DIGITAL MARKETING

How to Start Making Money Online -Top 3 Side Hustles

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Making sure you have the right tools to start making money online is so important. Now more than ever!

2020 AND 2021 have brought a lot of surprises; the most unexpected being the current COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. This situation has pushed millions of people to work from home and thousands of people to start looking for different ways to earn their monthly income.

Although we hope that this pandemic will soon be over, we also want people to have other means of income to maintain their financial stability.

I have been cruising the online forums and there is one question that keeps coming up: “how can I make money online?” So I am giving you my top 3 legit side hustles that you can start today to make money online.

Before we begin, notice how I stated “no surveys”? The advice you will usually get on other websites is to sign up for things like Swagbucks, InboxDollars, and Survey Junkie. Sorry to disappoint, but you won’t get that here. You may have been able to notice in my last pos,t Clickbank-Is it right for you? , that I have been through almost all the OG money-making hacks, and let me tell you, I hate surveys. For a few different reasons:

  • They ask you a bunch of precursor questions only to tell you that you don’t qualify for the survey.
  • They pay you pennies when you spent 10-20 minutes on a single survey.
  • If you happen to be like me and work through things fast, they will deny your survey because you answered the questions too fast.
  • You can go WEEKS without getting a single survey.

So instead of surveys, here are some legit money makers.

Get Paid to Work as a Transcriptionist

Free stock photo of access, beautiful woman, black woman, making money online

This was the first real online job that I found in my spare time. It was the easiest thing for me to do because I have worked as a transcriptionist before, but I had never done it online.

The jobs will entail listening to audio clips of different lengths, topics, and qualities and writing everything down. Depending on the platform you are working on, you may be asked to write time stamps and tag speakers.

There are two main formats:

  • Clean verbatim
  • Full verbatim

Clean verbatim: you write a slightly simplified version of the audio. Meaning no slang, no stuttering or stammering, and no false starts.

Full verbatim: You write everything exactly like it is. Slang, stammering, and all. Believe it or not, this is the harder one to do.

Keep in mind, as I said, there may be some variations depending on what platform you use.

Now here are my top 3 online transcription platforms:

You will have to pass a performance test for each of these before they let you start working for them. The test usually has about 10-15 questions about syntax, and then a 3-4 minute audio file that you will have to transcribe.

Pro tip: read the guidelines before you take the test! It will make or break your results.

If you want a more in-depth review of any of these, let me know in the comment section below.

Making Money as a Freelancer Online

Thoughtful African American freelancer in casual clothes sitting at table and browsing laptop while calm Akita Inu lying on floor in room in apartment in sunny day

Working as a transcriptionist is fine if you are used to it. But for a beginner, it can be a daunting task. It can take 30 minutes to transcribe 4 minutes of audio and the sites usually pay per audio hour. So why not work with something else that you like to do and have more skills in. That is where freelancing comes in.

Freelancing is a great opportunity, whether you are looking for something full-time or part-time. You can find all kinds of freelancing jobs, from web development to data entry. Which means that it is perfect for the novice or the expert. my favorite websites for freelancers are:

Upwork and Freelancer are both platforms that have been around for years. They both kind of work in the same way: people who need a service post their offer and freelancers apply to be hired.

Fiverr, on the other hand, does things the other way around. It is more like a marketplace for freelancers to post their services and fees, and then the people who are interested choose the freelancer.

Whichever way you choose, the number one thing is to make sure your profile is 100% legit and make a portfolio that shows off your best work. It can take a while to break through on these sites so try to be active and apply to as many offers as you can.

Pro tip: Make sure your fees are average in comparison to others. Don’t be too cheap (because they will think something is wrong with you) but don’t be too expensive either because they won’t be willing to pay.

Get Passive Income by Creating a Blog or Website

Person Using Macbook Pro on Table

I had to save the best for last. This is my number one tip when it comes to making money online. But it is also the tip that I give the least because not everyone can do it. Let’s be honest, blogging, or building a website takes work. I have 4 blogs, so trust me, I know.

Because of this, most people think that blogging is too hard. And it can be if you don’t have a passion for it. But if you love writing and sharing, then you will love blogging. There is nothing more fulfilling for the creative mind than writing content. The grunt of the work will be put into research but once you have your outline down, writing an article will be piece of cake.

Now I mentioned earlier that I have other blogs. If you notice, this blog is a free WordPress.com blog (for now). This blog is my new lab rat. I am building my own strategy on how to generate organic traffic to a website starting with $0. I am documenting every step of the way so that I will be able to share it with my subscribers. So, make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss my full beginner marketing strategy!

So how do you make money from your blog?

As of right now, the only way that I am making money off this blog is through affiliate marketing. But there are 3 other ways to make money with a blog:

  • Google AdSense
  • Sponsored posts
  • Selling your own products

Google AdSense: make money by letting Google put ads on your site.

Sponsored post: when a company or brand reaches out to you and pays you to review a product and write an article about it.

Selling your products: create PDFs, E-books, or merchandise that you can sell to your audience

Now each of these topics can easily be a whole article in and of itself so if you want a deeper dive, just let me know in the comments section.

And make sure you subscribe because I will be going into more detail on things like affiliate marketing, working on UpWork, and using alternatives to Google AdSense to monetize your blog.