The internet is full of ways people can make money from home. Here are some of the best to earn extra income remotely.
- Start a blog
- Take part in surveys
- Test websites and apps
- Become a private tutor
- Consider freelancing
- Become a virtual assistant
- Help brands with their marketing
- Become a copywriter
- Work as a data entry specialist
- Launch an online business
1. Start a blog
Successful bloggers choose a niche and create content around this specific theme. Ideally, you can position yourself as an expert on the topic and write helpful blog articles that rank high in search engines. Think about what’s trending and the subjects you know a lot about and that interest you.
On your blog, you could write mostly articles like recipes and product reviews or branch out into different types of content with videos and pictures. You can promote your blog on social media channels like Instagram or YouTube to help grow your audience.
What do you need to start a blog?
All you need to start a blog is a platform and engaging content. What’s great about blogging is that once you have a website, the main cost is the time it takes you to create content. Blogging can become a fun hobby and creative outlet that can earn you additional income over time.
If you need help setting up your website, you can shop Project CatalogTM and find an independent professional to build your blog, working within your budget.
How do blogs make money?
As a blogger, if you can get enough traffic to your website, you can earn money as an affiliate partner or advertiser. Affiliate partners get a commission, either a flat fee or a percentage, for each sale they make.
Let’s say you have a blog about fitness. A yoga company may want to work with you as an affiliate to promote its equipment. You could make a 10% commission on every sale from your blog’s link (or personal code).
If you’re passionate about freelancing, you could join the Upwork affiliate program. As an Upwork affiliate, you earn 70% of the first contract (up to $150) for every new client you refer to the platform. You also earn a 5% commission on repeat contracts (up to $150).
Advertising platforms like Google AdSense look for websites with lots of traffic to advertise on. You could work with Google AdSense and get paid a set amount (often a few cents per click) for hosting an ad. This can quickly add up if you have thousands of users daily or weekly on your blog.
2. Take part in surveys
Companies looking for honest feedback create surveys for market research. The responses from a survey may decide what product to launch next or what brand tagline to go with. Survey conductors want the most high-quality participants they can get to make the data more accurate.
If you fall into the survey’s target demographic, they may pay you to take their survey from home. Some surveys may be short, just a few multiple-choice questions, while others are longer and require written answers.
What do you need to start taking part in surveys?
Being a survey participant requires that you meet the survey’s audience requirements. The survey may have specific criteria for eligibility. You typically don’t need any special skills or training to take surveys.
How much can you make taking surveys?
Many survey sites pay participants in points that you can turn into a gift card at your favorite store, a general Visa gift card, or load into your PayPal. Two popular sites for participating in surveys are MyPoints and Swagbucks.
When you complete surveys on MyPoints, you earn points. Each point is worth about $0.06. Most surveys are between 50-100 points, which equals $3-$6 per survey.
Swagbuck participants earn Swagbucks (SB). Every 100 SB equals a dollar. Most surveys pay between $0.05-$2.50.
You can also find survey jobs on Upwork; some are longer and more involved and can pay $5 or $10 per survey.
3. Test websites and apps
Before releasing a new website or app to the public, companies hire beta testers. As a tester, you explore the website, app, or even a video game to make sure it’s ready for release. The company may ask that you document any bugs you encounter and give feedback at the end. Testing apps, websites, and games can be a fun side gig for tech-savvy people.
Beta testing can have different levels of involvement. An app company may need testers just to download their new app and test the login process. Before releasing a video game, a gaming company may want experienced testers to spend hours playing the game and documenting bugs, errors, and what they like and dislike.
4. Become a private tutor
If you’re knowledgeable in a specific subject, you can earn extra income as a private tutor. Consider what you feel comfortable teaching someone else. It could be a school subject like algebra, a test like the SAT, or even a specific software like Photoshop. Working as a tutor is a great gig for college students, helping to reinforce your understanding of the material while teaching others.
Tutoring is typically a job you can do outside of a 9-5 routine or even on the weekends from home. As a private tutor, you could provide a weekly ongoing service to a student struggling with a specific subject or one-time prep for a test. Parents often hire tutors to help with homework and test preparation.
5. Consider freelancing
In 2022, 39% of the workforce had freelanced in the past year, according to an Upwork study. Freelancing has become a popular alternative to being a 9-5 employee. As a freelancer, you get to work from home and set your schedule based on what projects and clients you say yes to.
Clients on Upwork look for freelancers with a variety of talents. The most successful freelancers choose a niche and then work to build their reputation, positioning themselves as experts. Think about your skills and how you can market them to clients.
6. Become a virtual assistant
Becoming a virtual assistant is a great side hustle for steady work. These jobs are often part-time and needed on an ongoing basis.
Virtual assistant tasks may include
- Setting appointments
- Managing personal schedule
- Arranging travel
- Scheduling meetings
- Updating calendars
- Responding to and organizing emails
- Taking meeting notes
- Posting on social media
7. Help brands with their marketing
Marketing is an in-demand job you can do from home, even full time, if you work on developing your skills and building your reputation. Brands hire independent professionals to help with digital marketing–how they reach their customers online.
Each brand may have a different marketing strategy, depending on its goals. One brand may focus on sales, needing marketing campaigns that convert or generate leads. Another brand may want to grow awareness, letting customers know who they are and what they do through messaging and content.
Marketing is a broad term, and while you could find a full-time job as a marketing manager, you can also freelance as a digital marketer and specialize in something more specific to make money on the side.
Different areas of in-demand marketing
- Social media
- Advertising
- SEO
- Search engine marketing (SEM)
- Influencer relations
- Community management
- Public relations
- Content creation
- Data analytics
8. Become a copywriter
If you’re a talented writer, you may be able to make money on the side as a copywriter. Brands and organizations need writers that sell and persuade through copy. Compared to other types of writing, like content writing, copywriters typically focus on sales-driven copy with clear calls to action (CTAs).
The main focus areas for copywriting are brand, social media, and advertising. You could find yourself writing social media captions, ad copy, or an SEO landing page. Companies use copywriters across their organizations to help create the content they need.
9. Work as a data entry specialist
Companies need help managing and organizing their data. As a data entry clerk or specialist, you work with spreadsheets or databases, adding data and checking for accuracy. Clients in various industries hire data entry specialists to input customer data, checking for any inconsistencies and running reports as needed.
10. Launch an online business
Do you have any crafts or hobbies you could make extra money on? Launching a business and selling products or services to customers and clients can be a great way to earn supplemental income. You could have an e-commerce site and sell products or offer an online service like travel planning.
Once you have an idea, you’ll need to figure out what platform you’ll use to sell your goods or services. You can build your own business website or use an e-commerce site like Etsy for marketing and selling goods. If you want to offer services directly to clients, create a profile on Upwork and bid on projects that fit your skills.
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