How to Make Money Online in 2021?

BEST WORKING METHODS WITH EASY STEP-BY-STEP TUTORIALS

how to make money online - OnlineMoneyPage

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In 2021 anyone can learn how to make money online without using too much effort. Whether you want to earn a small side income, find a job replacement full-time work, or launch your own online business, you can easily do that by following the right advice and using our free resources.

This website will step-by-step guide you through your journey and help you save a lot of time. The best part is that you can avoid all the mistakes that our personal-finance experts did when we tested different ways to make money.

All you need is 15-30 minutes of your free time to explore our website, find the guide, read it through, and get started.

While there is no one best solution for everyone, we created this article. It is the list of the best and legitimate ways to earn some extra income. Please take into account your possibilities, expectations, and goals and choose wisely.

20 Legit Ways to Make Money Online

1. Paid Surveys

There are thousands of companies out there, who would like to get to know you better – why? Because you are their target customer. That information helps them to make either better products/services in the future or fine-tune the current ones.

Therefore, there are several market research companies which are offering you paid surveys in order to get your opinion on different subjects.

What does it involve?

Answering paid surveys is very easy. After completing registration, usually, you are required to fill out a profile survey which is often already rewarded. Later, you’ll see all the ongoing surveys where you are eligible. Just choose which one you like, answer honestly, and get rewarded.

Besides, all these sites offer a lot more ways to participate in market research than just paid online surveys. For example, you could use their search engine, plugins, and extensions to earn some extra dollars while these are running on the background, play games, watch videos, etc.

In the end, all these few dollars from here and there add up, and on a monthly/annual basis, you could earn a quite considerable amount of extra income.

How does it work?

Simple process:

  • Register: You’ll need to fill in your information, like your name, location, age, sex, contact details, and payment method, etc.
  • Fill Surveys: Based on the information you’ve provided in your profile, you’ll be shown multiple surveys that you are eligible for. For instance, you might be provided with a survey about men’s grooming products based on the information in your profile that says you’re a man in your mid-twenties.
  • Cash out: The final step is, of course, reaping the rewards for your time and effort. You can cash out to your PayPal account, or choose gift cards redeemable at retailers like Amazon or Walmart.

It’s as simple as that!

How to get started?

You can sign-up to most survey platforms either through their website or app. There are many paid survey sites out there, and not all platforms are created equal.

Fortunately, we have reviewed 20+ of the most popular paid survey sites. There were 5 platforms which stood out from their peers and are our most recommended ones:

PRO TIP! If you want to make money with this method, always consider using 2-3 companies. This way, you’ll never run out of surveys and can always look for the ones with the highest payout.

2. Watch Videos

It’s true – you can make money from home just by checking out specific videos online!

Essentially, you are paid to watch videos online, and surprisingly, they are entertaining more often than not. So, it is a win-win situation: you get a financial benefit plus some amusement.

How does it work?

Most of the time, you need to watch a video and rate it. When you complete the process, you earn points that can be converted into gift cards or money. Watching videos online is an awesome way to make money from home as long as you have internet access.

On Swagbucks, for example, once you have signed up and picked the genre you like, you will be given a daily to-do list. In order to maximize the amount of money or points you can earn, you must complete most of your tasks and try to have every app they offer.

Trust me – it’s legit!

Go to: Swagbucks’s website

3. Get Cash For Gold Online

One of the easiest ways to make money from your home is to sell your gold jewelry or other items that you don’t need anymore. It doesn’t require any work or effort, and you can complete the entire transaction right from the comfort of your chair. As you can do basically everything online nowadays, you can also sell your gold online, you just need to know where to look.

Whether you have a massive jewelry set or a small amount of gold you were setting aside as savings, the current market offers you the perfect environment to make the most money when selling gold online. So, if you want to get cash for gold online and you’re thinking about “where to sell gold near me“– you can stop your search and try out GoldBroker.

4. Teach English

Do you have a strong command of the English language? Perhaps you love working with kids? Well then, freelance English teaching seems like the thing for you.

A freelance English teacher works remotely with children who can be anywhere in the world. Since you are a freelancer, you have the freedom to choose when and how long you would like to work.

Teachers are selected from anywhere as long as they have a stable internet connection. Usually, you will be paid a fixed amount for a specific number of hours.

How does it work?

Since you will be interacting with children, you will have to go through an extensive vetting process before you begin. There will be a number of stages to complete in order to become a successful applicant.

Sites like K12 have specific eligibility criteria, for example, a bachelor’s degree.

Go to: K12’s website

5. Open a High-Yield Savings Account

We can never know when rainy days will come. Therefore, saving money should be among our top priorities.

What is it?

A high-yield savings account, also known as a high-interest savings account, is a type of savings account that will give you better returns on your money. In essence, the bank will pay you more for keeping your money in your savings account and not using it.

How does it work?

You open an account on a financial provider’s website page and follow the prompts. These prompts are usually personal information, email address, and other confidential data.

Once you have deposited a certain amount of money in your account, you will receive a confirmation email, and you’re good to go.

If you want to try out this option, CIT Bank makes the process of applying for high-yield savings accounts simple and easy.

Visit CIT Bank’s website and start your journey.

6. Invest in Dividend-Paying Stocks

Investing in companies that offer dividend-paying stocks can help you make money from home, earning steadily over a long period of time.

What are dividend-paying stocks?

These are shares in a company that entitle you to a portion of the profits. The distributions can be quarterly, semi-annual, or annual.

How do they work?

Firstly, you need to make sure the company you plan on investing in offers dividend-paying stocks. Once you ascertain this, you buy whatever number of shares you want or can afford.

From there on, you receive the dividend specified by the company at the intervals agreed upon.

There are various legit platforms that can help you do this, but our favorite is always Acorns. Acorns gives you access to some of the best companies to invest in, allowing you to make good money through monthly dividends.

Go to: Acorn’s website

See also: Acorns Review – Invest Your Spare Change

7. Start a Blog

Before you roll your eyes and skip this option, let me give you some interesting information.

A blog is essentially a platform where an individual, a company, or a group of people talk and collaborate on ideas and issues important to them.

How does it work?

Starting a blog can be tricky, but there were many hosting platforms that will facilitate the process for you. One of the best sites which I’d recommend is Bluehost (use this link, and get a free domain name for the first year).

Let’s say your blog has been created, and you have a few posts there. Why still no money? Well, you can make money from your blog through affiliate marketing and advertising.

Affiliate marketing is basically promoting products or brands on your website. An excellent platform to look for affiliate offers to your blog is FlexOffers.

See also: How to Start a Blog Tutorial

8. Freelance Proofreading

Maybe you’re not that good of a writer, but you are an awesome proofreader. Well, lucky you! You can get paid to do that too!

What is it?

A freelance proofreader is a self-employed individual skilled at checking for spelling and grammatical errors, as well as the logical progression of a text.

How does it work?

As a proofreader, you are NOT required to edit or rewrite – you only need to check for errors.

There are websites that teach people how to proofread and give them certificates so they can verify their skills. That’s exactly what Caitlin Pyle of Proofread Anywhere is teaching to you through her workshops – these are FREE!

However, you have to sign up for a freelancing platform and detail your proofreading skills plus any other capabilities that make you stand out from the other proofreaders. An excellent platform to get started is ProofreadingServices.

Try out: Proofread Anywhere’s Free Workshop

9. Freelance Writing

Some people have a knack for writing. They can go at it for hours without breaking a sweat.

Are you one of those people? If so, let me tell you this: there is good money to be made here. And you won’t even have to change out of your pajamas: you can make money from home with freelance writing.

What is freelance writing?

Generally speaking, freelancers are independent contractors. They can work for one or multiple companies on specific assignments. Freelance writers do the same: they produce content for one or more clients and work on whatever projects they choose.

See also: Resume Writing Jobs

How does it work?

Most sites would require you to sign up and specify your skills, after which they will usually suggest work aligned with your competencies.

Websites like iWriter allow freelancers to work with vetted employers, guaranteeing your success in earning money from home. You can also try out Upwork or Fivver.

See also: Work From Home Online Jobs

10. Sign-Up Bonuses

This method is about collecting quick low hanging fruits.

How does it work?

It is done by registering to different apps or websites, completing sign-up procedures, where necessary taking introductory surveys or referring these platforms to your friends.

You can make money by getting your friends to sign up and download an app. It’s true – you can totally collect cash for this!

At the end of the day, word-of-mouth marketing is still the best.

How to get started?

  • Get $10 – Swagbucks offers $10 for all new users after completing registration procedures and downloading the app.
  • Get $10 – MyPoints is currently offering a $10 Amazon Gift Card for new users after completing a few basic tasks.
  • Get $5 – InboxDollars is currently offering a $5 signup bonus after registration.
  • Get $5 – Acorns investment app offers $5 for every new user currently. There are no minimum requirements to open an account.
  • Get $36/year +$3 – Shoptracker offers a $3 sign-up bonus and pays you a $3 per month for allowing them to track your Amazon (only) shopping activity/history.

11. Start a Drop-Shipping Website

Can you imagine being able to sell assorted merchandise and make money from home? You can do it, and it’s not all that complicated.

What is a drop-shipping website?

A drop-shipping website refers to an online store that enables you to sell your own items and work with suppliers. If you have ever dreamt of running a business without having to deal directly with warehousing, this is just the thing for you.

How does it work?

With drop-shipping, a retailer (you) does not keep items in stock. Rather, a customer sees an item in your online store, purchases it at retail price, and you forward the order to your supplier.

The product is then sent to your customer by the supplier, who makes a profit from the difference between the wholesale price you pay him or her and the retail price.

When it comes to receiving payments from Amazon or PayPal be sure to view the associated fees, and particularly when it comes to currency exchanges. Check out this list of the best multi currency bank accounts to learn about money-saving alternatives with much lower currency fees.

Places like Shopify can help you set up your own store and establish the right connections.

See also: Shopify Tutorial – How to Create an Online Store

12. Invest in Real Estate

Through the years, I have realized that even a $5 investment can grow to $2,000 over a certain period of time if invested right. When making money from home, people often fail to take this into consideration.

What is an investment in real estate?

Just note that you don’t necessarily have to buy real estate to get returns on it. Investing in this asset class is quite similar to investing in a company – you buy shares and get paid a dividend.

And, don’t be scared because real estate engagements from home are far easier than they are in the physical world. There are companies designed specifically for this. 

How does it work?

Even without buying or owning a real estate property, you can still reap profits from such properties. For instance, Fundrise is a company credited with bringing real estate investment opportunities online. For as little as $500, you can own a share in a real estate project and start making money.

Therefore, if you’ve been longing to invest in real estate, you need not wait any longer. Your small savings can help you start investing in the online real estate platforms. 

13. Invest in P2P Lending

Have you wished you could borrow money without stressing over the impact on your credit score? Well, you can with peer-to-peer (P2P) lending. More importantly, you can make money from it by letting others borrow from you.

What is P2P lending?

It is essentially borrowing money from investors willing to lend it to you on condition that you pay them back at a certain interest rate. As the person lending, you stand to make a profit.

How does it work?

I know, it’s a little risky, but when done right, it allows you to make good money from home. The transactions are secure as both borrower and lender are vetted to ensure there are no discrepancies.

Usually, the maximum amount for a loan is $40,000, with the parties settling the terms of repayment.

An example of a good P2P platform would be LendingClub, which allows lenders to make good returns. The loans can be repaid in full or in installments.

The good things here is that you don’t deal directly with the borrower. The platform ensures that everything runs smoothly.

14. Become a Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants are business professionals who complete administrative tasks for their employers in specified time frames. In short, you can manage calls, inventory, or store records and do all manner of front office tasks.

The good news is that you do all of these from home.

How does it work?

The only difference between an executive assistant and a virtual assistant is that the former works in an office and the latter from home.

You can apply for a remote position through freelancing platforms.

Typically, they will suggest jobs based on the skills you have specified. Once you begin communicating with your employer and discussing the details (payment procedure, working hours, turnaround time, etc.), you’re on your way to making money from home!

Check out: How to Become a Virtual Assistant

15. Data-Entry Jobs

With the onset of the digital age, the market for data entry specialists has exploded.

There is the demand for data entry specialists like never before. This is majorly because the conversion of offline data formats, that were prevalent before the age of the Internet, into digital, computer-readable formats is the need of the hour.

How does it work?

Data entry specialists manually enter this data into a system and digitalize because there are only so many optical character recognition systems that can do, and they are often inaccurate.

You can expect to earn around $8-$12 per hour.

Fortunately, you can sign up without incurring any cost, to some of the data entry websites and start working immediately. You can work as many or as few hours as you please as long as you have a computer or a phone with an internet connection.

Check out: Data Entry Jobs from Home for more information.

16. Become a Remote Employee

If you are qualified, live far from a business location, and 99% of your job can be done from home, being a remote employee will suit you.

How does it work?

You will have to apply for a job just as you would for any other work. Successful candidates will be contacted and vetted.

Various companies offer remote positions for people that are qualified. This is a fantastic way to make money from home because the job offers full benefits and overtime opportunities.

As long as you have reliable and secure internet access, this can provide you with a stable source of income. Obviously, there will be a required number of working hours, but all the hassle of traveling to work is removed.

There are numerous companies looking to employ remote workers in almost every field and all you need is to know where to look. If interested, you can check out our Work-from-Home Jobs article for more details.

17. Earn Money by Making Lists

  • Anything
  • Can
  • Be
  • Made
  • Into
  • A
  • List

If lists are your thing, and you enjoy compartmentalizing, you could earn some good money. All you need to do is be able to present a topic in list form.

How does it work?

On Listverse, you can earn $100 from making a list. Impressive or what? The deal is that you create a list, they review it, and if it’s good enough, it will be published and $100 sent your way.

You need a PayPal account to get your money, but that’s about it. Isn’t this a cool way to earn money from home?

18. Become a Freelance Handyperson

In case you’re good with your hands, you could be a freelance handyperson.

How does it work?

You will have to sign up to a site designed specifically for such service providers because the location is important.

You’re probably looking at this and thinking, “How is this making money from home?” Technically, it is since you and your customers will make contact online. Also, you don’t need to have a business location in order to find work. All you need is a secure internet connection and tools.

Sites like TaskRabbit allow their customers to find immediate help when they need it, meaning you will always have something to do.

19. Money Making Apps

Obviously, not random apps.

Here, I am specifically referring to the apps that either pay you for using these, or that pay you for referring a friend.

How does it work?

There are many apps that enables you to make a side income when you complete some tasks or assignments. Moreover, other apps can help you to save money via cashback from your purchases, or give you one-time bonus for referring a friend, up to $50 per friend.

If you are looking for easy but legit ways to make some extra cash, various money making apps like Swagbucks, Rakuten, UberEats, etc., are all excellent options.

Go to: Best Money Making Apps

20. Surf the Web

You can make money from home by surfing the web. That sounds like a dream every Millennial has had at one point or another, right? Well, it’s a dream that can easily come true.

Some companies do pay people to surf the web. This involves simply going to a website and searching for whatever comes to mind. Yes, you can earn money for that.

How does it work?

You have to sign up to a website offering such an arrangement. After that, you will be able to make money from the specified actions mentioned on the site.

Granted, it’s modest pickings, but it is a reasonably good amount for something you do every day for free.

I suggest you check out InboxDollars. When you finish registering and watching some videos, you can get $5 – and that’s just the beginning!

Go to: InboxDollar’s website

Conclusion

As you saw, making money from home can be done in various ways. Instead of lamenting your shortage of cash, you could try one of them. With such variety at your disposal, you will surely find something that works for you. No matter if you are looking for a source of passive income, or just looking to get started to make some extra money.

As long as you have internet access, a willingness to work, and patience, you will reap the fruits of your labor in due time.

There is no cheat sheet on how to make money, but I hope these tried and tested methods get you there.

Related Resources

Philip Horton

Philip Horton

Philip is one of the co-founders of OnlineMoneyPage. As the Head of Content for OnlineMoneyPage, he is responsible for researching and writing articles. Philip is an experienced finance professional with a proven track record in the field of financial advisory. He has a proven history of success in clients’ financial planning, and his core competencies include the following: Financial Planning & Analysis, Budgeting & Forecasting, Financial Modeling, Income Streams Improvement, and more. Philip holds a master's degree in financial management and is a CFA and CFP charterholder.
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FAQ

Frequent Questions and Answers

1. Get Paid to Play Games

The best sites to get paid for playing games are Swagbucks and Inboxdollars. I recommend trying out both because they offer different games.

2. Create a Gaming Youtube Channel

Earning money with YouTube is easy. You need to create a channel and upload videos. To get videos to your channel, either use Twitch and record while you play or use any desktop recording programs.

3. Create a Gaming Blog

Gaming blogs have been becoming more popular lately. If you are into gaming and love to write as well, then this method is probably for you.

You can write reviews about different games, consoles, and accessories and get paid by sending traffic from your blog to different e-commerce platforms that sell that stuff.

We recommend Bluehost to get started with blogging.

1. Sell Photos Online

One of the most popular and best places to sell your photos is Shutterstock.

It’s straightforward. Upload your photos and each time when someone downloads it, and you’ll get a royalty.

2. Create a YouTube Channel

Making money on YouTube is easy as long as you can create content that attracts people.

If you think you are good at making funny videos and pranks, or vlogging about something specific, you could quickly start your own YouTube channel and make money with it.

YouTube is paying you per view.

3. Take Gigs in Your Neighborhood

Taking gigs on around your neighborhood is one of the most used ways for teenagers to make money.

Best sites for that Care and Sitter City. They offer the following jobs:

  • Babysitter or nanny
  • Pet care
  • Run errands
  • Housekeeping and cleaning
  • Senior care and nursing
  • Tutor and private lessons
  • Elderly companion
  • and many more.
1. Become a Virtual Assistant

If this is something you would like to do, I recommend reading an article on How to Become a Virtual Assistant.

2. Become a Social Media Manager

One of the best sites to look for work like that is FlexJobs.

I recommend reading an overview of freelance jobs from the homepage article if you want to get a glimpse of what to expect.

3. Sell Your Textbooks

The best place to sell your old textbooks is Decluttr.

Read more from the article on the best places to sell textbooks for money.

1. Start a Blog

If you want to get started with blogging, you need a good hosting company. My go-to choice would be Bluehost because of their services:

  • introductory prices are relatively low,
  • load-speed is excellent which helps with rankings,
  • you can install Wordpress with one-click.

NB! Bluehost currently offers you a free domain name for the first year.

Check out the full tutorial on how to make a blog.

2. Start a Dropshipping Website

The best site to get started with creating a dropshipping website is Shopify.

The idea of starting a dropshipping website is similar to creating a blog as you can see from how to create a dropshipping website tutorial.

3. Become a Freelancer

One of the best sites to list yourself as a freelancer and find tons of jobs is FlexJobs.

You should check out an overview of freelance jobs from the homepage article if you want to get a quick overview of what to expect.