We are living in trying times. This health crisis is something we may never see again in many generations. We will also be going through an economic crisis that most of us have never dealt with. Millions of people are out of work and there will soon be more on the way. Workers are already finding that they are going to have a tough time meeting their monthly bill payments.
I wish everyone had a side income that could keep them afloat until this COVID-19 pandemic is over. Unfortunately not many do not. But, it’s not too late to get started right now! You won’t be making money right out of the gate but creating a side gig now could change the entire direction of your future. Learn to rely on yourself and enjoy the freedom of working from home at your own business.
I want to help everyone start their own side gig! Some will want to simply start a side hobby while others may want to create a viable business. There are almost an unlimited number of ways to make money online while working from home. There are also other fun gigs that you can do that will add to your overall yearly income.
For the past 20 years I made enough income online that I’ve been able to work from home as an entrepreneur. I’ve been my own boss and have the freedom to come and go as I please. I always say that, “I wake up every morning and find ways of making money so I don’t have to get a job.”
To give you an idea of how many ways there are to make money with side gigs I’m going to list all of the different methods I’ve used over the years. Many of my little ventures alone would not support a family of four. But combined together, just a few of them have supported me since 2000.
Almost all of these money making methods are done through websites but I have started looking at making money with podcasts, online radio, video and more. I’ll do those more individually as they grow. There are a few that do not require an online presence.
1. Cartooning – Becoming a professional cartoonist is what sparked my imagination into building my first website. I built Curtoons.com in 1999 and tried to sell single panel cartoons to magazines. That idea turned into a 10 year cartoon logo business. I created cartoon logos for companies all over the world charging anywhere from $150-$600 per design. Everything was handled online.
2. Cartoons & Clip Art – I eventually ended up with lots of single panel cartoons and cartoon characters sitting on my computer. I posted these online and sold the designs on multiple websites as digital cartoons, clip art and royalty free characters. I was selling royalty free cartoon characters for $49. Some characters were sold dozens of times.
3. Google Adsense – Other than cartooning the biggest money maker for me in my first 10 years was Google Adsense. At my peak I was getting 21,000 visits a day to my websites and that was making me on average $4,000 a month. That’s just people clicking on the tiny Google ads. I had built 100 thin content websites based on highly searched keywords that ranked well. This entire venture collapsed in 2012 due to the Google Panda update. An Adsense click can make anywhere from .03¢ to several dollars depending on the keyword.
4. Display Ads – Placing digital display ads on websites and blogs can make great money from local advertisers. This has been a big part of the success of my community website at EnidBuzz.com. This website get around 30,000 unique visits a month with around 70,000 page views. That’s a lot of eyeballs on local ads. I’ve also started adding back Adsense ads on this website. Ads can run from $10 to $600 a month with assorted packages.
5. Website Building – After building 100 websites of my own I started getting requests from local companies to build their websites. Building websites is not as complicated as it was at one time. These days you can open a WordPress hosted account and have an instant website and blog. Add customized themes to WordPress and you instantly have thousands of pre-built designs. Add local logos, photos and content to make it individual to your client. I would charge anywhere from $300 to $1200 per website.
6. Website Hosting – Look into opening a web hosting reseller account. You pay a monthly fee for hosting, let’s say, 10 websites. Put five of your websites on that account and add five of your clients. If the monthly fee is $60 and you charge your clients $15 a month you not only make a little bit of money but all of your websites are being hosted for free! Scale this and you can make some easy money.
7. Graphic Design – I’ve had a graphic design side gig since my high school days. With a little bit of creativity and a computer you can learn to design logos, layout publications and build ads. Charge per hour or project and you can make a really good living. Find a niche of clients to work for and you can corner a market. Look into the going rates for graphic design to know what to charge.
8. Sell Websites – If you build a website with enough traffic you can flip it! You can also buy and sell websites that are already online. I sold a website that only had puppy name suggestions on it. It was making $8,000 a year with Adsense so I sold it for two years worth of income. That was $16,000 and it wasn’t even for sale! Website flipping is just like flipping anything else.
9. Domain Names – I have acquired well over 100 domain names over the last two decades. Many of the websites have been shut down so I have put the domain names up for sale. Most domain names average $10 each. That’s a yearly cost. I’ve sold several for $100 each. Domain names were once a big business but the prices have come down. Dot Coms are always worth the most. It’s always fun to own a part of the world wide web.
10. Affiliate Marketing – Niche websites and blogs can make great money with affiliate marketing. Basically you are promoting services and products on your websites that are being sold by other individuals and companies. You place photos, descriptions and links on your pages and when customers click on those to go make a purchase you actually make money with each sale. Large ticket items will make much more money quickly but multiple websites selling small ticket items can add up to good money as well. At one time I had the #1 ranked website for “baby furniture” and all I sold was affiliate products.
11. Reviews – If you build a niche blog you are bound to be approached to by companies with related products. They will ask you to review their products in exchange for free merchandise. You can keep the merch or turn around and sell it. I had a blog that talked about the Apple iPad when it first came out and I was approached by a company in the UK that sent me all kinds of tech gear. Some may flat out pay you for a review.
12. Link Selling – This one is not as popular as it once was. With all of the websites that I had I was always getting email from companies that wanted to pay me for links to their websites. Links help websites rank higher in Google so many people try to buy links. This is frowned upon by Google and you can get your website knocked out of Google if you get caught. This one I would not recommend any longer. Either buying or selling.
13. Naming – At one time I built a website around being a naming company. I had clients come to me looking for creative name suggestions for businesses. This was not a big money maker but I didn’t put much effort into it.
14. Consulting – I’ve been paid to look at websites and give suggestions on design and SEO ranking. I’ve also gotten paid for meetings where I’ve given advice on marketing and advertising.
15. Advertising – I help advertise my clients by writing articles about them and link to those from social media accounts. I also do live streaming at events much like radio remotes and conduct interviews to help promote specials and events.
16. Micro Influencer – I recommend different businesses on my social media accounts. On Instagram I’ll wear a t-shirt with a company logo to help promote a business. I currently do not charge for these plugs but will eventually move to paid promos.
17. T-Shirt Sales – I create custom t-shirt designs and sell them online. Many times I use print-on-demand services that allow me to do nothing but create the design and promote the website. I also print t-shirts and mail those as people order them through a website or social media posts.
18. Flipping – I’ve taken stuff from around the house and sold it on eBay, Craig’s List and Facebook Marketplace. Tons of people make a great living by flipping products they buy used or highly discounted. Garage sales are a good source of things to flip. If you make this a full time business you can pay the bills. There are now many websites and apps that you can flip merchandise through.
19. Business Listings – I’ve started an online business directory with a monthly subscription. I promote the directory and get the pages to rank well in Google. This becomes another avenue for local companies to get their brand online. You can also include advertising options on directory websites.
20. Photography – I’ve added thousands of images to my websites. I spent two years taking sunrise photos and uploaded those to social media. Over the years I’ve sold many of those images for websites, publications and calendars. I’ve also been hired to shoot small projects and events. I am not a professional photographer but have made some decent money from my photos. I will eventually put together a sunrise photo coffee table book.
21. Being An Extra – I’ve had a few parts in some movies as an extra. If you’re in an area that films lots of movies you can make some many doing this. I started out just to do a story but ended up doing a few movies. The pay is not big but if you ever get a speaking part you will make more money.
22. Greeting Cards – I actually started my own paper greeting card company called Chuckleberrys. I sold cards online and also supplied them wholesale to small stores and boutiques. As part of that I also drop shipped greeting card displays. Each one that was shipped made me a little money. At one point I printed the cards in my office on my own computer and then I started using a print-on-demand service.
These are the 22 money making ideas that popped into my head. I know there are many more activities I’ve done to add extra change to my pocket. As I come up with new ideas and methods I’ll write new blog posts and record podcast episodes.
I promise you that if this sneaker wearing, entrepreneurial, Buzz Guy can learn how to make money online, anyone can!! Get busy. This post is also a podcast and YouTube video. Catch them below.
Leave a Comment