How can I make money online like you?
I’ve been location independent for over 3 years now, which wouldn’t be possible without making an income online – I’m actually writing this post in the sky, on my way to Myanmar for a week!
This is a subject that always pops up from friends and acquaintances. There are so many possibilities that I can never give a definitive answer.
However, here are some avenues that work fairly consistently – and I am recommending them because I have personal experience with all of these.
Content Hourlies
Website owners order content from this site and they have an army of writers to fulfill those requests.
If you enjoy, or at least don’t mind writing then I would say Content Hourlies is the fastest way to start earning money immediately.
If you’re a slow writer then you’re not going to make too much – but if you can power out a few thousand words a day then you can likely make enough money to live off in a cheap country.
They have different quality and payment levels dependent on your ability (native English writers make the most).
A fair word of warning though is that this is the most ruthlessly moderated writing platform I’ve ever come across – DON’T plagiarise or spin articles otherwise you will be kicked out without a second chance.
I use this platform every day on the other end of the scale (as a content buyer), and can recommend it for that as well.
Fiverr
You could also offer freelance writing gigs on Fiverr. If you can’t or don’t want to write then you can offer lots of other services – graphic design skills could also net you some fast income.
Example: Offer a service where you create social media graphics for people and then use this free tool called Pablo to make the graphics. I used this tool to make the featured image at the top of this page in about 25 seconds! The only thing this is going to cost you is time.
I’ve written about Fiverr in further depth here. So check that link out if you’re interested in getting started on Fiverr.
Fiverr is a fast way to start making small amounts of money online.
UpWork
Again, I’ve written about this in depth before so you can read that here. To date I’ve made over $90,000 USD on UpWork (Click here for proof). So the potential is huge – it can just take slightly longer to get started on there – so make sure you fill out your profile completely and put some stuff in your portfolio!
The main drawbacks with UpWork are that they take quite a large chunk of your earnings and as the site has grown, the support staff have become extremely rude and arrogant (customer service isn’t their strong point). They seem to have forgotten that we pay them, and have begun taking on the role of “the boss”. Regardless, it’s still a good platform to freelance on.
If you’ve got no skills whatsoever to offer on the 3 platforms above then you need to do some online courses to bring you up to speed ASAP. Udemy has loads on all different types of topics, some of them are free.
Money-making apps
With technology improving at the speed of light there are thousands of new apps appearing everyday. Several of these apps can actually help you earn money online. To name a few of those money-making apps, they are Honeygain, Dosh, Swagbucks, Earny, etc.
The apps may differ in the way that some of them require a lot of effort in order to earn money, while others require almost none of your time. For example Honeygain pays its users in exchange for their internet connection. All you need to do in order to start is download the app and register.
All in all, you would need to research this more for yourself and find what works for you.
Start a blog
I say this to everyone. Starting a blog is your key to passive income. The platforms above are great but your earnings are limited on all of them because you are human like the rest of us and only have 24 hours in a day.
“I don’t know what to write about”
Is the answer I normally get. You can literally write about anything. As a starting point I would say it’s best to look at your hobbies and interests and write about those.
You don’t need to be an expert in your field to start a blog. You can grow into one.
When you have your own blog, your income is only limited by your ability to put good stuff on there and market it. Which you can learn on the way, just like I have.
First, you will need to decide on a name, so read my tips here for that.
Then you will need to actually start your blog, which I’ve made a step by step guide for right here.
Once your blog is off the ground you can start making money through ads, affiliate marketing and a whole bunch of other techniques.
Your new blog doesn’t need to be perfect – the key is just to get started.
Build a Mailing list
This goes hand in hand with your blog – but having a blog is almost undeniably a prerequisite.
When you create your mailing list, people are giving you their email address and their permission to contact them with stuff they might be interested in. You can send them relevant blog posts and deals.
Q: When is a good time to start a mailing list?
A: As soon as you start your blog.
Don’t wait to start collecting emails, some people will visit your site during that time period where you building your site – and many of them will never return, so grab their details whilst you can.
I go over this more in-depth along with some software (free and paid) over here.
Do It… Do It Now!
Procrastination is your worst enemy here.
If you’re really serious about making money online then these methods above are what I recommend. You can literally start taking steps right now.
If it was me and I was broke, would take a multi-pronged approach from the list above.
Definitely, start a blog & collecting email addresses right away as that takes time to build traction with readers.
In the meantime, you can make income in a freelance capacity on Content Hourlies, Fiverr, or UpWork.
