With the advent of always-connected devices, it is not only possible to make money from anywhere, but becoming increasingly common. Yes, there are the average get rich quick schemes that litter the likes of Craigslist you have to watch out for, but by and large, there are completely legitimate ways to not only earn extra dinero, but start a career online.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the different paths one can take to start earning some serious cash money.
Freelance Writing
This might be the most obvious choices, when you consider that the article you are now reading is written by, you guessed it, a freelance writer. In fact, chances are high that a lot of the articles you read on your favourite blogs or news sites, whether it is the Huffington Post or Jezebel, is written by a freelance journalist, or at least someone who does freelance on the side.
While it may not set new earthshattering records on the pay scale, and while the assigned topics range from the mundane to something very much aligned with your preferred interests, most of the time subjects are relatively topical. Depending on your expertise, whether it be politics, sports, technology, or how to make money online, there are many opportunities out there to enter the world of freelance writing and start making some money.
Program
Making an app seems to be what everyone with a little bit of programming know-how seems to be doing these days. If you are free spirited enough and have a decent idea, making a simple game – one of the top-selling apps in the iOS and Android marketplaces – is one way to go about things. The idea has to be good, though, so the requisite planning to make sure the concept behind the game or app is compelling is a must.
The execution does not have to be perfect, but people are typically not as forgiving with software that is buggy. Yes, there are typically a certain amount of kinks to be worked out at launch, but pay attention and work quickly to nip them in the bud.
Alternatively, if developing an app is not your cup of tea, then making games for bingo sites like www.pgbingo.com, or any other casino fare, is feasible as well. Again, there are plenty of other look-alike, me-too clones out there on the market, so finding a way to differentiate yourself is crucial. As a general principle, developing one’s own niche is the way to survive in any business when you are going at it alone.
Write a Blog
Since practically the advent of the internet, along with staples like AOL and email, people have made homepages to put up some of their thoughts and ideas about the world. Before Twitter and all that comprises Web 3.0 (or whatever numbered version we are on these days), there were blogs. These were basically the natural evolution of homepages hosted by the likes of angelfire and geocities.
Nowadays, blogs are a big business… if you have that magic ingredient of charming personality or novel concept to make it worthwhile for your readers to come back to. It is all straightforward, though. This is a discipline that requires navigating pitfalls. Through advertising, affiliate marketing, membership models, sponsored blog posts, subscription-based models, a paid service, or actually selling products – your own or that of a niche market you have cornered a small slice of – you can successfully monetise a blogging platform.
Work at Home
Finding established companies who will hire you on a freelance basis is not only possible, the chances are good that you already offer some value and they will pick you up. Be sure to have your CVs ready, and maybe even a testimonial to vouch for yourself. This comes with the perks of flexibility – making your own schedule – and also being location-independent. Some of these companies include:
- Demand Studios, hiring creative types of all sorts, whether you make films for a living, or write
- Leap Force, a Google-affiliated company that hires people to help rate sites in order to optimise their search engine results
- Liveops, a call centre from home
- SpeakWrite, a transcribing service
- Fast Chart, a medical transcription service
- Crowdsource, a large database of many jobs where you can set your own workload
These are just a few ideas. Of course, there are more. Don’t be afraid to explore and put yourself out there!