Imagine being able to store data with minimal fuss and in a way that will all but guarantee its integrity in the future. This is a technique known by many within the industry as cold archive solutions and although the name might seem pretty straight forward – what this solution offers is even simpler. In this article, we’ll be exploring the concept of cold archiving, what it is, and how it works.

What is a Cold Archive?

A Cold Archive solutions is a type of data storage solution. With so many options available, it can be quite confusing for device users to know which one to opt for, such as a HDD which stores information locally, or the cloud that retains files securely in a remote environment available via login. On the other hand, cold archiving works by making it an option to store information either physically or digitally, without needing it to be accessed as frequently as other solutions.

As a result, the data goes ‘cold’, or in a more explanatory manner, it is frozen until it needs to be accessed again. Many people use this type of storage when they have files that they know they won’t need to access for a long time. Although this can be done with traditional storage solutions, the truth is that cold storage actually brings its own benefits to the table.

What Are These Benefits?

For instance, cold storage offers a lower expense than other storage solutions because the way in which the servers are kept allows them to remain dormant, yet accessible. As a result, the energy required to run them is reduced and so most hosts can provide cheaper costs to their clients. Secondly, cold storage can help to free up space for locally stored data.

Because cold archive solutions storage will usually be located externally from a main network, home, or office, it can be easy to update files and then remove them from the main device that was storing them. This will free up space locally. Thirdly, data that is causing clutter can be relocated, freeing up even more space and tidying up a device, allowing it benefit from a more flexible level of access for local storage whilst keeping files that aren’t as vital or frequently needed.

With OVHcloud, it can be quick and easy to transfer files to a cold archive, allowing them to sit safe and secure, whilst keeping them accessible should they ever be needed again in the future.

If you’re looking for a marketing tool that’s both effective and popular, Instagram is the place to be. With over one billion users, Instagram has become one of the most reliable ways for brands to reach their target audience. But is it still an effective marketing tool?

In this article, we’ll explore how Instagram has changed over the years for Get Plus Followers and what that means for marketers today.

The Popularity of Instagram

Instagram has more than 1 billion monthly active users. It also has an average of 1 million new users every day. On top of that, users spend more time on Instagram than any other social media platform.

Goals of Instagram Marketing

If you’re going to invest time and money into a social media platform, make sure that it’s one that aligns with your goals and helps move your business forward in some way. If you can clearly define what success looks like for your business on Instagram (and measure it!), then there’s no reason why this platform shouldn’t work well for you!

Is Instagram Still An Effective Marketing Tool?

Yes! Instagram is still an effective marketing tool, but it has changed over time. As we mentioned above, there are now over 400 million active accounts on Instagram in America alone—which means there are plenty of people who could be interested in what you have to say or offer!

Instagram is a great way to connect with your customers and followers in a way that’s fun and personal. You can show off your products in a way that feels like a peek into your life, and you can show them how to use them in real-world settings.

But it’s also important to keep in mind that there are plenty of other ways to Engage with your audience—and if you’re not spending time on every platform, you could be missing out on opportunities to reach out to new customers or get more engagement from the ones who already know and love you.

Conclusion

If you’re wondering whether or not Instagram is still a viable marketing channel for your business, it’s important to remember that social media platforms are always evolving and adapting to meet the needs of their users, which means they will continue to change over time. So if you’re not using Instagram now, maybe it’s time to give it another try!

The best way to extend your reach when it comes to your online presences is always going to be with search engine optimization, commonly known as SEO. That’s why it’s so important to know what you’re doing and SEO classes are the fastest way to make that happen.

Knowing how to work the algorithms used by online search engines will mean the difference between being seen and disappearing from the virtual world. It’s something that no company or independent business can ever afford to ignore.

Classes cut through the clutter

Do any amount of research on SEO and you’re always going to get the same results. Readily available information is muddled, confusing, and sometimes downright misleading. Trying to learn on your own will only lead to poor results and days’ worth of wasted time and energy.

SEO classes are taught by professionals who know what they’re doing and are ready to help. Teaching the best search engine optimization practices is their job and they know what works and what doesn’t. It’s the best way to cut through the online clutter to get the information you really need.

Reach the Audience you want

You’ll need the right SEO for any product if you want to reach the proper audience, and that’s a fact. Using the wrong terms will make your marketing miss the mark and land on targets that your product was never meant to hit. That can lead to hundreds or thousands of dollars in missed revenue.

When you what you’re doing online, your products will always get to the demographic they were created for and that’s a necessity in marketing. You have to get your product in front of the right eyes with SEO knowhow and SEO classes are how you do it.

SEO is Free

Aside from the obvious benefits of showing up in search results, you also have to consider the fact that SEO is really free marketing when you know what you’re doing. Just read what a trusted source like Forbes has to say on the subject. They make it clear that SEO can be your most important tool without costing you any money to utilize it.

If you know how to get the most out of search engine optimization, your company or business will flourish. Classes on the subject will give you the power to reach across the globe and meet your intended audience every single time.

Businesses have often relied on excellent customer service to attract and retain clients. With the rise of e-commerce, providing excellent customer service has become even more crucial, as customers expect quick and effective support when they encounter problems or have questions.

One of the best ways to realize these expectations is by integrating live chat into the business website. Read through this post to discover other importance of integrating live chat software into your WordPress website.

Why is a Good Customer Service Important?

Good customer service is essential for many reasons. It builds trust and loyalty between a business and its customers, helps to resolve customer complaints and inquiries effectively, and can even improve a business’s reputation.

Moreover, in the age of social media, word-of-mouth can spread quickly, and a good customer service experience is more likely to be shared than a bad one. In a nutshell, good customer service helps a business grow and succeed.

Benefits of Integrating Live Chat to a WordPress Site

1.  Improved Customer Satisfaction

Live chat allows businesses to provide immediate customer assistance, which can significantly improve their satisfaction.

Customers can receive help without waiting on hold or sending an email, and they can have multiple conversations with the same agent, creating a more personalized experience.

2.  Live chat saves time.

By nature, chat software is quick and contains short, precise messages. Also, unlike most customer service channels, with live chat support, assistants are able to serve multiple clients simultaneously, making them work faster and more efficiently without extra resources.

Subsequently, these translate to considerable savings in terms of time and money by reducing your support without hurting but still provide high-level results.

3.  Increased Sales

Live chat can also be used to answer customer questions and help with purchasing, leading to increased sales. Customers are more likely to make a purchase if they can receive immediate assistance, and live chat can also help to reduce shopping cart abandonment.

4.  Reduced Operating Costs

Live chat can also help to reduce operating costs. For example, live chat can handle many customer inquiries simultaneously, allowing businesses to allocate their resources more efficiently. Moreover, live chat can be staffed by a smaller team than conventional customer service platforms, such as email support or phone call.

The only thing required of you is to provide a practical employee training strategy for customer service success. This way, you will reduce your workforce significantly.

5.  Better Data Collection and Analysis:

Live chat provides businesses with valuable data about their customers, such as their demographics and the types of questions they are asking. This information can be used to improve customer service, as well as to make informed business decisions.

6.  Improved Customer Retention.

Live chat can also help to improve customer retention. By providing immediate assistance and resolving customer complaints, live chat can help to build trust and loyalty between a business and its customers. This can lead to repeat purchases and positive word-of-mouth.

7.  Enhanced Customer Experience.

Lastly, live chat software can enhance the general customer experience. Customers appreciate being able to receive help quickly and easily, and live chat can provide a more personalized experience than other customer service channels.

Conclusion.

In conclusion, integrating live chat into a business website can provide numerous benefits, including improved customer satisfaction, increased sales, reduced operating costs, better data collection and analysis, improved customer retention, and enhanced customer experience. 

By providing quick and practical support, live chat can help businesses to attract and retain customers and grow their business.

With each passing year, WordPress marketing is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Today, it involves much more than introducing discounts and one-time offers to attract prospects. Instead, marketers have to identify the customer journey and focus their efforts on relevant messaging and personalised marketing strategies.

The first step towards personalised WordPress marketing is collecting customer data. Gathering relevant customer information helps you better understand the customer’s journey and tailor the ads to suit them. Unfortunately, customer data streams from different facets of your business, making it relatively challenging to access information when needed. That’s why you need a customer data platform.

A customer data platform helps you collect and unify customer data from various sources within your business. That makes data accessible since it creates a complete view of each customer, making it easier to access data for creating targeted and personalised marketing campaigns.

Although all these steps have made WordPress marketing more efficient, it has also complicated the marketer’s job. With all the different components that make up modern marketing, it can be relatively challenging to stay on top of every marketing activity manually. That’s where WordPress Marketing automation comes in.

What is WordPress Marketing Automation?

WordPress marketing automation refers to the use of plugins to automate regular marketing activities that you would normally handle manually on your WordPress website. It has a lot of similarities with cloud-based marketing automation apps. The only difference is that WordPress marketing automation is slightly easier with the use of plugins.

A WordPress plugin is a piece of software that adds new functionality/extends existing functionality on your WordPress site. Plugins help streamline the automation process by providing clear automation options that are easier to set up and use. Examples include:

• Email marketing automation plugins
• Form builder automation plugins
• Sales automation plugins
• Blog and content automation plugins

Benefits of WordPress Marketing Automation

Improved Conversion Rates

 Does WordPress have marketing automation?

Automating WordPress marketing makes your campaigns more efficient and effective. With various automation plugins at your disposal, you can A/B test campaigns and collect customer data, facilitating highly targeted marketing strategies. These result in more efficient marketing campaigns with higher conversion rates.

Time Saving

WordPress marketing automation plugins perform repetitive tasks that you would otherwise do manually. That saves your time and ensures these tasks are completed within the most efficient timeline.

Cost Saving

Although WordPress automation plugins cost money, it saves you from the need to hire a large in-house marketing team. That saves you the cost of paying salaries and purchasing the equipment they will need to run their operations.

Is it even possible to imagine the world without the Internet? This question will become more tricky to answer, since with every single year we will be more and more dependent from software solutions with online capacities. Therefore, web development services are vital not only for the tech structure of different industries but their well-being in general. Let’s talk about the place a PHP developer has in all this.

A PHP developer and modern Business Intelligence

For starters, we should not consider a developer as a single person. Today, the term PHP developer is sometimes referred to a whole software house or a team of precisely selected engineers that specializes in web development processes. At least a few web developers cooperating with each other under one banner can be highly sufficient indeed. Since modern software solutions are quite complex, a digital engineering team is required to combine both know-how and talent in order to deliver a product on time. PHP developers outsourcing is often the most efficient way by which companies conduct recruitment and assemble a software development team that is right for particular needs.

But what are these needs? Well, getting along with a consumer’s point of view is one thing. Creating a user-friendly application that is compatible with modern lifestyle and technology seems like an obvious description of a basic app development goal. But there is also the second side to consider here: the workflow of an enterprise. From a business perspective, digital tools are needed to gather information, analyze it and create knowledge that will improve decision-making processes. This is Business Intelligence. Any improvements in this department are in high demand right now. The implementation of the PHP programming language grants an online capacity to any business solution, and that can make it more manageable, more accessible and more effective in general. PHP developers are therefore essential to create corporate software that leads to internal progress.

PHP development outsourcing

Since engineers familiar with PHP programming language are in high demand, finding a successful PHP developer is not easy. There are so many people in this sector now, that a proper and harsh selection seems to be the only reasonable way to filter out the best people available on the market. Although PHP developers outsourcing processes are very well-developed themselves these days, they demand a lot of attention and work. It’s wise to get a better look at this subject if one plans a new digital endeavor.

Many WordPress SEO consultants balk at the thought of negotiating. However, when you’re staring down the barrel of a new project, the last thing you want to do is lowball your fees. Negotiating can be challenging but it’s also extremely rewarding. Learn from The Negotiation Experts how to navigate the process smoothly using the following four tips.

Do your homework

You don’t want to wing it when you’re negotiating. You could end up shooting yourself in the foot. For example, you might not charge enough and leave money on the table, or you might charge too much and price yourself out of the project. When you’re well prepared, you can confidently ask for what you’re worth.

Also, take time to think about what the customer wants and needs from the project. The more information you have, the better equipped you’ll be to make a case for your value. Once you know your worth and what the customer is looking for, you can start to negotiate from a position of strength.

Showcase your expertise

As you negotiate, showcase your expertise. Highlighting your unique skills and abilities can demonstrate the unique value you offer. It also inspires trust, which can give you more bargaining power.

One way to highlight your ability and skills is with customer testimonials. Share success stories that show you know how to reap the maximum benefits from WordPress. Try to use stories that mirror as closely as possible the objectives of the person you’re negotiating with.

Another way to show off your greatest stuff is to use data. If you can back up your claims with hard numbers, you’ll be in a much stronger position.

Listen more than you talk

Most consultants think winning contracts involves stuffing as many words into the conversation as possible. However, this can be a recipe for disaster. When you’re doing all the talking, you could miss vital information that could help you make the best possible deal.

Instead, have the customer do most of the speaking. Fight the temptation to cut them off, and really listen to what they’re saying. When customers feel truly heard, they’re more likely to trust you and be open to your suggestions.

Keep your emotions in check

Negotiations can stir up some powerful emotions, like anger, frustration, and fear. When you allow your feelings to spill over, discussions can quickly turn sour. For instance, a potential customer may feel defensive and become unwilling to compromise.

By keeping a tight leash on your emotions, you’ll be able to think more clearly and make better decisions. To keep your emotions in check, try to identify what sets you off, so you can avoid it if possible. If you’re getting worked up, take a few deep breaths, and try to refocus on the meeting’s primary goal.

Be comfortable walking away

Negotiations can highlight red flags. For example, a customer may try to underestimate you, or they could have unrealistic expectations. If you spot a red flag, don’t be afraid to walk away.

Walking away can be scary, but it can also be empowering. It shows you’re not desperate and that you value your time and expertise. If you decide to walk away, try to leave on good terms. You could reconnect down the road, so you don’t want to burn any bridges.

If you can keep these five tips in mind, you could be well on your way to landing some impressive customers.

An all-in-one printer is an essential tool for both the office and the home. It will allow you to carry out important life admin at home, print homework or college assignments, and even print your family photos. In a busy office, it will support day to day business, with the printing of accounting documents, employee information, company policies and contracts.

There are a few features to consider with a new printer that will support more productive printing, and allow you to choose a printer model suited to your individual needs.

1. Print quality 

Print quality is an important feature as it will render your prints professional and presentable. Print quality is measured in dots per inch or DPI.

Monochrome printers typically have a minimum resolution of 600 x 600 dots per inch. This is sufficient for printing internal documents in the office, for example. Black and white resolutions of 2400 x 1200 DPI produce high-quality prints for more important external documents. 

A colour print quality of 1200 x 1200 DPI is a good minimum standard for any household and will produce high-quality results when printing colour documents or photos.

There are some niche printer models with a resolution of 4800 x 2400 DPI geared at producing excellent-quality colour printouts. This would be preferable for those wishing to print professional-looking photographs with their printer. HP has brought out some great all in one inkjet printers with 4800 DPI high resolution which means you will get high quality, vivid prints while printing with HP ink cartridges. The 4800 DPI mode is specifically for printing images larger than 600 dpi on premium photo papers with the correct computer systems.

2. Print speed

Print speed is typically measured in pages per minute or PPM. It refers to the number of pages the printer can print per minute.

Inkjet printers usually have a PPM rate from 10 to 33 pages per minute, while laser printers tend to run faster with an average print speed of 20 pages per minute. (for black pages). A higher PPM rate would be a smart choice for a busy office environment where time is a valuable asset. If you are using the printer less frequently or are printing lower volumes, then you can afford to choose a printer with a lower PPM.

As a guideline, a print speed of at least 10 colour pages per minute and 20 black and white pages per minute is a minimum standard to look for as a print speed specification if you’d prefer to avoid waiting on your prints.

3. WiFi connectivity 

Wireless printers are extremely convenient as they accommodate multiple users of one printer. This is useful in both the office and in a household with family members sharing the printer.

You can also typically connect a computer or laptop to the wireless printer without installing drivers, as well as avoid using messy wires and cables to connect.

WiFi printers with mobile print capabilities will allow you to print instantly from your mobile phone. This is advantageous in busy work or home environments or when on the go, saving you valuable time.

4. Automatic Document Feeder

An automatic document feeder is a great time-saving feature for your printer. It saves you from having to manually insert each page into the printer when scanning, copying, faxing or printing. Simply place a stack of papers on the feeder tray and the ADF will do the rest of the work. This is especially useful in an office or home office environment where time is an asset and there are multiple users waiting to use the printer.

There are also ADF features capable of duplex scanning, This means that the printer will automatically scan both sides of the paper, automatically flipping it over when complete. This is known as a Reverse automatic document feeder (RADF).

There’s another ADF feature called Duplexing automatic document feeders (DADF) that scan both sides of the page in a single pass.

5. Ink replacement costs

It’s wise to consider the replacement cost of ink when buying a printer. Ink for the printer can cost more than the printer itself over time and costs vary between printer models. You can compare the cost per print that can be expected from the ink or toner cartridge. By dividing the cost of the cartridge by the expected yield, a cost-per-page estimate can be calculated.

 It is advisable to shop around for the best deal and consider alternative printer consumable brands. 123ink.ie have a reliable reputation for low prices and quality cartridges. Their own brand cartridges have a lower cost per print than originals and come with a lifetime guarantee.

Consider these technical printer features when buying a new printer to save you time and money. If you would like more tips on choosing a printer, check out 123ink.ie.

The digital age has changed the way customers interact with their favorite brands. According to a survey, almost half of the respondents said they spend five to six hours on their mobile devices daily. Instead of going window shopping, consumers would rather scroll down their social media feeds to find new brands.

As customers spend more and more time on the internet, businesses need to start building an online presence. The first step is to launch an e-commerce website to reach their target audiences. Here are a few statistics that show it’s the perfect time for your business to go digital:

• • E-commerce will account for more than $6 trillion in sales by 2023
• • Almost 2 billion people worldwide purchased products or services online in 2019
• • 86% of millennials are digital buyers

If you want to launch your e-commerce website, you’re probably going over your options. Shopify vs. WordPress—which is better for your online store? We’ll delve deeper into these two platforms and help you decide.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is an e-commerce platform suitable for brands looking to run an online store. It is a versatile channel that allows you to sell products and services either online and/or in-person with a Point of Sale (POS) app. With this in mind, Shopify enables you to provide a multi-channel experience to your customers.

Online stores built with Shopify can leverage a variety of tools. You can customize your store to reflect your branding. This can certainly improve the online user experience. Customization, however, isn’t the only thing Shopify offers.

Store owners have a chance to make business cards, generate terms and conditions and register a domain through Shopify. It’s safe to say Shopify is one of the best website builders that has features for both experts and beginners.

But don’t make your decision regarding Shopify vs. WordPress just yet.

No technical know-how needed for Shopify

One of the biggest advantages of Shopify is that anyone can launch an online store on it. You can customize your shop and create lookbooks without any coding knowledge.

Create an account on Shopify and fill in the relevant information about your business. From there, you’ll navigate to the Shopify dashboard, which is basically your control room. It enables you to manage your online store without any hitch.

Key features of Shopify

If you decide to use Shopify to build your online store, these features will likely stand out:

• • Fully customizable website and online store
• • More than 70 professional themes
• • Integration with over 100 payment gateways
• • Social media integration
• • A range of supported languages

Shopify offers a free trial, enabling businesses to try out its platform for 14 days free of charge. When this period passes, you need to pay a monthly fee, which starts at $29 for a basic version of Shopify.

Another perk is that you won’t need to worry about web hosting or installing software if you open your online store on Shopify. Everything you need has been developed by the platform’s in-house team. Your only job is to create an account and pay.

What is WordPress?

Before you choose between Shopify vs. WordPress, you should know more about the latter software.

WordPress is an open-source content management platform that powers more than 35% of the internet. The software is currently one of the simplest ways to create your own e-commerce store, website or blog.

In the beginning, WordPress used to be the go-to solution for building blogs. The platform, however, grew its ecosystem and added various plugins over the years. This means it’s practically suitable for all kinds of websites.

With WordPress, you can build:

• • E-commerce stores
• • Blogs
• • Business websites
• • Forums
• • Membership sites

As you can see, WordPress is a versatile platform. It has been designed with flexibility and usability in mind. For this reason, it is a great solution for both small and large businesses.

Whether you want to publish argumentative content or showcase your products to the world, WordPress is there to make your dream a reality.

Key features of WordPress

If you want to know why WordPress is so popular, here are some of its key features:

• • Flexibility: The platform allows you to create various types of websites, making it suitable for many businesses
• • Highly customizable themes: WordPress themes can be customized. This enables you to change the layout of your online store as per your liking. Alternatively, you can create a custom WordPress theme.
• • SEO-friendly: SEO is an important process that ensures your online store gets more website traffic. WordPress knows how significant SEO is, so it offers an outstanding code base for SEO. This helps your content appear on search engines (you can always do Google index checking to ensure your pages are indexed.
• • Mobile-friendly: Customers spend a lot of time on their mobile devices. With WordPress, you can build an online store that is responsive when they visit it via their smartphones.
• • User-friendly interface: WordPress is easy to use. Its focus is on accessibility, so there are no complicated settings.

WordPress makes the process of creating and launching your own online store easy. It’s no wonder it is widely used around the world.

Shopify vs. WordPress: Pros and Cons

Both Shopify and WordPress come with benefits and drawbacks. Let’s take a look.

Pros of Shopify

1. 1. Ease of use
2. 2. The number of professional themes available
3. 3. Responsive templates
4. 4. 24/7 support
5. 5. Great solution for dropshipping
6. 6. The variety of external payment gateways

Cons of Shopify

1. 1. Pricing can be confusing. Although you pay a monthly fee, Shopify charges you for platform transactions, credit card fees and add-ons
2. 2. Professional reports with sales information are only available on expensive plans
3. 3. Extended SEO features are available when you pay for additional plugins

Pros of WordPress

1. 1. An open-source software
2. 2. User-friendly CMS
3. 3. The amount of free and paid plugins
4. 4. Simple content creation
5. 5. SEO-ready with many SEO plugins available
6. 6. Excellent social media integration

Cons of WordPress

1. 1. Difficult to navigate through its design and options
2. 2. The WordPress platform is free, but you would need to pay for many themes and plugins
3. 3. No dedicated support
4. 4. Frequent updates

Before deciding, we suggest you go over the above-mentioned pros and cons. Both of these platforms have thousands of users worldwide. However, they opted for their go-to solution after setting goals for their online stores.

Shopify vs. WordPress: Which platform to choose?

Shopify is a popular website builder for e-commerce stores. It was created with online selling in mind, so brands usually choose it to open an online shop. This doesn’t mean that WordPress would be a bad choice.

WordPress gives you flexibility and control over your store. It can be a powerful tool, especially if you have coding experience.

As you’re wondering what to choose between Shopify vs. WordPress, we would recommend Shopify if you’re a beginner. It takes little to no effort to set up your store on this platform. However, if you have some technical experience, WordPress is also a great solution. It has better customization levels, making it ideal for tech-savvy sellers.

Conclusion

As more and more brands turn to e-commerce to boost their sales revenue, it is time your brand jumps on the bandwagon as well. Shopify or WordPress can help you set up your online store. Which of these two tools should you use?

The final decision depends on your goals, budgets and ideas for your store. For a hassle-free experience, go with Shopify. If you have time and resources, however, build your online store with WordPress.

About the author

Dmitriy Maschenko is the head of a division and a Board member at PSD2HTML, a company that offers top-notch web and mobile development services to all kinds of clients, from S&M businesses to agencies and governmental bodies. Dmitriy went all the way from a developer trainee position up to where he is now. With 12+ years of experience in the IT industry under his belt, Dmitriy has a wealth of knowledge to share with his readers. He writes on topics related to business management, website & app development, and everything in between.

Side Hustle in the Covid-19 Pandemic era – How does that work?

In 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak was declared to be a pandemic worldwide. Governments implemented various measures, such as social distancing, quarantine, and lockdowns, to minimize the spread and effects of COVID-19 in different countries.

Medical personnel seemed like the only active workers during this period, alongside the press who were ensuring to keep us updated and abreast with the happenings worldwide. But in reality, did this mean every other business and organization folded up and stopped being in business? Absolutely no. Paularoloye.com started his online SEO business to help out businesses during these hard times.

A more conventional method of working remotely was gradually introduced and adapted to, even by companies who appeared to be stuck in their traditional Modus Operandi.

In as much as this was a perfect way to move forward with some full-time jobs, one thing we would all agree to is that bills and expenses weren’t put on hold as every other thing seemed to be on hold, in fact, they ostensibly increased the more we stayed home. And this brings our focus to the increased need for that side hustle to earn that extra income to pay these bills.

This in a way also means, as our expenses were running, someone out there had a business that was steadily cashing out. Take, for instance, Zoom. During this period, Zoom generated $2.6 billion in revenue in 2020, a 317 percent increase year-on-year. This in turn means an average of not less than 200 million paid subscriptions for Zoom account to stay connected with virtual meetings, conferences etc. despite the lockdown.

How much more, constant orders via online stores and food outlets leveraging on the No-contact delivery option during this period. Obviously, money-making opportunities abounded, you just had to stay afloat the overwhelming information on COVID-19 and look for solutions to issues arising.

To successfully get that side hustle, a lot of your energy has to be channeled to time management, because being home can be much more distracting than being at the office or out of your relaxing and comfortable space.

Now you may be wondering what other side hustles are there to be done in COVID-19 when everywhere is shut down, wonder no more as you read the rest part of this article.

It is important to note that at the creation of this article, the world had successfully emerged from the total lockdown and adaptation to the Post-covid era is evident. But with the current ‘omicron variant’ situation, we cannot say we are over the bridge yet of a lockdown. This thereby means, you are going to find this article very helpful, even in a post-covid era.

5 Best Side Hustles To Start During Covid-19

1. Blogging

This is one side hustle that is relevant in and out of COVID-19 era. A lot of people already hacked this skill of blogging and how to make money from it. Others find it as a leisure spot outside of their regular work activities. If you are in the latter category, then you will need to learn how to make that income from your skills of blogging.

There are a couple of know-how-to-make-money-as-a-blogger articles and even videos online you can learn from. Ideas on affiliate marketing, being an influencer, online advertising and many more tools from which money can be made through blogging. In the main time here are a few tips to make that side hustle bring you extra income:

Tips On How To Cash Out From Blogging

Ø  Create a niche:

One major difference between blogging as a hobby and blogging to make money is the niche created from the onset. When blogging for money, you cannot choose to blog on various topics that interest you alone, you have to be deliberate on picking topics that interest a particular set of the target audience. In other words, your blog is required to meet the need of a particular set of audience/readers. This way your niche becomes well defined and profound in the same like-minds who will serve as your community and network and in turn potential customers and consumers for advertisement.

Ø  Schedule your time:

It is a side hustle and not your main job. The major struggle in handling side hustles and the main job simply lies in the trick of effective time management. As blogging is recommended for a good means of cashing out on the side, it also requires time for the cash to come into manifestation. A lot of people have migrated from blogging as a side hustle into full time blogging, not only because they are cashing out, but it also requires a great deal of time to maintain and keep up. Hence being disciplined on time set for this as a side hustle is highly paramount.

Ø  Be consistent:

Making money and inconsistency doesn’t work hand in hand in blogging. For you to make blogging your extra income, you have to be consistent in providing content for your audience/readers. This will also foster customer acquisition and possible retention when the time comes. Consistency is key when blogging, especially as a side hustle.

Ø  Build and maintain a community:

Every tip mentioned above all boils down to building a community and maintaining that relationship between the blogger and the community. Being consistent shows your community/reader that you value their presence. Your well-defined niche has naturally captured their attention, your consistency in creating content in line with their interest will keep them hooked. But you must have to remember the essence of this community is to help sales, visibility and platform for online advertisement. This is because you have built a loyal community to your brand. I mean how do you think influencers cash out again?

Ø  Promote your work:

No one will promote your work as much as you and your ‘community’ do. Urge your community to share your works in the best way you can sensitize them to. You will be surprised how much visibility that advertisement can do for your blog. It is also your main responsibility to curate content that is worthy of sharing and interactive enough to spur engagements.

In a nutshell, blogging is a highly lucrative means of livelihood and its flexibility makes it easy for it to serve as a side hustle.

2. Tutoring

If you have a special gift at oratory this might just be the easiest and best side hustle for you. A tutor as you will know is a private teacher who tutors individual students in one-on-one lessons or small group classes. The best part of this is you don’t need a qualification to become an online tutor for students. Like I said earlier, it is also possible to be doing this and not cashing out as expected. Here are a few tips to make your tutoring side-hustle a money-making venture:

Tips On How To Cash Out From Tutoring

Ø  Knowledge Acquisition:

Of course, the first thing you want to be as a tutor is to be knowledgeable on subjects and topics you want to teach. Even though you don’t need a teaching qualification to be a tutor, you have to be well-read and highly knowledgeable in your teachings. Remember you are being paid for the added value of being a tutor to students and not a teacher who is mandated to teach by school authorities. It is in this value and positive result that sells your craft better. This being a side hustle also means you have to create time for extra readings on your part.

Ø  Visibility:

It is paramount to make your skills visible to others. Unlike other services, if you don’t blow your trumpet well enough to make people know your skills at tutoring, no one will never know and the only way to cash out is to have more students (clients) to tutor. One of the easiest ways to get visibility is a free distribution of knowledge through digital and social media platforms, which is easier, cost-effective and marketing effective as these contents are consumed more during the lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic era.

Ø  Flexibility:

Flexibility in this term falls in line with so many things: time flexibility to fit in for students’ schedule, technology adaptive flexibility to fit into what makes the online tutoring easy for both tutor and student, the flexibility of ability to tutor on more than one subject or topic, flexibility in adapting to students’ learning ability. All these have to be put into consideration because as you would know, online tutoring is a side-hustle and not your full-time job. Making your tutoring flexible enough will aid more application of students.

Ø  Structure:

More than ever, you need to be structured in planning tuition payments from clients. If this will be per course/subject, per hour, per day, per week or monthly. Although as a tutor you do not work with a strict curriculum, it will be in your best interest to have a workable and measurable course curriculum. For a fact, creating online courses (video or written); that can be downloaded from a site platform at a particular rate is a more viable option when considering online tutoring as a side-hustle.

Placing these tips into view and practice, it is almost impossible not to have a high record of gross earnings with ease while maintaining your full-time job.

3. Social Media Management

Not to get this twisted, social media management is a whole full-time job considering how exhaustive it can get with the process of what the job entails but you are reading this article because you need ideas for your side hustle. So I’ll be sharing with you tips on how to make this work as a side hustle and still make cool cash from it.

Tips On How To Cash Out From Social Media Management

Ø  Understand the Job:

Social Media management is a job required by digital content and marketing companies, entrepreneurs/small scale businesses. Which therefore means you can either work as an employee (part-time) for a company or become a consultant with multiple clients as a freelancer. Either way, your job doesn’t change from managing the social media platforms of this company/brand. This entails, content creation, post scheduling, social media campaigns, research and analysis, virtual customer service and many more attached to this job role. It will be highly advisable to understand the job description in detail and get abreast with tools that make the job easy and makes you seem knowledgeable on the job.

Ø  Build a personal portfolio:

This is the best form of advertising what you do and can do. And in more cases than not, your social media platforms are seen as your portfolio. This means you are your first client, how you operate your social media accounts can serve as a yardstick for your knowledge and experience on the job. You have to be specifically deliberate about this especially when you rather operate as a freelance consultant taking on different clients.

Ø  Carve a Niche:

The digital space is crowded with a lot of social media platforms ranging from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and many have we that most businesses use for better visibility. It will be disastrous to be a social media manager of “all” without creating a specialty or a niche in social media management. Especially when this is being done as a side hustle. Know the basics in management of all social media platforms (if possible), create and master your niche. This will also aid to streamline your target audience, making accessibility easy for potential clients.

Ø  Be Realistic:

The tricky part of taking social media management as a side hustle is to avoid taking on too many clients or too many accounts to handle at once. This is because accrued income from each of these clients can be so tempting, especially when holding onto your regular paying job and you want to keep acquiring clients. One thing you would want to avoid is the dissatisfaction of clients when curating your client base, so it’s better to stick with a realistic number of jobs you can take on, in line with the timeline agreed upon with clients.

During COVID-19, a lot of businesses relied heavily on their social media presence to bring in customers for their products and (or) services, hence the sudden surge in digital content creators worldwide. This makes social media management one of the surest and best viable side hustle you can always bank on in such a time. You would do yourself good to take on that free or paid online course in social media management/digital communications, it will be worth it.

4. Graphic Design

This can very much be considered as one of the best lucrative and most sought after skills needed for businesses, especially during a pandemic. With businesses leveraging on their social media accounts to do more customer conversion, it has become paramount for social media managers to make the page, attractive thoughtfully laid out to retain customers to an appealing sight. And how else can this be achieved if not through graphic arts?

That is an obvious tip to leverage to cash out from graphic designing. Here are more tips to know.

Tips On How To Cash Out From Graphics Design

Ø  Equip yourself with knowledge and the right tools:

No one needs to tell you how important it is to be properly skilled on this job. You can’t claim to be a graphic designer without a firsthand skillset of knowing how to design. Access to a computer and online creative tools (Adobe, Photoshop, etc.) is also considered a must-have if you are serious about cashing out as a graphic designer. Learning this skill has been made easy by numerous online tutorials available on YouTube and other online platforms to help navigate the journey of graphic designing.

Ø  Create Templates to sell online:

Once you are a master of graphic design, you can venture into the creation of logo templates, font designs templates, templates for e-books covers, posters, Pinterest graphics, etc. and sell them online to target audiences like Canva, Etsy, creative market etc. Many entrepreneurs find it easier to download readymade templates that can be modelled into what they want. It’s one of the best tips to earn from graphic design as a side hustle.

Ø  Online tutorials:

Just as a tutor, a graphic designer can as well curate courses packages and upload them to a host where these tutorials can easily be accessed by paying for them at a given rate. Another one is starting a YouTube channel with consistent content on graphic designs tutorials and what have we. This is another passive income that can be generated through online advertisements, and YouTube payment on monetized content for graphic designers.

Ø  Curate a client base:

It is already expensive to be in business as a graphic designer considering the cost and expenses to maintain tools being used both hardware and software, hence you must constantly seek to acquire new clients. Of course, as a side hustle you are careful not to take on too many jobs with unrealistic deadlines, but at the same time, to be able to cash out, your graphic design business runs on a life wire of your clientele base.

Graphic design is almost everywhere you look, you may not realize it until you start to notice the e-flyers, posters, e-invites, including prints, e-books, products labels, business logos and so on! The demand for the skills cannot be overemphasized and all that is needed is a skilled graphic artist with an intuitive mind. No specific qualification is needed to become a graphic designer, and the best part is the flexibility of work hours at your disposal as you can work from anywhere as long you have access to your hard and soft tools.

Hands down one of the best side-hustle you can get during a COVID-19 era or not.

5. Delivery Services

In taking on this job you are expected and required to have access to a fast and reliable means of transport. During the covid-19 pandemic era, the majority of physical stores and restaurants were shut out to the public, and just like corporate organizations adapted to working remotely, stores resorted to delivery of goods and products to customers with a better option of no-contact delivery.

How can this serve as a side hustle and how do you cash out from this? Easy-peasy.

Tips On How To Cash Out From Delivery Services

• Use fuel-efficient vehicles:

It is not enough to have access to a mode of transportation suitable for moving products/goods. It is highly paramount to consider your operating expenses, and buying fuel is one of the biggest ongoing expenses. If you can successfully cut down on this expense, then your profitability can increase.

Ø  Be Reliable:

Nothing sells a delivery service brand faster than the reliability of services rendered. Every customer or vendor attended to is a potential retained customer, and this depends on a variety of factors which the strongest is being reliable, and accountable.

Ø  Prompt Communication:

In the business of delivery service, there is always a high tendency of urgency from customers and vendors. When communication flow is quick and prompt, they will be encouraged to keep coming back for use of services. Procedures to give fast response to requests and update of the request being attended to should be put in place, this also builds trust in the brand or business.

Delivery service business sales unlike any other kind of business rely heavily on experience, no matter the number and reach of advertisements done. The best part of this as a side hustle is you don’t have to be the direct driver or rider of these vehicles. Having someone take on that task, and being remunerated in accordance to delivery made per day or per week, depending on your preference of payment, is worthwhile and makes it easier for you to concentrate on your full-time job while monitoring operations of the business.

Wrapping this up

Do not forget that side hustle business/services is a side hustle only when there is a full-time job in place. Doing any of these jobs mentioned above alone is already a business, this is because all of these jobs are usually someone’s full career/business option.

There is always a time when side hustle migrates into full-on business or job, but this is highly dependent most times on revenue gotten from this. COVID-19 is not an excuse not to make that money. Left to me, it is the best period to stay away from the hustling and bustling of the city, get to business and make that cash while you can with your flexible hours.

Most importantly, cashing out without savings and investments is a waste of wealth. Never forget that.