How To Make Money Online for Beginners - 9 Ideas

You have come across many sources that promise to make you a millionaire overnight. Most of the authors probably do not make a single dollar.

The problem is that there are so many gurus and supposed opportunities that it can be overwhelming.

Although there are no magic formulas.

In a survey of over 10,000 newsletter subscribers, 29% make between $100 and $500 a day, 5% make more than $1,200/day online.

The Internet offers many opportunities to make money online for Beginners. Many people with ideas and a strong work ethic are making money from home. They do this without any prior experience.

If you feel like your life is passing you by in a monotonous job, consider exploring side hustles(opens in a new tab) to earn some extra income.

In the past few years, I have started many projects. I have experienced more failures than I care to admit. However, today I earn several thousand dollars each month. I have built a living from the Internet without sharing my personal life.

After trying many methods, I have created this guide. It shows the best ways to make money online for beginners, based on how hard they are and their potential.

I will also reveal my results to you, and you can use calculators to estimate your income. This way, you can find the one that best suits you and multiply your chances of success.

Note: The most popular choices among my subscribers were:

• Affiliate websites (22%)

• Making money through ads (17%)

• Writing (14%)

• Infoproducts (11%).

Active and Passive Income

1. Active Income: This is the money you earn by working a day or billing a client for your hours. You are selling your time for money.
2. Passive Income: This type of income comes without needing your direct involvement. An example is money earned from ads on a website.

They take time to become profitable, but systems that generate passive income are the most desirable.

In addition to wealth, passive income also offers freedom. They allow you to continue earning money while you sleep, travel, or spend your time doing something else.

The Internet is a showcase that never closes, and you can take advantage of it to get a recurring flow of income.

Best Ways To Make Money Online for Beginners

Here are the 9 best ways for beginners to make money online, based on my experience and results:

1. Monetize Knowledge With Infoproducts

Earning potential: High. I am not one of the info producers who earns the most money, but I still earn around $4,000 a month with my courses.

Investment required: low—only the expenses of a newsletter or blog (domain and hosting).

Difficulty: Medium. You will have to solve a need for your readers, build an audience, and master some digital marketing tools.

Selling training products or services online is a good way to start your own digital business. These products are often called information products.

This method involves creating a blog or newsletter about a topic you love. You publish content to attract an audience and sell your own training products. These can be anything from a video course to a simple ebook.

The big advantage of information products is that they are digital. Once you create one, it takes the same effort to sell one as it does to sell two hundred.

Because of this, they can easily become sources of passive income.

You need to sell them to your audience. You can use an automated system for this. Options include an email sequence or a pre-recorded webinar.

The key to success is finding a topic you enjoy and where people have a problem. Then, build your reputation by sharing quality content and offering solutions with your training product.

There are information products on many topics. You can find courses on reading faster. There are also courses on Excel for literature students. The only requirement is that it solves a problem your audience is willing to pay for.

However, many people think they have nothing to teach or fear criticism. Almost all info producers start with these doubts. But as we create content for our blogs or newsletters, we gain the experience to overcome impostor syndrome.

So, if you have a passion and are willing to share it, I assure you this is your best option to make money online as a beginner.

Do you want more alternatives? In this article, you will find all the ways to make money with a blog.

2. Create an Affiliate Website

Earning potential: High. On average, each of my affiliate websites generates $2,500 per month.

Investment required: low. If you write the content yourself, you will only have to invest in the domain and hosting.

Difficulty: Medium. There is more and more competition, and you will have to work hard to achieve results.

I made my first money online through affiliate marketing(opens in a new tab), and it is still a great option for beginners.

It needs very little technical skill, costs almost nothing to start, and has a lot of earning potential.

Once your site is running, you can mostly leave it alone. You will only need to do some basic updates and maintenance.

Affiliate marketing means making a website where you write product reviews and recommendations. In these reviews, you add links to online stores that sell the products. If someone buys through your link, the seller pays you a commission for bringing them a customer.

Today, there are affiliate platforms where you can sign up to become an affiliate for these stores. The most popular one is Amazon Affiliates.

Making some money with an affiliate website is not too hard. But if you want to earn enough to live on, you will need to work hard and put in many hours.

Google is getting stricter, and new competitors show up every day. This means you must create high-quality content. Still, it is a simple system that requires no investment to start and has great earning potential.

3. Monetize a Website With Advertising

Earning potential: Medium. It depends on the topic, but you need a lot of traffic to make over $1,000 per month.

Investment required: Low: If you write the content yourself, you will only need to purchase the domain and hire hosting.

Difficulty: Medium. The most profitable niches are often competitive and led by professional SEOs.

Another way to earn passive income online is by using ads on websites.

This idea is like affiliate marketing. You create a website on a topic, attract readers, and earn money when they take action.

The big advantage of ads is that you don’t need readers to buy anything for you to earn.

The most common method is to earn money each time readers click on an ad. This is called PPC, or pay-per-click.

This is how Google Adsense, the world’s largest ad network, works.

AdSense is popular because it is easy to use and has many advertisers. You just sign up, and once approved, you can add ads to your website with a small code.

Google automatically chooses which ads show up on your site based on its theme and user profile. This way, AdSense can display personalized ads for each visitor, which has three benefits:

1. You can earn more from ads. The more relevant an ad is, the more likely a reader will click it.
2. You don’t have to contact any advertisers. Many companies use AdSense to advertise.
3. Ads fit naturally on your site. They are customized to the reader and the website’s theme.

Using AdSense to monetize websites is easy. You only need to publish content, which is faster than ever thanks to AI tools like ChatGPT.

However, the most profitable topics are very competitive. To make thousands of dollars, you will need a lot of traffic from Google using SEO strategies.

4. Sell Services in Marketplaces

Earning potential: Low. On these platforms, freelancers compete on price, so rates are lower.

Investment required: low. All you have to do is sign up for the platform and create your profile.

Difficulty: Medium. If you are just starting and are not very specialized, you will be competing against many other professionals.

If you don’t want to start a blog or a website, there are other ways to make money online. You can earn some cash quickly by offering small online services.

The idea is simple:

1. You sign up for one of the online platforms that puts you in contact with potential clients.
2. You publish your service and set a price for it.
3. You need to wait until someone hires you.

The jobs you can find on these platforms are simple tasks. They include translating text, editing videos, designing logos, writing resumes, and making PowerPoint presentations.

Some even offer to craft Tinder profiles for you—your creativity is the only limit!

The great news is that you won’t need to publish content on your website or generate organic traffic through Google. Instead, you simply need to optimize your profile to attract potential customers.

However, it is not passive at all because your income will depend on the number of hours and work you put in. Some earn a whole salary or even several thousand dollars a month, but these are the exceptions.

5. Work as a Virtual Assistant

Earning potential: Low. Virtual assistants typically charge between $10 and $20 per hour, although for certain projects they can exceed $40/hour.

Investment required: low. However, you will need to train yourself if you do not have knowledge of business management tools.

Difficulty: Low. There is a lot of demand for virtual assistants, and there are several platforms where you can offer your services.

If you want to earn money by offering online services, consider becoming a virtual assistant.

This job is one of the new roles created by the Internet. The demand for virtual assistants is expected to keep growing in the future.

As a virtual assistant, you provide remote support to bloggers, digital entrepreneurs, and companies. You will handle simple tasks, so you don’t need special skills.

This job is not passive, but it gives you the freedom to work from anywhere. You can earn a good salary and avoid the work of creating a website. You could start as a virtual assistant tomorrow.

As self-employed workers, virtual assistants set their fees. Rates can range from $10 to $40 per hour. Some specialized or well-known assistants may charge even more.

6. Working as a Writer

Earning potential: Medium. A professional writer typically charges between $1,500 and $2,000 per month, depending on their specialization.

Investment required: low. For commercial writing, some training may be necessary, but in general, it only requires writing and management skills.

Difficulty: Medium. Artificial intelligence has joined the competition of platforms that offer content at low prices.

Generating content that attracts and retains readers is a fundamental pillar of any digital strategy, and both large companies and small entrepreneurs know this well.

That’s why more than 9 million blog posts(opens in a new tab) are published every day. There are posts about economics, animals, photography, food, health, marketing, video games, philosophy, politics, etc. Anything you can imagine.

This need to create content led to the emergence of a new professional profile in the online world: the editor.

Working as a copywriter is a fairly quick way to start making money online, as there is a constant demand for it. You don’t need any great skills to do it either—you just have to like writing and be good at it.

Copywriters have traditionally been in high demand, but the emergence of generative artificial intelligence has caused some companies to begin hiring them.

However, what for some is a risk, for others is an opportunity. Writers who integrate artificial intelligence into their processes for generating ideas and making revisions will be able to create higher-quality content much faster.

7. Translate Content

Earning potential: Medium. Professional translators earn around $2,000 per month, but technical translators tend to have higher rates.

Investment required: low. You need in-depth knowledge of a language and good organizational skills.

Difficulty: Medium. There was already competition from platforms offering translation services, but now free applications such as artificial intelligence are being added.

If you prefer something more mechanical than working as a writer and you have a good level of knowledge of a language, you can make your knowledge profitable by offering online translation services.

Many companies need to translate texts from their blogs, websites, or posts on social networks and are looking for native speakers to do this job. In addition, it is usually quite well paid.

In the case of translation from English to Castilian Spanish, they paid $12 per minute translated, not bad!

Now they no longer require this service, but there are also online platforms that connect translators with companies that need translation services.

8. Create a YouTube channel.

Earning potential: Low Successful YouTubers earn tens of thousands of dollars, but they are a minority. Typically, they earn no more than 300 dollars per month.

Investment required: Low: Only the cost associated with recording and editing the videos.

Difficulty: High. There is more and more competition, and you will need to publish videos constantly.

When Google bought YouTube in 2006 and the consumption of video content began to grow exponentially, there were people who overnight began to earn a lot of money with their video channel.

Nowadays there is much more competition, but YouTube has become the second largest Internet search engine, only behind Google.

It’s unlikely that it can replace a full salary, but if you can provide knowledge or entertainment to users and are funny in front of the camera, in the medium term it is possible to generate some extra money with a YouTube channel.

I’ve done my own experiments with YouTube. And, despite what some pseudo-influencers would have you believe, by optimizing your efforts, you can achieve very positive results.

Although YouTube is the most profitable platform for content creators, making a living exclusively from your channel is very difficult, especially if you are not very good in front of the camera. Plus, it can be a very hard job.

In my complete guide to making money on YouTube, you will find a step-by-step tutorial if you want to start generating income with your channel.

9. Sell Online With Dropshipping

Earning potential: Medium. It depends on the product and its profit margin. Billing between 500 and 1,500 dollars per month is a success, although I have seen cases of 4,000 dollars per month.

Investment required: Medium. In addition to the cost of the domain and hosting, you will need to add the investment in advertising.

Difficulty: High. You will need to find a product with demand, a reliable manufacturer, and get website traffic with advertising.

Another great way to make money online is dropshipping, selling physical products through your own online store.

The system consists of finding a manufacturer, buying the product from them, and selling it to the public through your website or a platform like Amazon, adding your margin to the price.

For this reason, most manufacturers are Chinese. Even though you will have to complete the import procedures, you will have a greater margin since they will sell you the product at a cheaper price.

However, this has two drawbacks:

1. The first is that you will have to make an initial investment to buy and store stock.
2. And the second is that you will have to take care of sending the product to your customers.

To avoid these problems, many online stores look for suppliers who work through dropshipping.

In dropshipping(opens in a new tab), you don’t keep stock or take care of shipping. You only take care of getting orders from customers and then sending the data of each order to the manufacturer (the drop shipper) in an automated way so that they can send the product to the customer. In this way, you turn your store into a business that is as passive as possible.

Dropshipping is a good way to enter the e-commerce sector, the sale of physical products online, without any risks. In addition, its profit margin is usually between 20 and 50%.

The main drawback is that there is already a lot of competition, and if the shipment does not arrive or a return has to be processed, customers will complain to you, and you will have to resolve the issue with the manufacturer.

10. Make Digital Micro-Works

Earning potential: low. It’s typical to earn between $1-$3 per day, though it depends on the task.

Investment required: low. For most micro-jobs, you will only need a computer and an Internet connection.

Difficulty: Low. Many microjobs do not require prior experience or knowledge.

If you want to make money as quickly as possible, doing microjobs online is the best option for you.

Micro jobs consist of performing short, undemanding digital tasks, such as checking prices in an online store, liking a page on a social network, transcribing an audio recording, or writing a review. In other words, the monotonous work that other professionals don’t want to do.

However, you won’t need any specialized knowledge, investment, or website creation. All it takes is your time.

In short, doing microjobs does not require any prior knowledge, and you can earn money quickly, but its economic potential is low. Still, as a complement to other activities to earn extra money, it is a feasible option.

Which Methods Are Not Recommended?

The Internet is full of promises about methods that will make you rich in an instant or ways to work from home that, without effort or investment, will earn you thousands of dollars in a matter of days.

Learning the ins and outs of these supposed “miracles” is obviously not free. Most of them will ask you for money in exchange for revealing their magic formula to you.

And that is the only truth of all: the one who really makes money is the one who sells you the method, which in the end never works. Or at least not in the way that you were promised.

Don’t fool yourself(opens in a new tab). While making money online is perfectly possible, it’s not easy.

You will have to dedicate time and effort and ideally have a financial cushion so as not to give in to despair if things don’t go your way.

Other people will tell you that they have made a lot of money online with their system. The mistake is that they present it to you as if you could replicate the same thing in any other sector.

What they don’t tell you is that their HUGE advantage is that they were the first, and that, even if they did well in that niche market, that doesn’t mean it will work in another.

To avoid losing money, risking too much, or putting too much effort into something that will only give you crumbs, I recommend that you avoid the following systems:

Online Betting

It is estimated that only 3% of people who bet online (such as sports betting, for example) end up making money.

Of course, you could be one of them, but the risk is very high: in addition to the fact that there have been cases where the bookmaker closes a winning account(opens in a new tab), it can end up generating gambling addiction.

You will also find those who have made money and want to sell you their foolproof method. In addition to taking a commission when you open your account at the bookmaker, these are usually systems that are already known and prohibited by these companies.

Be wary of any method that seems too good to be true. That’s why so many bookmakers give you free money when you sign up: because they know that, sooner or later, they will win.

Treat it as a hobby if you want, but putting your hopes on gambling is often bad business. It’s much better to pursue something that depends less on luck and more on your effort.

Answer Surveys

This is another of the great myths. It is true that you can earn money by completing surveys, but the amount is usually not worth it.

They usually pay from 20 cents to $3 for each completed survey, which usually requires about 20 minutes of your time.

Let’s assume an average income of one dollar per survey. If you do the math, you’ll see that in one hour you could earn 3 dollars. There is no unlimited survey offer, but assuming you could do it for 8 hours a day and 20 days a month, you’d earn $480.

480 dollars for working every non-holiday day filling out surveys? I’m sure you can think of more productive and fun ways to earn money.

If you do it as a hobby, say for 2 hours a day, the maximum potential would be $120 per month. Yes, it is extra, but it is much more profitable to spend your time creating sources of passive income.

As if that weren’t enough, many of these survey websites are fraudulent. And those that aren’t usually don’t pay in money but in the form of products, raffles, or discount vouchers.

Most of the sites that recommend this system usually include affiliate links. This means that they earn money if you sign up on the survey website, and that is the main reason why they recommend it.

Bottom line: ensure it’s reliable. You can use it for extra income if you want. In the meantime, look for options with more potential.

Online Poker

The more money something can make you, the more risk it entails, and that’s exactly the premise of online poker.

Yes, there is a small minority who make money playing online, but it is by no means an easy life. In addition to having a good memory and ability to calculate probabilities, you will have to spend many hours in front of the computer.

The prizes in live poker are often much larger than those in online poker. This means you need to travel and pay high entry fees to compete for these bigger prizes.

I personally know a couple of people who have made quite a bit of money playing poker. Both started online and eventually moved to the in-person mode, although their careers didn’t last very long and they decided to invest in other projects.

However, there are many more who have tried it and have ended up losing part of their savings.

My recommendation, again, is that you decide on projects where your savings are safe and luck does not play such an important role.

Forex

Many people are making money in Forex. However, they are often experts who have worked hard for years before earning profits.

The vast majority, no matter how many “magic” systems they use, end up losing money.

Forex stands for Foreign Exchange, which is the trading of currencies. In theory, you make money by exchanging one currency for another (like when you travel) until its value increases.

However, it is not easy at all. It takes time and a good amount of knowledge in economics, finance, and technical analysis. Even with this, you need to stay calm to avoid making bad decisions.

Again, the real moneymakers are usually the ones selling “get rich” formulas on Forex. So be wary of anyone making such promises.

It’s up to you, but in any case, I would never gamble with money from my savings.

Crypto

Despite its previous popularity, investing in crypto is not as a magic method as many would have us believe.

Crypto is not just Bitcoin and Ethereum. There are thousands of them (so-called altcoins) and their price is extremely volatile, which can entail serious risks.

Making money with crypto is like trading. You buy a crypto at its current price. Then, you wait for the price to go up because of higher demand. Finally, you sell it to earn a profit.

This has two implications:

1. You should always keep an eye on the prices of the cryptocurrencies in your portfolio. Treat them like shares in the stock market.
2. The best way to earn a high income is by buying new cryptocurrencies during their launch phase. This phase is known as an ICO(opens in a new tab) (Initial Coin Offering).

In ICOs, it is possible to acquire these new cryptocurrencies at a much lower price, but they are not easy to find. You need to look for new projects in the market. You should be lucky or skilled enough to invest in that cryptocurrency before it is available to everyone. This way, you can buy it before its price goes up a lot.

It is also crucial to be well-informed before purchasing a cryptocurrency in the ICO phase, as there have been several cases of fraud in which the founders flee with the investors’ money.

If you prefer something safer, you can always buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, or some of the cryptocurrencies that have been around for a long time. In this case, your potential profits will be much lower because their market value will not multiply much more, and you will have to make a huge investment for your profits to be significant.

As you can see, investing in cryptocurrencies is comparable to investing in the stock market, but with much more risk, and I advise against it unless you are attracted to risk and have a high financial capacity. Otherwise, there are much safer and more reliable methods.

Conclusion

I hope these beginner's methods for making money online and my survey results show many real opportunities. It’s important to have a realistic mindset when exploring them.

Avoid "get rich quick" schemes. Many of these are made to profit from promoting their methods instead of helping people succeed.

Success in making money online often needs effort, time, and sometimes an initial investment.

We have looked at different ways to earn money online. Each method has its own earning potential, required investment, and difficulty level.

Selling information products, affiliate marketing, and using ads on websites can lead to higher earnings. However, these methods often require more effort and planning.

Other options are available. You can offer online services. You could work as a virtual assistant or a writer. Translating content is another choice.

Creating a YouTube channel is also an option. Dropshipping is another possibility. Lastly, you can do digital micro-tasks. These options provide different income levels and flexibility.

I also recommend avoiding certain methods that are often advertised as easy ways to make money. These include online betting, paid surveys, online poker, forex trading, and cryptocurrency investment. They can be very risky, have low earning potential, or may involve fraud.

Building a steady online income takes hard work, careful planning, and a willingness to adapt to the changing online world.

Are you already using any system to make money online? Which one did you find most interesting? Feel free to share your experiences with us in the comments.