The reality, though, is that there are so many legitimate ways to earn money online, without leaving the comfort of your own home. Millions of people work online each and every day, earning money from a more flexible workspace. From digital nomads working remote jobs to online marketers to business owners building their online business, people around the world are using just their laptops and an internet connection to work online and make money online. No matter your skill set, there are plenty of ways to make money online. We’re rounding up all the best ways you can make money online. Read on!
17 Easy Ways to Make Money Online, No Matter Your Skill Set:
The 17 Easiest Ways to Make Money Online
Making money online has never been easier, no matter your background or skill set. Nowadays, jobs exist online for pretty much any type of worker. From chat agents to virtual assistants to dropshippers, here are some of our best, most legitimate, and easiest ways to make money online.
1. Customer Service Representative
Many customer service representatives nowadays will work completely online. There’s no shortage of online jobs if you have basic communication skills, and in many cases, you won’t need any specific skill. If you opt to work as a customer service representative, you should know that you will likely have to undergo weeks of brand-based training prior to getting your hands dirty in order to learn more about the brand and how they respond to certain queries. After that, you’ll pick a schedule for yourself from a variety of shifts in a 24-hour period. Not everyone enjoys a position like this, but being a customer service representative is a great fit if you like talking to people and enjoy solving problems. One thing you will need? A quiet spot to work, since your job may involve working online and taking calls. Potential earnings: Earn anywhere from $8 to $20 an hour, depending on the company Where to find jobs: Look at VIPDesk Connect, Glassdoor, or We Work Remotely. LinkedIn will work well too.
2. Become a Freelance Content Writer
There are so many available positions online for content writers, in just about every topic and industry. You can write content for various blogs, businesses, magazines, journals, and more. In some cases, people will need help with the most basic writing tasks - meaning you won’t even need experience beyond your high school and college education. There is no shortage of positions for a skilled writer. Freelance writing can pay well, too, because there’s a great need for writers as more and more companies expand their content for audiences. You will need a background in content writing or marketing, of course, and a passion for whatever topic you may tackle. If you have technical knowledge, in the IT world, working as a technical writer on a freelance basis can be even more lucrative. Potential earnings: Rates will vary depending on type of content and background. Expect to start low, around $15 an hour, and work your way up. Some writers will earn around $100 an hour. Where to find jobs: Check freelance sites like Upwork, Fiverr, ProBlogger Jobs, FlexJobs, BloggingPro, and more.
3. Transcriptionist
Those looking for an online job with plenty of flexibility and very little background skills might find that a transcriptionist is a great fit. As a transcriptionist, you will listen to audio files and type them out, word for word, in text. Anyone can do this job, of course, but it’s much easier if you can type quickly and pay great attention to detail. Not many people opt to do this job as it can be quite difficult for longer periods of time, but if you have lightning fast typing skills, working as a transcriptionist can be a reliable source of income for people of any skill set. Potential earnings: Expect to earn anywhere from $15 to $30 an hour. Where to find jobs: Try Transcribe Me, Scribie, Upwork, or rev.com.
4. Chat Agent
Much like a customer service representative, chat agents don’t need much of a specific skill set to start their positions. If you don’t feel comfortable talking on the phone with customers, a chat agent working online could be a great job position with flexible hours. Chat agents will work online to offer customer support for companies through text-based chat options. In many situations, you will handle multiple chats at once for many hours at a time. If you don’t have a private room to work, or you already spend many hours in front of the computer, a chat agent position may be a good fit for you. Potential earnings: Earnings may start low, around $10 an hour, but you can earn up to $20 an hour. Where to find jobs: Check CrowdChat, Indeed, LinkedIn, or Jooble.
5. Side Gigs
There are plenty of side gigs - which can be done mostly online - that work great as a way to make a solid income online while you work a full-time job. An online side gig works great if you want to earn a couple hundred extra dollars a month to save for a specific goal or pay off debt. What is a side gig? You can find these gigs on websites like Upwork or Fiverr, to start. They involve small tasks for a small fee, and those fees can add up each month! You may want to start on Upwork and browse tasks available and use that inspiration to make your profile on Fiverr, where people will bid on your services. Consider asking someone you know to buy your Fiverr service and leave a review, if possible, just to get started. The more gigs you list - be it data entry, virtual assistants, or some combo of a number of services - the better your odds are. You can also use apps like Rover to start a side gig walking dogs. There are plenty of options! In addition, platforms like FlexJobs will offer side gigs under contract or telecommute offers. Pick from writing jobs, business jobs, accounting jobs, and more. Potential earnings: A few hundred dollars a month, depending on how many jobs you take Where to find jobs: Check UpWork, Fiverr, or FlexJobs to start
6. Sell Your Stuff
Okay, okay, so we said that selling stuff wasn’t the best option earlier. But if you’re in dire need of cash right now, selling your stuff can be an awesome way to make immediate money. The first thing you will need to do is to go through your items and identify some of the thing you might want to sell - and which one of those will make the most money. Most people will try and sell their junk: CDs, DVDs, old books. Those will rarely fetch more than a few dollars, if you can sell them at all. You want to look for something more valuable like clothing, furniture, laptops, TVs, phone, designer handbags, and more. When you’re preparing your products, make sure to treat the whole process like a business. You want to make sure and take great photos. That means good lighting, good visibility, and the best angles to make it flattering. You can try selling the items on third-party platforms like eBay, Poshmark, Depop, and more. You can even use social media to sell your stuff: think Facebook or Instagram. Many people will make a lot of money on these third-party sites selling their clothing.
7. Drive Your Car
If you own your own car, you can use it to make money online. There are many ways to use your car. You can drive for a ride-sharing app like Uber or Lyft, work as a delivery person, or rent your car for others to drive. Even if you don’t have your own car, you can use your motorbike or bicycle for working as a delivery driver. Getting started with Uber or Lyft is quite easy, and you can sign up from your phone right away. Consider driving at peak hours to increase your wage (think: Friday nights, holidays, and more); you can even advertise your own business’ products in your ride if you want. You can work for multiple ride sharing companies at a time to maximize your income. The biggest advantage is that this job can be done at any time or any place. Alternatively, you can also rent out your car to others online. Companies like Turo will allow you to list your car to be rented. Potential earnings: A few hundred dollars a month, depending on how many rides you take
8. Sell Domains
Selling domains can be a tricky way to make money online, but once you get the hang on it, you can easily make a solid income with minimal effort. This type of online job works best for people looking for additional cash on the side, as selling domains can often take time. Here’s how it works. You will start by buying domains, particularly one-word domains, domains that include works with a high search volume, and in-demand domains. You may have to search around a bit and see which domains are available. You can search for available domains using the Shopify domain registration platform, though there are plenty of available options. It takes some time - and some trial and error - to figure out what will sell well. For example, trendy words (like fidget spinners, a while ago) will have a much better chance of selling. Once you find them, you can sell through GoDaddy’s domain auction, or directly to the interested party. You can always look through GoDaddy’s domain auction to see what kind of domains sell well. Potential earnings: Anywhere from a few hundred dollars a month to a thousand dollars a month, depending on the domains you own Where to find jobs: You can find and purchase domains through GoDaddy, or Shopify
9. Post Reviews
People will pay good money to hear what you have to think about a subject or product. User Testing, for example, will pay reviewers around $10 to give other entrepreneurs feedback on their websites and apps. You will have to answer questions as you use the product or browse a certain website. It’s an easy and fast way to make money online. Then, you will have to record a video around 20 minutes in length to discuss your ideas and feedback. If you make three videos an hour, you can earn $30. User Testing can be competitive, and so you have to act fast when new products are added. Likewise, you want to review software, check Software Judge. Potential earnings: You can earn $10 per feedback, though the amount you earn depends on how much feedback you provide Where to find jobs: Try sites like User Testing or Software Judge
10. Build Your Own Online Course
The internet is all about sharing knowledge, and building your own online course can be one of the best ways to share your knowledge - and earn money online. If you consider yourself an expert in any topic, you can monetize that knowledge through online courses. To make a successful online course, you should watch other courses and take away the positives and negatives. Create your online course by building off the best online courses you can watch. You can sell your courses on sites like Udemy, or you can sell them through your own website if you already have one. Online courses can be quite profitable, too, particularly if you already have an audience built up through some sort of platform. Some entrepreneurs make thousands of dollars a month through their online course.s. Potential earnings: Earnings will depend on the platform you use to sell your course. You can earn thousands, depending on your audience. Udemy will help promote your course, while you will have to promote your own content on your website. Where to find jobs: Try Udemy, or promote it through your own website.
11. Freelance in Your Industry
The easiest way to earn money online is by taking your 9 to 5 job online. You will come with the skills and experience already in your toolkit, and you will have a leg up on the competition. Many jobs can be done remotely, especially marketing professionals, graphic designers, IT officials, content creators, and virtual assistants. You will start by building a portfolio, which might mean taking smaller ticket jobs to earn a reputation. Potential earnings: Your earnings will depend on your industry. If you work on bigger ticket projects, you can double your hourly earnings. Where to find jobs: Check freelance websites like Freelancer, UpWork, Fiverr, and Remote.co.
12. Affiliate Marketing
Potential earnings: Earnings will depend on how much marketing you do. Most commissions will be minimal, but they add up over time. Where to find jobs: Identify brands that work with your blog or social media brand and check for their affiliate programs.
13. Start Your Own Blog
Blogging is perhaps one of the best ways to make money if you like content writing, though the payoff may happen after a year or two. Starting a blog will be all about finding your niche, whether that be cooking for vegans or procrastinating. Whatever your niche, its important to keep your focus narrow enough to build a specific, loyal following - but not too niche that you can’t create content. When building your blog, make sure to buy a memorable domain and host it independent of platforms like Blogger to keep control of your content. Start writing content using specific keywords with a tight focus and then expand out, in order to build a following. You can monetize your blog by placing ads (try Adsense), writing sponsored posts, and through affiliate marketing. Potential Earnings: Once you monetize your blog, you can earn a few dollars to a couple hundred dollars off a blog post, or more, if your blog becomes popular. Where to find jobs: You can use AdSense, affiliate marketing, and sponsored posts to build your content.
14. Become a Virtual Assistant
Being a virtual assistant is one of the most popular online jobs, and it’s perfect for so many because you don’t necessarily need a particular skill set or background to work as a virtual assistant. With a basic skill set and a sense of organization, you can help people manage some simple office tasks (like answering emails, or taking calls), as well as managing calendars, scheduling appointments, and placing calls. Virtual assistant positions are a great fit for people who want more flexibility. Many virtual assistants will work only a few hours a week; others might work closer to full-time. This job works well for busy people who might be balancing another job or two, or who might be balancing family commitments but still want to earn money. Alternatively, these positions can also be quite lucrative when you scale up over time. Potential Earnings: You can earn anywhere from $10 to $35 an hour. Where to find jobs: Check freelance platforms like Upwork, PeoplePerHour, FreeUp, or Fiverr.
15. Data Entry Worker
Data entry jobs are a popular way to earn money online part-time or full-time from the comfort of your own home office. You will be required to put in alphabetic, numeric, or symbolic data into a select system. While this type of online job may not sound like a lot of fun, but you can pay relatively well if you work fast. In addition, you can do data entry work during any type of schedule using just Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Word. It’s important to note that compared to some of the other options on this list, online data entry may not be as lucrative as, say, a social media manager. However, on a large enough scale, you can earn a decent income - especially if you are fast. Potential earnings: Around $10 to $20 an hour Where to find jobs: Check freelance sites like Upwork or Working Solutions
16. Photographer
Working as a stock photographer isn’t necessarily an online job at first glance, but if you happen to have plenty of photos on your hard drive, you could work as a stock photographer. Assuming you took these photos out of contract, you can go through your archives and publish them online to be bought by customers. It’s an easy job with little to no effort on your part, using photos you have already taken. There are so many online platforms, like iStock, that will allow you to upload your photos for pay. Potential earnings: $1 per photo, or more, depending on the quality of photos Where to find jobs: Try Brust, Shopify, iStock, and other stock photo options to sell your content.
17. Online Tutor
If you have a background in teaching, or even just a professional background in math, physics, english, or a foreign language, an online tutor position could be a great way to transition to an online job. Online teaching jobs are a popular way to work online, whether you want to work full-time or part-time. By the power of the internet, you can teach students across the world - and there’s a big demand for your knowledge, too. Many of these online platforms or agencies will require a bachelor’s degree, and some might even require a teaching qualification in ESL. Further certifications will also play a big role in helping your profile stand out. Potential earnings: Anywhere from $10 to $50 an hour, depending on your background and your specialty. Where to find jobs: Check online tutoring platforms like Tutor.com, Chegg Tutors, or VIPkid.
Conclusion
Your skillset can help set you up for success when it comes to finding a job online, but the reality is that you don’t need a specific skill set to make money online. Whether you want to build your own blog or input data into an excel sheet or share your opinions online, there are plenty of ways to make money online.
