7 Side hustles to boost your income in Nairobi

Ecommerce

Ecommerce is a great way to make side income in Nairobi. With the onset of COVID-19 19 e-commerce grew by 43%. More people are making purchases online than before, which presents a great opportunity to boost your income. Existing platforms such as Jumia, Jiji, Kilimall, and Pigiame allow you to set up shops and get running within hours. The trick is to ensure that your product images are great and that you are in a position to deliver within the shortest time possible. Different platforms, such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram also offer great opportunities to display and market your products. However, this requires one to be an expert in the Facebook business suite, which may take time to master. Alternatively, one may opt to create a stand-alone e-commerce shop. Services such as  Woo Commerce, Shopify, Wix, and Squarespace make it easier to set up your shop and get running. However, you must be careful when you decide to create your shop. First, it will require more investment in time and money and a whole dedicated team to push it to the next level. The standalone shops will take relatively longer before making the first sale, and you may end up being frustrated.

Platforms like Jumia allow you to create a shop for free and charge you a commission per sale. If you are looking to venture into e-commerce as a side hustle, this is a great way to start.

Blogging

The demand for great content has been on an upward trajectory for the past decade. Fields such as travelling, food and nutrition, health, automobiles, and sports are a few that you can write articles about. It is recommended that you about topics that you are familiar with and enjoy. This way, you will not easily get bored but will always be eager to write more content. Blogging can generate income through the sale of ad space, affiliate marketing and sponsored articles.

Blogging more often requires one to set up a website and purchase a domain name. If you need to set up a blog, consider using services such as Blogger, WordPress, or Wix to get your website running. Once you are up and running, you may integrate ads services such as Google Adsense or affiliate marketing services. In Nairobi, companies such as Jumia and Kilimall provide a great affiliate programme that pays out every month. 

Here are a few blogs to get you inspired: Allrecipes, victormatara, and nairobiwire. The trick is to research the topics you are writing about, find similar blogs, and learn from their best-case scenarios.

Online Writing

Writing has been one of the biggest income earners for campus students in Nairobi. The field has proven luxurious, and many opt to do it full-time. It is, however, not recommended to fully focus on online writing due to its unpredictability.  There are plenty of websites that provide writing jobs for monthly payouts. A few sites include Essayshark, Writersbay, Edusson, Studybay, Studypool, and many more. You should, however, be prepared to undertake their approval tests before onboarding and being able to access work from their platforms. The tests require careful studying and mastery of the English language. In addition, online writing requires you to be good at researching and, sometimes, can be very consuming if it is more oriented towards academic fields. If you opt to be an academic writer, you must be prepared for a shorter sleep time. 

YouTube content creation

People will always be willing to pay for great content, and YouTube content is one of them. As long as your YouTube material is captivating enough to keep people interested, you can generate money from it. Comedy, cosmetic tips, and instruction on a variety of topics, including cooking and housekeeping, may all be quite popular in Nairobi. YouTube requires you to create a channel and have a minimum of 1000 subscribers with 4000 hrs of watch time to start earning. Success on YouTube requires great content that will keep people coming back for more and get you more subscribers. Building a list of loyal subscribers requires time and patience.

Service Offering

There are a couple of services that are always in demand in Nairobi and can generate quick cash. Such services include:

Delivery services: Programs such as Uber Eats, Bolt Food, and Glovo require delivery services. All you have to do is to sign up for the appropriate programme and meet their requirements.

Laundry services: you may opt to provide laundry services. The services require developing a list of loyal clients, that requires time and building a good rapport. 

Affiliate Marketing

You may advertise items and get compensated for any sales that come from your website if you have a sizable audience on social media and your blog or website. Affiliate marketing is the name given to this type of promotion. It is without a doubt one of the most lucrative internet side businesses in Kenya, particularly for webmasters of popular websites

Email Marketing

One of the most popular and distinctive side businesses that are making money for creatives is email marketing. A landing page is made after purchasing a domain name from which to gather subscribers. You may start selling sponsorships to firms that could be interested in connecting with your audience by regularly producing and distributing a high-quality email newsletter to subscribers.