It always seems other people know more ways to earn money than you do. Side hustles and skills they leverage to add at least a bit to their budget. When the time comes to save, such people always have an emergency budget before starting to cut on expenses.
With a bit of research and luck, you can become this person. The internet provides most of the tools freely for everyone to use. This article will uncover the four most popular methods of how you can start making money on the side.
Paid Online Surveys
Your opinion on products and services matters. And it is worth some money too. Various online platforms allow participants to complete surveys and be rewarded for their time. The most popular ones are Pawns, YouGov, and SurveyMonkey.
Difficulty: Filling out paid online surveys is easy. You don’t need any qualifications, and most topics are about widely known brands. However, one survey, on average, may take around 30 minutes, so you need to allocate some time to them.
How Much Can You Earn?
Earnings depend on your location and the platforms you use. Typically, you’ll get paid around one dollar for filling out one survey, and you can expect one survey per day. The largest number of valuable surveys goes to participants from Western Europe and the USA.
How to Maximize Earnings?
The best way to earn more from paid online surveys is by registering on multiple platforms. That way, you can expect to receive more questionnaires and avoid regional limitations. It’s also important to be honest and consistent in your answers, as otherwise, you can get banned from participating.
Types of payouts:
- Surveys for PayPal top-up
- Surveys for Spotify and Netflix subscriptions
- Surveys for Google Play gift card
- Surveys for Bitcoin
Influencer and Affiliate Marketing
Some people make decent money on the side by recommending products or services to their followers on social media and blogs. It usually involves using affiliate links or making deals with brands to promote their products.
Difficulty: Although there is no shortage of companies willing to promote themselves online, it might be difficult to build a strong following. Creating a successful YouTube channel, web blog, or Instagram account might take years and lots of skill.
How Much Can You Earn?
One recent study reported by the Washington Post notes that only 12 percent of online influencers make more than $50000 per year. While this might not seem much for a full-time income, it’s significant money you can make on the side. That’s provided you have something interesting to show to an audience with little time investment.
How to Maximize Earnings?
The bigger your audience, the better-paying deals you can find. If you are pursuing this as a hobby, the best strategy is to first build a successful social media channel. You can have some products in mind when you start, but the best money can only be earned after you get popular.
Types of earnings:
- Product mentions
- Affiliate links
- Sponsored post
- Selling merch
- Direct sales
Bandwidth Sharing
Your internet connection can be a source of income as well. Your unique geo-location and IP address are valuable to companies and individuals seeking to bypass internet restrictions in their countries. Bandwidth sharing allows you to rent part of your internet usage and earn money for it.
Difficulty: Bandwidth sharing is so easy that it sounds too good to be true. You simply install an app on your phone or software on your PC, and everything is done automatically. All you need to do is ensure a stable internet connection.
How Much Can You Earn?
While internet sharing is easy, it isn’t very profitable. One device can realistically earn you around $9 per month or around $0.2 per GB shared. This comes with a prerequisite of running a device 24/7.
How to maximize earnings?
You can earn more by sharing bandwidth from multiple devices. Some people dedicate time to building an IP farm, which uses multiple devices to share internet connections. You can earn a lot with this method, but it requires a lot of know-how and investments.
Types of payouts:
- Internet sharing for gift cards
- Internet sharing for bank transfers
- Internet sharing for PayPal top-ups
- Internet sharing for Cryptocurrencies
Online Reselling
Purchasing goods for cheaper than you can sell them is one of the oldest business models. The internet has made it much more profitable, with various platforms where people can sell their used stuff. Computer hardware, clothes, fashion accessories, and even cars can be bought and sold for profit.
Difficulty: A big interest in some field and spare money to purchase goods is needed for success. For example, if you are passionate about fashion, it will be easy to understand what items are in demand and what can bring you profit after resale. However, online resale can be difficult if you are trying to enter a market you know nothing about.
How much can you earn?
Earnings depend on your location and the niche you are in. Cars and PC hardware flipping is more profitable than arts and crafts, for example. It’s difficult to generalize the earnings, but a good rule of thumb is to try to aim for about 10 percent earnings from each sale.
How to maximize earnings?
Buy high, sell low. That’s the golden rule of online resale. The closer you keep track of the market, the more chances you have of maximizing your profits. You might not earn from some purchases or even lose money on them. So, keep track of your own expenses and earnings. Pure math is the best way to avoid psychological mistakes.
Wrapping Up
These methods to earn extra cash are all worth a try, but they won’t make you a millionaire. To access some really profitable activities, you’ll have to look for something less known. But you have to start somewhere, so it might well be something tried and tested by others.
