Whether you are short on cash or you simply have enough energy and time to do a bit more work after you’re done with work, you can earn extra money online.
Here’s a quick guide on how to start earning extra money online:
Step #1 - Choose a way to earn money online which pays well
Not all ways to earn money online pay the same. The best approach is to find out which jobs and skills are in high demand currently. Some very in-demand skills are:
- Web development
- Web design
- Marketing
- Writing and editing
- Bookkeeping
It seems that everyone needs people with these skills, and best of all, you can do any of these as a side gig, which means your workload is flexible and you can do as much or as little as you want to earn extra money online.
Step #2 - Get the skills to do the job
Knowing which jobs are good to earn extra money online is just the first step—you also need to master the specific skill set to do these jobs.
- If you want to earn money online by coding and developing, you’ll have to learn a programming language first.
- If you want to write content, you’ll need to brush up on your writing skills and work on getting industry-related knowledge and follow industry trends.
- If you want to be a marketer, you’ll need to learn the best practices and current trends and have intimate knowledge of the industry you’ll be working in.
- For bookkeeping, you should brush up on data entry, credits, and debits, invoicing and know a thing or two on accounting software.
Start with the skills you already possess—are some of the new skills you should learn related to your current skill set? Usually, that’s the route you want to take.
For example, if you’re a writer, add editing to your skillset and you can charge more. You could then look at marketing as the next logical step which involves a lot of content creation too.
Step #3 - Apply to find an online job or (more likely) start working freelancer part-time
Once you’re comfortable with the level of knowledge you have for the new skills, you can choose between two approaches: you either apply to an online job, or you try to grab some part-time freelancing gigs.
Many online jobs still require you to work a specific amount of hours and might not be suitable as a side gig, but they do help with the steady extra income you can count on.
Freelancing is a much more flexible way to earn extra money online, but oftentimes, it takes a while before you’ll have long-term clients so you’ll have to hunt for new opportunities frequently. This is because you’ll need to build a portfolio first and get good recommendations before you can build up a client base.
Both of these approaches have pros and cons, and only you can decide which is better for you.
Today, you can pick and choose how you want to earn money online, but it’s best to focus on learning skills that are in demand if you want to earn well.
