Are you looking for side hustle ideas for introverts looking to make money online but also to minimize the number of in-person interactions you have with people?
If so then keep reading because this blog post is all about how to earn passive income from a side hustle for introverts.
These are some side hustle ideas for introverts :
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- Starting a blog
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- Creating an E-course
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- Selling stock photos
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- Writing a book
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- Print on Demand
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- Starting a Youtube Channel
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- Printables Etsy Shop
What Is An Introvert?
An introvert is a person who tends to be quieter and more reserved than others. Introverts are usually viewed as calm and self-contained.
Introversion is one of the two main personality dimensions in the “Myers-Briggs Type Indicator” (MBTI), which attempts to describe differences in how individuals prefer to take in information. Introversion is the tendency to focus on one’s ideas and feelings when making decisions, as opposed to extroverts, who tend to focus on outside influences when making decisions.
Introverts and extroverts differ in more than just their attitude toward people: They also tend to think about things differently and prefer different environments. For instance, introverts may work best by themselves without interruptions while extroverts usually get recharged when they interact with large groups of people or seek out highly stimulating activities.
I first realized that I was an introvert when I was forced to spend prolonged periods of time with people. At the end of it, I found myself exhausted and craving a room where I could just be alone for a while. For obvious reasons, this doesn’t lend well to traditional 9-5 jobs that often end up being around people for the majority of the day. As a result, I found myself looking for alternatives, not just career-wise but also in terms of building passive income streams.
Best Side Hustle Ideas For Introverts
So now the real reason you’re here. How can these skills be applied to make passive income?
These are some of side hustle ideas for introverts wanting to earn some passive income:
1. Starting A Blog
Since you’re reading this you know that starting a blog is one of the options that I opted to pursue! A blog is something that is going to require a huge time investment, and there isn’t necessarily a guarantee of a payoff. But I’d say if there is something that you’re passionate about sharing then definitely give it a try! To get my blog started I purchased the course: Perfecting Blogging by Sophia Lee. She’s a 23-year-old that’s making upwards of 75K per month with a blog that she started during college! If you have absolutely no experience building a website, then there are tons of resources online. I have found that YouTube and Google have become my best friends whenever I run into an issue.
Blogging offers the flexibility of making your own hours and can be monetized through advertisements and affiliate marketing when your blog gains enough traffic. The one caveat is that typically it can take months before you start seeing any sort of return on your investment, so persistence is key!
2. Creating An E-course
If you have experiences in a particular area, such as time management, cooking, fitness or technology, you can create an online course to teach others what you know. There are also a ton of options if you hate the idea of being on camera. Instead, you can do voiceovers while teaching the skills. There’s also the option of using software or outsourcing voiceovers if you don’t feel comfortable using your own voice. Once the course is created you can sell it privately, or instead use a distribution platform like Udemy, Skillshare or Teachable.
3. Selling Stock Photos
If you’re like me you probably have an endless supply of photos on your phone. How about turning some of these into a passive income source? Some of the places where you can sell stock photos include:
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- Canva
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- Deposit photos
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- Shutterstock
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- Fotolio
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- iStock
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- Pond5
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- Etsy
Some of these platforms require an application to qualify, while others have no barrier to entry. I was able to begin uploading photos for sale in Canva in January 2022 with just a few clicks.
If you love photography and you’re hoping to turn this into a more lucrative side hustle you can learn a ton more here:
How to Sell Stock Photos and Make Money (Ultimate Guide 2021)
4. Writing A Book
It has never been an easier time to write a book than right now! With platforms like Amazon KDP available for self-publishing, literally all you need to do is upload the cover and manuscript, and your book is available for sale and you can be making royalties in days. This is the perfect passive income opportunity for introverts because minimal contact with anyone else is required.
Now obviously this is a daunting task if you’ve never written anything before. For me, this meant that I wanted to start small and I did this by creating low-content books. These are books like journals or notebooks, that have a relatively repetitive interior. A lot of what I learned was from Youtuber Paul Marles. If you’re interested, I definitely recommend checking his content. A great introductory video is:
Make Money Online in 2021 for FREE with Amazon KDP
I spent about 20 hours creating 20 low-content books last year. I remember when I got my first sale and I was so excited because it was the first time that I made any money online! From these 20 books, I earned about 100$ for the year. But what’s really cool is these products will be on Amazon forever, they can literally keep producing money for years to come.
Now obviously 100$ a year won’t let me quit my job by any means, but it is incredibly scalable, and the more you learn the more potential there is to make money.
If low-content isn’t something that you wish to pursue, you also have the option of writing both fiction and non-fiction high content books. These are more like a traditional book and require quite a bit more of a time investment. However, since this is a higher barrier to entry, it also means that it will be less competitive. Also, this is perfect for introverts, because a book is something you can work on entirely by yourself.
High content books are going to be my next project, and I’ll be sure to update when I have some results.
5. Print On Demand
Print on Demand is essentially only creating a product after the sale has already occurred. So, you would initially create a design and a mock-up of the design on a product (anything ranging from T-shirts to coffee mugs). People can purchase these products, and the print-on-demand provider takes care of the manufacturing and shipping. There are multiple platforms that facilitate this exchange like Redbubble, T-Spring and Etsy.
Since my goal was to run this as passively as possible, I opted to use Etsy because Etsy has a built-in audience. This means that I don’t need to continuously drive traffic to my product listings for sales.
If you want to know other ways to use Etsy to make passive income read this article:
5 Best Ways To Make Passive Income On Etsy
6. Starting A Youtube Channel
Okay, give me a chance before you rule this one out. I know as soon as I think about YouTube, it’s definitely not something that I associate with introverts. However, this platform contains so many opportunities even if you don’t want to show your face or use your own voice. When I was first getting started learning about different passive income strategies one of my favourite YouTubers to watch was Passive Owl. He shares his computer screen and I haven’t seen him appear on the screen but he’s still able to provide a ton of value to his viewers. If you prefer to be behind the scenes then starting a youtube channel is definitely a viable opportunity to create passive income for introverts.
7. Open Etsy Printables Shop
Printables are things like planners, posters, images etc., that are digital downloads that customers can purchase. Upon purchase, they instantly gain access to the file they purchased. The primary investment here is the upfront creation of this content, however, after that, it is relatively low maintenance.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to get into Etsy printables, here are some resources:
How to Sell Printables Online as a Beginner
How to Make Passive Income on Etsy Selling Digital Printables
Not only does this let you work alone, but it also lets you be creative. So, this is the perfect side hustle for an artistic introvert!
Finally, this blog post was all about how to make passive income for introverts. Hopefully, you found something that will help you on your journey to financial freedom!
Side Hustle Ideas For Introverts Q&As
Benefits Of Being An Introvert
Sometimes introversion is something that can be viewed negatively. However, in my experience, I found that because I enjoyed being alone, I acquired some majorly beneficial traits.
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- I’m happy to work without supervision as long as I have been a goal or target. Since I enjoy being alone, I have learnt to be most productive in that environment. I don’t require external people’s presence for motivation.
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- I’m at ease in my own company. I am completely comfortable all by myself, this has definitely been a huge asset in the middle of a global pandemic! I’m not saying there aren’t times when I get the inking to have a chat with someone else. I imagine that it just comes along far less often than an extravert, and as a result, it’s less of a distraction.
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- I’ve developed excellent listening skills. Since I usually like to listen more than talk, it means that I’ve gotten really good at listening to what people are really trying to say.
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- Since I’m usually not the one talking, this means I can think before speaking or acting! I find this is lack of impulsivity means that I usually try to assess all options to the best of my ability before making a decision.
What Is Passive Income?
Most sources of passive income require an initial investment upfront, followed by low levels of maintenance over time to continuously earn that stream of income. Some typical examples include stock or real estate investments. However, let’s say you don’t have money to make that upfront investment. Then the alternative is going to be investing your time to create something that can produce a source of income in the future. This post is going to delve into some of these passive income sources that lend themselves particularly well to introverts.
How Can An Introvert Make Passive Income?
An introvert can have a passive income stream by creating a product or service that doesn’t require majority of his time. This could be starting a blog, Freelancing, writing a book, etc.
