
Twenty years ago, the need for companies to have blogs, email sequences, and social media posts was pretty much non-existent.
Which left freelance writers with magazine and newspaper work.
Now? The demand for freelance writers is high. Very high.
Every business with an online presence works with a writer in some capacity. And a lot of the time, those writers are hired on a freelance basis.
If you have writing skills and are an introvert, starting your own freelance writing business is a fantastic side hustle.
There are a few ways to go about it. Here are your options:
Write for Content Mills – Easy, but Low Pay
Content mills are sites that pay writers to churn out lots of content for very little pay.
The process works like this: you get approved as a writer and get access to the site’s job board. Then, businesses post articles on the job board, and you claim the ones you want to do.
You get paid per word at a very low rate, usually in the $0.01 – $0.03 range. AND most of the time, the article topics are obscure and therefore require lots of research.
The pros of joining these sites are that it’s easy to do, and they provide the work, so you’re not constantly client-hunting. The cons? Low pay.
Find Your Own Clients – Harder, Good Pay
If you want to earn a liveable wage with writing, you’re better off finding your own clients.
To do this, you need to decide what to write about. There are tons of writing opportunities, and being a generalist is an excellent way never to get noticed.
Instead, you want to specialize. For example, you could be a childcare writer, auto insurance writer, home improvement writer, and so on.
Once you choose your niche, begin applying to job board postings and reaching out to potential clients.
No matter which way you want to go, you can find a list of content mills, writing jobs boards, and freelance writing tips in our How to Make Money Money Writing blog post.
Publish Kindle Books
If you like writing but prefer fiction, you can write and publish Kindle books.
Many fiction authors write a series of Novellas, making the first free and then charging for the subsequent books.
While writing fiction books may take a while to turn profitable, it can eventually turn into a fantastic income stream.
If you want to learn more about making a career out of self-publishing, join Facebook groups dedicated to the topic.
2. Proofreader
One of the easiest side hustles for introverts is Proofreading.
Proofreaders read through written documents before they’re published.
If you love reading and have a knack for spotting grammar mistakes as well as inconsistencies in stories, this could be an excellent fit for you.
I love this option because it allows you to work in multiple genres, keeping things interesting. You can proofread magazine articles, blog posts, and books in just about any niche.
To get started, consider taking a course on proofreading. These programs can not only give you a crash course in the work a proofreader does but can also be invaluable in learning how to find clients.
If you want to skip the course and go straight to looking for work, here are a few places to check out:
Fiverr – If you’re brand new to proofreading, starting a Fiverr account and posting a “gig” can help you bring in new business. You can set your own prices, and this platform can help bring clients to you.
UpWork – UpWork allows freelancers of all kinds to create profiles showcasing their skills and bid on jobs posted by clients. You can find a lot of proofreading gigs on Upwork.
Scribendi – If you have a graduate degree in a field related to proofreading, you can apply for a freelance position at Scribendi.
Proofreading Pal – If you’re enrolled in a graduate program or have a degree from an accredited college, you can apply to be a proofreader at ProofreadingPal.
3. Graphic Designer
Graphic Designers are in the ideal position to do freelance work. Which makes this one of the best side hustles for introverts.
And luckily, as a graphic designer, there are a lot of different routes you can take.
Just a few ideas include:
- Blog/Website Design
- Pinterest Graphics
- Social Media Graphics
- Podcast Covers
- YouTube Edits
The great thing about this side hustle is how in-demand it is. If you have graphic design skills, there are many opportunities for you to earn good money.
To get started with a freelance career in graphic design, create a portfolio of your work and reach out to clients you’d like to work with. Alternatively, you can try to find work on Fiverr or Upwork.
If you do a good job for your clients, you’ll likely receive plenty of referral business.
4. Virtual Assistant
Do you get bored with side hustle ideas quickly?
If so, becoming a virtual assistant might be a smart move.
This gig is not only flexible and decent-paying, but it’s also not monotonous. As a virtual assistant, your job will probably look slightly different each day, keeping things fresh and exciting.
But before we get into the finding of virtual assistant work, we should cover what this job entails.
Being a virtual assistant means you’re assisting a business owner remotely.
And since all businesses have different tasks, the work you do will very much depend on who you’re working for.
Some of the most common tasks for virtual assistants include:
- Scheduling blog posts
- Scheduling social media
- Responding to customer service emails
- Responding to comments
- Performing data entry
- Scheduling appointments
A few industries that use virtual assistants are bloggers, website owners, real estate agents, and busy professionals.
There are two ways to find virtual assistant jobs: apply to VA companies or look for your own clients.
If you’re interested in applying to companies, check out our list of 19 companies that hire virtual assistants.
Finding your own clients is a bit trickier. The best way to do this is by reaching out to your network.
If you don’t have a network, you need to build one and perfect the skills you will offer. You can do this by interacting in Facebook groups, Linked In, or even by attending local events.
5. Transcriptionist
Transcriptionists listen to audio or watch videos and type what they hear.
To become a transcriptionist, you need to be a fast and accurate typer. Most of these jobs pay by the audio minute, which means the quicker you are, the more money you’ll earn.
If you’re a total beginner, you’re in luck because many companies will still hire you. However, they don’t always pay the best. The upside, though, is that almost all online transcription jobs are flexible and don’t require a minimum number of hours worked.
Once you gain some experience, you can apply to higher-paying positions.
If you’re ready to get your transcription career off the ground, check out these 15 companies that will pay you to type, or if you love music, check out how you can get paid to listen to music.
6. Blogger
One of my favorite side hustles for introverts?
Blogging.
With blogging, you’re in complete control of the creative direction you go in, as well as how much effort you put into your blog.
That’s not to say making money as a blogger is easy, though, because it isn’t.
While this side hustle can eventually provide unlimited income potential, it takes most people 1-3 years of consistent effort to earn a full-time living from their blogs.
The good news, though, is that if you’re willing to stick to it and put in the effort, your blog can eventually become a stream of semi-passive income, bringing you in money without your direct input.
If you want to get started with blogging, here’s what you need to do:
- Choose a niche and name for your blog
- Purchase a domain name and hosting
- Start producing content for your blog
- Decide which traffic avenues you want to explore.
- Choose a monetization method
Those sound like five easy steps, but in reality, they can take a long time.
For instance, you’ll likely need to create content for several months before you can secure a readership. And within that time, you need to decide how you’ll get traffic.
Will you focus on SEO? Pinterest? TikTok? YouTube?
Once you have that down, you’ll need to decide how to monetize.
For example, you can opt for a more hands-off method, monetizing with an ad network or affiliate links, or be more involved and sell services like coaching, an online course, or membership.
Or, you can combine all the methods. (Just not at once!)
7. Affiliate Marketer
Affiliate marketing is what I’m known for and is one of the best side hustles for introverts simply because there are so many ways to go about it.
You can do affiliate marketing with any of the following:
- Blog
- YouTube Channel
- TikTok
The opportunities are endless, and so are the affiliate products you can promote.
But let’s back up for a second just in case you’ve never heard of affiliate marketing.
Here’s how it works: As an affiliate, you work with a company to promote that company’s product. The company gives you a unique link you can share with your audience/friends. When your audience uses that link to buy a product, you get a commission for helping make that sale.
It’s kind of like how door-to-door or direct sales used to work.
Only now, you can do it all online and build businesses that bring clients to you.
For example, if you were an affiliate for athletic shoe companies, you could build a blog about athletic shoes and write blog posts like “7 Best Running Shoes for Men” or “Top Cheerleading Shoes that Will Last All Season.”
In those articles, you could use an affiliate link for each one of the shoe options.
Now, assuming your article ranked high in the search engines when someone googled “best running shoes for men,” they’d land on your article, click your affiliate link, and buy the shoes.
You’d earn a commission.
And if that article did well, you could earn hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of commissions from it.
If you are new to affiliate marketing watch this video:
If affiliate marketing sounds like an opportunity you’d be interested in, sign up for my free webinar, where I cover how I’ve created many affiliate marketing businesses that earn $1,500+ per day or check out my list of affiliate programs that offer high commissions.
8. Social Media Influencer
It sounds a bit like an oxymoron, right? An introvert…as a social media influencer?
But trust me, this is a gig capable of earning you a LOT of money and can be highly enjoyable.
Here are a few reasons you might like being a social media influencer as an introvert:
- You are in complete control of what you post
- You can do all the work from wherever you want
- Video is not required
- You can build a following on any topic you’re interested in
So, if you’re imagining someone sharing daily outfits on Instagram stories or making TikToks showcasing their dancing moves, your first reaction might be to cringe and hide under the covers.
But it doesn’t have to be.
As a social media influencer, you can take any topic you’d like, choose the platform you want, build a following, and then monetize that following.
Here are some ideas.
Social Media Influencer Ideas
TikTok – Choose a compelling topic that you know a lot about and make videos of you giving tips, doing tutorials, or flipping trends to fit your niche. Eventually, monetize with sponsors, send leads to a blog, or when your account grows large enough, join the TikTok creators fund.
Facebook – If you’d like never to show your face or make videos, Facebook might be the platform for you.
To get started with Facebook, choose a topic you’re interested in and create a page on it. Now start creating and sharing info on that topic that would resonate and be popular with Facebookers.
As your page grows, monetize it with affiliate links and brand partnerships.
Instagram – Instagram is like the cross between Facebook and TikTok. You can pick a niche, post pictures to your feed, create “reels,” and, of course, post to your stories.
You can monetize Instagram through brand partnerships, affiliate links, product sales, and more.
9. Thrift Store Reseller
If you like bargain shopping and are looking for a fun side hustle, consider reselling.
There are many ways you can go about this – buy wholesale and sell for retail price, white label a product, or sell handmade products.
However, right now, we’ll focus on thrift store reselling simply because it’s the easiest way to get started. With this method, you don’t need much money, and you already know where to find the product.
To start, choose a couple of items you’d like to specialize in. (Read our what to buy at thrift stores to resell article for ideas.)
Once you know what to buy, you can begin treasure hunting and listing your items for sale.
10. Stock Photographer
If you love taking photos but aren’t too keen on doing family shoots or in-person events, you can become a stock photographer.
There are dozens of stock photography sites that accept new contributors. And usually, the guidelines for becoming a contributor are pretty lenient.
However, to earn a good income from this, you’ll need to take photos that people want to use in their projects (mostly in online articles and blog posts.)
Sites like Shutterstock even supply their photographers with monthly “shot lists” of what they anticipate will be popular.
All the payments work similarly on these sites – you get paid a set amount each time a customer downloads your photo. So the more your images are downloaded and purchased by users, the more money you make.
You can check out this article for more stock photography sites to sign up with, plus other ways to make money taking photos.
Conclusion
These are some of the best side hustles for introverts who enjoy flexibility and control. If you’re looking for a side hustle you could eventually turn into a full-time job, each of these gigs fits the bill.
Give your favorite idea a try.
If it doesn’t work out, try something else.
And remember, being an introvert doesn’t limit your money-making capabilities – you just need to find a side hustle that plays to your strengths. Once you do, the sky’s the limit.