10 Ways to Make Money Online That You Can Start Today (For Free)

Earn money almost instantly with these side gigs you can do in your spare time.

It’s officially fall and one step closer to winter and the holiday season. If you’re looking for ways to make some extra money, there are plenty of opportunities to get up and running quickly. And since you probably still have a day job, you’ll be glad to know these gigs can be done in your spare time.

Go freelance

Are you great with social media? A great editor? A web design guru? Whatever your skills may be, there’s likely someone out there who is willing and willing to pay for your services.

Sites like Upwork and Fiverr offer a great way to start without committing to long-term projects. Both sites help connect you with people who have problems to solve, and they take care of all the payment process for you (for a small fee). You can get up and running in an afternoon.

I have freelanced all my life, but things took off when I joined Upwork. The platform is easy to use and makes it easy for the client and freelancer to do business. If you’re looking to scale your freelancing business, this may be the way to do it.

Sell products online

Do you love making handmade crafts? Sell them on Etsy or similar platforms. Or, if you have an eye for taking great photos, sell your shots on stock image sites. The best part about this approach is that you don’t need to create a website to sell your stuff. You can focus more time on creating and less time on building.

I launched my Etsy store in January 2021 and have earned over $12,000 in revenue. Not bad for a part-time gig.

Teach English (or other languages) online.

You probably won’t have time or space for in-person tutoring, so this idea works well. You can teach English to students from all over the world via video chat. All you need is a computer, an internet connection, and a webcam.

Do odd jobs for people in your community.

It’s easier than ever to connect with people who need help with small tasks and errands. Sites like TaskRabbit allow you to offer your services as a “tasker.” You could do anything from grocery shopping to assembling furniture — the sky’s the limit!

Here’s a more in-depth article about Task Rabbit you may find valuable:

Review products or services online

If you’re opinionated and have strong feelings about the products and services you use, why not get paid for sharing your thoughts? Companies are always looking for consumer feedback, so sites like Swagbucks will actually pay you (in gift cards or cash) to write reviews of products or services you’ve used.

I recently wrote about how I earned $600 for a 90-minute call with a similar version of this (where you get paid for your opinion). Either way, you can make money from providing valuable insight to businesses who need it.

Provide customer service support from home

You can use your customer service skills to work from home! Many companies now offer remote customer service positions that can be done entirely from home. This is an ideal gig for people who enjoy talking with people but prefer to do it from the comfort of their homes (and PJs).

Be a virtual assistant

More and more businesses are hiring virtual assistants to handle all sorts of tasks, from scheduling appointments to managing social media accounts. If you have solid administrative or organizational skills, this could be the perfect gig for you!

I work with many agencies and business owners, and about 90% could benefit from the help of an organized virtual assistant. A VA that can help business owners gain more time to run their businesses is in high demand.

Data entry work

This one isn’t the most glamorous, but it is an easy way to make some extra money from home with minimal effort. Companies always need data entry workers to input information into their systems. If you’re good with a keyboard, this may be a perfect gig.

Proofreading and editing services

If you’re always catching typos and grammatical errors in articles, then proofreading might be a perfect gig for you. Businesses of all sizes need proofreaders and editors to review their content before it goes live — and they’re often willing to pay handsomely for these services.

Social media management

Are you always on social media? If so, why not get paid to put your skills to use by helping businesses manage their social media accounts? This can involve anything from crafting posts and coming up with content ideas to engagement and monitoring analytics.

Like a good virtual assistant, this is another area in high-demand. Businesses need people to create, manage, and maintain their communication on social media. Many of these business owners have no desire to learn the nuances of every social media platform, let alone Canva or Adobe Creative Cloud for creating posts.

If you can take this activity off their shoulders and grow their business, you will be able to command your own rates.

Wrapping up

There are so many different ways that you can make money by doing side gigs online. Whether you’re looking for something that is low-commitment or something that can become a full-time business, there’s definitely an option out there for you.

“Fortune sides with him who dares”

~ Virgil

Heck, some of these side gigs could eventually become lucrative enough that you have plenty of cash for the holidays and decide to leave the job you hate.

Have questions? Reach out or leave a comment — I promise I don’t bite.