If you do a search on ways to earn money online, you’ll likely come up with all sorts of things. Unfortunately it takes some digging to get through the paid advertisements and scams or pyramid schemes to some real solutions that you can actually use.
I thought I’d put together a few ways I’ve made money online. Some I’ve just tested to see if they work and others I have seriously put some effort into and have seen results worth sharing:
eBay – I know, I hear a lot of people talking about eBay as a way to make money. But what happens when you run out of your old stuff to sell? Have you ever considered selling items for other people? When you sign up for eBay you can have 50 free listings per month. When an item sells, eBay takes a 9% cut (of the total cost, including shipping fees). But that leaves you with 90%. If you were selling items for someone else, you could take another cut and they’d still be left with a decent amount of money, especially if they are trying to clear out their storage closet or get rid of things they don’t need any more. It’s a pretty simple process to get signed up and start selling on eBay. While it does take some time, if you were to set up some good systems for organization you could manage multiple listings for multiple people and start earning some extra cash.
craigslist – It may take a little time, but you can make some extra money by finding things on craigslist.org that are maybe priced low or even free, then fixing them up and selling them again. While this takes work in finding the items, arranging to pick them up, and fixing them up, it could be worth it in the end if you are selective in what you buy and sell.
oDesk.com – This site is a great way to earn some money as a contractor. There are a variety of jobs that range from part-time to full-time and are paid either hourly or per job. This type of work is best for those who have skills in things like proofreading, creating eBooks, writing blog articles, designing webpages, making calls, creating graphics, etc. It is mostly work you can do on the computer, but you can do it from home. This makes it nice if you already have a job during the day and need to pick up some extra money in the evenings. And you can decide to apply for jobs that fit your schedule. If you just want a little extra cash, you might only apply for jobs that will take 10 hours or fewer. Or if you need a little more money, you could apply for full-time work there. The setup process is a little lengthy, and you need to work a few jobs to build a reputation as a good worker, but if you put in the time and effort it does pay off.
Online Surveys – A few years ago I was able to order several gift cards to give as Christmas gifts (that was what pretty much everyone in the family wanted, otherwise I would have used the cards to go buy the gifts) using reward points I had earned completing surveys online. I had originally signed up with about 10 different companies to do surveys, but as time went on I began to realize which ones gave good rewards and which ones were not worth the time and effort. I whittled it down to about 4 or 5 good companies, and each week I set aside some time to check my email (yes, I created a separate email address for all of the survey invitations so they didn’t clog up my regular email box!) and do some surveys. You can save up your reward points and then cash them all out later for things like Christmas gifts or a special shopping treat for your family.
Facilitate Online Courses – What is your expertise? Did you when you were little always say you were going to be a teacher but then ended up with a Psychology degree and working in a career that had to do with neither teaching nor psychology? You could still put your skills and knowledge to use by talking with nearby schools or online schools to see if they have some classes that you can facilitate. This is especially handy when the courses are already created, and you can grade and offer up your comments and knowledge to help the students learn. It is good to always be building your skills and knowledge base, and doing that so while you are helping students learn is great! Depending on the number of courses and students you have, you might just spend a little time each evening grading or answering questions. This is something that does not take a ton of time, and you are not on a super-tight schedule.
It’s never a bad idea to be looking out for ways you can earn some extra income, either to supplement your income, help you be able to stay home with the kids, to be able to pay off debt, or to work towards reaching your financial dreams. At iMoneyCoach we’re always looking for ways to help you do these things.
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