I've been making all of my income online for the last few years. And the entire reason I started This Online World is to document my own online income journey and to help other people do the same thing.
But over the years, I've learned that making money online isn't always easy. In fact, most of the ideas I've tried over the years haven't worked. Or, they needed a lot of time and practice before they started generating income.
So in this post, I'm covering how to make money online for beginners so anyone can begin increasing their income.
Many of the ideas in this post are ones I've tried personally over the years. And all of these ideas are easy ways to make money online that anyone can start without any experience.
Table of Contents
How To Make Money Online For Beginners
I firmly believe the Internet has opened so many doors for people to make more money. And that's why I'm covering some side hustles and legit online jobs that are perfect for making money online as a beginner.
1. Answer Online Surveys
When it comes to making money online for beginners, one of the easiest ways to get started is to use different get-paid-to websites, or GPT sites.
GPT sites are free to use and pay you for completing short online tasks like answering paid surveys, downloading games, watching ads, and shopping online.
I've personally earned hundreds if not thousands of dollars from different GPT sites over the years. And this was one of the first ways I made money online when I was in school.
Some of my favorite GPT and survey sites include:
- Branded Surveys: A leading survey site that lets you earn free PayPal money and gift cards.
- Kashkick: Another survey and gaming rewards site that pays you with PayPal.
- Survey Junkie: This survey site lets you cash out at only $5 and pays you for your opinion.
- Pinecone Research: A premium research panel that pays you $3 for every survey you complete.
- MyPoints: Another popular GPT site that also has a $10 Amazon gift card sign up bonus.
- InboxDollars: A U.S. survey site with a nice $5 bonus for new members.
- AttaPoll: One of my favorite survey apps with gift card and PayPal cash prizes.
Sites like Branded Surveys and Survey Junkie are where I'd suggest starting. But all of these websites are ways for beginners to make money online.
You won't get rich with sites, so don't expect big bucks. But you can make some beermoney in your spare time, and these sites don't require any previous experience.
2. Online Freelancing
Another idea to make money online for beginners is to sell your skills online as a freelancer.
This is also an online side hustle that I know works because online freelancing is something I've been doing for over five years. In fact, it's how I make most of my income these days, and it's what let me begin traveling the world.
Back in college, I began dabbling with freelance writing while working on This Online World.
For the first two years, I was just ghostwriting articles for a few clients once in a while. I was only getting paid $20 to $40 per article, but the extra cash helped cover the bills.
But after I graduated, I kept on writing. And eventually, my writing income grew enough where I felt comfortable quitting my day job to go all-in.
So, I put in my notice, got on a flight to Colombia, and then dove into the world of writing and blogging.
This entire process took a few years. But getting started was pretty easy, which is why I think online freelancing is perfect for beginners as well.
And freelance writing is just one way you can make money online as a beginner. Other popular freelance jobs include:
- Accounting and bookkeeping
- Editor
- Email marketing specialist
- Digital marketing
- Graphic design
- Proofreading
- Programmer
- Social media management
- SEO expert
- Video editing
- Voice over actor
- Website designer
Plenty of my friends make money by freelancing in different fields. And even entry-level gigs can pay a decent hourly rate.
Personally, I found my first clients by turning to my personal network and blog contacts. But you can also use different remote job websites like FlexJobs to find beginner-friendly gigs.
Finding beginner jobs on Upwork and Fiverr can also be an excellent way to get some work early on.
It might take a bit to get your first client. But I think online freelancing is viable for beginners and has immense scaling potential.
3. Play Games For Money
Do you enjoy playing video games? If so, one easy way to make money online for beginners is to use apps that pay you for playing games.
This is another idea I've tested and tried for years since college. And there are actually numerous high paying apps and websites that pay you to play new games like:
- Cash Giraffe: My new favorite cash gaming app for Android devices.
- Pool Payday: This iPhone game for money lets you compete in games of pool on your phone.
- Mistplay: A leading gaming rewards app for Android that lets you earn free gift cards for gaming.
- Rewarded Play: Another popular app like Mistplay that pays you to play new Android games.
- Cash Cow: This Android app also lets you earn cash and gift cards by playing games.
- Gamehag: This platform lets you play PC games to earn gift cards, free Steam games, and video game rewards.
- Swagbucks: This reward website pays you to answer surveys, watch ads, shop online, play games, and download apps.
- JustPlay: Another gaming rewards app that lets you earn PayPal money or gift cards.
I'd suggest starting with Cash Giraffe or Rewarded Play if you like Android gaming, and Gamehag for any PC gamers out there.
Just note that these apps are really a fun side hustle, not a full-time gig. I've used them in the past, and they're an easy way to make money with your phone. But don't expect serious income from these apps.
4. Start A Blog
Blogging is another one of my favorite ways to earn money online as a beginner. And this is also how I make most of my money these days, so I know it's a legit method.
For some context, I started blogging back in college in 2018. In my first year, my blog only made $1,700.
Fast forward a few years, and This Online World made $272,000 in 2022. And my blog now makes $50,000 per month or more and has scaled into a full-time business.
My video above covers how I make money blogging. Most of the income comes from affiliate marketing and Mediavine ads, but you can also make money with things like sponsored posts, selling eBooks, influencer marketing, and online coaching.
I also think blogging is a great way to make easy money online for beginners because you can start for free or very little.
For example, I started my blog with SiteGround and a cheap WordPress theme, so you don't need a high amount of capital to start this business.
5. Print On Demand
When I was in college, one way I tried making money online was by selling meme merchandise on an Etsy print on demand store.
Setting up my store was honestly very simple. All I did was use Printify, a POD manufacturer, create a few meme mugs, and then publish them to my Etsy shop.
I only got two sales with my store, so it wasn't a huge success. But I firmly believe that print on demand is a great way to make money online as a beginner.
With print on demand, you just upload your designs to products and then sell them on a store like Etsy or Shopify. If you get a sale, the POD partner manufactures and ships the product to the customer, so you don't have to worry about any of the logistics.
This model means POD lets you focus on running an online store and coming up with creative designs, so you can focus on what's enjoyable.
And Etsy is just one example of how to make money with POD. You can also make money on Redbubble or by uploading your designs to sites like Zazzle or Society6.
It can take time to get enough designs and traction on a store to make consistent income. But you can legitimately launch a POD store in a single day if you have some designs.
I suggest using Printify if you try out this idea, but there are lots of POD integrations you can use as well.
6. Use Passive Income Apps
If you're like me, you probably love earning passive income. After all, who doesn't love the idea of making money on autopilot while they sleep or go about their day?
And the great news is that there are plenty of passive income apps you can use to begin earning money online as a beginner.
I've personally used these apps for years since college, and they've helped me earn plenty of free gift cards and PayPal money.
Several passive income apps I recommend include:
- Nielsen Panel: Earn $50+ per year for sharing your data with Nielsen's mobile and computer panel.
- MobileXpression: One of my favorite passive income apps that pays you with free gift cards.
- Neighbor: This platform lets you rent out your spare storage space to people in your city for money.
- Mobile Performance Meter: Another app that pays $0.10 per day for sharing your data.
- Media Rewards: This app pays you to listen to music and TV and share your data.
- Pogo: A nifty reward app that pays you with small amounts of cash for every purchase you make.
- Honeygain: One of the best apps that lets you sell internet bandwidth for passive income.
- Current: A fun passive income app and way to make money listening to music.
My video covers even more passive income side hustles you can try alongside the apps I listed above.
These apps won't make you rich. However, they let you get paid to shop or for sharing your data, so they're incredibly easy to use.
You have to be comfortable sharing your data to use these apps and websites. But if you are, these apps are a perfect way to make money online for beginners.
7. Make Money On YouTube
In 2020, I decided I wanted to try another side hustle instead of blogging. So, I launched my YouTube channel and began putting out videos about making money online every week or two.
After about 7 months, my channel passed 1,000 subscribers so I could monetize. And nowadays, it's over 15,000 subscribers and makes $50 a day in ad revenue.
It took a while to get here, but I still think that making money on YouTube is a viable way to earn money online for beginners.
My channel is the perfect example. Before I started, I had zero filming and video editing experience. And I couldn't make thumbnails either.
Despite this, my content was decent enough so my channel grew. What's stopping you from doing the same thing?
Any decent camera or phone camera is enough to get started, and you can find cheap USB microphones that do that job. And if you're consistent with your content, you'd be amazed at how quickly you improve your YouTube skills.
You can also explore similar ideas, like making money with a podcast or streaming on Twitch, if you like the idea of YouTube.
8. Sell eBooks
Another method to make money online for beginners I've been trying the past few months is selling eBooks and digital products online.
In 2023, I launched a freelance writing eBook, Freelance Writing For Freedom, to teach people how to make money with writing. I now sell the eBook online with my Sellfy store, and I promote it on YouTube and with my blog.
I like selling eBooks and digital content since the profit margin is incredibly high. After all, you don't have to spend any money on inventory, production, or shipping.
You can also start an online store very easily with a platform like Shopify or Sellfy, and use tools like Canva to create products, so you don't need much money to begin selling.
9. Make Money With Microtask Websites
If you don't mind repetitive tasks, another way to earn money online for beginners is to use different microtask websites.
These websites pay you for completing short online jobs that computers can't automate. Some common examples of micro jobs include:
- Data entry
- AI training help
- Confirming online information
- Social media moderation and fact checking
- Image annotation
- Transcription
There are also plenty of microtask sites you can use to get started. For example, Clickworker is a fairly global site, and it lets you earn PayPal cash for completing these sorts of jobs in your spare time.
You can also sign up with sites like Appen, Lionbridge, and Amazon MTurk for more opportunities. And even apps like Premise can pay you a bit of extra cash for completing short tasks around your city with your smartphone.
Again, you probably won't earn more than $5 to $8 per hour with a lot of these sites. But they're an excellent, beginner-friendly way to make money online consistently.
You can read our post on the best sites like Appen for even more microtask sites!
10. Start An Online Business
I've already mentioned selling stuff online as a way to make money online as a beginner. But there are plenty of other online business ideas you can try as well.
And after working in online advertising and ecommerce for over five years, I know there's definitely a lot of money to be made with the right business idea.
Some online business models you can consider include:
- Creating and selling merchandise with your own Shopify store
- Selling handmade goods or digital products on Etsy
- Making money with online marketplaces like Redbubble
- Starting a dropshipping business (you can start one easily with Shopify and use Spocket to find winning products)
- Starting an online services or B2B business
I made a video that covers some of my favorite online business ideas, which includes things like running Shopify stores or starting a service-based business.
This entire ecommerce space is only going to keep growing, so it's the perfect time to start!
11. Join Market Research Groups
If you want to get paid to answer questions, joining online focus groups is another effective way to earn money online as a beginner.
Platforms like FocusGroup and Respondent are excellent examples. Both companies help connect participants with market research groups and studies, and you can potentially earn hundreds of dollars if you qualify for a study.
Many studies are also completely remote. And while it's often difficult to qualify for studies since researchers are looking for very specific groups of people, it's not uncommon for studies to pay $500 a day or even more for your time.
Platforms like Apex Focus Group can also help you find online gigs. But again, it takes a long time to actually qualify in my experience.
12. Get A Remote Job
While it sounds simple, another effective way to make money online as a beginner is to switch to remote work.
Switching my office job to a remote job was actually how I first got to travel and make money with my laptop. I was working at an advertising agency, and I convinced my boss to let me work from Florida for two months for a change of scenery.
I'm not alone, either. In fact, according to remote work statistics from AT&T, the hybrid work model of in-office and remote work is expected to increase from 42% in 2021 to 81% in 2024.
This shows that more workers are going to have the flexibility to work remotely to make money online, which is great news.
And there are plenty of easy online jobs that can be fully-remote as well like:
- Customer support agents
- Content writers
- Editors
- HR specialists
- Paid advertising specialists (I did this job for a few years)
- Graphic designers
If you're currently working an in-office job, you can always try talking with your boss about switching to a remote job like I did.
Alternatively, you can look for remote jobs on websites like FlexJobs, which specializes in flexible, remote positions for beginners and more experienced workers.
You can also read my post on the best work from home jobs that provide equipment for more ideas.
13. Become A Virtual Assistant
If you have organizational skills, another way to make money online for beginners is to become a virtual assistant, or VA.
Online business owners like bloggers and ecommerce store operators often need help handling administrative tasks. This is where they hire VAs to help with tasks like:
- Email correspondence
- Scheduling appointments
- Data entry
- Booking travel arrangements
- Social media posting
Virtual assistants can usually earn $10 to $20 per hour or get paid a monthly retainer. I've hired a few VAs in the past, and I've always paid a set rate per month for a certain number of hours.
To get started, you can find virtual assistant jobs on marketplaces like Upwork or Fiverr.
Alternatively, companies like Fancy Hands hire U.S. virtual assistants, even if you don't have experience! This makes this an ideal online job for beginners, and you can increase your rates over time as you find more clients.
14. Online Tutoring
Another way to get money online for beginners is to become an online tutor. And this is an especially good idea if you have some experience teaching kids or excel in a certain subject.
For example, companies like BookNook pay U.S. tutors between $15 to $22 per hour to teach English and Math to elementary school students.
You need a degree to apply, but this is a high-paying job that also has flexible scheduling options to suit your lifestyle.
Other online tutoring jobs are similar. For example, companies like Qkids pay you to teach English online to younger students.
The main downside is that most tutoring gigs require having a degree or being in the process of getting one. But this is an excellent job for retired teachers, college students, and recent graduates.
15. Flip Stuff Online
One classic side hustle idea that's been around since we've had money is to flip stuff for profit. And, thanks to technology, you can now run a flipping side hustle entirely online.
For example, a few people I know buy products on discount at stores like Walmart and Kohl's and then resell them for a slight profit on online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon FBA.
This is basic retail arbitrage. And I even know a couple running a million-dollar retail arbitrage business on Amazon, so you can see how high the income potential is.
Retail arbitrage stores take a long time to scale and lots of practice. But the concept is still a perfect way to earn money online for beginners.
You can start out small by purchasing popular products you find on sale, like clothing, shoes, electronics, books, and toys.
Next, you simply resell the merchandise for profit using online marketplaces like eBay or Mercari. If that doesn't work, you can even try local selling websites like the Facebook Marketplace.
Even with a small profit margin, you can slowly invest into more inventory as you work growing your resale hustle.
16. Test Websites For Money
Another idea for making money online as a beginner is to test websites for money. And you'd be amazed at how easy this hustle is to start.
These days, plenty of companies pay people to test websites and apps that are in development. All you have to do is sign up as a user-tester, accept testing sessions, and then give your feedback on the app or website.
Tests generally take 10 to 20 minutes and pay about $10 with this gig, which is a very good hourly rate.
Several popular user-testing gigs you can consider include:
- PlaytestCloud:Pays around $10 a test and lets you make money testing apps and games in development.
- UserTesting: A leading user-testing platform that pays $10 a test.
- TryMyUI: Pays $10 for each test you complete.
- TestingTime: Pays up to $50 for longer testing gigs.
- UserCrowd: Another easy user testing gig you can try.
Testing sessions are a first-come, first-serve kind of deal, so it's difficult to get a lot of tests per month.
But using sites like UserTesting and others is an easy way to make quick money in your spare time. And you don't need any experience to start.
17. Sell Photos
Are you a decent photographer? If the answer is yes, you can always try selling stock photos or other types of photography online to make money.
Some of my friends actually do this and sell user-generated content photos and videos to brands. And the best part is you can often get paid for photos or videos you take with your phone for this type of content.
Just note that it can take time to find clients, and the world of stock photography selling is very competitive.
Extra Reading – The Best Phone Side Hustles.
18. Write On Medium
If you're still wondering how to make money online for beginners, one final idea you can try is to make money writing on Medium.
Medium is a free blogging platform where you make money if premium members read your content. I started writing on Medium or republishing This Online World content there a few years ago, and I was able to earn $1,000 without much effort.
I think Medium is an excellent way for beginners to make money online because it takes all the technical work out of writing and blogging.
All you have to do is sign up and begin writing. And Medium has plenty of popular niches, including history, tech, politics, entrepreneurship, crypto, and so much more.
It can take a while to build a following on Medium. But if you like writing, I think sites like Medium are worth considering.
Tips For Making Money Online As A Beginner
Now that you know how to make money online for beginners, I want to share some tips that I found very helpful when I was starting out and scaling my online income:
- Set An Income Goal: How much money do you want to make online? Setting goals keeps us accountable and realistic. It doesn't matter if your goal is an extra $100 a day or $10,000 a month; set a goal and chip away at it!
- Play To Your Strengths: I make money online with writing because it's my best skill. Think about your own skills, and pick hustles that match them as best as possible.
- Try Several Ideas: Testing different money-making ideas helps you hone your skills and discover what pays well. So, try out freelancing online, or paid survey sites, or some other hustles until you find something that clicks.
Extra Reading – How To Make $1,000 In 24 Hours.
Final Thoughts
I hope this guide on how to make money online for beginners helps you find your footing in this online world so you can boost your income.
Just remember: it can take months or years to start making serious income online. But this is totally okay.
Personally, it took me more than a year to find my footing with some basic freelance writing gigs. And it took me over four years before This Online World was making a full-time income.
However, there are so many ways to make money online without paying anything. And many of these ideas are beginner-friendly.
That said, don't be afraid of a challenge. You never really know where an online side hustle will take you until you try.
Best of luck!
Looking for more ideas to make money? Checkout:
Tom is a full-time blogger and freelance writer with a passion for side hustling, passive income, and the gig economy. His work has appeared on dozens of personal finance websites like Money Crashers, The College Investor, Investor Junkie, and more. This Online World is all about providing people with honest ways to make and save more money by using technology. To learn more about Tom, read his About Page!
If you're interested in freelance writing services or want to partner with This Online World, please use our contact page to get in touch!
Leave a Reply