by James Sowers |
Last Updated: July 2, 2019 This post may be sponsored or may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission, at no additional cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the full disclosure.
I think you’ll agree with me when I say:
It SUCKS to not have enough money to pay bills.
Even worse, you’ve been asking your arrogant boss for a raise but he tells you to wait for another 4 months.
What do you do now?
Well, it turns out, you can dramatically turn things around by working from home on the side.
In fact, ever since I’ve started to work from home I’ve not only managed to pay my bills effortlessly, but also quit my job and took it full-time.
Do you want to work from home and earn money? Check out these 13 work from home jobs you can start TODAY:
Table of Contents
1. Get Paid To Write Online
Freelance writing is one of the easiest ways to work from home and earn money.
I started out as a freelance writer and within the first 6 months I started to make a consistent $1,500/month from it. (Which helped me to launch my blog and take it passive.)
Fun fact: I am not even a great writer.
I just have a deep passion for writing and that kinda reflects when I put the words together.
Here’s how you can get started:
Step 1: Choose a niche
Sticking to a specific niche is very important.
Why?
Because nobody wants to hire a generalist who can bang out articles after articles that aren’t expertly-written.
You want to position yourself as someone who is an “expert” in the niche and can get them the results they’re looking for by just writing a spectacular piece of content.
Now, there are 3 pointers that makes a good niche.
- Something that you have knowledge about or don’t mind learning about.
- Something that has DEMAND. Clients should be willing to pay good money for it.
- Something that you enjoy writing about.
That’s pretty much it.
Step 2: Prepare your portfolio
Without a portfolio nobody would want to hire you because they don’t know how you write.
A portfolio showcases your writing skills and thus, giving your potential client a clear idea of how you write.
To create one, you can either:
Write a bunch of articles related to your niche on Google Docs and save it to your Drive.
OR
Start a blog and publish blog posts on it. (I prefer this one)
Step 3: Find clients
Finding your first client is the most exciting part of the process because this is where the money is.
Here are some of the MANY ways to find clients:
- Freelance Job Sites like Fiverr, Upwork & Freelancer
- Job boards like ProBlogger
- Cold emailing
If you want to learn a whole lot more about freelance writing, then read my post on How To Make Money As A Freelance Writer: I Made $461.36 In A Week
2. Become A Virtual Assistant And Earn Hourly
Working as a Virtual Assistant or “VA” as people call it, can be a great way to add an extra $1,500-$2,000/month to your income.
So what does a VA do?
As a VA you get paid to do a variety of tasks for business owners or entrepreneurs.
Those tasks can be sending out emails, answering phone calls, writing content, designing images and what not.
The reason they hire VAs is because they don’t have time to do it themselves.
It’s kind of same as an administrative office assistant, but the only difference is you work from home and earn money.
Virtual Assistants are usually paid hourly. Depending upon the service you provide, you can get paid $15-$100/hour.
My friend Gina Horkey has a mind-blowing course called 30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Success where she shows you exactly how she went from nothing to earning $4,000+/month.
This course will walk you through the step-by-step process of launching and growing your VA biz. (And making a full-time income from it)
If you really want to make money from home as a VA, I highly recommend this course.
3. Start A Blog And Earn Passive Income
I’ve said this a lot of times and I’ll say it again: Blogging is one of my favorite work from home jobs to earn money.
Ever since I made the transition from a freelance writer to a full-time blogger, my monthly income has increased dramatically.
The best part? It’s 100% passive.
Meaning: I don’t have to exchange my time for money. I can just set things up once and leave it like that and still make money from it for months or years to come.
For example, this blog post you’re reading now has some of my recommendations in the form of affiliate links.
Whenever someone purchases a product through my affiliate link, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to the buyer. As simple as that.
However, I only promote products that I personally trust and believe in.
You would never see me promoting crappy products because I know I would never buy a product that is not worth my money and I don’t want you to either.
Now, there are numerous ways a blog can make you money.
#1 Affiliate Marketing
As I just mentioned above, affiliate marketing is all about promoting other products for a commission.
You can join affiliate programs related to your niche and get your affiliate link and start promoting it in your blog posts.
Whenever someone purchases the product through your affiliate link, you get your commission.
#2 Ads
Ads are the EASIEST when it comes to monetizing a blog because people don’t have to purchase anything.
You get paid whenever someone clicks on your ad. The earnings per click entirely depends upon a few factors like your niche, your audience location, content quality etc.
However, it’s usually something around $0.10-$3 a click.
Once you start getting a decent amount of traffic, the earnings will pile up and in no time you’ll be earning some good money from it.
#3 Sell Your Own Products
I consider this as the “King” of monetizing a blog because the earning potential is higher than anything else out there.
To no surprise, it pays a whole lot more than even affiliate marketing or ads.
When I started this blog, my ultimate goal was to create and sell my own products. And it still is.
I just have to take a bit of time out of my music classes so that I can bang out a full-blown product.
Here are 5 of the many products you can sell on your blog:
- eBooks
- Video courses
- Printables
- Private membership access to exclusive content
- Physical products such as caps, mugs, t-shirts etc
#4 Sponsored Posts
A sponsored post is a kind of blog post you write for a company promoting their product or service in exchange for money.
Depending upon the size of your audience and monthly engagement, you can get paid anywhere between $50-$2000+ per post.
It is a great way to add an extra layer of income to your bag and I kid you not, you can literally start doing this from the very first month of starting a blog.
Now, if all that sounds interesting and exciting, it’s time to start a blog and bang out those paychecks. Read How To Start A Blog And Make Your First $1,000
4. Become A Proofreader
Do you have an eye for spotting typos and correcting them? If so, you can make a ton of money online proofreading from home.
A proofreader is someone who checks documents for typos and grammatical mistakes and fixes them so it becomes totally error-free.
It is one of the most popular ways to work from home and earn money.
In fact, back when I was working as a freelance writer, I noticed my writings had quite a lot of minor grammar mistakes here and there.
…And because I didn’t wanted my clients to criticize me about that, I went ahead and hired a proofreader to check my articles before sending it to the clients.
And the result? It made my writing so much more professional-looking.
Now this whole thing tells you that if a small freelancer like me can hire a proofreader, then there’s a lot of money to be made.
Why? Because companies are always on the lookout for a good proofreader that can make their writings error-free.
So, how much can you make as a proofreader?
Well, I have a couple of friends who are into proofreading and to no surprise, they make quite a lot of money.
There are some proofreaders earning over $40,000 from home with just a laptop and some skills that can be learnt easily.
One of them is my friend Caitlin Pyle from ProofreadAnywhere.com. She’s a freelance proofreader from Florida making over $40,000+ per year by just fixing typos and grammatical errors.
I’ve been following her journey from a long time and love how she’s crushing it big time working from home.
She even has put together a FREE 76-minute workshop where she shares some of her secret ingredients of success that helped her make money as a proofreader.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this FREE workshop:
- Practices of a successful proofreader (and things to avoid)
- How to acquire those skills to become a KICK-ASS proofreader
- How to use the most popular proofreading tool the right way and attract clients like CRAZY
- More about working from home as a proofreader
The best thing is you don’t need to have a master’s degree in English. You can do this even if you have zero experience.
5. Transcribe Audios To Text
Back when I was starting with this “make money online” thing, I tried my hand at various ways to work from home and earn money and one of them was transcription.
After getting paid some tiny amounts of money to transcribe audios to text, I was quick to back out of it. (Without even trying hard, tbh)
But little did I know, transcription if done right can make you a LIVING.
And with the way new companies are forming every other day, the demand for transcriptionists are only going up and above.
Transcription can be a great way to earn money from home because literally everyone can listen to audios and type it out.
No special talents required.
So, how to get started as a transcriptionist?
Before you start to find jobs as a transcriptionist, you need to know the basics of it first. Don’t miss out on this FREE 7-lesson online transcription mini course by Janet Shaughnessy.
This mini course touches the basic grounds of transcription and will give you the perfect head-start you need to earn money from home as a transcriptionist.
I also recommend reading How Brittany Makes $4,000 Per Month Transcribing From Home.
6. Start Affiliate Marketing And Earn Commissions
As I mentioned a few times above, affiliate marketing means referring someone to a product and when they buy it through your link, you get a commission.
I’ve been into affiliate marketing for a quite a few years now and I must say, it is one of my favorite ways to earn money from home. (If not the favorite)
Here’s how to get started as an affiliate marketer:
Step 1: Join affiliate programs related to your niche
Once you know which niche you want to target, you need to go and join a handful of affiliate programs related to your niche.
You can join as many affiliate programs you like. There’s no limit to it.
So, if I were in the “Travel” niche, I would join affiliate programs such as: booking.com, Tripadvisor, Airbnb etc.
If you can’t think of any affiliate programs in your niche, you can do a simple Google search like “(Your niche) affiliate programs”
and it’ll throw up the top affiliate programs in your niche.
Step 2: Grab your affiliate links
After you’ve applied to a bunch of affiliate programs in your niche, it’s time to go get your affiliate links.
NOTE: Most of the affiliate programs take a minimum of 24 hours to approve your affiliate member application.
You will usually find your affiliate links in the dashboard area alongside real-time statistics such as, clicks, purchases etc.
I recommend creating an excel file containing all the important details about your affiliate programs. Just like how I did here:
This way I don’t have to log into my affiliate dashboard again and again to get my links.
Step 3: Promote your affiliate links
And here comes the best part:
Promoting your affiliate links to earn commissions.
Now, there are A LOT of ways to promote your affiliate link, but I’ll keep it down to 3 of my favorites:
#1 Write blog posts related to the affiliate product
There are tons of ways to monetize a blog and one of them is through affiliate marketing.
All you do is grab your affiliate links and write a blog post related to the product.
For example, if I was promoting an eBook about getting six pack abs, I would write blog posts such as:
- How to get six pack abs by doing these 5 exercises
- Best foods for a leaner body
- How to lose belly fat
- How to do crunches
And within the blog post, I’ll leave my affiliate links so people can buy the eBook.
This way I am solving their problem + getting paid for it.
#2 Make videos on YouTube
Videos are a big thing and you’re leaving a lot of money on the table if you’re not using it.
Promoting affiliate products on your YouTube channel is a great way to make sales.
All you do is make a video related to your affiliate product and leave your affiliate link in the description box.
#3 Promote directly on Pinterest
Back in 2015, Pinterest banned the use of affiliate links on their platform due to the rise of spammers.
After a year, they brought it back because they found a way to tackle the spammers. (And I couldn’t stop drooling over this!)
Since they allowed it back, I was able to make 27 affiliate sales for different products and some of them were RECURRING!
That means I get paid every single month whenever they renew their plan.
If you want to learn the ins and outs of making money with affiliate marketing but don’t know how, then I have a good news for you.
My friend Franklin Hatchett who is a well-known affiliate marketer and eCom expert, created a full-blown affiliate marketing training course called Savage Affiliates to show you how he makes a living as an affiliate.
This course will take you from ground-zero to becoming a PRO in affiliate marketing.
…And if you implement the strategies, within the first 30 days you could be laughing your way to the bank to withdraw your affiliate earnings.
It already has 1000+ students enrolled, then why not YOU be the next one?
7. Become A Virtual Bookkeeper
If you’re someone who likes to calculate your expenses or keep any kind of records, then you could become a bookkeeper and get paid up to $60/hour.
Just like a bookkeeper you see in every office, a “virtual” bookkeeper is responsible for doing tasks such as:
- Processing payroll
- Maintaining yearly budget
- Issuing invoices
- Complying with taxes
- etc.
The only difference is – a “virtual” bookkeeper works from home.
You don’t need anything apart from a computer/laptop and an internet connection to get started.
I highly recommend taking this FREE class that teaches everything about starting a bookkeeping business.
8. Write And Sell An eBook
Now-a-days eBooks have become a great way to consume information and more and more people are cashing in on this trend.
Selling eBooks are a great way to earn passive income online because they can be downloaded, unlike physical paper books which require distribution.
You could write an eBook about anything but it’s always best to write something you have knowledge about or at least enjoy.
I am currently in the process of writing my first ever eBook and the excitement levels are over the roof.
If you want to earn passive income by selling eBooks, then I highly recommend the eBook Best-Seller Bootcamp by Ana.
It is a beginner to advanced video course that shows you how to self-publish your eBook the right way and have people buy them like CRAZY!
No matter if you’re an experienced author or a total newbie, this course will sky-rocket your sales.
And the best part? You don’t need to be a great writer.
Use code “EBB20OFF” to get $20 OFF
9. Get Paid To Share Your Opinion
What if there was a way to answer a few questions and get paid for it?
Well, there is. It’s called online surveys.
Taking online surveys won’t make you a living, but it is a great way to earn some extra money working from home.
Surveys are fun to do and doesn’t take up much of your time. In fact, they’re usually just 10-30 minutes long.
You could complete a survey while watching your favorite TV show or even on the go.
It’s made for people like you and me who likes to make some extra money doing almost nothing.
When it comes to choosing online survey companies, I am slightly biased because I have a favorite.
It’s SurveyJunkie.
They pay $2-$75 per completed survey, which is likely the best pay rate among others.
For each survey that you complete, you receive points which can be redeemed for cash via PayPal or in the form of gift cards.
Just so you know, every 100 points equals $1.
Here’s how to earn your first $1 in 5 minutes:
- Sign up through my link and get 25 points instantly.
- Confirm your email address and get 25 points.
- Complete your profile and get 50 points.
- Take a “How it Works” tour and get 5 points.
- Take simple profile surveys and get 10 points each.
Once you reach their minimum threshold of 1000 points, you can withdraw your earnings.
10. Flip Items For Profit
Flipping items means buying something for a good (and lower) price and selling it for a higher price. This way you make a profit out of it.
This work from home job requires no past experience and skills and can potentially make you money from the very first week itself.
It’s that quick.
You can literally flip ANYTHING you find for a good price, but here are some examples that has worked quite well:
If you want to learn how to make $3,000-$7,000+ per month by flipping simple items, then make sure you take this FREE class by Rob and Melissa Stephenson from the Flipper University.
This couple makes over $100,000/year flipping items for profit.
…And because they’re passionate about sharing how they do it, they’re offering this value-packed class for FREE so you can learn their strategies of flipping items and earning money from home.
Even if you don’t have time to do this full-time yet, you can start this as a side hustle to work from home and earn money.
11. Start A Dropshipping Online Store
Dropshipping is a great eCommerce business model where you sell physical products without keeping any inventory or warehouse. On top of that, you don’t even have to deal with the shipping and labeling.
Sounds like a dream, right?
Here’s how you can start a dropshipping business from home:
Step 1: Find a reliable wholesale supplier
The first thing you need to do is partner up with a wholesale supplier who can ship the products directly to your customer.
AliExpress is a platform where you can find wholesale suppliers from 40 categories like jewelry, electronics and clothing. It is completely free to sign up.
NOTE: It can be a bit tricky to find a good and reliable wholesale supplier because the market is full of them and not everyone is genuine.
You need to have a great eye to differentiate between who’s good and who’s not.
Step 2: Set your partnership terms
Once you find a good supplier, the next thing you’ll do is let him know about your terms.
Those can be:
- Not disclosing the wholesale price on the invoice
- Have your own branding on the products
- Delivering strictly on the mentioned delivery date
- etc
When everything is agreed upon, move to step 3.
Step 3: Setup your online store
Setting up an online store isn’t as complex as it sounds.
In fact, eCommerce platforms like Shopify makes it super-convenient to build one from scratch within 30 minutes.
After signing up with Shopify, you can select a theme, add your logo, connect your domain name etc.
Once you’re done with all of that, you’ll add the products to your online store from your wholesale supplier and set your price for it.
If your supplier is selling the item for $13, you’ll want to price it at $15 or $17.
Whenever a customer places an order on your online store, you’ll collect the money and forward the order and shipping details to your supplier.
The supplier then ships the product directly to the customer.
To conclude:
Your customer paid you $17 –> You paid your supplier $13.
You get to keep $4 per order.
Now, imagine getting at least 25 orders a day with the profit of $4 per order. That’s friggin $100 A DAY!
Getting 25 orders a day is quite possible if you know the strategies the “gurus” don’t tell you.
But my friend Franklin, who is an eCom expert reveals it all in his dropshipping course called eCom Elites.
This course has over 150 step-by-step videos that goes through everything from setting up an online store, finding genuine suppliers, adding products to making sales fast using little-known strategies.
There’s A LOT to it that I can’t explain it all here.
He goes real deep in there showing you how exactly he makes a living with his dropshipping online stores.
If you want to start your own dropshipping business and earn money from home, this is the only course you need.
12. Teach An Online Course And Sell Your Expertise
Online courses are and always will be one of the hottest ways to work from home and earn money.
Why?
Because everybody wants to learn something. It can be as simple as making apple crepes or as complex as learning coding.
There’s an audience for every category willing to spend money to learn a skill or acquire knowledge.
Selling online courses allow you to make money off your skills. All you do is create a course once and it sells for years to come, without you having to do anything.
Plus, they establish you as an expert and it’s a whole lot easier than you think.
Platforms like Teachable makes the process of creating and selling online courses even more smoother with their power-packed features.
It let’s you charge a one-time fee, a subscription or a customized payment plan for your online courses and your students can pay you via PayPal or Stripe.
You can also offer discount coupon codes or add an affiliate program to your courses so people can promote it and split the profits.
There are SOOO many awesome features of Teachable that you’ll fall in love with creating online courses.
On a side note, if you want to learn how to start selling online courses, you should definitely take this FREE class when you sign up on Skillshare.
13. Become A YouTuber
We all know there is a lot of money to be made on YouTube because everyone including my aunt is coming up with a channel of hers.
I don’t know about you, but it really fascinates me seeing people getting paid for doing something they love.
If you have something interesting to share with the world on a regular basis, then you can earn money from home as a YouTuber.
You could create video blogs about your day-to-day life, share cooking recipes, do makeup tutorials or just sing songs in front of the camera.
As I mentioned above, the internet is huge and there is an audience for every category.
Once you reach at least a 1000 subscribers, you can monetize your channel with ads by Google AdSense.
From thereon, your videos will display ads and whenever a viewer clicks on them, you get paid.
There are also other methods to monetize a YouTube channel such as:
- Promoting affiliate products for a commission
- Selling merchandise like t-shirts, mugs, caps etc
- YouTube Super Chat where you do a live stream and viewers can pay you if they want their comment to be pinned to the top
- Etc
Overall, starting a YouTube channel can become a great work from home job to earn money.
And when you see amazing people like Ryan who made 22 million dollars in a year reviewing toys, you automatically get motivated.
That tells you there’s money to be made. Maybe slowly, but surely.
My friend Phil Ebiner has a brilliant and super-affordable course on making money on YouTube. Check it out here.
Final Words
Now it’s over to you.
Which work from home job are you going to start working on?
Do you plan to become a virtual assistant? Or maybe you want to start your own blog.
Or maybe you have a question that you want to ask me like ANYHOW!
Go ahead and leave a comment below right now. 🙂
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