There are plenty of options when it comes to making money online. The good news is regardless of where you are in life, how much experience you have, or where you live, you can easily start an online business or side hustle to boost your income.
Consider us your neighbor in making money on the internet.
Reasons To Start Making Money Online
All you need to start making money online is an internet connection. Now that’s powerful stuff. The internet has opened up countless opportunities for individuals to explore new income streams and gain financial independence.
Whether you’re looking to supplement your existing income, embark on a full-time online career, or simply enjoy the flexibility of earning money from the comfort of your home, there are plenty of reasons to start making money online.
Flexibility and Convenience
Set your own schedule and your own hours. This flexibility is especially beneficial for students, parents, or those with other commitments.
Diverse Income Streams
This diversity enables you to explore multiple income streams simultaneously, reducing financial reliance on a single source.
Lower Overheads
Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar businesses, online ventures often have lower overhead costs and are easier to get started.
Global Reach
The internet allows you to reach a global audience, breaking down geographical barriers. Whether you’re selling products, offering services, or sharing content, you can connect with people from all corners of the world.
Personal Growth
Building an online income requires you to learn new skills. What’s cooler than that?
Passive Income Potential
Some online income streams, such as blogging, affiliate marketing, or creating digital products, can lead to passive income. Once established, these sources can continue to generate revenue with minimal ongoing effort.
Financial Freedom
Starting your own online side hustle can give you more than extra cash. Ultimately, making money online can pave the way to financial freedom. It can give you the autonomy to make financial decisions, invest in your future, and achieve your long-term goals.
22 Ideas for Making Money Online
1. Freelancing
If you fancy yourself a halfway decent writer, a good note-taker, a graphic designer, a data entry clerk, or even a movie reviewer, there are tons of businesses that want to pay someone just like you.
Consider exploring a platform like Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, or other online marketplaces that connect businesses with freelance professionals. The money might not come right away, but before you know it, you’ll be making great money online.
A freelance writer or graphic designer can bring in an extra $500 to $3,000 a month. As a freelance writer on Upwork, I’ve even had some $5,000 months.
Average Monthly Income: $3,000 – $8,000
2. Online Tutoring or Teaching
With platforms like VIPKid or Chegg Tutors, you can tutor people online and help others learn a subject you may already be proficient in. You can even teach a language you already know with online services like TEFL.
Average Monthly Income: $3,000 -$4,000
3. Create an Online Course
Know something that others might find valuable? You can create and publish online courses on Udemy or Coursera and make money teaching others what you know.
I’ve personally invested in dozens of courses on subjects ranging from freelance writing to marketing to Spanish. It may take some time up-front to create content, but once you build up a healthy queue of PDFs, slideshows, podcasts, and quizzes, this can be a great business model.
Average Monthly Income: $6,000
4. Rent Your Extra Space
Making money online doesn’t have to be complicated. Got an extra room or an empty driveway? Peer-to-peer storage platforms like Neighbor can connect you with locals looking to store their things.
By renting out your unpaved lot or driveway to those in need of RV storage or boat storage, you can earn passive income while helping out someone in your community. After all, what else were you going to do with that unused cement pad?
5. Affiliate Marketing
Have ever bought something because of a blog review or Instagram post? That’s affiliate marketing at work – and no, you don’t need to be an influencer. By starting a simple blog and applying to an affiliate marketing program, you can make commissions on products people purchase through your unique links.
Amazon Associates is an easy way to get started and only takes a few minutes to set up.
Average Annual Income: $58,000 to $158,000
6. Blogging
Try launching your own website and writing about what you love. The more valuable your ‘niche’, the better the earning potential. Here are some lucrative blog niches:
- Software Reviews
- Personal Finance
- Health & Wellness
- Digital Marketing
Once you establish your niche, you can begin to organically grow your audience and monetize your visitors through advertising revenue. This one takes a little longer to get going, but if you have a good content strategy and the time to dedicate to it, you can grow an impressive stream of income.
Average Monthly Income: $3,000
7. Start a YouTube Channel
Start a channel, and once you meet the requirements, earn ad revenue, get sponsorships, and even sell merchandise. You can make it about anything, although I recommend something you’re passionate about with high demand. Here are some lucrative Youtube niches:
- Gaming
- Technology
- Health and Wellness
- Makeup Tutorials and Fashion
- Travel and Food
Getting paid by YouTube involves maintaining a minimum subscriber count and a number of hours watched, so keep the content coming!
Average Monthly Income: 4,000 – $5,000
8. Start a Dropshipping Business
Dropshipping is when you sell products that you don’t inventory yourself.
When someone buys, you order the product from a third-party supplier who ships it directly to the customer. To get started with dropshipping, you first need to decide on a product with high demand and low competition. To do this you can use tools like AMZScout or Helium 10, which can analyze and research profitable products to help you decide.
Once you find your product, purchase it from a supplier who can send it to a warehouse to be stored. Using Amazon FBA for product fulfillment is a popular choice for many first-time drop shippers.
Note that it will take time to build the right connections.
Along with building connections with your target customer base, you’ll also need to manage marketing, customer service, and support. However, with the right framework and a competitive product, dropshipping can be a great source of extra income.
Average Monthly Income: $3,000
9. Stock Photography
Are you an artist? Do you like photography? You can get paid anywhere from .02 to .25 cents per image per month. Thousands of businesses look for stock images on platforms like Shutterstock each day to add to their marketing collateral, blog posts, and websites.
Average Monthly Income: $550
10. Online Surveys & Reviews
Filling out online surveys and providing feedback can earn you anywhere from .25 to $5 per survey. It’s not enough to quit your day job, but it’ll pay for a cup of coffee every once in a while. Popular survey sites like Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, or MTurk offer payment for surveys and small tasks.
Average Monthly Income: $40 a month (if you complete 3 surveys per day)
11. Invest in Stocks or Cryptocurrency
Platforms like Robinhood and Coinbase allow you to start investing with little money down. However, like any other investment, you risk losing!
Average Monthly Income: Varies
12. Sell Digital Products
You can make recurring revenue on a simple digital product. For example, you can make your own crossword puzzles or coloring books and people will pay to download them.
The nice thing about digital products is that once they’re made, they’re available forever.
You don’t have to worry about inventory or distribution. You can use Canva or Adobe Express to create a high-quality digital project and sell it through an online marketplace like Etsy to get started.
If you need some direction on digital product ideas, here is a good start!
13. Sell Domain Names
One time I was thinking of starting a website, so I bought a domain. A few weeks later, someone approached me and offered to buy it. I made a few hundred bucks on something I only paid a few dollars for. Try brainstorming ideas to think of some potentially popular domains. You can use Google Trends to perform your initial research.
14. Rent Out Your Parking Space
Renting out your driveway or garage is a great way to make money fast. If you have a parking space in a high-demand area, you can rent it out through platforms like Neighbor. You don’t have to be in commercial real estate to make good money!
15. Flip Thrift Store Finds
If you know how to spot a good buy, you may be pretty good at reselling thrift store deals. In fact, there are platforms built for resellers that let you do just that.
Try reselling designer clothes, sporting goods, or collectibles – which all tend to hold their value pretty well. You can list them on Ebay or Facebook Marketplace.
16. AirBnB That Extra Room
You don’t need a rental property to start earning rent. If you’ve got a spare room, you can open your home to the short-term rental market. The benefit is you can keep an eye on the property, and you get to control the dates your space is available. Find out how you can become a host.
17. Watch Advertisements
You can get paid to do things you’re forced to do anyway. Websites like InboxDollars and MyPoints will pay you to watch advertisements and provide feedback.
By dedicating a few minutes a day, you can make an extra $50-$100 a month.
18. Walk or Watch your Neighbor’s Dog
You can earn some extra cash by walking someone else’s dog. Services like Rover and Wag let you choose a dog walking schedule that works for you. You can expect to make anywhere from $20 -$30 per walk.
19. Voice-over Acting
Do you have a talent for sounding like someone else? Maybe you do great imitations or make funny voices with your kids. Heck, maybe people just like the sound of your voice.
If so, you should consider voice-over acting, where you can read audiobooks, narrate a commercial, or voice a cartoon character! Check out this guide from voice.com to learn how you can get started.
Keep in mind that voice acting is probably more of a full-time gig than a side hustle.
Average Monthly Income: $8,000
20. Write an eBook
Self-published ebooks have the potential to earn you lots of passive income. The best part about ebooks is no one expects them to be long, verbose novels. Some of the best ebooks focus on solving a specific problem. Maybe you’ve got valuable insight on how to fix a damaged relationship or a collection of tasty recipes.
If enough people are willing to pay a few bucks for it – you’ve got yourself a money-making machine.
21. Be a Virtual Assistant
People will pay you to schedule a few meetings for them, send them reminders, and check their emails. In the new work-from-home era, virtual assistants are in high demand. Freelance markets like UpWork are always looking for quality candidates.
Average Annual Income: $45,000
22. Website and App Testing
Whether you realize it or not, your insight can be extremely valuable – and businesses are willing to pay you for it.
Earn money by becoming a website and app tester. Sign up with platforms like UserTesting and TryMyUI, complete tasks, test websites, and provide feedback on user experiences for various websites and apps. Follow instructions, be honest in your feedback, and get paid up to $50 per test.
As you build your reputation, you’ll receive more opportunities for testing and the potential for higher earnings. Although this may not provide a consistent full-time income, it’s a rewarding way to make extra money online while helping companies enhance their digital products.
Choosing Your Side Hustle
There are so many choices when it comes to making money online that it can be a bit overwhelming. Try choosing something that feels natural to you, fits your schedule, and compliments your skill sets. Whatever you choose, it should be something that you’d be comfortable doing for the foreseeable future.
