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Did you know that you can make money from simply playing games, completing surveys, or monetizing your passion? Are you also looking for a way to earn extra bucks? Well, it doesn’t get better than this!

From as low as a few hundred bucks to earning in 5 figures steadily, there are various online options. You can make so much that there is a possibility you will quit your current job just to be able to focus.

It is a good time to be alive and privy to these various opportunities. Various skills can be monetized online, from money-making apps to freelancing sites, even if you are a beginner.

In this blog post, I will be showing you 15 handpicked ways you can make money online using different skills or simply by completing surveys or playing games.

Do you need a degree to make money online?

You do not need a degree or a certificate before earning online. Although you might miss out on opportunities involving specific skills, it is still not a requirement to start earning online.

Skills you need to make money online

There are a variety of skills that can be monetized online, ranging from the ability to carry out simple tasks to coding or programming skills and everything in between.

This variety of needed skills makes the online market profitable for everyone. It is more than possible for you to find a skill that you are proficient in and in demand. Depending on the platform, you can earn good bucks easily doing what you love.

Become a freelancer

If you have an in-demand skill and you work a 9-5, you might want to consider freelancing for a change.

Photo by Brandy Kennedy on Unsplash

What is freelancing?

Freelancing simply means being self-employed and working on a per-job basis. You earn money by getting paid for services you render to multiple clients. You can earn more than a yearly white-collar income every month, depending on your skill.

You can be a tutor, graphics designer, writer, blogger, or content creator, and with proper marketing, you can organically find clients who need and are ready to pay for your services. With excellent platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer, you can find clients from different parts of the world to buy your services.

Freelancing is one of the easiest ways to earn money online, and if you are good at what you do, you can become a highly rated seller and live a comfortable life doing what you love.

How to make money as a freelancer

Choose a niche: One of the mistakes some freelancers easily make is a lack of specificity. To make good money freelancing, you have to be known for one particular skill. Don’t build a portfolio with multiple skills; it makes you less professional.

Instead, focus on a single skill, offer your free services to high-end brands to build your portfolio, and start with low pricing.

As your customer reviews increase, you can then update your prices.

Have a unique selling point: When building your portfolio, you need to have something that stands you out from the crowd. The truth is, many people are doing what you do and maybe even better than you. It could be your method of communication or delivery but have something that makes you better than the next person on the block.

Get customer feedback: This is important and should be included in your contract. Freelancing is a numbers game, and the more reviews you have, the easier it is for prospects to choose you. Have each client give a review (ratings and comments) so other potential prospects can trust you easily.

Focus: Sometimes, you might need to quit your 9-5 to focus on freelancing. When you give more time to it, you increase your chances of earning more.

What is a blog?

A blog is an online site where you publish articles called blog posts to educate or entertain. There are several types of blogs, including lifestyle blogs, travel blogs, marketing blogs, etc.

Some people use a blog as an online journal to document and showcase aspects of their lives that people may be interested in.

How can I make money from a blog?

You can make money through a blog, including paid advertisements, downloadable ebooks, and coaching services.

An average successful blogger can make as much as $60,000 yearly.

How can I start blogging?

Blogging is relatively easy to start. These are simple steps to start blogging.

Find a unique blog idea: Unique doesn’t mean that kind of blog should not exist, but it means a blog that you are interested in and interests other people. You don’t want a blog that nobody wants to read.

Select a hosting company: For as low as $3 per month, you can get the WordPress starter pack on Hostinger, which gives you access to a domain name and free themes that you can use for your first website and your hosting plan.
Install WordPress and customize: After setting up your Hostinger, you will be taken to the panel where you can manage your accounts in WordPress. You can also select your theme and customize it to fit your type of website.

Write your first blog post: Write your first SEO-optimized blog post by following SEO tips that can give your blog a chance of ranking high on search engines.

Promote your blog: By consistently uploading blog posts and promoting your blog on social media platforms, you can create awareness and increase traffic to your blog.

Monetize your blog: There are several blog monetization strategies that you can put in place for your blog. Depending on the niche and traffic, you can go into affiliate marketing and create digital products.

Read more about how to start a blog here.

Affiliate marketing

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Affiliate marketing has been making quite a buzz for a while now and for a good cause. With people desiring to be their own boss, lack of capital can be quite a setback, but with affiliate marketing, you don’t need to create a product or open up a store.

You get paid to market someone else’s products and receive a commission for it. Several reputable brands use affiliate marketing to earn and extend their reach, including Amazon.

Commissions can be as high as 50% or more, depending on the platform and the brand.

How affiliate marketing works.

Using a real example, Company A is a big company with new products. They need an advertising strategy to reach customers in different parts of the world. They approach an affiliate marketing platform and list their products. They give a 40% commission for every purchase.

This means that if the product’s price is $1,000, for every sale, they get $600, while the marketer who uses his affiliate link to make a sale for Company A gets $400.

The marketer needs no capital to get $400 except the amount he pays to be part of the affiliate marketing platform. Company A does not need to pay a huge amount for marketing except to buy a space in the affiliate marketing platform.

Sell your photographs

Nowadays, photographers are becoming more creative and expressive. It’s now more of an art than just mere pictures, and with these advancements comes a huge demand for photos.

Several stock photo websites, bloggers, content creators, and designers now need photography services.

Several platforms act as middlemen for buyers and sellers of high-quality pictures.

Requirements

High-quality pictures are usually the requirement. Depending on the platform, pictures can be reviewed 24 hours a week.

Platforms that let you sell photographs.

There are several platforms, but some of the best are:

Become an influencer

YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are among the biggest social media platforms where you’ll find influencers.

Influencers earn money by collaborating with reputable brands and charging for each sponsored post. The amount paid depends on the follower count of the influencer. In 2019, Christiano Ronaldo was labeled one of the highest-paid influencers, with a whopping $900,000 for each sponsored post.

How do you become an influencer?

Pick a niche
Optimize your social media profiles
Create relevant contents
Be consistent
Build a solid audience base
Engage your audience
Approach brands
Organize free events

The main point is to give value while engaging your audience. Show off your unique personality and let brands know you are open to collaborations.

Use money making apps

Can you really make money through apps?

Yes, several money-making apps are available online that let users get paid in cash or gift cards for completing several tasks, and money-making apps are legit and can be free or service-based.

Tasks include taking surveys, playing games, cashback for shopping at affiliated stores, in-app purchases, customer feedback, internet researching, and data collection.

There are several money-making apps that you’ll see on the internet, but some are not worth your time.

Read this blog post on the money-making apps to try out. Link to blog post.

Dropshipping

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Ever heard of dropshipping? Dropshipping simply means acting as a middleman between a manufacturer/retailer and the buyer.

A dropshipper gets an order from a buyer and forwards this order to the retailer/manufacturer. Sometimes the delivery goes directly from the manufacturer to the buyer without the dropshipper even seeing the product.

A dropshipper does not need to have a store or stock up on products, and demand is given.

Dropshipping may or may not be based on commission, unlike affiliate marketing. Some dropshippers prefer to buy products at wholesale prices and sell at their own rates.

If you’re looking for a way to earn considerable income without investing a lot of capital, you might want to consider dropshipping. Like other ways to earn money, you need to focus on a particular niche instead of several.

Publish an eBook

An eBook is a digital book that is downloadable over the internet. Publishing an eBook involves several processes, from research to writing and proofreading. Even if you are not a writer, you can employ the services of freelancers and pay them to write a book for you.

The advantage of creating an eBook is that you can make multiple sales from a single boom without paying for reprinting or running out of stock.

Amazon KDP is one of the biggest platforms for publishing eBooks, with over a billion users. About 21% of Americans are said to be avid e-readers, and this is just localized statistics. You can also open up a website where you sell your eBooks directly to your audience, but the reach will be significantly lower.

If you’re wondering how you can make enough money publishing an eBook, the eBook revenue is expected to hit $17.04bn in 2022!

Become a social media manager

Social media management involves managing a brand’s social media platforms to increase its online presence using specific content to target an audience.

A social media manager is in charge of creating, uploading, and promoting content with a particular goal in mind; it could be to increase follower count, engage or convert an audience.

With social media proficiency, content creation skills, marketing skills, and at least a basic SEO knowledge, you can become a social media manager for brands and businesses.

Become a virtual assistant (VA)

You do not need any certification to be a VA. What’s required is your dedication, taking free courses on education platforms like the Techie Mentor, practicing the knowledge you gain, and setting up your brand on social media for visibility.

Use platforms like Upwork and Fiverr to find clients as you build your testimonial portfolio.

Keep learning industry strategies to become a better VA with a successful brand.

Photo by Shane on Unsplash

Online money making tips

While it is straightforward to make money online, it is necessary to keep these things in mind:

As easy as it is to earn, it is also easy to fall prey to online scams.
Leverage your strengths.
Look for something you can do in the long run.
Focus on one route and grow from there.
Start with something easy.
Research websites and apps before using them.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As a beginner, the online space can be extremely overwhelming, and the fear of falling prey to scammers is always present. These ways to make money online are sure, guaranteed, and legit. Nowadays, anyone can make money on the internet regardless of their age.

Roll up your sleeves and get to work. Identify your strengths and find a way to make money while doing something you love.

Which of these ways are you most likely to try out? Which have you tried but didn’t get better at it? Let me know if you think you need a mentor. I just might have one for you!

10 Easy ways you can make money online as a beginner

Do you need a degree to make money online?

Skills you need to make money online