More and more people are earning money on the internet every single day. Although it might not be as easy as some scammy websites make it seem, it is very possible with some work! Yes, I’m afraid that you do need to do some work. But the more you do, the more it will pay off. Eventually you may even find that you earn money while you sleep! So, without further ado, here are 17 ideas for making money online.
1) Write Articles
Content makes the internet go round. Think about all the websites you visit on a daily basis. The chances are you read some information on them, right? Well somebody needs to write that information! Now, don’t expect to approach a huge blog and become a staff writer overnight. Just as you would with real life magazines, you need to build up your experience and credentials before you’ll be able to write for a big website.
Instead, think about becoming a “ghostwriter”. What this means is that website owners will hire you to write for their sites, and you won’t get a byline on the content. This might seem bad, but it’s the biggest market for writers just starting out. Have a look at sites like oDesk and Freelancer to find jobs.
2) Fill In Surveys
Although it won’t earn you mega-bucks, you can make a nice side income filling in surveys for various companies online. Surveys range in complexity and time required, and payouts will also vary between survey providers. Whatever you do, make sure you read reviews of any website promising to pay you for surveys. Usually a detailed Google search will let you know if the website really is legitimate or not.
3) Earn Cashback
If you regularly shop for goods and services using the internet, did you know that you could earn some extra cash from the things you would usually buy anyway? Simply purchase your items through a cashback website!
How do these sites work? Well, the owners of the sites get a commission every time you buy through their affiliate links. They pass some of this commission onto you as an incentive for you to use their links. It’s a win-win situation!
4) Sell Things You No Longer Want
Although you won’t be able to rely on this moneymaking method forever, selling things you no longer want is a great way to bring in some quick cash. People are always looking for bargains on sites like eBay and Craigslist. So, if you want to clear your house out anyway, why not make some money doing it?
5) Become an Affiliate Marketer
Did you know that there are millions of affiliate marketers out there, making commissions by sending people to buy items through their referral links? Pretty much any big store you can think of – Amazon, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us etc. – has an affiliate program.
So, if you have an interest in a particular niche like gardening or knitting, why not start a blog about your hobby? People will love the free information, and you can make money from the website by referring your favorite products. This is not a super quick way to make money, but it can be well worth it over the long term.
6) Sell Your Arts and Crafts
The arts and crafts movement is really booming on the internet. These days, people are willing to pay a little extra to buy items that are unique, which is why websites such as Etsy.com have become so popular.
If you have a particular talent for making jewelry, creating desirable home furnishings, or anything else arty or crafty then why not have a go at selling some of your work online? Start somewhere like Etsy and move onto your own website once you establish a customer base.
7) Take Part in Competitions
There are a large number of websites out there dedicated to collating various competitions. Why not spend 30 minutes a day taking part in competitions where cash is the main prize?
You might not believe it but some people are “professional” competition winners. They spend a fixed amount of time entering competitions each day and statistics mean that they end up winning a few of them! Even if you end up winning items that you don’t want, you can then sell them on eBay for cold, hard cash!
8) Sell Your Photos
Are you a keen photographer with hard drives full of attractive photographs? Why not try earning some money from them! Although the pay isn’t always huge, you can make money selling your photos onto stock photography websites like iStockPhoto.
Of course, if your photos are really good then you can create and sell prints for a larger sum of money. However, that field is extremely competitive, so you probably shouldn’t set your sights too high when you’re just getting started!
9) Think of Something You Can Do for $5
Is there something you can do or create that you think people would pay $5 for? If so, get signed up to Fiverr.com and start making some cash! This is a great place for people to start out in their money making journey. Some people start out on Fiverr and end up with a thriving business.
For some ideas, have a browse around what’s for sale on the websites. Some people create graphics, other people send postcards, others will make videos, and so on. No idea is too small for Fiverr!
10) Self Publish a Book
Everyone has heard of Fifty Shades of Grey – the self published book series that’s gone on to be made into a movie! Those short eBooks have made their author millions! And that could be you, if you come up with the right idea and make sure to market it.
Amazon Kindle makes it easier than ever before to self publish a book, whether it’s erotic fiction or a how-to guide for vegetable gardeners. It’s a great way to monetize a hobby you know something about, and there are plenty of free online guides to tell you how to get it for sale on the Amazon Kindle store.
11) Become a Popular Vlogger
If you don’t mind talking in front of a camera and love watching vloggers on YouTube, then why not consider becoming one yourself? As long as you’ve got a way to entertain people then you can grow a following. This might mean you keep a video diary to tell people about your super-awesome life, or you might be someone who has no trouble making someone laugh. Whatever your talent, use it to your advantage.
When you do build a following on YouTube, you can go on to join the YouTube Partner Program. This means that YouTube will include ads on your videos. The more people that see these ads, the more money you’ll make! As with creating a popular website, this is going to take time, but it can pay off if you’re dedicated.
12) Buy and Sell Domain Names
Are you the kind of person who is good at coming up with catchy ideas? Then maybe you can register some interesting domain name combinations and go on to sell them to people who didn’t think of the idea quickly enough themselves.
Domain names are very cheap to buy if nobody has registered them yet, and there are a huge number of websites that’ll let you register them for periods of a year or more. If you think of something really good, and a company is desperate to get your hands on that combination of words, you could end up cashing in big! A warning, though: you are taking a risk with this kind of activity!
13) Network for a Better Job
OK, so this isn’t a direct way to make money on the internet but it can help you drastically increase your earnings. The internet makes it easier than ever before to network with people in a variety of industries. Get yourself an attractive LinkedIn profile and start participating in various forums, and adding connections that are related to your area of interest. Work hard at it and you could find yourself landing a much better job!
14) Become a Virtual Assistant
The internet now makes it possible for people to work remotely, and this includes personal assistants. No longer do people need to hire people to come into a physical office – they can hire assistants online to take care of things for them from the other side of the world.
If you’re an organized person, then why not become someone’s assistant? You get to choose the hourly rate, and you can market your assistant services on websites like oDesk.com. This can become a well paid, full time job.
15) Sell Your Own T-Shirt Designs
There’s a huge craze sweeping the online money world… that is T-shirts! Thanks to websites like Teespring, it’s easy to create your own T-shirt design and sell it for a nice chunk of cash.
The website hosts your T-shirt for you, so you won’t need to bother yourself with creating an online store. This means that you’ll only earn a percentage of the cost of each T-shirt, but some marketers have been earning a lot of money when they strike gold with their design.
16) Create a Kickstarter Campaign
If you have a passion project that you need some help with to get off the ground, Kickstarter could be the answer for you. This website lets you upload all the details of your project, along with a monetary goal, and browsers of the website can choose which causes they think are worthy of a donation.
Take a look around the site if you want some inspiration. It’s not just the “biggest” ideas that get the most traction, people have earned money from all kinds of projects on there. You never know what could happen!
17) Become an Extreme Couponer
Although this idea technically won’t make you money, it had to be included on the list! The internet is a wealth of information when it comes to saving money. One of the best ways to do that is to search for coupons every time you buy something that you were going to buy anyway. You’d be surprised at how many stores put out special coupons, and it only takes a little searching around to find them.
Conclusion
These aren’t the only ways to make your first $100 online, but they are some of the most popular. Some might take you longer than others to see that cash in your account, but it’s well worth pursuing your options if you need some extra cash on the side. Who knows, you might even make a new career for yourself!
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