How to make money online for beginners

The internet has numerous articles about “How to make money online for beginners” or similar topics nowadays. Check out our list of online jobs today! After all, it’s providing more ways to earn income from the comfort of your home.

We’ll kick things off with our recommended ways of earning money on the internet. We understand that many people aren’t used to remote work. That’s why we’ll share tips on how to find the online job that suits you best.

Millions around the world lost their means of earning an income because of the coronavirus lockdowns. Fortunately, the internet can provide plenty of new employment opportunities. Explore 18 of them with our guide!

18 Ways to Make Money Online

1. Online writer
2. Blogger
3. Transcribe documents
4. Call center agent
5. Virtual assistant
6. Online tutor/teacher
7. Sell online courses
8. Affiliate marketing
9. Test apps and websites
10. Start a food business
11. Deliver food
12. Drive people around
13. Rent out rooms
14. Become an influencer
15. Play NFT games
16. Take surveys
17. Sell unused knick-knacks
18. Start investing

#1. Online writer

You may earn around $63,200 from writing articles. Most online writing content appears on websites. Though you may see these works on printed material such as newspapers. Contact [email protected] if you want to contribute for us!

Online writers may start as employees for a company. It will provide a steady stream of assignments. However, you’ll have to meet strict standards to land a role.

On the other hand, writers may work freelance. They could get their tasks from online platforms. Depending on your chosen website, you may have to negotiate your task conditions.

This is great if you have a knack for writing. If you want to land company roles, though, you might need a college degree connected to writing.

You may still work as a freelance writer if you don’t. However, you may get low-paying tasks first. Eventually, you’ll gain enough experience to handle ones with better pay.

Related Article: How Remote Work is Becoming More Popular

#2. Blogger

You could make around $38,440 from writing blogs. You might be wondering what makes it separate from an online writer. Well, it depends on the intent behind their articles.

Let’s say both of them made a “How to make money online for beginners” guide. The writer will research the options based on objective factors such as the salary.

You’ll notice the article uses proper grammar. It reads like something from a newspaper. On the other hand, a blogger will see what the audience wants.

Let’s say the readers prefer jobs where they could speak with someone. A blogger may ignore the online writer role and focus on online tutors or call center agents.

In short, bloggers base their content on what people want. Online writers have a more objective approach. Also, it’s easier to start a blog. Many websites can help you.

Start with the most affordable plan. You may pay for web hosting services such as Hostinger. Then, extend your content’s reach for free via social media.

As you gain more readers, you could ask online publications to publish your blog posts. Moreover, you could pay for guest post services from other freelancers.

#3. Transcribe documents

Let’s face it, not everyone can write well. Note that I am not referring to your grammar skills. It’s just that writing online articles goes beyond just writing.

You have to perform research, and you’ll need to understand your subject. Some people find it hard to do this while others find it boring. Still, most people can type at a decent speed nowadays.

It’s important as we communicate more often with text chat. You will have to type quickly enough to slide those DMs at the right time. If you’re confident with your typing speed, why not try transcribing documents as a side gig?

Companies often need them when they’re trying to undergo a digital transformation. Most of their files are still on paper. They may have video tutorials for applicants, but those could have been recorded as an audio file.

You can find many apps that can transfer text from paper and sound files, but they’re often inaccurate. This is when companies need folks who can manually transfer what’s written into an electronic document.

You may apply for it as a formal job at various companies. Alternatively, you may take freelance tasks for transcription on sites like Fiverr. Note that you will have to be both fast and accurate.

#4. Call center agent

The average salary for an agent ranges from $30,000 – $40,000 per year. As the name suggests, you’ll handle customer calls for a company.

These could be inbound calls that are often about customer requests and complaints. Or you may perform outbound calls for client reminders and promos.

Depending on your agency, you might be asked to deal with both call types. What’s more, you might handle other tasks such as chat and email support.

This could be like a full-time 9-to-5 job. You could be a call center agent as a side hustle. Or you may work part-time from the comfort of your home.

However, prepare to work at odd hours to satisfy customer demand. You might have to work overtime too. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it out, though.

Related Article: Best Contact Centers

#5. Virtual assistant

These folks earn roughly $36,029 every year. Meanwhile, remote virtual assistants make around $67,115 yearly! Here are examples of a virtual assistant’s tasks:

• Researching your competitors and customers
• Finding new products and services
• Looking for new leads and prospects
• Handling sales
• Managing an executive’s schedule
• Booking travel accommodations
• Conducting data entry
• Composing and posting press releases
• Writing tweets and other company updates

Working as a VA means performing a combination of these tasks. It’s high on our “How to make money online for beginners” guide for a high salary. Yet, it’s lower due to the heavier workload.

If you have prior experience in an office, it could serve as your work-from-home role. Otherwise, you might want to check the other money-making methods on this list.

Related Article: How to Get Paid to Travel

#6. Online Tutor/Teacher

Many countries are still under lockdown right now. This keeps millions of children from going to school. As a result, online learning became a popular way to continue education.

Online teachers can make around $30,000 – $40,000 every year. Of course, this depends on several factors. These include your school and your subject matter.

Why did we separate teachers from tutors? The former usually work full-time for a school. On the other hand, the latter often works part-time to help students with their school subjects.

Both of them earn money online, but tutors tend to get less. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. You may do it along with the other ways on “how to make money online for beginners.”

However, you may need to have a degree in education as an online teacher. If not, then you should at least show proficiency in your chosen subject.

You may land a role without an education degree. Of course, you still have to know enough about a certain subject to teach it! Otherwise, you might want to try being a tutor.

#7. Sell online courses

Perhaps you’re not fond of appearing live on camera. If not, maybe your internet connection is too slow for a decent-quality live stream. You can still provide online tutoring services, though.

Instead of conducting live classes, you may want to sell them as online courses. Those will allow you to teach while making sure you don’t hold a class in front of a live audience.

This type of online class even has the added benefit of letting you redo your videos. If something goes wrong, you can just cut out that specific part.

You may even reshoot the video several times until you get it right. On the other hand, you will have to adlib if you face any problems while streaming your lesson.

You can find many websites that will let you do this, such as Masterclass. Still, you will probably have to invest in good-quality recording equipment.

Nobody will watch your content if it’s pixelated at 240p. It would be bad if your voice sounds garbled or the viewers hear your dog barking in the background.

This is why you have to make sure your camera can take videos of up to 1080p resolution. These types of cameras are easier to come by nowadays. Your phone may already have one!

Then, you need to make sure your voice sounds clear in the video. Perhaps you could purchase a Snowball mic for recording. If not, you may want to check out similar yet cheaper options.

You should also match your expertise with the platform you will use. For example, you may want to find a site that’s geared towards kids if you want to teach lessons from grade school.

#8. Affiliate marketing

Passive Income is investing in methods of income apart from your salary such as Trading in the Stock Market, Investing in Real Estate, etc. @theRealKiyosaki#SuccessResources #SuccessResourcesZA #SRSA #SouthAfrica #RobertKiyosaki #RichDadPoorDad #PassiveIncome #RealEstate pic.twitter.com/pPEVJlPGvj

— Success Resources (@successressa) March 9, 2020

Have you ever considered earning passive income? People usually get it from investments. For example, certain long-term stocks could pay dividends regularly.

Affiliate marketing is another way to earn money while you do other things. You could earn roughly $1,000 – $10,000 if you join an affiliate program.

How does it work? You promote a company’s products and services. Each time a customer does a specific action, you make money. Here’s how you’ll get paid:

1. Pay-per-sale – You earn a portion of the product’s sale price after someone buys it. This means you need to attract investors to a company’s offerings.
2. Pay-per-lead – A lead is a consumer action done in certain levels of a sales funnel. Let’s say the company wants to get leads for the interest page. You’ll earn money if you convince people to fill out forms for its products and services.
3. Pay-per-click – Some businesses need more leads at the awareness stage. In other words, they need more people learning about their offerings. Your job as an affiliate marketer would be to generate traffic on their websites.

How would the company know you got those leads for them? You’ll have an affiliate link that your leads must click. The business will then pay based on the number of clicks it gets.

The internet has numerous affiliate programs. For example, LeadAdvisors has one. It’s simple to apply too. You only need to fill out a few fields for registration.

#9. Test apps and websites

Have you noticed just how many options the internet provides us nowadays? We can take the advances in website technology for that. Yet, this innovation doesn’t just come from gadgets alone.

Most people may not realize that websites undergo a long series of trial-and-error. Each one has a quality assurance (QA) team that makes sure the sites work once they go out into the public.

After the web designer does his job, it’s up to various regular people to test the website. This involves clicking stuff on the page and activating various features.

Does this sound easy? Well, that’s because it is, for the most part. You won’t need computer skills, but you will need to have a stable internet connection.

Most of the platforms that provide this work often charge by the hour. This means it’s up to you how much money you’ll earn for every shift.

The major downside is that you may find this boring. You will have to spend hours just messing around with the same website. Still, this could be a good way to make some extra cash.

#10. Start a food business

After reading the recommendations, you might be feeling hungry by now. Fortunately, you can order just about any meal you want online. Have you ever considered providing that food, though?

Perhaps you’re a great cook yourself. Maybe you treat yourself to a nice homecooked meal or dessert such as cookies or brownies. If that’s the case, you might want to start a food business.

Did you notice that I didn’t say “restaurant?” That’s because it often implies having a dine-in area. You may want to start small by selling within your neighborhood.

Accept orders online, and then deliver the meals to the right houses. It would be great if you did this yourself, so you can save money. Eventually, you may want to grow your business into a ghost kitchen.

Similar to restaurants, they offer cooked meals to customers, except you can’t eat at their branches. That’s because they just prepare the meals and deliver them to hungry patrons.

If you’re planning to do this, make sure you have your own website. You can’t just accept the orders on your social media page because you may receive a lot of orders.

Fortunately, it’s easy to get a website for your business. You can find so many online services like Wix that will let you design a website for affordable prices.

#11. Deliver food

If you’re not good at cooking, you may deliver the food instead. After all, most people just order stuff online instead of heading to physical locations to get them.

This could be a great idea if you already have a motorcycle. It might have been sitting in your garage because you had to follow the coronavirus lockdown guidelines.

You can solve two problems at once by using that bike for delivering meals. It will help you earn extra cash while making sure you don’t just leave the vehicle unused.

Online location services aren’t always reliable. Rain, poor signal, or low batteries can make them useless. The customer will still need their meal delivered, though.

Make sure you deliver in places that are familiar to you. If not, try going around the area where you’ll deliver meals. That way, you will still know your way around even if the gadgets fail.

Prepare for late hours or other hassles if you take this job. If you still have a day job, you may just take this as a part-time job.

#12. Drive people around

If you have a car instead of a motorcycle, you might want to become an Uber driver instead. As the lockdown rules relax, more folks will try to go out.

Again, this could be a good way to make use of your car if you haven’t been driving it recently. It’s similar to delivering food because you can also take this as a side gig.

You may have to follow strict COVID rules while in your vehicle. For example, you might have to place a barrier between you and your passenger seats at the back.

You will have to be comfortable with having complete strangers riding your car. Expect that you may get unruly passengers who might damage it too.

Also, make sure you’ve gotten vaccinated before you take outdoor jobs like this. This keeps you and your passengers safe. This type of work is best if you already have the vehicle for the job.

Otherwise, it might not be wise to purchase a new car just for this. You may take a long time working to cover the vehicle’s costs. If you don’t, your auto loan provider may repossess it.

#13. Rent out rooms

Did you know your home can be a money-making machine? If you have spare rooms, you may want to rent them out for a few days. In turn, you make use of them, and you earn money!

Mobile apps like AirBnB and Vrbo make this super convenient too. You might be familiar with the former for providing rental rooms for people. On the other hand, Vrbo rents out entire homes.

Similar to working as an Uber driver, make sure you’re fine with strangers inside your home. You might have trouble with privacy as well since they’ll be walking around there.

Also, you may have to refurbish your rental room. These apps have many people renting out spaces, so yours will have to stand out. If you need to renovate, be sure it’s worth the time and effort.

The amount you’ll earn may depend on your location. People usually use these apps, so they can have a cheap place to stay during a vacation.

If there aren’t any famous spots nearby, you may not get a lot of renters. As a result, you may find it hard to earn from this method. Still, it’s one of your options for earning money online.

#14. Become an influencer

Many people don’t bother watching TV anymore. Instead, they tune in to Netflix or other streaming services. Others prefer watching online influencers.

They’re regular people who often create videos on YouTube and TikTok. They have ads in their content, so they earn money each time people view them.

If you gain a lot of viewers and subscribers, this could be a great way to earn extra cash. You may even profit even more if you sell online products during your videos.

The online clout may even become a bonus for you. Some online influencers have appeared on TV, while others have launched careers in music and even film.

Still, your earnings will depend on your popularity. It can be hard to gain views as people have so much content at their fingertips. If they don’t like your videos, they have thousands of alternatives.

They could even find more content outside your platform. This might be a good idea if you’re just looking for extra cash. This might not be ideal as your main line of work.

#15. Play NFT games

Do you like playing games on the internet? Did you ever think of earning real money with it? Fortunately, you can do both with NFT games! Have you ever heard of an NFT?

It’s short for non-fungible tokens. NFTs are pieces of digital media with ownership recorded on a cryptocurrency network. Owning one means you have a unique copy despite identical ones.

NFT games use non-fungible tokens as game assets. These include player characters, items, and other features. Some let you earn cryptos while playing.

For example, games on the Enjin network can be “melted” into ENJ coins. Or sell it for some cash! In turn, you could buy new items or cryptos with it.

The most popular one right now is called Axie Infinity. It’s like Pokémon, but you have a team of Axie creatures instead. You earn AXS coins and SLP tokens by playing.

Players then sell the SLP coins for some income. While they don’t earn a lot of money, it helps people make ends meet. That’s why it’s popular right now in the Philippines.

You’ll need the following to get started. Note that your chosen game could have specific requirements. For instance, it’s best to use a Ronin Wallet for Axie Infinity.

• Smartphone or tablet
• The NFT game’s app
• Digital crypto wallet
• Internet connection

Read about an NFT game before playing. It uses cryptocurrency, a digital asset well-known for its volatility. Learn of the potential risks involved.

Related Article: What are NFTs? Fully Explained

#16. Take surveys

We have to admit that the internet has so many scams that involve making money with surveys. You can find some that are legit. Who would pay someone to fill out surveys, then?

Various businesses need this for market research. Major firms like Apple have enough staff members and resources to test new products or gain insights.

That’s not the case for small business owners. They could get a handful of employees to conduct surveys outside, but that’s too slow. It’s an even worse idea during the pandemic!

That’s where paid survey websites come in handy. A company may request these sites to feature their questionnaire. They will need a way to draw people in as well.

That’s why the survey companies offer money to respondents. Some even provide gift cards or discounts on specific products and services. Who knew surveys could be rewarding?

Don’t expect to earn a lot of money from this. Also, you may get bored while answering these. You usually need to answer an hour’s worth of surveys before you earn money.

Also, it’s not easy to find the legit ones. Look for certain features before trying any survey site. Click here to learn how to choose the right survey website.

#17. Sell unused knick-knacks

People tend to have so many unused items at home. Instead of collecting dust, your stuff could help you make money. Also, it could help you reduce the clutter at home.

After selling them, you could use the money to buy new things. For example, the stuff in your attic could help you buy remote work equipment.

Saving the money instead is another great idea. This will help you build an emergency fund, especially if you still have no job. It could help meet necessities while you look for one.

You could go the old-fashioned way of having a garage sale. It might have a hard time following COVID guidelines, though. Instead, you may want to list your stuff for sale online.

You could try Facebook Marketplace. The platform could even help you start an online business! For better results, you might want to sell on Amazon.

#18. Start investing

This can provide money in the short term and the long term. As you may have guessed, investing means spending on assets like stocks, bonds, and real estate.

This may seem intimidating for some folks because it often involves a lot of charts and graphs. Thanks to mobile apps, starting investments is a lot easier nowadays.

For example, Robinhood lets you buy and sell stocks from your smartphone. The mobile app also lets you see real-time market data in real-time.

Just download the app, register for the service, and place some funds. That’s how easy it is to start investing. If you choose the right assets, you can even earn passive income.

For example, dividend stocks let you earn money depending on how companies profit within a certain period. Still, this has risks as well because so many factors can affect your earnings.

Investing in stocks means investing in companies. If those companies fail to earn enough money or file for bankruptcy, your money could be put in jeopardy.

Still, they are a good way to earn money for retirement. The government even provides programs like Roth IRAs to help more people access the service.

More tips for online work

You might be second-guessing about working on the internet. After all, most people worked outside their homes before the pandemic. Yet, we should all get used to it.

This guide on “how to make money online for beginners” will now discuss additional tips. Follow these steps for productive work at home:

• Set up a clear workspace – Find a spot at home where you’re most comfortable. It should be free from distractions. Also, place your remote work materials there. This will help you designate that area for work only.
• Stick to a work schedule – You can skip this part if you already have a schedule for online work. Otherwise, make sure you start and end your sessions at specific times. This will help you focus on your tasks.
• Save time for breaks – You probably had lunch breaks at your old office. More importantly, that’s when you can chow down for lunch! Make sure you take time for a brief rest in between work hours. This will help you continue your tasks.

Let’s say you didn’t land a small role. Instead, you’re earning through other means like selling stuff or taking surveys. In that case, follow these tips instead:

• Still looking for work – We understand that it’s tough finding work right now. However, it would help if you sustained your efforts to find employment. Try numerous job portals instead of sticking to one. That’s the best way to make money online!
• Set money aside – Let’s say you’re succeeding in earning money online. It would be best to keep the money for emergencies. This will help you meet them immediately while avoiding debt.
• Plan a budget – Minimize spending and maximize earnings. Remove expenses that you don’t need, so you have more cash in hand. For better results, try budgeting methods like the 50-30-20 rule.

Final Thoughts

We hope our guide on “how to make money online for beginners” provided much-needed insight. We didn’t mention other methods, though, such as starting a YouTube channel.

Feel free to try methods that are not on our list. The important thing is that you find a way that suits you. Regardless, it would help if you learned about your options before taking them.

Once you gain some money, you might want to try investing. It can provide financial help now and in the future. For example, cryptocurrency may offer features now and earnings later.

Learn more about how to make money online for beginners

How can a beginner make money?

Start looking for methods online. Match them to your interests and talents. You could apply for remote work. Alternatively, you may try other means like selling unused items.

What work can I do sitting at home?

You could write blogs, take business calls, or teach people while you’re at home. The internet provides so many options, especially due to the recent remote work trend.

How can I get money without a job?

You may sell stuff lying around at home. You may complete tasks on Fiverr and other platforms for money. Moreover, you may run errands for others or take online surveys.

If you are interested in content marketing, please email [email protected].

Updated on February 23, 2022