You might wonder whether there are easy ways to earn money online, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic, where most of us are boarded up in our homes. Making money online is easier than ever now. There are various types of online jobs ranging from the simplest by writing a blog to programming and coding.
Since you’re here for easy ways to make money online, I’ll give you five of the easiest, fuss-free, and most affordable methods.
1. Start A Blog
The first and probably the simplest way to earn money is by starting a blog. Anyone can do it. To make money from it, you’ll need to create a website of your own. It’s better than free blogging platforms because you have complete control in designing your site and using advertisements in it.
To start creating your website, you can check out Hostinger.com to help get your website started. You can use the one-click WordPress installer to set up your site ASAP, get a free domain, and launch your site in an afternoon.
Now how do you exactly earn money from blogging? Here are some ways:
- Write guest posts – writing content for other sites and getting paid for it.
- Write sponsored content – get paid by sponsors for reviewing their products.
- Rent ad space – host ads on your blog and make money from the clicks and impressions.
- Set up courses, video tutorials, and workshops and charge fees for visitors to view.
2. Affiliate Marketing
If you have a significant amount of followers on your social media and a steady stream of traffic on your website, you can opt to do affiliate marketing. It is essentially earning passive income by promoting another company’s products and services. You can do it by merely advertising it to your followers and earning profit for every sale you make.
You can sign up for affiliate marketing companies and promote their products. Some well-known companies include eBay Partner Network and Amazon Associates. How they work is that you sell their products using special referral links and earn commissions. For more information on how to sell on eBay and maximize your affiliate marketing efforts, you can visit https://www.zikanalytics.com/blog/how-to-sell-on-ebay/.
You can earn commissions ranging from 10% to 70%, depending on the products you promote. Check the company’s website to see which product brings the highest commission. So annually, as an affiliate, you can earn commissions between $10,000 and $400,000 depending on how intense your promotion is and how much traffic you have.
It’s important to keep in mind that your revenue is going to be highly dependent on how much traffic you have, and its quality. For example, the more traffic you have, the more likely you are to find someone who is interested in the products you’re promoting and converting.
However, if you’re promoting items or services that don’t resonate with your target audience, your chances of earning commissions are pretty low. That’s why you should carefully choose what you’ll be attaching your reputation to.
Lastly, be as transparent as possible. If you’re partnering with a company, let your visitors know. Advertising a product without disclosing it, can be harmful to your reputation and in some countries, is against the law.
3. Start an eCommerce Store
Since you already have a website, you can start selling things on it. If you are using WordPress, there’s a plugin called WooCommerce, which is an open-source eCommerce platform that allows you to set up an online store.
To start selling, here are some simple steps to start:
- Research what products or services you’ll sell. Is it your own or other people’s?
- Find out more about the niche you’ll be in.
- Validate the target market and product ideas.
- Setup your online store.
- Attract customers.
If you don’t have any products to sell, you can always opt for dropshipping. It is a retail fulfillment method where you sell other people’s products and services without worrying about inventory management and shipping. Here you solely focus on promoting their products and gain as many customers as possible.
4. Freelancing
If you have a skill that can be carried out remotely, like graphic design, copywriting, and video editing, you can offer those skills as a freelancer. What’s better than making money doing something you love?
You can post your skills on freelancer-specific websites like Fiverr or Freelancer. It is also recommended to join groups on social media or networks specific to your area of specialty. Sites like Meetup are a great way to find people in the same niche.
To help you get started in freelancing, here are some steps you can take:
- Know your end goal – is freelancing your full-time job or just a way to earn extra income?
- Look for a niche where you can be profitable – try to have specific skills instead of a general one. For example, if you are a graphic designer, focus on creating infographic designs. This way, it will be easier for clients to find you.
- Set a price for your freelance service – it can be an hourly rate or per project.
- Promote yourself – create a representative portfolio. The best practice is to make a portfolio website.
5. Online Surveys
There are plenty of companies that are looking for regular feedback regarding their products and services. They also are always looking for ideas from people like you and I. What companies do is set up online surveys where you answer a few questions, and in return, you receive either gifts or cash as a reward.
To get started, you first need to sign up for the surveys you’re interested in by filling out the demographic information and email address. Once your email address has been validated, you’ll get notifications of companies looking for people to partake in their survey.
Once you have enough cash, you can request a payout. If you get vouchers or discounts as a reward, you can spend them immediately.
Some of the best paid online surveys include:
- Swagbucks – It has a variety of ways to earn rewards.
- Toluna – Trusted by leading companies.
- Lifepoints – Can earn $3-5 an hour.
Those were the five easy ways to make money online. All that’s left now is for you to start doing it. These are not the fastest ways to earn money, but it’s doable by anyone.