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10 Ways To Make Money Online From The Comfort of Your Home

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 75 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

10 Ways To Make Money At Home Online - Make Side MoneyAre you interested in learning how to make money online? In this post, I will show you 10 different ways to make money online that YOU may be able to do.

There are many legitimate online careers out there where you can earn a full-time living or at least some side income.

Like I say in every one of my monthly online income reports, I love being able to earn a living online. In addition to the fact that you can actually make money online, other positives include that you can be location independent, your business expenses most likely are going to be low, and you can work from home!

Today I am going to show you how to make side money or a full-time income with the 10 different ways to make money online below.

 

1. Create a blog to make money at home online.

Blogging can be a fun way to make side money or even a full-time income if you put enough hard work and time towards it. I make over $300,000 a year through my blog and I expect it to keep growing.

With blogging, you can make money through advertising, affiliate marketing, sponsorships, reviews, partnerships, e-courses, ebooks, and more.

You can create your own blog here with my easy-to-use tutorial. You can start your blog for as low as $3.49 per month plus you get a free domain if you sign-up through my tutorial.

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2. Work in customer service from home.

If you are interested in learning how to make side money then working in customer service may be for you.

You could work for a call center, for example, where phone calls from customers are routed to you. The pay for work from home customer service positions usually ranges from around $9 to $11 per hour.

For a work from home customer service position, you will most likely need a computer, phone, and internet. In order to have and hold a customer service position, you probably need to have some sort of customer service background, such as in retail or at a restaurant. You should be friendly, be able to handle problems without getting mad at the customer, and be a good listener.

Another way to work in customer service would be if you helped customers through an online chat. We’ve all seen these. This is where a person might ask to chat with someone online (usually a popup that comes up when someone is on a company’s website) to ask questions related to a product.

 

3. Freelance write to make money at home online.

Freelance writing is the very first thing I did in order to make money at home online and it is something I still do today.

Freelance writing can be a fun way to make money online if you enjoy writing.

First, you will need to find someone to hire you. This means you will most likely need experience in order to gain experience. Don’t worry, it is possible. You can start by creating your own blog and writing on there first. This way future employers can see firsthand if your writing style will work for them or not.

Then, once you are hired, you usually just e-mail the articles that you write to someone at the website, or you might write your article directly on their website. To become a freelance writer, the only items you will most likely need include your laptop and an internet connection.

Related article: So You Want to Be a Freelance Writer?

 

4. Virtual assist.

Another one of the 10 different ways to make money online is to become a virtual assistant.

A virtual assistant helps a business run more smoothly. You can be contracted for one project (such as collecting data for research) or it can be a continuing job such as replying to e-mails and comments.

Virtual assistant work can range broadly. There are many, many tasks that people hire virtual assistants for.

I have two people who do virtual assistant work for me. They help me with different areas of my business and it makes my life a lot easier.

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5. Test websites to make money at home online.

I have personally used the services from this website on Making Sense of Cents to see what freelancers thought of my website. That is how I heard about this online job.

This is a relatively new way to make money online at home that I have heard about. User Testing is a website that pays you to test websites. You get paid $10 for each website you review and test, and $15 per website that you mobile test.

If you are interested in learning how to make side money by testing websites, the tasks are relatively easy. What you do for this online job is that you will go on a person’s website and it will all be recorded (just your computer screen is recorded as well as your voice so that customers can see what exactly it is that you are doing). You will navigate around the website, say what you like and dislike about it, what you recommend they change and more.

You do not need to be a super technical person for this online job as they want real people to review websites to see what people really think.

 

6. Consult others.

Do you have a skill that you think would benefit others? Something that’s valuable enough where others are willing to pay you in order to learn from you?

If so, then the next of my 10 different ways to make money online is to become a consultant. Consulting can cover many different areas. You may teach someone how to find new customers, how to lower their expenses, how to save time with a business process, and more.

For me, I sometimes consult others on creating and owning a blog, as well as how to handle social media accounts more effectively.

For a consulting career, you will need a laptop, internet, phone, and something that will allow you to do video calls.

 

7. Sell products online.

Selling online is such a broad topic to cover but it can be a great way to make side money.

You may decide that you want to sell crafts that you make yourself online. You might go around to auctions and thrift stores and hope to find something worth a lot of money. Or, you might write a book and sell it on Amazon and online bookstores.

There are many websites where you can sell your products online such as on eBay, Etsy, Craigslist, and countless others.

In order to sell items online, you will need a laptop, internet, a camera, and, of course, your finished product.

 

8. Tutor online for side money.

Depending on what you are knowledgeable in, there are many topics you may be able to be a tutor for. These include different languages, math, history, science, entrance exams, and more. You can start your own tutoring business or you can sign up for a tutoring website that finds clients for you.

Tutoring pay can vary widely depending on what exactly it is that you are teaching.

Related content: The 7 Best Online Tutoring Jobs

 

9. Answer surveys to make side money at home.

This can be a nice little way to make side money online at home. No, it won’t make you rich, but if you have some spare time then it can be nice since you can do this on your own schedule just by answering a few easy questions.

Survey companies I recommend include American Consumer Opinion, Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, Product Report Card, Opinion Outpost, Pinecone Research, Prize Rebel,  and Harris Poll Online. They’re free to join and free to use! You get paid to answer surveys and to test products. It’s best to sign up for as many as you can as that way you can receive the most surveys and make the most money.

Another one you may be interested in related to this one is Nielsen Digital Voice. Digital Voice is a part of Nielsen, which I’m sure you’ve heard of. All you have to do is surf the web and you may be able to start earning money.

Lastly, InboxDollars is an online rewards website I recommend. You can earn cash by taking surveys, playing games, shopping online, searching the web, redeeming grocery coupons, and more. Also, by signing up through my link, you will receive $5.00 for free just for signing up!

Related: 12 Paid Survey Sites To Make $50+ Per Month

 

10. Help others with their resumes.

A little over one year ago, I interviewed a reader who ran a resume business. She showed us how others can learn how to make side money by helping others create great resumes so they can land their next job.

This is a way to make money at home online since all you would need most likely is a laptop and a cell phone. You would also most likely need a website and social media accounts such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter so new clients can find you.

Are you interested in learning how to make side money online? What other ways are there to make money at home online?

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About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

Comments

      • Dan says

        Hi Michelle, thanks for the tipsI never thought to use a number of those Jobs. I find that the best way for me is to complete surveys. I have been doing this for about a year now for about an hour each day and i’m making about $350-$500 each month, which isn’t bad considering it’s just meant to be some additional income. I find that this site works the best for those of you that are interested paymentforsurveys.blogspot.com

        Reply

  2. Anna says

    These are great tips; I’m thinking of doing a combination of resume building/consulting, but as I’m sure many people find, it’s hard to start out when you have no previous customers or testimonials to prove you’re worth it!

    Reply

  4. Taylor Lee says

    Tutoring, when I do it, has always been my best side gig. There are a lot of well-to-do parents out there who want their kid to buckle down on SAT test prep willing to pay ridiculous amounts of money ($50/hr+)

    Reply

  5. Christina @ Embracing Simple says

    This is a great list Michelle! Freelance writing has been my number one way to make money at home online, with being a Virtual Assistant as a close second. This list shows that beginning a journey in making money at home can actually be legitimate and easier than one might expect!

    Reply

  6. Gina Horkey says

    Great list! Writing, VA, selling products and coaching are all working for me:-) I’d love to start making money from advertising and affiliate sales on my blog. I have the things in place, just need to increase traffic. Might have to hit you up for those coaching services soon to unlock your secrets!

    Reply

  10. Sarah says

    These are all great ideas and I think you covered most of them. One the biggest hurdles I faced when I decided I want to start working from home was “where to start?” It is tough to get started because there is literally an unlimited amount of possibilities. I sell products (vita tpt, teachersnotebook,and etsy), but I’ve started pitching ideas to our regional parenting magazines.

    Reply

  11. Amy says

    I do several of these currently. I teach resume-writing and interview prep classes, take surveys, and sell children’s books and toys via my Amazon store. Oh, and I blog, but not for profit (yet??)…

    Reply

  13. Harmony says

    Thanks for these new ideas. I have an awesome side-hustle doing specialized online tutoring. It is very rewarding helping my students – makes me wonder whether I should have been a teacher!

    Reply

  18. Syed says

    Awesome list. Already doing the blogging and selling stuff the survey questions thing sound interesting I may give that a try. Thanks for the ideas!

    Reply

  21. Tie the Money Knot says

    Selling one’s experience online, via consulting, tutoring, etc – can be a great way to make some pretty good rates. You have, theoretically, much of the world as potential customers. Many of us with work experience (and unique life skills) can make some money this way, even if it’s some side income.

    Reply

  25. James McAllister says

    Hi Michelle!

    Blogging and selling products are my favorite for sure, although these two of course go hand in hand. The freedom these two grant you is pretty incredible and I love it.

    Another favorite of mine is writing eBooks, both to sell on my blogs and through Kindle. It’s honestly one of the closest things to passive income that you can do, because Amazon does such a great job at getting good books in front of buyers.

    Solid choices, sharing this now!

    Reply

  26. Beth Anne says

    My moms currently doing customer service but she has been getting frustrated with all the technical problems from the site being down and then she gets dinged. She is starting with another program and hoping it works better.

    When I was in college I did online tutoring that I really enjoyed.

    I’m currently a Virtual Assistant and have a small blog that makes a little bit of money. I really enjoy it and hope to be able to grow it to make a lot more money as the job market here isn’t very good.

    Reply

  28. Sarah Emma says

    Thanks for sharing such great ideas for earning money while staying at home… Yes, the ideas are really best and clicked to me.. I am also one of them who enjoy working from home and am addicted for content writing about frugal living, couponing… Writing currently two of the websites i.e. LavishCoupon.com and ClotingRic.com. Writing for these blogs helps me earning good enough. Also I share tips of searching and using on-line coupons and my personal experience of shopping using on-line coupons.

    Reply

  29. Paul @ money tuts says

    Some great examples here of ways of making income online at home Michelle. I would say you’ve hit the nail on the head with advising people to start services like tutoring. If you can help somebody with something or do something they can’t do, then they will be happy to pay you. Services are certainly the best way to start out imo (if you have something good you can offer)

    Reply

  31. EJane says

    I must say now-a-days it’s very necessary to generate side income and online world has made it really easy. In my case I’m having side income via my content writing and CouponerStore.com pays me good enough for my services. Hoping for more resources soon.

    Reply

  32. Paige says

    I just signed up for three of those sites! I hate that when I come home from work I fall into a funk. I’m hoping that doing some extra work on the side will not only help my bank account but help keep me active.

    I am really interested in the freelance writing option that you mentioned. I’m not really that great at creative writing, but I am good at editing and writing informational pieces (essays, explanations, descriptions, etc.). Do you have any ideas for how I can put those skills to use?

    Thanks!

    Reply

  36. Yasmin says

    Hi, I just found your blog, and love the content. The ideas above are great, however, I don’t see any resources listed for online customer service or online chat support. These are two things I have been interested in, but much of what I have found online has not been scams. Can you advise what companies you have done these services for, or what sites you used to find your positions when you did this?It would be hugely appreciate, Thanks!

    Reply

  37. Alana says

    Thanks Michelle! Question for you – what would you say are the 3 most important things a new blogger should focus on doing consistently in order to grow their blog?

    Thanks so much!

    Reply

  38. DNN says

    Hi Michelle,

    I see only one person commented here. Lemme be the one to add more content “lots and lots of content” to this blog post…

    As a former banking employee and call center customer service representative, I do believe customer service is a marketing effort and here’s why. At one company I worked with in the past in 2003 – 2004 before the company folded, I managed multiple accounts as a call center customer service representative. I managed inbound calls for the guthy-renker account, Beretta firearms, Back to Basics toys, Discovery Channel, and W-Hotels. Most of these customers called in to inquire about either orders they placed or wanting to cancel certain things in their customer plan. An example would be when a customer purchase the guthy-renker Proactiv Solution and started receiving additional monthly shipments of guthy-renker vitapower vitamins or guthy-renker Principal Secret vitamins as an upset. The company would automatically deduct additional fees from the customers savings or checking account in addition to printable secret vitamins as in upset. The company would automatically deduct additional fees from the customers savings or checking account in addition to the monthly deductions or monthly shipments of proactive facial in care solutions. Most customers would call in canceling the vitamins but as a marketing effort, I strove to retain business and win new business by doing what I could within my power at the time as a call center customer service representative to convince the customer to keep the vitamins yes. I racked up a few good customer winbacks when they started noticing my hard work, but was never given a pay raise. In fact, I was so good at it back in 2003 – 2004 that Guthy-Renker flew one of their young executives from Los Angeles, California to the call center in New Castle, Delaware. At the time, they wanted to know how I was able to keep my numbers so high and maintain my Mantra of keeping numbers abnormally high beyond expectation while I continue to “do what’s best for business.” I’ve always been a numbers driven person since 1997 when one of my serious banking jobs was formerly working as a temporary employee at First USA Bank.

    Fast forward… The company trained me on the W hotels online store account. Virtually 5 minutes fresh out of training class, and on the very first phone call with a W Hotels customer, I was blessed to successfully close a sale over the phone for $1,700. I never received one Diamond commission from that nor pay raise but I was happy that I achieved that because it said a lot about my work ethic. I use my past employment experience to go the extra mile today as an online entrepreneur with a clear path set to be a near future “side hustle millionaire.”

    If there’s anything I learned as a customer service representative and as a banking employee working through a temp agency back in the day, it’s too pay attention to everything the customer saying and be quiet. The customer will give away clues during the course of the conversation that will tell the representative – employee what they’re issue is and how the representative and customer can work together to come to an amicable solution. Being quiet and listening to the customer is everything. Doing so can easily cell the customer anything without trying to sell and builds trust, keeping the customer coming back for more.

    Thanks for thought-provoking post my friend Michelle. Wishing you a great week. 🙂

    Reply

  39. Suzi says

    I couldn’t agree more to this! 🙂 I had my worries of not having the enough budget right after I decided to quit my 9-5 job 2 yrs. ago to parent my kids full-time. I knew I had to explore opportunities of earning extra income to help with our finances. Never knew making money online was even possible back then. I have been doing paid-surveys online and can truly attest that you can earn cash even at the comfort of your own home. Just be extra careful and research which sites are legit or not. I know I also have this passion for writing, so I might explore freelance writing as you have suggested, Michelle. Thank you and all the best!

    Reply

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