Whether you already have a full-time job or just want to earn extra money, the internet offers many opportunities. If you have some spare time and any skills, passions or hobbies, you may be able to monetize them in a short time.
The ways you can make extra income online vary in terms of:
- Difficulty
- Startup investment costs
- Business model
- Required skills
- Time investment requirements
Regardless, if you have internet access and a willingness to learn and apply knowledge, you can make money online. Better yet, you can grow most of the skills we will cover into a small online business with some extra work.
Let's go over the 10 best ways to make money from home.
One: Become a Tutor
Do you have any expertise on a certain subject that others may be interested in?
eLearning is a massive (and growing) industry. It's complete with plugins and entire infrastructures dedicated to creating online courses, academies, tutoring, and more. With over 80% of employers applying eLearning and the industry set to grow to $320 billion by 2025, now is a great time to start tutoring if you want to start an online business.
How it Works
One useful way to make money online is to simply tutor students in languages. Teaching English online may come to mind. But tutoring is in demand in a wide variety of subjects. Math, sciences, literature, and other traditional subjects require tutoring.
At the same time, if you have expertise in a niche hobby or other kind of activity, there may be a demand for tutoring. This is particularly useful if you can teach students about your skillset within your industry.
Online tutoring jobs range greatly in terms of compensation. You will find a wide range of salaries for full-time tutoring, in particular. Wages for online tutoring resemble those of offline tutoring.
How Much Can I Make?
TheBureau of Labor Statisticsreports the lowest end (bottom tenth percentile) being paid an average of $11.36 per hour. The highest tenth percentile charges just shy of $30 per hour, on average.
Even if you're just getting started out, marketing yourself correctly and working with reputable platforms can have you making $15 to $20 per hour shortly after starting. After gaining some experience and demonstrating your skills, you can demand more and work your way up to the higher end of the pay scale. This normally requires optimizing your lesson plans and teaching methods. Some tutors also launch eLearning courses and/or other digital educational products.
Tutoring is one of the most legitimate options for growing a business. The more niche the subject, the easier it is to carve a place for your brand in the future.
For now, tutoring is a great way to supplement your full-time income while working from home.
Two: Start Your Own Podcast
Podcasting has a higher barrier to entry than tutoring if you're hoping to make a respectable amount of money. But it is also an interesting option that allows some people to explore their passions and make extra money while providing insights or entertainment to a loyal fan base.
How it Works
As with tutoring, a solid internet connection and choosing one of the reputable platforms to get started with can set you on the right path. But podcasting also comes with some hardware demands; you need a quality microphone.
In addition, podcasting requires confidence and the ability to speak clearly and consistently for the duration of an entire podcast. Performative skills are important as well, as your success relies on your ability to maintain the attention of listeners. Of course, those listeners are likely to stick around only when you provide some extraordinary value to them, whether it's entertainment or knowledge that they find engaging or useful.
Due to the upfront investments required, starting a podcast can be far easier if you already have a solid foundation. That means a community of listeners, perhaps drawn from your social media, colleagues, students, or others.
Podcasts are an organized medium. That means you need structure, such as a schedule for topics to be discussed, interviews, and so forth. The production also takes time, as more goes into creating a good podcast than meet's the viewer's eye. With time and experience, you can learn to efficiently conduct a session and produce quality podcasts that people are glued to.
How Much Can I Make?
Podcasters make money through a small range of monetization processes:
- Sponsorships
- Affiliate marketing
- Premium memberships
- Selling branded products
- Advertising
The exact amount you can make from a podcast is much more difficult to even predict due to the diverse nature of revenue streams. The only common thread is that you are in essence always monetizing the attention your podcasts get.
The more regular viewers you get, the more affiliate sales you can get, the more members will pay for premium content, the more ad revenue, and so on. Of course, gathering a following is one thing, but being an effective marketer is a bit different. Not only do you need to put out engaging content to as wide an audience as possible, but you need to effectively plug your merchandise and affiliates' products.
To be a profitable podcaster is also to be a good marketing professional. Perhaps the most direct source of revenue comes from advertising arrangements where you are simply paid for ad space. But in most cases, you need to get sales.
On the high end, the Joe Rogan Experience is the most popular podcast of all time, netting about $800,000 per episode. Most other podcasts will never experience a fraction of that success. But for a more typical, modest podcast, with about 5,000 downloads per podcast, income may look more like:
- 300 viewers sending $2 per month on Patreon ($600)
- $500 per month in affiliate link sales
- $500 per month in memberships or digital product sales
- $1,200 from ad space
Of course, you then need to subtract expenses, which vary greatly.
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Three: Go Freelance
Freelancing is increasingly accessible and popular. It's a very simple way to earn more money.
How it Works
Most freelancers go through a simple process to start making money:
- Have/acquire a skillset
- Establish a freelancer-appropriate portfolio and CV
- Build up a client base
- Optimize all of the above
The good news is that step one is very accessible, even if you don't feel you have any existing skills. The most common freelance gigs include:
- Freelance Writer or Editor (content, copy, etc.)
- Graphic Designer
- Front-end Web Developer
- Consultant (this can be broken down into many separate roles and skill-sets, such as legal consultant)
- Video Editor or Producer
- Web Designer
- UX/UI Designer (User Experience/Interface)
- SEO Specialist
- Social Media Marketer (Facebook Ads, etc.)
- Data Analyst
- Photographer
- Virtual Assistants
Most of the above roles can be learned on the job through apprenticeships and/or improved upon through digital courses and other existing online resources. If you already perform the associated tasks as a part of your full-time job, you are already halfway to producing additional income!
Once one has a well-established skillset and practical experience, one must demonstrate it to potential clients. Having a strong CV is important, just as it would be if you were trying to get a new full-time job. But potential clients will also want to see examples of your skills in action. A portfolio is normally a baseline requirement for freelancers, allowing clients to see their work and see if they would be the right fit.
A portfolio is easy to put together. For example, if you're a photographer, your best photographs would be your portfolio.
Building up a client base is another matter. There are a few ways you can go about this. Normally, successful freelancers employ some mix of:
- Joining online platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, etc.
- Having a strong LinkedIn profile that attracts potential clients
- Applying directly to freelance positions on job boards and company websites
- Referrals from happy clients
Of course, maximizing freelance income is an ongoing process. To do so, you need to continuously improve your product/service delivery. That also means improving your communications skills, updating your portfolio, and maintaining a professional demeanor on all the channels you use while freelancing.
How Much Can I Make?
Because of the wide range of applicable roles and their subsequent pay scales, this is hard to answer. But in the end, the sky is the limit!
We won't sugar-coat the reality, though: most freelancers don't make that much, and the competition is stiff. However, applying the best practices over time can lead to a six-figure salary Just look at the"top freelancers" on platforms like Upwork within a specific category. There, you can see their incomes from the platform and what they charge new clients.
Freelancing success simply requires consistency, hard work, and the willingness to improve.
Four: Consider Pet Sitting
Pet owners often find themselves in need of help. When they go on vacation or leave town for work, they need pet sitters if no one they know is able and willing to look after their pets.
Pet sitters are constantly in demand, and the internet has made it much easier to connect them with pet owners.
How it Works
You can start pet sitting now with a few simple steps. However, you will of course first want to make sure you are temperamentally prepared for the job. It's often not quite as simple as just walking dogs and feeding them. Some dogs have their own problems and are hard to take care of or are mistrusting towards strangers.
If you are able and willing to take care of pets, you can start by looking on reputable platforms to connect you with pet owners. There are dozens of platforms dedicated to this exact service, including:
- Petsitter
- Rover
- Care.com
Sites like these normally have a "sign up" section on their home pages. All you need to do is go there, have a look at the platform's rules and expectations, and sign up. You will then be connected with pet owners.
How Much Can I Make?
Pet sitters charge varying amounts, with$16 per hourbeing the typical compensation. Of course, the reputable platforms we've gone over are open marketplaces with their own economics. Location and the supply and demand therein can affect the rates you can charge for pet sitting.
Most pet sitter jobs on those sites don't require experience. With a quick look, you can see the rates you can expect. For example, openings on petsitter.com normally range from $15 to $25 per hour. You will also often come across daily rates, which are often upwards of $70. It is up to you to read the job description and factor in transportation times, the number of pets, and other factors that determine the level of commitment you are getting into.
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Five: Get Paid for Your Feedback
This is a simpler option.
Many companies that are launching new products and services are in need of feedback. Business owners use this feedback to alter their products and services prior to committing to a larger investment. This can include anything from online surveys to long testing sessions.
How it Works
In some cases, you can apply directly. Companies looking for early testers and feedback will often advertise it on their websites.
If you want to make a regular habit of making money this way in your spare time, you may want to consider signing up on one of the reputable platforms that will connect you with the companies. Testing and survey sites like Sharewell.eu and Brutal.app connect users with companies in need of feedback.
Normally, you are expected to use a product or service or navigate a site. Normal aspects companies need testing for include:
- First impressions
- User experience
- Comparisons with competitors
- Sign-up processes
In most cases, you will simply navigate a site or app and try to complete a set of tasks. During that time, you will typically speak into your mic and provide live feedback, then answer a list of questions when the exercise is complete.
Your feedback is then shared with company staff such as UX professionals so they can improve their customer experiences, products, and so forth.
How Much Can I Make?
As a side hustle, you can make a decent income from these activities. Brutal.app offers "$30 for every hour of feedback". Sharewell.eu offers a similar rate of 25 Euros.
In general, this is the kind of compensation you can expect. However, some companies may offer far more. In general, you can expect to receive less when using intermediaries like these.
Six: Use Your Writing Skills as a Side Hustle
There are quite a few ways to turn writing skills into extra money on the side. In the end, any of the following methods can lead to extra money or even passive income:
- Ghostwriting
- Copywriting
- Medium partnerships
- Self-publishing
- SEO writing
- Online magazines
How it Works
In the case of copywriters in particular, but some other writers as well, a passive income stream is possible. The best writers create a passive income stream by charging royalties for sales acquired via emails, landing pages, etc.
If you are a hobbyists or enthusiasts for any kind of activity, you can turn your passion into a freelance writing gig. Having that passion and knowledge of the ins and outs of any market can be supplemented with freelance writing skills.
You don't need to work full-time to make extra money by writing. Online retailers often seek out those who understand their products and speak the language of their regular customers.
How Much Can I Make?
Again, this will depend on the write you charge and exactly how much extra space in your schedule you can dedicate to writing. Sales skills and personal branding also help.
As you gain more experience, create better content, and build your portfolio, you can access more gigs and demand a higher income.
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Seven: Become a Voice-Over Artist
The book "Voice Over Acting: How to Become a Voice Over Actor" was published in 2021. This isn't the only book on the topic.
Demand for voice-over artists has increased for businesses using many mediums.
How it Works
Voice-over artists are voice actors. As a voice actor, you are a professional who uses your voice to either portray characters or communicate information to an audience. That means working with scripts and understanding the delivery your client is looking for. The base requirements are some level of talent in voice acting, high-speed internet, and appropriate, high-quality equipment.
Voice-over artists are in demand in the following industries/mediums:
- Commercials
- Video or audio advertisements
- Audiobooks *
- Animated film
- Foreign language films of all kinds
- Video games
- Foreign language podcasts
- Documentaries
- Applications and automated systems such as GPS
- Assorted computer programs
* Audiobooks are an essential part of the modern publishing industry, and there is a steady stream of work for voice-over artists with this particular skill.
In general, voice-over artists are expected to be able to deliver the following, as necessitated by any given script:
- Reading the script provided, often by a casting director
- Adjusting voice, emotion, and intonation to adjust to the script
- Providing rough voice recordings for evaluation
- Adjusting according to additional instructions from directors
- Proper use of technical equipment, mainly microphones and recording equipment and software
- Enacting a script
How Much Can I Make?
Voice-over art follows the pay scale trends of many arts: there is a wide range of pay grades, with a small elite making far more money than most others in the industry.
Entry-level voice actors working part-time don't make a lot, as they are normally submitting their work alongside many others. The submissions may then be judged, and the best recording is used.
A single professional voice-over acting session can net professionals $100 for a local radio channel ad. For national TV commercials, voice actors can make well over $10,000.
Pay for freelance work in this industry is often not hourly, but on a project basis.
Eight: Sell Your Art Online
We're living through the age of NFTs. Seemingly simple graphic designs of chimps are selling for millions of dollars, netting their artists a very hefty paycheck. However, there has been a thriving online market for all forms of art long before "NFT" was ever uttered. The opportunities are only growing.
How it Works
You can sell almost any form of art online on one of the relevant platforms. It can often be as simple as just getting active on Facebook Marketplace.
Selling digital or physical art follows a similar process:
- Have or create art
- Join several platforms where you can sell it
- Profit!
There are of course a few soft skills artists need to be as successful as possible. Sales, including understanding how much to charge/where to start bidding is an important aspect of selling art. Professionals often employ pricing formulas and adjust according to the costs of production and what consumers are willing to pay for.
How Much Can I Make?
This is perhaps the most difficult skill you could ask this question for.
On the highest end, Salvator Mundi had the most expensive sale of any painting in history at $450.3 million. The most expensive NFT sold to date is the graphic art titled "Beeple, Everydays: The First 5000 Days", which sold for $69.3 million.
Needless to say, most works of art sell for a laughably small portion of these rates. However, if you can produce high-quality work that is sought after on the market, and are a good salesperson and representative for yourself, the sky's the limit.
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Nine: Host and Teach Foreign Students
As with most gigs on this list, there are entire platforms dedicated to hosting and teaching foreign students.
How it Works
This is normally a family enterprise. If you have internet access, extra space at home (a spare bedroom), and the time and willingness, you can host a foreign student.
Platforms like Home Language International (UK) and Lingoo (international) match foreign students with hosts. You then host the student for an agreed-upon time period. This period normally includes private tutoring and/or other educational activities.
The popular and reputable platforms normally have a steady stream of verified users looking for hosts.
As the host, you work on a freelance basis. You set your own rates and provide private lessons from your own home.
Of course, the nature of this job makes it important to ensure both sides feel safe and satisfied. These sites thus verify users, and you have a chance to talk to possible guests before accepting one.
The qualifications for a host are normally:
- A university degree in any subject
- Previous teaching experience and/or certification
- Language teaching certifications such as TEFL or TESOL
How Much Can I Make?
Rates are set according to the host's location and experience. As a result, rates vary extraordinarily.
As an example, a French Immersion course hosted in Quebec on HLI charges $1,870 for 25 hours of lessons. That rate also includes the board and accommodation. This works out to a decent income of $74.80 per hour of lessons, but of course requires you to take care of the guest's accommodations and prepare lesson plans and evaluations. Overall, you can work your way up to a decent income over time.
See similar reputable platforms for specifics on rates and requirements for hosts.
Ten: Provide Cleaning, Gardening or Handyman Services
Many of the jobs that fall under this broad umbrella are highly accessible and don't require any extensive training. Cleaners, gardeners, and landscapers are in demand in many localities.
How it Works
Sites like hlprs.nl and apps like allbetter connect customers with vetted handy workers of all kinds. If you want to make money on one of these platforms, you can sign up as:
- Cleaner
- Mover
- Gardener
- Landscaper
- Snow remover
- If you're qualified, a skilled trade professional
These sites work like similar platforms for other services. Users searching for the above services in their area use a platform that connects them with who they're looking for. The user gets to browse each service provider's profile before selecting who they want to hire. The platform acts as a middleman, charging a service fee to the user and charging the service provider a portion of their pay.
These kinds of platforms are used for one-off jobs, or for recurring services. Some users are looking for regular landscaping, for example, making this a good option if you're looking for a stable second income.
How Much Can I Make?
In general, all of the above jobs normally demand a starting income above that of minimum wage. Landscapers typically start at about $16 per hour. You can expect at least $15 per hour for any of the above gigs. Many people who offer these services do them as a weekend job, or possibly an evening job during the week.
Full-time workers, excepting the skilled trades, earn a salary ranging from $32,000 to $38,000 normally. As an example, one similar job (grounds maintenance worker), earns a median of $17.05 per hour, or$35,460 per year.
Of course, skilled trades professionals will make far more, but will require official certifications.
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Start Earning Extra Income Online
Earning extra income online is accessible to internet users everywhere. Online platforms make almost anything monetizable.
Have extra time to fill out a survey? You can make money from that.
Have extra parking space? There are even platforms that get you paid for that!
Of course, if you can command attention and have an online following for any hobby or interest, there are many ways to earn money through advertising.
In addition to your time, followers, and extra space you have for parking or accommodations, full-time income is possible for most of the activities we've discussed. Whether you're looking for a new secondary income stream or a path out of your day job, there are a few best practices to keep in mind.
Basic Needs
First, you will want reliable high-speed internet. This is the key asset for any path to making money online.
Next, you will need the hardware your intended job requires. For most of the above, a simple laptop will do. But expensive hardware may be a requirement for some gigs, and expensive graphics cards or microphones should be considered before you decide to start looking for work.
Presentation
Presentation is the first thing all your potential customers will notice.
Whether it’s your social media banners, ads, or other promotional material, the right presentation will help you stand out and make a first impression that counts!
Design Wizard offers tons of templates for you to use, plus unlimited potential for personalization. You can start creating unique designs to help you make extra money from home today.
