Career Advice
How to Make Extra Cash Online
Glassdoor Team
Glassdoor Team | Author & Career Expert at Glassdoor | 7 Sept 2017
With self-employment rates at a record high, this is the time to be working for yourself. In 2014, 4.6 million people were working for themselves in the UK. With the rise of the internet, the dream of working from home and having freedom over work hours is becoming more and more accessible. Whether you decide to make it your career or a side job, it is very possible to make extra cash online. There are many options out there, so we have divided them into three core categories: selling, freelancing, and tutoring.
Selling
Selling is one of the most popular ways to make money online. We all hear the extreme stories about people making their millions on eBay. Although it’s unlikely to make £100,000 a year selling bits and bobs, these anecdotes do show that making cash through selling online is entirely possible. Perhaps the entrepreneurial skills and patience to buy and sell for profit. Alternatively, you can sell what you have but don’t need, and declutter your house at the same time.
Clothes, books, DVDs, antiques; these are all great things to sell. Also, try looking at product-specific websites. Check out Depop for selling old clothes, Music Magpie for CDs and DVDs or Amazon Books for, well, books. Better still, why not create your own stuff? If you’re into making crafts anyway, why not sell them online? Get paid for what you enjoy; people love original gifts and creations.
Another possibility is selling photographs. Stock libraries like SmugMug and Getty will pay for high quality and original photography. If this is a hobby you enjoy anyway, why not make some cash with it? Get paid for the original photo and receive a percentage of their sales.
Freelancing
Freelancing is just another type of selling. But this time, instead of selling your stuff, you’re selling your skills. It’s all about self-marketing and promoting yourself as an able, skilled worker who is worth the investment. So first things first: consider your talents. What are you good at? Whatever it is, there is probably a way to make money from it online.
Some of the most popular freelancing jobs are in jobs like website management, technology development, and data administration. However, there is also an online niche for creatives. Website design, writing, and media production also offer numerous opportunities for freelancers. Not only can you make some extra cash, you are in control of your work hours, can work from anywhere and potentially embrace your dream job.
Indeed, many digital nomads are making a living this way. How? Firstly, sign up for a website like Guru, Freelancer or Upwork and see what work is on offer. Research advice articles like this one, which outline the first steps of a freelance career.
Tutoring
Tutoring is an excellent way to use all of that random GCSE and A-Level knowledge still locked in your brain. It is the opportunity to unleash it and make extra cash at the same time. Pass on knowledge to young students by joining a site like UK Tutors or IQ Bar.
Recent studies show that the tutoring business is booming, especially during exam periods. There are around 1.5 million tutors in the UK, and the small percentage of those online is growing rapidly. Jump on the trend! Earn money from home, online, through an engaging and passionate job that allows you to test your own brain while helping someone else.
Still stuck for ideas? Take a look at Student Money Saver’s mammoth 100 ways to make money article
Glassdoor Team
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