Mastering the Art of Online Income: 20 Strategies Recommended by ChatGPT
We’re all looking to make extra money on the internet. What with the poor state of economies across the world, it seems like everyone is looking for the perfect side hustle or extra income stream to bring in more cash.
So, what are the top ways to make money via the web? I tottled off to my laptop and put that query to ChatGPT and here’s what it came up with. These may be already known to you, you may have heard of only a few or you’re completely new to it, but I hope they’ll be useful in your efforts to hustle.
1.Freelancing — you can offer your skills as a freelance writer, designer, web developer, marketer (etc) on places like Upwork, Freelancer and Fiverr. Now, I have joined all three of those platforms and, while I did get some work via Fiverr, I never got the money because, despite writing numerous press releases for clients, I made about £3. And you have to make at least £5 to get your cash. By the time, I’d made my £3, I had lost the will to live so I quite it. So, nope, I won’t be trying any of those again any time soon. The only way I might reconsider it, is to look at doing something other than copywriting, such as selling a digital product on it.
2.Blogging — I’ve been blogging for years now and this is something I definitely will be looking at. I have put affiliate marketing on my website, but I haven’t been successful making money from it. It’s because I don’t really know what I’m doing, so this is something I need to look at urgently. However, I know there are loads of people out there still making money via their blog. How you make money in this way is via ads, sponsored content, affiliate marketing or selling products or services. My blog is just about my life, so if I was to consider upping how much I make on my blog, I wouldn’t do it on my author one. I would, instead, find a niche to blog about and then look to make money once I had built my audience.
3. YouTube — you can make a load of money through making videos and uploading them to YouTube then monetizing the site via ads, sponsorships and selling merchandise. However, it does take a lot of work (you need to make, edit and upload your videos regularly) and you need to know what you’re doing, but there is loads of great advice out there on how to do it.
4. E-commerce — in other words, selling physical or digital products (ebooks, templates, printables, SVG files) on platforms such as Etsy, Shopify, WooCommerce, Ravelry and Folksy.
5. Dropshipping — this is where you sell products that you don’t actually hold in stock. When an order is placed, it goes to the manufacturer or supplier and is shipped directly from them. Printful is one such supplier who can print on demand things like t-shirts and mugs, and ship directly to your customers.
6. Online training — you can share your expertise via online training sites such as Udemy or Teachable or offer virtual tutoring in your subject via VIPKid or Chegg.
7. Photography — sell your photos and videos on stock websites such as Shutterstock, Adobe and Canva. I’m not good enough with the camera to do this, but you might be.
8.Podcasting — choose a niche subject and create a regular podcast on that subject. Monetize your podcast via ads, sponsorship and premium content. Podcasts I listen to regularly include Slightly Foxed and The Creative Penn. They are both about the book industry and offer great interviews and advice.
9.Content Writing — that is writing articles, blog posts and website copy for businesses. How do you get these jobs? Well you could bid for them on platforms such as Upwork. I’ve not had much success on this site, but that’s because I haven’t spent a lot of time on it. Or you could contact your dream contractor directly and sell yourself and your skills to them.
10.Social Media Management — I do this as a side hustle and I quite enjoy it. This is basically where you manage social media accounts for businesses. You create content and engagement with their customers, and raise their profile/bring them in new business. You’ll need to know about key words and how to find them for this.
11.App development — if you’re good with the old IT then you could create and sell mobile apps on platforms such as the App Store or Google Play. I’d love to be able to do this, but I just don’t have the skills.
12. Virtual assistant — this is a role for someone who can provide administrative support for remote clients. You would be doing jobs such as scheduling/diary and email management. It depends on your client. Some virtual assistants will also manage social media accounts. There are loads of different clients out there who will pay you to help them including authors, business people and influencers.
13. Online surveys and market research — again, I’ve tried these and not got very far with them. I’m either not in the right group of people they want to survey or I get so bored trying to make money on these that I give up. You really have to work away at these to get anywhere with them. I’m sure there are people who make money doing surveys and market research, but I haven’t. And trust me, I’ve tried! I wouldn’t recommend these, but it’s entirely up to you.
14.Remote consulting — this is where you offer yourself as a remote consultant in your field of expertise. This could be in business, finance, marketing, technology or even health/life coaching. Your clients will pay a certain amount per hour of your time when you help them improve what they want to improve.
15. Translation services — are you fluent in two or more languages? Then this is the gig for you. You can offer translation services to websites, documents and more.
16.Web design/development — you can make great money building websites for individuals, businesses or organisations. I’m not great at IT and this is not something I could do, but it you are, there are loads of ways to make money online.
17.Remote bookkeeping/accounting — more and more people are running their own business which means more people will have to do business accounting and provide information to the tax man. You can help by providing accounting services for them from the comfort of your own home.
18. Remote IT support — again for the IT experts out there. You can offer a service whereby you offer technical support and troubleshooting for individuals and businesses. Again this can be done from the comfort of your own home.
19. Selling online surplus — you can buy surplus stock via online auction sites and surplus stock sites, and sell them on platforms such as eBay. Other places to buy items for sale include thrift/charity shops and free sites such as Freegle.
20. Drop servicing — this is a bit like dropshipping, but how it works is you find the clients and then outsource the work to freelancers. For instance, you could outsource work to a freelance web designer or a copywriter.
Of course, these aren’t the only ways of making money online, but they are probably the most popular.
Here’s some interesting articles on side hustles from some other Medium writers:
· 7 Easy Ways to Make Money Online for Women | The Side Hustle Club (medium.com)
· Side Hustles You Can Do From Your Phone ($200+ Per Day) | by Evey | Medium
· 10 Steps to Starting a Successful Side Hustle in 2023 | by Mario Rodriguez | ILLUMINATION | Medium
· These 5 Hobbies Are Not Profitable Side Hustles | The Startup (medium.com)