Online Side-Hustles From Scratch: Update #7: Some progress

I like where this is going

Designed by the Author

Intro

On April 21, 2022, I decided to start a series of articles to document the process of me trying out popular online side-hustles from scratch. I will share with you my struggles, successes, and learning process along this journey.

I will post updates on my progress and what I've learned along the way every Thursday. If you would like to follow along, use this link to get these stories directly to your inbox. If you just stumbled upon this you might be interested in reading some of the previous updates. Here is a list of all the articles in the series so far.

Update #7

In the previous update, I made some changes. But overall it's still the same story. Side-hustles from scratch.

This week has been quite good. Although we haven't earned much yet I finally feel a good sense of direction. Designs are coming along well, some progress on the affiliate front as well. And on a side note, [one of my Medium stories](one of my Medium stories) got curated (first one for me).

Earnings

Total: $7.42

Breakdown:
Print-on-demand: $0.61
Affiliate marketing: $4.54

This week: $2.27

Breakdown:
Affiliate marketing: $2.27

Accomplishments

• Series started - April 21, 2022

• First photos accepted to Shutterstock - April 26, 2022

• First video published on Youtube - May 5, 2022

• First sale on RedBubble - May 10, 2022

• First referral on Medium - May 12, 2022

Affiliate Marketing

I am still getting monthly payments from my one Medium referral. And I am planning to increase this number by leveraging several other writing platforms I currently use. More about those here. I have several ideas on how to promote Medium on these sites. You will see what I meant next week. And if it paid off sometime later. Well, maybe, hopefully even as early as next week.

And I have also generated some clicks and sign-ups for the only other affiliate product I am currently promoting. It's a text-to-video software called Pictory.AI (affiliate link)

What I like about these affiliate programs is that if a make a sale, I will receive monthly payments for the lifetime of the subscription. If you are looking for affiliate products, you can also try pictory. It also has a sub-affiliate program. Meaning that you make a smaller percentage, but still a percentage from referrals of your referrals. If you decide to give it a go, I would really appreciate it if you sign-up through me. As that would increase my earnings at no extra cost to you. Here's my affiliate link again..

So far I have mentioned this product in some of my stories. And posted them on several platforms. During this time 2 people have signed up using my link. Here are the stories, mentioning the product:

Is AI The Future Of Creativity?

[I Turned My Medium Stories Into YouTube Videos and You Can Too!](I Turned My Medium Stories Into YouTube Videos and You Can Too!)

What I need to do to improve on this strategy is to increase traffic to my stories. I have some ideas on how to do that.

1. I need to look into SEO (search engine optimization). I haven't been thinking about that at all for now. But it could increase the odds of my stories getting more traction. Which would bring more clicks on my affiliate links.

2. I need to leverage the power of social media. I have already posted some of my stories to Facebook groups dedicated to writers. And sometimes even Reddit. But I can't just start spamming. I need to find the right context for my stories.

3. Be more creative with my stories. And I already have some ideas brewing. Which I think will be exciting to read and bring more attention to my writing and the products I promote.

Print-On-Demand

My goal for this week was to create a new type of design for my RedBubble store. And I think I delivered well. Here are some examples of my newest designs.

Space popsicle Sticker by HungryMinded

Abstract Spaceman Essential T-Shirt by HungryMinded

Abstract Spaceship Magnet by HungryMinded

I made 9 new designs this week. And although these were a bit more difficult to make than the text-based designs I made previously. I really had fun with these. And I like them a lot. Do you think I did well?

If there's interest I might do some tutorials on how I make my designs in the future.

The number of likes for my designs has grown from 7 to 38 during this week. But I need to drive more traffic to the store if I want to make sales. I hope I can improve the amount of visitors by learning a couple of SEO tricks during the next week.

Screenshot by Author

This is the traffic my store got this week let's see how it plays out during the next week.

I also have a long-term vision for my print-on-demand endeavors. More about that in the next section.

Goals For The Week

Overall goals:

Learn as much as I can about SEO, to bring more traffic to my writing and my RedBubble store.

Affiliate marketing:

• Improve on SEO

• Be more creative

• 1 new product to promote (preferably subscription based)

Print-On-Demand

• Drive more traffic to my store

• Make new designs every day

Longer term:

• After uploading 100 designs on Redbubble branch out. Maybe create an Etsy store.

Closing Thoughts

I am back on track. Feeling motivated and excited about the future of the series.

In Future updates:

• A transparent look at my progress

• I will share what I have learned

• I will share other valuable sources of information

[Here is a list of all articles in the series](Here is a list of all articles in the series:)

Feedback

If you have any suggestions, questions, or just want to share your thoughts, leave a comment below.

One last thing

If you enjoyed reading my work consider subscribing to get e-mails about my future writing on Medium - Sign up Here or tipping me on Ko-Fi.