The Ultimate Guide: How To Make Extra Income (NEW 2020) (2024)

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According toCNBC, millions of jobs might be lost due to the coronavirus crisis. It’s no surprise that more and more people are looking for ways to make extra money even with a full-time job.

Whether you are trying to pay off your loan faster or you just want to earn some side income to help pay your bills, here are 17 ways to help you put some extra cash in your pocket.

1. DoorDash

One of the easiest ways to earn extra income on the side is to become aDoorDasher.

So, what is DoorDash?

And how do you make money with the DoorDash app?

DoorDashis a food delivery business.

When you sign up as a DoorDash driver, you get paid to pick up food from restaurants and deliver it to the customer.

Below is a list of advantages of becoming a DoorDash driver:

  • You can use any car, scooter, or bicycle to deliver with DoorDash
  • Maximum flexibility (i.e. you choose whenever you want to work,wherever you want to work, how much you want to make, whether you want to accept the delivery job)
  • No car inspections or vehicle restrictions
  • No experience needed
  • It’s super fast to get approved and get started. (i.e. start delivering on the same say)
  • Know EXACTLY how much you earn before you accept the delivery job
  • Instant cashout daily or get paid through weekly direct deposit

So, how much can you expect to make as a DoorDash driver?

Of course, the more you deliver, the more you can make a day.

But, in general, you can expect to get paid $23 per hour while on a delivery.

On top of that, you also get to keep 100% of the tips from the customer as well as a special bonus from DoorDash.

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How soon can you start earning with DoorDash?

The sign-up process takes only a few minutes.

After signing up, most DoorDash drivers can get started on the same day!

That’s how fast it is.

Try DoorDash For Free Now

2: Sell Services Online

One of the quickest ways to make extra income is to sell services.

so, take inventory of all your skills and see how you can translate them into a service that will benefit other people.

For example, if you know how to design websites, you can offer web design services to small businesses.

Or if you speak a second language, you can give language lessons.

So, what skills do you have that you can turn into a service?

If you are struggling to come up with ideas, it helps to take a look at the following:

  • Books you usually read
  • Activities you do in your free time
  • Subjects you’ve studied in college
  • Websites you frequently visit
  • Tools you often use
  • Results you’ve gotten for yourself or others
  • Certification you have obtained

Also, you can ask your friends and family what they think you are good at.

Once you have identified at least 5 of your top skills, I would like you to think about what problems you can help other people solve with each skill.

You see, all the services out there serve ONE purpose – solve problems for people.

When you have a human resources problem, you will want to look for HR consulting services.

When you have a tax problem, you will want to look for tax consulting services.

When you have problems with your Facebook advertising, you will want to look for FB ads consulting services.

Basically, what problems you can help solve will give you clues as to who your ideal clients are.

So, who can you help with your service?

Do you help other businesses solve their problems?

Or do you help individuals with their problems?

Here are some service business ideas for each.

Money-MakingIdeas For Offering Services To Business On The Side:

  • Digital Advertising Service
  • Graphic Design Service
  • Social Media Marketing Service
  • Copywriting Service
  • Translation Service
  • Website Design Service
  • Legal Service
  • Accounting Service
  • SEO Service
  • Project Management Consulting
  • PR Service
  • Tax Service
  • HR/Payroll Service
  • Video Editing Service
  • Event Planning/Promotion

Money-Making Ideas For Offering Service To Individuals On The Side:

  • Career Consulting/Help (Resume editing / Interview Prep / Finding job)
  • Give Lessons (Music, Language, Arts, Sports)
  • Babysitting
  • Personal Trainer
  • Personal Chef
  • Fashion Consulting
  • Relationship Consulting
  • Wedding Planning
  • Interior Design
  • Pet Service
  • Travel Planning
  • Photography
  • Tax & Financial Planning
  • Home Maintenance
  • SAT Prep
  • College Application Review

Generally, it is easier to sell to businesses because they are always looking for help to solve their business problems.

And they also have the willingness and the ability to pay for solutions.

Now, what if you don’t think you have any skills that you can turn into a service?

The good news is that you can always learn a NEW marketable skill.

Here are a few marketable skills that are easy to pick up and also in high demand:

Below are the most recent writing jobs posted on one of the many freelance writing job boards.

Once you get a paying client, you can expect to get consistent writing assignments from them. (you can check out this Freelance Writing Course which shows you how to earn your first $1,000 from writing)

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A few years ago, I started my own service business offering graphic design services to businesses.

The interesting part is that I didn’t have any graphic design skills.

What I did was that I found a group of talented freelancers online from platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork, and asked them to work with me because I always have projects that I want to outsource.

Freelancers need work.

AndI need talented people to deliver the work for my clients.

It is a win-win situation.

So, if you don’t want to sell your own skills or don’t have the time to deliver the services yourself, you can considerService Arbitrage.

Basically, you are reselling other talented people’s skills and services.

How you make money is that you will charge your clients at a higher rate than what you are paying your freelancers.

3: Launch An Online Course

If you have knowledge or expertise that you can share with people to help them, you can consider creating an eBook or launching an online course.

Here are the 3 biggest profitable niches for information products:

For example, Eben Pagan of DoubleYourDatingbuilt a multi-million business selling eBooks and video courses related to dating advice.

Steve Kamb ofNerdFitnessgrew his fitness business to 7 figures mostly selling online courses through its Nerd Fitness Academy.

When you are trying to figure out what course or ebook you can create, it might help to ask yourself the following questions:

  • What skills do you have that other people want to learn from you?
  • What knowledge do you have that can help solve other people’s problems?
  • What results have you achieved that other people want to learn from you to get the same results?

Let’s say that you are very good at vegan cooking, you can create a course teaching people how to do that.

If you are very good at decluttering, you can also create a course on that.

For myself, I have created my own online course “Service Arbitrage Pro”.

The reason why I created an online course teaching people how to start their own service arbitrage business is that I have done it myself and gotten results doing it.

So, it is one good way for me to share my knowledge and experience with those who want to know how to do it.

You see, idea generation might look simple.

But you don’t want to have just any idea.You want a profitable idea.

So, before you start creating your online course or ebook, you need to first find out if there are actually people paying willing to pay for it.

Creating eBooks and online courses might take a lot of work upfront.

But, once it’s done, it requires minimal effort to maintain.

The best part is that it generates passive income for you 24/7.

Read Also: A Beginner’s Guide: How To Make Money Selling Online Courses

4. Blogging

Blogging is a proven way to make money outside your job.

If you are new to the online business world, blogging is actually a good starting point for you for a few reasons.

Reason #1: It’s easy and quick to get started.

All you need is a domain name and web hosting. Even if you are not tech-savvy, you can set everything up with a few clicks.

Reason #2: You can build and grow your blog on the side without quitting your job.

It’s extremely flexible. If you have other commitments, you just need to fit your blogging schedule around them.

Reason #3: There are many ways to earn money from your blog.

Most of them are truly passive income such as affiliate earnings and advertising earnings.

There are also quite a number of bloggers who are making at least 5 to 6 figures every month.

So, what do you need to succeed in it?

Just two things:

  • Know how to get people to visit your blog (i.e. blog traffic)
  • Know how to turn blog traffic into money (i.e. blog monetization)

With traffic, money will follow.

One of the guaranteed ways to get passive income from your blog is to display advertising revenue.

There are, of course, other more profitable ways to monetize your blog.

So, is it difficult to get traffic to your blog?

It is not if you know how to do it the right way.

For my own blog, I started implementing a new strategy of driving traffic to my blog just 5 months ago.

The result?

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Heres’ the best part.

I did all this without spending a single cent.

Further Reading:
How To Find Profitable Blogging Ideas (If You Are A Total Beginner)

5. E-commerce

With e-commerce sales expected to continue its double-digit growth, there are still a lot of money-making opportunities in this space.

Today, it’s very easy to set up an online store.

You can either do it on high traffic platforms such asAmazon,eBayandEtsy or you can start your own online store.

If you prefer to sell on your own website,Sellfyhas everything you need to create your online store hassle-free.

To make running your online store easier, you can also send your products to order fulfillment centers which will take care of everything from shipping to returns & refunds for you.

So, how much can you make from selling physical products online?

One of my friends actually started an online store selling private label products – anti-gravity handphone case covers.

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He sourced the products from China at a very low cost per unit.

Then, he redesigned the packaging to sell it under his own brand name at a much higher price – about 500% higher than his cost price. (yes, that’s how high the profit margin for handphone accessories.

To market his products, he made a few videos of his products and then spent some money running Facebook ads on these videos.

Did he make any sales?

He made a lot of sales in the first two months.

The problem?

His competitors started to bring in the exact same products and undercut his prices.

The result?

He had to keep sourcing for new products with good profit margin.

So, the challenge with private label products is that you don’t really have any competitive edge.

The barrier of entry is also pretty low, therefor you will face a lot of competition.

Another downside with selling physical products online is that you might have to invest some money upfront to buy inventory.

If you are strapped for cash, what you can do is drop ship your products without having to carry any inventory.

Here is how dropshipping works:

  1. The customer places an order for a product on your online store
  2. The order is then automatically (or manually) forwarded to the dropship supplier
  3. The dropship supplier then packages and ships the order directly to the customer in the name of your online store

Dropshipping is a pretty great business model for a first-timer. It’s a low-risk and low-investment way of starting your own business.

But, there are also some disadvantages.

The profit margin is low and you often have high fulfillment costs.

Let’s not forget that the competition is pretty high and you also have no control over the supply chain.

Read Also: A Beginner’s Guide: How To Start Your Side Hustle Now (Best For 2020)

6. Ride the Sharing Economy Wave

With the sharing economy on the rise, it is very easy to earn a few hundred to thousands of dollars a month by driving withUberor renting out your spare room onAirBnB.

But, look beyond Uber and AirBnb.

You can also rent out your car onTuro, your camera equipment onKitsplit, your bike onSpinlisterand your sailboat onSailo.

And if you are a food lover and someone who enjoys hosting guests for a lovely evening of dining and networking, you are going to love this.

A new app calledTastePlease allows you to make extra money by hosting dining events at your home for guests who will pay to join.

7. Invest in Dividend Stocks

Investment guru Warren Buffer made billions of dollars in the stock market.

If you know how to invest the right way, you can put your money in the stock market and let it work for you even when you are asleep.

High-quality dividend stocks can be a good way to earn some extra income.

In fact, Jeremy atGoCurryCracker successfully built an investment portfolio that gives them enough passive dividend income every year to retire early.

However, you need to understand that there is always a risk in investing in the stock market. The price of the stock you bought might go up or down.

If you are comfortable with taking the risk, it is a good passive income strategy.

Read Also: How To Make Money In Stock Market For Beginners (A Detailed Step-By-Step Plan)

8. Invest In Real Estate

Investing in real estate to earn rental income is a tried and tested strategy for many. In fact, Robert Kiyosaki ofRich Dad Poor Dadfamously used this strategy to generate enough passive rental income to be financially free.

He doesn’t buy the property to sell for a profit. What he is looking for is deals that will provide monthly positive cash flow for years to come.

So, that means the monthly rental income from his property has to exceed all the monthly expenses(i.e. mortgage payment, maintenance and etc).

To find these deals, you will need to do a lot of proper due diligence.

But, if you are cash-strapped or don’t want to deal with tenants, there are real estate crowdsourcing platforms. You get started investing in vetted real estate deals for as little as $5,000.

Further Reading:
Rental Property Buying Formula: How To Buy Your First Rental Property

9. Build A Niche Website

When you build a niche website, you are basically creating a website around a specific topic.

Here are some niche sites that people have built and have been making at least a couple of thousand dollars in passive income every month:

  • Dog training website
  • Gardening website
  • Boat buying website
  • RV buying website
  • toys review website
  • Mountain climbing website
  • Parenting website

You just need to set up the website and then start writing useful and helpful content to help people solve their problems in the niche you are targeting.

If you do it right, your website will start to get free organic traffic from Google over time.

When it comes to making money with a niche website, traffic is money.

As you get more and more website visitors, you can start to monetize your website through advertising, affiliate marketing, and maybe your own products.

Now, let’s look at one niche website example – OutdoorGearLab.com.

This is a niche website that is specifically focused on outdoor gear such as hiking boots.

Every month, it gets over half a million free organic traffic every single month from Google.

And it makes a lot of money from promoting Amazon outdoor gear products and also selling advertising spaces on its website.

Here are some advantages of creating niche sites:

  • No need to handle customers
  • It’s passive income
  • You can get started with very little startup capital

How much can you make as a niche site creator?

So, all you need to do is upload your designs and they will take care of everything else.

17. Instagram

If you are spending time every day on Instagram, there are a few ways for you to make it worthwhile.

Do you think your Instagram photos are of very high quality? If the answer is yes, you can consider selling your Instagram photos to brands that want to use them.

Foapis an online photography marketplace for you to do just that. And the best thing is that you don’t have to have a big following to do it.

In addition, you can make money promoting other companies’ products/services or capturing leads for them.

To get started, you can check outPeerflywhich is an affiliate network.

Generally, capturing leads for these companies is easier than making sales.

First, browse the promotional offers listed as “Social” under the “Traffic Methods” tab.

Once you have decided which offer to promote, then you just need to copy the unique URL and paste it on your Instagram.

When people click on the link and decide to enter their email address, you will earn a commission.

For this strategy to work well, you will need to build a sizable following on Instagram.

If you have a good way to earn extra income while working a full-time job, please share it with us in the comments section.

If you find this blog post helpful, please do me a favor and take 1 minute to help me share this article on Facebook or Twitter:)

Some niche sites such as Outdoorgearlab.com could earn up to 5 figures (or even 6 figures) per month.

10. YouTuber

This is something that EVERYONE can do.

Whether you are a student, a stay-at-home mom, a retiree or a person without a college degree, you can do this.

Also, it’s extremely flexible.

You can set your own hours and do it part-time after you finish school or work.

Below is an example of how even kids can make a lot of money with YouTube by simply sharing his opinions about toys on YouTube.

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So, do you have something you want to share with the world?

YouTube is a good platform for you to host and share all your video content and grow a loyal following at the same time.

For example, if you are passionate about cooking, you can create cooking videos to share your recipes.

Personally, I follow quite a few food YouTube channels to learn how to cook good food at home.

Below is one of the most popular cooking YouTube channels created by an American housewife.

All she does is share her videos on how she cooks different types of Korean food.

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So, how do you make money online with YouTube on the side?

Generally, Youtubers make money with advertising ((yes, it’s those irritating ads at the start of every YouTube video you want to watch!) as well as sponsorship deals.

It’s estimated that you can expect to make $3 – $5 per 1000 video views.

The key to making decent money from YouTube is to create viral videos that get clicked, watched, and shared.

The more views you get, the more money you can make as a YouTuber.

Further Reading:

11. Online Consulting

Consulting on the side is a very easy and quick way to bring in some extra income.

All you need is your knowledge which people will want to pay for to help them get results or solve problems for them.

For example, if you know a lot about marketing, people would want to pay you to help them with their marketing and get more customers.

Or if you know how to get a website to the top of Google, people would want to pay you to help them do that.

So, identify exactly who you can help and what problems you can help them solve or what results you can help them achieve.

Once you have these nailed down, you are ready for business.

12. Earn Passive Commissions As An Online Affiliate

Affiliate marketing is one of the simplest and most proven ways to earn a full-time passive income online.

So, what is affiliate marketing?

It’s the process of promoting other companies’ products and services online and making money as their affiliate.

As an affiliate, you earn a commission when people buy something at no extra cost to them using your affiliate link.

I have been doing affiliate marketing myself for quite some time, promoting a wide range of products and services such as web hosting, Amazon products, and email marketing software on this website.

My revenue from affiliate marketing contributes to at least 50% of my total revenue.

This is the BEST type of revenue in my business because it’s totally passive and some are even recurring!

So, I highly recommend affiliate marketing to anyone who wants to start an online business for the first time because it’s cheap and simple to get started.

Most importantly, it’s one of the fastest ways to get results, compared to other online passive income ideas such as selling online courses or blogging.

But, to do it right, you must learn how from successful affiliate marketers who have gotten massive results themselves.

Here’s an affiliate training that you can try out and get yourself started.

13: Offer Unique Travel Experience As a Host

If the city in which you are living is a popular tourist destination, you can earn extra money by becoming a host and creating a unique experience for tourists from around the world.

The good thing about this is that you can host on your own terms and only do it outside your work hours.

You can sign up on a site likeTrip4real(now part ofAirbnb) to become a host and build and submit an experience you would like to offer.

For example, if you are a hiker, you can offer a fun hiking experience.

Or if you are a food lover and know where to find good food, you can create an interesting culinary experience.

Once they publish your experience, you are set to go.

14. Peer to Peer Lending

Traditionally, if anyone or any business needs to borrow money, they go to a bank for a loan.

Now, peer-to-peer lending platforms have made it easy for everyone to lend money and earn interest from it.

How it works is that they assign a grade to each loan based on the reviews of the borrower’s profile. The higher the grade, the lower the interest rate and the default risk.

You can browse these loans and make your decision manually. Or you can choose to automate your investment based on a pre-selected strategy.

15. Earn Royalties on Your Photos

If you love photography, why not earn some extra money doing what you love?

Simply sign up to become a contributor at sites likeShutterstockand start earning royalties on your photos.As a contributor, you can earn up to 30% of the sale price of your photos.

16. Selling Your Art/Design Online

Are you an artistic person who loves to create artwork and designs? Sites like ZazzleandCafePressallow you to get paid for your art hassle-free.

You upload your artwork and designs onto products such as T-shirts and Mugs. If a customer likes your design and buys it, they will print and ship it to customers and pay you a percentage of the sale.

So, all you need to do is upload your designs and they will take care of everything else.

17. Instagram

If you are spending time every day on Instagram, there are a few ways for you to make it worthwhile.

Do you think your Instagram photos are of very high quality? If the answer is yes, you can consider selling your Instagram photos to brands that want to use them.

Foapis an online photography marketplace for you to do just that. And the best thing is that you don’t have to have a big following to do it.

In addition, you can make money promoting other companies’ products/services or capturing leads for them.

To get started, you can check outPeerflywhich is an affiliate network.

Generally, capturing leads for these companies is easier than making sales.

First, browse the promotional offers listed as “Social” under the “Traffic Methods” tab.

Once you have decided which offer to promote, then you just need to copy the unique URL and paste it on your Instagram.

When people click on the link and decide to enter their email address, you will earn a commission.

For this strategy to work well, you will need to build a sizable following on Instagram.

If you have a good way to earn extra income while working a full-time job, please share it with us in the comments section.

If you find this blog post helpful, please do me a favor and take 1 minute to help me share this article on Facebook or Twitter:)

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