6 VPS Side Hustles to Make Some Cash on the Side
Owning a VPS opens up a world of possibilities. You may have initially invested in a private server for gaming or creating a VPN. Still, you can do much more, including turning your VPS into a potentially lucrative income.
A VPS costing you just a few quid a month could net you hundreds in return, so domain and server provider, Fasthosts, details six ways to turn your new tech investment into a steady side hustle.
Offer hosting to others
With your own VPS server, you can make money by hosting your own website and using that to generate income or selling hosting space on your server to others. You could even rent out your server on a commission basis, taking a percentage cut of the revenue generated by whomever you rent out to. Or you might be skilled in Java or HTML, which allows you to display ads on your website and make a profit this way.
Sell products
Perhaps the most popular way of making money for VPS owners is selling products by using your server to host an online store. While this isn’t limited to a virtual server – it can be done on almost any website or server – many choose a VPS for extra privacy or because they already own one for other reasons. Etsy and Amazon are two of the most popular ways of selling online.
Etsy will provide you with marketing materials to give you a helping hand and suggestions for the type of products you are searching for. There’s also a free plan available until your sales are high enough. If you’d rather customise your own online store, or if your site is too small for Etsy or Amazon, you can add Google Wallet or PayPal buttons to any site page.
Affiliate marketing
For the uninitiated, affiliate marketing is where a publisher earns a commission by linking to and promoting a product or service by making another retailer or advertiser – such as Amazon or eBay.
Amazon Associates is the retail giant’s affiliate program – you’ll receive a percentage of a sale when someone buys through one of your links. Different programs are available on Amazon Associates, depending on how much you sell monthly.
Sell advertising space
Advertising is one of the easiest ways to make extra money from your VPS. Third-party programs like Google Adsense or AdBrite can be used if you get traffic to your server, where the more traffic you get to your server or website, the more you can earn. People on your websites may see adverts and click on them, generating passive income straight into your bank account.
Paid to promote
A lucrative way to earn money through your VPS is to harness paid-to-promote (PTP) opportunities. PTP is simply an agreement to run traffic exchanges on your VPS. It requires a lot of work to keep the money coming in, but those who are successful say it’s well worth the investment.
Game server hosting
A VPS is a great choice for a game server. When you’re not using it yourself, renting out your VPS for others to host games for their friends can be a great way to make a little extra cash. You can offer it to multiple games or specialise in one or two that you know are popular online, such as Minecraft or CS: GO.
