8 side hustles for athletes that you (probably) haven’t thought of
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There are hundreds of thousands of athletes worldwide and over 8,000 different sports.
In athletics alone there are at least 70,000 athletes, not to mention team sports, from soccer and rugby to basketball, baseball, cricket, and more. Despite this, not all these athletes get the massive contracts and high-paying sponsorships.
No matter your level, from club competitions to world championships, there are more ways to monetize your skills than you may think.
Many already know some of the traditional routes to extra athlete wealth such as competitions, coaching, and personal training. Yet, with a simple WiFi connection and a device, there are hundreds of other ways to put your skills to good use.
Here are some of the best athlete-focused side hustles you could start to earn yourself some extra cash, or even kickstart a new full-time income stream.
1. Selling workout plans online
No matter your chosen sport, the digital workout plan is one of the most lucrative side hustles for athletes.
Every sport develops a certain set of muscles, and by identifying your niche, you can create targeted and unique training program that include sport-specific workouts—strength training, flexibility routines, and anything else in between.
This can be developed and delivered in various ways, creating PDFs, eBooks, and interactive programs as formats to sell your workout plan.
What makes this side hustle exceptional is its return on investment: You can create you product once and then sell it repeatedly online. And by far, the easiest way to sell workout plans online is to create your own online store with Sellfy.
Let’s take a look at fitness creator Bells and Bodybuilding, for example.
By growing their social media following to an impressive 38,000, they can quickly reach and promote to a wide range of people with free tips and content, pushing them to visit their workout program on Sellfy, and boosting sales.
2. Selling instructional videos
Similar to the scope of workout plans, another excellent side hustle idea for athletes is selling instructional videos.
This product gives you a broad range of options for what to sell, including sport-specific drills, full-length workout sessions, tutorials on form and technique, or even action-packed tips and tricks videos.
And why stop there? You can create as many instructional videos as you can think of, and sell them either individually or as part of a package. Just make sure to prepare your videos beforehand with scripts and plans to create truly helpful and top-quality videos.
You’ll also want to choose the perfect platform. To make the most of your new side hustle, you may want to consider a specialized online store such as Sellfy. Sellfy is tailored to selling digital products with support for VOD, giving you an easy-to-use platform with helpful marketing and product management tools.
Of course, you can also use multiple platforms, which could include more broad options such as YouTube, Udemy, and other platforms.
To see the perfect demonstration of this, look no further than online trainer Samir Aboudou! He uses a mixture of Instagram and YouTube channels with free content to help drive viewers toward his more in-depth paid content hosted on Sellfy.
3. Meal plans and nutritional coaching
No matter your chosen sport, staying in good shape requires excellent meal planning to get you the proper nutrition you need.
Millions of people are constantly looking for help with meal planning and getting the right nutrients — whether it’s to lose weight, hit new personal bests at the gym, or get ready for sports competitions.
As an experienced and professional athlete, you can provide meal planning guides and nutritional coaching through PDFs, eBooks, video guides, and other digital formats.
For a good guide on how to do meal plans right, Tahlia Skye is an excellent example of success. By designing multiple meal plan packages for different customer segments, she can sell to a much wider audience, increasing her product range and overall sales potential.
To get the most out of this side hustle, consider getting relevant certifications in nutrition and meal preparation, as this will enhance both your skills and reputation.
4. Online fitness coaching and personal training
Fitness and personal training are not new professions, yet the rise of online platforms has greatly increased their potential for success, often with much less effort..
With the right platform, you can offer recorded or live online coaching and personal training services. This allows you to work with clients anywhere in the world and even with multiple clients at once with pre-recorded coaching and personal training sessions.
To achieve the most success, engage with clients during sessions and structure each session based on a key theme or aim, such as form or duration, just as the online coach humanfitproject did.
Using his large social media following, humanfitproject markets his product to his audience and encourages them to visit his Sellfy product page.
It’s also a good idea to provide post-session resources to help increase customer satisfaction.
5. Affiliate marketing
Many of the previous side hustles can be greatly boosted by having a social media presence, yet having a significant online following can be a side hustle all by itself.
Various brands will pay good money to be your partner and gain access to your audience and reputation. You can make money through affiliate marketing, promoting products such as supplements, other fitness courses, or fitness equipment on your social media.
This is an easy passive income stream, however, you must be careful to only partner with truly valuable products, as too much marketing of sub-par brands can quickly turn off your audience and cause your reputation to plummet.
To really get the most out of affiliate marketing, use tracking and analytics, earn commission based on links, and integrate these links into other content, such as blogs.
Let’s look at Sellfy seller Kyle Kuznik to see how affiliate marketing can pay off. With an existing social media following, Kyle partnered with Vanquish Fitness, promoting their products and earning commission when followers use his promo code.
While there is no set amount you can make from this as each brand deal will be different, most affiliate deals should give you either an upfront payment for promotion, a commission of 10% to 20%, or often a mix of both.
6. Sell your own fitness products and merch
If you’re a famous athlete or popular on social media, there is an excellent side hustle option open to you: your own merch and custom products.
When you have an online following, you have the opportunity to build a brand. With this brand, you can sell almost anything, from fun merchandise to useful fitness products associated with your name.
This could include apparel and clothing, equipment related to your brand such as shoes for water bottles, yoga mats, accessories, and even branded fitness kits.
Setting up your first online store with Sellfy is simple, quick, and easy, offering a tailored print-on-demand service that allows you to create and sell custom products without holding inventory.
But how can this feature truly help you?
Well, fitness seller GlowBodyPT shows us exactly how it’s done. Already using Sellfy to host her fitness plans, she then expanded her product offering through Sellfy’s print-on-demand services.
This allows her to sell other merchandise and clothing related to her brand along with her digital products, adding an extra source of income.
7. Ad revenue from YouTube and social media
Along with affiliate marketing and merchandise, building a large social media following gives you the option of making money through ad revenue.
YouTube, for example, is famous for its famous YouTubers who make money simply through high views. Yet YouTube is not the only social media with ad revenue, so make sure to turn on monetization features across all your social media platforms.
If you’re starting off from scratch, you need to create engaging and consistent content to grow your follower base. Make sure to offer valuable and exciting content that makes people want to come back to your channel.
The sky is the limit with how much you can earn through ad revenue, and depending on the platform and audience size you could earn anywhere from $100 to thousands each month.
Even better, this side hustle can combine beautifully with other side hustles, allowing you to promote your own digital and physical products.
Just take a look at Samir Aboudou, a fitness influencer who uses his YouTube channel to promote his store content, earning money through ad revenue and pushing more buyers to his store page.
8. Become a brand ambassador
A step up from affiliate marketing, you could also become a brand ambassador for various fitness and sports brands.
From clothing and shoeware brands to water bottle sellers, medium to large businesses are often looking for brand ambassadors to increase their reach and reputation. To get started, draw up a list of brands that align with your values and audiences.
Next, begin reaching out to gauge interest in you joining ambassador programs, and see what options may be available.
If you do get selected, you’ll likely be expected to promote their products and events through your social media, as well as join events representing the brand and leading marketing initiatives.
How you make money through this will depend on the brand. Some offer flat-rate payments, while others work via a commission on sales, or sometimes both. You’ll often get free products as well.
Conclusion
These are just 8 of the most popular athlete side hustles, and there’s no need to limit yourself to choosing just one!
Most of these options work best when combined with other side hustle methods, so make sure to explore your options to grasp your full earning potential.
If you are looking to sell digital products online, make sure to check out Sellfy to see how we can help you grow your audience, sell your products, and expand your brand.
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