18 Proven Ways To Make Money Online

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There’s no denying that the sting of inflation is compelling everyone to find extra means to make money. Despite having a full-time job, you may need to create an additional income stream that makes it easier for you to pay your bills and reach your savings goals in time. This is why you must be intentional about finding ways to make money online without going through much hassle.

At the time I started my freelance writing career, I had a full-time job that required me to commute to work five days a week. However, during weekends, I used to write for clients remotely. This brought in an extra $750 per month back then.

Online money-making opportunities are usually flexible, enabling you to retain your main employment while earning extra cash on the side. This post will walk you through numerous ways you can leverage the Internet and social media to earn money legitimately right now.

18 Proven Ways To Make Money Online

Having an extra in-flow of cash could be the game-changing move that transforms your finances for the best. So, are you ready to explore the best ways to make money online? Let’s get right into it!

1. Start And Monetize A Twitch Channel

Are you a young individual who loves gaming for hours? As much as certain people see this as an “irresponsible” hobby, especially for an adult, you can actually make a lot of money off of this.

All you need to do is have a Twitch channel and grow thousands of loyal subscribers. Instead of playing your video games alone in the room, go on livestream and play in front of people online.

Streamers on Twitch earn money by receiving donations from viewers. Besides, when you reach the Affiliate or Partner status, you’ll be allowed to get a share of subscription and ad revenue. This is unarguably one of the fun ways to make money online.

2. Become An Instagram Influencer

As of today, one of the major aspects of online marketing is influencer marketing. This is where companies use well-known influencers on Instagram and other social media platforms to promote their products or services.

As an influencer with a large, dedicated following, you can get into partnerships with companies — to advertise or review their brands on your page.

Depending on the number of followers you have, you could be earning several thousands of dollars per month. For a lot of Instagram influencers, this has become a full-time job.

3. Become A Paid YouTube Creator

Sometimes, people assume becoming a YouTube creator means you have to sit in front of a camera. But amazingly, there are hundreds of thousands of faceless channels on the YouTube platform, making all kinds of interesting videos. A lot of these channels are monetized, and they are earning dollars every single day.

What you have to do is first decide what your niche would be. Whatever interests you — animals, cars, AI, agriculture, music, movies, etc. Then start making faceless content in your chosen niche.

When you get up to 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours, you’ll be allowed to monetize your YouTube channel with Google Adsense. This is when you start getting paid for the ads shown on your content.

4. Publish An eBook

Do you have a flair for writing? You can turn that passion into a quick passive income stream by writing an eBook and publishing it on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon KDP).

Amazon allows you to publish your book for free while it pays you 70% of each sale in royalties. The amazing thing about this idea is that one eBook can be sold countless times.

I have a friend who published a cookbook and generated over $4,500 in sales within 3 weeks. It’s one of the proven ways to make money online.

5. Sell Stuff On Etsy

If you’re creatively talented at woodworking, embroidery, pottery, or jewelry-making, you can create nice stuff to sell on Etsy.

Etsy is a large online marketplace where people sell home goods, artwork, and other kinds of creative items. As of 2024, the site had more than 96 million active buyers, generating over $13 billion in merchandise sales for vendors. Apparently, there’s an opportunity for you here as long as you have the right item to sell. Someone is probably waiting to click “buy” on your online storefront.

6. Complete Online Surveys

This is one of the easy ways to make money online. Within minutes, you can complete online surveys on your smartphone and earn gift cards or cash as rewards. Well-known, legitimate sites like Swagbucks and Survey Junkie have been existing for years, especially for Americans. However, bear in mind that completing online surveys won’t pay you a ton of money. It can only serve as additional support to your primary income.

7. Learn To Use AI Tools

AI is rapidly taking over. There are thousands of AI tools created to carry out various types of tasks. The good news is that you have the opportunity to figure out how to make money using generative artificial intelligence.

For instance, you can use AI tools to proofread content within minutes and get paid for it. Grammarly is one of the most reliable tools that can help you do this.

You can also use AI tools like Chat GPT or Google Gemini to generate advert copies that clients can pay for. Mind you, the key to pulling this off is to be extra smart and creative. This is because the results you get from artificial intelligence may sometimes need tweaking or adjustment to stand out.

8. Test Websites And Apps

Do you want to make quick money online without spending too much time on the Internet? Maybe you should start testing websites and apps.

One of the upsides to this job is that you don’t need to be tech-savvy or have any special skill set. All you’d be asked to do is examine the performance and functionality of an app or website. Basically, you’ll be one of the first users of the product before it is officially launched or made accessible to the general public.

Usually, you’ll need to make a report to share your thoughts on what you’ve been asked to test. You’ll be paid depending on the duration of the test and the type of website or app you examined.

9. Sell Photos Online

The truth is that you don’t need to actually be a professional photographer in order to sell stock photos online. As long as you can take high-quality pictures and edit them beautifully, you could become a contributor on stock photo sites like PhotoShelter, SmugMuh, 500px, and Shutterstock.

While it’s free to list your photos on some sites, there are certain platforms that will require subscription fees. However, subscribing can give you access to a lot of benefits, including enough cloud storage, a customized website, and a password-protected gallery.

10. Sell Unused Gift Cards

This is one of the cool ideas to make money online.

Some people are willing to buy your unused gift cards and pay you up to 90% of the card’s value. If this is your first time trying to sell a gift card, I recommend you visit sites like CardCash or GiftCash. These platforms are committed to making it easy for anyone to trade their gift cards as quickly as possible and get paid a good amount.

11. Become A Virtual Assistant

Becoming a virtual assistant is a fantastic way to leverage your skills and start making money online. You can offer a wide range of administrative, technical, and creative services to clients remotely — working as their virtual assistant.

Like other freelance jobs, this is a flexible hustle that allows you to work from anywhere with an internet connection. This makes it an ideal side job for those seeking work-life balance or location independence.

Moreover, virtual assistants are in high demand across various industries, from small businesses to large corporations. By specializing in areas like social media management, email marketing, bookkeeping, or content creation, you can tap into a growing market and build a sustainable online income.

12. Participate In An Online Focus Group

We already talked about online surveys and how it’s one of the quick ways to make money online. Joining a focus group would help you earn a more decent amount of money doing something similar to the survey concept.

Whether you’re traveling or at home, companies like Respondent and User Interviews will pay you to share your opinions concerning brands, services, or anything relevant to market research.

Mind you, this is different from online surveys that anyone can participate in. For focus groups, the companies usually screen applicants to make sure they have the right candidates with some expertise.

13. Sell Textile Designs

You can start a profitable business online by selling textile designs.

Ever heard of Spoonflower? It’s a well-known global marketplace that’s providing the platform and opportunity that people need to thrive in the textile industry.

Spoonflower offers you on-demand digital printing technology, which makes it possible for you to efficiently market your designs as wallpapers, fabrics, home decor, and more. This is one of the profitable ways to make money online.

14. Become A Graphic Designer

Graphic design is one of the on-demand digital skills that offer an avenue for online income.

Freelancing platforms like Upwork and Fiverr connect designers with clients worldwide, enabling them to offer services like logo creation, social media graphics, and website design.

Aside from offering graphic design services, you can also sell digital products such as templates, fonts, and stock images online.

On the other hand, print-on-demand services like Etsy and Shopify allow you, as a designer, to create and sell merchandise with your designs, reaching a broader audience and making more money.

15. Online Tutoring

If you’re book-smart or have a teaching background in a particular subject, you should consider online tutoring as one of the ways to make money online.

Aside from the fact that this job allows you to work from anywhere and set your own schedule, it’s also profitable. This is because you can teach multiple students simultaneously like you’re in a normal classroom, provided they are supposed to learn the same topic.

As a beginner in this field, check out websites like Tutor.com, Cambly, or Preply to find online tutoring opportunities.

16. Sell A Digital Course

Selling digital courses is a lucrative online business model that leverages your expertise to generate income. Basically, this means teaching others what you know based on your experience and the skill set you possess.

Your teachings can be in the form of videos, ebooks, or interactive lessons. Once your course is developed, you can sell it directly through a personal website or online marketplaces like Udemy and Teachable.

The beauty of digital courses lies in their scalability and potential for passive income, as you can sell them repeatedly without incurring additional production costs.

17. Offer Transcription Services

Do you have excellent typing skills? Can you listen to audio materials and correctly write out what you hear? That’s basically the job of a transcriptionist. It’s one of the reliable ways to make money online.

As a freelancer, clients can hire you to transcribe audiobooks into written manuscripts. Thankfully, sites like Rev and TranscribeMe have made it easy for freelance transcriptionists to find gigs online and work on their own time.

18. Become A Proofreader And Editor

Despite how popular and common Internet slang has become, some people are still grammar geeks and spelling bee champs. If you are in this category, then maybe you’ll find it very easy to proofread people’s content.

You can review written documents, articles, or essays to spot grammatical and spelling errors. This is one of the legit ways to make money online.

To get started, you can find your first clients on websites like ProofreadingPal and Gramlee.

Final Words On Proven Ways To Make Money Online

It’s obvious how the digital age has opened up a myriad of opportunities to generate income online. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out, there are various avenues to start exploring. From freelancing and content creation to e-commerce and digital marketing, the possibilities are vast.

However, always bear in mind that just like with every other ambitious endeavor, making money online requires dedication, perseverance, and adaptability. Depending on your area of interest, you need to hone your skills and build a solid network that makes it easier to access good opportunities.

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