If you’re searching for ways on how you can earn extra money from home, this article is for you!
There are various ways on how you can earn part-time income from the comforts of your home. Thanks to the internet and the many online marketplaces that make all these possible.
As you may well know, having a side gig on top of your full-time job ads up to your household income which may improve your lifestyle or boost your investments.
Everyone has a skill that others are willing to pay for and with the advent of the gig economy and online service marketplaces, earning extra money from home isn’t as hard as it used to once.
Your passion or skills can be your ticket into the work from home industry.
With the advent of the gig economy and online marketplaces, more and more people are finding side hustle opportunities to cushion their bank accounts and reach their financial goals.
Not sure where to begin? Here are 25 ways on how you can earn extra money from home in your spare time:
Table of Contents
Get Paid to Take Surveys
You may find this one a little iffy because of all the paid survey scams that you may have come across in the past but there are actually real paid survey sites that do pay for your time and opinion.
So if you’re someone who buys products and services as you course through life, why not share your opinions about these and earn a couple of hundreds a month doing so?
As you may know, brands invest a whole lot in research and development to improve their products and services, and to hopefully increase their market share, i.e. “sales”
If you’ve ever participated in surveys for free before, now is the time to get paid for taking surveys.
Here’s a list of reputable paid survey companies that accept survey partners (click your country to register):
- Opinion City (US only)
- Pinecone Research (US, CA, DE)
- Vindale Research (US, CA)
- Survey Junkie (US, CA, AU)
- Life Points (CA, HK, SG, AU, DE, FR, ES, IT, FI)
- Nielsen Home Scan – (Germany only)
- Nielsen Panel – (UK only)
- Inbox Dollars (US only)
- My Opinions (AU only)
- Daily Rewards (CA only)
- Opinion World (HK, JP, KR, SG, NZ, AU)
- Survey Voices (US only (Survey Aggregator))
These survey sites help you earn extra money while surfing the web, completing small online tasks, and reviewing products, you already buy and use.
Filling out surveys can be repetitive which can easily turn into a chore if you’re trying to make a full-time income out of it but it’s an easy way of earning extra income here and thereby handling one survey task at a time.
Most paid survey sites reward you with points that can then be converted to real cash and withdrawn (depending on where you live) through Paypal, a gift card, or bank deposit.
If taking surveys for cash is an opportunity that you want to take advantage of, you may want to check out how the “King of Paid Surveys” does it.
Start a Dropshipping Store
The internet and online store builders like Shopify has made it possible for anyone to launch their own e-commerce store without even stocking up on inventories.
This means you can now start your own online shop for as low as $500, well ideally $1,000.00 because while you’re not buying inventories to stock in your warehouse and you’re not paying for rent when you’re starting a brick and mortar store, you have to drive traffic to your products, so you’re able to move your “virtual inventories”.
The beauty of a dropshipping business is that you only buy your inventory each time someone buys from your store.
You can actually open a Shopify store for as low as $29.00 a month, consider that as your storefront rental. How much would it cost you to rent a commercial space in your are?
I’ve tried sourcing products from a lot of different suppliers when I was dropshipping on eBay and processing orders is a real mess and mistakes are easy to make.
Shopify integrations with dropshipping marketplaces like Spocket makes order processing and logistics seamless for fast, accurate, and semi-automated drop ship process.
Spocket connects you with suppliers of quality products that ship from the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other major countries from around the world. Basically, where your customers are so you can offer fast & free shipping.
If you’re looking to open an online store, you can sign up for a free trial with both Spocketand Shopify and start building your own e-commerce store.
Promote Affiliate Programs
Affiliate marketing has been around since the dawn of the internet and has remained as one of the most lucrative business opportunities of the era.
On top of that, it also has a long track record of success. You can earn serious cash by becoming an affiliate marketing partner of entrepreneurs, companies, and brands looking to increase their sales through affiliate marketing.
There are two ways on how you can make money from home with affiliate marketing:
- By publishing a website or a blog that attracts inbound traffic organically.
- By sending on-demand traffic to offers through paid advertising.
If your referred visitor buys from the merchant’s site through your content or advertising efforts, you make a commission.
Companies and brands want to get maximum traffic and sales from their offers and they do this by welcoming affiliate marketers into their online sales force.
There are many affiliate marketing platforms that you can sign-up with and below are a few that you can get started with:
The key factor in being a successful affiliate marketer is targeted traffic. As an affiliate marketer, your job is to connect people who are looking for solutions to their problems with the products or services that solve that problem, so technically your job is to match products you promote with people who are most likely to buy them.
Of course, there’s more to affiliate marketing than what’s covered in this article, if you’re interested in mastering affiliate marketing, here’s an in-depth course on the subject.
Sell Coupons Online
You can also earn extra money from home by helping people save on their spending.
Selling coupons online is an affordable and flexible way to earn extra money from home.
Opening your own home-based online coupon shop will not only help you earn extra money but will also help you save money on your own shopping.
The best way to do this is by setting up a coupon website, (all you need is a domain name and a Webhosting provider).
Signup for the daily deal programs and collect coupons from different brands.
The web is littered with these sources, such as Coupons.com, Centsoff.com, Savings Deal Pro Network, and DailyDealBuilder.com.
If you are good at clipping and collecting coupons, you can use this skill not only to save on your personal spending but to earn as well.
There are also communities on Reddit where people give away the coupons they are not going to use. Collect and sell them.
Publish A Blog
If you’re a writer, have a passion for writing, or someone who can hire writers, then you can start a blog and work on it in your spare time.
There are many free blogging platforms to help you get started but if you’re serious about earning money from a blog, investing a little bit of money in a domain name and your own Webhosting is a better idea than starting with a free-hosted blog as a more professional domain builds trust and confidence with your target audience than a free hosted blog on someone else’s domain.
As a person searching for information or entertainment online, which blog would you trust more?
www. myblog.freewebhost.com
or
www.myblog.com
As an avid consumer of information, I only trust self-hosted websites, no matter how small they are.
Today, many big brands and small businesses invest heavily in content marketing by blogging to promote their brands and ultimately, to increase sales.
So if you’re looking to build a real online business that you can potentially turn into a full-time gig, blogging is one of the best options you definitely should consider.
As opposed to when internet marketing was new, nowadays, you can promote your content on various channels, so aside from search engine marketing and SEO, you can also utilize social media platforms to maximize your blog’s reach and to grow your tribe.
One thing you should understand very well if you are to build a blog that it’s a real business and isn’t a get rich quick thing because launching your blog is half the battle, well probably 1/8th of the battle, not unless if you plan to buy traffic every time.
Blogging or publishing utilizes content marketing to attract traffic and as such, you’ll have to publish a lot of juicy content that your readers and the search engines will love.
Once your blog gains traction and attracts a decent amount of traffic on a daily basis, you can expect to start making money from your blog.
There are many ways that you can earn extra (or even full time) income from a blog. You can promote other people’s products (through affiliate marketing), display ads and banners to earn on a paper click (PPC) or pay per view (PPV) basis, get paid to write reviews and sponsored posts or you can even sell your own products or courses.
The key is traffic. If you have the traffic, other people (and companies) will pay you for a chunk of that. To do that, you must write posts and articles around keywords that people are already searching on the internet. You can use Google Keyword Planner, Keywords Anywhere, UberSuggest and any other keyword research tool to help you unravel juicy keywords to write about.
The best way to go with a blog is to build it around your passion or interest if there are monetization opportunities around that hobby.
Niche publishing wins over a general, journal type blog that no one wants to read.
There are various ways on how you can earn money from your blog, as mentioned above, one of which is affiliate marketing.
You can also make money with display and pay per click advertisement or even create your own product(s) down the road.
If you’ve been around the internet either on social media sites, YouTube, or niche blogs and websites; you must have seen different ads on feeds or pages while browsing the web.
Some of those ads are from Google’s ad display network called AdSense and those ads can generate income for the blog or site owners either on a per-view or per click basis.
As a blogger or publisher, AdSense can be one of the monetization strategies that you can implement right away. Take note however that that pay share on AdSense can be extremely low, especially if you are just starting out and with low traffic.
Freelance Online and/or Offline
If you’re not aware yet, there are a lot of people from around the world who make full-time income simply by freelancing on service marketplace websites. You’ll be surprised to see how much you can earn by freelancing.
Freelancing is a lucrative side gig that can help you earn extra money from home fast. Full-time freelancers actually earn more than an average worker.
A Payoneer’s survey revealed that the average income of a freelancer; is about $39,000 annually on 36 work hours a week or $21 per hour.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a student, a stay at home mom or an experienced professional, if you got the talent and skills that others are willing to pay for and aren’t afraid of working hard, you can offer your services at the comforts of your home.
The Freelance marketplace has opportunities for everyone. You can earn by offering your skills in writing, editing, proofreading, website design and development, graphic design, SEO, digital marketing, engineering and/or architectural design, etc.
You can join freelance platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, FlexJobs, Freelancer, PeoplePerHour, Hubstaff Talent, Clear Voice, etc.
You can learn how you can start a profitable freelancing business here.
Become an On-Demand Babysitter
If you love kids, you can turn this passion into an extra income source while enjoying all the cuteness, giggles, and squiggles.
Well, you wouldn’t be necessarily babysitting at the comforts of your home cause sometimes or more often than not, you’ll have to go to your clients’ homes.
You can seek out your clientele locally by posting ads on Facebook, manually dropping off flyers along with your neighborhood, or posting on classified ads.
Or better yet, create a profile on babysitting apps like Care.com, UrbanSitter, Babysitting.com, and SitterCity. Add your rates, the hours per week you’re available to accept babysitting assignments, and spend quality time babysitting.
To get on board on these platforms and to get matched and connected with people seeking babysitters you may need to submit a valid background check.
Start A Pet Care Center in Your Home
Similar to the babysitting gig, this opportunity is best for those who love domesticated animals because there is no better way to get paid than cuddling a dog or cat, right?
These furry, four-legged angels can make your day special and earn you some cash at the same time.
There are various platforms available on the web that can help you earn by operating legit pet daycare in your home.
Take advantage of pet care apps like Rover, Wag, Dog Vacay, Care.com, Sittercity, or Petsit. These apps connect people who want their fur babies to be taken care of with pet sitters like you.
Become a Cook Host, Food Courier or a Chef for Hire
Are you good at cooking? Do you like to try different dishes? If So, then sell your cooking skills and earn extra money from home. You do not need startup capital, to begin with, you can start a food truck business or a small-scale eatery at home.
If you are okay with strangers coming in at your home to satiate their taste buds, you can start a lucrative food business from home. Alternatively, you can become a cooking host by offering your menu on sites like MealSharing, Cookening, Eatwith, ChefsFeed, and PlateCulture.
Sign up as a host and earn by cooking and serving mouth-watering cuisines to hungry diners. These people are always ready to shell out their hard-earned dollars for restaurant quality and hygienic home food. You will get paid directly through the platform where you have a chef account.
Become a Short-Term Rental Landlord Through AirBnB & HomeAway
Have a spare room in your house? Why not turn it into a cash cow? Renting out your room or apartment on Airbnb and HomeAway can give you some good income on the side.
Of course, there is more to it than simply listing your spare room. The number one thing you must focus on is cleanliness, we are in the feedback and reviews era and consumers, with the help of technology has never been smarter.
Giving a great customer experience every time will be your key to success as each positive review you garner pushes your listing higher in these marketplace’s search results. It’s also a good way of building your credibility on these Web sites as anyone looking to rent out your space will definitely check what your previous’ guests experience first before booking your space.
Share Your Ride and Turn your Car (liability) into an Asset
If you own a car, you may by now understand why cars are called “depreciating assets, in fact, they are not assets at all because anything that takes away cash from your pocket is a liability. Yup, anything that costs you money on a monthly basis is a liability and cars are such but wait a minute, if this is your first time reading about this revelation, stop kicking yourself on the head if you just made the mistake of buying a car you could barely afford; you can still turn your car into a money-making asset.
How?
By sharing it, of course, we live in a world where online marketplaces abound, and it is called “the sharing economy”. Well, technically you are not really sharing in the sharing economy; you’re either renting or offering a service in these marketplaces.
To expound, you can “share” your ride by either renting it out or offering paid ride service to commuters to and from wherever they need to go.
To drive, you can register yourself as a freelance driver and your vehicle in rideshare platforms like Uber, Lyft, HyreCar, Getaround, TappCar (Canada), Grab (Southeast Asia) then start driving, if you don’t like the idea of driving for dollars, you can outsource the driving part to someone else, split the profits, pay them per hour or rent your car to rideshare drivers.
Another way you can earn extra money from your car is to simply rent it out fully, you don’t have to drive people yourself, just lend them the car through platforms like Turo.
You don’t have to rent your car out every day, just when you’re staying in.
For ridesharing apps, you must make sure that you have the necessary car for hire insurance, so you’re protected in case of unfortunate events. Turo, on the other hand, offers its own insurance to car owners.
Teach Online as an Online Instructor, Tutor or Coach
If you are an expert at something or professionally certified at something, other people are more than willing to pay you to help them acquire that knowledge or skill.
Becoming an online teacher at online courses’ websites can be surprisingly profitable. Dr. Angela Yu’s course, “The Complete 2020 Web Development Bootcamp” sold 176,335 times on Udemy. At a discounted price of $19.99 CAD, this course alone has made her at least: $3,524,936.65; that, if every one of her students enrolled at the discounted price, the regular price? $204.99 CAD. Not too shabby, right? Yet most people still think that there is not a lot of money in the teaching profession. I think it depends on where and what you teach.
Udemy isn’t the only Web site that you can offer your course(s) and teaching skills to, you can also work online with sites like Eduboard, Skillshare, Teachable, and VIPKid. These sites hire tutors or subject matter experts in all areas, such as calculus, python, numerical computing, robotics, machine learning, accounting, etc.
So, stop wasting time doing nothing, you can earn extra money from home with these websites by sharing your skills or by creating courses. It’s time to turn your spare time into paid hours.
Become a Virtual Assistant
Behind every successful website and online entrepreneur, there’s a virtual assistant. If you have a knack for making people’s lives easier by taking care of the stuff you can do online, you can offer virtual assistant services to businesses and other entrepreneurs.
A virtual assistant handles multiple tasks for their clients (or employer), like SEO, email and communication management, bookkeeping, customer service, blog post scheduling, editing/proofreading, and general Web site management, social media marketing/postings, work schedules, and general administrative tasks.
If you’re good with administrative and office functions, you need not leave your home for work; working from home can be your new norm or if you’re already working somewhere else, by becoming a virtual assistant to other professionals, entrepreneurs, and/or corporate business owners.
Some of the best places to begin seeking virtual assistant work opportunities are Belay, Fancy Hands, Outsourcely, Time, and Upwork.
Earn Extra Money from Home doing Simple Clothing Alterations
If you are a bit creative and have some tailoring skills, turn it into a business while keeping track of the kiddos. Take the baby steps and see how the needle and thread do the magic.
You can earn $15 by doing minor dress alterations. Keep in mind that tailoring isn’t a fast track to become rich; you have to invest time and effort to turn this into a real business but if you’re only looking to make some extra money from home, you can schedule all your alteration gigs on your off-days.
If you already have the skill, all you have to do to get started is to let know everyone on your contact list (phone, email, and social media) that you’re starting to accept alteration(s) and tailoring work on your downtime. Your clients can drop off their work and formal clothes at your home and pick them up after you’re done with whatever it is they require.
Clothing alterations is simple. My business requires me to dress up every time I meet with associates and clients and I have to admit that most suits and business attires I buy need to be altered as they are not tailor-made and there’s a real business opportunity on this niche as most business people and corporate professionals want to look sharp at work or on business meetings.
You can also take this to the next level by offering full-blown tailoring services which involve, custom draperies, curtains, repairs, etc but then, of course, full tailoring business is more demanding than a work from home alterations business.
You can start your business with your skills and use cost-effective marketing options or leveraging social media platforms for promotions.
Sell your Artwork and Designs on Etsy and/or Amazon
Are you an artist or a graphic designer looking to earn extra money from home?
If you’re someone with a talent or skill that can be delivered digitally, you can make a full-time living working from home.
Being a graphic design artist is a gift and you need not stay broke until people discover your masterpieces some decades after your death. The internet has changed the economic potential of many budding artists.
You can sell your masterpieces online through sites like Etsy, Amazon, and other print on demand marketplaces.
You can earn a good amount of money by running a progressive at-home crafts business. And guess what? You don’t need to beg for spaces at local art galleries; the whole web can be your art gallery.
You can sell your artwork at online marketplaces like Etsy, eBay, Amazon, Zazzle, Shopify, Squarespace, Handmade artists, and other e-commerce portals.
You need to pay a small monthly subscription fee to access these platforms for marketing your crafts. But the revenue you will generate will be far more significant than this upfront cost.
Declutter and Sell Your Clutter
If you live somewhere in North America, you would know how easy it is to accumulate things we don’t need over-time and you don’t even need to lift a finger. Did you know that you can earn extra money from home by downsizing and clearing up your space?
Yes, you read it right! You can sell all the unused and unwanted stuff in your house on Craigslist, Amazon, eBay, and other resale marketplaces.
From clothing, old toys, sporting goods, and accessories to electronics, outdoor gear, and old furniture, sell anything you don’t need.
Start with your own clutter and expand your business by selling other people’s clutter for a commission or fix service fee.
If you are selling on online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon, keep in mind that these platforms do charge a commission or selling fees on a per item and/or monthly basis depending on the level of your selling account.
Web sites like The Real Real, Poshmark, Vestiarie, Rebag, and Depop lets you sell your gently-used branded clothing at decent price marks.
Other popular resale platforms to count are SellCell, MaxBack, Declutter, AT&T, Best Buy, Verizon, and Gazelle.
Earn Extra Money from Home Housesitting
Yes, housesitting, not babysitting! You can earn extra money by living in (or visiting) other people’s houses.
There’s a high risk of a house being broken into when no one’s home! This need has catapulted a whole new industry for “housesitters”. If the bad guys see someone going in and out of a home on a regular basis even if the owners are on vacation, they’ll assume that someone’s actually home.
Some housesitting gigs may include pet sitting as a tandem, which may boost your earnings; this gig entails visiting houses you sit a couple of times a week or actually living in these houses while the owners are on vacations.
You can sign up on platforms like MindMyHouse, HouseSitter, and TrustedHousesitters and collect rent by minding or living on houses you don’t own.
Sell Stuff on Garage Sales
Sell products you can’t sell online by organizing garage or yard sales from home.
Let’s face it, some of your junk are worthless on online marketplaces but this doesn’t mean that they’re worthless at all. Your junk is other people’s gold and some of them may pay a fortune! Well, some would but it’s a rare scenario.
To sell your junk effectively, set a time and date as to when you want to run a garage or yard sale, weekends can be ideal for maximizing your traffic.
Put up bandit signs on intersections and main streets near your address, advertise your garage sale on classified ads Web sites like Craigslist, Kijiji, Carousell, or any other classified ads on your locality and on Facebook Marketplace.
Check the fair market value of the junk that you want to sell on your garage or yard sale and price your items accordingly.
Prepare your methods of payment prior to your scheduled garage sale. Depending on where you live, you may need to have a cash-less mode of payment in place as some people no longer carry physical cash nowadays.
One good way of accepting cashless payments is square app, which you can connect to your bank account so each payment goes directly to your bank account.
You’d be surprised as to how much your junk is worth. You can use the extra money you’ll earn by selling your junk to pay off some debts, fund your emergency fund, or to top off your retirement savings.
Create a YouTube Channel
YouTube is a powerhouse for generating extra income in today’s digital era. Like a blog, you can start an online publishing business through YouTube.
You can earn extra money from home by starting a YouTube channel of your own, just keep in mind that you’re doing this for business purposes to top up your earnings and that it isn’t a hobby.
Like websites and blogs, starting a YouTube channel is the easy part, growing it into a real business takes time and a lot of effort; if you’re good with cameras, video editing and/or filmography or you’re someone who doesn’t mind learning them, then it’s time to launch your own YouTube Channel!
Share travel stories, review products you buy and use every day, DIY, recipes, or how-to videos, etc.
You can earn by promoting other people’s products and services as an affiliate partner or create your own. Once you reach YouTube’s monetization threshold, which is at 40,000 views as of this writing, you can turn on AdSense ads on your videos and make money from ads too.
The more subscribers and views you have, the more you earn.
When starting a YouTube channel, you need to have the right mindset so you keep going when there isn’t any income coming in at the start because like a website and a blog, YouTube is slow to produce income at the early stages of your career, it takes time but it builds over time when you keep at it and it’s going to be worth it when your channel grows.
Here’s the best way you can start a YouTube channel that makes you money.
Earn Cashbacks Every Time You Shop
One of the best ways to earn extra money from home is when you shop for things you buy on a regular basis.
Have you heard about Cashback networks? They’re a great way to make a little extra money each time you spend.
Technically, cashback is not only a great saving option but could actually help you earn extra dough for yourself and family each month you go about your regular shopping.
The easiest way of earning cashback is simply by installing these money-saving apps on your browser:
- Wikibuy
- Rakuten
- TopCashback
- Piggy
- Qmeee.
- Honey
- Swagbucks
- Ibotta
- Quidco
If you earn cash backs on most things you buy online (or Off), it’s like earning money from doing things you already do.
Start a Retail Arbitrage Business
Ever heard of retail arbitrage? Retail arbitrage works, but it isn’t for the weak.
If you’ve heard of the buy low, sell high strategy, you’ll do good with retail arbitrage. As the term “arbitrage”; you technically buy stuff from one source at a much lower price and resell it for a profit marketplace.
It’ technically the old buy & sell business your parents may have hopped on at some point before the internet.
Nowadays, you can buy clearance and discounted inventories from big box stores like Walmart, Home Depot, and the Targets of the world or if you’re starting small, you can shop at garage sales, thrift shops, and auction houses and resell them online for a higher price on Amazon (through Amazon FBA) or eBay.
Retail arbitrage is a good side gig that you can do with your kids on weekends, pack and ship, and sell with Amazon FBA.
You can learn more about Amazon FBA here.
Become a Yoga or Personal Trainer
If you’re a Yoga or a fitness buff, you can earn extra income by becoming a personal trainer from home or online.
You can set up a yoga class at your home, patio, garage, garden, rooftop, or a park. Once you set up your yoga studio, invite clients for yoga sessions at your home.
You can also record videos of your yoga sessions and upload it on your YouTube Channel to instruct online.
This helps you make money out of your fitness and yoga passion.
Write and Publish eBooks on Amazon Kindle
Are you a subject matter expert, a fiction writer or a wannabe book publisher?
If you love writing around a niche or topic that you’re an expert at or if you love painting intriguing scenes with words? You can earn passive income by publishing a series of books on Amazon Kindle.
People who love to read never ceases to get their hands into some good books every month and those who are crazy about a subject spend hordes of dollars on information they need.
With creative thinking and sound workmanship, you can earn a good amount of passive income from books you publish online as a published author without the need to beg publishing houses to publish your book; you can do it on your own via Amazon Kindle.
Amazon Kindle allows authors to self-publish their ebooks even if it doesn’t have hundreds of pages long. A short ebook of 6,000 words is enough to get you on board and test the waters.
Once you publish your book, you can continue to earn extra income with the same book for months or even years.
Do voice-overs
Got the Voice?
Voice overs artists are a walking enterprise!
If you have the talent to do voice-overs, use your skill to earn money. You can utilize the famous voice-over acting online platform Voices.com to start your money-making journey.
The platform is serving vocal talent, including amateur and professional, by finding them the right client.
Flip Gift Cards
If you have a bunch of extra gift cards that you haven’t used in a while and are lying around, sell them. You can earn a good side income by collecting unused Giftcards from your friends and family and selling them to people who need it.
Sell the Giftcards at various places and earn some good cash, especially during Christmas, and Halloween.
Conclusion
Earning extra money from home even on a part-time basis will make a huge difference in your lifestyle and future in the long run. You may not think that an extra $500 – $1,000 a month has a material impact on your financial well-being, but it has, especially when it’s invested instead of spent.
Some of these ideas can help you generate continuous cash flow on the side and some may even turn into full-time gigs that can replace your job.
I hope you find value in this article and the resources linked herein.
