A priority this year, for many people, will be figuring out how to make money online. It might be a side gig to supplement your job or a completely new venture. Whatever the reason, there are a wealth of available opportunities. For quite a few of them, all you’re going to need is access to a reliable internet connection and a smartphone.

How Can I Make Money Online? If you want to earn extra money without breaking a sweat, keep scrolling. To save you time and hours of research, I’ve created this extensive list of online money-making ideas and gigs on the side. All you need to do is set aside some time to read through the list, and I’m pretty confident you’ll find one or two you quite like the sound of.

Build a Website and Earn an Affiliate Commission One of the most popular ways to make real money online is through affiliate marketing. 81% of brands and 84% of publishers use the power of affiliate marketing and this statistic is likely to continue as affiliate marketing spending in the US increases every year. Don’t know what affiliate marketing is? It’s a way of earning money by promoting various brands. You’re promoting products, services, apps, software, and more. In return, companies pay you a commission when a customer buys a product using your link.

Launch and Grow a Startup Thanks to the internet, there are vast amounts of options if you think you’ve got what it takes to launch a startup business. As long as you’ve got a computer and a reliable internet connection, the sky’s the limit in what you can achieve. You don’t need to be a technical whizz kid, as there are plenty of valuable tools that will help you build, launch and grow your business. You just need to put in the hard work, learning what you need. Another great benefit of starting a new online business is that you do it from anywhere in the world. No one sets your schedule for you, which means you can work as little or as often as suits you. It depends on how fast or successful you want your business to be. When it comes to capital requirements, you don’t need a lot. There are internet businesses you can get off the ground with no money simply because there are a wealth of free services to help the process. Here are just a few ideas, some of which we’ll look at in more detail a little later. Custom furniture production Homemade beauty products Activity holidays E-commerce retailer Cleaning services Hand-made craft seller Tutoring or digital courses Start your own clothing line Publish a book Level of expertise: Beginner, intermediate, expert Requirements: The right idea and customers for your product or service Time: More than six months to start making money Tools: Hosting, domain Income Potential: $50-$100,000/month


01. Advertise on your website


Just by having a site of your own, you can start earning passive income. There are just a handful of steps you’ll need to take to build a website that makes money online. First you’ll need to choose from one of many professionally designed website templates, select a domain name and get free website hosting. Then you can begin thinking about the different routes toward monetizing your website.


One proven method time and again is online advertising. You can use Google AdSense to place ads on your website. This option is relatively easy as Google matchs ads to your site based on your content and visitors, plus it’s free. Google then pays you based on the number of views or clicks you get on the ads.

02. Design websites


Whether it’s something you have experience in or you’re a natural at, designing websites can be an excellent source of income. In fact, web designers are always in demand as the industry exponentially grows. That said, you’ll need to make a name for yourself in order to stand out. Working with the right clients can help optimize your web design portfolio and highlight your talents.


So, you might be asking yourself, “How do I find my ideal customer?” Joining a distinguished online marketplace for website designers is the best possible way to start generating qualified leads. You’ll get a platform to help you showcase your work, set your price rate and get matched with potential clients who are looking to hire your services. You can also consider partnering with companies that grant you access to special web design tools. As a Wix Partner, you'll get professional resources and be able to enlist the expert help of a company account manager dedicated to increasing your sales funnel conversion.


03. Create a blog


The wonderful thing about blogging is that you can create content about absolutely anything as long as there are people interested in reading it. After some time, your free blog will attract website traffic and offer monetization opportunities. This is one of the reasons blogging is a great digital nomad job.


Once it starts to take off and grow an audience, that will be the perfect time to examine the many money-making opportunities available to successful bloggers. For instance, you can advertise within your blog using Google AdSense or offer paid subscriptions to die-hard fans for exclusive access to your content.


Whichever avenue you choose to take, always think about the preferences and interests of your readers. Check in with them and see what they want by sending an email blast with a survey. Then, you’ll be able to pinpoint what strikes their fancy and how to monetize those ideas directly on your site.

04. Open an online store


Internet shopping has become synonymous with convenience. As a result, people are purchasing more goods online than ever before. You can grab a slice of this profitable eCommerce pie by opening your own online store. Be sure to choose an eCommerce website builder that offers advanced business features, including secure payment and checkout, shipping and marketing tools, and store analytics to help you run your venture.


Launching an online store means that you’ll be starting a business of your own, so make sure you’re prepared. Primarily, you’ll need to test out all your business ideas before introducing them to the world. Do some market research and get feedback from friends and family. They’ll be able to give you valuable information that can be used to improve your product or service. Remember that as a business, you get closer to achieving success by selling something people actually want