23 Unusual Ways To Make Money Online
As the cost of living rises, many of us are looking to boost our finances a little with some extra money earned on the side. If you already have a part-time job, you can make some extra cash with some simple, quick methods online, or if you have more time you can start a full-blown side hustle to push your earnings up to a healthier place.
As the cost of living rises, many of us are looking to boost our finances a little with some extra money earned on the side. If you already have a part-time job, you can make some extra cash with some simple, quick methods online, or if you have more time you can work on a hustle fully to push your earnings up to a healthier place.
1. Online surveys
There are hundreds of sites across the internet that will pay you for filling in online surveys. Most of these surveys are for market research and are very easy to fill in. Join a survey site and set up email alerts so you’re first to know when a survey goes live. After you’ve earned enough to cash out, most of these sites offer the choice between actual money or vouchers for online retailers.
2. Get paid to search the internet
Add a plugin to your web browser from Qmee, and you can get paid just for making searches on Bing, Google, Yahoo and other search engines. You won’t pay the mortgage this way, but it is an easy way to earn some extra money just for using the internet as you usually would. You can choose to keep your earnings or donate them to charity.
3. Review websites and apps
There are a few sites online that will reward you for looking at other sites and apps and offering your feedback. If you’re already web savvy, this doesn’t have to be a time-consuming activity. When you have a spare ten minutes, check a website or an app, and write up a quick review to earn some easy money.
4. Start an online casino
Are you a bit of a whizz at casino games or a fan of games of chance? Take your hobby online and use casino software to set up your own tables online. Like any risky game, this isn’t going to make you rich overnight, but it is a fun alternative online business to the usual suggestion of starting a blog to make money from advertising.
5. Sell Disney movies
Disney keeps demand for its DVDs high by keeping certain movies in ‘the vault’ and only releasing them for general sale once every few years. Take a look through your collection and see if you have any unwanted Disney movies on DVD that are currently in the vault. If you have, you can sell them online for a tidy profit. You can also snap up classics when you see them for sale at a cheap price, and then wait until demand is high again to sell them on for a higher price.
6. Get paid for online tasks
Like online surveys, there are lots of sites willing to pay for completing tasks online. These tasks could include watching certain videos, getting insurance quotes, or signing up for trial periods of services. As with the surveys, you usually get the choice of cashing out with a bank transfer, PayPal or online vouchers.
7. Become a delivery rider or driver
Got a bike, a motorbike or a car? Got a smartphone? You can become a delivery rider or driver for food delivery services like Deliveroo or UberEats. Just log onto your app when you’re ready to work and earn side money. You can set your own hours to fit the work around a day job or other demands on your time.
8. Write an eBook
Good with words and know a lot about a subject? Whether you’re a wizard with WordPress or have lots of ideas for indoor games for kids, you can write an eBook. Sell your creation on your own website, or put it on Amazon as a download for Kindle. Anyone can set up as a seller on Amazon and publishing on Kindle is easy. Keep your price low and write a keyword researched description of your book to attract more buyers.
9. Affiliate marketing
If you have a successful blog, website or social media presence, you can earn some reasonable money through affiliate marketing. All you do is include links to products you would have been talking about anyway, and when someone clicks through using your link, a cookie is stored in their browser. If they make a purchase, you earn some commission. If you have a large following who trust you, this can be a great way to boost your earnings, especially if you recommend high value products like technology or electronics.
10. Buy and sell domain names
With some research, you can find unclaimed domain names and buy them in seconds. Premium domain names can sell for thousands, so this can be a very lucrative method of money making, if you know what you’re doing.
11. Sell unwanted books, CDs, games and DVDs
Lots of online sites will buy these from you, and you can earn a reasonable amount of money and clear out more space at home at the same time. Many of these sites have apps, which means you can scan the barcodes on the items you want to sell, making listing them all much easier and quicker. If you have popular or rare items, earnings can really add up.
12. Create an online course
If you’re knowledgeable about a subject, whether it’s DIY or web design, you can create a course online on a variety of sites. The bonus is, once you’ve set it up, you can earn an income without having to do anything. This passive income source is a great way to share your skills and make some cash.
13. Sell your photos
If you can take a decent picture, you can sell your images online. Stock image sites are easy to get set up on and you can make easy money. You could also sell images on sites like Flickr. Aim for high demand pictures with low competition to make the best money.
14. Rent out your parking space
If you live near a popular tourist destination, large shopping centres or concert venue, list your parking space or driveway on a rental site. If parking is tight around you, you’re sure to be able to rent it out easily, and don’t need to do anything besides list the space. You don’t even need to be there to greet people, as they can just park up.
15. Become a peer to peer lender
Set up as lender on a peer to peer loan website. Choose a site which offers a guarantee to pay you if a borrower makes a late repayment so you don’t end up out of pocket. You can earn some money from the interest on your loans.
16. Sell your stories
If you’ve had something unusual or funny happen to you, you might be able to sell your story to a newspaper or magazine for their website. Maybe you once went on a date with someone famous or had a funny accident at work. You can net some easy money by sharing your tale. Lots of these sites will buy pictures too, so snap away if you spy a famous person on the train, or are present at a newsworthy event.
17. Make YouTube videos
If you’re confident in front of the camera, make YouTube videos. You could make Let’s Play videos of your favourite games, do beauty tutorials, or review books. Whatever you do, monetise your channel with adverts to earn some revenue.
18. Get paid to view adverts
Try web browser Brave, which will pay you if you don’t run an ad blocker. It works just like a normal browser, doesn’t track your web activity and will pay up if you allow them to run adverts on sites you visit. You’ll earn just by going about your usual web activity.
19. Narrate audiobooks
If you have acting experience or a voice that people seem to like listening to, you can earn money by reading and recording audiobooks. There are several sites where you can sign up to do this, and all you’ll need is somewhere to record and a decent microphone.
20. Transcribe audio
Lots of professionals record audio notes or their meetings. Journalists, lawyers, doctors and academics may record several interviews in a day. Transcription is time consuming, so lots of people will happily pay for someone else to do it. If you have a specialism or training in an industry like law or medicine, you can earn even more for your transcription services.
21. Proofread articles
If you have a good eye for detail and are skilled in spelling and grammar, you can offer your services to students, writers and journalists as a proof-reader. Proofread articles, books or essays to start earning a reasonable hourly rate.
22. Become a travel consultant
If you love to travel, and always know how to find the best deals for flights, hotels and trips, you can sell your expertise as a freelance travel consultant. Set up a website and start charging people your advice and travel tips.
23. Rent your clothes
If you have an enviable wardrobe, you can rent out your clothes via online sites. Most popular items would be dresses for special occasions, like black tie, as most people don’t have these and don’t always want to buy if they won’t wear it again.