We are living in fantastic times. Nowadays, anyone with a laptop or smartphone and an internet connection can make money online. You don’t need an expensive degree, a factory, or a million dollars to get started, either. There are hundreds of thousands of opportunities and millions of dollars being made online by people just like you, every day. These are the top 20 ways that you can start making money online, and you can get started right now.
1. Be a Freelancer
A freelancer is an independent, self-employed worker who takes jobs and projects on an individual basis. You can freelance as a writer, photographer, journalist, actor, web designer, translator, and about a million other things. The internet has made freelancing easier than ever, and thanks to websites like Elance, you can start right now. Just list a service that you are willing to do for people, write a short description, and post a photo or video, and BAM you’re a freelancer.
2. Mini Tasks
There are websites out there, Mechanical Turk being one of the largest and most reputable, which will pay you to complete small tasks such as filling out surveys, watching videos, and taking quizzes. The payouts for these types of jobs aren’t anything spectacular, but the tasks are relatively simple and available to anyone. Mechanical Turk, or Mturk, pays with gift cards and amazon credit, so it won’t put a lot of cash in your pocket, but it is a good place to make money easily while you sit around in your underwear.
3. Gig Sites
Sites like Fiverr are examples of new types of freelancing that have recently emerged. People list jobs, or gigs, that they are willing to do for a set amount of money, usually five dollars. People then purchase the gigs through the website. These sites are a great place to get started because they bring your service to a huge marketplace as well as provide you with free advertising.
4. Write an Ebook
For the first time in history, you can publish your own book and make it available to tens of millions of people all over the world. That is the magic of the internet. If you enjoy writing or have some valuable information to share, you may want to consider self-publishing an ebook to sell on the Amazon Marketplace and the Itunes Store.
5. Flipping items for cash
If you have an eye for bargains and a smartphone, than you can start making money flipping things today! Flipping is the act of acquiring some goods and then listing them for resale online and “flipping” them for a profit. We’ve all heard of flipping houses or cars, but the truth is you can flip just about anything. The best part is, you can make a lot of money if you hustle, and anyone can do it. To learn more, check out this online course on flipping.
6. Start a Blog
Blogging is the best way to get your writing and personality out there for the world to see. If you do a good job, you will build a loyal following and they would just love to purchase your products, read your ebooks, and follow you wherever you go. A popular blog is an approachable and free way to make money through advertising or selling your own products and services.
7. Make an online course
Do you have some valuable knowledge or a special set of skills that you can teach to others? If so, you can begin building your very own online course today. Design your curriculum, produce your course content, and put it up for sale. You can go it alone and sell from you own website or blog, or you can team up with a site like Udemy and market you course to the masses.
8. Design a Tshirt
If you’re a creative or artistic person, you could try designing Tshirts for sale at an online store like Cafepress. These sites let you submit your artwork and then they take care of everything else. There are many sites like this, so shop around for one that fits your style and taste.
9. Write Reviews
If you don’t mind reaching out to local businesses, you can make money as a professional review writer. Begin by reviewing every place you go to on a site like Yelp, then when you have some experience under your belt; offer your services to local businesses for a fee.
10. Sell your art and photography
It’s easier than ever for artists and photographers can make money selling their stuff online. You can submit your piece of art to a website such as ArtPal or Etsy, and they will make it available for purchase to their millions of customers.
11. Write articles
If you fancy yourself the investigative type, you can always write articles to be published on blogs, ezines, and revenue sharing sites like InfoBarrel. Some of these sites will place ads around your article, and then you get a share of any profits that they produce.
12. Make Youtube videos
Think you have what it takes to be the next Youtube sensation? Maybe your cat likes to dance to techno music, film it! If your video starts to get thousands upon thousands of views, Youtube will cut you a check for your share of the riches.
13. Design a website
Nowadays, you don’t need to know how to write computer code to design a killer website. Online site design tools such as Wix take all of the headaches out of designing a website. Their simple tools make it as easy as dragging and dropping your content onto one of their many templates. If you get good enough, companies will pay you quite a bit of money to design them a professional looking website.
14. PPC Advertising
If your blog or website gets a decent amount of traffic, you can always start your own PPC, or pay per click, advertising program. Google AdSense is probably the best known PPC service. They place ads on your site, and you get paid for all of the traffic that they generate.
15. Amazon Associates
Amazon has one of the best affiliate marketing programs out there. Amazon will give you a special link, or portal, that leads to their website. You simply place an Amazon portal on your website or blog, and you will earn a commission for any items that are purchased through your link. This is great because if you recommend a wristwatch, but that person goes on to buy a TV and a laptop, you earn commission on all three items.
16. Design an app
If you know where to outsource the various jobs such as artwork and coding, you can make quite a bit of money selling a helpful app on the Iphone Apstore or Google Play marketplace.
17. Craigslist
Craigslist is amazing. Every day, people in your neighborhood are cleaning out their garages, and then listing their stuff on Craigslist for cheap and sometimes even for free. If you keep your eyes peeled, you can pick something up from the Craigslist free page, re-list it, and sell it for profit on the same day.
18. Sell your music, audiobook, or comedy album on iTunes.
Why market your band to the same local bars and record stores over and over again. Put your album online and make it available to the entire world. The iTunes marketplace is a great place for bands to connect with their true fans and make some cash in the process.
19. Ebay
Ebay is a gigantic auction site, with hundreds of thousands of items for sale at any given moment. Not only can you buy unique items that you could never find at a store, but since Ebay is an auction site, you can get really great deals on lots of things and then resell them for a higher price.
20. FBA
Amazon has another fantastic program call Fulfillment By Amazon, or FBA. This program allows you to list items for sale on Amazon, then you send them the items off to Amazon and they will store them in their warehouse until they sell. If you know where to find all of the best sales on a regular basis, then FBA might be perfect for you.