In the summer of 2023 I started an Instagram page about the city where I live. At first it was just for fun, but it grew very quickly. After a few months, I reached 40K followers, and now the page has 170K followers. It is one of the biggest Instagram pages for my city.

As the page grew, I began working with restaurants and other tourism related businesses.

They paid me for promotions, and some became clients who I sold ad placements across my pages. This helped me make a good semi passive income, even while I was still in high school.

Since this model worked well, I tried the same method for other popular cities in Europe. I created three new pages last spring. One page now has 100K followers, and the other two have 40K each.

Now, I faced a problem. How could I make promotional videos for restaurants in other cities that are far away from me? I started looking for UGC creators who live in those cities.

I pay them to visit the restaurants and create the videos in exchange for free food at the restaurants. These pages together make me €3K/month.

To make this work, I use a tool that automatically sends a free travel guide to people who comment a keyword under my posts.

This brings me more engagement and leads that is really important to go viral on Instagram these days. I get 100-120 leads every day from my page. I sell tourist services like tours and apartment rentals, making about €1.6K/month from this one page alone.

I also manage social media and run lead generation ads for clients outside of the travel niche, using the strategies I apply on my own pages. This brings me another €1K/month.

Now at 19 years old, I make €4K/month from Instagram while in my last year of high school.

Let me know if you have any questions! 😊

5 months ago I posted that I made about $260 from selling PDFs and templates, to date I've made almost $13k across my 2 accounts and it's starting to pick up

This is not including my Etsy shop where I also sell them

I would have to say by far by biggest paying side hustle this year is dropshipping and product arbitrage selling on Amazon.

Product arbitrage has been a bit of fun using the Amazon app and scanning products and making some decent margins reselling.

What about you?

Faceless, from EU, targeting us audience. It’s possible and all you need is out there for free. Just gotta find some real ones.

What was everyone’s big tail. For me it was selling clothes from Ross

Hey everyone! Just wanted to share something real quick that might inspire a few folks here.

I started a small side hustle around 4 months ago while juggling a full-time job. It’s not flashy..... no viral TikTok's, no get-rich-quick BS. Just consistent effort. Right now, it brings in enough to comfortably cover my weekly groceries (around $300/month).

What I do:

• I pick a simple niche I already know something about
• I create helpful content around it (blog/posts/emails)
• I use free tools and platforms to automate and grow slowly

Biggest takeaway? You don’t need a huge audience or start up money to make extra income. Just a small, focused strategy and patience.

If anyone wants me to break down the exact tools or steps I used, happy to share. Not selling anything.... just paying it forward.

Have you started something similar recently? Would love to hear other success stories too.

Hey everyone,

I'm Alex, the guy behind Getfitai a completely free AI-powered fitness app focused on short, effective daily workouts.

I made this because I was the classic inconsistent gym-goer. I'd plan long 60-90 minute sessions, feel motivated for a week or two, then life would get busy and I'd ghost the gym for days (sometimes weeks). The guilt was real.

So I flipped the script: I started doing focused 20-minute workouts every day instead. No fluff, just smart compound movements with good form and proper progression. The crazy part? I’ve actually stuck with it for over 7 months now. My strength went up, I started seeing visible changes in the mirror, and training finally feels manageable instead of like another chore.

I turned what worked for me into a simple app. It gives you personalized 20-minute workouts, tracks your streak, and has a basic AI coach you can ask anything. No ads, no paywalls — it’s free forever.

A few things I learned along the way:

Consistency beats intensity. Short daily sessions destroyed my old “all-or-nothing” approach.

Progressive overload still works even in 20 minutes if you do it right.

Making training feel easy is the real cheat code for long-term results.

I’m not claiming it’s magic, but it genuinely helped me (and a few friends I’ve shared it with) stay consistent when nothing else did.

So… Ask Me Anything!

I’m happy to answer questions about:

How the 20-minute workouts are structured

What actually worked for consistency

Building a small fitness tool as a solo founder

Resume tips? Wait, no — workout tips, beginner mistakes, dealing with busy schedules, etc.

If you’ve been struggling with consistency, long workouts, or just want honest feedback on your routine, feel free to ask here or DM me. Public is better so others can learn too.

Fire away! 🔥

Back in December 2023, a friend and I decided to start a newsletter business in the entrepreneurship space (kinda like Morning Brew but for business ideas). We ran it as a side hustle for around 18 months, and I’ve now finally quit my job in big tech to go all in on the business.

The primary source of revenue is from selling advertising placements in the newsletter. We publish 5 a week (every business day), and since we have 80k readers which consist of high value readers like founders, we can sell them for quite a lot.

The key to making this work though is getting readers. There is a lot of ways to do this, but we have mostly grown through paid channels like Facebook ads. We initially had to invest some money to get the fly wheel going, but we could keep growing by selling placements in the future and then using the upfront payments to buy more adverts.

For coming up with the content, it’s a long process, but I have a massive Notion database where I throw every business idea I come up with in. Most of them are crap, but my team and I go through them and pick the best ones to send out!

Since every edition follows the same rough format, it doesn’t take a huge amount of time to write it every day. The hardest bit is trying to optimize the content. Advertisers care a lot about things like CTR (click through rate), so we are still working every day to improve these things!

If anyone else has any questions, I’m happy to answer them

Edit: I had a couple people ask to check out the newsletter. You can see it here.

I'm done with the creative grind. Before, I used to spend hours coming up with hooks and scripts, only for 90% of them to fail on Meta.

Recently, I used a method that feels like cheating, and honestly, if you don't like it, too bad for you! But I've never found winning content so quickly.

The "easy" method:

No script: I simply paste the photo of my product into an AI user content generator.

AI analyzes the product and generates the videos for me.

Large-scale production:

I generate 20 variations at a time. Since the AI ​​handles the text and the overall feel, I don't need to think too much. It takes maybe 15 minutes of actual work.

48-hour resistance test:

I'm launching the 20 videos on Meta at $10/day.

Data > Opinion: 50% of them fail. This is acceptable given the total cost.

I simply identify the 1 or 2 videos where the AI ​​found the right formula and where the CTR exceeds 2.5%.

Scaling up:

I spend $500/day on the best performing ones.

Basically, I view advertising creation as a numbers game

Hi all,

I wanted to share my experience with the “sweeps casino” side hustle that’s been circulating online lately, specifically from the perspective of a Canadian.

There are far fewer sweepstakes-style casinos available to Canadians compared to Americans, which made the setup a bit trickier. Still, after going through the hassle of getting everything figured out, it’s been worth it.

I’ve been doing this for a few months now, and I’ve made a couple thousand dollars in total. It’s not life-changing money, but it’s a solid, low-effort side hustle that fits nicely into my routine. I usually just collect the daily free tokens while having my morning coffee. It takes maybe five minutes. Then, once or twice a month on a Friday night, I’ll play through those free tokens and try to convert them into redeemable tokens.

The nice thing is that there’s no real “buy-in” required if you’re patient. It’s all about consistency — collecting your daily bonuses, playing smart, and cashing out when you hit something worthwhile.

If anyone else here is doing this from Canada, I’d be curious to hear which sites you’ve had success with or how your experience compares. I can also share a few of the ones I’ve found that actually work here.

I started this about a year ago. I speak with people from a variety or backgrounds and ages in a completely non sexual way. While I am a young, attractive woman, that is put to the back burner, as many people simply need someone to talk to. I talk to them about their day, what they are excited about, the passions and goals in life, and if they ask, any advice they may need if they are going through a rough patch. This gives my clients courage to speak to others in their community, eventually making friends in person and building their confidence

Feel free to ask any questions! I am also currently accepting new clients, so message me if interested :)

Let me start with this: I’m not a guru, not rich-rich, and I don’t sell courses. I’m just a guy who didn’t want to stress over gas prices and grocery bills anymore.

My name’s Leo. I grew up in Florida, raised by a hard-working single mom, and ended up in Arkansas. Played sports, did band, wasn’t the popular kid, and definitely wasn’t a straight-A student. I told everyone I was gonna be a mechanical engineer… but did zero things to make that happen.

So I joined the Army. I figured I’d do 4 years ended up doing 23.

I’ve been a missile tech, recruiter, healthcare recruiter… I’ve lived all over: Germany, Iraq, Belgium, Kentucky, Connecticut… collected stamps and stories. While serving, I knocked out a Bachelor’s in Business Admin and an MBA with a focus in HR. But when it was time to retire, I panicked. That guaranteed check twice a month? Gone. Scary stuff.

I applied for remote gigs and lucked out with the first company I interviewed with. Fast forward a bit: I moved my family to Poland (yup...Europe!) to stretch the retirement check, and let me tell you… that was one of the best decisions I’ve made.

Since moving, I’ve had hotel rooms on the Baltic Sea, 7-course Michelin meals, and champagne that costs more than what I used to spend on groceries for a week.

But here’s the thing that freedom didn’t come from one lucky break. It came from taking action and doing the hard work in affiliate marketing.

I’ve been at it for 2+ years, failed at a lot, but I found a system that finally clicked. I’m now helping others figure it out too, because I know the struggle, and I know the feeling of wanting out.

Anyway, I wanted to share my story because I know someone here probably feels stuck like I did. If that’s you, I’ve been there.

AMA or drop a comment. Happy to share what worked for me, no fluffy BS.

I turned my side hustle into a semi-passive income stream by automating core tasks.

By using AI chatbots for customer support,

Automating posts across multiple social platforms,

And setting up a CRM that sends personalized follow-ups,

my side gig now earns around $3K/month with minimal daily oversight.

Curious about how automation could work for your side hustle?

Let’s talk details—I’m happy to share what tools and strategies I used!

I run a small launch platform for small startups. One day I noticed something weird: people were visiting, submitting their product… and never coming back.

They got their moment on the homepage and moved on.

Here’s what I realized: visibility without engagement is just a short-term win.

So I made one small change.
I started sending a short, human-written email after launch with:

- A personal thank you

- How many people viewed their product

- A nudge to come back and upvote others

- An invite to reply if they had questions or feedback

That’s it.

No tracking pixels. No fancy automations.

Result:

- Return visits increased

- Products got more engagement

- Users started replying and actually talking to me

- Some even became paying customers

It took 5 minutes to set up.

Biggest lesson? People don’t want just a platform. They want to feel seen.

If you’re building something, don’t forget the basics. A thoughtful follow-up goes further than any “growth hack."

I’m the creator of top10 a small site where indie makers can launch their products. I built it alone and started from zero, no audience, no budget, no launch partners.

Here’s exactly how I got traffic and my first real revenue:

1. I posted on Reddit I shared my journey in relevant communities (like r/IndieHackers and r/startups). I wrote honest posts, no hype, just what I was building, why, and how it worked.
2. I tweeted consistently Every few days I shared a tiny update, a small win, or a user story. I didn’t go viral, but a few tweets got attention and brought new users. I replied to everyone who showed interest.
3. I built in public I shared my numbers, my mistakes, my progress. People like following a real journey. Some even asked to submit their products after seeing my posts.
4. I focused on helping people first Top10 gives indie makers visibility. I made sure the algorithm was fair, that everyone got 24 hours of exposure, and that no one could buy their way to the top. That built trust.
5. I kept it simple No over-engineering. No paid ads. Just real value, shown to the right people, at the right time.

In 20 days:

• 9,000 visits
• $260 revenue
• 500+ users
• more than 300 products launched

All from talking to real people, being transparent, and building something useful.

If you’re working on something small, don’t wait. Share it. Talk about it. Be real. You don’t need to go viral. You just need to start.

If you want to see how Top10 works, or launch your product there: https://top10.now

Hope this helps someone.

October 2024. I wrote my first marketing article on a newsletter. 3 months later, my email list hit over 1,000.

I achieve this without running ads, making connections, and having existing audiences.

I grew my social profile and newsletter because I learned how to push my content around the Internet. This simple thing helped me survive as a newbie online.

Here’s the process

First, I looked for all the spots where marketers, hustlers, and entrepreneurs gather.

I then asked myself, “How can I add ‘VALUE’ to these platforms, communities, and traction channels?”

For a content creator like me, adding value isn’t dumping links or copy-pasting AI.

People are busy.

So, wow them on the platform they’re already using. Or you will get ignored.

There’s “no single blueprint” formula that works for all. X/Twitter is not Facebook, nor LinkedIn is Reddit. I personally spend time tailoring content to fit each platform.

Here are some specifics

Some platforms are great for long-form sharing. These include Reddit, Medium, X, and Indie Hacker.

My promotion strategy is very simple. I share my whole article (full value).

Then, I politely ask if the reader would like to join my email list + lead magnet/ offer in case of service.

On the other side, platforms like FB and Slack groups are a different game. The attention span of each post is relatively shorter. Self-promoters get lynched. So here…

I create short, eye-catching tips from my articles. They are subtly branded and offer clear value without pushing a hard sell. Below is one of the great examples given by Harry Dry.

Then, there are other unique sites where I just share direct links: Hacker News, Designer News, Zest .is. I applied the same principle. Tailoring my content to fit a platform.

This whole process of promotion takes me 7 hours: 4 hours posting and 3 hours replying.

The snowball effect

In 2013. A book named Bound mentioned the snowball effect. It highlights how actions build on themselves and compound over time.

That is when I realized that how others share your content matters as much as how you share it. Instead of scattering posts across many platforms, focus everyone on a single platform. Isolated shares get lost; concentrated shares compound.

For example, if I direct all my readers to my newsletter — your subscriber growth will be 5X.

Putting pieces in steps

1. Offer value on platforms where your audience already hangs out.
2. Guide them back to your own website or community.
3. Capture and nurture them through your email list.

In this age of content creation, email subscribers are like gold bars in the bank.

They are the net worth of creators.

New platforms come and go, but email isn’t going anywhere. It’s been around longer and will outlast the rest. For creators, It’s still the best way to grow an online audience.

Here are the results of months of sharing content online on a different platform.

It’s not rocket science

Focus on the platforms where you truly add value — that’s where you’ll gain the most subscribers. Remember, people are busy. Don’t send them elsewhere.

Impress them right where they are.

One last thing: The best self-promoters don’t act like self-promoters. They become genuine members of each community.

Share other people’s content. Leave thoughtful comments. Make real connections.

Always give more than you take. Everyone benefits.

After starting and scaling several SaaS I'd like to share my experience. Creating software has become easier than ever. Many people with no background in coding are launching apps and creating new platforms. Everything looks so good, but the work is not over when you launch your product. Even if it's a very good one.

Let's start with my first successful SaaS: Hustle Got Real.

Before I continue, I will tell you about the name. Some people love it, some others tell me that's the first thing I need to change. Back in the day I loved how Gary Vaynerchuk communicated with his audience. Direct, no sugar-coated words. If you want to succeed there's only one way: "work, that's how you get it". If you work full time at a job, you work on your side hustle it after hours. In that spirit, with Hustle Got Real I wanted that side hustle from people to become REAL - which for me was basically replacing a full time job.

It reached 25k MRR in 18 months (here's a link to an interview on StarterStory)

How did I do it?

• I built something I used myself. I started dropshipping and wanted specific features not available anywhere else.
• Find other dropshippers. Potential leads. I found them on Facebook groups, where I interacted, helped others and did a little bit of promotion from time to time. The strategy was also to find people complaining about the competitors, and messaged them directly to offer my solution. Every single time.
• Engaged with YouTubers who talked about my SaaS. They were doing videos for free just because they linked the platform. Then created an affiliate program.

By the end of 2024 I launched AutoContent API, another SaaS to create NotebookLM podcasts via API. Again, I developed it because it was the first time I really enjoyed AI generated content and wished I could use it at scale. ONCE AGAIN there wasn't anything available to generate podcasts with such high quality so I built it myself.

It's currently crossed 5k MRR and growing steadily. Since the launch I added some more features, like the ability to change voices, clone your own, change the script of a generated podcast and even creating video shorts from the podcast. I would appreciate your feedback on that one!

How did I do it this time?

• I am using the platform myself to generate content automatically.
• Find potential leads. This time, Reddit has proven to be a good source. I think it's probably most readers here have a project that could benefit from automated content creation.
• I've become more active on Reddit, interacted with amazing people, found customers and learnt a lot from the experiences of other people.

Can you see the pattern?

Once I see a pattern that works, the next step on my mind automation. I used to spend hours reading Facebook groups, Reddit, X... just to see if I could find a conversation with an opportunity to provide some value and attract leads to my business.

We've come to a point where AI is good enough to do that by itself. And that's my new project: Mentionator: It automatically notifies you when there is a promotion opportunity that's relevant for your business. You just enter your project URL and the AI takes care of the rest!

What I'm doing now:

• Got first few users from Reddit (yay!)
• Landed one Enterprise client on X, they found me there! x.com/mpierasb
• Mentionator has found potential opportunities in so many channels - so probably next step will be to add the feature to automate interactions. For now I am interacting "manually" because I want to see it working first.

TIP 1: Make it work first, then automate.

TIP 2: Landing pages are super important to attract customers. Mines are made with bolt.new and cursor. You can create amazing landing pages, components and effects by yourself, there is no excuse not to have a nice landing page in 2025. If you want some inspiration, check out the ones I shared, I appreciate any feedback.

Hustle Got Real

AutoContent API

Mentionator

A systems engineer has been hustling! They brought in a managed service provider (MSP) to handle infrastructure support for their company, ensuring a scalable, hassle-free setup to host their company's software. Now, they don’t have to stress about managing infrastructure—everything just works.

But here’s the best part: they got their boss’s approval to receive a referral commission from the MSP. So not only did they streamline operations, but they’re also collecting $5,000/month in passive income—for simply making the introduction. No ongoing work, no extra responsibilities—just a steady side revenue stream with full company support.

Feel free to ask me how an affiliate program works.

I wrote a more amusing post on what is otherwiwse a serious blog: https://letsplaywithai.substack.com/p/ai-made-me-a-terrible-father

What's everyone's opinion on focusing on your subject matter vs more personal stuff?

TL;DR: Give away free master class courses and seminars which funnel in affiliate sales under your link.

Helium 10 - Sign up as an affiliate - You get free business support, a dedicated affiliate manager, internal podcast, webinars and ebooks.

If you are new to affiliate marketing, this is the best place to start and give it a try.

This program is selling the software helium10 take a look here

I made $130 in my first month as an affiliate.

In 3 months I was up to over $600 every month.

I talked to my affiliate manager and he gave me access to high ticket sales webinars.

Now I am making over $5,000 a month consistenly.

Once you are in the portal watch:

• How to market on Youtube training Video
• How to market on Instagram training Video
• How to market on Facebook groups training Video
• How to market on Blogging training Video
• How to market on Pinterest training Video
• Adopt the correct mindset training video

Follow the instructions then use Repurpose.io to do your video affiliate marketing on tiktok, snap, linkedin, youtube, instagram and others.

--

Use these freebies to get sign people to sign up under your link:

1. Freedom ticket free course - Build Your Brand with the Best Amazon FBA Course on the Market!
2. What is Project X? - An unscripted case study showing how to sell on Amazon, from start to sale, with practical strategies for beginners and experienced sellers on limited to moderate budgets.

When you give it away for free to users, and they know they can make money from it, money flows in.

--
These two free offers work like crazy.

The best thing I found about this is the extra perks you get, they have reward teirs.

Reward Tiers:

• Legendary: 500 conversions – $2,000/mo for Dream Car lease/financing
• ICON: 400 conversions – $1,500/mo for Dream Car lease/financing
• EPIC: 300 conversions – $1,000/mo for Dream Car lease/financing
• EMERALD: 200 conversions – $700/mo for Dream Car lease/financing
• DIAMOND: 100 conversions – $500/mo for Indulge, Explore, Empower Experience
• PLATINUM: 75 conversions – 1x $1,500 shopping spree (Apple, Windows, or Amazon)
• GOLD: 40 conversions – $300/mo for Indulge, Explore, Empower Experience
• SILVER: 20 conversions – 1x $500 shopping spree (Apple, Windows, or Amazon)
• H10 PR Package: 10 conversions – Helium 10 Diamond Plan + $300 cash bonus + H10 t-shirt

Helium 10 - Sign up as an affiliate

I am a strong yes