We are all short on money in these times of lockdown, so I thought I’d put together a post with 15 ideas to make money from home, whether you are a student who is part of this community, or you just found your way to me!
In this post, you will learn 15 creative and legit ways to earn money from home. Some are fast ways to make money, some require a little more time.
Also, I will share the average income from each job idea, and how you can get started with it.
I know that trying to figure out how to make money from home can be tough, but I promise you there are so many ways! I am sure you will find what works best for you.
Now, let’s get started!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase via my link I may get a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend things I use and love, but for any questions, refer to my full disclosure here.
15 Legit Ways to Make Money from Home
1. Write a Book / Ebook
Writing a book is a great way to 1. keep yourself busy during this time, and 2. make money with it in the long run.
A book or ebook is one of those ideas you can make passive income with, which is ideal!
How much you can make: This fully depends on how you price your book, and how much money you lose through production and marketing.
The good thing about an ebook is that there are no production costs, only your own time.
Of course, without marketing, not many people will find your book, but there are great ways, for example Pinterest, that you can market your book even for free.
How to get started: Think about what areas or topics you have been successful at. What admire your friends and family about you?
That will help you figure out what to write about in your book. There are also lots of YouTube videos and blog posts from people who have experience with this, so check out those sources too.
I wrote an ebook last year (currently working on its English translation) and it didn’t cost me ANYTHING to make it.
2. Sell handmade crafts
This is another way to make money from home easily! It will keep you busy and give you something to do, while it’s a fun activity to create things.
You can sell what you make on different platforms, such as Etsy, your own online shop, Ebay, or Amazon.
How much you can make: Again, this depends on the product you are selling. If you sell it on a big website such as Etsy or Amazon, you will also have to pay fees, but they are usually not too bad.
How to get started: Think of what people would need in this time. Make it relevant to your audience!
Then, make a few and see how they sell. You can start little and expand as your own business grows.
3. Start an Etsy Store
This one is similar to #2, but with digital products.
Many people purchase things that help them cope better with the lockdown, and especially digital products are very popular.
If you have a specific skill, this is a great idea to make money from home fast, because it really doesn’t take long if you have the right marketing strategy and product!
How much you can make: With these kinds of broad making money ideas, it is hard to tell the exact numbers because it’s up to you how you price your product.
But I know many people who make their living from selling printables or other digital products, so your chance it pretty good!
How to get started: Click here to read about the start, fees, and how opening an Etsy store works!
To get started, think of what you are good at and what subjects you can deliver good quality advice or help to others.
for example, I am pretty good in organizing my money, and my friends usually ask me how I do it. So I decide to create budgeting printables to sell on Etsy, because I know it will help people. Got it?
4. Online Tutoring
If you are a student, you can try online tutoring. Many students take summer classes to jump ahead and earn extra credits, but because of the current situation it will all be online.
How much you can make: You can offer your services starting at $10/ hour depending on your expertise on the subject.
How to get started: If you are enrolled at a university, your best bet is to contact the tutoring office and offer your help. Otherwise, you can always try tutoring websites where you can sign up. Here is a post by Good House Keeping, that collects 10 online tutoring websites.
5. Do online surveys
Surveys are great ways to make money from home online, because they don’t take too long and you can make as much money as you want, as long as you have open surveys.
The downside is that they usually don’t pay that much per survey, and each survey takes a few minutes to complete.
So how I used to approach them, was to look at the estimated time needed to complete it, and compare that to the money you earn. If it’s above $7 for an hour, I usually completed it.
How much you can make: Usually $0.50-$10 per survey. The average is usually around $3-$4. If you have enough time and want some extra money, it can be a good choice.
How to get started: I personally went through quite a few survey websites and picked out the ones that pay best and actually transfer you the money. Those are:
- Swagbucks (also offers cashback)
- YouGov
- Entscheiderclub (German-speaking countries)
Secret tip: If you refer your friends to those survey websites, you can make more money! That’s how I made most of my money through these websites.
6. Test Websites
Related: 15+ Creative Ways to Make Money as a Student
Yes, being a website tester is a thing! It basically just means that you give feedback to a website or app online by recording your screen and voice.
How much you can make: The pay is usually around $10 per test, which lasts 20 minutes. This is a great way to make some extra money, but keep in mind that there won’t be enough open jobs to cover an 8 hour day though.
How to get started: The website TryMyUi connects you to companies and people who need feedback on their sites or apps, after filling out your profile and sending a test audit. You can reject or accept offers as you like.
7. Social Media Manager
Many people switch to online products and marketing their social media pages. Here is where you can help them grow!
The job consists of creating, planning, and marketing content for the accounts.
How much you can make: There are so many social media manager positions open out there, if one isn’t enough, you can work for multiple clients, considering you’re organized enough.
Depending on your experience and how good you are in what you do, you can earn between $15 and $40 per hour as a social media manager, the average being about $25 per hour for good paying clients.
Keep in mind that during this time of economic lows, they might pay less than that, which is your choice whether you accept their offer.
How to get started: There are websites for freelancers where you can create a profile and offer your services.
For example, Flexjobs, which is a website that allows you to either look for offered jobs or offer your services. You pay a small monthly fee to use the site, but if you really do, it is so worth that.
Alternatively, you could also create your own website and offer your services there, but then you have to work on marketing it so that people find your website.
Related: Check out these 10 organization hacks for freelancers!
8. Edit pictures/ videos
Usually, having a small photography business can be quite successful, but right now during the pandemic, nobody hires photographers.
If you have any skills in that area, however, you can offer other services related to photography, such as photo editing or video editing.
People still make videos, especially now that more people watch YouTube videos, but many don’t have editing skills. You can help them!
How much you can make: Depending on what packages you decide to offer, you can make $10-$20 an hour.
How to get started: Create a profile on one of those freelancer websites or create an Instagram account with your example pictures and short videos!
Related posts:
- 12 Websites that pay $20/hr for students
- 15+ ways to make money as a student
- Reasons to start your own business
- 10 ways to make money in 2020
9. Start a YouTube Channel
Speaking of video editing, you can start your own YouTube channel. The audience of the video platform has increased since lockdown, so use that to your advantage and create relevant videos!
How much you can make: The rule of thumb is that you make around $1 per 1,000 views, but that can range depending on your niche and video length. Sometimes I make $5 per 1,000, sometimes even $8!
The more videos you make and the more relevant they are, the more money you earn!\
How to get started: Set up your account, pick a good name (I know that’s easier said than done but take your time with it.
After that, you will need to produce good and relevant videos, use tags and relevant keywords in the description, and consistently upload new videos.
As soon as you’ve reached 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours watch time within the last 12 months, you can apply for Google Adsense.
If you aren’t 18 yet, you can easily add a guardian’s information and still get paid until you turn 18, after which you can just change the information to your own.
10. Create an online course
If you’re really good at something, why not sell your knowledge packed in an online course?
Whether that is photography techniques, how you grew your Youtube channel or Instagram account, how to keep your plants alive, or anything else you think people need.
Selling online courses is an amazing way to start building your passive income and make money from home. After you’ve done the work creating it, all you have to do it marketing and getting it out there.
How much you can make: That depends on how much you sell your course for! I’ve seen people selling them from as little as $5, up to thousands of dollars.
I would recommend to keep your audience and their resources in mind (a student can’t afford a $500 course for example).
Also, depending on where you decide to offer your course, you may need to pay monthly fees to the provider.
How to get started: Just like there are online shop builder sites, there are online course builder sites!
I bought several online courses, like the Pinterest Course from EllDuclos, or the Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course from Michelle. I loved how the courses were set up and how they looked. So professional! I can totally recommend both of the courses by the way!!
Michelle makes over $50,000 per MONTH only from Affiliate Marketing! That is when you refer your audience to other people’s products, like I am right now! You can do the same for your online course:)
If that caught your interest, you can check her out here, she knows much more about it than I do.
There are other platforms for online courses, such as Skillshare, Teachable, and Elopage.
11. Virtual Assistant
I am sure virtual assistants are still in demand, so why not try?
A virtual assistant is like a real-life assistant, but online. You will complete tasks such as organizing files, answering emails or arranging meetings. It can also be part of the job to manage financial information of your employer or complete online tasks they need you for.
How much you can make: You can set your own rates, but keep in mind that freelancer websites take up to 20% off of that.
The normal wage for virtual assistants is between $15 and $40 and up, depending on your expertise and experience.
Sometimes people pay per project which you complete, and not hourly, but that varies.
How to get started: There are several websites that connect freelancers to clients, but the best way to find them is through Facebook groups. There are several groups dedicated to freelancers where you can easily find people looking for virtual assistants.
2. UpWork: UpWork is a website that connects freelancers and clients, for various jobs, not only virtual assistants. There are other websites as well, but many require degrees.
3. Fiverr: You may now this website already, but it’s one of the largest and easiest to use for freelancers.
12. Translate Documents
You speak another language and wanna make use of it? You could translate documents, movies, videos, or anything you get asked for.
This is a great way to make money online from home!
I personally have some experience with this, and even if you aren’t 100% fluent it’s not that hard.
How much you can make: Usually you get paid by word count or page numbers, but on average you can charge $20-$30 per page.
How to get started: There are several websites where you can sign up, list your skills, and find people that want to hire you!
13. Start a Blog
Having a blog means many streams of income and a great new hobby or small business.
Starting your own business at home has so many advantages, I can’t even list them all. Here is my How to Start a Blog Step-by-Step Guide!
You can also sign up for my FREE 5-day email course to learn more about how to grow your blog and make money with it!
Whatever you are passionate about, you can write about it and tell the world! But let’s get into how to monetize it.
How much you can make: There are mulptile ways to make money. Here is a quick list:
- Ads -the more traffic you get the more money you earn
- Affiliate Marketing (recommending other people’s products) – Learn here how Michelle went from $0 in affiliate income to over $50,000 per month!
- Offering your own services
- Having your own shop
- Sponsored posts (you talk about the brand that pays you for the whole post)
The amount that bloggers make varies from a couple of bucks a month, to $100,000 a month. It’s crazy, I know, but it’s true!
For example, I make around $100 a month through my blog, but it varies from season to season. If you are interested in my income, sign up for my email list to receive income reports each month!
How to get started: To create a blog that generates income, you need a 1. host, 2. a domain, 3. a website creator like wordpress.org.
I know that sounds complicated, but it’s pretty simple. For a more detailed guide, click here!
Now, you’ll just have to find what you will write about, figure out your branding, and start blogging! 10,000 Page Views per month aren’t gonna come overnight! Stay focused and determined. You will get there!
For more tips, read my guide here, and sign up for my free email course!
14. Proofread
Proofreading is always needed. They proofread (wow.) websites, books, online documents, and everything that needs to be corrected and read over.
How much you can make: around $20 an hour on average.
How to get started: The website Proofreadingservices.com lets you take a quick test first to review your application, before you can start proofreading for money.
If you want a headstart and take this seriously, this free webinar from Caitlyn Pyle is a great resource!
15. Transcribe Audio & Video
Transcriptionists type out audio or video files into text documents, which is a job anyone with a high school diploma can do.
How much you can make: Wages from the websites below range from $15-$22 per hour.
With experience, you will transcribe faster from time to time and get it done in less time.
How to get started: For this job, you can simply sign up to a transcription website and accept job offers. I would recommend TranscribeMe, a website that offers transcription jobs that you can do without a degree, or GoTranscript.
Which was your favorite way to make money from home?
I hope these 15 ideas to make money from home helped you and you found something that you can try make money with!
Which one is your favorite? Mine is definitely the blog and the Etsy store! They both have lots of potential in how much money you can make, just awesome!
Don’t forget to check out my other posts about how to make money as a student:
- 12 Websites that pay $20/hr for students
- 15+ ways to make money as a student
- Reasons to start your own business
- 10 ways to make money in 2020
Until soon,
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