The best thing about the internet is that you can make money without having to talk to anyone! Whether you’re a student, stay-at-home mom or unemployed, there are 100’s of ways to earn extra cash from home. The only problem is these aren’t get-rich-quick schemes. All of the methods I discuss require hard work and persistence, so you’re able to create a steady passive income stream each month. While it is difficult, it’s not impossible, all you need is a laptop, internet connection and some hustle!
Start a Blog
It seems everyone nowadays and their granny is a blogger. Starting a blog is super easy and cheap to set up. The tricky part is picking a niche and then consistently writing content that will rank on Google. Look at Niall McGarry, founder of JOE.ie. He spotted a gap in the market for a website that catered to young Irish men. Let’s be honest JOE.ie’s website is nothing special, they create short click-bait articles yet have became a social media powerhouse. They make a fortune selling advertisements to Irish brands.
The Irish market is so untapped!
During my first year of college in NUIG, I bit the bullet and decided to launch an investing website. My website reviews financial newsletters (yawn) and provides stock picks for lazy investors too lazy to do research. Over the last five years, my site has grown considerably reaching 1.5 million visitors and making on average $400 to $800 in affiliate commissions each month! Despite receiving a nice amount of traffic, the first four months was tough. I spent roughly 100 hours working on the site before I made my first dollar. Once you put in the time and effort the money slowly rolls in and it really helped me pay rent when I struggling financially in college.
Freelancing
Working as a freelancer gives you the opportunity to work from the comfort of home. There are plenty of freelancer websites such as upwork.com and peopleperhour.com where companies are looking for individuals with certain skill-sets. The most in-demand skills are mainly content writers, graphic designers and programmers, there are other less-skilled jobs available like proofreading, data entry and managing social media accounts that pay reasonable rates. Freelancing can be stressful but it’s particularly great for those who need experience. If I lost my job tomorrow morning, freelancing is how I would make enough to survive. There are hundreds of websites that will pay good money if you write quality content. (I’m always on the hunt for decent freelancers). For example, Irish sports startup PunditArena.com pay writers based on a revenue sharing model. The more views your articles attract the money you will earn.
Swagbucks
If you’re absolutely dead broke try using Swagbucks.com. You can make some easy money completing simple tasks such as searching the web, shopping, filling out surveys and watching videos. In return, you earn these reward points called SB’s which can be redeemed for gift cards or cash. Completing surveys is the first method I tried to earn income on the internet but quickly realised it can take ages to make decent money. For the average person, the time isn’t worth the effort. You could probably earn 50-100 euro per month but you’re sacrificing time that could be spent binge watching TV series on Netflix!
Match Betting
Mostly I think online betting is for suckers but with match betting, you have a chance to get one over the bookies by exploiting free bets to drastically boost your odds of making money. Despite what some football sites say, this technique is not 100% risk-free and you need to know what you’re doing. Back in 2010, it was relatively easy to make €1000 per month but bookmakers have caught on and will ban anybody making too much. Realistically, if you’re good enough, you could earn €50-400 each month in tax free profits. Enough to pay for pints on the weekends!
Over the last year, in particular, it’s impossible to avoid the cryptocurrency craze. (The fact that my mother is asking me about Bitcoin is utter madness!) I first heard about Bitcoin in 2012 when the price skyrocketed to $50. Since then the digital currency has been on a crazy ride, reaching a high of $19,000. The price is volatile, experiencing wild swings making it insanely risky to buy. With Bitcoin’s success, it has attracted 1000’s of new scammy crypto coins claiming they could make you a millionaire by investing early. 99% of these are worthless! I’ve been following the markets like a hawk but I’m yet to invest. I set up an account on Coinbase and deposited a €1,000. I’m waiting for a significant drop before buying Litecoin or taking a gamble on a smaller altcoin like Ripple.
There’s no doubt the blockchain is the future but which cryptocurrencies will actually be viable in future is unknown. Opinion between financial “experts” is heavily divided, some preach it’s a bubble, others claim it could rise to $100,000 by the end of 2018. In my opinion, the best way to profit indirectly from the hype is by starting a crypto related website and monetizing it through affiliate offers. Remember during the gold rush the people who really profited were those selling supplies to the gold miners.
Drop Shipping
Drop shipping is a hot trend that continues to grow within the eCommerce sector. Using drop shipping means once someone buys a product from your online store you just let your supplier know and they’ll ship it directly to the customer. You’re basically acting as the middleman between the customer and the supplier. It’s like owning a shop without the risk of having to hold inventory and it allows people to start an online business with less capital. This tactic has become extremely popular but can be a worthwhile venture if you pick the right niche and understand how to generate website traffic. For an updated list of suppliers in Ireland Esources.co.uk have a solid list of suppliers across every industry in Ireland. Popular drop shipping platforms worth exploring include Shopify and Oberlo.
Peer to Peer Lending
P2P lending (also known as crowdlending) involves loaning money to small businesses through online websites that match lenders with borrowers. Acting as a bank, if you can earn anywhere from 5% to 15% on your investment depending on how risky the loan is. The peer to peer market is developing fast with tonnes of new sites popping up. Linked Finance, Grid Finance and Flender are the top Irish services worth testing. The UK is also booming with dozens of established players like Funding Circle, Ratesetter and ZOPA. This is a long-term investing strategy that requires a lot of diligence to make yourself aware of the risks involved. I would recommend starting out with at least €1,000 and then increasing your investment once you’re more comfortable with the whole process.
Youtube
Youtube is a great method to start making money since all you require is a camera and some imagination. Some of Ireland’s top Youtube earners include Seán McLoughlin (Jacksepticeye) Little Kelly & Sharky and Cian Twomey all earn impressive ad revenue from videos. If you don’t fancy showing your face instead create tutorial videos which you can monetize via affiliate marketing.