Everyone dreams of making money from the comfort of their homes. It sounds great to leave your exhaustive 9 to 5 job and have more time for things that you actually want to do.
Making money from home has become essential for many people who need to socially distance to better protect themselves from COVID-19. In the past, there were really only opportunities to make money from offline jobs. Now, it is possible to take a different path and have a stable income flow while working online.
There are several platforms where you can make money from home and most of them are easy to use. However, not all of them are as promising as they may seem from first glance.
For example, some survey sites tend to get a bad rap because they have very low payout rates. That said, there are a few that are great to work with and can help you make a good amount of money.
We have gathered a few of the best ways to make money from home while not needing to get out of your pajamas.
Freelancing
Freelancing is when you essentially work for yourself and sell your skills to other people on a one-off basis. If you are a freelance writer, you would make money by selling articles to different websites, blogs, and companies. As a freelancer, you can’t rely on a steady paycheck coming from one employer.
Being a freelancer can a difficult path to make money and not everyone will be guaranteed to be successful. However, it is one of the most popular ways to make money from home if you have skills that you can sell. The best part of this method is that your options aren’t limited, and you can offer services to people in different niches.
Ideas for becoming a freelancer can include:
- Writing articles, blog posts, and white papers
- Graphic design
- Website design
- App development
- IT support and cyber security
- Video production
- Online marketing, SEO, and advertising
To get started finding clients, you can sign up on different freelancing platforms, create an account, and start looking for opportunities. Freelancing websites make it easy for potential clients to connect with you and to find gigs.
To avoid getting in over your head, you should only apply to those tasks or jobs with abilities you have expertise in. Many freelance websites will require you to “describe” yourself by selecting numerous skills so that you can avoid this. Some of them will allow you to create a more accurate description of your previous work and skills.
As you are looking to get started with freelancing, here are some of the best platforms to try out. All of them are similar but they have some differences in their features and how they function.
Freelancer.com
This website is one of the most used freelancing platforms in the world. That can be something great as there is a “stable” flow of clients every day, but that also means their market is extremely competitive.
Freelancer is a platform where clients post projects. In those projects, freelancers can apply, and the creator can select one or multiple people to take care of the said task. Some of the most popular categories in this website include writing, design, and web scraping.
Although there are many good opportunities on this website, you should know that it is filled with bots, scammers, and automatic responses. It would also be best if you looked carefully at the profile of the person trying to hire you. Make sure they have all their fields verified to avoid problems in the future.
Freelancer also allows you to get certified in different skills if you pay a fee. The distinct exams are accessible at any time, but you’ll have to pay for them. Many people look forward to hiring freelancers with certified skills, especially for jobs related to writing.
Freelancer allows you to take out your money via PayPal (and other e-wallets) and to your bank account. However, please note that the first transaction will take up to fifteen days to be completed for security reasons.
Fiverr.com
Fiverr is another popular freelancing platform, but its functioning is a bit different than in most websites. Instead of looking for clients, clients will register on the website and select someone to do the task for them. Therefore, you must customize your profile to make it as attractive as possible.
On Fiverr, all services start at five dollars. But you can increase that price as much as you want. It’s possible to earn good money on this website, but you do need to stand out from the crowd.
However, please note that, unlike Freelancer, Fiverr only allows you to cash out your money once fifteen days have passed after you’ve earned the sum. This action is only possible during this period.
Upwork.com
Upwork is another freelance site that works very similar to Freelancer.com. It is a huge marketplace that connects people looking for talent and skilled freelancers.
For people that want to hire someone, they can sign up on Upwork and create a job. This will include a description of what they are looking for, their timeline, and their budget.
Freelancers can then search for these job opportunities and apply to them. If you have the skills and resume, you may get lucky enough to “win” the work. As a freelancer, be sure to optimize your profile to show that you are the best person for the work you are applying to.
Upwork, like other freelance marketplaces, makes it easy to connect with people that need help. You can sign up for free and are protected by using their payment portal to deliver your work.
In general, the freelancing market is full of opportunities, and these chances are not limited to content writing positions. There is something for everyone, including programmers, graphic designers, artists, and so on.
Survey Sites
Although some people think that survey websites are a scam, the truth is that some of them are real and can pay out money. That said, the money you will earn through most survey sites is impossible to make a full-time living.
When you do the math, you might get paid a few dollars an hour by answering questions. It would help if you looked at it as a side hustle to earn a few extra bucks per week or month. Answering paid surveys is great while watching TV or just hanging out, but it is hard to make a ton of money from them.
You must be careful while choosing one of these websites since there are some that are less reputable. The risks with survey sites are that you might not see the cash that you earned by taking surveys. They can do this by imposing a minimum payout threshold.
If the threshold is $25, you won’t be able to get paid until you reach that amount. For some survey sites, you would have to work for weeks to reach that $25 threshold. Many people give up before they get to that point and then have lost both their time and money.
You will likely be required to provide your banking information to cash out the funds you earned, but you can also use e-wallets like PayPal or Skrill.
Here are the two best survey sites that I have personally used.
SurveyJunkie.com
Survey Junkie is one of the best survey sites that I have found. They have a low $5 minimum payout threshold and you can realistically earn a few dollars pretty quickly.
Once you sign up for free, they will ask you a few questions to create your profile. This will unlock higher paying surveys since they can tailor the opportunities for you.
For each survey, they ask a few qualifying questions to make sure you are the best fit. Even if you don’t qualify, you will earn 2 points, which is equal to 2 cents. If you do qualify for the survey, you could earn between $0.50 and $3.50 per survey.
As soon as you hit the $5 minimum, you’ll be able to cash out to your PayPal account. Overall, it is an easy platform to use and not a bad way to earn a few dollars in your free time.
Respondent.io
Respondent is the best survey site for making a considerable amount of money. Once you sign up, you can complete your profile and add your professional credentials. This allows you to take surveys related to your profession that will be higher paid.
For example, you may be a an engineer or lawyer that has specialized skills. Companies are willing to pay several hundreds of dollars to get your feedback on certain topics.
If you don’t have specialized skills, it is still possible to earn $10 to $50 per survey. These surveys are usually more generic and will be about your experiences using commercial products.
Respondent is a great survey platform to explore because of the higher payout per survey. You’ll be able to apply to up to 10 surveys per 24 hours to increase the chances of being accepted. Once you are accepted for surveys, you can earn $50 to $200 per hour by doing interviews.
Work as a Virtual Assistant (VA)
A Virtual Assistant’s job, or VA, consists of managing individual factors of a business that they cannot take care of themselves. This could range from writing new content for the company, gathering leads, reaching out to prospects, or doing marketing. The tasks may vary, depending on the business, and a VA usually has a variety of skills.
A virtual assistant may take care of other tasks, including making phone calls, taking care of email correspondence, and event marketing. In many cases, this work can be done completely remotely and is a great way to make money from home.
Virtual assistant jobs are often posted on freelancing sites. These opportunities are one of the best ways to make money from home because you are not locked into doing one job. Being a VA means that the tasks you do could change daily while working for the same company.
If you want to start working as a virtual assistant, you can start by signing up on Freelancer or Upwork and looking for VA jobs. As you get more serious about it, you could also build your own website to showcase your skills and attract new clients.
Make More Money from Home
Besides freelancing and paid surveys, there are a ton of other ways to make money, depending on your skills and preferences.
If you’re looking for some extra cash, start by cleaning your home. Pick out the items that you never use but may be useful for someone else. You can sell those on websites like Amazon or eBay and use the money for other projects, for starters.
You can build websites, do affiliate marketing, create a product to sell online, or start dropshipping. Here are some additional resources to make money from home.
- The Ultimate List of Side Hustles for 2021
- 7 Proven Ways to Make More Money
- Passive Income Ideas to Make Money While You Sleep
- How to Make Money by Building Websites on the Side
