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Make Money Online – 13 Side Hustle and Business Ideas for 2024

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Are you looking for reliable ways to make money online?

Keep reading to find various ways you can make money online in 2024 and beyond. The great thing about the modern internet is that you can start most of these projects for very little outlay while you’re still working your day job.

1) Start a blog

Blogging for extra income has exploded in the last few years. Blogs are easy to set up and you can start one for just a few dollars per month with a web hosting company like Namecheap.

If this sounds like something you’d like to do, read our guide on how to start a blog.

To make money from a blog, you need to create content around the words and phrases people type into search engines like Google. While it is possible to make money blogging about your personal life, it’s much harder than blogging about a topic.

So, if you want to start a blog to earn extra income, think about a topic you enjoy and that other people enjoy too, and then create your blog about that topic.

Popular blogging topics include food, travel, money and sport but you can set up a blog on any topic.

How do blogs make money?

A standalone blog, one that isn’t used to promote a product or service and doesn’t sell anything, typically generates income by displaying ads and promoting affiliate products.

Display ads

Several providers offer this service but you’ll need to get your site approved before you run ads.

Some providers insist on your blog generating a minimum number of sessions per month before they accept you. So you can’t start a blog today and apply to join their programmes tomorrow.

You’ll need to create content and generate traffic first.

Here’s a quick overview of some of the most popular display ad providers.

  • AdSense
  • Ezoic
  • AdThrive
  • Media.net
  • MediaVine

AdSense is typically the starting point for most new bloggers it’s the easiest one to join. Ezoic comes a close second.

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is a popular revenue source for bloggers.

It works like this – the blogger becomes an affiliate for a company, then promotes their products and services through their blog by way of using links that include a special code.

When somebody clicks on those links and buys a product or signs up for a service, the blogger earns a commission from the sale.

How does a blogger become an affiliate?

Some businesses run their affiliate program while others use a network such as CJ, Shareasale, Awin, Amazon Associates, Rakuten and Avangate.

2) Start an eCommerce website

Do you fancy selling stuff online via your own website? Modern technology makes this easier than ever, and with people trusting online sellers more and more, opportunities abound!

You’ll need stock and a website to set up an eCommerce store. So it’s not something you could do without spending cash.

Shopify can help you with your website, but you’ll need to find a local wholesaler for your goods.

Other eCommerce platforms include:

An alternative to carrying your own stock is working with a supplier who can deliver the goods on your behalf. This is called dropshipping. You take the order and the supplier sends it to the customer. It’s a system that works well but that’s not without its pitfalls.

Credit: MyWifeQuitHerJob Ecommerce Channel

3) Build websites for small businesses in your local area (or anywhere!)

You don’t have to be a qualified web designer to build websites for people.

Many websites are built using specialist software that does everything for you from structure to design. Of course, before you start building websites for other people, you’ll want to know how to do it yourself, so try building your own website to see if it’s something you enjoy doing. You’ll be surprised how easy it is.

The simplest of websites for a typical small, local business only needs a few pages and you can charge around £500 for building one.

Once you’ve nailed the basic skills, and with more experience, you can start building out more complicated websites and charging more for your services.

If this is something you get into, be sure to have a contract in place that clearly defines what you will and won’t be doing for your clients.

Resources and further reading:

4) Start a YouTube channel

Fancy it?

You can start this side hustle with nothing more than the smartphone sitting on your desk or in your pocket.

Successful and popular YouTubers primarily make money from running ads on their videos, but also by promoting products and services in their videos and linking to Amazon and other websites to earn affiliate income.

I’m sure you’ve heard your favourite YouTuber utter the immortal words “the link is in the description below”.

As of March 2023, here are the ways you can make money from YouTube:

Ad revenue

  • You must be at least 18 years old, or have a legal guardian older than 18 years of age who can handle your payments via AdSense
  • Accept the relevant contract modules
  • Create content that YouTube’s advertiser-friendly content guidelines

Channel memberships

  • You must be at least 18 years old
  • Live in a country/region where channel memberships are available
  • Channel isn’t set as Made for Kids and doesn’t have a significant number of videos set as made for children
  • Not a music channel under SRAV

Shopping

  • Have more than 1,000 subscribers or be an Official Artist Channel
  • Channel isn’t set as Made for Kids and doesn’t have a significant number of videos set as made for children

Super Chat and Super Stickers

  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Live in a country/region where Super Chat and Super Stickers are available

Super Thanks

  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Live in a country/region where Super Thanks is available
  • Not a music channel under SRAV

YouTube Premium revenue

  • Create content watched by a viewer who is a YouTube Premium subscriber

You can found out more by clicking this link – YouTube Partner Programme.

5) Start an Amazon FBA business

FBA stands for ‘fulfilment by Amazon’. It works like this – you secure goods from somewhere, send them to Amazon, they let you advertise them via their website and when you make a sale, Amazon delivers the goods to the customer on your behalf.

They don’t do this for free, of course. You’ll need to pay a monthly fee to use the service and inventory fees based on everything Amazon stores for you at its warehouse, and fulfilment fees based on everything Amazon delivers for you.

The main benefit to this service is the access you have to millions of customers. There is no way you could reach so many people so quickly if you set up a traditional online store.

6) Become a Twitch streamer

Twitch is a live streaming platform, primarily used by gamers. People earn their money in similar ways to online influencers – brand sponsorships and affiliate marketing – but also through subscriptions and tips from their audience.

Once again, making good money from Twitch live streaming requires a massive audience but people with small audiences can make money too.

7) Start a podcast

If live streaming or making YouTube videos doesn’t appeal to you, how about starting a podcast? Look on iTunes or other listings’ websites and you’ll find podcasts on just about every subject. Typically they make money from advertising and sponsorship deals with brands and services, but it’s also possible to earn commissions from affiliate sales by providing listeners with a specific link that records the sales you generate.

Something else to think about: YouTube videos can be converted into a podcast by taking the audio file and uploading it to services such as iTunes and Spotify.

8) Create an online course

This one sounds daunting. I mean, where do you even start?

Probably with a website like Teachable. They provide the infrastructure you need to create and run your course, all you have to do is provide the lessons and materials and find people to sign up. The courses can be made up of written content, videos and images. Which makes it a good option for anyone who isn’t keen on standing in front of a camera.

9) Create educational classes for Udemy

Udemy is similar to Teachable (mentioned above if you’re skimming) but its courses are delivered by video. So to use this service to teach people online, you’ll have to create a video. Don’t worry too much, you can always record your screen and provide a voiceover.

Udemy recommends your course should be at two hours long. Once you’ve created and launched your course, it could make you passive income each and every month for a very long time.

10) Through your social media accounts

Just because you’re not an influencer, Twitch streamer or YouTuber, doesn’t mean you can’t make money from your social media accounts. You can.

The way to do it is by using an affiliate link in your update and letting people know that the tweet, for example, is promoting a product or service by using a hashtag like #ad or #sponsored. Some of your followers will dislike this if you do it too often, so tread carefully.

11) Online surveys

Taking part in online surveys is an easy way to generate extra income each month. You can complete the surveys at any time during the day or night from the comfort of your own home, and get paid at the end of each month. For some, it’s better than spending hours watching TV!

12) Sell stuff on eBay

eBay is the site to use if you want to get rid of unwanted stuff from around the home. Once you’ve sold everything you no longer need, you can start buying stuff from other places – thrift shops, boot sales, other eBay sellers – and sell them through your own store.

13) Open an Etsy store

Etsy is a platform with huge reach that gives storeowners the chance to sell new goods to a mainly female audience. Typically, you’ll find things like jewellery, clothing, shoes, personalised gifts and crafty items but you’ll also find goods for the home, gamers and geeks.

It’s known for selling handmade items from makers around the world.

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