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Looking for creative ways to make money online this summerso you can finally afford that dream vacation? Or perhaps you’re just looking for some new ideas on how to work from home and earn a little something on the side?
I got you covered!
When I was growing up, every 2 in 3 “make money online” opportunity was a scam but as a blogger, virtual assistant and online marketing manager, I know it’s more than possible to earn money from the comfort of your own home in 2021.
Some people choose to make a career out of it and quit their day jobs to do it full time, but there is no reason why you couldn’t get started with some of these creative ventures this summer and learn a little extra cash to treat yourself.
Gathered from my own experience, extensive research, and trusted recommendations, here are 10 creative ways to make some extra cash this summer:
(This post is not endorsedby any of the mentioned parties or resources but it does contain affiliate links. Read on to find out more about affiliate marketing and how you can use it to increase your income.)
💎 START A BLOG
Are you a good writer? Do you enjoying sharing thoughts, tips and resources (on any topic!) and have a little extra time on your hands?Starting a blog can be both a creativeoutlet and a profitable hobby!
Read my tutorial on How To Start A Profitable Blogand get started with as little as $3 a month. There are plenty of resources and tutorials out there that can help you on your journey, and while it does take consistency, this is a venture that can really pay off!
Check out my post aboutHow I Made My First $1000 Blogging to get ideas on how to monetise your own blog and check out my ebook on How To Boost Your Blog Trafficto grow your existent blog because higher page views can open up a ton of new opportunities and increase your blogging income.
Or better yet, take my brand new free course on how to start a money-making blog by entering your email address below:
💎MONETIZE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
The beauty of modern technology is that you can become an influencer even without a blog. If you have a decent following on your social media platforms, why not take advantage of that and accept sponsored content (get paid to post by working with brands or networks) or use affiliate links to get a cut of the sales you make.
IZEA and Social Native are some great platforms to get connected with brands and monetize your social media content (you literally get paid to Tweet or post Instagram photos). It’s completely free to join and even if the payouts aren’t huge they add up in time!
If that is out of your price range, I would recommend reading my post onHow I made my first affiliate sale With Pinterestwhere I explain what affiliate marketing is in more depth and look into this ebook that thought me all the strategies I need to make a nice monthly income with my Pinterest account.
Be sure to also check my post on5 High-Paying Affiliate Programs For Bloggersto get you started and grab my free list of 25 popular affiliate programs for bloggers and content creators to find what programs to apply to when you are just starting out.
PRO TIP: Whether you are using affiliate marketing on your blog on just on your social media platforms, find yourself an affiliate buddy and whenever you shop online if the other is an affiliate for the product you’re about to buy, use their link and vice versa. This way you can help your buddy earn a commission from an item that you would’ve bought anyways and they can do the same for you.
💎 START AN AMAZON FBA BUSINESS
You probably think that starting selling on Amazon is an impossible thing to do on your own, especially if you have no clue how it works. But the truth is, that with some research and a lot of determination, is totally possible!
The Selling Family explains the process the best in this post about How To Sell On Amazon – Everything You Need To Know!
Another misconception about starting your own FBA business is that you need a whole team of people and you have to know to process in and out. False! I personally know people who have started their own businesses from scratchand now they are full-time Amazon sellers.
Not saying it was easy andsome tasks are delegated to freelancers when a certain skill is needed or when the business expanded, but it is totally possible! And because Amazon takes over the shipping process, once you send your stock in and put together your listings, you can make this a passive income stream andmanage everything online from anywhere you are in the world.
If you are curious to know more about the process or ready to take the leap and start your online business, I would recommend checking out The Selling Family!
I especially recommend the Amazon Boot Campfor people who are just starting off. And remember, whatever price you see, a 50% discount with automatically apply at the checkout (for a limited time only)!
💎 TAKE SURVEYS
I know, I know. In comparison to building an online empire, this sounds like a waste of time. But in terms of low-risk time investments that you can make this summer to earn some quick cash, taking surveys is a no-brainer.
Companies such as Swagbucksand American Consumer Opinion actually pay you to take online surveys and by spending a few minutes every dayanswering questions and being opinionated, you can gather up a nice monthly payout.
(Swagbucks enables you to win cash rewards or Amazon gift cards and they reward you “SB points” for certain actions that you take through their website.)
My tip for taking online surveys is to not get carried away (I’ve seen other bloggers recommending 10-20 survey websites where you can join)and only frequent one or two trusted survey websites. This way, you meet their payment threshold quicker and youcan use the rest of your time following along other suggestions from this post that might be more lucrative.
💎 SELL GIGS ON FIVERR
If you have any hidden talents or skills, now is the time to polish them and put them to good use! By making yourself available for hire on Fiverryou can list some of the tasks you can do (get creative!) and get paid.
Although listings (also known as gigs) start at $5, there is a real opportunity to make money by dedicating some time and adding upgrades to your gigs. For example, I got hired to do a $5 job and the buyerpaid for an upgrade of $100 later on because he was happy with the initial results andneeded extra help.
Avoid underpricing yourselfby calculating your hourly rate. If a job takes more than 30 minutes, start your gig at a higher price. Get creative andjoin Fiverr today!
💎 BECOME A FULL FLEDGED VA OR FREELANCER
💎 BECOME A FULL FLEDGED VA OR FREELANCERIf you master skills that are worth way more than $5 per task, don’t be afraid to get out there. Freelancing and virtual assisting are really big at the moment and there is no shortage of things you can do to help others grow their business (for which they are willing to pay generous sums).
Start by making a list of tasks you can handle, tools you can easily use and topics you are knowledgeable in to get a clue of who your ideal client is. You can either start your own VA business, do it part-time for small clients in your network, start a blog to attract more clients and display your portfolio, testimonial & rates or look for work on freelancing websites such as UpWork or Freelancer.
I highly recommend taking a look at Andrew’s guide of becoming a profitable freelancer, Freelancing 101: Turning your Side Hustle into Cash.
💎 START AN ONLINE STORE
Starting an online store is accessible for literally anyone today! And there is plenty of information out there that can help you catch up to your competitors and make a nice side income.
Are you crafty and you know it? Put that creativity to good use and start an Etsy store to display your beautiful creations!
The start-up costcan be very small (they only charge a fee of what you sell and $0.20 per listing + the money you will need to invest in supplies) andyou can easily make a profit by selling handmade physical and digital goods.
In terms of resources, Creative Live is my go-to place for premium courses to learn about everything. And they have this amazing course onHow to Make a Living Selling What You Make that can help your handmade business thrive!
Ready to go pro with your online store? Start an e-commerce website or drop shipping business with Shopify!
If you want an overview of what’s involved in building and running an online store, I recommend buying Building a Business: How to dream, plan, make, sell and share your online shop byMaggie Whitley.
💎 CREATE AND SELL A DIGITAL PRODUCT
Digital products are amazing for increasing your income without much initial cost. If you already have a blog and you have build a readership around a certain topic, creating an ebook or e-course that you know people need and want can be a very profitable income stream.
My first digital product is an ebook titled “The She Approach To Boosting Your Blog Traffic” that helps new and small bloggers boost their page views and build a real and engaged audience for their blog. I sell the ebook on my blog via Send Owlwhich I couldn’t recommend more for selling digital (or physical) products online and you can even run your own affiliate program!
For online courses, Teachable is the ideal platform to host your e-course because it is easy to set up as a course creator and it is loved by students worldwide! (You also have an affiliate program included with the platform if you choose to market your course with the help of affiliates.)
>> Find out how to create an Online Course to grow your online business here!
Or if you’re not sure which platform is right for you, check out this article on The Best Online Course Hosting Platforms.
If you don’t have a platform to sell your digital products on, Amazon Kindle, Etsy, Creative Market and many more options are available to you to choose from (depending on the nature of the product).
💎START A PODCAST OR A YOUTUBE CHANEL
Are you more of a talker and you can talk for ages about topics people want to hear about?Why not start a Podcast? Or start vlogging?
Because, yes, you can actually make money from that too. From sponsorships & including your affiliate links in your content to much more, being online and becoming a voice and an influence on a certain topic can easily translate into ways to monetize your ideas.
If starting a podcast has been on your mind or if you already have one but you’re not making any money from it, I would recommend taking Lewis Howe’s class onStart Your Profitable Podcast & Build a Brand.
If you are more comfortable on video and are getting serious about it, Amy’s Schmittauer course onVlog Like a Boss can take your vlogging skills to a professional level and help you monetize your Youtube channel.
💎 RENT A ROOM IN YOUR HOUSE
While technically this isn’t a way to make money online, the entire process (besides the actual humans that come over to your house) happens in the online space.
You probably heard that you can book accommodation through Airbnb, but you can also make nice money by opening out a private room in your house to guests. In fact, after yousign up with them they give you an estimate of what houses around you are making on a weekly basis and it’s mindblowing!
Becoming a host is incredibly easy and Airbnb has all sorts of policies in place that protect you and your house from any possible damage that guests might inflict (although I doubt this happens often). Not only that but their platform is so popular that they actually bring in the guest without you having to do any marketing!
The conclusion is that you can definitely make money online and it’s up to you how you choose to scale your business. You can take any of these ideas, take them down a notch and just use them as a side-hustle to make some extra money on the side while working your 9-5 (which is absolutely ok and a brilliant idea) or you canfind something that you are really passionate about and turn it into a thriving business.
In which case, I highly recommend investing in Lewis Howel’s course on How ToStart a Profitable Online Business.Lewis along with his guest instructors share their experience and proven strategies for building authority, gaining online media, attracting industry influencers, and leveraging social media communities to increase brand awareness and generate more sales. (Basically, everything you need to know no matter what sort of business you are thinking of starting!)
Check out his course on Creative Live here!
Did you get any new ideas from this post? Let me know in the comment section below!
