How To Make Money Online For Beginners (9 Legit Side Hustles)

Chris, Chief Editor & WFH Expert

• Updated

May 18, 2023

All of our content is carefully evaluated by a real human expert. Learn More

It’s not easy to learn how to make money online for beginners.

And I totally understand your worries.

• I mean what if you get scammed?
• Who do you trust?
• And does it actually work?

I was in your shoes 3 years ago before I created a successful online personal brand and broke free from the 9-5 slavery as a full-time engineer.

And to be honest, you shouldn’t take tips from big website publications because you know what, employees wrote those articles 😂 (the irony).

I’ve actually made legit money online AND I started out as a total newbie.

These are my insights of the best business ideas you can actually be successful in this year.

Before you begin

Before starting your new side hustle, you MUST acquire expertise and know-how through the help of an online course. 

Yes I know everything is “free” on YouTube, but it’s horrible for learning and the backend of every video is part of a marketing funnel, without you even realising it. So enrolling in an authentic online course is a fantastic way to gain insight, assistance, and direction for achieving success with your chosen small business.

These courses provide valuable insights, support, and blueprints to help you succeed in your online venture, and trust me you’ll need all the help you can get.

Why take an online course?

• Expert guidance
  Learn from experienced professionals who have already succeeded in their respective fields. They share practical tips and strategies that have been proven effective, and save you costly mistakes you’d make otherwise.
• Focused learning
  Online courses are designed to cover specific topics related to making money online. This allows you to gain targeted knowledge instead of wasting time on irrelevant information.
• Flexible schedule
  You can study at your own pace, which means there’s no need to rush or feel overwhelmed by too much information at once, or piecing together different sources of information from scattered YouTube videos.
• Affordable investment
  Many high-quality courses are available at reasonable prices compared to traditional education options like college degrees or professional certifications.

Before you buy an online course

Before you dive into a lucrative money making opportunity, consider the following:

1. Do they have legit student testimonials doing the thing?
2. Is it a business model you can see yourself doing for years?
3. Does the learning environment feel good to you?

The truth is, you’ll be spending copious amounts of time building your business to make extra money online, so make sure you actually vibe with the style and course creator.

Top courses I recommend right now to learn how to make money online for beginners are:

Premium Pick

Blog Growth Engine

Editors Rating: 9.5 /10

Free Masterclass

Best Value

The Real World

Editors Rating: 9.3 /10

Get Full Access

I’ve bought both and they have everything you need to make an extra income online.

With that said, let’s dive into the ways of how to make money online for beginners.

1. Harness the Power of Affiliate Marketing

I can talk about affiliate marketing for days, as it’s such a good business method.

Promoting other companies products and services earns you commissions on any sales made through your exclusive referral links, providing an effortless way to make passive income.

This method lets you make money online without creating or selling your products, essentially removing the entire “making a product to sell” part.

You only have to become excellent at marketing and sales 💪

How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

1. You sign up as an affiliate with a company that offers an affiliate program. You usually need a website showcasing a legit brand before you can apply.
2. The company provides you with unique referral links to its products or services.
3. To reach potential customers, you can promote these links through various means, such as blog posts, social media channels, email newsletters, and more.
4. When someone clicks on your link and makes a purchase within a specified time frame (usually between 30-90 days), you earn a commission based on the sale price of the product or service purchased by the customer.

Affiliate marketing is not only limited to bloggers; it can also be used effectively by podcasters, YouTubers, influencers – anyone with an audience interested in specific niches.

Best Practices for Affiliate Marketing Success

To make the most out of your affiliate marketing efforts, consider these best practices:

• Create valuable content
  It always starts with the content. Provide helpful information and insights to your audience to help them solve their problems or achieve their goals. Being transparent about the products you endorse makes your audience more likely to trust and purchase them.
  
• Promote products you believe in
  Promote only those products and services you genuinely think can benefit your audience. This helps maintain a positive reputation and increases the likelihood of generating sales.
  
• Diversify income streams
  Don’t rely solely on one company or product for all of your affiliate revenue. Partner with multiple companies offering different types of products within your niche to create a diversified income streams.

Affiliate marketing provides an opportunity to gain passive income and broaden one’s customer base.

Another thing you can do to make money online is by selling an online course. This is a method to expand your reach even further and monetize the knowledge or skills you already have today.

2. Create a Blogging Empire

With all of the noise on social media platforms, you’d think that blogging is dead, and it’s far from it.

Google searches increase each and every year, and people are always searching for things to buy. By being a mediator of purchase decisions trough your own content that lives on Google search, you’ll make a lot of money online, with the extra cash hitting your PayPal account while you sleep.

Creating a distinguished identity as a personal brand through your own website is key, and it all starts with a tiny little blog.

Let’s explore how you can start your blogging journey and turn it into a legit empire.

Don’t Pick a Niche

Every single YouTuber tells you to pick a niche, then proceeds to sell you own web hosting and a generic domain name for WordPress 😂

My pro tip for you is to NOT pick a niche, instead pick the brand of YOU.

Whatever you:

• Have expertise in through years of experience
• Have insights in by talking to people in that area
• Personally spend money on and use yourself

Will be your “niche” to start out with.

Creating content on subjects you have knowledge in is vital for creating content quickly and that is based on some originality.

Popular niche categories you might have experience in and that have affiliate marketing potential can include:

• Travel
• Health & fitness
• Finance
• Fashion
• Technology

Whatever you start going for, you’ll know as it’s part of you.

Create High-Quality Content Consistently

Building an audience for your blog and keeping them engaged with your content over time requires consistency, both in the quality and frequency of posting new articles.

Aim to publish at least 3 high-quality, weekly posts that provide value to readers by answering their questions or solving their problems related to your niche.

• Research
  Before writing any post on your blog, thoroughly research what people are looking for within that topic area so you can create the helpful resources they want.
  
• Use AI writers
  Long gone are the days of having to write every word yourself, let AI create a first draft for you. Welcome to the future 😉
  
• Edit
  Always edit, cut the fluff, and proofread each article before publishing it. Ensure there are no grammatical errors that could detract from its credibility.
  
• SEO optimize
  If you want your content to show up on Google, you’ll have to SEO otimize the content. Thankfully we have AI SEO tools to sort that out for you as well.

That’s pretty much it for the content part, if you want the full picture of how to create a blogging based business then this blogging masterclass video is what you need.

Monetize Your Blog and Make $$$

Once your blog has a regular posting plan and gains rankings on the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page), it’s time to make money!

There are several ways to make money from blogging, including:

• Affiliate Marketing
  The primary method with the best income potential for any content driven business. You do this by promoting products or services related to your niche through affiliate links in your content. You’ll earn a commission for every sale made through these links.
  
• Sponsored Posts
  Partner with brands who want exposure within their target market by offering sponsorship placements inside your ranking articles showcasing, while being compensated financially.
  
• Email List Building & Marketing
  Collect email addresses from visitors who visit your site, then use this list to promote future content updates along with any special offers available. Doing this exclusively via email marketing campaigns helps to drag in extra cash to your business.
  
• Selling Digital Products/Services
  Create and sell digital products like ebooks, courses, or consulting services relevant to the topics covered on our site. These are purchased directly by those interested without needing any third-party involvement, increasing your overall profit margins significantly.
  
• Adding ads to your website
  Once you have a ton of traffic to your website you can consider adding ads to the mix of income sources that you have. Testing out online platforms like Google Adsense or Mediavine are great options for ads.

As you can see, building a blogging empire is a fantastic way to make money online for beginners through a variety of avenues. You only need the right strategies, a ton of time and effort. 🥲

That’s why I recommend you learn from professionals through an online course, or you could end up wasting YEARS without seeing an return on your time.

And TIME, my friend, is something you NEVER get back, so choose wisely how you spend it.

3. Tap Into Freelancing Opportunities

Freelancing is an excellent way to make money from home, and it’s becoming increasingly popular way to make money online with a simple internet connection.

More people are looking for flexible work options with online jobs, and freelancing lets you choose the job that suits your skillset and lifestyle the best.

You don’t have to worry about commuting or having a boss breathing down your neck – you get to be in charge of your own schedule and income, which is AMAZING!

One great thing about freelancing is that endless opportunities are available in almost any niche imaginable, letting you becoming your own business owner with ease.

Whether you like to do:

• Web design
• Copywriting
• Managing social media accounts
• Freelance writing
• Data entry
• Online tutoring
• Offering transcription services
• Working as a virtual assistant
• Market research
• Test websites for SEO
• Usertesting mobile apps for companies
• Or even do online surveys for a quick payout

Chances are someone out there need your services, all you need to do is find them!

If you want to start making money through freelancing but need help figuring out where to begin, once again, consider taking an online course that teaches you the exact steps on how to do it effectively.

My top pick for this will be the freelancing campus inside of The Real World. Tons of students are making real cash online through offering their services to clients such as being a freelance writer, do copywriting, and more.

They also provide tips on how much to charge for each service and how best to manage client relationships once they come on board.

Another critical aspect of successful freelancing is networking – connecting with other professionals in the same field or related fields who may have advice or leads on projects that could benefit both parties involved (you included!).

It’s like getting two birds with one stone

These connections often lead directly to jobs and expand your professional network, which can open even more doors further down the line!

Plus, it never hurts just meeting new people; after all, “it’s not what we know but who we know.”

A thing to keep in mind when it comes to freelancing is about payment negotiations – always go high rather than low because if someone really wants your services, they’ll usually meet somewhere between their initial offer and yours anyway, so why to sell yourself short?

Don’t let anyone take advantage of you either by offering meager rates on small gigs on Upwork or Fiverr – stand firm on what value YOU bring because, ultimately, no one knows better than YOU what kind of rate should be paid for YOUR hard work!

4. Video Editing for Short-Form Content

Short-form content is taking the internet by storm, with platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts dominating social media feeds.

This presents a fantastic opportunity for beginners to make money online by honing their video editing skills and creating captivating short videos for brands and influencers.

Video is not going anywhere, and there is pressing demand for skilled video editors 🔥

Why Short-Form Content Matters

Attention spans are shorter than ever thanks to TikTok…

Users crave quick, engaging content that they can consume on the go. That’s where short-form content comes in – it provides bite-sized entertainment that keeps viewers hooked while delivering key messages effectively.

Master this skill and you’ll have unlimited work for years to come. And you can learn this skill in just a few months of hard work.

Tips to Master Video Editing for Short-Form Content

I picked up some valuable tips from the marketing campus inside of The Real World, such as:

1. Learn the Basics
   Familiarize yourself with popular video editing software such as Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro X. There are also plenty of free tutorials are available online to help you get started.
   
2. Create Engaging Storylines
   Keep your audience captivated by crafting compelling narratives within a limited timeframe (usually under one minute).
   
3. Add Visual Effects & Transitions
   Enhance your videos with eye-catching effects and smooth transitions between clips to maintain viewer interest throughout.
   
4. Prioritise Audio Quality
   Pay attention to audio quality and music selection, and learn how to mix audio levels properly during post-production.
   
5. Edit Efficiently
   Develop an efficient workflow to edit quickly without sacrificing quality, enabling you to take on more projects simultaneously.

Once you know exactly what to do and what your style is, you can easily train up someone else to do the work for you, while you manage clients or work on getting new leads to grow your online business.

Finding Clients and Building Your Portfolio

Once you’ve developed your video editing skills, it’s time to find clients who need short-form content.

You can start by DM’ing brands or influencers in your area or niche, and offering your services for free or at a discounted rate in exchange for testimonials.

That’s usually how it’s done when starting out as a beginner with zero credibility to your name.

Growing Your Business & Expanding Your Services

As you gain experience and establish yourself as an expert in short-form content creation, consider expanding your offerings in order to scale.

For example, you could branch out into longer-format videos or offer additional services such as animation or motion graphics design, if you have the skill or interest to go into those areas.

By diversifying your skillset, you’ll be able to attract more clients and increase revenue.

5. Create and Sell an Online Course

If you possess expertise others seek to acquire, creating and selling an online course is a great way to earn money online.

You can generate income without trading your time for money by teaching people about topics you’re already knowledgeable about.

This method allows you to reach more students than traditional face-to-face teaching methods while providing flexibility for the instructor and learners.

Finding hidden opportunities

The first step in creating an online course is identifying your niche, or rather what problem people have without any legit solutions.

It’s the cross-section between your area of expertise and what people need help with.

The only issue is finding these people and their problems.

What you can do before jumping into making an online course, is to make money online with one of the other alternatives I’ve mentioned above, and once you have an audience, ask them questions!

These questions will guide you toward the proper subject matter for your course. It just makes sense to build the audience first.

This way you’ll verify what people actually have issues with once you start talking with them.

Selecting a Platform

To sell your online course effectively, choose a reliable platform like Systeme.io, Teachable or Thinkific.

These platforms provide all necessary tools required for hosting classes, including payment processing systems, making transactions seamless between you and the students alike.

Pricing Strategies & Promotion Techniques

• Pricing
  Determine how much value your course offers compared with similar offerings before setting its price point.
  
• Discounts & Promotions
  Offer limited-time discounts or bundle deals to attract new students and boost sales.
  
• Email Marketing
  Learn email marketing to inform your audience about upcoming courses, promotions, and updates. Tools like MailChimp can help automate this process.
  
• Social Media Advertising
  Leverage social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter for targeted advertising that reaches potential customers interested in your niche topic(s).

By teaching others valuable skills you already possess while maintaining control over your time commitment & schedule flexibility – it’s no wonder more entrepreneurs are exploring this avenue.

Selling an online course is a highly viable way of making money online.

6. Start a Booming YouTube Channel

If you’ve ever dreamed of becoming an online influencer or sharing your passion with the world, starting a YouTube channel is an excellent way to make money online for beginners.

Beginning with no expenses and having limitless earning possibilities, there is always time to generate material that resonates with your desired crowd.

And yes, it’s not to late to start.

What to base your channel around

To begin, identify a niche that aligns with your interests and expertise. This will help you create engaging content that keeps viewers returning for more.

This is also important for the fact that you’ll create videos for a long time, it never stops which is why you want to talk about a topic you won’t get tired of anytime soon.

Popular categories include gaming, artificial intelligence, beauty tutorials, fitness tips, travel vlogs, and cooking demonstrations – but be bold and think outside the box!

Consistency Is Key

The key to success on YouTube is hands down consistency in both uploading frequency and improving your content quality over time.

Aim to upload at least one video per week while continuously refining your production skills through practice and learning from other successful creators.

Earning Money Through Ad Revenue & Affiliate Marketing

• Ad Revenue
  Once you meet YouTube’s eligibility requirements (1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours within the past 12 months), you can apply for their Partner Program, which allows you to earn advertising revenue from ads displayed on your videos.
  
• Affiliate Marketing
  By promoting products or services relevant to your niche using affiliate links in video descriptions or pinned comments (e.g., Amazon Associates program) you can earn commissions on sales generated by viewers who click those links.

Growing Your Audience & Collaborating with Brands

As your channel grows, you’ll have more opportunities to collaborate with brands and make money through sponsored content.

Utilize social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to cross-promote your videos and engage with your audience.

Additionally, consider joining online communities related to your niche where you can share valuable insights and build relationships that lead to collaborations.

Taking Your YouTube Channel To The Next Level

If you’re serious about turning your YouTube channel into a profitable business, consider investing in an online course that teaches the ins and outs of video production.

You need to know about digital marketing strategies for growing an audience, or even tips on how to monetize beyond ad revenue (such as selling merchandise or creating paid membership tiers).

With consistency and dedication towards improving content quality over time – combined with strategic use of affiliate marketing – anyone can turn their passion into profit.

In short, starting a YouTube channel is a risk-free way of making money online that offers endless possibilities for growth.

7. Start a Dropshipping Business

Dropshipping is a retail fulfillment method where a store owner doesn’t keep the products they sell in stock.

Instead, when a customer orders, the store owner purchases the item from a third-party supplier, who then ships it directly to the customer.

This means that as a dropshipper, you never have to handle any physical products yourself – making it an ideal option for those looking to start an online business with minimal overhead costs.

With dropshipping, you can concentrate on the marketing and customer service without managing inventory or dealing with shipping logistics, which is especially helpful when starting out from scratch.

How Does It Work?

1. Niche selection
   To start dropshipping, decide what type of products you want to sell. Pick something that interests you or aligns with your expertise to make marketing more manageable and enjoyable.
   
2. Select Reliable Suppliers
   Next up is finding trustworthy suppliers who offer quality products at competitive prices. Websites like AliExpress, SaleHoo, and WorldWide Brands can help connect you with reliable manufacturers.
   
3. Create Your Online Store
   Once your niche and suppliers are set, it’s time to build your online store. Platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce make it easy for beginners to create professional-looking e-commerce websites!
   
4. Promote Your Store
   With everything in place, you must attract customers by promoting your store through various marketing channels such as social media, email campaigns, or even search engine optimization (SEO).
   
5. Fulfil Orders & Provide Customer Support
   As orders come in, you’ll purchase the products from your suppliers, who will ship them directly to your customers. Additionally, ensure excellent customer service by addressing any questions or concerns promptly.

Why Choose Dropshipping?

Besides its low startup costs and minimal inventory management requirements, dropshipping offers several other benefits that make it an attractive option for beginners looking to make money online:

• Ease of Scaling 
  Since you don’t have physical inventory limitations with dropshipping, scaling up becomes much easier than traditional retail models.
  
• Variety of Products
  You can offer a wide range of products without worrying about storage space or upfront investment – giving you more flexibility when choosing what items to sell on your website.

Beginning a dropshipping venture can be a promising approach to acquiring cash online for amateurs. However, it necessitates commitment and diligent work.

Print-on-demand is another lucrative option allowing entrepreneurs to create customized products without investing in inventory or storage space!

8. Print-on-Demand: Turn Your Creativity into Profit

Suppose you possess the talent for crafting attractive visuals.

In that case, print-on-demand is a great way to earn money on the web without stocking items or making an initial investment.

This business model allows you to create custom products like t-shirts, hoodies, and mugs with unique designs and sell them through various platforms.

How Does Print-On-Demand Work?

In a nutshell, print-on-demand works by partnering with a supplier who prints your design on their products only when an order is placed by a customer.

The supplier takes care of printing, packaging, and shipping while you focus on creating unique designs and marketing your brand.

Choosing the Right Platform

To start with print-on-demand, choose from popular platforms such as Printful, Printify, or Teespring.

Research which platforms best suits your needs, as each has distinct characteristics that may fit different requirements. I personally like Teespring and it worked great when I was doing Print-on-Demand.

You can if you want to also advertise your stuff on Ebay and Etsy for extra reach.

Creating Your Designs

Once you’ve selected a platform, it’s time to express your imaginative prowess.

Use graphic design tools like Placeit or Canva to create stunning visuals that appeal to potential customers.

Remember that originality is key – try to follow trends and come up with innovative ideas that stand out in the market.

Diversif Your Product Offerings with:

• T-shirts
• Hoodies and sweatshirts
• Mugs and Drinkware
• Phone cases
• Posters and wall art
• Notebooks, journals, and planners

Marketing Your Brand

To succeed with PoD, you have to marketed your brand effectively, or you’ll be drowned out by the sheer volume of designs available online.

Leverage social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, or Pinterest to showcase your designs and attract potential customers.

You can also collaborate with influencers in your niche or run paid ads for better reach. Just be careful with the ads as they might eat up your profit margins quick!

9. Repurpose Video Content for Social Media Posts

Repurposing video content for social media posts is a great way to make money online.

It’s an in-demand service that can help other brands and businesses to reach more customers and generate sales. With the right tools, anyone can repurpose existing videos into engaging social media posts quickly and easily.

Just think about it, most brands are already creating loads of video content to promote their brand.

Taking their best content and repurposing it to the written medium is a no-brainer for brands to scale their presence, and that is where you come in!

How to repurpose video content

First, you’ll need to find the right video content for their audience. Look for videos that have proven successful on other platforms.

This will save you time by ensuring that the content is already popular with viewers and likely to get social media engagement.

Once you’ve identified some good video sources, it’s time to start repurposing them into written social media posts.

A neat way of doing this is to use AI tools that can automatically transcribe videos, and polish the written content into consumable chunks. AI writing tools like Jasper or Copy.ai will be invaluable to create short form written content at scale.

By following these steps and utilizing existing video content effectively, anyone can offer a valuable service to brands while making money online from home!

FAQs

This is how you make money online for beginners

Making money online for beginners can be a daunting task, there’s just so much information online!

In my own experience doing this for years, my absolute biggest tip is to focus on ONE business model and mastering it.

Every time you jump from opportunity to opportunity you essentially start over from scratch, never allowing your attempts to work in the first place.

I usually see that people are way to impatient, and have a hard time accepting delayed gratification which is why most beginners fail.

So to wrap this up, pick one business model, and go all in. Learn everything there is to know, buy a course, and just take massive action.

That’s what I did, and I now get to enjoy my day however I see fit.

It’s an amazing feeling, and I wish that you get to enjoy it as well 👍

About the author, Chris