Content Writing is the first piece of work that made me money online back in 2007. Since then, I've made several thousands of dollars online.
So, in this blog, we are going to talk about nine ways of how you can make money online, and I'm also going to rate those nine ways in terms of the upfront investment required and the ease of getting to your first thousand dollars.
1. Content Writing
This has to be my favorite one because this is in fact what got me started to making money online back in 2007, and I love this one because the upfront investment required is extremely low. You could literally get started with a laptop and an internet connection.
In fact, back in the day, I did not even have my personal laptop. I used to scout for internet cafes back in India, write some articles, send them off and get paid. So, in terms of upfront investment required, I'd say 5/5.
In terms of the ease of getting to your first thousand dollars, I'd rate this at a 4.5 out of five. You could make your first thousand dollars in the first month itself. I have paid writers $500 for thousand words. I've also paid writers hundred dollars for thousand words.
This really depends on your skill as a writer and also of course on your scale of sales, marketing and negotiation. So, like everyone else, I have done my fair share of Fiverr and Upwork, but, I have also found clients within Facebook and LinkedIn groups where the internet entrepreneurs hang out.
2. Copywriting
Copywriting, is very similar to content writing in that it's writing, but it adds a few more flavors of sales, marketing, persuasion, and psychology into it. So, if you are someone who really enjoys sales and marketing, this could be one of the best ways for you to make money online.
The upfront investment required is minimal. You could literally read a couple of books, to get a flavor of copywriting, and you can get started. I rate this at a 4.5 out of five for upfront investment.
In terms of getting to your first thousand dollars, I'd say this is a 5/5 because you can charge a lot more than you charge for content writing because it's so much more valuable and you can therefore get to the first thousand dollars within a matter of two to three weeks.
3. Graphic Design
Graphic designers are in demand to create logos, brand kits, NFTs, merchandise, etc. So, if you are someone who's into design, this might be the way you want to make money online. If you are a beginner and just getting started, you probably don't need advanced Adobe software, but you probably do need a Canva Pro subscription. In terms of upfront investment required, I rate this at a four out of five.
In terms of ease of getting to the first thousand dollars, I rate this at a four, out of five as well, because it really depends on what sort of projects you pick up. If you pick up a brand kit design assignment, you'll get to the first thousand dollars really, really easily. But if you are picking up 10 logo designs, that could take time for you to get to the first thousand dollars.
4. Website Designing
I love this one because if you are someone who's talented in Java or NodeJS out of the gate, you can charge over a thousand dollars to make someone's website. However, if you are a beginner and just getting started, you could look into something like Wix or WordPress, which makes designing so much more easy.
However, you do need to spend time and energy into learning how to web design. And, if you want to earn the top dollars, you do need to learn some programming, which is why I rate the upfront investment as a 3.5 out of five.
In terms ease of making your first thousand dollars though I believe that this is really easy. I rate this at a 5/5 because you can design a couple of websites, charge $500 for it, get it done within a matter of weeks.
5. Editing
Creators all around want to outsource editing, and both podcast and video editing are growing markets. However, editing could be intimidating if you are just starting out. Upfront investment wise, I'd rate this at a 3/5 because you need to spend a considerable amount of time and energy into actually learning to edit.
You also need a high specification machine if you are using something like DaVinci Resolve and if you are using something like Premier Pro or Final Cut Pro, you still need to pay the license fees. I personally use a software called Descript which is really easy to edit with but it does charge you $30 per month subscription. So, if you want to get started with a relatively low cost option, Descript might be one of your better bets.
On the other hand, getting to the thousand dollars is relatively easy. I would rate this at a 4.5 out of five because for a three minute footage out of a 60 minute video, people can charge up to $200 to $300. You could get to the first thousand dollars really fast. I'm not rating this at a five out of five because I want to acknowledge that as a beginner, you have a steep learning curve if you are just starting out.
6. Social Media Management
Social media management is something that comes naturally to a lot of people. In terms of upfront investment required, I would rate this at a 4/5, primarily because, if you are offering your services as a professional, you probably need to do a couple of courses that teach you about the analytics research and so on.
On the flip side, getting to your first thousand dollars is really easy. Social media managers can charge anywhere between a $100, all the way through to $1,000, depending on how engaged they are on the social media platform. If you pick up a couple of clients for $500 a month, you will get to the thousand dollars mark really quickly. Therefore, in terms of ease of getting to your first thousand dollars, I rate this at a 4.5 out of 5.
7. Virtual Assistance
Virtual assistants are also sometimes called online business managers. With virtual assistance you could really start off with nothing and build up as you go along. So, I rate the upfront investment at a 4.5 out of five. The reason I'm not rating it at a five is because you do want to be focused on what are the friction points in your client's life and remove those. So you really need to understand your client and have a really good relationship and a rapport with your client.
By being a virtual assistant, you could make a $1000 in a month very easily. So, I'd rate this also at a 4.5 out of five, but obviously this depends on what you do for your client and also how many hours you choose to work for your client in a given month.
8. Courses
This has to be one of my favorite ones as well, not only because I have a couple of courses for CV writing and career coaching, but also because this is the one that truly gets you into the realm of most passive income.
However, in terms of upfront investment, you need to invest quite a lot of time, energy, and money into building your system. You need to understand what course you could sell, how you'll get customers for the course, how you'll collect payments, how you'll distribute out your course, and so on. So, I rate this at a 2.5 out of five.
On the flip side though, for your very first course, if you build it really well, you could charge over a thousand dollars. Therefore, in terms of the ease of getting to your first thousand dollars, I'd rate this at a 4.5 out of five, and the reason I'm not rating it at a five is because you need to figure out the system that will make thousand dollars repeatable every month and then grow it from there.
9. Coaching and Consulting
The internet right now is exploding with fitness coaches, health coaches, meditation coaches, career coaches, life coaches, you name it. However, to become a really great coach or consultant, you do need to have a lot of credible expertise in the domain. So, for example, I have a career coaching practice, but I have picked up a lot of what top performers do in their careers, in a career spanning over 15 years.
I do some data consulting on the side for companies, and I have really been in data for all of my career. I have a degree in economics, and then I have done data analysis throughout. That's 15 plus years of experience lending itself to making thousands of dollars in a matter of hours. So, in terms of upfront investment required, I'd say this is at a 2/5, primarily because, you need to be an expert.
However, once you are an expert, getting to your first thousand dollars is easy. So, the rate of the ease of getting to your first thousand dollars is 5/5.
I truly believe that everyone is an expert at something. If you enjoyed reading this, you might enjoy our Money Quiz.
https://www.subscribepage.com/quiz_money
