One of my first forays into making money from home was completing online surveys. I signed up for a lot of pretty unimpressive survey sites until I found my top 5 survey sites, that I’m still a member of today.
And while I still think that taking online surveys is a good way to make some extra money online, I wanted to find real ways to make even more. Because while online surveys can definitely help pay for groceries and a tank of gas, you’re just not going to make enough to pay all of the bills.
Fortunately, there are lots of ways you can make money from home that aren’t online surveys (you can also make money as a teenager from home!). Here are my favorite real ways to make money online.
You’ll probably also want to try some of these free money hacks!
10 Real Ways To Make Money From Home That Aren’t Online Surveys
1. Start a Merch by Amazon Business
Merch by Amazon is a rapidly fast-growing platform that allows you to design your own t-shirts and list them completely free on Amazon.
You create the design, upload it, set your price and then Amazon takes care of the rest. They print the t-shirts on demand (whenever someone orders one) ship it out, collect payment, handle all the customer service, returns, etc.
You then receive a royalty for every t-shirt you sell (the amount you receive varies based on the sale price you set.) There are no fees involved for listing your t-shirt – you just receive the royalty amount for each sale.
If you think that this sounds like a side hustle you’d enjoy, then make sure you check out “How to Launch Your Merch Business eCourse“. The course will teach you everything you need to know to bootstrap your own Merch by Amazon business.
2. Start a Blog
Starting a blog was one of the best things I’ve ever done. It’s been less than 18 months since I started this blog, and I’ve been making a full time income since my 6th month of blogging.
I’ve created a completely free 7-day eCourse that’ll teach you exactly how to start your own blog, customizing your blog, driving traffic, monetization tips and more.
Click here to get free access to my free 7-Day Blogging 101 eCourse.
3. Become an Online English Teacher
I know tons of people who are making really good money from home teaching English online to adorable Chinese kids.
VIPKID is a fast-growing company that hires native English speakers who live in the United States to teach English online to Chinese students. They pay between $14-$22/hr, all of the materials are provided for you (so you don’t have to create your own curriculum) and you set your own schedule.
You need to hold a Bachelors degree in any field and have some experience working with children (it doesn’t have to be paid experience, it can be informal or formal experience.)
Click here to fill out the initial application (it only takes about 5 minutes.)
If you want some more info before you submit your application, check out this full post I wrote about VIPKID.
4. Become a Mystery Shopper with BestMark
There are a number of mystery shopper organizations out there, but one of the premier mystery shopper organizations is BestMark.
Bestmark works with some of the top companies in the world, including Fortune and Global 500 companies, to assist them in providing the best customer experience for their valued customers.
As a Bestmark mystery shopper, you’ll be given an assignment where you’ll go to a restaurant, retail establishment, bank, automotive service shop, etc., and report on your customer experience.
You just have to go to the establishment and do exactly what a normal customer would do – eat your food, wait for your car to be serviced, etc. The only difference is, when you get home, you’ll report your experience back to Bestmark.
Bestmark will pay you up to $25 per assignment (or even more, depending on your area) and they will also reimburse you if you are required to spend any money. For example, if you are required to get your car serviced as part of your assignment, they will pay you for the assignment and also reimburse you the cost of the service.
Click here to apply to become a Bestmark Mystery Shopper.
5. Become a Virtual Assistant
If you have any of the following skills: administration, email management, graphic design, bookkeeping, social media management, etc., then you could make extra money by providing online virtual assistant services.
The online business world is growing rapidly, and many online entrepreneurs don’t have the time or skills to be managing certain aspects of their business.
That’s where a virtual assistant comes in! You help online business owners complete all those tasks that are necessary to running a business, which frees them up to work on their actual business.
If you’d like learn more about becoming a virtual assistant, then definitely check out 30 Days of Less to Virtual Assistant Success.
6. Get Cash Back on Your Groceries (And Earn Money When You Refer Friends)
Ibotta is a free app that gives you cash rebates for hundreds of items at the grocery store. I love them because they offer rebates for things like milk, fresh produce, eggs, bread, cereal, etc. And often, they’re not brand specific, which means you can get cash back for purchasing ANY brand of cereal, or ANY type of milk. This is awesome because regular coupons always require you to purchase a specific brand.
In addition to earning cash back on your groceries, Ibotta also pays you $5 for every friend you refer who signs up. You’re not only helping your friends make some extra money, you’re also making extra money when they sign up. And when your friends sign up with your link, you become teammates which means you can help each other get even more bonuses!
Sign up with my link here and you’ll also get a bonus $10!
7. Freelance Writing
Freelance writing was another one of my first forays into making money online. I remember writing an article while I was waiting to board a plane in San Antonio and thinking to myself how awesome it was that I was getting paid to do something I loved while I was sitting at the airport!
If you have a love for writing, then this might be a perfect side hustle for you. Gina Horkey is a super-successful freelance writer and she’s created a course that’ll teach you how to get started as a freelance writer in under one month. It’s called “30 Days or Less to Freelance Writing Success” – I’ve taken the course and I highly recommend it.
8. Become a Transcriptionist
If you have excellent attention to detail and strong keyboard skills, then you might want to look into working from home as a transcriptionist.
Transcriptionists basically transcribe spoken or recorded words into a written document. They most commonly work in the medical or legal fields, but other professions also require transcriptionists sometimes.
Janet Shaughnessy is a highly experienced transcriptionist and she’s the owner of the Transcribe Anywhere website.
She’s created a free 7-day mini course on transcription that’s provides further insights into the transcription profession, to help you decide if it might be a good fit for you.
9. Become a Petsitter
If you love animals, this is possibly one of the easiest and most fun ways to make extra money from home. Simply sign up with Rover, fill out your profile, set your rates, and get matched with potential clients.
If I didn’t have a 5lb chihuahua who would be insanely jealous if I was snuggling up with other dogs, I would definitely be doing this. What could be better than getting paid to look after cute pups!
10. Web Designer/Developer
It’s pretty much a given that every business needs a website these days. But you might be surprised at how many business owners either don’t have a website, don’t even know they need one, or have one that looks like it’s out of the dark ages.
Needless to say, web design/development is a rapidly growing field, and provides an awesome opportunity to start your own online business.
Of course, you need to know how to create a website but honestly, it’s not as hard as you might think. Admittedly, it’s not EASY, but if you’re dedicated and interested, you can do it.
I was previously a student at TeamTreehouse and that’s where I learned probably 99% of my HTML & CSS knowledge. TeamTreehouse is the perfect platform for beginners but if you want to go even further, they’ll teach you basically everything you need to know about web design and development.
Click here to get a free 7-day trial of Team Treehouse to see if you like it!