How To Make Money Online for Beginners: 10 Proven Ways (2024)

Increasing fuel prices and the general ramp-up of the cost of living are affecting the bottom line of many individuals. Finding a side hustle is a good solution to help make ends meet or rebuild your savings. There are plenty of opportunities on the internet that could help you earn some extra cash without necessarily having to give up your day job.

See: How To Build Your Savings From Scratch

10 Best Ways To Make Money Online for Beginners

No matter if you have a business model, want to start an online store or just want to make some money fast, there are many online platforms where you can make a buck or two. If you’re looking for ways to earn extra income online as a beginner, here are some of the best optionsyou can choose from:

1. Sell your stuff
2. Online tutoring
3. Sell products on Amazon
4. Rent out your belongings
5. Earn rewards
6. Start a blog
7. Create and sell handmade goods
8. Start a drop-shipping business
9. Become a virtual assistant
10. Affiliate marketing

1. Sell Your Stuff

If you are ready to declutter and want to work your way toward a more minimalist way of living, you could clear out your home and make some money on the side. There are plenty of websites where you can sell clothes, accessories, home furnishings, collectibles and more. All you need to do is photograph the items and write a description of what you’re selling. Some marketplaces and websites you could sell your items from include:

• Poshmark (fashion)
• eBay (collectibles and nearly everything else)
• Facebook Marketplace (local and longer-distance shipping)
• Craigslist (local)

While the opportunity is there to make money, be sure to watch out for scams, especially in the local marketplaces.

2. Online Tutoring

If you have a skill that’s worth sharing, you may be able to tutor or teach someone else online. Becoming an online homework tutor or an English instructor to individuals in other countries are a couple of the most common options.

You don’t even need an educational degree — you can help grade school kids with their homework or a high school student with algebra or geometry if you have some knowledge of the topic. Some places you can advertise your skills and services to teach online include:

• Wyzant
• TutorMe
• Cambly
• VIPKid
• Tutor.com

3. Sell Products on Amazon

If you’re a master of finding the best deals in stores near you, it may be a profitable online business. You could make cash on the side by reselling clearance items for a profit on Amazon with a seller account.

If you have less than 40 items per month to offer, you can sign up for the Individual plan. With this plan, you’ll incur a fee of 99 cents per item sold. For more volume, you can sign up for the Professional plan, which comes with a fee of $39.99 per month. Note that both plans come with additional transaction fees once you sell the items.

Some of the best places to hunt for discounted items to resell include:

• Ross
• Marshalls
• HomeGoods
• Big Lots
• Outlet stores

If you find items at great prices that you think could sell well, you can list them via your Amazon account. If you opt to use the Fulfillment by Amazon service, you can ship the items to an Amazon fulfillment center, and if they sell, the retailer will ship orders directly to customers and handle customer serviceand returns for your FBA orders.

4. Rent Out Your Belongings

There are a growing number of websites that allow you to rent out your belongings. Some examples of platforms you can use to rent things out for a profit include:

• Swimply: Rent out your swimming pool for the day
• Turo: Rent out your car
• Airbnb: Rent out a home or room as a vacation rental

Most of the websites that let you offer your items as rentals offer insurance or coverage that protects your belongings against loss or damage and even offer some liability if something goes wrong.

5. Earn Rewards

If you have some downtime and don’t mind spending some time on your phone or a computer doing activities such as taking surveys or watching videos online, you could earn points, rewards and cash. Popular mobile apps and websites like Swagbucks, InboxDollars and Survey Junkiework with brands to receive consumer input about their goods and services. In some cases, you may even receive products to try out and review.

For more info on how you can make money by investing a few minutes every day to shop online, surf the web or answer some questions, check out these money-making apps.

6. Start a Blog

It could take some time before you see any rewards after starting a blog. This is simply because you’ll need to invest time and effort to write your blog posts and find an audience willing to read them. However, the investment could be well worth it. Once you build a loyal audience, there are many ways to make money from the blog. Some ways include:

• Ads: Google Adsense is a great way to sell space on your blog to the right advertisers for a fee. Each time a reader clicks on an ad, you’ll receive some money, which depends on the category and popularity of the topic.
• Selling your own products: If you have a unique voice or experience that could be useful to others, you could sell your goods or offer services for a fee, write an e-book for sale or even start a subscription-based membership for select readers.

7. Create and Sell Handmade Goods

If you enjoy making things such as bedazzled phone cases or hand-knit blankets or scarves, you may be able to sell your creations online on websites such as Etsy or Amazon Handmade.

For example, once you set up an Etsy account, you could list products for 20 cents per item for up to four months. If the items sell, you’ll pay a transaction fee of 6.5% and a payment processing fee of 3% plus 25 cents. Selling your handmade goods, especially if they’re unique and popular, could be a great way to make money online for beginners.

8. Start a Drop-Shipping Business

Drop-shipping is a way to sell products without having to invest too much money to get started. You won’t have to purchase and hang on to products in the hopes of selling them and then packing and shipping them yourself. All you need to do is set up a website with products, and when a purchase is made, the manufacturer you work with sends the product directly to the customer on your behalf.

It does take some time to learn the ins and outs of the business, but there are plenty of resources, especially when it comes to creating a website. There are templates you can use from websites such as Shopify and WooCommerce that can help you set up a professional-looking website in no time so you can start selling right away.

9. Become a Virtual Assistant

Becoming a virtual assistant or virtual administrative assistant puts your organization skills to good use as you operate as high-level support for companies or business heads. It’s a great online side hustle with high earning potential. If you have a knack for any of the following skill sets, consider becoming a virtual assistant.

• Organizing schedules
• Interoffice communications such as conference calls, phone calls or emails
• Planning meetings

10. Affiliate Marketing

With affiliate marketing, you can promote a certain product and if someone purchases it, you’ll receive a commission. One of the easiest ways to get started with affiliate marketing is by using Amazon Associates. You’ll need to apply, but if you’re approved for an account, you’ll earn a commission when a customer you referred makes a purchase.

Essentially, you would post an affiliate link on one of your social media platforms, websites or blog posts, and if any of your followers click on it and it leads to a sale or other form of desired action, you earn a commission.

Final Take To GO

All you need is an internet connection for nearly limitless opportunities to make a living with side gigs. All you need to know to get started is how to make money online as a beginner. Regardless of the path you choose, do your research. There are plenty of resources available that explain the steps required, what works — and what doesn’t.

Caitlyn Moorhead contributed to the reporting for this article.

Information is accurate as of June 27, 2023.