Everyone could use a bit of extra money. Whether you’re looking to pay off those student loans, saving up for a big purchase, or looking for some supplemental cash to diversify your streams of income, the prospect of increased monthly earnings is an enticing one.
In the digital age, there are more opportunities than ever before to supplement the income from your full-time job or even leave your job to become a digital nomad. While exciting, it can also be a bit overwhelming trying to find the right fit and actually monetize what you do.
Not to worry!
This article is aimed at helping you to not only identify possible income opportunities but walk you through the process of how to actually make money doing them.
Freelance Writing
We live in the age of content.
Every brand, business owner, and entrepreneur is looking for content to help bring their product to market and grow their business’s digital presence. Doing so requires a high volume of content, especially written content.
With online platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, finding businesses to write for is an absolute breeze. All it takes is a solid internet connection and a bit of know-how to make decent money.
The business model is typically per word overly hourly rate, but starting writers can charge around $50 per article with more experienced writers charging up to $150 for a single article. If we average between the two, it’ll only take about 20 articles monthly to hit our $2,000 per month target.
You don’t need to be Dan Brown either. The process of becoming a freelance writer is simple.
Choose a Topic
Quite literally anything goes here. Some examples of article requests on the Upwork board today include:
- Content writer for self-improvement blog
- Social media manager and content creator
- Health and fitness blogger
- Business development content writer
- Content writer for real estate investing
- Sleep stories for adults
- Content writer – knitting and crochet industry
- Short blog post about “how many cushions should I put on my sofa”
Whether you’re an experienced trainer looking to make some extra cash, or a stay-at-home mom who knows exactly how many cushions covers that sofa needs, there is a job that’s right for you!
Learn the SEO Basics
Now, this could be an entirely separate article and will require a bit of research. That being said, the very basics of writing a solid SEO (search engine optimized) article are not terribly complicated.
Most articles come with content briefs which will include top search results to get a feel for the topic, a brief outline, and the internal and external links they would like.
As long as you learn how to properly incorporate each of these pieces, and format everything correctly, you should be able to pump out somewhat decent articles.
Then it’s just a matter of listening closely to their feedback and improving your process as you go!
Practice: Write Some Samples
You’ll need to have one or two writing samples ready to go for most freelance projects, as they’ll want to see what your writing is like.
Practice your SEO skills by writing a couple of sample articles in your niche, and then comparing them to the top-ranked search results.
Apply for Jobs
Now that you’ve got your samples, hit the job boards and start applying!
Don’t get discouraged if the going is a bit slow to start. There are a lot of freelance writers out there. Just stay committed and keep applying, aim for a certain number of applications each day in the beginning.
Certain habits, such as personalizing each of your proposals and reading the entire job posting, will give you a big advantage. Some postings even include a code hidden in the posting to make sure you’ve read it all.
Web Design
In the digital age having a website is a must for any business.
However, recent research found nearly 36% of small businesses still don’t have a website. Add on all of the personal brands, blogs, and other web-related services and you have one of the fastest-growing industries in the job market.
While becoming a web developer is more of a career trajectory, as it involves some pretty advanced coding abilities, web design is much easier to make some extra cash without a full life commitment.
With an average median salary of around $51k, even web design as a part-time job can easily clear our $2,000 per month target.
All you need is a keen eye for design, some technical know-how, and a portfolio of sights (starting with your own!).
Understand Design Theory and Tools
The first step is to actually understand what makes a successful website.
Making a good website is a bit of art and a bit of science. If you have a good eye for design, that takes care of the art (because most people don’t).
You’ll also need to learn the science, so be sure to take some online courses to fully understand the process.
Build Your Own Site
Building your own website actually serves two purposes.
The first is simple. You have a new service which could one day become its own business. You don’t want to be one of those 36% of businesses without a website!
More importantly (at this stage) building your own site will allow you hands-on experimentation with the tools and theories you are learning. The information will actually stick if you do it this way, as opposed to just listening and taking notes.
Reach Out to Businesses
Once your website is beautiful, it’s time to find some clients!
There are several strategies you can use here. Start local: if you know of any businesses in your area that are a bit more old school, that’s a great place to start. Especially leverage personal connections.
You can also use Google. Search your niche, the businesses you feel most comfortable working on, and head to page 10 of the search results. These businesses will want to rank higher but aren’t currently able to do so, and poorly designed websites are often to blame.
Offer your services as a way for them to jump up the rankings!
Tutoring Students Online
While becoming an online teacher, even an English teacher, requires degrees and certifications, tutoring can be done by anybody with some knowledge and the ability to teach others.
According to Tutors.com, one of the premier sites for starting your online tutoring business, tutors can expect to make around $30 per hour for their services.
Specializing in areas such as Calculus or SAT Prep can nearly double that to anywhere between $50 to $60 per hour, making it a great source of income!
Even on the lower end of this scale, say $30 per hour, it will only take about 67 hours per month to hit our $2,000 per month goal. That’s less than 20 hours a week.
The steps to becoming an online tutor are also very simple:
- Determine your subjects, specialties, and teaching methodology.
- Set up a tutoring profile with a site like Tutors.com, Chegg, or VIPKid.
- Respond to online tutoring requests and introduce yourself to your students.
- Research, prepare, and teach well to provide real value to your students.
The last step is crucial. If you are a great tutor, it is extremely easy to build your business through personal reference and word of mouth.
On the flip side, if you show up to lessons unprepared, don’t expect to be in business for very long.
Final Thoughts
The going is always going to be a bit rough in the beginning.
Learning technical skills, lack of experience in general, and understanding how to market yourself all take some time.
That being said, if you stick with it and keep trying you will make money. Just remember why you want to do this, focus on your goals, and stay consistent.
The journey of $2,000 begins with a single cent, and with the information from this article, you can start that journey today!