This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a commission if you make a purchase.
If you’re spending a few hours online every day and want to earn some extra money on the side, this post is for you. Whether you’re working part-time, full time, or not at all, anyone can earn revenue online.
I’m not talking about get-rich-quick schemes; I’m talking about real work where you create something of value others want to pay for.
Read also: How to get paid to deliver groceries
Here are 7 creative and totally legitimate ways to make money online.
Create your own blog
Building and starting a website is not as difficult as you might think, and there are plenty of people who will pay handsomely for you to do so.
There are just four components to any website:
A domain name to get people to the website (you can get a free domain name via this link)
A web host to store the website (prices start at $3.95 for a web host here)
Content to put onto the website (use WordPress as your content management system)
A template to show off the website (install the many themes available for free within WordPress)
None of these steps require any programming knowledge whatsoever, and you can easily pay for the setup yourself.
Then simply do a little work adding the content into the right places, making a template work, pointing the domain to it, and sending an invoice — along with the cost of your time — to the customer.
Monetize your blog with Google AdSense or Amazon Associates
If you have your own website or blog, then it’s easy to start making money from advertising. Google’s advertising platform, Google AdSense, simply requires you to sign up and enable it.
You pick some ads that fit your website’s design and then receive money when your readers click on the ads. You can earn anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars for every click.
Review products on your blog
Amazon runs a similar platform called Amazon Associates. However, this one isn’t a pay-per-click system but a pay-per-sale system.
Advertisements are placed on your site, and when someone buys a product from clicking on those ads, you make a commission, anywhere from 3% to 8% of the sale.
If you’re a blogger, you can write directly to companies to tell them you want to feature or review one of their products.
This can get you some brilliant discounts, free items and even payment from these companies. If you do well out of this, you can agree to a commission on items sold that have been featured on your site.
Don’t have a blog? It’s not hard to create a blog of your own.
Once you have a popular site, the advertisers will come to you. So be sure to create a contact us page to receive advertising offers.
Host an online garage sale
One of the best, simplest, tried-and-tested methods is the online garage sale. This — as with all garage sales — begins by rummaging around your house for anything that you don’t need anymore.
The next step is to get to selling! eBay is still the golden standard, or the Amazon marketplace can be great for old books and media. Your profits won’t be much, though, because they charge a commission, and then there are shipping fees to consider.
One of the best methods though is to look for local Facebook selling pages or use Craigslist and list your items there. These options avoid selling fees and can save you postage too.
Freelancing gigs
It’s always worth considering whether you could freelance online. If you’re a writer, designer, teacher, voice actor, or life coach, then you can easily market those skills online.
Using sites like Fiverr, Upwork, or PeoplePerHour, you can connect with clients all over the world and compete for jobs in a rich open market.
Freelancing is a great way to supplement your income and, with enough dedication and experience, can even be used to carve out an entire living wage.
iTunes, Etsy, and Shutterstock
For those of you who are hyper-creative, these three options are fantastic.
iTunes allows you to market and sell ebooks and music all over the world.
Etsy is a great community marketplace for selling homemade crafts and gifts. For people looking for that personal, handmade touch, it’s an ideal shopping destination.
Shutterstock is an online platform to sell digital images. If you’re handy with a camera, then you can make money by uploading your favorite images and allowing people to buy them for a small fee.
Kickstarter
If you have a business idea, music project, or really anything that will make you money eventually, then Kickstarter is brilliant.
Kickstarter is a platform where people can pledge money to help get your enterprise off the ground. This is risk-free because if you don’t meet your targets, then nobody pays any money.
This is also a great way to crowdsource your ideas through social media and get all your friends and family behind you.
Which of these ways do you use or want to use to make money online?
