So let’s say you don’t want a business. You don’t want to earn money while you sleep. You don’t want to double or even triple your existing income while working half or less time.
Instead, you want to earn a few extra dollars this month. Maybe you want to go on vacation or you want to buy that new plasma TV. Or maybe you need some money fast but in all cases, you’re not committed to this long term, you want a quick and easy buck.
How can you do this?
Let’s cover a few options.
To make it simple for you, let’s have rules.
First, it can’t take you over ten hours a week. This is the maximum allowed. Also, it is preferably under $100 for your investment. I assume you already have a laptop and an Internet connection.
Not all are fit for you.
Some require specialized skills and some may not fit your personality. But if you want several low or no cost ways to earn an extra buck using the Internet, this is the list to read.
Option #1 – Become An Online Writer
You can find with ease people who need articles, blog posts, eBooks and content. Your job here is to write about the topics they need.
If you’re passionate about writing or about a specific topic, it is a good way to go. This is especially good if you are an expert into some niche, like martial arts or repairing iPads. This means you’re far more likely to find good gigs to fulfill.
The pay is not amazing but you can get $15 to $20 for every 1000 words written. It is low because there are many writers and third world countries are pushing the price down. But if you love writing and you’d write no matter what, out of sheer passion, you may as well be paid to do it.
You can find jobs on sites like UpWork and Warrior Forum for free. You can also pay for access to some job boards although I don’t see why you’d do that, there are many free options.
Option #2 – Work as a VA or administrative assistant.
In this role, you do a lot of things for another online entrepreneur. It’s not a glamorous job but if you have no particular skill, then you can take this route.
You can expect to be paid somewhere between $5 and $10 per hour, maybe more if you can bring something unique to the table. A VA does everything from market research to answering emails to writing short articles. It’s a jack of all trades job and while I think you can earn more money flipping burgers at McDonalds, it suits some people.
For example, if you’re retired or on a medical holiday or stay at home mother / father, a temporary VA job can be good. It allows you to earn extra money and gives you something to do.
Option #3 – Teach English online.
Yes, again, not the most glamorous job but it pays $20 per hour. I have met many Europeans living in Asia and funding their entire trip by teaching English on Skype.
There are even English schools that hire teachers to work from home. Your job is to talk with someone in English and to teach him or her some ideas. Your marketplace will be mostly Chinese / Taiwanese / Korean / Japanese but you can find customers of all nationalities.
It pays better than doing VA work but if you don’t love languages and helping people, it can become very frustrating, fast.
Option #4 – Do Transcriptions.
Another low paying online gig but for this one you require no skills. All you have to do is transcribe from audio sources. From what I’ve seen online, you’ll be earning about $5 to $10 per hour (not per hour of transcription but per hour of work).
Most customers come from the legal and insurance field where having transcriptions of conversations is required.
Option #5 – Do Graphic Design.
If you are good with Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and other photo manipulation packages, then you can earn good money. This is also true for video editing as I hire graphic designers and video editors and I pay quite a lot for them.
Your options here range. You can go to 99 Designs and “auction” against others, providing a spec copy and hope you’ll be selected. You can go to freelancing boards and apply to jobs there. Or you can even offer something on Fiverr, something you can do in a minute or two. Five bucks each time is not much but if the job is easy, then it can make sense.
Option #6 – Work on Fiverr.
If Fiverr sounds like a joke, I don’t blame you. But I’ve been there lately to buy something and I’ve seen gigs in the $5000 and $10.000 area. Fiverr has stopped being a $5 marketplace a long time ago. Most of the gigs that make sense there are way above that price.
The rule here is to start with a low end package, something you can deliver with ease. Then you add upsells for faster delivery or copyright or whatever else makes sense. Soon your five-minute gig that used to cost $5 now costs $40, and it takes a bit more to deliver.
Don’t make fun of Fiverr. I know people earning $15.000 – $20.000 / month only through this platform.
Option #7 – Get on Patreon.
Patreon is basically a site that allows people to support creatives, especially video publishers and writers. It eliminates the need to create your own funnel and your own payment system.
If you have a blog, you can be on Patreon and others can donate money to you or pay for exclusive access. This works if you have an established audience. It’s like when you pay for HBO, you pay an extra $5 per month to get access to all those movies.
Patreon makes it possible for content creators to get paid for their stuff without using Google AdSense, without affiliate marketing and the hassle of doing all of this themselves. Plus, you’ll get exposure and draw donations directly from the site.
So what method is right for you?
Let’s be honest, most of these make no sense if you have a high-paying job. Even if you’re unemployed, it makes more sense to just find something that pays a decent wage. However, if you love doing it or you want to learn more about IM, then you can try them.
My advice is that instead of looking to earn an extra buck, to actually build an online business. This is because you’ll work very hard for that $250 per month extra but you’ll find it a lot easier to earn $2.500 or $25.000 when you do things right.
It doesn’t pay to aim low, especially in online marketing.
Best regards,
Imran
