Today we are fortunate enough to live in a world where we do not have to leave our own homes to make a living. This broadens the potential for all groups of people who may otherwise not have the opportunity to make money.
According to Upwork, a large scale freelance website, over 42% of the current American workforce are working remotely. So whether you are an anti-social human, a full-time mum or a broke student, here is a list of jobs you can do at home.
Make Money Blogging
If you are looking for something to really get involved in, why not consider creating a blog? You get to talk about topics that you’re interested in and create your own community of like-minded people.
Now that being said this is something you have to be fully involved with because making money blogging is no walk in the park. Then again, anything that’s worth doing never is! Discipline and consistency are the two key qualities you need from the outset.
Once your blog begins to gain traction, a whole new series of income opportunities will arise. Everything from sponsored blog posts to ad revenue to selling products/services. So if blogging sounds appealing, you can get started for the price of a coffee a month.
Related: How to create a blog
Become A Proofreader
Do you take pride in spelling and in making sure everything is in the right place? If so, I apologise because my writing is terrible! But on a serious note, if you find yourself cringing at sentences that include ‘your’ instead of you’re’ then proofreading could be a great fit for you.
Contrary to popular belief, proofreaders can get paid some serious money. It’s not out of the norm to earn £20 ($25) an hour as a proofreader! If this option is of some interest to you, check out this free workshop.
Freelancing
A freelancer is simply someone who other services to an individual or company for a set time- an independent contractor if you will.So for example say I’m a logo designer and some business has hired me to create a logo. I would then complete the job to their specifications within the discussed time frame and receive a payment at the end. As you can probably tell, the main perk of being a freelancer is that you can be anywhere in the world!
All you need is a device that connects to the internet to be able to make money freelancing. Here’s a list of the best freelancing sites:
- Fiverr
- Upwork
- 99Designs
- PeoplePerHour
Simply create an account, set up a gig (the service you want to provide) and wait for a buyer on the platform. Give the process some time, complete jobs to the best of your ability, secure positive reviews and you’ll become a hit.
Related: Becoming a freelancer
Virtual Assistant
Have the ability to handle administrative tasks? Then the virtual assistant job could be another way of earning money online!
In this job, you have to manage tasks like updating website content, managing emails and taking calls. The virtual assistant needs to handle the daily tasks of the buyer as per their requirements.
Not only do companies require virtual assistants, but individuals who may not have the time to undertake these admin tasks. You can find become a freelance virtual assistant on sites like:
- Fiverr
- Upwork
- Remote
Become A Youtuber
With more frequent users than cable tv, it would be hard to ignore Youtube as a possible income stream/full-time job. Many people nowadays question whether or not becoming a YouTuber is actually worth it for these reasons:
- Everyone else has the same idea
- You have to have a lot of subscribers to earn money
- Takes too long to be successful
- You have to be a tech wiz
(1) The idea that lots of people have a youtube channel is fine and doesn’t impact you, at least as much as you think. How many channels do you think are unused, have poor videos, lacking in content or are inconsistent? The answer is the majority of channels. If a channel doesn’t fit into one of these categories it’s likely to be making money to an extent.
(2) Subscribers don’t necessarily correlate to the success of a channel but to the likelihood of returning viewers on future videos. What really matters is your view count and to a degree, your niche (ad revenues vary)! With this in mind, you can start to form in your head the sort of niches/ideas that are going to attract the most viewers.
(3) If you create content that attracts more viewers, you’re going to be successful in a much shorter timeframe. According to Mediakix, the most popular genres are:
- Conspiracy
- Beauty
- Pranks/challenges
- Comedy
(4) This depends on what sort of content you are making as to the level of editing skills you will need. By and large, editing and uploads tend to take more time than actually producing the content. Having said that, you can get around this by outsourcing the work to a freelancer on platforms like Fiverr.
People are also under the misapprehension that there is only one way to earn from Youtube. The truth is you can earn money not just through advertisements on your videos, but sponsorships (if you do well) and affiliations with products.
Now by no stretch of the imagination will this be easy as having a successful account requires consistency and quality. But once your account gains some traction, you’ll be glad you put the work in!
Tutoring
For those of you with an educational background, tutoring is a way for you to earn money at home. What’s great about tutoring online is that you have flexible hours and a chance to earn a good hourly rate. People are willing to pay good money to learn! The most well-known websites in this field are:
- Tutor
- Chegg
- Tutorme
Providing you match the criteria and pass their probationary period, you can earn a good hourly rate. You won’t need to buy any software as most lessons can be done through free platforms like Sykpe, only requiring you to download the app. This is a massive plus as this potential job opportunity has no start-up costs!
Even if you don’t have a degree, you can teach English to people in other countries. This is made possible through sites like:
- Teachers
- SayABC
Work At Home As A Transcriptionist
Transcribing simply means turning thoughts, speech and data into written or printed form. This is an option available to most people! You don’t even have to be good at spelling seeing as most electronic devices have built-in spell-check today.
Of course, it would help if your spelling was up to a good level as well as being a fast typer. The only thing you are likely to need other than a computer with internet access is a pair of headphones. Prices in regards to being a transcriptionist can vary, however, most salaries are done at a rate per audio minute. The typical range is $1.50 to $4.00 per audio minute. If this option is of interest to you, I recommend this free course.
Become An Affiliate Marketer
What does it mean when someone says they are an affiliate marketer? Put simply, they promote the products and/or services on behalf of businesses for a commission. It’s essentially like being the ‘middle man’ between the customer and the seller.
As you can imagine, it’s extremely important for companies to be able to market their products/services. Due to this, most companies have some sort of affiliate program, meaning you’re spoilt for choice. You earn money from each sale made through clicking your unique link.
So say for example you sell a £100 product, you may get a commission of £30. All commissions are different and the perks of each program vary from company to company. Learning various ways to create and funnel traffic (visitors) to your link is a pivotal part of being a successful affiliate. Without traffic, you’re not going to make any conversions.
Competition to promote products can also be fierce, so it’s important to give yourself every possible chance of succeeding. Consider taking courses on driving traffic to affiliate offers such as:
- Affiliate Marketing Domination
- Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing
There is a whole host of the websites that have affiliate offers waiting to be promoted such as:
- Clickbank
- Shareasale
- Flexoffers
Not to mention the abundance of businesses that have their own affiliate program. Just make sure that if you look into individual companies and their affiliate programs make sure they are worth doing!
Usability Testing
Usability testing is essentially speaking your mind when navigating and assessing a website using a microphone. You’ll be provided with multiple tests you can take a day from buyers wanting their prototypes or websites reviewed.
You don’t worry about having any experience in reviewing websites because that’s exactly what companies want. Someone who represents the general population.
Expect to earn $10 per test, which takes about 10 to 20 minutes to complete. You can be paid as much as $60 for live conversations with developers about prototypes. Tests range from giving feedback on videos to reviewing a new tool to navigating a prototype feature.
The fact that every test is different really helps to keep things fresh. Tests can also be specific to devices, meaning some are unique to desktop some are unique to tablets. You will not be eligible for all the tests due to the requirements you must meet. But this is a good idea for those of you looking to make some extra money at home.
Make Money From A Podcast
Much like blogging, creating your own podcast is a chance to make money by talking about a topic you love. Podcasting, in most reason years, has become a trendy way to make an income. Being able to download an audio file on a topic you love to listen to whilst exercising, travelling or at home has proved very convenient. Here are a few facts just to put into context the rise in popularity of podcasts in the past few years:
- 22% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly
- Podcast revenue has risen by 590 million since 2015
- Podcasts are gender-balanced (52% men vs 48% women)
- Society and culture is the most popular genre
- 80% of listeners (almost) listen to the whole episode.
As you can see there is a wide variety of advantages to having a podcast and you can use these facts to your advantage. But it should be said that building a podcast is going to take some time, particularly to become profitable. Once you have started to gain traction, there are a whole host of ways to generate income. Here are a few of the most lucrative:
- Sponsorships
- Affiliate marketing
- Membership sites
- Hosting live events
Not only that but like creating a blog or Youtube channel, you have the added perk of being able to build a like-minded community. So if you need something meaningful to devote your time to you should really consider creating a podcast.
Related: How to make money with a podcast
Work At Home Designing T-Shirts
Designing t-shirts requires a combination of design and creativity whilst taking into account what is trending. Clothing is an outward expression of what the wearer likes, a piece of their personality if you like. Designs can simply be quotes or slogans, but I should say it helps to have knowledge of what’s currently ‘in’.
An example of a profitable design with just a few words comes from Garry Holt, the famous musician. He made vast sums of money from a plain black t-shirt that said ‘Kill the Kardashians’. If you can create a successful design, you’ll be earning an income repeatedly from work you did in the past. This is otherwise known as passive income.
Take advantage of print on demand sites such as:
- Teespring
- Redbubble
This is one of those jobs you can do from home that requires some creativity to get it off the ground and making money.
Make Money Trading Currencies
Forex stands for the foreign exchange market, which just so happens to be the biggest trading market in the world. It’s not hard to see why when in a typical day, the trading volume equates to around 5 trillion dollars.
Now the first thing that may come to mind is complex looking graphs, ever-changing numbers and random squiggly lines. However, when you take the time to learn about what it all means, you’ll realise it’s not as difficult as you first thought- just like everything else in life.
Trading on the Forex market, when done right, can not only earn you extra cash but become a primary source of income. What you do need to keep in mind, however, is that even the best traders can still lose money every now and then. So what I’m saying is trading is not for the fainthearted, nor is your money safe from risk.
You have the option to learn about Forex on your own, utilising platforms like Youtube. There you’ll find many tutorials on the basics, strategies etc. If you want all the information condensed and refined, I recommend looking into courses on Forex like these:
- Forex A-Z
- The Complete Foundation
Conclusion On These Jobs You Can Do At Home
I hope this article has opened your eyes to some of the possibilities you can take advantage off from the comfort of your own home. Hopefully, this will help inspire you to earn an income in your own time, doing something you love. As always be sure to comment if you have any ideas for jobs you can do at home that you think I should add to the list.