People often complain about the difficulty of earning cash when there are literally countless ways to make money online and offline. They may not pay much, but with patience and hard work, earnings from these activities can introduce drastic changes to your financial standing.
Here are 5 of the best ways to earn money online and offline:
1.Sell things
- Ditch extra stuff for cash
Instead of throwing away unwanted items, you can find a new home for them through online selling. Posting ads on Craigslist, Facebook, and similar online market platforms or selling them on consignment shops will help you find buyers quickly.
- Sell your art
Whether it’s drawing, sewing, woodworking, or making keepsakes, you can sell handmade products on your garage or in online stores like Etsy.
- Try dropshipping
You can sell items online without having to keep a stock of the merchandise, through the supply chain management method called drop shipping. Setting up the business can be done at home and transactions can be executed online.
In a dropshipping business, your function is to be the middleman who ships the goods to the customer from either the retailer, manufacturer, or wholesaler. Profits are derived from the difference between the shipping price and the retail price or from fixed commissions from the wholesaler.
Another advantage of this model is not worrying about the packaging or in keeping track of the inventory. All you need to do is promote the product and your services on social media, blogs, or forums to entice more clients to do business with you.
2. Be an online freelancer
- Write a blog
Writing a blog is one of the most popular methods to earn money online. The best thing about this is that you can write about any topic that interests you like sports, movies, or video games. But you have to narrow down the choices, though, if you want to be profitable in this craft.
Blogs mainly profit from online advertising, affiliate marketing, and subscriptions. A blog can also be used as an e-commerce website where you can sell products and services.
LEARN MORE: HOW TO START A BLOG IN 2019 (STEP-BY-STEP)
With affiliate marketing, you don’t even have to own the product to sell. Your objective is to promote the merchandise of another company and earn commissions through a referral system. There’s no need to worry about customer support, manage product inventory, or monitor sales growth with this business model.
All you need to do is choose a profitable niche, be an affiliate of another merchant, and promote their products on your blog. You make a commission every time a sale is made. The strength of sales will depend on how creative and skillful you are in advertising.
- Create videos
Media channels like YouTube and Twitch have become hubs for video tutorials, merchandise reviews, product advertisement, and gameplay streaming. Your talent in creating informative and entertaining videos can be monetized through partner programs and subscriptions.
- Apply as a virtual assistant
Virtual assistants perform a variety of jobs, from replying to emails and performing administrative services to managing social media platforms and researching on how to further improve the company. Having a stable internet connection and excellent communication skills are enough to land you the job.
3. Take part-time jobs
- Try mystery shopping
Mystery shoppers conduct research for a company by posing as ordinary customers and evaluating specific areas of the business. For instance, a secret shopper can be tasked to assess the customer service of the company that hired them to understand how things are doing on the ground level.
BestMark, Second to None, and SeeLevelHX are some of the legitimate mystery shopping agencies you can apply to.
- Become a sitter
If you have extra time on your hands and you’re an innately patient individual, being a babysitter or a pet-sitter can be a side gig to consider. You can start offering your services to families and friends first just to get a feel of the job. When you’re confident and comfortable enough, you can advertise your services in referral platforms like Care.com for babysitting or Rover.com for pet-sitting.
- Do chores for others
Who would have thought that helping people do their regular chores can earn you money? Walking the dog, picking up the laundry, or doing the grocery shopping are easy tasks where you’re paid without much effort.
4. Rent out your property
- Rent out your car
If you’re not always using your car, might as well rent it out to someone who needs it for quick bucks. Turo is an online platform that will let you post car rental services and find a client within the community.
- List your room on Airbnb
Living in an area frequented by tourists gives you the opportunity to profit by renting out your space. If you have an extra room in the house that’s rarely used, you can transform it into something that travelers will enjoy staying in for days.
- Rent out a parking space
Living in a busy city has its perks, especially if you have an unused parking space. You can earn quick cash without doing much just by renting out your parking space. Posting the details of the location, the neighborhood, and the payment terms will help potential clients assess if the deal fits their needs.
5. Sign up to paid programs
- Online surveys
Sites like MyPoints and Swagbucks pay people for their opinion on promoted products and services. You can be a tester and participate in the market research of companies. The pay isn’t that big but the quick turnaround time for profits can make this activity worthwhile.
- Register for clinical trials
Researchers sometimes open up applications for human volunteers to test the effect of certain drugs or the efficiency of a new method to treat ailments. Applying to be a lab rat is an odd job and sounds a bit scary, but this can pay well, depending on the weight of the task.
These trials have been thoroughly tested and have been proven to be relatively risk-free, so there’s no need to be afraid of them. They’re also regulated by an ethics committee to ensure the activities performed have no adverse effects on the health of the participants.
The requirements for this kind of job are usually very specific and strict since it involves the health of the volunteer. Usually, scientists look for those who are non-smokers, non-drinkers, and not allergic to drugs.
If you’re looking for a safer clinical trial, there are paid sleep studies available every now and then. Researchers will require you to spend the night (or several nights) in a secured lab where they can observe the effects of a range of factors in your ability to sleep.
