How to earn money online
Oh no, another “how to earn money” online article. Yep, I did. However, I will not give you the standard answer. I am going to tell you what worked and what didn’t work, and what kind of skills you need. Trust me, you will be surprised by the things I’m going to tell you.
Things that don’t work (fast).
Keep in mind that some of these things might work for you, they just didn’t for me and I believe they won’t to most people trying to earn money online. But hey, if you really want it, you can make it work.
Become an influencer or any other kind of thing that requires a large social media following
Influencer, affiliate marketing, YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok. These are all social media platforms that promise to make you rich. What they don’t tell you is that you need a large, if not huge, social media following to make that work. Building up a successful social media profile is not easy. It takes a lot of work, dedication, and patience to convince people you are worth watching. Yes, there are some Insta-success stories out there, but for every success story, there are a million more failure stories. Don’t start a YouTube channel or an Instagram page if you are hoping to make money from it. If you want to start on social media, do it just for fun. Everything more is just a bonus.
Dropshipping or print-on-demand
There have been some people that are widely successful at dropshipping or selling print-on-demand stuff. However, did you ever notice that all those people stopped their dropshipping or print-on-demand business to promote how you can become successful at dropshipping or print-on-demand? You’d think that if their business was so successful that they’d like to continue on with that business? No, instead they now sell expensive courses to teach you how to start with dropshipping and print-on-demand.
This never made sense to me. I’m sure people can earn money with dropshipping or print-on-demand, but I think it’s a lot harder than what those “successful business people” try to tell you. More so, I think the range of your success in this business is mostly related to being lucky and finding that one product that does well. Who knows, maybe you are good at finding that one product and you make a ton of money, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up that it is going to be an easy ride.
Create an e-book or sell an online course
It is extremely easy to self-publish a book nowadays and there are dozens of platforms on which you can sell an online course. But who is going to buy your e-book or online course if they have never heard of you? Do you have any authority on the subject? Do you have a large following? Are you willing to put hours and hours into marketing? If your answer is no to these questions, then chances are pretty low of you becoming a best-selling author or selling many online courses. Did you know that a self-published e-book has an average lifetime sale of 250 copies? Given that most E-books are around $6, it might not be worth the time and effort.
Things that do work (for me)
Freelancer platforms
The thing that worked for me was freelancer platforms. These platforms are meeting places for freelancers and clients. This can work in 2 ways: clients post jobs or freelancers offer their services. Because these platforms facilitate a meeting place for clients to find freelancers and freelancers to find clients, they also take a cut. Nothing is free, after all.
When you are just starting out, it can be overwhelming to start. What services do I offer? In what price range? Where can I find potential clients? These are all normal questions to ask yourself. Freelancer platforms make this part easier for you. You can get in direct contact with potential clients through the platform. When you sign up, you also have to choose which services you offer. There is no limit, but it is usually best to focus on one or two things so you don’t become a Jack-off-all-trades with no real specialty. A specialty is what get’s your real money, and the most difficult part of becoming a freelancer is finding that niche and establishing yourself as an expert.
How do you do that? By research, lots of learning, and good reviews. Reviews make or break a freelancer, and it is an important part of the working of a freelancer platform. This goes both ways: freelancers can also leave reviews on their clients. This can act as some sort of warning system for other freelancers. If a client has several bad reviews stating s/he is high demanding or difficult to communicate with, you might not take a job offer from them.
Upwork vs Fiverr
The most mentioned freelancer platforms that I came across when I started this was Upwork and Fiverr. Upwork and Fiverr are both freelancer platforms, but they work differently. Upwork lets clients post jobs in which freelancers can send in a proposal offering their services for that particular job. Fiverr works the other way around: freelancers make a profile and offer their services, usually in different kinds of packages. Clients window-shop for a freelancer and pick someone based on their general profile, reviews, and pricing.
I started with Fiverr, but the competition was so overwhelming that I felt like I was drowning in a big sea. There is always someone who is willing to do it cheaper and there is always someone with more experience and better reviews. It is very hard to get your foot ashore in such a market.
I switched over to Upwork, and that was much more to my liking. Yes, it takes a lot more time to send in proposals instead of clients coming to you, but I like the one-on-one contact you get with a client. Freelancers on Upwork can (and should) tailor each proposal and not sent in copy-paste kind of proposals to just any kind of job. The better you can explain why you are the best person for that particular job and how you can help that particular client, the better the chance you have of getting that job.
It turns out I am pretty good at explaining why a particular job is perfect for me, so that’s why Upwork works best for me. The same can be said about Fiverr. There is a reason why Fiverr is also a widely popular freelancer platform, so some freelancers must like the way it works.
Tutor online
Tutoring online is a popular way to earn money for digital nomads. Teaching online has the advantage that it doesn’t matter in what country you are in, you can teach students on the other side of the world as long as your Wi-Fi connection is stable. The possibilities are pretty much endless, or at least in theory. In practice, tutoring companies often ask you to be in a certain time zone and to commit a minimum amount of hours each week. If those restrictions don’t bother you, then tutoring online might be perfect for you. There is a big demand for teaching English, but there are other languages and subjects that are in desperate need of online tutors. If you didn’t enjoy a formal education for teaching English, it might be a good idea to get a TEFL certification.
Things that didn’t work for me, but could work for you
There is great wisdom in recognizing what you are good at and what you are not good at. I’m a pretty decent writer, but I’m terrible at drawing or any kind of graphic design. Anything related to artwork is a no-go for me. However, digital art has been popular for a while now. We all know those cute designs on Etsy and don’t forget about the impressive rise of NTFs this past year. Digital art is not a way to get rich quickly, but if you have talent, and most important perseverance, then this could be something for you. Unfortunately, I know nothing about the digital art world, so the only advice I can give you is to keep trying.
The most important thing: networking
Networking is crucial as a freelancer. The best promotion you can get as a freelancer is mouth-to-mouth promotion. Once people know you are out there and delivering good quality work, they will seek you out. However, things don’t magically happen, especially not in the beginning. In the beginning, it is all work and no play. You have to contact potential clients, you have to research their needs and what you can offer them, and you need to convince them to take a chance on you. But how do you start networking if you don’t have any experience as a freelancer?
1. Cold e-mailing (or calling)
Networking can be done in several ways. There’s cold e-mailing, which is just randomly approaching clients that you think might be interested in the services you're offering. Cold e-mailing seems like an easy and non-intimidating way to start, but it is also extremely difficult to actually generate a lead. The result is that you will most likely feel like you’re just shouting out into the void with no results.
2. Friends and family
What is the opposite of cold e-mailing? Approaching your friends and families. Success is often (partially) built on connections, so why not take advantage of the connections you already have? It might feel a bit awkward if you’re just starting out and you are not yet sure what you are doing or if it’s going to work out, but your friends and families are the people who will most likely take a chance on you because they already know what you are worth. This doesn’t mean you actually have to work with your family (oh God, the horror!). Reach out to them, tell them what services you have to offer, and ask them to keep an eye out for any opportunity.
3. Freelancer platforms
You might be tempted to use Upwork as a meeting place and then take your clients off-site to avoid paying the fees. However, this is strictly against Upwork’s Terms of Service and will get you banned permanently. Upwork itself can only make money when clients and freelancers actually use the platform to work together, so its greatest threat is when clients and freelancers take their agreement off-site. Upwork does not mess around with this kind of stuff, so you have been warned.
4. Social media
LinkedIn is also a great place for building a professional network, although not all freelancers agree. LinkedIn is very company-employee minded, so it will take some navigating and trial-and-error to figure out if you can actually sell your freelancing services on the platform. Don’t underestimate the power of social media, though. Twitter, Facebook, and even Instagram can be great places to get your name out, depending on your niche. Most social media platforms have the option to make a business page and you can add targeted ad campaigns to your profile.