The internet has proven itself to be a wonderful tool to help us in just about every area of our lives. This is especially true when it comes to finances. The internet can help you do everything from creating and maintaining a budget, online banking, researching investments and more. You can even apply for cash advances or get online title loans with no store visit.
It is even common to make decent money online, something which would have been unheard of even 10 years ago. By now, everyone knows about many of the different online jobs out there, including freelance writing, web design and graphic design. But these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how you can make some extra income online.
Here are some of the more creative, underrated and underappreciated ways to make money on the internet today.
Complete Surveys
A popular way for people from all walks of life to make some extra income online is to complete different surveys. These will generally be to give your opinions about specific products or services, but there are various other kinds of surveys out there too. Some can be completed in as little as a minute or two, while others may take longer.
While these aren’t likely to have you rolling in cash, they are a great way to make a little extra money for very little effort and time. They can be done in your spare time while relaxing and watching TV, and they are very easy to get started with. They also don’t require that you have any specific skills or knowledge, either.
Work as a Virtual Assistant
Another great way to make some money online that is becoming increasingly popular is to work as a virtual assistant, helping companies or individuals with administrative tasks such as making phone calls, managing emails, setting appointments and taking care of travel plans. Many virtual assistants have real-life experience as an assistant, however, this isn’t always required.
Some virtual assistants may also be required to write blog posts, post content, design graphics, and manage social media content. While these assistants can wear a lot of hats, much of the work is relatively simple and straightforward. It can all be done while sitting at your computer from home, and being a VA means you have a vital role in helping an organization run smoothly.
Sell Your Skills
Selling your skills is another creative and viable way to earn some additional income online. There are a number of ways you can do this. You can sell directly on your own site, negotiate with potential clients via social media posts or messages, or you can work on dedicated platforms like Fiverr and Upwork.
As for the skills you can sell, the options are plentiful. You can do voiceover work, design websites, complete SEO on articles, create animations, design t-shirts, record commercials or anything else you are good at.
Dropshipping
In addition to selling your skills, you can also sell physical products online. While this can be done directly, a simplified version is to dropship. Dropshipping is when you, the seller, work with a third-party product provider to deliver goods to your customer.
The supplier will handle the storage and shipping of the product to your buyer, and you will find the buyers, handle customer service and pay the wholesale price of the shipper. It allows you to make money selling products, without having to store and ship a lot of stock. You will never have to handle the product directly, which makes this great for those who want a relatively simple way to make money online.
Affiliate Marketing
Another solid option is affiliate marketing. This is when you will partner with a company or organization, share their product and then generate a commission for those who click on the link to purchase the product. You can put affiliate links on blog posts, on your site, or even on social media posts.
This is a great idea if you already have a blog or active and popular social media profiles, but it is also possible to start a blog from scratch as an affiliate marketer and grow over time. While this can take a lot of work initially, affiliate marketing can be a great source of passive income, making you good money without a lot of work on your end.
Create an Online Course or E-Book
If you have a particular skill set or some knowledge that others value, you could create an online course or e-book and sell it. It could be about anything from marketing tips, how to create a great business blog or anything else.
As you can imagine, writing something of quality that people will pay for isn’t easy, so this could take some time. Also, it helps if you have a dedicated following or a good reputation in your industry, so people feel comfortable buying a guide from you.
In addition to sharing knowledge, you could write a fiction e-book about an original story idea or a non-fiction book about an incredible experience or life story you have. E-books in general are particularly great as they can provide you income for many months and years after you have finished writing, publishing and marketing the book.
Do Translation or Transcription Work
Translation work is becoming more common as the world is becoming more multicultural and globalized than ever before. This translation work can be anything from translating business briefs, contracts, stories, articles or anything in between.
You should be fluid and completely comfortable in another language before you attempt to become a translator. You will need to be able to prove your fluency, so don’t just attempt to use online translation software.
A similar option that you may want to try is transcription. This involves listening to an audio or video file, and typing the speech into writing. You could transcribe medical records, lectures, meetings, or legal proceedings, just to name a few.
While these can take time, they are generally quite easy to complete. Getting started online is simple thanks to the many gig work and freelance websites looking for transcribers.
Sell Your Photos, Presets and Artwork
If you are a professional photographer, or even someone who does it as a hobby, you could sell your photos online. There are numerous places to sell stock photos of everything from people, to landscapes to all different kinds of objects. Writers may decide to buy them to use in articles, or advertisers might want to include them in their ads.
There are many potential buyers online, and if your photos are good enough, they have the potential to make you a lot of money. In addition to selling photos, there are other ways to make money in a similar vein. You can sell filters or presets you have created, or even completely original digital artwork you have designed on your own.
The Many Underrated Ways To Make Money Online
As you can see, there are a number of different creative ways to make money online that are underrated. Whether you decide to do one or try a couple, there are more ways than ever to make a little (or a lot) of extra income.
