Last Updated on September 26, 2022 by Kel Ashley
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If you’re here, you’re probably searching for different ways to make money online. There are many legitimate ways to make money online, and millions of people do it every day. There are many jobs and businesses you can try at home using your laptop and a reliable internet connection.
Let’s go over each one of them right way.
1. Create a YouTube Channel
If others can make money from YouTube, so can you. Your YouTube channel should focus on a single niche so you can build a strong, loyal audience. For example, you can create makeup tutorials, stream video games, review products, teach skills, create prank videos, or anything else you think there’d be an audience for.
Pro: Having a YouTube channel can not only help you to share your ideas with the world, and it can also help you to grow a serious business.
Con: Starting a YouTube channel can be time-consuming. If you start a YouTube channel, you will need plenty of patience. It can take quite a lot of time until you grow your audience to a point where you can make a full-time income from your online business.
2. Sell Your Photos Online
Photographers can upload their images to any one of several huge databases, allowing magazine editors, designers or any organization with a website to buy them.
Pro: Photos can be sold any number of times—so you can continue to make money without any effort.
Con: Photographers have to pay fees to the platform used
Photography sites to check out include Shutterstock, Photoshelter and Getty Images.
3. Teach English Online
Teaching English online is an excellent job opportunity that connects English speakers with students seeking to learn English. It’s grown in popularity over the past few years, and there’s still a seemingly never-ending high demand for teachers.
Pros:
• As an online teacher, you don’t need a classroom full of toys or technology to teach. You need a stable WiFi connection, a smartphone or computer, and headphones with a mic.
• Teachers aren’t usually responsible for lesson planning. Most companies will plan and provide lesson material and slides for you before every class.
• Most platforms don’t require teaching experience, prioritizing your native English speaking ability and TEFL certificate.
• If you enjoy working with kids, it’s genuinely such an easy and fun job!
Cons:
• It can be difficult to go full time. It takes a lot of elbow grease to market yourself to attract regular students and hustling to refer other teachers and students.
• Finding students takes time. You don’t start and immediately have a full schedule of bookings.
• Time differences can make teaching online difficult. Most online teaching caters to students in Asia. The time difference can impede, especially if you live in North America.
Some resources include GoOverseas.com, TeachAway (teach English online to Chinese students), iTutorGroup (teach English online to Taiwanese children and adults) and English Hunt (teach English on the phone to adult students in Korea).
4. Be a Copywriter
Copywriting is quite a different type of writing than other forms. It’s essentially creating marketing or advertising content for companies.
Pro: One of the great things about copywriting is that you can work for a company directly, or you can freelance. While a corporate position can offer more stability in your career, freelancing provides more flexibility.
Con: Because of the flexibility mentioned above, the unfortunate aspect is that you aren’t guaranteed work. A company can lay you off if there isn’t enough work for their employees, although there are often benefits and a grace period that allows you to seek alternative employment.
Express Writers has tips on how to become a copywriter and is also a resource for jobs.
5. Start a Podcast That Pays
Podcasting does not have to be difficult. You’ll be up and running in no time if you have a microphone, a laptop, and free recording software. Furthermore, podcasts do not need to be broadcast every day (once a week is ideal) and are more effective when brief.
Pro: Making a podcast is fairly simple. All you need is a computer or smartphone, software to record your presentation and a connection to upload it to the Internet.
Con: Like any other digital medium, podcasts are easy to share. If you use someone else’s copyrighted material in your podcast, you have to take steps to protect it against unauthorized copying and file sharing. The same problem applies when it’s your own copyrighted material unless you’re okay with it being passed around.
NPR has a great guide to launching a podcast here.
6. Create a Web Development Business
If you know how to do web and content development? You can offer these services to anyone.
Pro: If you have the technical know-how, content and web development can give you a steady income. In this digital age, the demand for web development services is very high.
Con: This is not easy, and doing this will require you to have the right technical knowledge.
Some resources include WordPress, Weebly and Joomla.
7. Become a Translator and Interpreter
The job of translators is to translate written or spoken word to foreign languages so that communication between two parties can be facilitated.
Pros:
• You can work in many different industries and you will also be able to meet many different people along the way.
• You can often work remotely. If something is unclear, you can just phone your boss or your clients from wherever you want as long as you have a good internet connection and proper phone reception.
Cons:
• Translators don’t make that much money so if you live in expensive regions where living costs are high and you want to afford some luxury, you may even be able to work in a second job.
• You will be replaceable as a translator. In fact, many translators who only speak the most common languages will not have any job security at all since many other people could do the job.
You’ll find a number of resources for being a translator or an interpreter here; one of the best is Welocalize.
8. Try Dropshipping
It’s a method of retail where the seller doesn’t actually have a physical inventory. Instead, when a customer makes an order, you purchase the item from a third party, and they ship it directly to the customer.
Pros:
• Low barrier to entry. Dropshipping has a much lower barrier to entry because you don’t have to worry about developing new products or purchasing and storing inventory.
• No inventory management. A third party handles inventory, and products are available to the customer on demand.
Cons:
• High competition. The same low barrier to entry that makes dropshipping attractive creates heavy competition. Other stores aren’t selling similar products — they’re selling the same products from the same third-party manufacturers. You’ll have to find different ways to stand out in order to compete.
• Lack of control. When dropshipping, inventory rarely passes through your hands, so you don’t have the chance to ensure that products are in top condition. Without quality control, you’re putting your store’s reputation in the hands of a third party.
This method can be done with online selling platforms like eBay or Amazon.
9. Be an Online Tutor
Starting your tutoring service can be a profitable business that allows you to live a comfortable and flexible lifestyle. The best part is that you can open a tutoring business in almost any country on the planet.
Pros:
• There will always be a demand for tutors. There’s increasing competition for places in schools and colleges. As a result, there is no shortage of students looking for individual tutoring to help them rise to the challenge.
• No startup costs are involved. Unlike most home businesses, there are no startup costs for tutors. Besides sufficient knowledge in particular fields and a love for teaching, you don’t need anything else. You can get started by joining an online tutoring site.
Cons:
• It takes patience and persistence to be successful. Working one-on-one with students requires immense patience. You have to adapt your teaching and classes to suit different learning styles and various curriculum. You will need to spend some of your off-hours preparing for the upcoming classes and sessions.
• The working hours can take a toll on your social life. Most tutoring classes are held in the evenings or during the weekends when the kids are not in school. You will have to balance your social life and tutoring and make time for your academics.
The site Tutors.com has a list of the best online tutoring jobs, and you can also apply to be a tutor at Tutorme.com.
10. Become a Freelance Proofreader
Another lucrative online job is proofreading. Agencies charge about $75 to translate a five-page standard business document. Proofreading the same document, which takes about an hour, will cost you around $18 to $20. You can work full-time, part-time, or 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Pros:
• Relatively Low Startup Costs. Aside from standard office supplies, basic startup costs can be limited to maintaining a current version of Microsoft Word and online subscriptions to standard style guides.
• Availability to a Broad Range of Potential Clients. Possibilities range from individuals seeking help with resumes, cover letters, or other important documents to businesses seeking professional editing for proposals or detailed reports. You can seek the broadest possible range of clients, or you might choose to specialize in one area where you have the most expertise.
Cons:
• Further Education and Experience May Be Necessary. Some studying may be necessary to familiarize yourself with some of the different writing styles you’ll need to proofread. For example, a business proposal should not look or read like a journal article describing scientific research. As a proofreader, it’s important that you can adapt quickly from assignment to assignment.
• Deadlines Sometimes Can Be Tight. Especially in the business world, clients may need the assignment to be turned around within 24 hours or less. You have to be able to work well under that kind of pressure.
Mediabistro—a site that offers resources for media professionals—has tips on becoming a proofreader.
11. Be a Transcriber
Are you a quick typist? Transcribing is as simple as listening to an audio file while typing it out. Transcription jobs are paid by the audio hour (the audio file length), not by the hour worked. The amount of time spent on a transcript is influenced by the audio quality, background noise, the speaker’s accent, and the speed people speak.
Pros:
• You have the freedom to set your hours
• You can work as much or as little as you’d like.
• You can accept and turn down projects at will
• You can take breaks, get up, cook meals, and get exercise.
Cons:
• Transcription contracts come and go. You’ll land a great contract, but it may be short-term.
• Work dries up during certain times of the year. (However, it can be nice to have slow days sometimes.)
Consider the company Rev.com, which hires freelance transcribers.
12. Make a Profitable Blog
Do you have a specialization? Share your thoughts on a blog. The more specific you are, the easier it will be to attract an engaged audience and make money from your site.
Pro:
• It’s a low-cost investment. Unlike other businesses or aspects of starting a larger business, creating a blog requires little up-front cash.
• Flexibility is a primary reason many bloggers jump into this field. Creating a blog that makes money via passive income means that you can work any time of day and bring in revenue.
Con:
• It’s time-consuming. Writing (good) content takes a considerable amount of time. Gone are the days when a short 300-word post would be “enough” to put online. These days, longer comprehensive content is king. Not only does it satisfy the reader more, but it also is more likely to rank for SEO purposes.
• It can be hard if writing doesn’t come naturally. Blogging does not always come easily to many people. It can be tough communicating information in an engaging, consumer-friendly way.
The sites Squarespace and Wix have tips on how to create blogs and can also host them.
13. Start an eBook Business
The ebook industry is a great way to make money. You can write your own or find a book that has already been published in print and license it for online distribution.
Pros:
• No Inventory. Unlike traditional paperbound books, an ebook does not take up bookshelf space. All you need is a reliable web hosting company to upload your files and images to, and you’ll never have to dust a cover or package them in a box because they’re all kept on a computer hard drive, ready to be downloaded when a customer completes the checkout process.
• No Store Hours. Unlike a traditional book store, your business online never closes, allowing you to have your products ready for sale 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Also, your potential customer base is not limited to just the town you live in, but to anyone in the world that has a computer.
Con: Marketing. In order to make sales people must find you. A few ways to market your items for sale range from search engine placement, paid advertising, link swapping, joint ventures and article writing. Marketing can prove to be a tough process, but is very necessary for the success of your business.
You can also use big platform like Amazon to publish and sell your e-books.
14. Create an Online Course
Make an entire online course with tutorials, PDF downloads, and videos. It’s an excellent way to generate passive income because people will pay for the information and proceed at their own pace or post questions about the course in a dedicated group.
Pros:
• Increased Revenue and Profit Potential. An online course allows the business to serve multiple clients simultaneously and make more money at lower costs, albeit less personalized.
• Offers Additional Learning Modalities. Some people get more from video and audio than from reading. More varied client audiences can be reached by providing online educational opportunities that employ multiple formats.
Cons:
• Technology Costs. As the online course trend has heated up, more software platforms and services are needed to help administer them. While these can be beneficial, they usually have a cost—often recurring monthly fees—and can take a while to learn how to use them.
• May Require a Lot of Marketing. Coaches and consultants have often relied on personal networking to fill their sales funnels with coaching prospects. While that type of marketing may still work for online courses, it may need to be supplemented with various online tools and efforts, including email marketing, pay-per-click advertising, blogging, social media and more.
Here’s one resource for creating and selling online courses: Teachable, which makes it possible for anyone to profit from their knowledge and experience by creating an online program.
15. Become a Life Coach
There are thousands of online training programs available to teach you how to be a life coach, and many certification programs include an entire website setup once training is completed.
Pros:
• Flexibility. You can put as much time into the business as you’d like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.
• Rewarding work. Starting a life coaching business can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer, and you’re working on something you truly care about.
• High customer retention rates. Once a customer invests in your product, they’ve invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service, which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer.
Cons:
• Crowded Space. Competition is high in the life coaching business, so you must spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding the demand.
• Longer Sales Process. A life coaching business can be a big-time and money investment for your customer, so it’s important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.
Here is a comprehensive online training that delivers an in-depth understanding of the key elements of the Life Coaching profession.
16. Become an Audiobook Narrator
Audiobooks are becoming a more popular form of entertainment. The ease of use of smartphones has resulted in an industry boom, creating a demand for freelance narrators.
Pro: High Rate. According to Voices.com, a leading website for voice talent, the standard rates for audio narrators are as follows: $125 per hour for recording time and $500 per finished hour (which is equal to the actual reading time for a book, e.g. a book with a reading time of five hours would require an equal amount of finished hours).
Con: Competition. Many new narrators entering the field are part-time and do not work often because of Competition from more experienced or well-connected audio book narrators.
This site has advice on learning how to become an audiobook narrator.
17. Participate in Online Surveys
Another way to make money in your spare time is to surf the Internet or fill out online surveys.
Pro: Easy to do. You’ll just answer surveys based on your opinion.
Cons:
• Can’t depend on the income from online survey sites. It’s best if you get some enjoyment by trying to score good deals and earn extra cash – but you don’t mind if you end up spending a few minutes filling out a survey, only to be told you don’t qualify because you fall into the wrong demographic.
• You usually won’t be paid quickly. Filling out a survey sounds like something that will take just a few minutes. Don’t be fooled. Sometimes the surveys can take as long as 15 or 20 minutes.
Add the site Qmee to your browser, and if you click on a search result, you’ll earn money. You can also earn cash for taking Qmee surveys and sharing your opinions on brands. Other survey sites include SurveyBods, Survey Junkie and Valued Opinions.
18. Try Print on Demand
Print-on-demand is also becoming increasingly popular. To better monetize their art, graphic designers are turning to the business model of selling their designs on clothing and other products. They can create a consistent and established brand for their business by using their unique designs.
Pros:
• It’s easy to set up. The majority of POD platforms are incredibly easy to use. It is mostly a simple process of signing up, creating a profile, and uploading your designs or products.
• Allows you to focus on what you’re good at. Since most of the technical, logistics and production bits are handled for you by the print-on-demand service, you can have the freedom to focus on what you’re good at and spend your time producing more designs and products that you want to sell.
Cons:
• Lower profit margins. Because the print on demand companies handle the whole of the shipping, packaging, and selling, they will take a larger percentage of the profit and pay you a commission for the product being sold.
• Quality and product types. While you create your art, designs, and products, make sure the print on demand service you are investing in holds quality as a priority. Some print on demand companies care about the bottom line, and the quality is lost in the process. This can reflect badly on your art business and affect your sales. Do your research to see which companies have the highest quality printing. Check into the quality of their website and customer service department, too.
Want to start your own Print On Demand business? Sign up for a free trial of Shopify and build your dream store.
19. Earn Money through Affiliate Marketing
One of the most popular ways to make money online is through affiliate marketing. Its popularity has risen and fallen over the years, but it remains a reliable way to make money online.
Pros:
• Low-Cost Business Idea. All you have to do is to create an affiliate marketing website (but you can also become an affiliate marketer without a website), choose a compelling niche and finally a particular product or products (goods) that are relevant for you to market. Then you simply sign up for a selected affiliate marketing program, and you’re ready to start.
• No Expertise Needed. You don’t need to be a marketing expert right away to become an affiliate. The great thing about affiliate marketing is that you can learn along the way, testing various organic or paid campaigns.
• Passive Income – Earn Money While You Sleep. Wouldn’t it be great to wake up in the morning, open your laptop and just discover additional revenue in your account? The fruits of your hard work.
Cons:
• You Don’t Control Your Competition. Competition varies depending on the industry. As there are strong benefits of joining affiliate business, such as low costs of investments, high-profit opportunities and no expertise needed, a lot of people try their hand at affiliate marketing. Practically anyone can join and be successful.
• You Can’t Establish Your Customer Base. The truth is, once a referral is made, a repeating customer won’t ever purchase from you again. Of course, he will do it directly to the affiliate vendor to repeat the purchase. That’s the nature of affiliate business. You commit to driving new leads again and again. Unless you engage into marketing affiliate programs that provide recurring commission.
• No Guarantee of Revenue. Pay-per-performance can be a tremendous opportunity as well as a significant risk.No one promises that working as an affiliate marketer will be easy and that you are going to earn the expected revenue right away.
The best part about affiliate marketing is that you can be an affiliate for nearly any company, from Shopify to Amazon, and more.
If you’re ready to start your affiliate marketing business in a super simple way (seriously, if you can order a pizza, you can follow this system!) check it out here.
20. Sell Your Stuff Online
Selling your items online is a great way to make money quickly. If you want to make money quickly, consider selling valuable items such as laptops, televisions, phones, furniture, designer handbags, or clothing. Try selling the same items on multiple platforms. Be sure to take excellent photos and edit them as well.
Pros:
• No Limit to Geographical Boundaries. Selling online increases one’s reach. With a shift to online, there is no limit to how many people visit your store. In today’s date and time, when customers think of shopping, they first prefer searching it online.
• No Closing Time. You do not have a close downtime with an online store. Your store is 24/7 visible to as many customers.
Cons:
• Rise In Competition. eCommerce is global, and any consumer from any part of the world can buy from any seller of their choice. This means that the competition with the eCommerce industry is not just engaging consumers but also staying ahead of other sellers.
• Lack of Customer Loyalty. Another major disadvantage of online selling is that a certain population still lacks confidence while shopping online. The major reason is online payment methods and the transfer of personal information.
After you’ve figured out stuff to sell online, you can start your online store using Shopify or eBay.
If you’re eager to break free by starting your own profitable business but don’t know how, our plan will show you – get it here now!
Hey! If you liked this article you might also be interested in these other popular related posts:
• 10 Benefits Of Starting An Online Business
• Which Online Business Is Best For You?
• 12 Minute Affiliate