Making money online is an easy and convenient way to make some extra cash for those who want to make more than their monthly salary. It’s not an arduous task, as there’s an endless supply of available options. And, while millions of Americans have already started making money online, we’ve short listed some top ways that you can start bringing in some extra cash.
Now, you might be wondering, what do I know about making money online. Well, my career spans more than 18 years, and I’ve only ever worked online. I started by building a website, and today I write and consult. So, if you're looking for some online work that makes you some extra cash as a side hustle or a full-time job, then you have come to the right place.
Jobs to Make Money Online
The following jobs can help you make money online. Some are part-time jobs, and others full time. And since most of us already have phones connected to the internet, these jobs aren’t limited to “at home”.
Use Apps Like Uber and Lyft
Transportation has been a challenge for many, even before the pandemic. But with it extending and still affecting every aspect of life, securing a mode of transit just became more challenging. And this is the reason why applications such as Uber and Lyft came into existence.
Companies like Uber and Lyft are innovative alternatives to your old transportation means. Users can open the app on their smartphones and request a ride from an Uber or Lyft driver. And the driver gets paid in exchange for driving.
So, if you have a driver's license, a smartphone, and a car, you can earn extra money by driving for Uber and Lyft and similar ride-sharing apps. You can register yourself on Uber or Lyft and start earning cash in your free time just by giving rides to people.
Bonus: If driving people isn't your thing, many people make $1000 a week delivering food with Uber Eats.
Take Online Surveys
Have you ever wondered if sharing your valuable suggestions can make you some money? Well, now you can — you can get paid for taking online surveys.
If you find yourself with some downtime in between your part-time work or classes, you can do some online surveys to earn some fast cash during your waiting window.
Many survey firms are looking for specific responders. You need to see if you fit their criteria and answer some questions. Don't worry; there will always be a notification about your privacy concerns. Read through them, fill out the survey, and earn your cash. You also don't need to answer any questions you're not comfortable with.
There are many apps and sites on the internet to make some cash by filling out surveys. Sites like My Survey and Survey Junkie will pay you real money for these surveys.
Become a Virtual Assistant
If you are looking for a comfortable job from home, a virtual assistant position might be the best fit for you. You can do easy duties for someone looking for some virtual help. For instance, you can book tickets, maintain accounts, and schedule appointments for someone.
This job pays a good amount of money on an hourly basis, and it is a great way to earn some extra cash from home.
Bank on your skills and earn money without needing to step outside of your home. When you hone your experience, you can find better opportunities and increase your hourly salary.
There is also no shortage of clients, as many individuals seek help with their administrative tasks. If you're only starting out, here's a tip: focus on the real estate niche.
Invest in Dividend Paying Stocks
Investing is something that can yield significant returns in the long run. If you have a chunk of money and aren't sure what to do with it, consider investing it in some quality dividend stocks.
Dividend stocks pay you cash, to your brokerage account, usually on a quarterly basis. And the best part is, once you own the stock, you just sit back and collect the dividends. With enough time, you might stumble across something that could eventually make you financially independent!
However, you can't just throw your money at any stock you see. You still need to do your own research to see if it's worth the risk. When you start investing, you should also make it a habit to pay attention and read the news. If I include it in my daily routine, I find that I'm updated on how my investments are doing.
There are always risks with investing. So make sure you only invest what you can afford to lose.
Sell Clothes or Items Online
If you are someone with lots of extra stuff, you can turn it into cash. The best option is to sell your items or clothes online. Sites like eBay and Poshmark let you sell the things you no longer use. These sites make the payment process easy, and only a minimal amount of effort is required.
Because there are many online sellers that you'll have to compete with, make sure that you take good pictures of your items. Take the photos in decent lighting conditions, preferably in natural light, so the viewer can clearly see the colors of your items.
Additionally, describe your item the best you can. This is so the potential buyer won't have to ask you many questions; the info they need is already in the post. And suppose they try to file a dispute and claim that you inaccurately described the product. In that case, this description will help the reselling platform side with you.
Document your transactions thoroughly, especially if you're shipping the item to a distant location. Some scammers pose as buyers and will say they never got your parcel when, in fact, they already did.
Tutor Online
If you're a math whiz like I am, or pretty brainy and have some extra time, then you can become an online tutor. Tutors work from home and just need a good internet connection. There are many high school and college tutoring jobs available that you can apply for.
Don't worry about being a graduate of a specific subject. Many online tutoring companies only require you to know the subject matter and understand English. You can also pick your schedule and teach, depending on your availability. Teach for as long as you can; you might even get bonuses for taking on many slots.
Typically, you'll tutor one, or maybe two students at a time, and the teaching materials are usually provided by the students.
Earn Royalties
Royalties are payments made to the creators of intellectual property for the use of their work. This includes payments for books, music, and movies.
The benefits of royalties are that they provide a steady stream of income for the creators, which can help them continue to create new works. In addition, royalties can help ensure that the creator receives credit for their work, and can help to finance future projects.
Royalties can also be used to support other creators who may be less fortunate and can help to promote creativity by encouraging people to create new works.
Whether you're learning how to write a book, music, or even a movie, there's no better time than now to get started.
Become a Transcriptionist
If you have a computer/laptop and some fast typing skills, you can become a transcriptionist. It is easy to earn money just by typing from your home.
The salaries are also pretty high, as much as $30-40 an hour. Many freelancing sites like TranscribeMe or Go Transcript where you can get started and earn some extra cash.
As a transcriptionist, you'll listen to an audio or video recording and type what you hear in the files. You need to be accurate, have excellent grammar, and follow the company's instructions for what they need.
Aside from a computer/laptop, you'll also need to invest in excellent headphones to make your job easier.
Become a Freelance Writer
Writing can make you hundreds of dollars if you are good at it. Many freelancing sites require freelance writers to write content for them.
Writing can make you hundreds of dollars if you are good at it. The pay is excellent, as you can get an average of $25 to $50 per hour. You can visit sites like Fiverr and Upwork, as they have many freelance writers listed. You can become an SEO writer if you are great at SEO.
Or, you can be a general writer who can write about any topic but only scratches the surface. But the big bucks lie in niches, such as technology, finance, and crypto.
Since there was a surge in freelance writers brought about by the pandemic, you need to make sure that you are a cut above the rest and continue to polish your writing skills.
Make And Sell Crafts Online
Etsy is a site where you can show your love for crafting and design. There is a high demand for crafts these days. And, turning your hobby into a money-making mill can be a good idea. You just have to make sure that the materials and craft you use are worth the selling price. You also don't need to immediately work with big productions! You can deliver them over time. There is also a demand for handmade products.
Find a way to connect with your potential buyers and highlight what makes your crafts unique. For instance, you can donate a part of your sales to cancer research or to save the turtles, or maybe both! No contribution is too small with great goals!
Start a YouTube Channel
The internet is growing daily, and by now, almost everyone knows about YouTube. This popular platform has the potential to make you thousands of dollars just by making videos of what you are good at. You can promote your channel on social media sites to get more views.
Find your voice and create a channel that you'll seriously work on and grow. The best creators find a way to connect to their audience. It's like any other social media platform. YouTube demands consistent content from its creators to keep them relevant. You should also be aware of the site's algorithm, including its do's and don'ts, so you don't end up getting copyrighted or demonetized.
Become a Task Filler on Mechanical Turk
Human workers are still needed to do some jobs that can't be done by machines. Companies outsource these tasks through services like Amazon's Mechanical Turk, which provides an easy way for requesters (people hiring you) and workers (you) to get paid quickly without having any upfront costs or risk involved in production. It might seem tedious at first but if your goal is to make some quick cash, this job could be for you!
Work as a Consultant
Consulting is something that is in big demand these days. From financial consulting to trading consultants, every business requires some consulting services.
You make up to $100, $1000, or even $10,000 a CALL, for a consultation.
As a consultant, you're expected to be an expert in a particular field or profession. You're basically renting out your knowledge to your client to help them make informed, relevant decisions that can significantly impact their business.
You can take both short or long-term projects, and depending on your contracts with your clients, you can work with more than one at the same time.
Sell Your Photography
The Fine Art America website allows you to upload your photographs and sell them as prints, t-shirts, or phone cases. Other sites that are popular for photographers include SmugMug, 500px, PhotoShelter which offers cloud storage with password protection in addition to a customized website builder so users don't have worry about hosting fees anymore!
Start a Blog
Along the same line as freelance writing, if you are looking to build a passive income machine, then starting a blog is a viable option. In the long run, if you keep writing and promoting it, you can make money just doing pretty much nothing.
You can promote your blog posts on social media sites to get readers. Eventually, you can monetize your blog with ads and affiliate programs.
You can pick your niche and start writing about it. Gradually, you will build an audience that can generate you lots of money.
Create Online Courses or Webinars
Next on the list of ways to earn money online is through online courses or webinars. As the internet grows, everything is going digital and it’s happening at a quick pace. The internet has not left a single industry unimpacted — and learning is one of them. Students can learn online with the internet and a computer/laptop/mobile phone.
If you are good at something, and you can teach it, then you can earn hundreds or even thousands of dollars by selling a course. Start by recording a lecture while teaching and upload it to a course-selling site. And, another option is to give paid webinars.
Become a Data Entry Clerk
Data entry is in great demand these days, as the amount of data we are getting today is enormous. Just entering data into Excel sheets can make you a hundred dollars. The job is in great demand, and you can do it from home as well. You can find many freelance data entry jobs on Freelancer, Fiverr, and Upwork.
Write Resumes
Writing a resume for other people can make you some spare cash. On average, resume writers earn between $15 and $20 an hour.
Also, you can work on a per-project basis; in this case, you could get $100 for writing just one resume. This is a pretty massive sum for the small amount of time involved!
Rent Out a Room on Airbnb
If you have a spare room or home, you can probably make some cash with it. You can list your room or house on Airbnb, and people can rent it temporarily. Renting out can easily make you money just by doing almost nothing.
But how do you stand out from the competition? You just need to decorate and arrange your space to make it Instagram-worthy! Search for what room layouts are best, and get inspiration online as to what aesthetic you should be after.
When your space is already pimped out, it'll be easy to rent it at a higher price.
Become a Web Designer
Every business requires a website — from small companies to huge megacorporations.
If you've got skills like designing websites, and are good at content creation, you can make a decent salary from home. You can find thousands of job listings on Upwork related to web design, and they pay well. As a web designer, you can potentially make $70,000 per year.
Start a Dropshipping Store on Shopify or Amazon
If you have access to a product, selling it online can earn you lots of money. You can quickly scale your business by using sites like Shopify and Amazon to sell goods that are made by overseas companies and distributors.
With drop shipping, you never see a product. The order comes in, and you buy it from the distributor - and they will ship it to the customer, with your name on it. But, in order to be successful, you’ll need to be on top of your inventory and orders so that you don’t let your customers down.
Become a Brand Ambassador
As companies expand their online reach, they need brand ambassadors and influencers to promote their brand digitally. And if you are someone who has a lot of followers on Instagram, you should think of becoming a brand ambassador.
Many brands give thousands of dollars just for promoting their products and services online. If you are lucky to score a deal like that, well, it could be life-changing.
Invest in Cryptocurrency
Last on the list of things you can make money online with is crypto! Now Cryptocurrency is nothing new but has quickly become a worldwide craze. If you’ve got some extra cash lying around, you can use it to buy some Bitcoin or Ethereum for yourself.
Now, investing in even the top cryptocurrencies is riskier than investing in traditional assets, but the rewards can also be high. Some people have made themselves millionaires just by investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies.
Bonus: Here's a Scanteam infographic for those who want to catch up on the basics of cryptos.
Review Music or Videos Online
This might sound surprising to you, but you can make money by reviewing music and videos online. Sites like Slice the Pie let you review various things like music, video, or artists and give you cash for doing that.
2 Bonus Ways to Make Money Online
Above, we covered ways to create a full or part time job to make money online. Below, are two bonus ways to make money by doing what you already do - spend!
Use Money-Making Apps
Some apps can make you money when you shop online. They give you extra money or cash rewards when you purchase something online.
Apps like Drop are a good example. You can link your credit or debit card to get extra points when you shop online. These points add up, and eventually, you can use them to buy products.
These are essentially money-back products where you spend a certain amount of cash, and you'll be receiving cashback. Just be well-informed regarding these apps, so you know the conditions you need to meet to be able to get the cashback.
Use Cashback Credit Cards
Have you ever thought about earning some extra money while spending? Well, now you can — by shopping online with a credit or debit card that offers cashback.
Before getting a cashback card, you need to weigh if the cashback is greater than the card's cost. If there's no annual fee, that's one thing - but if the annual fee is high, you'll need to weigh the costs.
Be vigilant and don't just get swept away by the attractive offers. At the end of the day, it's still credit that you'll need to pay back.
The Bottom Line
There are endless ways to earn money online, and certainly not limited to this list. But this is a great place to start! Making money online (consistently) is not an easy task. However, those who treat it as a business will find it more manageable over time.
This article originally appeared on RickOrford.com and was republished with permission.