How to Make Money Online: 19 Ways to Earn Extra Cash

A bit of extra cash never goes astray. And in the current climate, economic circumstances are more unstable than ever. One option is to use the magic of the internet to generate a bit of extra money. You can take two approaches here: make money fast, or make a lot of money over a longer term.

Yes, internet money is a real thing. We’ve done the research for you and curated two lists of legitimate ways to make money online.

There are a lot of scams out there, so be wary. You should never have to provide your credit card details, and a good rule of thumb is: you should never have to pay to work. 

Need ideas for a side hustle? Whether you’re after something that will earn you cash straight away, or you’re playing the long game, this list of 102 side hustle will help you choose the best one for you.

Need money now? Want to make some extra cash online during the to tide you through a tough time? We’ve curated a list of legitimate ways to make money at home during coronavirus lockdown. We’ve also compared them based on how much you can make and how fast you’ll get paid.

For most people, the easiest way to make money online quickly is doing user testing for websites, combined with participating in market research. It’s one of the best earners without having to start your own business. That’s because it’s:

If you want to make a lot of money over a longer timeframe, build a passive income stream, or transition into a full-time gig, then getting a side hustle or starting your own business online is going to be a better choice for you. Read on for more easy ways to make money and longer-term online business ideas.

We’ve gathered info on some quick return methods so you can compare rates – and how fast you’ll get your money – in one glance.

These range sites where you complete random online tasks, to focus groups where you can earn upwards of $150 for a single one-hour session. Some of the better-earning options, like freelancing or being a virtual assistant, could even evolve into a quality part-time job or side-hustle, or even a full-time job.

User testing is a service that tech and product companies use to collect data on how people use their websites, apps, or products. Once you sign up, you’ll receive alerts for new testing jobs that you’re eligible for.

All you need to have is an internet connection and a microphone (most laptops will have one built in). In a typical job, you will be asked to complete a task on someone’s website or app while speaking your thoughts aloud, explaining why you are making certain decisions and what catches your attention.

Doing a test can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on the site, and you can earn anywhere from $10 to $60 (or more if you get lucky).

If you’re going to take this approach, I’d recommend signing up with multiple sites, as availability of testing jobs is the main bottleneck to earning here.

Jump to the comparison table to see your options.

If you have a marketable skill like design, digital marketing, or coding, or you’ve got a background in business administration, this could be your best bet.

If you’re able to work fast and effectively, you can earn a pretty decent rate with online platforms such as Upwork and Freelancer, and sometimes Airtasker.

If you’re a creative, it will probably be less than you can make if you are an established freelancer. Competition is fierce on international online platforms, and there can be a race to the bottom.

The outlook is somewhat better for virtual assistants, and you can expect to make around $27/hr. Prices are often fixed for a certain amount of work, so it’s up to you to figure out how much you can get done and whether it will be worth it. Being a virtual assistant can be a great side hustle at any time, if you want to work from home or make some extra cash.

Jump to the comparison table to see your options.

Airtasker is an online platform where people post odd jobs, and you can offer to do them. These jobs range from small writing jobs for websites, admin, design, marketing and more. It’s not an online-only platform, but there are plenty of digital-only tasks that you can complete online.

When you start out, focus on one type of job, and tackle smaller tasks first to garner some reviews. Price bidding can be fierce, but true to your worth, and don’t go too low on prices, as Airtasker takes a 20% cut of your earnings. 

Earnings on Airtasker can range from a couple of hundred a month for the occasional odd job, to $1500 a month if you spend a large amount of time completing jobs.

Filling out online surveys may not make you lots of money at once, but if you stick with it, you can make a bit extra that could help you cover the cost of a big bag of rice and some lentils – the food of choice for coronavirus lockdown! Or perhaps to treat yourself with something nice and non-essential.

You’ll most often get paid with gift cards, but some sites will pay you into your PayPal account directly. Again, hedging your bets is a good tactic here. Sign up to lots of websites and apps.

All you need to do is fill out quick surveys, many of which can be done on your phone.

Jump to the comparison table to see your options.

These random assortments of tasks can be quite fun, but tend to pay less than the other options. That being said, the small amounts do add up over time, so persistence can pay off.

Tasks can range from anything like searching the web, playing games, watching videos, reading emails, and getting money back when you online shop. This last one’s a bit more dubious – shopping to get paid seems somewhat counterproductive if you’re already struggling, but hey, it’s an option if you’re into that. These sites often pay you in gift cards, which you can redeem at many major retailers.

Jump to the comparison table to see your options.

Do you have a marketable skillset – like graphic design, writing, bookkeeping, digital marketing, or coding? Do you have a background in business administration? Then freelancing online could be your best bet. It does take a little longer to start earning than the first two, but you can earn a lot of money, and it can even be a springboard to going full-time freelance.

If you’re able to work fast and effectively you might start out with online platforms such as Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, and sometimes Airtasker.

However, if you use these platforms your earnings will probably be less than you can make as an independent freelancer. Pricing competition is fierce on international online marketplaces, which often results in a race to the bottom. So, you may want to reach out to your network through LinkedIn and let them know you’re open to freelance work.

If you have a chunk of capital available to you, and you don’t mind a bit of risk, investing in stock markets can be a good way to earn extra money. For an easy option, you can use an online share trading platform such as IG Share Trading, eToro, Bell Direct, or CMC Markets.

The outlook is only getting better for virtual assistants, and you can expect to make around $27/hr. Prices are often fixed for a certain amount of work, so it’s up to you to figure out how much you can get done and whether it will be worth it. Being a virtual assistant can be a great side hustle at any time, if you want to work from home or make some extra cash.

Bit of a music buff? Got a flair for writing? Slice the pie could be a fun, fast way to make some extra cash, which you can withdraw to your PayPal immediately.

You get paid to review anonymous songs, mostly, but also products and merch. The better your reviews, the better you get paid, and as you build up a good rating your prices will improve.

While affiliate marketing is one of the most profitable passive income games around, it can take a lot of time to start making proper money – think six months to a couple of years.

Steps:

1. Purchase a domain name
2. Buy hosting
3. Design your own website using a free WordPress theme
4. Use Google Keyword Planner to find what people are searching for, and plan your articles around that
5. Write high quality content
6. Sign up for Google Adsense and other affiliate programs.

Here are some platforms you can use to get started with affiliate partnerships.

• Impact
• Commission Factory
• Rakuten Linkshare
• ClixGalore
• Commission Junction
• Affiliate Window
• Click Bank

Again, if you don’t mind investing some capital, you can watch out for expiring domain names and buy them up, also known as ‘drop catching’. A company will then have to pay you for their negligence in letting the domain slip – sometimes to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Or, if it’s a generic domain name that gets lots of searches, then companies may bid on it for the amount of web traffic it will bring them.

A popular site for catching domains is drop.com.au.

You can set up an eBay, Etsy or Amazon shop fairly easily, identify items that may sell well or that are trending, buy or make these items, and put them up for sale. For instance, masks have been a notable new niche in the pandemic. 

Be aware that all these platforms charge fees, so you’ll need to get your sales up reasonably high or have a decent profit margin if you’re going to make any kind of decent money.

It’s not limited to these platforms, either.

If you can find a topic you’re passionate about, chances are there’s an audience for it. This can also be a fantastic avenue for younger people to make some extra money. The main challenge lies in creating content that will engage people. Often that means taking a new, unique angle, speaking with passion, and finding a fun format with frequent surprises or breaks so as to keep your audience’s attention.

If you start a podcast that people really love, you can then earn revenue from it either through ads, or through creating a Patreon account and gaining subscribers.

This is a long-term strategy, because it will take a while to create enough content, build a reputation, and attract a fanbase.

Do you have sway in the world of social media? Do you have more than 10,000 followers? Do you run a popular blog? Here are a few ideas for monetising your passion:

• Influencers can promote a product or service in a post 
• Bloggers can do sponsored posts, i.e. product reviews for brands.
• Bloggers can host ads on their site

While it can take 1-2 years to build content, a solid brand, and a following, there is the potential to take blogging full-time or use it as a springboard into a writing or content creating career.

Do you know a lot about a particular area? Are you a subject matter expert? Then you can create an online course. It’s an easy option now that there are a wide range of online platforms like Udemy, Teachable, Podia, and Learnworlds available. 

To make your online course successful, you will probably need to do quite a bit of marketing at the beginning, but you may be able to automate this later on, giving you the potential to earn a decent passive income.

Unlike online courses, tutoring focuses on teaching a particular skill or subject area one-on-one. This could also potentially include running webinars with small groups, which give you the opportunity to make money more quickly, rather than seeing several individual students.

This can be great if you have experience in teaching, or if you’re very skilled or knowledgeable in a particular area. For example, if you’ve been an accountant, you may be able to mentor people studying for a CPA exam online. If you’re fantastic at an instrument, you could do online lessons with students.