10 Easy Ways How to Make Money Online for Beginners

Posted onJanuary 10, 2019AuthorBloggingWP.com - Wordpress Blogging

Do you need some extra cash? Americans earns money online. Imagine finding a way to earn money in your pajamas or sitting on your couch watching TV.

There are many easy ways to make money online, just find something you will enjoy doing. Here’s a handy guide on how to make money online for beginners.

1. There’s an App For That

There are several apps out there to help you complete jobs, do simple tasks, or deliver a service. These apps are a great connection to people in your area. All the marketing is done for you — you just open the apps on your free time.

 like Uber or Lyft to give someone a ride on your time. You can also use apps for rebates on your grocery purchases like Ibotta or rewards for online purchases on apps like eBates.

You can also find babysitting or pet sitting jobs with Care.com. Like dogs? You could walk dogs with apps like Wag.

2. Start a YouTube Channel

You can earn money with your own YouTube channel. The key is thinking of a topic and get a big following. There are  on YouTube, but it takes a lot of time and followers.

You probably won’t earn much. The key to making money on YouTube is to get sponsored posts. It’s best to start this as a fun way to earn a little cash until your channel grows.

3. Search Existing Web Sites

There are companies that hire people to work remotely. Search sites like Craigslist, AngelList, FlexJobs, and Indeed for remote postings. These sites update daily, so be sure to check out the listings.

You can become a virtual assistant, freelance writer, or get into . Several companies hire customer service representatives and call center reps to work from home. You just need a dedicated office and a high-speed Internet connection.

With a little research, you can give up your daily commute. Some job sites may make you pay a monthly fee, but these sites screen the companies and jobs.

4. Start a Blog

Do you like to write? If so, you should consider creating an entertaining and fun blog on the topic of your choice. Blogging is a pretty easy way to make money online. You just need to find the right niche and target your content to that niche.

You make your  by pay-per-click links (like Google AdWords), affiliate links, and backlinks. You can build your own offers after you pick a profitable niche and catchy domain name. It’s up to you to keep content updated regularly and add courses, eBooks, email newsletters, etc.

5. Take Surveys

Give your opinion to make a little extra money. Research companies are always looking for new members to answer a few questions or try new products.

Some websites pay cash while others will pay reward points you can earn toward a gift card of your choice.  

You can also review websites and give your opinion on sites like Usertesting.com. You will give your opinions on various websites to see if they are easy to use or need navigation updates.

6. Sell Your Stuff

Whether you have old household items laying around or make a special product, you can sell online with big powerhouse sites like eBay, Amazon, or Etsy (for handmade products). 

You can also create your own storefront with sites like Shopify. You just need to find a way to advertise your products through social media, search engine optimization, and other channels.

You can even sell your photos or videos. Companies will purchase your original photos to use as stock images. Check out sites like Getty Images or Adobe Stock.

7. Promote Businesses on Social Media or Affiliate Programs

Some major retailers will pay you to promote their business on your blog, website, or social media site. They may pay you with either cash or gift cards.

If you have a blog or website, you can also make money by affiliations with other companies and websites. These businesses will pay you a percentage of a sale made for sales you generate with a click on your site.

8. Online Teaching

Do you have a talent you could teach others? You could create webinars. First, you need to have a website and followers.

You could teach anything such as writing, cooking, fitness training, or marketing. There are platforms like Teachable or GoToWebinar to help you get started on an online platform.

This could take some time to earn money. Keep at it and reach out to other bloggers, businesses, and websites to add affiliate links to bring people to you. Of course, you will have to share some of the sale with the business, but it takes time to build up your clientele.

9. Internet Crowdsourcing

The Internet makes it easier to connect with companies and people all over the world. Crowdsourcing companies pay you to complete short tasks. Most of these tasks include research, data entry, ad review, and filling out forms. 

Check out companies like Amazon Mechanical Turk or Appen Global. You can also find more regular ad evaluator jobs with companies like Lionbridge, Leapforce, and even Google.

10. Mystery Shopping

There are agencies that pay you to visit shops or restaurants and provide feedback. You can be rewarded with cash, gift cards, and more. Some agencies will also reimburse you for your purchase along with paying you for your time.

These shopping trips can be fun and get you to try new things. You can select which jobs you want based on location. 

More on How to Make Money Online for Beginners

Most of these gigs won’t get you a lot of money right away. They are great ways to make income on the side, but with some hard work, you can leave the rat race and work for yourself.

If you are looking for more information on how to make money online for beginners, check out our blog for some . You can also find ways to grow and 

Categories

Post navigation

Read More

Making Money from Home: Expectations vs. Reality

You’ve always wanted to work from home, you quit your 9 to 5 job and start a career from home. You’re hoping to make much more than your previous job, but after a while, you’re struggling to eke by.

I’m not talking about those “get rich quick schemes”, those will ultimately fail anyway. I mean the legitimate jobs and side hustles we discuss frequently on FFL. There’s a discrepancy between what we expect and the honest reality of working from home.

Let’s look at ten different expectations vs. realities of working from home:

1. Exaggerated Earnings

All the income figures reported in Frugal for Less articles are either carefully researched or reported by the writers what they have experienced themselves.

However, there are articles out there that do exaggerate their earnings. Such as those “I earned $3,650 blogging last month” income reports floating around the internet.

This particular blogger claims to earn through sponsorships, freelance writing, and advertising, plus having two other income streams – affiliate marketing and selling online courses.

Who knows, this figure may be true for that blogger, but when I started my blog with the hope of earning a self-sustaining living, after 5 years I wasn’t even making $3,000 a year let alone in a month.

So, be aware that what someone claims to make may either be exaggerated, or works for that particular person and may not work for you. Do your homework and learn as much as you can about your specific field to be successful yourself.

2. Your Efforts

There’s a quote – “What you put into life is what you get out of it” by Clint Eastwood.

This simply means how much work and effort you put into your work from home job is how much it will be successful. Are you treating it like an actual career or as a hobby?

If you think working from home means being able to sleep past noon, work for only a few hours and then go off and enjoy yourself – you’re going to wonder why it’s not working out.

You may think that escaping the rat race and the 40+ hours a week is awesome – no more company policies, office politics, co-workers to tolerate, relentless daily routine, long hours and the dreadful commute.

Sure, there won’t be any more policies, office politics, or commute, but you will need to have a new tedious daily routine and to put in long hours to be successful too.

The reality is you need to learn to manage your day-to-day routine and put more effort into making your work from home endeavors a success.

3. Work from Anywhere

Who else thought that working from home meant being able to take your laptop anywhere and work? Having visions of sitting in your favorite coffee shop, out on the deck, or from a lawn chair at the beach?

The problem with this is all the different distractions. How much work will you actually get done? How “professional” will you sound on the phone when there’s background noise happening – like kids screaming and playing?

It actually helps productivity to work in a different location, but only once in a while. The occasional change of scenery boosts our creativity and drive, but doing it too often and for too long actually starts having the opposite effect.

It’s best to have a designated home office where you can have everything you need within reach and schedule work hours to concentrate on what needs to get done. Save the outings for breaks and weekends.

4. Personality Type

Your personality type will greatly influence how successful you can be.

Are you a Type A or Type B? Are you extroverted or introverted? Are you a self-starter or do you need direction?

As you can imagine, the type of personality you have is going to determine how you approach work and even how you’ll approach potential customers.

Let’s say you want to make a little money selling Avon. The minimum order must be $50 per campaign. So, on a $50 order, your profit margin would be 20% which is $10

An extroverted, type A personality who’s able to approach people, recruit new team members, host many parties and such, could possibly make $6,000 a month.

But if you’re shy and introverted and only relying on leaving catalogs in random places or sharing your online site is not going to be as successful.

Be truthful to yourself when deciding on your home career and ask yourself if you really can accomplish the steps needed to be an effective business.

5. Matching your Capabilities

This closely follows #4 and also influences how much success you will have in your remote job.

Being honest on what you’re actually capable of doing goes a long way in picking what new career you want to have. For example, if you’re uncomfortable talking to strangers then a sales job with a lot of cold calling would not fit you.

I can use myself as an example – I’m Deaf and optimistically thought I would be successful working as a bank teller but after six months of frustration with struggling to lipread all day and frequent communication errors I had to admit that this job wasn’t for me.

So I decided to work from home, after searching around I know I’m not going to be successful as a home transcriber, heh. I did end up finding work that fits my skills and capabilities.

I currently work as a freelance writer and online sign language tutor and am loving it.

Maybe a good way to look at potential professions is not by job title or potential earnings, but by your interests, personality, and abilities.

6. You’re going Solo

Was the idea of working by yourself a strong motivator to work from home? No more needing to entertain co-workers’ idle chit-chat, no more waiting on someone to finish their part of an assignment and no more competition.

It’s just you, your laptop and the freedom of your own control and decision-making.

Sounds awesome right? Until reality sets in and you realize your “network” harder to upkeep, you start doubting the decisions you’ve made or find out you’re unskilled in a particular area of your job. These can be real confidence killers.

Again, you should take into consideration your personality type, your level of confidence, and your overall experience in deciding what remote field you want to be successful in.

You can start a new network of contacts, find a trusted confidant to bounce ideas off of and learn and improve your skills to match the work needed.

Going solo should be an exciting adventure to pursue but as long as you have the right “tools” in place.

7. Money Flow

There’s an expectation that once you start working for yourself or start the perfect business, the money will start rolling in and you’ll have more money than your previous 9 to 5 paycheck.

This expectation ties in with #1 – exaggerated earnings, and #2 – your efforts.

The reality is that you’re not going to be getting a steady paycheck. No matter how consistent you are -the real challenge is with everyone else.

You remember I mentioned I’m a freelance writer? I get most of my writing gigs on Upwork, at one time I was working for eight different clients all at once, sounds great doesn’t it?

The reality was that only one client was consistent with work every week, one client was sporadic and would only give a bunch of work every 3 or 4 weeks, but a few clients stopped responding after several post submissions.

I actually had to file a dispute with one to get them to pay up and then end the contract. It’s really a hit-and-miss business sometimes.

Even if you’re not a freelancer, there’ll be times when you’re working without pay – setting up your websites, creating courses, marketing yourself, networking and contacting potential clients, and other tasks in the beginning stages of your business.

Now mind you I chose to only work part-time, but you can have steady success as a freelancer – just keep your expectations a little more conventional and reasonable.

8. Stay at Home Parenting

Maybe your motivation for a work from home job is to be closer to family and raise your kids. That’s a great incentive and for the most part can be a successful one.

I said “for the most part” because if you’re not strict with keeping a dedicated work schedule and are not easily distracted, this won’t work out.

Trust me as a mom of two there’s always going to be another load of laundry, another fight to break up, another mess, another nap (for you too), and on and on. I didn’t start my freelance career until the kids were teenagers!

It is possible to work from home successfully with children around, but this again depends on your personality type and actual dedication to your career.

9. Will Get So Much Done at Home

Working from home means I can get more stuff done around the house. I’ll be able to do all the chores, all the repairs, shopping when I want to, take the kids to activities and so much more!

Can you wait until I stop laughing first, please?

The truth is you’re pretty much going to be tied to your desk working and you’ll be lucky if you find something decent for lunch – because you actually didn’t have time to go grocery shopping.

You end up telling yourself “I’ll do it after this spreadsheet”, or “I’ll go after I finish answering these emails” and other excuses you tell yourself.

Again, it’s all about having good discipline, being a successful planner, and learning great project management skills.

10. I Keep What I Earn

Perhaps you thought that whatever you’ll make from home is all yours. No more federal and state deductions, union fees, company fees and so on.

That would be nice if it were true, but the cold hard reality is that you may end up earning less than you think.

First, there’s the self-employed income tax you need to report and that takes out the deductions that would’ve been taken out of your employment check anyway.

Then there’s having to pay for your own health insurance and retirement savings that your employer may have been covering for you.

There are also many costs associated with your remote job – internet fees, home office expenses, marketing expenses and so forth. Yes, some of this is deductible on your taxes, but that happens a year later and actually doesn’t help in the current moment.

Calculating all your working expenses for each project you’re working on and passing those costs onto the client is a great way to defer these costs.

Final Thoughts

It’s great to dream about being your own boss, nothing wrong with that at all, the trouble lies with having high expectations – for both the job and for yourself.

Some great tips on having a successful work from home job include:

• Get organized – Keeping things organized helps your productivity and ability to work faster.
• Have a designated workspace – Try and create a true working space with minimum distraction.
• Plan your day – Create blocks of time to complete everything and stick to it.
• Be computer and tech-savvy – Since most of your work would be done on a computer, it helps to know how all the different programs and technology works. (Also saves money by not having to hire out for specific tasks).
• Avoid distractions – Schedule your work when it’s quiet and eliminate other distractions when possible.
• Balance work and home life – Tell clients you are only available between a set time (and charge more for after hours). Tell your family and friends the same for your working hours.
• Take breaks – Do take reasonable breaks throughout the day, get out of the house, run an errand, change tasks.
• Continue learning – Keep brushing up on your skills, add new skills to your repertoire, stay fresh.

Just remember, if having a work from home job was easy and effortless to be successful – everyone would be doing it.

Want some ideas for working from home?

Read More

13 Easy Side Hustles I Do To Make An Extra $300+/Month In Extra Cash

Looking for some quick and easy side hustles to earn some extra cash?

This past year I’ve been working through multiple side hustles to make extra money.

After countless successes and failures, I’ve finally narrowed it down to a personal list of 13 that actually work without too much time and effort.

The best part?

For most of these, no experience is required and they are all 100% FREE to get started.

While not all of the 13 items on this list will work for everyone, hopefully you can at least take a few away and start earning a substantial side income in your spare time.

With that said, let’s get started with this list of the 13 side hustles I do to make an extra $300 per month in extra cash.

1. Get Paid to Share Your Opinion

Online surveys have always helped me out when I’m in a jam.

While they don’t pay as much as the other side hustle items found on this list, you can healthily earn an extra $10 per hour online just by sharing your opinion.

All of these sites are completely free to join and don’t require any credit card information.

Not only that, but a lot of them give you sign-up bonuses just for registering as a new member.

Sometimes you’ll find that for whatever reason a survey site may not pay you as much as it will someone else, most likely due to your demographics.

For this reason, I highly recommend trying out a few survey sites and then deciding which ones work best for you. From there you can stick to the higher-paying ones.

Here’s a short list of some of our top 5 favorites:

• Survey Junkie (earn up to $50+ per survey)
• Swagbucks ($5 registration bonus)
• Vindale Research ($1 sign-up bonus)
• Pinecone Research (flat $3 per survey)
• Springboard America (some of the highest-paid surveys on the web)

If you’re looking for even more survey sites to complete, take a look at this list of our best survey sites.

2. Blog Your Way To Hundreds or Thousands Per Month

Blogging is how Frugal For Less makes a living. I’m able to make a full-time income working from my computer and writing about content I enjoy.

While you most likely won’t be able to make thousands to begin with, blogging can be a great way to start your side hustle and slowly work your way up.

In order to get stared with blogging, you need a domain and a host.

If you’re not familiar with these terms, the domain is essentially the URL of your site (in this case, www.frugalforless.com), and hosting is where all of your web files are stored.

For both a domain and hosting service we recommend using Bluehost. This is because you get your domain FREE your first year.

Not only that, but we’ve partnered with Bluehost to give you a special deal of just $3.95/monthwhen you sign-up using our link.

This means that you can host a blog your first year for just under $50!

Here are some other great blogging tools that may be of interest:

• DIY Theme – Choose from top themes for a professional look
• ConvertKit – Email marketing service to reach your fans
• NameCheap – If you want to get your domain from a place other than Bluehost

Still lost on how to setup a new blog? Be sure to check out our 7 steps to starting a successful blog.

3. Teach English As A Second Language Online (TESOL)

If you enjoy teaching but aren’t actually a teacher – or even if you are – you can try your hand at teaching English online as a second language. Some programs require a quick certification while others only require English to be your native language.

If you want to give it a go, check out these sites to get started:

• VIPKID
• QKids

4. Teach Online Courses

Do you happen to hold a college degree that could be put to good use as a side hustle? If you have at least a bachelor’s degree, you have the required qualifications to land an online teaching job.

A simple search for online professor jobs (or something similar) will yield a plethora of sites with hundreds of listings. Most positions are adjunct and are paid per course/per semester.

Average pay ranges anywhere from $2k – $5k, depending on your field and experience. That’s a pretty nice gig if you have some extra knowledge in your noggin’.

Check out the current listings here:

• HigherEd Jobs
• The Chronicle of Higher Education

5. SAT Tutor/College Admissions Coach

Competition to gain admission to college is fierce these days. With the skyrocketing cost of tuition and the current student loan debt crisis, parents are more willing than ever to seek assistance with the entire process.

Whether that means hiring a tutor for their child to ensure they get the best possible scores on their entrance exams, or it means hiring someone to guide them through the admissions process, there is plenty of money on the table for someone who can do one or the other or even both.

Sound like it’s right up your alley? Post your qualifications on online bulletin boards or advertise your services through college recruitment sites. Also, check with local high schools, they can get you pointed in the right direction.

Tip: You’ll probably need to get child clearances if you’re working with students under the age of 18 years old. Don’t fret, this isn’t expensive or difficult.

6. Music Lessons

Do you happen to be a master pianist or love rocking out on the drums? If so, you could make quick money by teaching music lessons in your spare time…and in your own home.

Make your talents known through Facebook and by talking to parents in your circle. Word travels fast, and if you’re good, you’ll get a gig in no time. And those gigs pay anywhere from $15 to $40 for a 30-minute session.

7. Drive For Uber Or Lyft

If you have a decent car and a knack with people, you should consider driving for Uber or Lyft. It’s a great way to mingle and earn extra money on your own schedule.

Benefits include working when you want, as often as you want, and speedy payouts.

Before you can start, make certain you review and meet all the requirements for age, licensure, vehicle, and driving experience.   

Here are the links:

• Uber
• Lyft

8. Walk Dogs

Love pets of the canine persuasion? Good news – you don’t have to live in a city to be a dog walker – although that doesn’t hurt.

Lots of dogs sit at home all day while their human companions slave away at a job. And many of those dog owners feel bad that their beloved pet is sitting at home like a lump, or worse, gnawing their way through a dining table leg.

For peace of mind, plenty of owners would gladly pay to have Fido walked during business hours but they don’t trust to hire a business with a rotating staff. I mean let’s face it, dog walkers have access to your home. And that’s where you come in.

Build up your business through word of mouth, bulletin boards, and a dedicated Facebook page, and before you know it, you’ll have more inquiries than you can personally handle.

Obviously, the amount of money you can make varies by area and the number of dogs you can walk at one time. But, it’s not unheard of for dog walkers to make in the neighborhood of $20 per hour per dog.

And speaking of a neighborhood, you might want to start advertising your services right outside your front door.

9. Cakes & Cupcakes

Make sure you check the going rates in your area and don’t sell yourself short. Ask to be paid what you’re worth and, if your skills rock, your business will take off.

10. Freelance Writer

Seamlessly putting words together on a screen is a talent people are willing to pay a lot of money for. If you’re skilled in this area and you prefer the work-at-home kind of side hustle, becoming a freelance writer is as easy as creating an account and making yourself available for jobs.

According to Payscale, freelance writers make an average of about $25/hour. Not too shabby for being able to work from anywhere in the world.

Where to find work:

• Upwork
• Freelancer
• Fiverr
• Freelancewriting

11. Deliver Pizzas

Remember at the start of this post I mentioned delivering pizzas as kind of a joke? Well, it wasn’t a joke. Delivering pizzas is an oldie but a goodie. And since there’s usually a pizza joint on every corner, finding a job shouldn’t prove too difficult.

This one is all about customer service. Treat the people who open the door like royalty and you’ll be raking in the tips. Treat those same people like they’re just a number, and you’ll barely make enough to cover gas money. The choice is yours.

12. Personal Trainer/Nutrition Coach

Do you love personal fitness or nutrition? If so, you could put your knowledge and skills to good use by coaching other people on how to achieve the physical results they desperately desire.

And what better time to start marketing your service than around the holidays? You’d be amazed at how many people are willing to shell out $50 – $100/hour for some personal attention and coaching for their physical appearance and well-being.

13. Rent Out A Room In Your House

If you’re a social butterfly and don’t mind sharing your space, renting out a room in your home could mean an extra $500 or more going towards your bottom line each month. List your pad on Airbnb, Craigslist, or local bulletin boards to find potential tenants.

Tip: Do your due diligence before opening up your home to a stranger. Consider paying a flat fee to a property manager for a thorough background check.

Which Side Hustle Is Right For You?

With all of the options available to earn additional income, finding the right side hustle for you shouldn’t be too hard. Just as I stated before, analyze your abilities and interests before diving into a side hustle that’s going to consume your valuable time.

It’s true, time is money, and money isn’t more important than your loved ones or your overall happiness. Choose wisely.

And as always, have a goal for your side hustle income. It’s not going to do you any good to make more money if you’re not going to tell that money where to go and make progress on your financial journey.

The last thing you want is to fritter away your extra cash in restaurants and on new clothes – unless, of course, that’s your goal. Happy frugaling.

Read More