25 Ways to Make Money Online as a Beginner
There’s a growing interest among millennials towards jobs that can be done online.
Truth is, this is hardly surprising to anyone.
The internet has shaped most of our lives and it’s only natural that it should shape our careers as well.
Plus, making money online comes with an undeniable advantage that traditional office jobs simply don’t offer – mobility.
Therefore, the idea that you can earn money regardless of where you are — provided that you have an internet connection – is appealing to many of us.
Yes, but what if you’re a complete beginner? Well, then you’ll have to climb a steeper mountain than the rest of us, but it doesn’t mean you won’t succeed.
The key? To have some marketable skills or to develop some marketable skills that you can build a career on.
So, if you have marketable skills or you’re willing to learn new skills, you can earn money online even without any previous experience working online.
For the better part of my career, I have earned my living online. If you too are considering this route, but don’t know where to start, this article will help you with ideas on what you could try.
So, here it is – 25 ways to make money online even as a novice:
1. Blogging
You can tackle setting up a blog with WordPress even if you’re not a techie.
When I had to build my first website, I didn’t know where to start, but I read a lot of website building tutorials and took it one step at a time.
I’ll be honest, my first website was quite a mess, but my second and third websites were quite good.
Besides a blogging platform for your blog, you’ll also need:
- Web hosting (choose a simple shared hosting plan to start with, then expand if your site grows);
- Domain name (which you can get for free with your hosting plan from BlueHost);
- Lots of engaging content;
- Lots of traffic (which you can get with online marketing and search engine optimization).
Earning money from blogging doesn’t happen overnight, your site needs a lot of traffic before you can start earning money from it.
Still, if you manage to build a high-traffic blog, you can monetize it by running Google Ads on it, selling advertising banners, doing affiliate marketing, etc.
2. Join Fiverr
Fiverr is one of the world’s most popular marketplaces for freelancers who want to make money online.
You can join Fiverr regardless of the types of skills you have as Fiverr has plenty of job categories you can choose from. From writing and translation to video and animation, you’ll pretty much find everything.
After you join this platform and create yourself a profile, you can start accepting jobs and get paid for your work.
Clients will review your work, and the better the reviews, the higher your chances of getting hired by prospective clients.
Therefore, make sure to only accept jobs that you’re confident you can complete until the deadline.
If you don’t do a good job and you disappoint your customers, you will get bad reviews, which will lower your chances of getting hired by future clients.
3. Write Articles for Other Websites
If you’re a talented writer, why not become a copywriter for other websites?
Find blogs and online magazines in your fields of interest that are looking for collaborators and writers.
You can even join Fiverr and offer copywriting services to interested clients.
If you’ve never written articles that were featured somewhere, get ready to write a sample article that will help your prospective clients decide if you’re suitable for the job.
4. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing works well for blogs, websites, but even for certain social media channels like Instagram or even YouTube.
The idea behind affiliate marketing is to drive sales for a company and get paid a commission after the sales generated through your blog or website.
Currently, Amazon’s affiliate program is the most popular, but there are many other affiliate programs that you can join depending on your niche.
You could drive sales for cosmetic companies, gaming companies, web hosting companies, clothing companies, or any other company or brand that’s relevant for your niche.
The key to successfully making money from affiliate marketing is to have a high-traffic website or to have a large follower base.
In fact, most marketing-related online projects are only successful if you manage to reach enough people.
And how can you reach people? Provide value to your readers and work on search engine optimization.
5. Teach Online
If you have skills that you can pass on to others, you can teach classes online by joining networks like Skillshare, where you can create a series of videos, upload them and earn money when people enroll in your classes.
If you don’t want to join a teaching network, you can advertise your tutoring services on your own blog or create a YouTube channel where you upload tutorials or classes for various skill levels.
I learned French by subscribing to a YouTube channel called Learn French with Vincent, which has over 650,000 subscribers and over 230,000 videos.
If you’re wondering how you can make money from publishing videos on YouTube, read our next idea on how to make money online:
6. Create YouTube Videos
Besides affiliate marketing, you can make money on YouTube by creating a channel, amassing subscribers and serving ads on your videos.
Just like blogging, getting subscribers and views on YouTube takes a while, but if your videos are interesting or they go viral, chances are you’re going to do well earning money with YouTube.
Topics that are popular on YouTube include funny videos of pets, tutorials, reviews, channels about technology, IT and video games.
In fact, tech videos are so popular that the channel Linus Tech Tips has 6,660,657 subscribers with “only” 4,257 videos (compared to the French teaching channel, it’s not a lot at all).
Therefore, if you choose to create videos in a popular niche, you may get more subscribers and more views, even with fewer videos.
7. Sell Your Designs
You have a real knack for coming up with great designs? Why not try to make money with them?
Sites like Cafepress, Lulu Press or Zazzle are print to order services that sell people your designs printed on cups, t-shirts, bags, etc. and pay you a royalty after each sale.
If this sounds like something you’d like to try, go ahead and create a profile on one of these sites.
Alternatively, you could do design work on Fiverr or other platforms like Freelancer.
8. Make Money on Freelancer
Freelancer is a marketplace that’s very similar to Fiverr, but instead of clients approaching you, there’s a bidding system, where you have to make your bid for a certain job.
Only when your bid gets accepted can you start making money.
There are various other job boards that you can join like Upwork or you can find online gigs even on Craigslist.
9 Launch an Online Shop
If you have an idea for a great product line or you want to launch an eCommerce shop, you can build an online store and sell your own products.
If you’re worried about having to learn coding to pull it off, you needn’t worry. Platforms like Shopify allow you to launch an online store with literally no coding or programming experience.
All you have to do is sign up, pick a template and customize it however you want with their drag and drop store builder.
Shopify even comes with tools like inventory management, payment integration, marketing tools, integration with other selling platforms like Facebook Shop, eBay, or Amazon.
For a monthly fee starting at $29, you get a custom domain and a full-featured eStore to sell your products online.
10. Become a Social Media Manager
Businesses all over the world hire social media managers that keep the company’s social media channels updated.
As a social media manager, you must regularly make posts, reply to people’s requests on social media channels, and run marketing campaigns on these platforms.
If you’re passionate about social media and you’re on every channel there is, and you know every nook and cranny of each, you can apply for a social media manager position that you can do remotely.
11. Write an eBook
If you have an idea for a book, but you don’t have any experience in the book publishing industry, this shouldn’t stand in your way.
The solution? Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing.
A simple way to publish a book without having to be signed on by a publishing house and conforming to their rules.
Once you go through the process of writing your eBook, you can create an account on Amazon and publish your eBook, which will reach audiences worldwide.
You can promote your eBook on social media and control all aspects related to the launching of your eBook.
If your debut book is successful, publishing your next book will be much easier since you now have a fanbase that will already be interested in your next work.
12. Do Reviews
I read reviews about everything – before I go to see a movie, before I book a hotel or restaurant, before I buy any digital or physical product.
And I know that I’m not alone in doing so. People research the products they buy, and they rely heavily on the opinions of others.
In fact, reviews are an important factor of any purchase decision.
It doesn’t matter which medium of expression you use to make reviews, video and blog reviews can be both monetized through affiliate marketing or sponsorship deals.
13. Become a Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant is much like a regular assistant and carries out the same tasks: schedules appointments, plans trips, answers phones, sends gifts and does other administrative tasks (creates reports, presentations, etc.).
A virtual assistant does pretty much the same task as a regular assistant only that they work remotely.
The average salary of a virtual assistant in the US is $16.38 per hour.
You can apply for these jobs on popular job boards, Fiverr, Craigslist, etc.
All you need is a phone, access to internet and some administrative skills.
14. Bank on Your Social Media Influence
Do you have a lot of followers on your social media channels? Everything you post gets likes and shares immediately?
Well, it’s pretty much all you need to work as a social media influencer and strike deals with various brands.
Social media influencers make money online by promoting various brands, products and services to their followers.
You can reach out to brands yourself or, if your social media profile is popular enough, brands that want to work with you will certainly reach out to you.
Instagram is currently the most popular platform for influencers that promote jewelry, clothes, cosmetics, sports equipment, weight loss supplements, and other “Instagrammable” products.
Depending on the brands you work with and the size of your follower base, you could be making anywhere between $200 and $500 on a post or small campaign, but some influencers earn way more than that.
The more popular you are and the more followers you have, the more brands will be willing to strike a deal with you.
15. Build an App
If you know a few things about programming or you’re interested in coding, you could learn to build apps and make money with them.
You can create free apps and run ads on them, allow people to make in-app purchases, or make custom-built apps for people who need it.
You can set up your own personal website to promote your skills or join Fiverr or Freelancer.
Even if you’re not a programmer nor are you willing to become one, you can still make money from apps by having your apps built by someone else.
If you have a great idea for an app, you can pay someone to build it for you. Once it’s ready, you can market it, and make money with it.
16. Work Remotely as a Tester
IT companies hire testers to test software and websites before they go live for the general public.
As a tester, you need some IT skills, but many companies hire novices who are willing to go through training and to learn on the job.
Testers are used by companies in the quality assurance process before app or software releases or before websites go live.
Their job is to identify bugs and report them, so that the developer team can fix them.
If this sound like something you’d be interested in doing, apply for remote tester jobs and earn money while doing work online.
17. Create WordPress Plugins
If you’re passionate about coding, you could make a living creating WordPress plugins.
Even though these might be a tougher nut to crack for a beginner, you could start with simple things like creating a simple contact form plugin and work your way up to more difficult ones.
You can sell your plugins on Codecanyon or your own website.
18. Work as Freelancer
If you like building websites, doing translations, doing subtitles, or you have other skills that you can market, you can join freelancing networks like Fiverr, but you could build your own website, where you market your skills.
If freelancing is the route you want to go on, I encourage you to branch out on as many channels as possible to get a bigger reach.
So, build that website, but also sign up to platforms that already have an established customer base that you can work with.
19. Sell Digital Products
Piggybacking on the idea of creating software that you can sell online, you can make other digital products to sell online like stock videos, sound effects, music, designs, illustrations, logos, etc.
A good platform for these types of products is Envato or even Depositphotos.
All you have to do is create a profile, upload your products and wait for people to buy them.
20. Sell Your Photos
Similarly, you can sell your photos on Shutterstock, Depositphotos, Getty Images and so on.
Create a profile, upload your photos in various resolutions, tag them with relevant keywords and get paid after every purchase.
The key to being successful on these platforms is to upload a lot of photos and hit as many categories as possible.
If you don’t want to feature your photos on these platforms, you can create a personal photography website and try to sell your photos there and perhaps even market your services to people willing to hire a photographer.
You can of course market your photos on social media channels, especially Instagram and Facebook.
You can do product photography, wedding photography, nature or baby photography.
21. Do Online Gigs
Find gigs on Craigslist or Fiverr that you can do online. Ask for payment on PayPal, Skrill or other ewallet platforms.
You could do any gigs from making video subtitles, typing jobs, voiceovers, or translations.
If there’s something you’re really good at, you can place your own ads on Craigslist or Facebook.
22. Resell Products
A good way to earn money online is through re-selling various products.
I can’t personally attest to the lucrativeness of this particular idea, but it makes sense especially if you buy things in bulk and resell them per item at a higher price.
You could resell clothes that you order in bulk from China, you could re-sell refurbished products, or things that you buy from garage sales and restore yourself.
If you have a good eye for valuable and unique stuff, you could buy them from second-hand shops and sell them on Amazon for a profit.
You can re-sell other things too, like web hosting, domains, websites and other services or digital products.
23. Test Video Games
Tester jobs are available not only for those in IT, but also for the gaming industry.
Just like any other software, video games also go through a testing phase before they’re released.
If you play a lot of video games, playing some more while getting paid for it sounds like a dream come true for all gamers.
All you have to do is test the game and report any bugs you find.
See if any companies are hiring video game testers for remote work.
24. Create WordPress Themes
Again, just like creating plugins, this online job can be a difficult challenge for a complete beginner, but if you’re studying programming, you could start developing WordPress software.
You don’t have to start big, you could tackle smaller themes like an online CV theme or simple landing page themes.
Sign up to Themeforest as an author and sell your work.
25. Online Support
If you’re a good communicator and you’re not put off by angry customers, you could take a remote online support job.
All you need is a laptop or PC and a headset, and you’re ready to get started.
Customer support jobs are needed across all industries, so finding a job in customer support is not difficult.
Many companies hire inexperienced support staff and put them through training before they can start working.
You can do customer support jobs for IT companies, telecommunications companies, online stores, hosting companies, etc.
Customer support can be a monotonous and draining job, especially if you have to deal with a lot of disgruntled customers, so you do have to show some resilience to be able to do this job.
Some of the jobs in this list do require some previous knowledge in certain fields (e.g. IT and programming), but if you’re willing to learn on the go, you’ll be able to tackle the challenges that you face.
Other jobs are dependent on personal skills like being a likeable or sociable person or being creative or talented at something.
Either way, working from home or working while travelling can be done in many professions.
I, for one, know that I prefer working remotely and have been doing so for most of my professional career.
Final Thoughts
As a beginner, you might not have what it takes to compete with others who have experience, but this shouldn’t discourage you in any way from pursuing something you’d like to do.
You can always learn the things you don’t know by enrolling in online classes or watching tutorials on YouTube or reading professional blogs or articles.
This concludes my tips for ways to make money online without experience.
I hope you’re now better informed on how to make money remotely and you’re ready to start your own project.
Updated on: August 26, 2018
