The internet has transformed the economy. According to Voice of America, one in four Americans make money online, be it their full-time job or a side gig to earn extra cash.
However, the internet is quite large, which can make it hard to figure out where to start if you are looking to earn some extra cash. Fortunately, there are many different websites that you can use to connect yourself to opportunities. The list below consists of some of the most common and lucrative methods to earn extra money online.
Google Ads
Google Ads is not a website that you can make money with. Rather, it is a way for you to make money from your own website. By placing ads on a popular site, you earn money from clicks and impressions.
How much you earn depends on how many people visit your site, and how many clicks you get. In general, however, you can expect around 1.3 percent of your visitors to click on an ad, with the average click earning you $0.63. Of course, depending on what your site is about and what the ad is for, you could earn far more – or far less.
Survey Websites
You can also earn money online by taking cash paying surveys. These sites do market research for companies and will pay you for your opinions on certain things. Most survey sites will operate in the same way.
You will fill out a profile with your demographic information, and then they will match you to surveys. While it is unlikely that you will make a living taking surveys, it is good supplemental income and can cover the bills. It’s best to sign up to several survey sites to increase the number of surveys available to you.
Earn Extra Money with Stock Photos
Stock photo sites are a great way to make money from your camera. You can upload a large portfolio of work that can continue to earn you money over time as people download photos. With a large enough backlog, your stock photos can be a form of passive income for you.
Keep in mind that stock photos are not the same as creative photos. People will use these photos in textbooks, corporate reports, and advertisements. They need to be rather bland and universally applicable.
You should also remember that you need to get model release forms for everyone that you take photos of. However, many stock photo sites allow you to sell editorial photos, which are photos of newsworthy and current events. These types of photos do not typically need release forms.
Mechanical Turk
Mechanical Turk is a website run by Amazon. It pays workers to complete simple small tasks, such as filling out a survey, writing product descriptions, or categorizing images. The tasks themselves are not that hard and will take a few seconds to finish most of the time (surveys can be longer).
These tasks usually range in pay from a few cents to a few dollars. In general, the best paying tasks need you to complete a qualification course first to access. You can either cash your earnings out to a bank account or get an Amazon gift card to shop with.
Freelancing Websites
There are a host of different freelancing sites that you can use to connect with clients. Sites like UpWork, eLance and Guru act as an open marketplace, where you can bid on projects you’re qualified for. This is a great way to find more work if you are a skilled professional that already has a portfolio of work to audition with.
Once you have a relationship with a client, you can work with them outside of the site for long term work. You’ll both make money, as you’ll no longer have to deal with the fee that these sites charge both you and your client.
You should also take a look at local job boards. Sites like Craigslist come with more risk of not receiving payment, but they also are free of fees and may have less competition.
Fiverr
Fiverr is an online freelancing site that bridges the gap between simple tasks like Mechanical Turk offers, and full projects that regular freelancing sites specialize in. Tasks are all priced at five dollars – hence the name of the site.
Fiverr has no specific focus. You can join as a graphic designer, a voice actor, a freelance writer, or anything else you can market.
While you can make money through Fiverr through volume work alone, you can also add in extras to your tasks. While the initial task will always cost 5 dollars, you can charge much more to increase the scope of the project.
This is a great way to attract customers. You can advertise a short, 200-word article as the five dollar task, for example. The extras can increase the length of that article by thousands of words, for an added charge of course.
That way, customers can try you out before they commit to a larger project with you. It also ensures that you are always paid for auditions and trials, which can be an issue on other sites.
Keep Searching
The internet is dynamic, and new opportunities and jobs will be posted every single day. The best way to make sure that you are aware of all the ways to earn extra money online, you should constantly be searching for new opportunities.
For more tips on how to earn money online, feel free to look through our site. We have tons of tips and guides that can help you pad your bank account.
