How to Make Money Online: 17 Ways to Start Earning

Wishing you had more money? Or maybe you’re tired of the 9-5 grind and exploring how to make money online from home. Whatever brings you here, there are more options available to you than ever before. Yes, you’ll have to sacrifice some personal time, but at the end of the day, you’ll be putting in the extra effort for a specific goal. So, how do you get started? Here are 17 ways to make money online (all you need is a laptop and a trusty internet connection).

How To Make Money Online: 17 Legitimate Ways 

1. Flip a Website

Website flipping is proving to be a popular way to make money online. The business model involves buying an existing website, working on it for a few months or more to increase its value, and ultimately selling it for a profit. There are quite a few different platforms where you can buy websites ready to be improved. With Exchange, you can buy high-potential online stores that you can further enhance via SEO, content optimization, and other strategies. Some platforms also allow you to list the website for sale so you can find immediate buyers. Remember that the more you improve the site, the more you’re able to earn when you sell it.

2. Launch an eCommerce Store

Another effective way to make money online is to launch an eCommerce store/website. Platforms like Shopify have made it easier than ever to build an authoritative store in days and start selling products immediately. And if you don’t want to deal with the hassle of shipping, you can use a dropshipping app like Oberlo to automate this aspect of your business. Dropshipping is when you take orders through your store and your suppliers package and ship the products to your customers. It simplifies everything. How to make money online with eCommerce? Most store owners rely on a few marketing strategies: running Facebook ads, sending email reminders for abandoned carts, and using Instagram influencers to promote their products.

3. Try Affiliate Marketing

You’re bound to come across this tactic when researching how to make money online. That’s because individuals around the world are using it to earn passive income. Affiliate marketing involves writing on a topic, putting referral links to products and services you mention in that topic, getting the content in front of relevant audiences, and getting paid each time someone uses your referral link to make a purchase. The best part about the affiliate marketing business is that you can choose from a variety of products to promote, from retail products to online software to mobile apps and more.

4. Start a YouTube Channel

If you have a charismatic personality or possess insights on some topics, consider starting a YouTube channel. If you put the effort and time in building up an audience, you can earn anywhere from tens to thousands of dollars each month enjoying what you do. The secret to making money from YouTube is to create content that people genuinely like, such as product unboxing, gaming, and comedy/skit videos. Once your channel reaches the 1,000 subscriber milestone, YouTube will let you place ads in your videos. With a thriving YouTube channel, you’ll also get additional opportunities to make money online, such as creating sponsored content for renowned brands.

5. Become an Online Tutor

Are you an expert in physics, art history, or a foreign language? If so, you can make money online by tutoring students from different parts of the world. Having a bachelor’s degree and experience in a language is essential for this job, so make sure to cover these areas before you apply. You can find online tutoring opportunities on websites like Tutor.com and VIPKid. Always apply to jobs that relate to your area of expertise because you can share your core and constructive knowledge to enhance students’ learning. According to a Reddit post, online tutors can expect to earn between $10-$22 an hour, depending on the complexity of the subject.

6. Make Money with Freelance Writing

If you have a knack for writing, you can make a good income by starting a freelance writing business. Some useful websites to find those first few clients include Problogger Jobs, BloggingPro, and FlexJobs. Alternatively, you can use an email research tool to find contact information of potential clients and reach out to them directly. Clients will pay you to create content for their blog, email newsletters, social media pages, and more. There are lots of ways you can impress clients – whether you include custom graphics or offer keyword research as part of your services. Simply put, the more proactive you are, the more successful you might be.

7. Sell an Online Course

This is another excellent way to make money online. If you’re an expert on a subject, you can charge a premium for sharing your knowledge with an interested audience. Platforms like Podia, Teachable, Thinkific, and Udemy all contain a robust feature set for course creators. To create a successful course, your best bet is to explore other trending courses. Look at their content and see if you can get some ideas for your lessons. Also, include supporting materials like checklists, templates, slides, etc. to make it easier for your students to take action. Once your course is ready, you can spread the word through social media, though most online course platforms have inbuilt systems to facilitate marketing.

8. Consider Podcasting

Podcasting is the trendiest new way to make money online. Not only is it fun, but if you manage to build an audience, you can get businesses to advertise on your podcast, either at the beginning or at the end (or both) of your episodes. Sure, it will take some time to gain traction. But there is a fantastic opportunity to earn a living by just sharing your expert knowledge. To start podcasting, you need to make sure you have the right equipment. This includes getting a mic, laptop, noise-cancellation headphones, and a sound effects tool for background audio. Once you’ve recorded an episode, list your podcast Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other popular podcast directories.

9. Offer Email Marketing Services

Do you have a particular skill that no one else has? Can you get people to reply to your emails? Congrats! You can pitch companies and make money online by taking care of their email marketing. Once you show that experience of enticing email recipients, businesses will rush to get your service and give you whatever price you quote them. Major brownie points if you can get people to sign up for their email list. You can promote yourself as an email marketer on freelance platforms like Upwork and PeoplePerHour, as well as through cold outreach. Even if you aren’t familiar with email marketing, you can learn and grow by taking an email marketing course.

10. Test Some Websites  

Brands and companies are always looking for opinions on their websites, and hire testing companies to get feedback from real people. You can become a website tester with a company like UserTesting. You’ll get a set of questions that you need to answer as you browse through a company website. Through video recording, you’ll communicate what you think about user experience and how the site can be improved. UserTesting pays around $10 for 20-minute videos, so if you do five videos per day, you’ll make $50. With that being said, the platform is pretty competitive, and you’ll need to act fast to secure a gig. Other platforms that let you test sites and make money online include Enrollapp, TryMyUI, and Ferpection.

11. Sell Your Images

Are you good at taking pictures? Fotolia, Shutterstock, and the like are always on the lookout for enticing photographs. You can shoot new images or list an existing collection of photos on these sites. How to make money with this business model? Once you’ve uploaded your work, you simply wait for people to buy it. Most websites pay you every time your content is downloaded by one of their global customers. When you submit an image, ensure that it matches the correct description of the type of content you are listing. Also, use relevant keywords in your image listings to ensure your content appears in front of people who’re most likely to download it.

12. Become a Virtual Assistant 

If you’ve ever wondered how to make money online as a beginner, then becoming a virtual assistant (VA) might be the perfect option for you. You can make some great money by honing your skills and working from home for a few hours per day (top VAs make $30-$50 per hour). Virtual assistants are expected to perform a range of tasks that a traditional assistant would perform, including answering emails, making travel arrangements, managing daily calendars, and more. You can sell your services on platforms like Virtual Assistant Jobs, FreeUp, or PeoplePerHour. You can also reach out to entrepreneurs and engage in remote working groups on Facebook to promote your VA services.

13. Create a Facebook Group

Having your own Facebook group is one of the hippest ways to make money online. The process involves creating a tribe of followers who will engage with you and eventually buy what you recommend. How do you get started? Just go to the Groups section on Facebook and click “Create New Group.” From what you name your group to what you post daily, your group needs to be authentic and contain followers wanting to learn from you. Companies will come chasing if you manage to grow your group’s follower count to a large number (think 100,000+). Make money by promoting their products and services in your group, or charge a fee for displaying their name on your group’s banner.

14. Offer Online Personal Training

If you’re a fitness enthusiast and have some experience in helping people get fit, then consider becoming an online personal trainer. Apart from teaching proper exercise techniques to your students, you’ll need to email or text them to check their progress. Some personal coaches also review meal plans and make modifications if required, so the plan fits each client’s individual needs. You can choose to train clients via Skype/Zoom in 1-1 settings or groups of 5-6. Consider starting with sites like Fiverr, where people hire personal trainers on a freelance basis. Once you build up a client base and reputation for yourself, you can set up your website and start getting clients directly.

15. Become an Influencer

You’ve probably come across stories about brands paying top dollar to celebrity influencers. Well, big-name brands also partner with micro-influencers; they just don’t get the same level of coverage. So, if you have a decent following on Instagram or YouTube, don’t be afraid to reach out to brands and suggest they partner with you for a promotional campaign. The best way to get potential clients’ attention is to be creative with your approach: pitch ideas for Instagram Stories, explain how you’ll leverage YouTube giveaways to promote their brand, etc. Hashtags will let you discover businesses relevant to your interests or area of expertise.

16. Sign Up as An Online Juror

Love watching court trials on TV? Why not turn that interest into an activity that makes you some cash? Websites like eJury and OnlineVerdict.com will pay you for virtually sitting on mock juries to give attorneys feedback on the cases they’re currently managing. Think of them as focus groups. These enable attorneys and other jury consultants to figure out how things might go in court and to make adjustments for the actual trial. Sites that allow you to sign up as a virtual juror pay $5 to $60 based on the length of the trial review. Be sure to review all the details and disclaimers before you agree to be a juror on a case.

17. Run Facebook Ads for Businesses

Facebook ads are an excellent tool for businesses, but most business owners simply don’t have the time or expertise to run these ads. That’s where you come in. By learning how to set up high-converting Facebook ads, you can make a substantial income. The best thing about this business model is that you can secure clients on a monthly retainer. This is where the client agrees to make a monthly recurring payment for a specific period (say 3-6 months). Secure a few retainers, and you could earn anywhere between $3,000-$10,000 in a few months. You can learn how to run Facebook ads via experimentation, by watching videos on YouTube, or by taking a Facebook Ads course.

Conclusion

There you have it, a list of 17 ideas you can implement to make money online and at home. To maximize your earnings, focus on one idea at a time until you find one that works. In each of these categories, you can really get creative and build a thriving, sustainable business. Every day people are implementing these methods to make money online all the time. Whether you’re a full-time employee, a college employee, or anyone else wanting to learn how to make money online, remember that you have what it takes to earn the big bucks!