How to Make Money Online

February
20, 2021

6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

These days, online jobs and education opportunities are quite popular. People love to work from home, and the internet is exploding with money-making opportunities. How can you fit into this new popular niche? Let’s explore!

Working online does not impose the same time restrictions as working in an office or brick-and-mortar store. You don’t have to adhere to strict dress codes or company policies. Often, you don’t even have to interact face-to-face with clients, customers or co-workers. This can be especially nice for independent spirits or introverts.

Not having to go to an office affords people a lot of freedom and autonomy. Imagine working in your pajamas! If you need to take off to get your kids for an activity, you can do that without having to call your boss and arrange to leave the office. Your attendance is up to you as you set your own hours. Often, you can leave the computer for a spell to get things done and then return to work when you are ready.

Related: 5 Ways to Stand Out from the Competition on Major Freelancing Sites

You can also be your own boss. Expand your business as you see fit. No one can restrict your decisions or tell you what to do with your work. This does not apply if you work online for a company, but it does apply if you are a freelancer or have your own online business.

The internet is a great way to reach lots of people on an international scale. You can use it to advertise or offer your services to a variety of clients all over the world. Marketing through social media enables you to reach lots of people with minimal effort.

What can you do online?

Anything, really. But having a clear goal and solid service or product is key. You must be able to offer your future employers something. Determine your strong skills and advertise those.

Freelancing

Try freelancing sites like Upwork or Guru. You can charge an hourly rate or charge by the project.

• Writing. Being able to write is a great way to make money online. Written communication is important for businesses. You can find jobs writing for blogs, gossip sites, online journals and business websites, just to name a few.
• Editing. Documents often contain errors. As an editor, you comb through documents and improve them. You can find editing jobs online in a huge variety of languages.
• Web design. Use your skills for creating websites and your aesthetic sense to create websites for people.
• Illustration and logo design. Are you an artist? Then you can work online creating art for businesses or other people.
• Translating. If you are bilingual, offer your services as a translator. Use your skills to change the native language of documents. Translation services are in demand throughout the world.
• Transcribing. After listening to audio or watching videos, you put the words down on paper (or in an electronic document). Transcribing is hard work that requires attention to detail and concentration. But if you are good at a language, you can find transcription jobs online.
• Code writing. If you can write code, you have limitless job opportunities online. You can create websites and computer programs for various companies eager to hire new coders.

Related: 10 Business Ideas to Make Easy Money and Change the World

Education

• Tutoring. High school and college students are taking to the internet looking for cheap tutoring services. Offer your expertise in any subject and teach over video or through written lessons. Try Chegg and the Knowledge Roundtable for tutoring jobs.
• Teaching. There are sites like VIPKid where you can teach languages online over video chat or written lessons. English is probably in the most demand, but you can find opportunities for any language. Offer your language teaching services to any site that teaches the language you are most fluent in.
• Academic writing. On sites like Ultius, you can find opportunities to write academic papers. Typically, you need a bachelor’s degree to get these jobs. Writing experience is also helpful.
• Lifestyle coaching. Help people become their best selves. Self-improvement is a popular niche. Writing books and offering self-improvement videos for a small monthly fee is a great way to make money. Promise to help people transform their lives or bodies and you’ll get customers.
• Educational videos. Making educational videos and selling courses on sites like Lynda or Coursera allows you to make money with the knowledge and skills you have. Popular niches on these sites include coding, crafting and entrepreneurial tips and skills.

Blogging

• Travel blogging. Travel blogging is a popular niche for those who like to be on the move. If you have traveled a lot, you can share your experiences and advice that you have picked up along the way with massive audiences. You can get all sorts of sponsorship and generate revenue as you capture readers.
• Recipe writing. Sharing your expertise in the kitchen can help you make money online. Make videos and write recipes to publish on popular recipe sites. Or find people on freelancing sites seeking recipe and cookbook writers.

Online retail

• Dropshipping. You can create your own dropshipping business and sell products online. Use eBay and Amazon for these, as well as wholesale sites and social media like Facebook.
• Selling products. If you make any sort of product, you can sell it online. Consider using Shopify or Etsy for handmade or vintage products. Consider Amazon and eBay for other types of products, like books or inventions or wholesale items. You can also create your own e-shop but you must market it. Learn about SEO so that your website shows up high in Google searches.

Related: What Is the Real Future of Work?

Remote jobs

• Online companies. Many companies are hiring remote workers. You can do things like medical coding and billing, customer service, coding, software engineering, journalism and many other jobs from home. Some companies are even hiring doctors or psychologists to provide services over the internet instead of in a traditional office setting. As people become more comfortable with working online, the workplace is adjusting. Companies have found that remote workers are actually more productive and they can cut costs by not having a building.

Penny hoarder

Maybe you don’t want to start your own business or teach or freelance online, but you want a little extra spending money on top of your current income. The internet offers a wide variety of ways to make money without really working. You can find great tips on The Penny Hoarder website.

The Penny Hoarder shares opportunities with you such as apps that pay you to download them. They also offer surveys that pay you to fill out the information. There are lists of other things, such as banks that pay you to open an account. Check this site out for lots of tips on how to make a little extra cash online.