How to Make Money Online: The Ultimate Guide for Freelancers and Entrepreneurs

We’re fortunate enough to live in a time and age where everything is possible through the miracle called “the Internet.” This means that if you’re looking for ways to make money online, you couldn’t have chosen a better time period than today.

Well, actually, the late 1990s and early 2000s witnessed the “dotcom bubble” and a lot of people made a lot of money in a matter of weeks, but this doesn’t mean that the right opportunity for you isn’t right there for the taking.

We have created the “How to Make Money Online: The Ultimate Guide for Freelancers and Entrepreneurs” article in order to cover all the best jobs, opportunities and side-gigs for you to start earning some extra cash.

It’s time to check out some of the easiest and most efficient ways to make money online, straight from the comfort of your home. The digital era offers anyone with passion and/or time the chance to make a living, so let’s start going over some of the best money-making ideas of the moment.

The Best Ways to Get Started Making Money Online

Given the current state of the world, after the COVID-19 pandemic has struck, more and more people have found themselves searching for ways to generate an extra income. And what better place to look than by doing your research online.

The Internet is full of useful resources and that’s why we want to bring you a list of the best ways to get started making money online. We’ll add a lot of ideas for all ages, so no matter how old or young you are, there’s definitely going to be something here that will tickle your fancy.

Ready to get started? Let’s start going over our ultimate guide for making money online for freelancers and entrepreneurs.

• For all ages

Start Completing Online Surveys

Today, your opinion matters more than at any other time in history. Your feedback is extremely valuable and this is why online surveys pay big bucks in order to find out what a targeted audience wants.

Companies will reach out to online survey providers and pay them to survey their registered users. Through the information they will receive based on the answers you’ve given, business owners will know how to improve their product and service.

You will get paid not only for offering your feedback through the completed online surveys, but you’ll also help develop stronger, better and more reliable products and services. It’s a win-win situation for all parties involved, and all you need to have to get started is a device with Internet access. 

Create Stock Images and Sell Them Online

This is something anyone can do, especially if you know how to handle a professional photo camera. It doesn’t even need to be that professional, as long as you have good photo editing skills to fill that technical gap.

After you have taken a few stock photos, you’ll have to find the best stock photography platforms online and upload your work there. You’ll quickly start earning a nice passive income, every time one of your stock images has been sold.

All you have to do is to keep taking photos and editing them to make your work even more appealing and relevant to stock photography buyers.

Consider Working as a Virtual Assistant

Today’s world has a very noticeable need for online virtual assistants. This job implies that you handle minor tasks without having to be physically present at the office.

Most of the time, you will never even meet your “boss” or the persons you are collaborating with. You’ll just receive briefs for tasks such as writing emails, uploading images to a website, or doing research on a specific theme or subject.

You’ll be paid either hourly or for each completed task, based on what your understanding is with each different collaborator.

Write Online Reviews to Get Paid

Big brands and small brands that want to raise their brand awareness will often resort to online ghostwriters to create positive reviews for their services and products. 

Some brands will even take it further and pay you to write an honest review, and you don’t have to focus strictly on the positive parts.

You can look up hundreds of online review websites that you can register to and start writing reviews for. Most of the time you’ll even receive the product to review it, and you can keep it. In addition, you’ll also get paid to write extra positive Google or Facebook reviews.

Start Selling Household Items Online

Some of the most popular websites in the world for selling your used household items are eBay and Amazon. Of course, based on the region where you live, you can find even more specific platforms tailored for the local audience.

You’d be surprised how much money you can make online from selling your household items that you no longer use.

Start doing an inventory inside your house and upload the products online, together with a catchy item description and don’t shy away from negotiating, especially if you really don’t need that thing anymore.

Rent Your Items by the Hour

The sharing economy we are experiencing nowadays is something older generations couldn’t have imagined seeing throughout their lifetime. You can rent anything nowadays, from power tools to cars, and even personal company, if you need it.

In order to help prevent electronic waste, which is a serious current issue, and to make some extra cash, consider renting your devices, gadgets, tools and anything else you may find.

For each hour you can earn extra revenue, simply for renting the things you don’t need at that exact moment. Use websites like Flexshopper, Aarons, or Rent-A-Center to get a better idea of what other people are renting.

Consider Becoming an Online Data Editor

Data is the most valuable currency in the digital age and you can easily understand why. Presidential elections have been won through good data management, and companies have made billions of dollars from this valuable asset.

Businesses need to constantly update their databases and they are in need of people to undertake the role of data editor. This implies that you will receive names, addresses, phone numbers, or whatever data a business manages, and you’ll have to add it to their system. 

Usually, you’ll get paid by the hour, or by the number of data rows added to a company’s system. It’s mechanical work and it doesn’t imply any previous work experience or knowledge.

Design and Sell Printables Online

If you think you have a talent for designing original graphics and images, then you can start making some serious money online.

Using tools like Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, PicMonkey, Canva and a lot of other design platforms that offer free trials and features, you can start creating awesome printables.

If your designs are original and unique, your printables will start “flying off the digital shelves” and you’ll get money every time your design has been bought. If you’re talented, waste no more time and get to work! 

Start Selling the Clothes You no Longer Wear

If you have a lot of unused clothes, or even clothes which you used to wear and are still in good shape, you can start selling them online. There are plenty of online websites where people buy and sell used clothes, and there’s a pretty penny to be made in this field.

We all have some clothes that are new, or almost new, perhaps received as a gift, but we no longer want them. Instead of throwing them away, why not try selling them online on websites like thredUP, The RealReal, or Poshmark.

With the extra money you’ll make, you can even buy other new clothes, without spending any additional money of your own.

Start Testing Products Online

Every time a company plans on launching a new product to reach the market, it will require hundreds of hours of testing beforehand. And this is where you step in.

You can become an online product tester, simply by registering to online product testing platforms, and you’ll receive loads of things that require a lot of usages before they’ll reach the market.

You’ll get to play with toys, test gadgets and anything in between, and all you have to do is to report back the issues you have discovered through testing. Most of the time, you’ll even get to keep the tested products.

Cook for Other People

A lot of people have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and some of these people have lost their jobs, or have received substantial pay cuts. This means that going out to eat at fancy restaurants is no longer an option for everybody.

If you have cooking skills and you love spending time in the kitchen, you can easily build a network of people who will order homemade food online, directly from you.

If you find yourself to be successful, you can even take it up a notch and start baking custom meals, for each client in part.

Start Transcribing Audio Files to Text

Podcasts have become immensely popular over the last couple of years, with big shows such as The Joe Rogan Experience being sold to Spotify for over $200 million last year. This gave birth to a whole new generation of podcasters that decided to create their own shows.

These podcasts producers and hosts also need to transcribe their audio files into text files, so they can use their content to better optimize their blogs and social media pages.

If you have a good typing speed, this may be one of the easiest and nicely paid online jobs you can do from your house.

Pick up Gardening and Sell Your Fruits and Vegetables

In today’s world, the need for eating healthy is becoming more and more prominent throughout our society. Everybody wants to eat healthy, but it’s becoming harder and harder to find nutritious food in supermarkets, for the right price.

If you have a backyard or a small piece of land you are not using, be sure to pick up gardening. Plant trees for the long run and plant vegetables to sell during each season.

People will quickly reach out to you for fresh produce, and you can even turn it into a business if you think the efforts are worth it. 

Consider Renting Out Your Clothes

If you have a large closet full of clothes, then your wardrobe is something to be admired. Why keep clothes tucked away in your closet only for special occasions, when you can start renting them out.

Much like the idea to sell your clothes online, you can start renting them out if you still feel like you want to wear them again.

You can charge various amounts of money, based on the clothes you are renting out, and the occasion for which a person wants to rent a nice tux or a pristine cocktail attire. 

Play Online Games for Money

If you’re a gamer, then this is the dream job for you. How amazing would it be to get paid for playing games online? Sounds pretty cool, right? Well, it’s not just an idea, this could be your extra side-hustle for making some cash.

Gaming companies will pay you at an hourly rate to play their games, and some gaming platforms will pay you to enjoy their games while they display ads.

The companies get paid from companies that place ads on their platforms, and you get paid to play the games that are currently made available by each platform owner. 

Sign Up to SkillShare to Make Money Online 

SkillShare is one of the most efficient platforms for entrepreneurs who are just starting up and want to make extra money online for sharing their skills.

You simply begin by creating “how to” videos, where you show people how something is done. For each small clip you can earn money.

Each minute your video is being watched adds between $0.05 and $0.10 to your SKillShare account. Small gains pile up and you could wind up making a lot of money on the side.

Collect Cashback From Your Purchases

Do some online research regarding which banks in your area offer cashback debit and credit cards. Usually, you’ll earn anywhere from 1%, and all the way up to 20% cashback for all your purchases. It just depends on what card issuer you are using.

Honey or Gumdrop will offer a pretty good way for you to earn cashback credit, by adding their extensions to your web browser while you’re shopping online.

You can even start making online purchases for family and friends and earn their cashback rewards as well.

Consider Online Investing

Investing money instead of just simply keeping it locked up into a savings account can prove to be one of the smartest financial steps you can take.

The money you keep in your savings account only depreciates in value year after year due to inflation. The money you have placed in investments has the chance, statistically speaking, to pile up into large amounts that will even make you rich.

Choose to invest in stocks, bonds, ETFs, cryptocurrency, or anything else you think will grow in value in the upcoming years. Every investment comes with risks, so be careful where you invest your money. 

Start a Youtube Toy Channel for Kids

This could be one of the funniest projects you’ll ever do. Not only will you get to relive your childhood by playing with awesome toys, but you can even start this channel with your children,

You can earn a lot of money through Youtube by filming kids’ toys unboxing videos, or simply by showing everybody how a toy works.

Well, what are you waiting for? Isn’t this one of the best ideas ever? Just remember to always buy the latest toys available on the market.

Start Making Crafts With Your Family

Not only will you have an awesome night making crafts together with your family, but you can also make a profit on websites like Etsy, or Facebook’s Marketplace. 

People are crazy for handmade stuff, especially if the crafts you have created are of quality and come attached with a nice story.

You can make anything from Christmas decorations to paintings. The only limit is your imagination. And your talent, of course.

Create Personalized T-Shirts and Sell Them Online

Instead of simply using your artistic talents for personal drawings, why not use it to make some extra money online.

Today, there are countless websites that offer you the opportunity to create T-Shirt designs and you’ll get paid every time your merchandise is being sold.

Your designs can be simple, original, and fresh, and you could wind up selling hundreds of T-Shirts designed by you, without having to invest in printing equipment. 

Write Original and Intriguing Stories

If reading is one of your passions, it’s about time you put that passion to the test. The test of making money online that is.

You can draw inspirations from the countless number of books you’ve read, and come up with your own stories.

After you’ve finished a story, turn it into an eBook and add it on Amazon, or on Blurb. If what you wrote gets a few good reviews, your book can really make it big in no time.

Become an Online Music Teacher

Everybody wants to learn how to play a musical instrument, even if it’s just for fun, or just until they learn a few basic tunes.

If you know how to play any instrument, consider placing an online ad for music lessons. People will definitely give it a shot, especially if you know how to make yourself stand out from the crowd.

You can even adjust your online schedule to teach more students at once, thus making a lot more money in the same amount of time.

Make Your Own Blog

If you’re passionate about things and you feel like writing short articles comes easy to you, then making your own blog is the thing to do.

Building a blog is easier than ever, with loads of platforms offering a drag and drop system for creating a website design, without any previous technical training.

You’ll start making money from the ads you’ll display on your pages, and a good place to start is to sign up for Google’s AdSense program. 

Consider Getting Into Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing can prove itself to be not just a part-time job, but the only job you’ll need if you start making thousands of dollars per month.

Basically, affiliate marketing works as follows. You join an affiliate marketing program like LikeToKnowIt, Amazon Associates, eBay Partner Network and any other program relevant in your area.

After that, you’ll receive affiliate links for products that you can place on your blog and start earning money for each visitor you send to their platforms. 

Start Online Proofreading

Online proofreaders can make a lot of money for correcting the texts they receive, especially if they know a very rare language or any other language than English.

Sure, you can make money proofreading English texts too, it’s just that languages like Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew, or Russian pay a lot more.

Join freelancing websites like Upwork and start racking up experience to earn even more money in time. 

Start a Podcast

If you love talking to your friends, or to any other person that has interesting stories to share, well, podcasting may be just the thing for you.

If you’ll start your own podcast, you’ll get to talk to interesting people about very fun and entertaining subjects in which they specialize. Not only that, but you can also discuss sports, politics and current events, based on how you want to shape your podcast. 

You’ll start earning money through the number of downloads your podcast episodes will receive, as well as through the ads you’ll have on your show. 

Test Your Skills On Freelancing Platforms

Can you edit videos? Are you a designer? Are you currently a copywriter and looking for something on the side? Well, freelancing platforms are waiting to welcome you with open hands

Platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, or 99designs.com will help you reach your full online money-making potential.

Sign up and start getting as many tasks as possible, in order to receive good reviews. This way your services will pop up higher in the platform’s search results. The higher you are, the more likely you’ll get more paid work.

Research, Buy and Sell Website Domain Names

This has got to be one of the easiest and fastest ways to make money online. It doesn’t matter what age group you belong to, because each age category has its own advantages.

If you’re a teenager you’ll know what your peers are into and you’ll know which domain names may trigger more interest. The same applies if you’re a young professional or a senior.

Once you buy a domain from websites like GoDaddy, for as little as $6, you can turn a huge profit if a company wants to buy your domain for their business. It’s just a matter of luck and inspiration.

Do Research For Other People Online

There are plenty of businesses out there that need people to do some research for their operations. One of the websites you can use to start landing jobs in this field is TaskRabbit.

You can start choosing the tasks you feel you are up to and begin conducting research for companies, based on their specific needs. 

All you have to do is to sign up for a free account and start promoting yourself so you’ll gain more visibility online. 

• For kids

Luckily for today’s kids, there are plenty of ways for them to make money online, with or without the help of their parents, or other adults. Let’s go into the 3 best ways to make money online as a child.

Build an Online Community

When you’re young and free, the most important thing in life is to hang out with your friends and to play games. 

Today, you can do so online, with other kids from all over the world. All you need to do is to build a community revolving around your core interests, hobbies and passions.

You can sign up to Patreon and receive monthly donations for other people that visit your community and want to support it. The more value you bring to that online community, the more money you’ll receive from your Patreons. 

Start an Online Gaming Streaming Channel

One of the most popular things in today’s online gaming world is streaming. Platforms like Twitch, Discord, or Youtube offer a large variety of streaming options for you to take advantage of as a kid.

Start recording yourself while you’re live playing and if people like what they see or they enjoy your style of play, they’ll keep sending cash donations your way.

If you’re already good at playing one online game, start with that and slowly build up your subscriber base.

Become a Social Media Influencer

Kids are using social networks today like kids from the past used Barbie dolls or toy trucks. It means that every kid has some sort of account registered on at least one social media platform.

If you start up young and promote yourself throughout your circle of friends, chances are that you could become a social media influencer in no time.

It’s just a matter of staying up to date with the subjects that trigger interest for your age group. If you also have showmanship, the sky’s the limit for your online earning potential. 

• For teens

The teenagers of today have an extremely focused entrepreneurial mindset and this has proven to give birth to hundreds of successful apps, like Snapchat, for example, and they have created various online trends.

Get an Online Internship

The first thing you could consider doing as a teen in order to earn some money is to sign up for any type of internship. 

You can choose a subject you’re passionate about or even something you’ve never heard about before.

Sure, you will not be paid a lot for the internship, and in some cases, you may not be paid at all, but the skills and lessons you’ll learn will definitely help you earn more money along the way, as your professional career develops.

Become an Online Tutor

As a teen, there are quite a few ways to make some extra cash online without too much effort on your side. 

You can start tutoring younger students online, as you already know the subjects they are currently learning. 

The more pupils you tutor online, the more money you will make, and you’ll also improve your teaching skills while you’re at it.

Pet Sit For Hourly or Daily Pay

People travel more and more these days and this has led to an abundance of websites for pet owners to post pet sitting ads on.

If you like animals, especially cats and dogs, because they are the ones you find the most, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t consider pet sitting for them.

You can even choose dog walking if you want, and you can request to be paid by the hour, by the day, or however you think serves you best.

Consider Going Down the Entrepreneurial Path

The digital world is definitely here to help all young and old entrepreneurs. It’s becoming easier and easier to find all the necessary resources online in order for you to start and promote a business.

There are many websites where you can ask for help, for sponsors and even for investors that will be willing to fund your idea, as long as they get a piece of the cake too. 

So, start writing a business plan and check out what other people think about it online. You’ll get a lot of constructive criticism and feedback which will help your entrepreneurial development.

Become an Online Trip Planner

There are a lot of people that have just started travelling and they don’t know all the ins and outs of this very enjoyable sector.

You can help plan trips for people that are looking to buy plane tickets, to find accommodation or travellers who are simply looking for more tips and tricks about a destination.

You’ll act as their very own travelling agency, at discount prices, and you’ll start learning the best websites for finding plane tickets and accommodation.

• For college students and young adults

College students and young adults are possibly the most advantaged category of them all, because they are the economic motor of today’s society. 

This is why this category can do almost any job online in order to get extra money.

Start Refurbishing Old Furniture

Sure, this activity requires talent, tools and expertise, but there are plenty of online tutorials and courses that will help you learn the basics of woodworking and furniture refurbishment.

You just need to have a large enough space to store, repair and sell all the furniture you are planning on refurbishing.

Also, you’ll need to promote yourself on Etsy, Facebook Marketplace and eBay, in order to make a name for your newly-developed brand.

Help People Write Better Resumes

You’d be surprised at the large number of people that are looking to change their job or to find a job and start working.

And what do all these people have in common? The need for a very dynamic and attractive resume that will make them stand out of the crowd. 

This is where you can step in to help, by creating better designs for resumes and writing catchier selling points for each person that needs your advice.

Become a Customer Service Expert

In order to become a customer support representative, all you need to do is to have a little patience to hear people out, and a very good microphone and headset.

If you have the patience and desire to work with people, there’s nothing standing in the way for you to become a freelance customer care representative.

Consider browsing freelancing websites in your search for the role of a customer service representative. The main advantage is that you get to choose when and who you work for.

Start Ride sharing

Uber, Lyft and Bolt are popular ride-sharing platforms and if you have a car, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t consider renting it out for a couple of hours a day. 

There are plenty of people with a driver’s license, but without a car, who want to make an extra dollar through ride-sharing platforms.

You can rent out your car in exchange for a percentage of their earnings, or for a flat fee. This way, your car will start producing money, instead of just being an extra monthly or weekly cost.

• For seniors

Although this is the age of retirement for most people, this doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy doing some online jobs from time to time, just to break the routine.

After all, that’s what keeps us young, right?

Consider Making Candy Bouquets

This may seem like something new, but a lot of people have started creating their own candy bouquets and they’re even making a pretty penny.

Candy bouquets are a nice and funny alternative to flowers, especially if the person you are planning on surprising is a nature lover. Why ruin a perfectly nice flower by cutting it and adding it to a bouquet?

Simply create an awesome candy bouquet and make a name for yourself online whenever someone has a special anniversary coming up.

Try Renting Out Your Unused Living Spaces

If you’re a senior, chances are that you have a lot of unused living space since the kids have all moved out, or went away to college.

So why let that extra space go to waste when you can earn a pretty penny by renting it out on Booking, AirBnb, or OwnersDirect?

The money you’ll earn in a year will definitely pay for a nice vacation or even a nice cruise around the world.

Try Renting Out Your Extra Driveway Space

Like we’ve mentioned in the previous subpoint, you probably have a lot of unused driveway space since you don’t have a lot of cars to park.

Platforms like Boxcar are a perfect place for people with extra space to meet people in need of space to park their boats or store their motorcycles for the winter.

You could earn a very nice monthly rent for your free driveway space, so give this option a shot if you want some extra dollars in your retirement account. 

Conclusion

To sum everything we’ve written in the ultimate guide for freelancers and entrepreneurs, the digital age is only going to continue to grow and more and more job opportunities will focus strictly on the online sector. Given that more and more money making opportunities will pop-up online, it’s about time you jumped on this train.

Remember, you should always start with something you like. Try to analyze what you enjoy doing, either as a passion, or as a hobby, and if you’re good at it, try to write down a business plan to see if it’s a feasible way of making money.

Go over every single detail before you invest money into your passion and don’t be afraid to start off small. All of today’s big businesses, like Amazon, PayPal, and Facebook, started off in garages, dorm rooms and home offices.

Adding the current state of the constantly expanding digital network to your advantage, there’s nothing that can stand between you and your passion if you really want to start making money online. Well, what’s the first thing you’ll do?