25+ Best Ways to Make Money Online in 2020

Perhaps you want a separate income stream to pay a few bills? Or are you just looking for a way to substitute your current job? Whatever your reason, online money is made in a host of ways.

Be careful, however, because there are numerous scams or other illegal activities, some of these methods can be malicious.

Below are the top 25 different ways to make money online that actually work online. Some involve the establishment of your own website but also finding ways of using existing platforms’ built-in audiences.

Read more: How to start a blog and make money online

How to Make Money Online With a Website or Blog

1. Make Money Online with an Awesome Blog

Many people start a blog as a means of expressing their opinions or as a creative means of communication.

But not only do many individuals gain a living from their blogs, but they can even become massive companies, such as the Huffington Post.

Not every blogger hits the numbers, but you can make a good chance with your blog if you play your cards right.

Keep in mind that having a long-term vision is important. You will not earn money immediately, but it’s a definite possibility because you’re improving in writing, building up your skills, and increasing traffic on your site.

Here are some tips to remember, when you want to start a blog which makes you money:

1. Select a broad topic such as health, finance, relations, hobbies, or personal development.
2. Always strive for quality and provide the best source for any particular topic
3. Find out how to classify your site in search engines
4. Establish a network with popular bloggers and others

These tips are the right way to go. Once you have a trustworthy blog, which receives a great deal of traffic, you will have a number of possibilities, such as:

• Paid advertising
• Selling affiliate products
• Selling your own courses and products

Read more: How to Make Money as Freelancer

2. Start an Affiliate Website

On recommending or reviewing certain products, an affiliate marketing site is built. Then you receive a commission when a reader purchases this product through your link.

Although it doesn’t seem to be a big revenue generator, it is based on affiliate revenue alone for several millions of dollars.

The New York Times bought the site for US$ 30 million, for instance. Wirecutter was so profitable. Lucieslist, a website for baby product reviews, and Outdoorgearlab, a website for camping and walking gear reviews are also available.

Join an affiliate program that fits your website to start your own affiliate marketing website.

For instance, take Bitcatcha. Hosting services, VPN tools, and site builders are reviewed on this website. An affiliate link is included in the post every time a product is mentioned.

3. Build an Ecommerce Website

In recent years, the popularity of eCommerce sites has exploded. It couldn’t be easier to build an eCommerce site with the prevalence of platforms like WordPress and WooCommerce.

It could be great to open an eCommerce store if you’d rather deal with physical products and sell anything tangible.

A successful online store has two different methods:

• Creation and sale of a physical niche product to a specific buyers’ group
• Purchase, repackage, and sale of cheaper goods manufactured in countries abroad.

The first approach can be extremely successful, but it needs a passion and a willingness to research, develop, and test a tonne.

Such successes in companies such as SkinnyMe Tea, Beardbrand, and Ratio Coffee show however that with your company you can achieve incredible results.

If the first approach seems a bit risky for your first online company, the second option is to sell popular products abroad. The approach involves the procurement, repackaging of and sale of a popular product from a platform like AliExpress.

You will also need to consider how to ship your products beyond the sale of the right products. You can manage the shipping and execution of your order personally. Or, you can use a popular way of doing drop transportation where it is handled for you by the manufacturer.

Read more: Top 20 Payoneer Alternatives For Freelancers

4. Resell Web Hosting

Resell Web Hosting is an important way of making money online. The fundamental idea of hosting resellers is to provide a special server space, which you can use to build your own brand. You can do this:

• Create web hosting accounts powered by cPanel
• Set custom resource limitations (e.g., bandwidth, disc space).
• Manage all accounts with WHM conveniently

Since cPanel is the most common tool for managing a hosting account, attracting new users will be easy. Server uptime is also monitored by a stable operation and availability team in-house administrators.

It allows you to concentrate on user acquisition instead of on server management technical aspects. A devoted 24/7 support staff will help you if you have any questions.

Especially if you know how hosting works, it will be a walk through the park to resell. Who knows, if you put enough effort, you might become one of the web hosting giants.

5. Create a Digital Course

It appears that today digital courses are everywhere. So that would be a great opportunity if you had valuable knowledge that anyone would pay for.

Besides your own courses, learning platforms like BitDegree offer the opportunity to become an instructor. It’s a unique opportunity for thousands of people who want to learn something new to learn their skills and experience.

There are many digital courses available, from simple PDF downloads to self-produced video courses with dozens of hours of content.

It may also be very rewarding to create online courses. As it is under your control, the amount of money that you can make is not limited.

Digital courses can be integrated with most website styles, including blogs and eCommerce Platforms, as well as affiliate marketing sites, like most other methods on this list.

6. Create a Membership Website

Membership sites have recently exploded and the idea can easily be implemented. However, it does require some sort of existing audience.

People visit your site already because they like what you write about and how you use your style. Thus, you can build a section with the premium content on your website membership.

Now every individual who visits your site will not take you onboard, but it will seem irresistible to your dedicated fans.

The type of site you create depends on your type of site and the extent to which you want to use your premium content.

7. Sell Advertising Space

We have all seen sites using their contents in advertising. Sometimes the publicity is intrusive, but sometimes it naturally integrates with the content.

When your site receives a large volume of traffic, your website will usually be monetized through advertising. If your number of traffic is high and only grows, it might be worth exploring this option for extra money.

While the amount you get paid will depend on the network, the number of impressions or clicks will usually pay you.

You can choose from a number of different ad networks. You’re probably the network with which Google AdSense is best known. You apply to the network and you can begin adding announcements to your site once you have been approved. The payout for Adsense ads is not usually great unless there are millions of users every month in your traffic.

Other ad networks such as Ezoic and Media are available. Both have a site evaluation and an approval process. The advantages of working with you are also to optimize your advertising revenues.

You also have the ability to sell ads yourself if you do not want to work with a commercial network. This can be an interesting option if you have a niche audience. You can sell ad space to big mattress firms instead of using one of the ad networks mentioned above.

8. Sell Your Services

One of the quickest ways to make money online is to sell your website services.

You can follow two different approaches:

Create an Educational Website and Offer Your Services

Build a niche blog with useful information on a certain subject. Let’s say you have a blog about woodwork, you have a decent email list and you’ve got a good number of cars.

You may add a page to your website where you are teaching woodworking, whether in person or by means of medium like Skype.

Create a Basic Website and Pitch Your Services

The other way is to create a WordPress website only for companies and people to pitch their services.

Let’s say that you want to be an autonomous author. You have to choose a niche and construct your site. Next, create a few pages that tell people who you are, the services that you offer, and present some examples of your work.

Then begin to generate new services through guest blogging, podcast interviews, or cold communication.

You will have great results by combining these two approaches to take your service-orientated business to new levels.

9. Create a Subscription Job Board

Job boards can be a pretty beneficial way to live on your website.

It is an easy process – you can post your jobs on your site, and your visitors will apply for the job. You can find a job in a specific niche.

You can charge people to post jobs. Or, to access the job board, you may charge your visitors a monthly membership fee.

Keep in mind that for such a site to work, you must have proper traffic. If you don’t send qualified applicants, a company won’t pay to post a job on your site.

Make sure that you have a sound audience with businesses in your rooms when creating an employment committee.

10. Create an Online Directory Website

Online directories are not as popular as before, but they still can be useful.

They work in the same manner as the above job board. However, instead of paying people to post jobs or to get access to the job board, they will pay a monthly fee for a listing of directories.

If you have or have a lot of traffic on a powerful website, then these listings are quite worth mentioning.

Let’s say that you run a website devoted to web and design. You produce good content and have strong authority. You could create your site’s directory section where web developers and agencies can buy a list.

Not only will this give them a strong and authoritative link, but it could also provide their business with a nice source of traffic.

Directories usually work by charging a monthly subscription fee. You can even charge a premium fee for companies listed at the top of the directory to get even more eyes on the listing.

11. Sell Your Website

In conclusion, selling your site is one of the most profitable ways of gaining money.

This can be a quite profitable option, depending on your site.

Your site is on average several times as much as your usual monthly sale. This number is dependent on a variety of factors, but you can usually expect to sell your passive income 12-30 times a month.

In the final result, the following factors influence:

1. Age of your site
2. Website DA
3. Website Traffic
4. Online Earnings

If you’re curious how many sites you usually sell, use the Empire Flipper listings to navigate sometimes.

Ways to Make Money Online Without a Website

Building a profitable website is an excellent way to generate online long-term passive income. However, it’s still possible to start making money online without creating a website.

12. Publish Kindle Books

If you dreamed of writing books for a living, it could be the best time. The revolution in self-publishing enabled anyone to make a difference through publishing books.

Bear in mind that since the access barrier is lower, more competition is necessary as well. However, you can increase the chances of success by writing the best book possible and fulfilling reader expectations.

Every aspect of the publishing process is under your control when you publish your own Kindle books. This means you have to write, edit, format, receive a cover, upload it to the Amazon, write, and market your book description.

Having an authored author, here are several tips to improve your success:

• Carefully search for your niche, make sure that there is a viable, not too competitive book market but with a viable audience.
• Write the best possible book and hire an editor.
• Invest in a good cover and description of the book — these two elements work together when you need to sell your books.
• Publish your books as a series to dominate a particular market.

You are totally controlled by your success as an author. Write the best book and create your ideal readers’ email list. The more you learn, the more ways you can make money online.

13. Email Marketing

Take into account how many e-mails you receive every day in your Inbox. Probably many are e-mail newsletters to which you have signed up. Some can’t wait to open daily while others can’t wait — you wonder how they even got to you.

Creating a niche email newsletter can be an excellent way to reach a specific target group and build a solid, sustainable company. Building on a daily newsletter was millions of dollars businesses such as theSkimm.

It doesn’t have to be hard to start an email newsletter. It was never easier with platforms such as ConvertKit, Drip, MailChimp, and Aweber.

This is the process that you must follow:

1. Choose a niche and the style of your email messages
2. Select an email marketer
3. Create an easy access page and drive to the page
4. Send emails to the list regularly

The objective of your e-mail list is to build trust so that your e-mails are opened daily.

Once you have a large list of people that open your emails, you can monetize that list in many ways, for instance:

1. Selling your own digital products
2. Sending your subscribers to affiliate offers
3. Offering a membership course
4. Selling sponsorships/advertisements

14. Freelance on Sites Like Upwork

There are a number of freelance websites with hungry customers looking for someone with your knowledge. Freelancers now have more demand than ever before in history. Among the most popular freelancing sites are:

1. Upwork
2. Freelancer
3. Fiverr
4. Guru

It is important to establish a niche in order to succeed on these platforms. As a freelancer, the worst thing you can do is brand itself as a generalist. Given that the competition is so high, you will want to make yourself the only solution for a particular customer type.

It’s time to make your profile, create certain pertinent samples that demonstrate your skills, and start pitching, no matter your niche.

If you want to make a living on platforms like Upwork, take time to explore the Freelance to Win — this site is about helping you become a well-paid freelancer.

15. Buy and Sell Websites

In the process of buying and selling sites, you buy a home with investment potential, fix it and sell it for greater profit.

The process is quite simple. However, just know that it involves risks. Don’t invest any money in a site that you can’t let loose.

Here’s how you buy and sell sites for a profit:

1. There’s a website that you know can improve underestimated. For this, check out marketplaces like EmpireFlippers, Flippa, and We Sell Your Site.
2. Do your research in order to uncover sales and traffic numbers, profiles, and the actual reason why someone sells the site.
3. If all checks out, buy the site.
4. To improve site traffic and revenue to maximize.
5. For better profit, sell the site.

16. Buy and Sell Domain Names

Also, like a website, you can buy and resell domain names. Use Just Dropped to buy a single domain name. Then re-list, wait for, and sell domain names to buyers.

Some people could use this accurate strategy to make hundreds or thousands of dollars a year.

17. Sell Stock Photos and Footage

You can make money off that passion if you like to take pictures or record footage.

You can upload your stock of photos and images on tonnes of websites. There are huge user bases on these websites, and you get paid if somebody licenses your picture.

Some of the largest websites on stock photography include:

• Shutterstock
• iStockPhoto

If you’re a videographer, then some of the top sites are:

• VideoHive
• Pond5
• VideoBlocks
• Dissolve

Please take some time to explore the above markets to find out the most popular styles while creating your stock portfolio.

You can then create and hook up your own niche, the bigger your portfolio is, the higher your chances of success.

In fact, using websites like this can also help build a base for your work, not just to make funds with your photos and videos.

18. Sell Your Products on Amazon

Amazon is one of the largest online retailers currently listed with thousands of products.

We have already discussed how to build an eCommerce store. This is a similar approach, but it is mainly about using the Amazon platform.

This approach lets you find products on Amazon that are sold well, and that makes those products cheaper. Then you add your own brand and sell your items again.

You have the chance to sell these products yourself or work with a manufacturer who will tailor these products to your buyers.

19. Start a YouTube Channel: Make Money Online

YouTube is one of the world’s largest video search engines. But people are looking for entertaining, fun, or informative videos rather than searching for websites.

You can use your publicity system or send your viewers to a Website you have monetized in a different way, to monetize your YouTube channel.

You can consider building a YouTube channel in the same way as creating a website except creating videos that do not include written content.

You will need to know what your channel is all about if you feel comfortable in front of the camera and want to try your luck in creating videos. There are typically two types, most successful YouTube channels out there:

• Entertaining content. This style contains web series content, comedy videos, jokes, reviews, and many more.
• Educational content. This style focuses more on “how to” the sentences. If you are able to transmit valuable skills or information through a video, this is a good option for you.

When you decide which channel you will begin, it’s time to start creating. First, a YouTube channel must be created, and a captivating name is needed. Please take into account the following tips:

• Use a good camera to record your videos
• Test various styles, formats, and editing techniques until you find one with the highest traction.
• To get people to click on your video titles, descriptions, and images
• Create a coherent video publishing schedule so people know when their content can be expected

20. Become a Virtual Assistant

You can be a virtual assistant if you’re great at planning and organizing. There’s a wide range of tasks for a virtual assistant. You could do bookkeeping in general, data entry, e-mail management, research, etc.

A virtual assistant can not only increase your income, it can also exchange contacts with significant people. Not just that, there is a growing market and need for VAs.

Instead of hiring a full-time employee, many small business owners turn to virtual assistants.

You can find virtual assistant gigs on sites like Fiverr, Upwork, and Remote.co.

21. Sell Your Programming Services or Software

Learning programming can be a valuable ability. Whether you want to develop and develop your own software with your skills or free-standing.

Once you have sufficient skills in your belt, you can do tasks like building a consumer app, a mobile application, or even a mobile game. On the back of the software, a lot of successful companies were built.

Many bigger enterprises are creating today’s software but if you look at the Google Play or Apple Store, you will find that many popular apps are just like you.

You can take an approach if you want to make money online from your own software or applications:

• Do market research to find out what is most important today.
• Create an MVP software version
• Get feedback from original users and beta testing professionals
• Integrate feedback and launch your product’s first version
• Prepare a budget-based marketing campaign

22. Test Websites and Give Feedback

Have you a good look for design or a good website or app? If so, you can cash quickly online with your feedback and usability testing.

For instance, maybe the contents are unclear to someone? Is the layout misleading? Is the menu too complicated to navigate? These are valuable insights that could greatly improve the online business of someone.

Many sites are actually going to pay you for this feedback. The most popular website and app feedback websites include:

• Ubertesters
• UserTesting
• Testbirds
• Userlytics
• TryMyUI
• Userfeel

23. Become a Website Developer

If you do not have the skills to evolve, you will learn to code first. It is time to begin finding work once you have the skills.

Creates an internet profile on websites such as Upwork and Freelancer.

It can be helpful to create an independent niche and build your profile and portfolio to increase your chances of success.

You might want to develop websites, for example, for real estate agents and real estate managers. Or you would like to focus on creating the websites for eCommerce using WooCommerce and WordPress.

First, make sure your skills are needed, perhaps a lot of jobs are posted for your particular skills. Then build your web development company and get involved in pitching.

24. Become a Graphic Designer

You can start making money online if you have skills in design or have always enjoyed playing with Photoshop and Illustrator.

You can use the above-mentioned freelance platforms, build a profile, and pitch or test your skills on a platform like 99designs. You will compete for certain projects on this website with other designers. You will be able to get the project and start working when the client likes your design.

One way to get customers off-line as a graphic designer is. Go to your local chamber or walk around your town for some time. You will probably see many companies that need your graphic design skills. It is a new logo, a brochure, or even uniforms for the company.

You could try to go to your local space for co-work. These are usually filled with startups and other businesses that need the design expertise you have.

25. Become an Instagram Influencer

Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms out there. Did you know, however, that you can make money online directly from Instagram, simply by following it big enough?

Building a large follow-up on Instagram gets harder, but it can be a very easy way to make a nice living online. In fact, large brands and other companies will just pay for you to post or showcase one of their products about their company.

How much you do per post usually depends on the size and commitment of your supporters. You can expect to earn a few hundred thousand dollars per post from everywhere.

It will take time to build an extensive Instagram audience but when you love to take pictures, spend plenty of time on a phone and post regularly, it’s worth shooting. It’s worth it.

26. Offer Your SEO Services

It’s a very profitable skill to know how to rank websites. As long as people continue to use search engines, people who know SEO’s ins and outs will be needed.

When you realize what a site needs, it’s time to test your skills. It helps build a website that allows you to test your new SEO expertise, but that isn’t necessary.

Actually, you can get customers immediately. The first approach is to use freelance websites, such as Upwork and Freelancer.com, already mentioned.

Or, you can also arrange your services for local companies to rank in the search engines.

27. Become a Freelance Writer

If you like words, it could be a great way to start making money online. You can start to earn money as a writer very quickly, even without any experience.

The first step is to establish your niche and decide for example on how you write:

• Are you planning to create profound SaaS blog posts?
• How about website copy for real estate agents?
• Or health and fitness sales emails?

The content that needs to be written is almost infinite. What kind of writer do you want to be, is your great decision?

Once the niche is discovered it’s time to build samples and begin to pitch customers.

The quickest way is to find relevant customers by using free-lance platforms. However, a few examples can be created and uploaded to websites like Medium, or LinkedIn.

Final Words

Now you know how to make money online. Everything depends on you whether you want to earn another few hundred bucks a month or start a new career.

Don’t let the above list overwhelm you, but ask what would you like to do? Consider your current skills and see how they can be applied to one of the opportunities listed below.

Remember, it may not happen immediately, just like any way of gaining money. But you are going to get there with persistence and devotion.