Are you stuck at home during the pandemic with next to no income? Or maybe you have an hour or two to spare every day after work and would like to use that time for something more valuable than mindlessly scrolling through the same pages online?
If so, starting an online venture with the intent to make money could be just the thing to keep you occupied and improve your financial situation.
An idea is the first thing you will need. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular ways to make money online and determine which of these would fit you.
Learn to Design Custom Merch
The demand for custom merchandise continues to rise. Brands create t-shirts, face masks, phone cases, and other POD products to promote themselves; politicians need stickers, caps, pens, and other knick-knacks; companies invest in matching t-shirts to boost team spirit. And these are just a few examples.
Learning graphic design would mean opportunities to join already established print-on-demand stores and work as a graphic designer.
You could create your own custom hoodie design or focus on other products, such as t-shirts or even sneakers.
The products will sell so long as they have a reasonable price, quality material, and a catchy and unique design.
Start an Online Store
According to Printify, in 2017 Americans have spent about over $350 billion on online purchases. The amount grew even more, particularly during the pandemic when people had no choice but to shop online after brick-and-mortar stores had to close down indefinitely.
While the competition in ecommerce is pretty rough, there is still some room for newcomers. If you can find a niche that is not too competitive, there is money to be made.
Also, keep in mind that you can pick the dropshipping business model rather than a traditional online store approach. This way, you will not have to worry about logistical processes, such as shipping or warehousing, because you would be working as a middleman.
Work in Customer Support
The growing ecommerce industry means more customers, and some online stores cannot handle all the influx of new shoppers who send questions via emails, social media, direct messaging on a website, and eve
Sure, one could argue that an in-depth FAQ page would reduce the customer support workload, but most online shoppers seek help from support instead of looking for a solution themselves.
Look for opportunities to join customer support. Also, do not worry if you are from a different time zone than where the store is based. If anything, it could be an advantage because many online stores wish to have 24/7 customer support.
The work itself might be a bit tricky at first, but once you get the basics down and familiarize yourself with the products or services and how to deal with even the most annoying customers, thanks to the training you receive, becoming a customer support rep could prove to be a great idea.
Try Streaming on Twitch TV
Entertaining people should try their luck on Twitch TV. The platform is no longer meant for gamers. Now, there are different kinds of channels to discover, meaning that the viewer demographics have changed as well.
If you think that interacting with a live audience and keeping them entertained is something up your alley, do not hesitate and start a Twitch TV channel.
Once you attract enough viewers, you can expect to slowly get donations, subscriptions, and bits from the viewers. These are the main monetization methods on the platform, though some streamers also rely on sponsorship deals. Similar to influencers, they promote various goods and services on their channel.
Grow a YouTube Channel
In a way, a YouTube channel is similar to Twitch TV. YouTube also has a streaming feature, though if you were to compare the biggest streamers on both platforms, Twitch TV is certainly a bigger site for streaming.
To profit from YouTube, you will need to think of an idea that you can turn into video content. For example, daily vlogs or compilation videos.
Nowadays, ads do not provide as much income on YouTube as they did before, so you will need to work hard to find other methods to monetize a channel. Nevertheless, if your content is interesting and attracts enough viewers, you should not struggle to find sponsorship deals and monetize the channel. Or, as an alternative, you could create a Patreon page and rely on your fans to support you directly.
Become a Blogger
A blog might start as a hobby, and a means to express oneself. However, if you find that writing is one of your fortes, and you feel like writing interesting articles consistently is not an issue, then consider becoming a blogger.
You will need to work on search engine optimization, advertising on social media, and other channels to attract readers. Once you have an audience, monetize a blog by promoting e-books or webinars, including affiliate links in your articles, or offering sponsored content publishing.
Self-Publish on Amazon
The self-publishing program on Amazon opened doors to writers who no longer wish to deal with traditional publishing agencies. More often than not, these agencies reject aspiring authors and suck any motivation from them.
However, since you can write and publish an e-book on Amazon, there is no need to deal with rejections.
The demand for e-books is quite high, thanks to Kindle and other popular e-readers. Quite a few readers prefer to stay minimalistic by sticking to digital books. Besides, using an e-reader is more convenient because it does not take as much space.
Of course, publishing an e-book does not guarantee immediate success. If anything, you will need to work hard on promoting your e-book because the competition is quite fierce. Also, keep in mind that you need a catchy book cover because covers are the first thing that potential readers see when they browse through Amazon’s e-book section.
Look for VA Gigs
Becoming a virtual assistant is a good start to build your profile of working online. The job itself comes down to what your employer needs, but the very first tasks should not be too difficult to carry out. For example, data research and collection or simple photo editing.
Once you establish yourself as a reliable VA, you can expect to receive more prominent tasks that require experience and result in better pay.
To find virtual assistant gigs, check Fiverr, Upwork, and other freelancer platforms, as well as relevant social media groups.
Complete Online Surveys
Completing online surveys is one of the best ideas if you have an hour or so to spare every day and would like to make the most out of that time.
One survey should take between 10 to 15 minutes to complete, meaning that you can finish about five surveys in an hour and make about 20 dollars. Even though the amount might not seem like that much, it is still better than nothing, right?
Some of the best online survey services are Swagbucks, Inbox Dollars, Toluna, and Branded Surveys. It is also worth mentioning that if you run out of available surveys on your computer or smartphone, switch to another device because there are device-specific surveys that some of the aforementioned services have to offer.
