In the last few years the ‘side hustle’ has gone from eye rolling-inducing, inspirational LinkedIn fodder to something most people will need just to turn their oven on. Thanks to the cost of living crisis, there is a greater need to generate extra income and, with the rise of platforms like OnlyFans, Passion Digital wanted to look at where these new means of income rank amongst other side hustles in the UK.

The research data revealed that there has been a 267% increase in the last 12 months for the search term “sell feet pics”, making it the side hustle with the biggest increase in search - there has also been an 84% increase YoY for people searching online for ‘side hustle ideas’.

The shocking data also revealed that searches for how to set up an OnlyFans channel increased by 69%, making it the second biggest side hustle in our list. “Selling used underwear” also saw an increase in interest, coming 4th in our list, with a 56% increase.

Side hustles that saw the biggest increase in searches:

Selling feet pics: +267%
OnlyFans: +69%
Pet sitting: +57%
Selling used underwear: +56%
Paid online surveys: +50%

When it comes to where these searches are taking place, we found that Birmingham had the highest number of searches for selling pictures of their feet, with an increase of 600% for the search term “selling feet pics”. Interestingly, Birmingham also saw the biggest increase in people looking into starting OnlyFans channels with an increase of 200%. Manchester came second with an increase of 450% and the country’s capital came third with an increase of 418% amongst Londoners searching for ways to sell photos of their feet.

Cities searching for ways to sell pictures of their feet in the last 12 months:

Birmingham: +600%
Manchester: +450%
London: +418%
Edinburgh: +400%
Glasgow: +350%

The research also revealed trends in more ‘traditional’ side hustles including paid online surveys. Passion Digital found that searches for “surveys for money” have increased by 50%. Cardiff also came top in this list with a 200% increase in searches, with Edinburgh coming in second place with an increase of 125%.

Cities with the biggest increase in searches for side hustle ideas in the last 12 months:

Cardiff: +267%
London: +128%
Manchester: +86%
Birmingham: +85%
Edinburgh: +55%

Passion Digital as a small-medium size UK business is fully aware of the challenging economic times faced for the business, its clients and staff. The above trends reflect the critical economic environment we’re going through and the company felt that it was of great importance to share this research.

Tim Greatrex, CEO at Passion Digital says:

“It’s an incredibly turbulent time economically and as an agency we are trying our best to support our clients and staff through the storm. We’ve implemented a few initiatives internally to support our employees and we’re keeping an open dialogue with all of our clients to pivot strategies in order to further aid their wider business goals. The more we can do to shine a light on how the economic climate is affecting people in the UK in less obvious ways, the more we can be part of the conversation to come out of this difficult financial time better.”


About Passion Digital

Passion Digital is a full-service performance marketing agency based in Brixton, London. Founded in 2012 by Mike Grindy, the agency is renowned for combining critical thinking with creative thinking to Imagine Better results for its clients. Passion aims to create a supportive work environment and since its beginnings has instilled the culture of giving back, such as working closely with nationwide charities to improve their digital marketing presence and its pro bono work for its local partner charities.

Credit
Please credit this research to Passion Digital

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