How to Make Money Online for Beginners

Want to make money online even though you’re a complete beginner?

You’re in the right place.

The internet is a huge and overwhelming place, so if you want to explore the best ways how to make money online as a beginner, this post is a good place to start.

There are so many different ways to earn money online, you’ve probably heard of drop-shipping, doing paid surveys, affiliate marketing, e-commerce stores, blogging, or maybe even freelancing.

So where do you start if you’re a newbie to the online world?

Don’t worry, there are lots of easy things you can do to start making money online. And here at The Work Online Slayer HQ, we’ve tried all of them, so we can skip the fluff and show you which ones are actually the best.

How to make money online for beginners

So, do you start with a small side hustle that’s good for a little long-term extra cash, or a bigger short-term job that pays better but demands much more time?

For each working online option, the amount of work involved and pay rate varies. So, some ways are very easy to learn but don’t pay much and some ways are more complex with a higher pay rate.

And that’s why when you’re a beginner at working online, it’s important to consider each one and choose the one that best suits your lifestyle and your skills.

Start out by trying a few of the simpler jobs first, as this will build up your skills and confidence in working online. The simple ways will often earn you extra cash the fastest too.

So, if you’re ready to learn more, here are some ideas to get you started with how to make money online as a beginner.

1. Sell your unwanted items

Everyone has got stuff they don’t need or want anymore, so selling your old things is one of the easiest and fastest ways to make money online as a beginner.

Some popular sites to sell your unwanted electronics, clothing or furniture items on are:

• Gumtree
• Facebook local groups and Facebook Marketplace
• eBay
• Trademe
• CraigsList

If you make handmade items or have vintage items, you can even sell these on Etsy.

It’s a really simple and easy way to start earning money online. Take some photos of your items with your smartphone, create the listing and you’re done.

Remember to stay safe online when buying and selling by following some online safety basic guidelines. 

2. Take paid surveys

Taking online surveys is a popular one you may have heard of. There are indeed lots of survey sites, but there are only a few that are worth your time.

I’ve tried a lot out over the years and the best-paid survey sites to sign up to are:

• Survey Junkie
• Prize Rebel
• Swagbucks

You simply sign up, fill in your profile and start taking surveys. Make sure you complete your profile fully and accurately as this will dictate which surveys you get sent.

You get paid for every survey and taking surveys is an easy way to get free PayPal cash, or you can get paid in retail vouchers.

Survey Junkie is the easiest and fastest survey site to sign up to. Although all of them are simple to join and pay you real money for your time.

If you’re in Australia or New Zealand you can still sign up for any of the above but you may prefer to take surveys on Octopus Group which are the highest paying survey provider in Australia and prides itself on paying their members more.

3. Freelance writing

If you’re creative and good with words, freelance writing might be for you.

You’ll need to have a portfolio of writing experience before you can freelance write for regular clients or brands. So to build that experience start off easy by trying content writing.

Content writing is the process of writing and editing web content. Web content can include blog posts, articles, social media copy, video and audio scripts, email newsletters or landing page copy.

You’ll find content writing jobs for beginners on Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, and People per Hour. You can also find writing jobs posted regularly on ProBlogger and on other freelance writing job boards.

4. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is another easy way for anyone to make money online as a beginner.

Being an affiliate marketer involves selling items or services that belong to another company, by sharing links on your blog or through your social media channels.

So, every time someone clicks on the personalised affiliate link you shared and makes a purchase, you get a commission or kickback from the company.

There are many affiliate networks where you can search for affiliates in your niche to join such as:

• FlexOffers
• Awin
• ShareASale
• ClickBank
• Amazon affiliates

Simply join FlexOffers or ShareaSale, browse through the advertisers and find ones that fit your niche. If you’re a travel blogger, you could be an affiliate for an outdoor gear company, or if your social media accounts are in the health and wellness niche, you could affiliate for a yoga company or a fitness app.

5. Sponsored posts

If you’re an influencer on Instagram, Tik Tok or Snapchat with a decent following, start approaching brands to collaborate with.

You don’t need to have hundreds of thousands of followers to work with brands. Sometimes even if you have 1,000 followers you can be seen as a ‘micro-influencer’.

Fohr is a free influencer platform that displays your social media ranking and makes you visible to brands who are looking for influencers to collaborate with.

And they also have lots of free tools to help you build your profile, and potentially get offered marketing campaigns.

Perlu for Influencers is a great place to start for beginners. It connects you with brands in a more personal way and helps you get stuff done. You can search campaigns and partner up with other influencers.

6. Sell your photos

If you are a professional photographer, or you are just skilled at capturing great shots with your smartphone, why not sell your photos to websites like Shutterstock or Foap.

Websites like these constantly need new photos for their inventory of stock photos.

7. TEFL – Teach English online

This way of making money online is very popular with remote workers and digital nomads, as it’s a job that can be done anywhere.

TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. As a native or fluent English speaker, you can use your skills to teach English to non-native English speakers.

If you want to teach English online, a TEFL certificate is a must-do. A TEFL certificate is an internationally recognised credential and the first step to teaching English online.

From a quick search, you’ll find LOTS of places offering TEFL certification.

MyTefl is accredited, cheaper than most and offers you free TEFL job placement assistance when you’ve completed the course.

Once you’ve completed your TEFL certification, you can start applying for jobs to teach English online.

If you are from the USA or Canada, VIPKID is one of the easier sites to get started. If you’re from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa (as well as the USA and Canada), then Cambly and Magic Ears are the best ones to try.

8. Sell freelance services

If you’re a writer, a graphic designer, an editor or a content creator, you can sell your own freelance services on freelance marketplace platforms.

Simply sign up to sites like Fiverr, Upwork or Freelancer and get paid for the services you offer.

Get started by signing up, then create your profile which details your experience and skills. Then you create a ‘gig’ for each service you want to offer.

• Offer content writing if you’re good at writing.
• If you have a good eye for picking up errors, offer proofreading or editing services.
• Create a gig for a logo or t-shirt design if you’re a graphic designer.
• Or if you have previous admin experience try offering virtual assistant services.

You can price your gig at whatever pay rate you want and you can also offer add-ons.

Find out more here about the best freelancing sites for beginners to join.

9. Do odd jobs on Airtasker or Task Rabbit

Another great way for beginners to make money online is to do remote jobs on Airtasker or Task Rabbit. These websites are places where people and businesses can outsource their tasks whether they be remote tasks or in-person tasks.

For remote tasks, people may need logo designing, help with their social media platforms or need a resume or cover letter written for them. For in-person tasks, posters often need taskers to walk their dogs, clean their house, put their furniture together or do some painting.

If you’re only looking for remote tasks, there are a lot of opportunities to earn money as you can do them all online.

I love Airtasker and I have used it many times to earn extra cash. The platform protects your payment and it’s fast too – you usually get paid the day after.

10. Become a Virtual Assistant

If you’ve worked in administration, reception, project management, marketing, hr, or other office work, your skills will be transferable online, so why not try becoming a virtual assistant.

Hannah Dixon started out as a Virtual Assistant and now runs her own VA business called Digital Nomad Kit (DNK) – a learning hub for digital nomad careers.

This course challenges you to assess your values and skills, it gives you clarity on how to start your own Virtual Assistant business and teaches you how to find your first client.

DNK runs a free short course called the 5 Day VA Challenge – it’s completely free and you can explore if being a virtual assistant is for you.

Conclusion: making money online as a beginner

That concludes our post about working online as a beginner.

As you can now see, there are plenty of easy options you can try as a beginner in the world of working online.

So take some time to think about what skills you have, which job you could apply them to and which options work well for your lifestyle.

Until next time.

Your friendly, neighbourhood WorkOnlineSlayer