If you’re an employed Kenyan, then you know that the 9-to-5 grind may not be enough to fulfill all your aspirations, especially now that the cost of living is at an all-time high. As such, if you’re tired of stretching your paycheck to cover all your expenses, the next solution is getting a side hustle. However, due to time constraints, you need to adopt one of the best side hustles for employed Kenyans to keep your current job.
Luckily, there are many side hustles currently which you can do over the weekend or in the evening after your main job. Keep reading to find out these side hustles and what you need for success.
The Best Side Hustles for Employed Kenyans
Employed persons in Kenya can try the following options:
1. Affiliate Marketing
Kenyans are increasingly looking into affiliate marketing, including the employed ones. As an affiliate marketer, you will advertise and showcase other people’s merchandise and get a commission if you generate a sale or a referral.
Some good platforms for affiliate marketing in Kenya include:
Digital marketing skills are necessary if you want to make extra money through this side hustle. You need to know how to target audiences with the correct keywords. Luckily, you can find cheap SEO marketing courses on Udemy and free videos on YouTube.
You can self-train or pay for training to obtain the most helpful online marketing skills. Once you learn how to sell things online, you can enjoy affiliate marketing because it is a low-risk business.
Some of the things you need to succeed as an affiliate marketer in Kenya include:
- Niche selection: Select a niche or industry that you are passionate about or have knowledge in. This will make it easier for you to create content and connect with your audience.
- Create a website or blog: Establishing an online presence is crucial. You can create a blog or a website where you can publish content related to your niche. This will serve as a platform to promote affiliate products.
- Publish quality content: Regularly create high-quality, relevant, and valuable content for your audience. This could be in the form of blog posts, articles, videos, or podcasts. Your content should address the needs and interests of your target audience.
- Build an audience: Focus on growing your audience through various channels, such as social media, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and email marketing. Engage with your audience and build a community around your niche.
- Promote affiliate products: Integrate affiliate links naturally into your content. Be transparent with your audience about your affiliate relationships, and only promote products or services that you genuinely believe in. Authenticity builds trust.
2. Blogging
Did you know you can write and earn a decent income in Kenya? This is where blogging comes in. If you have never written anything for online publication, here is your chance to try it. You can start a blog based on your passions and hobbies.
According to the latest research, most Kenyan bloggers earn an average of Ksh. 50,000 and Ksh. 80,000. Isn’t that a decent amount to supplement your current job?
Unlike brick-and-mortar businesses, blogging requires a low investment. It also gives the flexibility to work from anywhere and under your own terms. Here is what you need to start blogging in Kenya:
- A niche: Consider your interests, expertise, and what you’re passionate about when selecting a niche. This will help you create content that resonates with your audience.
- Domain Name: This is the name of your blog and should reflect what your blog is about. The main types of domain names are .com, .ke, .org, and .net. Buying a domain name in Kenya will cost you approximately Ksh. 1,000 from the Kenya Websites Company.
- Pay for hosting: Select a reliable web hosting provider to store your blog’s files and make it accessible on the internet. Some web-hosting companies include HostGator, Hostinger, and Kenya Websites Experts.
- A blogging platform: Decide on a blogging platform. Popular choices include WordPress, Blogger, and Medium. Each platform has its own advantages, so choose the one that best fits your needs and technical proficiency.
- Design your blog: Customize the look and feel of your blog. Most blogging platforms offer various themes and customization options. Ensure your blog is visually appealing and easy to navigate. It should contain pages like Contact Us, About Us, and Privacy Policy.
- Create quality content: Develop a content strategy. Plan what type of content you want to create (articles, videos, infographics, etc.) and how often you’ll publish. Consistent, high-quality content is key to building and retaining an audience. Quality content should meet the searcher’s intent and be engaging.
- Social media integration: Create social media accounts for your blog to share your content and engage with your audience. Social media is a powerful tool for promoting your blog and driving traffic.
- Build an email list: Consider setting up an email newsletter to keep your audience informed about new content, updates, and special offers. This is an effective way to build a loyal readership.
- Engage with your audience: Respond to comments on your blog and engage with your audience on social media. Building a community around your blog can enhance its success.
- Monetize your blog: If your goal is to make money from your blog, there are various ways to monetize it. The most common ones include affiliate marketing, sponsored content, selling products or services, or using best-paying advertising platforms like Google Adsense and Ezoic.
Expert Advice: For you to succeed as a blogger, you should know how search engines like Google and Bing work. How do they index content and what best practices should you follow when writing? You can share your thoughts while learning about search engine optimization from free online videos and articles.
3. Transcription
One of the oldest and best-paying online jobs for employed and unemployed people is transcription. Transcription makes it on our list of the best side hustles for employed Kenyans because you can do it at home after work.
Online transcription is a skill-based job requiring one to have the best listening and typing skills. All you need to do is to listen to a video or audio as you type the words you can hear. You need a high-quality listening device such as headphones.
Transcription jobs come from companies in various economic sectors. You can start looking for employers on TranscribeMe and GoTranscript.
Here are some transcription jobs in Kenya for beginners.
4. Online Freelancing
Online Freelancing is among the best side hustles for skilled Kenyans in employment or business. For a long time, SEO article writing has been a perfect side hustle for Kenyans who can write well. However, the emergence of AI writing tools such as Chat GPT has ruined this hustle.
Therefore, if you want to freelance online and you can write properly, you should try blogging or book writing. Other freelancing skills that pay handsomely are:
- Data entry
- Web design
- Graphic design
- Programming
- App development
- Translation
5. Online Tutoring Service
Several students across the world need teachers in different subjects. If you teach Swahili, for instance, you can find foreigners who want to learn the language at a fee.
Even if you’re not a teacher but have skills you can pass on to somebody else, online tutoring might be the side hustle you have been searching for.
There are so many websites that attract tutors like you and pay them a good salary.
As you gain more experience in online tutoring, you can start your website and employ yourself. You can add an online course to Teachable and wait for people who need your skills to buy it.
6. Watching Videos to Get Paid
The best online side hustle you can do in Kenya after work is to watch videos. Although it pays less, the hustle is less demanding and easy to start. It is a new side hustle, meaning most people don’t know about it yet.
As you watch videos for a few extra bucks, you might unlock your gifts in videography and photography. To start, locate a site that provides video-watching jobs and create an account.
Here are the sites you can join:
- Picoworkers
- InboxDollars
- Paid2Youtube
- FusionCash
- MyPoint
- Swagbucks
Watch as many videos as you can and watch your points grow. Redeem your points for cash later on.
As an employee, you can find time during the day to watch a video or two. Watch more videos when travelling home from work provided you are not driving a car. View more videos after work and over the weekend.
For more details, here is how to watch videos and get paid in Kenya.
7. Email Marketing
Email marketing is a perfect side hustle in Kenya. You should buy a domain name, make a landing page, and attract subscribers. One of the activities you should do is to write and send newsletters to your subscribers.
Use Substack and related services to create and proofread your newsletters. Creating a long list of subscribers is tough but possible. After getting enough subscribers, endorse products and services from various companies that target your audience.
Some of the best email marketing platforms are Aweber, CovertKit, and Constant Contact.
8. Outsourcing
Another lucrative way to make money online after work is to outsource services.
Here is how outsourcing works. You find clients who want to purchase your skill or service. Obtain their project and delegate it to other professionals at a lower price.
Online services you can outsource include:
- Website design
- Academic writing
- Data entry
- Social media content writing
Supervise your freelance workers well to ensure your clients get the best results. Once they submit work, check it closely to identify errors.
9. Write and Sell eBooks
Nothing should prevent you from creating eBooks if you can write confidently and proofread your work well. You can share knowledge about your profession or life experiences.
Then, use the best book publisher online to start earning money.
The best one is Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing because it allows you to publish books without a cost. It also shows your books to millions of Amazon users. You will earn royalties from book sales.
If you lack graphic designing skills, you can use free tools like Canva to make a book cover.
10. Create and Sell Printable Items
Finally on our list of best side hustles for employed Kenyans is making printable digital products. You can make money online if you are a graphic designer or possess excellent design skills.
Sites like Creative Market, and social media websites can offer you the perfect marketplace.
Printable cards, tags, labels, journal templates, calendars, stickers, and invoices can help you make extra income after work. Moreover, you can resell one product severally, as you attract more people to your web pages.
