People overcomplicate making money online. You likely already possess skills that can make you extra income on the side. Maybe these are skills you use in your professional life, or perhaps they stem from hobbies or passions you have.
Today we’re going to look at some basic skills that a majority of people have that can be monetized online as a side hustle.
Writing
I’m going to guess you already know how to do this one. I think most people think they can’t monetize their writing because they are concerned they don’t write well enough. I would ask, “Well enough for who?”
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the average American reads as at 7th-grade reading level. Next time you’re reading a random article you find on social media, take notice of how it sounds.
Articles, especially online, are written to the standards of the “lowest common denominator.” In other words, content producers need to write in a way that a 7th grader could understand it. If you want to get people to read your marketing copy, then they need to understand it. Unless you’re writing an academic paper or a college textbook, likely no one wants to hear you flex your vocabulary.
How do you monetize this? There are several ways. You could sign up for the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing service and write books. The books don’t have to be lengthy, and they don’t have to be great, but they do have to be stuff people will buy. Doing a little keyword research before publishing is essential, so you don’t waste your time.
You can start a blog like Peter, and I did. We have used Bluehost for years, and they have packages that start at $3.95 a month. Pick a topic you like talking about and start writing. Write as often as humanly possible. Make it a habit. Frequent content will get Google to notice you and send free traffic to your blog. Share your content on social media. Once you have a following, monetize the blog. You can do this with Google Adsense ads, or you can become an affiliate partner of services that you like, which would make sense for your audience. Blogging takes the most commitment, but will probably be the most profitable course of action in the long run.
Need money fast? Then sign up for an account at Fiverr or Upwork and offer your services there. People will pay you to write articles on random topics (to put on their blogs), or they’ll pay you to proofread their writing. You could offer this same service on social media or in local classified ads to drum up business. Everyone needs writers, and it’s a great side hustle.
Still not confident you write well enough to make money? I’ve got a cheat code for that. In fact, I’m using it right now to create this article, and I’m going to ignore the fact it told me not to use the phrase “in fact.” (Shutup computer)
The tool I’m using is called Grammarly. It is a fantastic resource for writing because it gives you real-time corrections and suggestions as you type. I think my new blog posts are some of the best I have ever written because I started using this tool. Remember how cool spell check was when it first came out? Well, this is like that, but on steroids. I’ve cut the time it takes to write an article in half because it doesn’t require much editing when I’m done writing it.
One super-easy way to monetize Grammarly is to offer proofreading services and then use their tool to do it. A few jobs like that and you paid for the monthly or annual membership. It will take your time, but even a child could make money using Grammarly in this way.
Talking
Yes, people will pay you to talk too.
Like before, there are some long-term and short-term ways to make money with this. I’ll start with the long-term passive method because it has an enormous potential to make the most money: Produce audiobooks or a podcast.
I love audiobooks and podcasts. Using Amazon’s Audible service, I “read” at least two dozen books a year. When the average American is lucky to read half of that, you’re gaining a massive advantage over competitors in business. Anyone can publish on Audible’s platform by using a service called ACX. It’s Amazon’s publishing platform for Audible books.
Now yes, Audible books are still books, so you’d have to write that first if you wanted to be the author. However, you could sign up on the platform to be the guy or gal who reads the book. All you need to do is invest in a good microphone like this one and then sign up for projects that interest you. Ideally, you’d find people willing to give you a royalty split so that you can create passive income assets.
Podcasting, on the other hand, won’t require you to write a book. It will, however, require patience. Like blogging, you need to put out frequent useful or entertaining content and build an audience. Once that happens, podcasters monetize their platform with paid sponsorships from brands who want to run a commercial or with affiliate offers. They are mostly the same thing, but the difference is that sponsors will generally seek you out versus affiliate offers which you can sign up for without someone noticing you first.
As with writing, these skills are sought after on freelancer platforms like Fiverr and Upwork as well.
If you’re brave (or attractive), then apply these same methods to video content on YouTube. YouTube has a built-in advertising revenue system using Adsense, and you can monetize with affiliate offers there as well. If you don’t want to start a YouTube channel of your own, most people are afraid of speaking on camera so they will gladly pay you to do it for them.
Social Media
You know damn well you spend too much time on it. You might not be an expert on every aspect, but you know your way around a social media platform. You can monetize this skill too.
Social media management is an emerging industry where people will pay you to manage their account. Maybe they need things posted, or they need someone to engage with followers. Pinterest is a big one for this because male entrepreneurs like myself have zero clue what they are doing on that platform. If you could run a Pinterest account for me that will help drive traffic to my blog or products, then that’s incredibly valuable.
If you want to work for yourself, then focus on building your following — Post great memes, photos, quotes, etc. Engage with those followers. Ideally, you create an audience around a specific niche that you are obsessed with. Once you have done that, you can offer them products or services that are relevant to them. You don’t even need to be the person with the merchandise – you push traffic to them as an affiliate or with paid shoutouts. It’s a simple method, but it requires daily commitment.
Conclusion
So there you have it. If you can read, write, talk, or use social media, then you can make money online. The reason most people don’t make money online is because they are lazy, not because they lack a skillset. If you need to sharpen your skill set, then there is plenty of free and paid content out there for you to brush up on specific subjects. If you want to make extra money online, then go out and do it!
Disclosure: Bear in mind the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them I will earn affiliate credit. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the referral incentive I receive from your interest. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to use something I recommend is completely up to you.
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