The three new side hustles SideHusl.com reviewed this week include a potentially great summer job for teens; an effective staffing platform for people in t.v. and film; and a truly miserable writing platform that we hope you’ll avoid.
(This post may contain affiliate links. You can read our full affiliate policy here.)
Oppizi
Oppizi specializes in “off-line” marketing campaigns. It enlists freelancers to hand out leaflets and discount coupons; distribute door hangers and conduct other “off-line” direct marketing. The site’s “Brand Ambassadors” generally work in three-hour shifts, walking around a tight geographic area — often a mall or shopping area. They give out coupons to use with things like Uber Eats and local restaurants.
This can be a great summer job for teens because the only qualifications you need are to be over the age of 16, willing and able to work. Degrees and experience are not necessary. Better yet, the site pays reasonable hourly rates — $23 in most cities, and $30 in San Francisco — plus commissions.
Typically freelance Brand Ambassadors get a stack of leaflets to hand out. They can use their phones to activate a promo code on the offer. If a customer uses that leaflet and promo code, the Brand Ambassador gets a commission — usually $1. The more redemptions, the higher your pay.
People who like this style of in-person marketing can also find campaign opportunities with Field Day, which offers similar pay but no commissions. However, Field Day jobs generally involve more hours — typically 15 or more per campaign. Both sites are welcoming to most applicants and can be highly flexible for those with limited time to work.
StaffMeUp
StaffMeUp is a job board for the film and television industry that allows both employers and job seekers to post and search for free. However, job seekers can opt for a premium plan ($149 per year or $19.99 per month) that provides more services, including job analytics aimed at helping you handicap your chances of getting any given position.
There are many things to like about this site, including the fact that you can truly search for jobs for free, which is unusual in the entertainment industry. Better yet, the site enforces a set of standards that ensure that applicants are qualified and jobs offer decently paid work.
Job seekers on this site need to have at least two credits — i.e. work experience in the field — to list their services on the site.
Positions must pay at least minimum wage for the area in which they’re posted. Jobs also must reflect an actual open position with a specific start date. In other words, you can’t solicit applicants for jobs that may or may not be offered in the future.
No casting calls
The site doesn’t accept broad “casting calls” for a variety of open positions. It requires that each job posted be specific about what it is and what’s required. And it requires that every production be insured with coverage that includes employee benefits. Producers must make good on their promises in the posted position or they get booted and lose the ability to solicit employees through the site in the future.
Imposing exacting standards on producers posting jobs here sets this site apart and makes StaffMeUp our top rated platform for entertainment industry job seekers. The only shortcoming? You can’t seek jobs here is you are brand new to the industry.
If you have no film or t.v. credits, you may want to sign up for Backstage, which accepts all comers. But switch over to StaffMeUp as soon as you have the appropriate experience.
iWriter
Of the three new side hustles we reviewed this week, iWriter is the only one we don’t recommend.
iWriter enlists freelancers to complete writing assignments for less than a half-cent per word. Even in the exploitative world of content mills, this site’s pay is unusually poor. To be specific, iWriter has four writing “levels,” and those levels determine how much you earn for each assignment.
Every new writer starts at the standard level, which pays about $0.004 a word — less than a half-cent. To be promoted to the premium level, you must have a minimum rating of 4.1 with 25 ratings. In other words, you have to write 25 articles at miserable standard level pay and get good reviews from every single one of your clients to be promoted to premium.
“Premium” pay
Premium projects pay slightly more — about $6.5 for 500 words. From there it takes another five reviews (for a total of 30) and a minimum rating of 4.6 to qualify for the elite level. Elite-level writers earn $7 for 500 words. The highest writing level is Elite Plus. At the Elite Plus level, writers earn $25 for 500 words.
Notably, most content mills we’ve reviewed pay roughly 2 cents per word — $25 for a 500 word article — to writers. We consider that sorry pay. But, at iWriter, you’re the top of the heap if you earn that much.
This is obviously a terrible place to find writing work. We recommend almost every other writing opportunity on SideHusl.com over this one. Specifically, skilled writers able to do blog posts and writing for corporate websites would do better with nDash, Contently, Skyword or FreeUp. And those who write in niche topics — captions, dating profiles, resumes, etc. — can post a profile and “package” on Fiverr. New writers looking to gain experience can check out the writing jobs on Upwork.
Leave a Reply