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Welcome Back Hustlers!
We are back with more analysis, resurfacing side hustles and real world testing.
In today's edition:
The next opportunity? Paid ads
My Etsy shop failed
The first bite into high ticket sales
This week's digest
SIDE HUSTLE SPOTLIGHT
The Next Opportunity? Paid Ads
The boring tasks nobody wants to do are the ones businesses will pay for.
There are tasks that as humans we all have to do that are long, boring and sometimes beyond our capacity. On a business level, this becomes high stakes fast. Whether it is keeping spreadsheets updated or finding new routes to exposure, every business hits these walls at some point.
The best part?
They already know they need the support. You just have to convince them you are the right person for the job.
What are paid ads?
Paid ads are a marketing strategy built for faster, broader exposure. It usually means paying a platform such as Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook a daily fee to boost a targeted post and attract more customers.
Let us look at the numbers:
The Adoption Rate: In the small to medium business sector, over 65% of companies use paid search or social media ads to drive customers.
The Reality Check: Only around 57% of Google Ads budgets are properly optimised.
That means nearly half of all businesses running ads are actively lighting money on fire.
How do you use this?
The platforms themselves offer free courses on paid ads.
Earn your certifications, refine your pitch and approach a smaller business at a lower rate to test your ability.
Once confident, build case studies and start pitching to bigger companies.
Here are some courses to get started:
What’s next is almost here.
On July 16th at 1PM ET, beehiiv is going live with a look at the future of publishing, audience growth, and digital business.
What started as a newsletter platform has evolved into something much bigger: a place where creators and brands can grow, monetize, and own their audiences without stitching together half the internet to make it work.
The next chapter starts live at the Summer Release Event.
Join us to see what’s coming next.
TRIED AND TESTED
My Etsy Shop Completely Flopped
Etsy is one of the largest marketplace platforms in the world with an average of 86.6 million buyers globally.
With a home business feel, Etsy allows anyone to register a storefront and start selling.
For many, that has meant passive income through digital products and print on demand.
I spent two weeks testing it. Listened to this podcast, watched endless videos and got completely obsessed with the process.
My idea: Non-traditional cards for big life moments, designed in AI, refined into my own style and uploaded to the shop.
My learnings:
Etsy is massively oversaturated. You either need something completely unique or something so frictionless it beats the competition on convenience alone.
Digital cards are declining. Printers are less common in homes, people are always on the move, and 29% of Etsy consumers are aged 25 to 34.
My product was unclear. The orders I received were returned because customers did not know what they were getting.
Just because it did not work for me does not mean it will not work for you.
If anything, you are already one step ahead.
You know the oversaturation problem, you know digital cards are declining and you know product clarity is everything.
Build on those mistakes. With time and consistency, it compounds.
THE DEBUNK
💬 “I earn over £10k monthly from high-ticket sales.”
Welcome to the debunk, where every edition we get real.
I scour the algorithm for any signs of overpromise and underdeliver, to break down whether this is a real step toward passive income.
(This is the marketing asset being used again and again.)
What on earth is high-ticket sales?
Harder to define than it should be. Here is what we actually know.
High ticket sales means selling premium, high priced products or services on behalf of a business. Think a software company moving a £10k product. That sale needs to be human to human, bespoke and targeted. That is where commission comes in and where the opportunity supposedly lives.
What we are seeing instead: an oversaturation of influencers, luxury backdrops, inflated income screenshots and the same reel template copy pasted across a thousand accounts. Interesting for an industry that sells independence.
I tested it.
Every person I encountered had identical marketing assets and tone of voice. The only way to speak to anyone was to join a free masterclass, book a consultation or pay for a course.
I booked the consultation. Never received a link. When I declined to hand over my Instagram, the interest in me disappeared immediately.
I booked the masterclass. Apparently secured the last slot. The time kept shifting every time I missed it.
No conclusion yet. The Side Scoop investigation continues.
Current verdict: steer clear.
THIS WEEK DIGEST
🤫 My Favourite Tools This Month:
Quick ones this week, all free or low cost, all worth bookmarking.
Tools I’ll be using:
Prompt Cowboy – If you are using AI frequently, this helps lock down your prompts and get consistently stronger results.
AI Prompt Video – On a similar vein, if you are struggling with prompting, this is a great free insight into how to do it properly.
Sales Samurai – If Etsy is a serious area of interest, Sales Samurai lets you view competitors in your niche with analytics including revenue.
Beehiiv – Our sponsor this month. Beehiiv is looking ahead at how the industry is changing and wants you to be first in the know. Take a look at the link above. It also helps The Side Scoop keep testing, researching and delivering this newsletter.
THE FINAL BITE
💫 Final Word
That’s all for today folks, thank you for reading!
As always: every edition, we get 1% sharper. A better tool, a smarter approach, one less mistake to make.
See you next time! 🤍
The Side Scoop