How to make money online for beginners

What we have all experienced over the last 18 months or so has shown us one thing: nothing is guaranteed when it comes to a job. Covid-19 has seen changes to the working landscape in the UK which may be hard to recover from. When workplaces began to shut and as people were furloughed, many began to look at ways to supplement their income by making money online. By taking the time just to look, people saw that there was an abundance of ways to earn money online.

Some of these ways of making money were tasks being carried out in spare time. For others, business ideas began to flow and quickly they were looking at a new full-time job. People were quickly realising that they can earn more per month online from the comfort of their homes as they could by going to work every day. If you are new to money-making and how to earn money from your computer, we are here to help. We’re going to show you some great ways to either earn money in your spare time or even launch an online business. We’re also going to keep it simple so you can see that literally anyone can do this. Let’s get started!

Earn money online by Matched betting

If you’re a regular over at the Money Shed then you’ll know that we love matched betting. Why? Because it is a risk-free way of generating a monthly income. While you may not consider it an online business, you can quickly see yourself earning more per hour than you can in the majority of jobs out there. We have stories of people regularly earning £500-£1000 per month from this method. Others tick along nicely with an extra £200-£300 per month.

Why would we recommend matched betting to beginners? The truth is it is an incredibly simple way to start making money online. By taking advantage of the offers presented by bookies, this method is also completely risk-free. Unsure? Take a look at tools such as Profit Accumulator or Oddsmonkey and see just how easy this is. As money-making ideas go, this is one that we can’t recommend highly enough.

Online survey sites

When you look at how to earn money online, this is the area where many of us start. Certainly, our online money making journey began with online survey sites. Now, when it comes to these sites there are some that are better than others. Certain sites can see you slogging away for hours only to be screened out or rewarded with a pittance. If you want to keep your pay per hour at a reasonable level, you need to be selective with the surveys you complete. 

The two survey sites that we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend are Qmee and Prolific. With Qmee, you won’t ever earn money that can see you quit your job, but the plus is that there are no minimum withdrawal limits so you can cash out straight away. This makes it the fastest of the online surveys to actually see you make money. Prolific has better-paying surveys and these can be more interesting, but here there is a £5 minimum withdrawal limit.

Start trading stocks and shares

You may take a look at this one and wonder why it appears in a list for beginners. Surely trading requires masses of funds, a great deal of learning, and the need for a broker? Well, if you take a look at the likes of Freetrade or Trading 212, you’ll soon see how things have changed. Trading in stocks and shares is now an activity that is accessible to all of us and all that is needed is a smartphone to begin.

With Freetrade, you can even claim free shares in top-performing companies. You can use any shares as a way to save money or you can try riding the waves of up and coming penny stocks. The Freetrade platform allows ordinary people like you and me to go about earning money in ways that were once the reserve of the rich. As a money-making idea, you of course need to be aware that values can go down as well as up.

Start your own blog

There once was a time when every man and his dog were jumping online to create a blog. The thought was that they could earn money beyond their wildest dreams overnight. Then reality kicked in and people soon realised that a successful blog needed a hefty amount of work putting into it. The great thing is that this puts people off this a way to start making money. Either that or they start and quickly give up. This leaves more space for you.

The truth is that you can write a blog about almost anything. Once you start to generate traffic it’s then all about monetising your site. You can do this through ads being displayed or even affiliate marketing. If you get your blog into a good place you can then start to outsource the content creation and have a passive income each month. 

The power of Disney helps you to earn money

Now, this is a great way to earn money online in your spare time. It may not make you rich or make you a fully-fledged small business owner, but you can certainly earn a few £££ along the way. Most of us recognise the popularity of Disney movies. The issue with them is that you can never seem to buy their DVDs/Blu Rays when you want to. They lock these away and re-release them every once in a while to keep demand high.

The next time they release classes such as the Lion King or Snow White, snap them up. You’ll be able to get these for around £20. As soon as they disappear again you’ll easily be able to sell them (unopened) for £50-£70 on the likes of Amazon. This is a process that you can repeat each time that a title is re-released. If you can afford to snap up a few copies at a time then the earning potential is pretty good. 

Become a freelance writer and earn money 

All that you read online has to have come from somewhere. Not every business owner has the time, or the ability, to write their web content or to publish regular blogs. If you have a way with words a great money-making idea is to provide this content for them. If you start by looking at small business owners, you’ll see that they are desperate for people who can write about their industry and write it well.

If this is something that you would like to pursue, all you need is a laptop, an internet connection, and something such as Microsoft Word to actually type into. You can then look at tools to check your grammar and to ensure that your content is plagiarism-free. You may find out as you start that it is difficult to earn a decent rate per hour, but with some experience under your belt, this changes very quickly. 

There are lots of freelance writing websites you can work on such as Content Conga, Upwork or PeoplePerHour.

Low content books as a way to start making money

If you have a knack for design work and can create an appealing book cover using the likes of Canva, then you could earn money by selling low content books. People are generating thousands of pounds a month by visiting logbooks and note pads on Amazon. Amazon lists these in their marketplace. Once you sell a copy, they will print it, ship it, and then pay you your commission.

Creating low content books can be seen as a labour-intensive way to make money online initially. The truth is you need to be uploading a lot of designs. Once they’re uploaded though, they stay there. This means that you can start to generate a passive income once you have put the initial hard work in. 

Affiliate marketing

We touched on this as a way to earn money when we took a look at blogging. Affiliate marketing has the potential to earn you some serious cash. This isn’t just about a little bit of pocket money (although it can be if you want it to be), this is an opportunity to start making a serious income online. As an affiliate marketer, you will be promoting someone else’s goods or services. Each time someone buys because of you, you are rewarded with a healthy commission.

Sites such as ClickBank are full of courses and programmes that you can promote. If they are not for you, how about promoting goods that are for sale on Amazon or recommending holiday destinations or airlines via one of the many companies you can promote via Awin? If you can buy it anywhere you are sure to be able to find an affiliate programme for it and this means that you can start making money online. 

Sign up with Fiverr and make money online

If you have any skill or talent the chances are that somebody is willing to pay you for it. The challenge comes with trying to find this somebody. Sites such as Fiverr allow you to list your skills as gigs. These gigs are then seen by a huge number of customers and you are given the chance to sell your wares. Of course, Fiverr will take a commission for giving you access to its marketplace, but there is the potential to earn more than a full time living here.

Common gigs that you see listed include copywriting, web design, social media management, and proofreading. Then there are the more bizarre gigs such as sending texts pretending to be someones girl/boyfriend for a week! Whatever you can do, there is bound to be someone on Fiverr who is prepared to pay for it. 

Get paid to review music 

If you’re a big fan of music, why not get paid for your passion? Sites such as slicethepie allow you to listen to music from new bands that are unsigned. By taking the time time to listen and to leave your feedback you’ll then receive a payment. Getting paid to review music this way is unlikely to make you rich. At best you will be looking at £30-£40 per month. Combine this with other ways to earn money though, and you’ll soon see how easy it is to build a nice monthly income.

Flip domain names – a great money-making idea

This is a great way to earn money online from home, and all you will need to start is around £0.99. If you are not sure what a domain name is, these are simply the addresses of websites. For instance, to get to The Money Shed the domain name is www.themoneyshed.co.uk. Domain names are worth what someone is willing to pay for them and new domains can be snapped up for less than £1.

Then there are domain names that have already been used but the current owner hasn’t renewed them. This means that they fall back into the public domain and anyone can buy them. You may not have a need for a new domain, but when you know what to look for you can see what makes certain ones so popular. You can buy these and then sell them on at sites such as Flippa and generate an impressive profit. Some good sites to use to get started with domain flipping include GoDaddy Auctions, sedo and flippa.

Have a good old clear out and earn money online

As a money-making idea, it is not going to create a long-term income, but it can easily see you earn a few pounds and see you de-clutter in the process. Our homes tend to be filled to bursting, often with things that we just no longer use. There was a rule I once heard about moving house which said that if you haven’t unpacked a box after 6 months there is clearly nothing in it that you need. 

Unwanted and unused items can see you make money online. Sites such as eBay allow you to list your items and you can be sure that there will be a buyer somewhere willing to hand over their cash. If you have an abundance of clothing, sites such as Vinted are also well worth a look.

Start making money from photos 

Another great way to earn money online is through photographs that you have taken. As we have seen already, for every piece of content on the internet there is a writer behind it. Likewise, for every photo that you see online, there is a photographer responsible for taking that snap. Why not let that person be you?

As you visit websites you may recognise some pictures that seem a little familiar. That is probably because they are. Many web creators and blog writers don’t have the time or the skill to take photos to accompany their text. That means that they head to sites such as Getty or Adobe to pay for images. There is nothing to stop you from listing your photographs on these and similar sites. Each time someone buys your snap, you get paid a commission. Check out sites like Shutterstock and Alamy to get started with this.

Earn money from YouTube

As business ideas go, starting a YouTube channel has to be one with the lowest financial barriers. There is zero cost involved in signing up, creating an account, and uploading your videos. The problem is that lots of people are doing the same things. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t money to be made from YouTube though, even for beginners.

Now, we’re not claiming that you’re going to earn money overnight from YouTube. What we will tell you is that to be successful here, you need to be consistent and you need to provide quality. Keep your channel fresh with plenty of new content and make sure that it is all about things that you actually understand. Make yourself the go-to authority figure on whatever your subject is. Before you start getting paid, you’re going to have to rack up numerous views and viewing hours. Don’t be disheartened though: those that succeed here persevere. 

Cryptocurrency as a way to earn money online

Whereas a few years ago most of us didn’t have a clue what cryptocurrency was, it seems that we all now have something to say on the matter. We may not understand the intricacies of the blockchain and how it all works, but what we do understand is that crypto can make some serious cash. When you look at the rise of Bitcoin over the years, you can see why people believe that crypto represents a great way to earn money online.

You can manage crypto via apps on your phone. Whether you are looking to trade in Bitcoin, Ada, or Dogecoin, apps such as Coinbase, Binance, and Zumo allow you to do this with ease. There are even lessons on some of these apps that allow you to understand how to earn money from these currencies. It could be that you buy and hold for the long-term or quickly sell on for a profit. Either way, if you take some time to learn, there is money to be made. 

A truly passive income 

Money making at its best is when it is passive. This means that after a single action or actions, money just keeps coming and we don’t need to do anything else. Often when we see passive income being referred to there is a great deal of work involved in the set-up phases. The work is worth it of course as it allows you to earn money over and over again. There are other ways to start making a passive income that involves almost no work at all.

If you are prepared to share your internet then you can get paid for it. All you need to do is install a download and then just carry on using your laptop or computer as you usually would. The likes of Honeygain and FluidStack will pay you for letting them piggyback on your internet connection. The faster your internet speed the higher your earning potential. This is a way to earn money online that really is passive. Another one worth looking at is the Nielsen Computer and Mobile Panel which let you install their app on your smartphone & computer and earn yet more money from the data it collects.

Make money teaching English

If you are looking for a part-time job the teaching English online could be just for you. If you are a native English speaker and have a stable internet connection then you are about good to go. You might be surprised to know that money-making this way doesn’t require any specific qualifications, and you certainly do not need to be a teacher.

Companies such as Cambly look for English speakers to assist people all over the world. It is not about formal teaching. It is more about being conversational and allowing students to develop their English by practising it. You can decide the hours that you want to work so it really can be done in whatever spare time that you have. 

Proofreading as a money-making idea

We have taken a look at content writing as a money-making idea, but do you want to know something? These writers aren’t quite as good as they like to think that they are. This means that they may well know what they want to say, but they may make a few mistakes as they say it. This could be spelling mistakes, issues with grammar, or even layout. A proofreader has the task of spotting these mistakes.

Proofreaders work online and have text emailed across to them or shared via sites such as Asana or Monday. They may have the task to review blog content and articles or they may even be asked to check a novel before it is published. You can find proofreading work on sites such as People Per Hour and Upwork.

Dropshipping business

Have you ever fancied an online business but been worried about where you would store all of the stock? Have you had business ideas but been a little apprehensive in case you get it wrong and you’re stuck with an abundance of items that you can’t shift? If either of these sounds a bit like you then you are certainly not alone. That is why dropshipping is so popular with people who are making money online. 

Dropshipping sees you setting up a website and populating it with the items you want to sell, from tech and electronics to makeup, and even cbd private label skincare. The thing here is that you will never see these items. You arrange with a company to promote them. Once you make a sale you inform the drop shipping company. The customer has already paid you so you then use this to pay the company. The difference between the two payments is your profit. The company then ships the item to your customer as if it has come from you. No stock issues, no time spent posting, just advertising your website and reaping the rewards

Earn money online by transcribing 

If you have a decent typing speed and have a great ear so that you never miss any detail in a conversation, you could start making money by working as a transcriber. There are a whole host of transcribing jobs that you can carry out. Sometimes there are people on YouTube who want their videos transcribed for a blog. Other times there are recordings of speeches that people want committing to paper. If you can listen to these and type them down then you can start getting paid.

Companies such as Rev allow you to carry out transcribing work from home. They have a wide selection of jobs and you can choose which ones that you want to complete. With a good typing speed, you can soon earn a decent rate per hour. There are no minimum hours that you need to work so this means you can top up your income in your spare time or fully take the plunge and generate a full-time income. 

Start making money as an eBay reseller

We have already looked at how you can earn money online by having a clear-out of your unwanted items, but there are other ways to earn on eBay too. You don’t need to start sourcing goods from overseas and listing them to make a decent income. You can start an online business just by selling second-hand goods in this marketplace. There are plenty of people doing this successfully and there is nothing stopping you from doing the same.

An eBay reseller is someone who will hunt through second-hand shops or free listings on FaceBook. They will snap up what they know is worthwhile and sell the items on for a profit on eBay. It may take time to research a niche and know where the money is, but you once you have done this you can start making a healthy income. 

Earn money as a risk analyst from home

Quite a fancy job title for something that you will be doing from home, right? This is a way of making money that we originally listed for students. Having taken another look, we believe that this presents a great opportunity for everyone, regardless of age. We still have members earning £800 + per month from this. 

The opportunity is with a company called Crisp Thinking. It is a company that works to protect brands on social media. Before you can start to earn money with them you will need to complete a test. This is to demonstrate that you have some understanding of social media and how it can hurt a brand. Once you pass, you’ll be placed on a waiting list and as soon as it’s time to go make sure that you jump on the opportunity and maximise your income. 

Start making money as a virtual assistant

There are companies out there that need a little help! They may not have staff who can answer the phone. They may be lacking when it comes to someone to type or input information for them. It might be that a company needs someone to carry out some research for them. Both large and small business owners are often looking for help and you can provide it by becoming a virtual assistant.

Working from home, you can carry out a whole host of administrative tasks. Often, you are able to work the hours that you want to meaning that you can do this in your spare time. 

Earn money as a social media manager 

Social media is big business. An online business, as well as offline ones, need to master the likes of FaceBook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok if they want to be seen. Certainly, when it comes to small business owners, they are pretty clueless when it comes to writing an effective post. They know even less about how to target an ad. This means that you have an opportunity to make money by doing this for them.

You may already know how to create perfect FaceBook ads or you might already have the knowledge required to get the most likes on Instagram. If not, why not invest in a course and learn? Social media isn’t going away anytime soon. It may well shift and change, but it will remain important for business for a long time yet. As a social media manager, you will take on the responsibility for a company’s social media presence and ensure that they’re getting as much attention as possible. 

Making money online ideas are endless

We hope that you have seen that there are a massive number of ways that you can make money online. Some of these can be a full-time online business while others may be a way of generating extra cash in your spare time. Either way, these ideas are accessible to beginners as long as you are prepared to take a little time to learn.

Given the ideas that we have looked at, what steps are you now going to take to start making money online? Why not try several of these and build an impressive monthly income each and every month?

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