How many articles are there about making money online? Thousands?
Millions? Enough? Probably. But there’s a problem. Too many of them
are just sales pitches to convince you to sign up for some seminar,
webinar, training session or some other way to become an online
millionaire.
They really give online money making a bad name. But it is possible to
make money online. I mean, the people selling all of those millionaire
pitches are making money, right?
There are legitimate ways to make money online. The problem is that
the real ways to make money aren’t “get rich quick” schemes.
Most of them require a lot of work and sometimes a lot of dedication
before seeing a return on your time. But if you really want to make
money online, work from home or turn an idea into a business, you can
do it. You can even earn money with apps if you don’t want to venture
all the way to the computer.
I’m going to tell you about all kinds of legitimate ways to make money
online. Since we are talking about legitimate jobs, you’ve got to be…
well, legitimate. Many of these options are real jobs that require you to
put in hours if you want to get paid. They also require real work. Here
are some tips for actually getting the job:
Take it seriously. Yes, you’re applying for an online job. Yes, you
can do the work in your underwear, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a
“real job”. You must treat it as such or they aren’t going to treat you
as a serious candidate. You aren’t the only one who wants to work in
their underwear. In fact, the competition online is likely higher than it
is in your local area.
Be professional. When you submit a résumé, don’t type it in ALL
CAPS and please don’t avoid the caps lock like the plague. Know how
to use it without looking incompetent. Write in complete sentences
with proper grammar. Of course, there will be exceptions, but even
with the exceptions, you must keep it professional. You’re building
their view of you.
Give some, but not all. Whether you’re providing writing samples, a
photography portfolio or links to your work, give them enough
examples to get the idea, but not so many that they don’t even know
where to start. And while we’re on the topic, give them some of your
background information, but don’t tell them your life story.
Double check yourself, before you double wreck yourself. Make sure
everything you send to a company, whether a résumé, an email or a
portfolio, is good to go. Double check your grammar and wording, and
for God’s sake use spell check! This is especially important when it
comes to the company’s name. Don’t spell their name wrong and be
sure to type it how they type it (e.g. Problogger, not Pro Blogger).
1. Websites That Pay
Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way. There are all kinds of
websites that will pay you for various things, such as shopping, taking
surveys or testing products. No, I’m not getting paid to promote any of
these and no, these websites won’t make you a millionaire, but they are
great for earning some extra cash. I’ll leave out the scams.
Here are some legitimate websites that pay:
1. Swagbucks – Swagbucks is great for earning some extra cash. You
can do a variety of things to make money, from taking surveys to
using their search engine. You won’t get rich, but you will earn a few
bucks. If you have the time to kill, you can spend it earning some
extra cash, instead of surfing the web.
2. InboxDollars – InboxDollars is similar to Swagbucks, since you’re
going to be taking surveys, shopping, etc., so if you want to maximize
your return, sign up with both websites. They also offer a search
engine that pays you (like Swagbucks) and you get $5 just for signing
up. I won’t continue to list survey sites one after another down the
list, but if you want to get paid to take surveys, also check out
GlobalTestMarket, E-Poll Surveys and Survey Club.
3. Project Payday – Project Payday is one of those sites that has
testimonials of people who have earned thousands of dollars by
getting paid to get trial offers. I’m not saying you’ll earn thousands,
but it is legit and you can earn some extra cash. They assume that by
paying you to do a free trial, you’ll either like the product and
purchase it, or forget to cancel the trial and get charged for it. If you
can keep track and cancel before you get charged (if you don’t want
the product), then this is a great site for making some money.
4. User Testing – User Testing pays $10 a pop for testing websites. A
test usually takes about 15-20 minutes. The purpose is for a website
owner to watch someone, who is new to their site, try to navigate it.
The value that the site owner gets by watching an actual user
experience is worth a ton, but $10 isn’t a bad pay-out.
5. Fiverr – Fiverr is a great place to make a few bucks or spend a few
bucks if you need some of the services people offer. Basically,
everything is $5. You either pay $5 or charge $5. They call them
“gigs.” You can offer your services however you choose. If you sell
art and you’re fine selling pieces for $5 each, that’s a gig. If you’re a
graphic designer and you want to offer your services for $10/hour,
simply offer a 30 minute gig. If they need two hours of graphic
design, they pay you $20, or $10/hour by buying four gigs.
6. IZEA – IZEA works in addition to a blog or on its own. You get paid
to blog, tweet, take photos and take videos. The pay is mostly based
on your following, so if you want to make money with your tweets,
you’ll need to grow you Twitter following. Likewise, if you want to
make money with blogs, you’ll need substantial blog traffic (more on
blogging below).
2. Freelance Writing
Freelance writing is one of the most popular ways to earn money online.
Many successful freelancers can earn an average of 50 cents to a dollar
per word. Some are earning twice that!
Of course, it doesn’t start out like that. You’ve got to build your
portfolio and your résumé, blah blah blah. If you’re interested in writing,
I’m sure you know this. If you’re not interested in writing, I wouldn’t
recommend traveling down this road just for the money.
It takes dedication and time, though it can be highly profitable if it’s
what you love. Assuming it is what you love, let’s talk about making
money with it.
Before you decide to start reaching out to all of these freelance writing
companies, you need to have a web presence. You need a blog (in my
humble blogger opinion, of course).
Or you could just have an online portfolio. Even a LinkedIn profile
works to get started. When you’re ready to start, here are 150 resources
to help you write better, faster and more persuasively.
If that’s intimidating, just start with these 50 resources.
Now for what you’ve all been waiting for; once you’re ready to actually
start making money, here are 10 websites you can start with:
1. Listverse – Listverse pays $100 for each accepted post. The article
must be a list, it must be at least 1,500 words and you must include at
least 10 things. Other than that, you can get pretty creative with it.
2. TopTenz – TopTenz pays $50 for each accepted post. Again, the
article has to be in a list format and it must be at least 1,500 words,
with few exceptions. They post often so your chances of getting
accepted are fairly high.
3. A List Apart – A List Apart pays $200 for each accepted post.
They’re not first on the list, because they tend to publish less articles,
which means you have a smaller chance of getting accepted. Same
guidelines as above, 1,500 word minimum.
4. International Living – International Living pays $75 for each
accepted post. They are mostly looking for travel experiences from
countries you have visited. For this site, it’s more about your
experience than your writing ability.
5. FundsforWriters – FundsforWriters pays $50 for each accepted post.
They are looking for articles about writing and making money with it.
They only accept articles between 500-600 words, but they want you
to make each word count.
6. Uxbooth – Uxbooth pays $100 for each accepted post. They do tend to
take four to eight weeks to accept and post articles, so don’t count on
this being a quick money maker. They take so long, because they pair
with editors to only publish amazing content.
7. iWriter – iWriter pays up to $15 for each accepted post. That may
seem small, but they aren’t as strict as many of the others above and
they also allow you to pick exactly what you write. You can write as
many or as few articles as you want.
8. Textbroker – Textbroker pays up to five cents per word, if you’re a 5-
star writer. You’ll start by submitting a short sample article and you
will most likely start as a 3-star writer, but you can work your way up
by writing more and writing great content.
9. Matador Network – Matador Network pays up to $60 for each
accepted post, but standard pay is around $20-$25. They don’t really
focus on a minimum word count, but they have a maximum count of
1,500 words.
10. The Penny Hoarder – The Penny Hoarder pays up to $800 (rarely),
depending upon the number of page views you receive. The pay starts
at $100 for 50,000 page views, so this isn’t a guaranteed paid article,
but it can potentially be highly rewarding.
There’s no doubt that you can make money with freelance writing, but
it’s a process. Once you start building your portfolio and your writing
skills, you can start making some serious money. If you’re not an
experienced writer, expect to put some time in before you really start to
see some dough.
3. Sell Your Stuff
Ever since the idea of online auctions came into existence, the online
selling market has been on the rise. Many are interested, but don’t know
how to get started. There are still all kinds of ways to make money by
selling online, whether you’re selling what you already have or buying
and selling like a store. Before we get started, here are a few general tips
when selling anything online:
Get a PayPal account. If you don’t have a PayPal account, you’ll
want to get one if you’re doing business online. It’s the standard in
online business for receiving payment and paying others.
Take good pictures. Some of the options below don’t require you to
actually take the picture and sell the product, but for the ones that do,
make sure you take a clear picture that makes your product stand out
from the others. If you’re going to be taking a lot of pictures, set up a
small “studio-like” area in your home with a backdrop and proper
lighting to really make your pictures come across as professional. And
of course, you’ll want a good camera too.
Be honest. If you’re selling used items, be honest about every dent,
scratch, blemish, etc.. This will reduce many issues you could run into
and keep your reviews positive.
Do good business. Plain and simple. Whether you’re selling on a
small site or opening an online store, your customer service matters.
You’ll want to get those positive reviews and make a good name for
yourself. Respond to questions, concerns and complaints. Offer a
guarantee if available.
Follow those guidelines and you will do well in online sales. When
you’re ready to start selling, here’s where you go:
1. Amazon – Have you heard of FBA? It stands for “Fulfilled by
Amazon” and it’s getting pretty popular. Basically, you buy products
(in bulk is best) and ship them to Amazon for them to store. When
your products sell, Amazon packs them up, ships them out and sends
you the money (after taking their cut). There are people making a full-
time living from FBA, while others just do it for some extra money.
2. CraigsList – Some things don’t ship very well. Other things may
make you feel uncomfortable to sell to someone across the country.
Anytime you’re selling a large item or something you just don’t want
to ship, Craigslist is a great place to go. It’s simple to list your item
(again, take good pictures!). If you don’t like the idea of putting your
phone number out there, the interested individual can send you a
message to your inbox without even getting your email address.
3. eBay – Of course you can’t read an article about making money
online that doesn’t mention eBay. You can start an eBay store and get
serious about it or you can just sell some stuff to declutter your home.
Either way, I’ve made my fair share from selling on eBay and it’s still
a popular way to earn money. If you decide to start an actual eBay
store, you’ll want to find a drop-ship business like Doba that will
store and ship items straight to your customers so you don’t have to
deal with an inventory.
4. Etsy – If you like to create arts and crafts, you can sell them on
Etsy.It’s completely free to open an Etsy store. You simply sign up,
post pictures of your creations and starting selling. You can choose
your payment option, but PayPal is generally the easiest. Etsy makes
it easy to sell and keep track of your inventory. There is a small
listing fee and they take 3.5% of every sale you make.
5. Facebook – Facebook swap shops are great for selling things locally.
It’s like CraigsList, but a little easier. You simply search for swap
shops in your area and ask to join the group. Once you’re in, take a
picture of the item, write a quick description with the price and post
it. It doesn’t get much easier than that. You can generally expect to
get about what you would get at a yard sale, maybe a little more.
4. Blogging
Hey look, an article about making money online that doesn’t mention
blogging. . . oh wait, here it is.
First off, I’m a blogger so it seems wrong not to mention it, but more
importantly, it’s a legitimate way to make money. It’s quite possibly the
least straight-forward way on this list, but it’s very doable and it’s also
quite possibly the funnest way on this list. I love blogging and I know
hundreds of bloggers who feel the same. So let’s talk about making
money blogging and what it really means.
Blogging is something that requires patience, persistence and discipline.
It may mean writing everyday for over a year before you really start to
see any money from it. There are exceptions to the rule, but from my
dealings with other bloggers, it seems to be pretty common to spend one
or even two years building your blog, your brand and your authority,
before making any serious amount of money.
Some people argue that you can make money without a lot of traffic and
while that is true in some circumstances, you will generally need a lot of
website traffic to start earning from a blog and that takes a while. Once
you’ve reached that point, here are the primary ways to monetize your
blog and start earning:
1. Advertising – This is definitely the most old-school way of earning
money with a blog. It’s also starting to become the least common
way. You can sell advertising spots directly on your site or you can
sign up with a company like Google AdSense or Media.net. Either
way, you won’t see a whole lot of money from ads until your views
are well into the thousands each day.
2. Affiliates – There are many affiliate networks, such as FlexOffers and
CJ Affiliate that allow you to promote other people’s products and
services. You simply put a link or a banner on your page and then you
get a percentage if someone clicks through and buys the product/
service. You’ll want to select products that are specifically within
your blog’s category.This is an effective way to earn money once you
have the traffic coming to your blog.
3. Membership – Many people have created a paid membership area on
their blog. This is typically for exclusive content that you can only
access in the “member’s area.” If you have a really great idea on what
to include, this can be a great idea. You’ll have to create something
that can’t easily be accessed around the web.
4. Products – You can create your own product, such as an ebook or
computer software. You would then use your blog as a promotion tool
to get people to buy your product. As long as you create a legitimate
product with a whole lot of value, you should be able to get some
buyers, but like everything else with a blog, you’ll need the traffic to
get the sells.
5. Services – You can offer a paid service, such as life coaching, blog
coaching, goal setting or financial planning. Just be sure to investigate
all the legal implications and make sure you’re not claiming to be a
professional if you’re not one. With a service like this, you’re
basically using your blog to sell yourself. You’ll need to convince
people that you’re worth buying and then be able to back up your
claims once they purchase your service.
6. Sponsored/paid posts – Many blogs publish sponsored and paid
posts. Sponsored posts are basically just posts about a specific brand,
product or service. A company will pay you to publish an article about
it. It’s similar with other paid posts as well. Your basically selling the
spot for the article on your site. If you decide to take this route, you’ll
want to build your traffic before you will get many offers.
7. Subscription – If you think of something valuable (newsletter, online
magazine, etc.) that you can consistently offer on a certain basis
(weekly, monthly, etc.), you may want to offer a subscription service.
This could be a fee charged each time your product is sent out or on a
monthly basis. Either way, this has to be something that your
customers can only get by subscribing to your website.
8. Videos – This could be an entire section on it’s own. Many people
have made money by creating YouTube videos. Evan of EvanTube is a
kid and he has made millions by creating reviews of products that
other kids his age would use. It’s not easy to get views into the
millions, but once you do, you’ll start seeing some cash come in.
Many bloggers have completely turned to videos to get their point
across by starting a video blog.
If you’re truly interested in becoming a blogger, start by looking through
the archives of ProBlogger, Copyblogger and Boost Blog Traffic. Then
go read through all the free guides over at Quick Sprout. It may take you
a year to complete those tasks alone, but it will be worth it. You’ll
practically have a MBA in blogging.
5. Work-at-Home Companies
Finally, there are some companies that will hire you to work from the
comfort of your own home. If you’re interested in working for someone
else, while still making your own schedule and deciding where to work
from, here are a few companies that will let you do just that:
1. CrowdSource – CrowdSource offers many types of jobs from
“microtask” jobs to larger writing and editing jobs. You decide how
much you work and you can do most of it right at your computer.
2. Demand Studios – Demand Studios is hiring all kinds of creative
professionals, from writer to filmmakers. The pay isn’t amazing, but
it’s competitive for a work-at-home job.
3. Fast Chart – Fast Chart allows you to work from home as a medical
transcriptionist. There are some requirments and qualifications listed
on the page, but if you meet them, you’ll make competitive pay for
the industry. You’ll also be able to set your own schedule since you’ll
be working from home.
4. Leap Force – Leap Force is one way that Google rates websites for
search engine ranking. If you’re hired, you make decent money
(usually over $11/hour), you set your own schedule and it can be
pretty fun to view and rank websites.
5. Liveops – Liveops is a call center that allows you to work from home.
Once your set up to take the calls, you can begin making a weekly
schedule and working from home. The pay is generally close to $10/
hour, but you can earn more with commissions.
6. SpeakWrite – SpeakWrite will pay you up to $15/hour to transcribe
information. You set your own schedule and work from home.
Now you’ve got many different options to start earning online. If you
saw something that really interests you, try it out and learn more about
it. If you’re really wanting to make a full-time income online, you need
to be dedicated to learning how to do what you want to do. There are
tons of free resources out there. You just have to search for them!
Love this article? Share it with your friends on Facebook
Millions? Enough? Probably. But there’s a problem. Too many of them
are just sales pitches to convince you to sign up for some seminar,
webinar, training session or some other way to become an online
millionaire.
They really give online money making a bad name. But it is possible to
make money online. I mean, the people selling all of those millionaire
pitches are making money, right?
There are legitimate ways to make money online. The problem is that
the real ways to make money aren’t “get rich quick” schemes.
Most of them require a lot of work and sometimes a lot of dedication
before seeing a return on your time. But if you really want to make
money online, work from home or turn an idea into a business, you can
do it. You can even earn money with apps if you don’t want to venture
all the way to the computer.
I’m going to tell you about all kinds of legitimate ways to make money
online. Since we are talking about legitimate jobs, you’ve got to be…
well, legitimate. Many of these options are real jobs that require you to
put in hours if you want to get paid. They also require real work. Here
are some tips for actually getting the job:
Take it seriously. Yes, you’re applying for an online job. Yes, you
can do the work in your underwear, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a
“real job”. You must treat it as such or they aren’t going to treat you
as a serious candidate. You aren’t the only one who wants to work in
their underwear. In fact, the competition online is likely higher than it
is in your local area.
Be professional. When you submit a résumé, don’t type it in ALL
CAPS and please don’t avoid the caps lock like the plague. Know how
to use it without looking incompetent. Write in complete sentences
with proper grammar. Of course, there will be exceptions, but even
with the exceptions, you must keep it professional. You’re building
their view of you.
Give some, but not all. Whether you’re providing writing samples, a
photography portfolio or links to your work, give them enough
examples to get the idea, but not so many that they don’t even know
where to start. And while we’re on the topic, give them some of your
background information, but don’t tell them your life story.
Double check yourself, before you double wreck yourself. Make sure
everything you send to a company, whether a résumé, an email or a
portfolio, is good to go. Double check your grammar and wording, and
for God’s sake use spell check! This is especially important when it
comes to the company’s name. Don’t spell their name wrong and be
sure to type it how they type it (e.g. Problogger, not Pro Blogger).
1. Websites That Pay
Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way. There are all kinds of
websites that will pay you for various things, such as shopping, taking
surveys or testing products. No, I’m not getting paid to promote any of
these and no, these websites won’t make you a millionaire, but they are
great for earning some extra cash. I’ll leave out the scams.
Here are some legitimate websites that pay:
1. Swagbucks – Swagbucks is great for earning some extra cash. You
can do a variety of things to make money, from taking surveys to
using their search engine. You won’t get rich, but you will earn a few
bucks. If you have the time to kill, you can spend it earning some
extra cash, instead of surfing the web.
2. InboxDollars – InboxDollars is similar to Swagbucks, since you’re
going to be taking surveys, shopping, etc., so if you want to maximize
your return, sign up with both websites. They also offer a search
engine that pays you (like Swagbucks) and you get $5 just for signing
up. I won’t continue to list survey sites one after another down the
list, but if you want to get paid to take surveys, also check out
GlobalTestMarket, E-Poll Surveys and Survey Club.
3. Project Payday – Project Payday is one of those sites that has
testimonials of people who have earned thousands of dollars by
getting paid to get trial offers. I’m not saying you’ll earn thousands,
but it is legit and you can earn some extra cash. They assume that by
paying you to do a free trial, you’ll either like the product and
purchase it, or forget to cancel the trial and get charged for it. If you
can keep track and cancel before you get charged (if you don’t want
the product), then this is a great site for making some money.
4. User Testing – User Testing pays $10 a pop for testing websites. A
test usually takes about 15-20 minutes. The purpose is for a website
owner to watch someone, who is new to their site, try to navigate it.
The value that the site owner gets by watching an actual user
experience is worth a ton, but $10 isn’t a bad pay-out.
5. Fiverr – Fiverr is a great place to make a few bucks or spend a few
bucks if you need some of the services people offer. Basically,
everything is $5. You either pay $5 or charge $5. They call them
“gigs.” You can offer your services however you choose. If you sell
art and you’re fine selling pieces for $5 each, that’s a gig. If you’re a
graphic designer and you want to offer your services for $10/hour,
simply offer a 30 minute gig. If they need two hours of graphic
design, they pay you $20, or $10/hour by buying four gigs.
6. IZEA – IZEA works in addition to a blog or on its own. You get paid
to blog, tweet, take photos and take videos. The pay is mostly based
on your following, so if you want to make money with your tweets,
you’ll need to grow you Twitter following. Likewise, if you want to
make money with blogs, you’ll need substantial blog traffic (more on
blogging below).
2. Freelance Writing
Freelance writing is one of the most popular ways to earn money online.
Many successful freelancers can earn an average of 50 cents to a dollar
per word. Some are earning twice that!
Of course, it doesn’t start out like that. You’ve got to build your
portfolio and your résumé, blah blah blah. If you’re interested in writing,
I’m sure you know this. If you’re not interested in writing, I wouldn’t
recommend traveling down this road just for the money.
It takes dedication and time, though it can be highly profitable if it’s
what you love. Assuming it is what you love, let’s talk about making
money with it.
Before you decide to start reaching out to all of these freelance writing
companies, you need to have a web presence. You need a blog (in my
humble blogger opinion, of course).
Or you could just have an online portfolio. Even a LinkedIn profile
works to get started. When you’re ready to start, here are 150 resources
to help you write better, faster and more persuasively.
If that’s intimidating, just start with these 50 resources.
Now for what you’ve all been waiting for; once you’re ready to actually
start making money, here are 10 websites you can start with:
1. Listverse – Listverse pays $100 for each accepted post. The article
must be a list, it must be at least 1,500 words and you must include at
least 10 things. Other than that, you can get pretty creative with it.
2. TopTenz – TopTenz pays $50 for each accepted post. Again, the
article has to be in a list format and it must be at least 1,500 words,
with few exceptions. They post often so your chances of getting
accepted are fairly high.
3. A List Apart – A List Apart pays $200 for each accepted post.
They’re not first on the list, because they tend to publish less articles,
which means you have a smaller chance of getting accepted. Same
guidelines as above, 1,500 word minimum.
4. International Living – International Living pays $75 for each
accepted post. They are mostly looking for travel experiences from
countries you have visited. For this site, it’s more about your
experience than your writing ability.
5. FundsforWriters – FundsforWriters pays $50 for each accepted post.
They are looking for articles about writing and making money with it.
They only accept articles between 500-600 words, but they want you
to make each word count.
6. Uxbooth – Uxbooth pays $100 for each accepted post. They do tend to
take four to eight weeks to accept and post articles, so don’t count on
this being a quick money maker. They take so long, because they pair
with editors to only publish amazing content.
7. iWriter – iWriter pays up to $15 for each accepted post. That may
seem small, but they aren’t as strict as many of the others above and
they also allow you to pick exactly what you write. You can write as
many or as few articles as you want.
8. Textbroker – Textbroker pays up to five cents per word, if you’re a 5-
star writer. You’ll start by submitting a short sample article and you
will most likely start as a 3-star writer, but you can work your way up
by writing more and writing great content.
9. Matador Network – Matador Network pays up to $60 for each
accepted post, but standard pay is around $20-$25. They don’t really
focus on a minimum word count, but they have a maximum count of
1,500 words.
10. The Penny Hoarder – The Penny Hoarder pays up to $800 (rarely),
depending upon the number of page views you receive. The pay starts
at $100 for 50,000 page views, so this isn’t a guaranteed paid article,
but it can potentially be highly rewarding.
There’s no doubt that you can make money with freelance writing, but
it’s a process. Once you start building your portfolio and your writing
skills, you can start making some serious money. If you’re not an
experienced writer, expect to put some time in before you really start to
see some dough.
3. Sell Your Stuff
Ever since the idea of online auctions came into existence, the online
selling market has been on the rise. Many are interested, but don’t know
how to get started. There are still all kinds of ways to make money by
selling online, whether you’re selling what you already have or buying
and selling like a store. Before we get started, here are a few general tips
when selling anything online:
Get a PayPal account. If you don’t have a PayPal account, you’ll
want to get one if you’re doing business online. It’s the standard in
online business for receiving payment and paying others.
Take good pictures. Some of the options below don’t require you to
actually take the picture and sell the product, but for the ones that do,
make sure you take a clear picture that makes your product stand out
from the others. If you’re going to be taking a lot of pictures, set up a
small “studio-like” area in your home with a backdrop and proper
lighting to really make your pictures come across as professional. And
of course, you’ll want a good camera too.
Be honest. If you’re selling used items, be honest about every dent,
scratch, blemish, etc.. This will reduce many issues you could run into
and keep your reviews positive.
Do good business. Plain and simple. Whether you’re selling on a
small site or opening an online store, your customer service matters.
You’ll want to get those positive reviews and make a good name for
yourself. Respond to questions, concerns and complaints. Offer a
guarantee if available.
Follow those guidelines and you will do well in online sales. When
you’re ready to start selling, here’s where you go:
1. Amazon – Have you heard of FBA? It stands for “Fulfilled by
Amazon” and it’s getting pretty popular. Basically, you buy products
(in bulk is best) and ship them to Amazon for them to store. When
your products sell, Amazon packs them up, ships them out and sends
you the money (after taking their cut). There are people making a full-
time living from FBA, while others just do it for some extra money.
2. CraigsList – Some things don’t ship very well. Other things may
make you feel uncomfortable to sell to someone across the country.
Anytime you’re selling a large item or something you just don’t want
to ship, Craigslist is a great place to go. It’s simple to list your item
(again, take good pictures!). If you don’t like the idea of putting your
phone number out there, the interested individual can send you a
message to your inbox without even getting your email address.
3. eBay – Of course you can’t read an article about making money
online that doesn’t mention eBay. You can start an eBay store and get
serious about it or you can just sell some stuff to declutter your home.
Either way, I’ve made my fair share from selling on eBay and it’s still
a popular way to earn money. If you decide to start an actual eBay
store, you’ll want to find a drop-ship business like Doba that will
store and ship items straight to your customers so you don’t have to
deal with an inventory.
4. Etsy – If you like to create arts and crafts, you can sell them on
Etsy.It’s completely free to open an Etsy store. You simply sign up,
post pictures of your creations and starting selling. You can choose
your payment option, but PayPal is generally the easiest. Etsy makes
it easy to sell and keep track of your inventory. There is a small
listing fee and they take 3.5% of every sale you make.
5. Facebook – Facebook swap shops are great for selling things locally.
It’s like CraigsList, but a little easier. You simply search for swap
shops in your area and ask to join the group. Once you’re in, take a
picture of the item, write a quick description with the price and post
it. It doesn’t get much easier than that. You can generally expect to
get about what you would get at a yard sale, maybe a little more.
4. Blogging
Hey look, an article about making money online that doesn’t mention
blogging. . . oh wait, here it is.
First off, I’m a blogger so it seems wrong not to mention it, but more
importantly, it’s a legitimate way to make money. It’s quite possibly the
least straight-forward way on this list, but it’s very doable and it’s also
quite possibly the funnest way on this list. I love blogging and I know
hundreds of bloggers who feel the same. So let’s talk about making
money blogging and what it really means.
Blogging is something that requires patience, persistence and discipline.
It may mean writing everyday for over a year before you really start to
see any money from it. There are exceptions to the rule, but from my
dealings with other bloggers, it seems to be pretty common to spend one
or even two years building your blog, your brand and your authority,
before making any serious amount of money.
Some people argue that you can make money without a lot of traffic and
while that is true in some circumstances, you will generally need a lot of
website traffic to start earning from a blog and that takes a while. Once
you’ve reached that point, here are the primary ways to monetize your
blog and start earning:
1. Advertising – This is definitely the most old-school way of earning
money with a blog. It’s also starting to become the least common
way. You can sell advertising spots directly on your site or you can
sign up with a company like Google AdSense or Media.net. Either
way, you won’t see a whole lot of money from ads until your views
are well into the thousands each day.
2. Affiliates – There are many affiliate networks, such as FlexOffers and
CJ Affiliate that allow you to promote other people’s products and
services. You simply put a link or a banner on your page and then you
get a percentage if someone clicks through and buys the product/
service. You’ll want to select products that are specifically within
your blog’s category.This is an effective way to earn money once you
have the traffic coming to your blog.
3. Membership – Many people have created a paid membership area on
their blog. This is typically for exclusive content that you can only
access in the “member’s area.” If you have a really great idea on what
to include, this can be a great idea. You’ll have to create something
that can’t easily be accessed around the web.
4. Products – You can create your own product, such as an ebook or
computer software. You would then use your blog as a promotion tool
to get people to buy your product. As long as you create a legitimate
product with a whole lot of value, you should be able to get some
buyers, but like everything else with a blog, you’ll need the traffic to
get the sells.
5. Services – You can offer a paid service, such as life coaching, blog
coaching, goal setting or financial planning. Just be sure to investigate
all the legal implications and make sure you’re not claiming to be a
professional if you’re not one. With a service like this, you’re
basically using your blog to sell yourself. You’ll need to convince
people that you’re worth buying and then be able to back up your
claims once they purchase your service.
6. Sponsored/paid posts – Many blogs publish sponsored and paid
posts. Sponsored posts are basically just posts about a specific brand,
product or service. A company will pay you to publish an article about
it. It’s similar with other paid posts as well. Your basically selling the
spot for the article on your site. If you decide to take this route, you’ll
want to build your traffic before you will get many offers.
7. Subscription – If you think of something valuable (newsletter, online
magazine, etc.) that you can consistently offer on a certain basis
(weekly, monthly, etc.), you may want to offer a subscription service.
This could be a fee charged each time your product is sent out or on a
monthly basis. Either way, this has to be something that your
customers can only get by subscribing to your website.
8. Videos – This could be an entire section on it’s own. Many people
have made money by creating YouTube videos. Evan of EvanTube is a
kid and he has made millions by creating reviews of products that
other kids his age would use. It’s not easy to get views into the
millions, but once you do, you’ll start seeing some cash come in.
Many bloggers have completely turned to videos to get their point
across by starting a video blog.
If you’re truly interested in becoming a blogger, start by looking through
the archives of ProBlogger, Copyblogger and Boost Blog Traffic. Then
go read through all the free guides over at Quick Sprout. It may take you
a year to complete those tasks alone, but it will be worth it. You’ll
practically have a MBA in blogging.
5. Work-at-Home Companies
Finally, there are some companies that will hire you to work from the
comfort of your own home. If you’re interested in working for someone
else, while still making your own schedule and deciding where to work
from, here are a few companies that will let you do just that:
1. CrowdSource – CrowdSource offers many types of jobs from
“microtask” jobs to larger writing and editing jobs. You decide how
much you work and you can do most of it right at your computer.
2. Demand Studios – Demand Studios is hiring all kinds of creative
professionals, from writer to filmmakers. The pay isn’t amazing, but
it’s competitive for a work-at-home job.
3. Fast Chart – Fast Chart allows you to work from home as a medical
transcriptionist. There are some requirments and qualifications listed
on the page, but if you meet them, you’ll make competitive pay for
the industry. You’ll also be able to set your own schedule since you’ll
be working from home.
4. Leap Force – Leap Force is one way that Google rates websites for
search engine ranking. If you’re hired, you make decent money
(usually over $11/hour), you set your own schedule and it can be
pretty fun to view and rank websites.
5. Liveops – Liveops is a call center that allows you to work from home.
Once your set up to take the calls, you can begin making a weekly
schedule and working from home. The pay is generally close to $10/
hour, but you can earn more with commissions.
6. SpeakWrite – SpeakWrite will pay you up to $15/hour to transcribe
information. You set your own schedule and work from home.
Now you’ve got many different options to start earning online. If you
saw something that really interests you, try it out and learn more about
it. If you’re really wanting to make a full-time income online, you need
to be dedicated to learning how to do what you want to do. There are
tons of free resources out there. You just have to search for them!
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