100 Creative Ways to Make Money

More and more people like you are looking for creative ways to make money. Gallup Great Jobs Survey in 2019 stated that 33% of the respondents work more than just one job for financial reasons; apparently one job is not enough to pay the bills or enough to help them reach their financial goals. 

What’s interesting is that a large portion of the respondents (48%) said that their reason for having a second job (a side gig) or starting their own business (a side hustle) is simply preference: they just do not want to rely on one source of income, period. 

To date, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are about 9.7 million Americans who have lost their jobs---and are looking for work. At the time of this publishing, that means that the unemployment rate in the United States stands at 6.0%.

While the government is cautiously optimistic that this will go down to about 5% by the end of 2021, no one serious about their future and the welfare of their family will just wait for the good times to roll back in. 

Millennials and Gen-Z workers are experiencing difficult times finding work and satisfying work. There are 10 creative majors, degrees or educations that make money, and those types of jobs both pay well and give artistic experiences. Some of those educations give opportunities to be employed or to start your own business so you can be more financially self-reliant.

Before the pandemic, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has warned that jobs meant for new grads or entry-level work have been contracting by 68% every single year.

A pandemic just made it harder for them to get their foot in the employment door, and competition for the few good jobs that do exist has gotten stronger.

What a lot of people anticipated to happen during a pandemic didn’t happen. For example, building material prices and real estate prices skyrocketed. There have been short supplies of almost anything and everything.

Yes, the world is not as stable as we thought. Pandemics, crashing economies, changing industries, personal issues such as the death of a partner or spouse, divorce, etc. have all shown that we need to be more financially self-sufficient and resilient.

We understand now that we cannot rely on a traditional job to see us through financially hard times.

Seniority, experience, and even credentials will not prevent a high-ranking manager from getting the pink slip---not when his company is bleeding financial loss and can’t make its revenue targets.

Given that it is really difficult to anticipate the future, we should all find more creative ways to make money with a new side gig or side hustle.

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The Perfect Opportunity For A Creative Side Hustle, Side Gig, Or Side Job

Amidst the doom and gloom, there is a silver lining that all of us are discovering.

These unexpected, unprecedented challenges are compelling us all to be more frugal and to find new and creative ways to make money. Those who have responded in productive and positive ways to their situation---and you will be reading about them in this article---found that their success is not pegged to their university degree, resume, or last job title. 

Those who choose to try and improve their situation will find new success with creativity in business, entrepreneurship and making money.

Creativity is not just for artists either; improving your creative thinking can make you more money. Getting new creative ideas to make money doesn’t mean you have to come up with a completely new business idea.

Rather, using creative ways to make money can be a way to make money from an idea that has been around for a long time but is now new to you or implemented in a new way, context, or economy.

We have been inspired by people with great new ideas about how to make money. These new entrepreneurs jumped (not stepped) out of their comfort zones and looked for creative ways to make money online or at home, with their hobbies, their talents, with real estate, innovative ways, or even weird ways too. Sometimes these creative ways were not new---they just required that the entrepreneurs hustle and have persistence. 

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Making Money In Creative Ways Includes Using All The Opportunities And Resources You Have Available As Fast As Possible

Finding creative ways to make money might not be as hard as you might think. You don't need to be Elon Musk or the late Steve Jobs to expand the boundaries of your own money making opportunities. You don’t need to change the world to make money. 

All you might need to do to make money in creative ways is take a good closer look at what you already have, then get started, and keep moving forward. 

Start with looking at what available opportunities and resources you easily have:

Your Skills

Your skills---and not just the ones from the day job---are probably the best resources you can tap to find other sources of income. Your talents and capabilities, and your level of expertise in them, determine the kind of value you can give someone who is willing to pay for them. 

Regardless of whether you are a digital artist, baker, online tutor, or writer, if you do quality work and service, someone will always be willing to pay for them. Your skills help them accomplish their objectives, solve their problem, or reach more of their own customers. 

Your Hobbies

Hobbies can be powerful ways to make money because you are energized by being able to do what you love. Compare what it would be like to make money doing something you love to working for someone else doing the thing they love and doing the same thing each day.

If you want to make money from your hobby, you’ll never lack energy and motivation to hustle.

But be careful because energy and motivation are not all you need to be successful---you need resources.

Your Network

Your network of friends, clients, colleagues (former and present), business partners, and other professional associates can open doors of opportunities for you to make extra income. They can recommend you and put in a good work to your prospects. They are the best individuals to give testimonials about the quality of your work and your work ethic. Their online reviews about you (if any) will keep on pointing more customers to your door. 

Your Resources And Assets

Your resources and assets are property and possessions that can turn out to be a platform for money making. Do not underestimate your money and assets just because you are not (yet) a millionaire.

One rigorous look at what’s inside your closet just might reveal items that can fetch a good price in an online auction or yard sale or inspire you to create a new design. Or how about converting your forgotten and unused attic into a room for rent to give you a steady monthly income. And, if you can, reinvest 50% of the monthly rental income you didn’t have before toward financing your next creative side hustle.

Do you have a bicycle, motorcycle, or a car that you can use or leverage to give you opportunities?

Your Ideas

Ideas---and not just knowledge---can be one source of fuel for generating income.

Knowledge and experience refer to your present information and insights that have been verified and/or tested, either by yourself or other parties. This is generally your own personal wisdom gained from personal experience or the experience of others that you have been taught. 

In contrast, ideas are the possibilities you open up and explore, based on the wealth of information and data and context that you have in your brain. 

Ideas are the product of your creative, imaginative side that can put all the information and contexts and connections together to solve tough problems that customers or clients will pay you to solve for them.

No matter if you have a creative major, degree or formal education that makes money, your brilliant, ingenious idea just might create a new product in a small niche or double the market share of your client. Companies and brands pay well for innovative products and effective ideas that get the results they want and need.

Your Ability To Relate To People

The ability to connect with people, and being empathetic and relatable, is not just about making a sales pitch. When you can relate to and understand people, you can offer better products and services to them.

Your talent for making people laugh could also be a useful creative gift.

The most successful firms are the ones that spend adequate and on-going time with their customers to truly understand how the firm’s creative products and services help solve problems for customers.

Remember too that brands succeed because customers trust them. In the same way, if you deliver quality service and prove yourself to be reliable and honest, your clients will trust you and give you more business. Customers will know what to expect from you. 

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Creative Ways Of Making Money Is Not Reserved For Artists

You might have a creative education and looking for creative jobs for some time now.. Don’t let the rejections from recruiters discourage you. 

Understand---and accept---that you have within yourself creative ways to make money. Your mind, your abilities, your personality, your community of friends and associates, your resources of time and money and assets---all these strengths can help open the door for you to bring in money as a side hustle, a means to pay your debt, or a bridge to earn more money and gain financial security.

There are various creative ways to make money, and we will break them down into manageable chunks below:

Artistic Ways To Make Money

Remember when you used to groan that you could not find more time to write your favorite blog or do weekend photography because of your all-consuming day job?

Now is the time to fully indulge in and develop your creative juices to make money. Not only will you enjoy what you are doing, but you can turn your passion into profit. One advantage of leveraging on your skills is that, after laying the groundwork, you can turn this into a money-making opportunity real fast.

Fun And Imaginative Ways To Make Money:

Who says making money has to be boring, or a heavy chore that drains you of your emotions and ideas and energy? If you spend a lot of time making videos, or you get a kick out of narrating audiobooks, any of the exciting activities you enjoy have the potential to become long-lasting side jobs..

Innovative And Inventive Ways To Make Money

Innovation requires a leap out of your familiar territory. Innovation can mean taking on some kinds of tasks or jobs that you can do as a newbie. Yes, there are out-of-the-box money making ways that you can learn slowly without having the tag “expert” to your name. Have you ever tried to shop online for another customer? Or tested websites for a developer? Now is the time to consider innovative and inventive ways to make money. You might even develop a creative skill or two along the way that you can use to make money in the future.

Inspiring And Visionary Ways

You can make money on the side by helping people. For some of us, making money while supporting a good cause is important because we can also make a generous contribution to society. Helping out our fellowmen legally and ethically does not mean ending up being penniless or poor. A couple of examples are donating your plasma to a licensed medical center. Another is teaching English classes to international students (virtually or in-person) who are having a hard time adjusting to their new environment because of language challenges.

Each of these ways can give you the joy of making the world a better place and also making some money on the side.

Resourceful Ways To Make Money

This method can open your eyes to see that you just might have a potential mini-goldmine right at home where you live. Be resourceful with your assets and what you own. Check how you can convert them to money-making potential. Examples would be renting out an extra room or lending your old sedan for companies who do car wrap advertising. You could offer your services as a tutor or guide. Your time is also a resource, so you can also use your spare time to take a part-time job.

Simple, user-friendly ways to make money

This is something you can do perhaps at the top of your head without thinking too hard about it.

For example, take an inventory of your old clothes, books, and other hobby items and organize a yard sale. Another would be renting out some of your possessions instead of selling them. If you have an extra and still usable smartphone, laptop, or smart home device (such as a Google Home or Alexa), you can charge a couple of dollars for their use.

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The Benefits Of Making Money In Creative Ways

Now that you have seen that there are a lot of creative ways to make money, let’s talk about the benefits:

First, Liquidity.

There is a greater chance of money entering your wallet (or bank account) once you have established several creative ways to make money as part of your business and lifestyle.

You should have a financial back-up in case your day job or your business turns sour.

Sometimes, entrepreneurs have their funds tied up in their non-cash assets or investments---and when extra expenses come in, they don’t know where to get the money to pay for them. Making money in creative ways can fill that financing gap just when you need it.

A survey by Ascent made during the pandemic showed that the average American who did side hustles made extra money ranging from $507 to $746 every month. Not surprisingly, the numbers were higher prior to the coronavirus. A Bankrate survey in 2018 pegged the monthly earning rate from $686 to $836.

These figures can still increase if your money-making ventures earn profit through royalties or a percentage of sales, which can happen in affiliate marketing and other digital platforms.

Second, Expenses Count As Tax Deductions

The Internal Revenue Services (IRS) does have certain rules that can allow you to apply for tax deductions for costs related to operating your business. For example, you can deduct the cost of your home office, the business use of your automobile, and business-related entertainment and travel expenses, some equipment such as a phone and computer, internet services, etc. All business expenses (reimbursed or not) can help reduce your tax liability each year.

Home-office tax deductions apply when you do have a permanent home office where you conduct business. Home-office expenses can also be used when a structure outside your home is being used for business; one example can be the conversion of your garage, if empty of cars, into a co-working space.

When it comes to automobile expenses, you can apply for tax-deductions when it comes to gas mileage. Let’s say you rented your trusty Toyota to transport the belongings of a neighbor who was moving from California to Florida. You are also the one driving the vehicle. Make sure to save the gas receipts---the IRS just might consider them deducting those expenses from the tax you pay next year.

Then there are travel and related expenses. Business owners who wine and dine clients or take frequent business trips to the next step can list the restaurant and hotel expenses for possible tax deductions later on. For side gigs, a virtual assistant who orders take-out food for a client they are trying to sign a deal with can classify all that as a business expense for tax deductions

Your equipment such as a computer or cell phone, or clothes can also be considered business expenses.

Third, Increasing Your Network Of Business Partners And Associates

The more of these creative money-making opportunities you do, the more potential allies you create. If you are a business owner, starting more side hustles means more customers you can market your existing products to. New businesses mean opportunities to make connections with other industry professionals. If you are a first-time freelancer, then interacting with all these new clients can help you form long-term business relationships.

A happy client can remain with you for years. They might even introduce you to their colleagues needing your services. Keeping customers helps blossom what you thought was going to be a small gig into a growing business. There have been many stories about successful virtual assistants who put up their own service companies and they saw their first client increase to a dozen clients.

Growing a larger client base starts with business networking with one client or one vendor. In one LinkedIn Survey, 80% of professionals credit business networking to their current success. You can do the same once you start implementing creative ways to make money.

Finally, Satisfaction From Succeeding In A New Venture

Doing and succeeding in these various creative ways to make money will bring you profound emotional, psychological, and intellectual rewards. Seeing that you can put up your own side business and succeed will boost your self-confidence. It can also make you feel like a winner after all those months in unemployment.

At the very least, it will alleviate you from some money-related stress. Once you have some success and some financial relief, you will feel like you have more room and capacity to try your creative skills again with a new side hustle.

Stretching your capabilities and doing things that you did not think you were capable of will also give you a greater awareness and appreciation of your talents. Succeeding will also encourage you to develop more of your potential.

Meanwhile, those who do turn their passion projects into professional ventures---e.g. graphic design, blogging, photography---find a lot of satisfaction in exercising their rarely-used creative juices. Their success can also finally vindicate them from critics who told them to just stick to the day job.

Don’t underestimate the power of success. It can be a fuel to future ventures. As motivational leader Tony Robbins puts it, “Business success is 80 percent psychology and 20 percent mechanics.”

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How To Evaluate the Pros/Cons of Creative Ways To Make Money

Now that you have some ideas of the benefits and advantages to using creative ways to make money, the next step is to create a realistic plan that will help you implement them successfully.

Just reading about blogging or dropshipping, or teaching art classes, or driving for a ride sharing company, and their earning potentials does not mean you should quit your job tomorrow. If you don’t have a job, you still need to calculate the time, effort, and resources you put into your gig, and determine how much return on investment (ROI) all that will get you and whether you have capacity and resources to do more.

Manage expectations for yourself. Making money in creative ways is worth the effort. Be prepared for the bumps on the road that you will encounter. And when success doesn’t come easy, you need to have focus and resilience to rise to the challenges. That’s how you manage your energy and tasks to keep moving forward.

While researching creative ways to make money, here are five factors that are extremely important to consider: 

Risks

We’ve already mentioned some of the rewards, but what about the risks of these creative ideas?

Those who have day jobs obviously need to make sure that they can balance their new money-making ventures with their employment responsibilities. Evaluating the risk for those who already have a job means not just not getting fired but still turning in solid performances at work.

Freelancers, stay-at-home parents, or those still looking for work have to continually check that the new side hustle is balanced among the other priorities like their current job and family life.

Measuring the risks versus the rewards ultimately comes down to this one question: Is this new creative money-making opportunity worth what you put into it? Will this creative business opportunity more than compensate for the things you might have to give up? Is this a lifetime marathon or just a short sprint?

Effort

How much time and energy can you put into your new money-making ventures? How much personal bandwidth do you have? Someone who has a full-time day job might only be able to work on their new money-making venture only in the evenings for a few hours. You can get more help from a virtual assistant or business partner, but the total effort needs to be considered.

You also have to factor in research time about your creative ventures in calculating the amount of time you will spend on them. If you are just turning a hobby into a part-time livelihood, you might not have to brush up on your pet project. However, you might have to invest more hours in studying the business side of your new hustle.

On the other hand, if you did leap out of your comfort zone to take on a new venture like affiliate marketing, then a lot of homework is required, such as learning how to network with experienced friends or taking on online classes.

Cost

You should have a goal to spend as little on your new money-making venture as possible. You want to earn money, not spend it. That is why, after all, you are looking into creative ways to make money..a business, or job you can create and do yourself. However, starting a business just might have unavoidable expenses.

Do you have to upgrade your computers to accommodate more students for your digital classes? What about a new paint job on the car you are leasing to that car advertising company? Education can be an expensive item if you are taking on a new skill.

Try to evaluate whether spending money is a short-term expense, or an investment. Spending money to educate yourself, or buy inventory can be an asset that strengthens your creative position, not just an expense.

Timeline

There are no fixed timelines as to when you can turn an initial money-making venture into a successful enterprise; when you can take these creative ideas into money. Your timeline depends on the kind of creative job or task you choose and what resources you have.. Those factors, too, are very flexible.

However, after doing all the research, set a timeline that can help keep you focused and evaluate whether or not you are nearing your goal. A year should be enough time to turn your side hustle into earning you $500 a month. If you prefer to have more income (and who doesn’t), then you either add more time and/or augment your efforts with investments into more resources.

Ryan Robinson gives this piece of advice in TheBalance: “…never leave your day job until your side hustle is providing you with a sustainable, growing cash flow that exceeds that reaches to at least 75 percent of what your day job pays you.”

Reward

When evaluating the potential of creative ways to make money, don’t forget to consider what’s realistically possible.

For example, if you’re starting a side hustle as a freelance writer, how much money can you make in your spare time?

If you want to be an art tutor, how much money could you make in your spare time?

If you want to start a photography business, how much is it possible to earn doing weddings and such and how much is it worth to sell stock photos?

Then compare the risk, reward, timeline and effort against the reward and ask yourself if the creative hustle is worth it. Sometimes the reward will also include intangibles such as a more flexible schedule, a new revenue stream, which can’t always be quantified with numbers. Those intangible factors can be worth a lot to you.

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Now let’s go to the nitty-gritty, specific examples of how you can do creative ways to make money in the 6 categories we mentioned above:

5 Artistic Ways To Make Money

If you’re the artistic type, these are great opportunities for creative income for artists.

Freelance Photographer

There are many ways to make money as a freelance photographer, especially if you already have the equipment and the experience in taking interesting or so-called glamorous shots, even if it’s just wedding photos of your friends or an awesome landscape while you are out of town. 

Knowing how to edit, clean, and polish your shots through software will also help your photography business. You can turn your photography hobby into a money-making side hustle.

The most obvious way is to offer your services in group gatherings like corporate events, birthday gatherings, weddings, family portraits, and other kinds of celebrations. Start with a friend, a colleague, and an acquaintance who is willing to give you your first opportunity.

You might have to charge less than an experienced photographer, but remember that this is a two-way street. Your first clients are also helping you build your portfolio.

You might eventually progress into taking montage shots that the more creative industries will ask for. Magazines, websites, and brands will pay for a stylized photo shoot of a message that they want to promote. For example, a pet store would want shots of certain breeds of dogs running with their trainers down the street. This is a staged shooting and far from the spontaneity that you get during a birthday or wedding shoot. 

Obviously, you can also charge more for more specialized photoshoots. However, you also have to factor in certain costs aside from your time and equipment accessories. The owners of the dogs you will use for the shoot, permits to shoot in the location (if it is public), actual payment for the background if it is private (e.g. a the houses from which the dogs will emerge), the actors who will pose as the trainers---all those have to be considered into your costs and included in your billing if you are want to make a decent profit. 

Excluding or neglecting your total cost can actually lead to financial losses.

But consider the reward: according to ZipRecruiter, a freelance photographer---that means someone who is working on their own time and for clients, not just one single company—can earn $35,000 to $79,000 a year.

Selling Your Photographs To Photobanks

There are other creative ways to make money if you are good with a camera (traditional or smartphone). Review those jaw-dropping shots which made your friends gasp in amazement, but which you don’t fully utilize. A perfect sunset hovering over a glowing mountain. A Dalmatian licking the ice cream of the girl holding her dog. The luscious, mouth-watering authentic Italian pizza that was just freshly baked in the oven. 

If you’ve got these works of digital art in your hard drive, there are at least a dozen photo banks you can license them to. Shutterstock, iStock Photo, and Getty Images are the most popular brands. Once you have created an account with them, they will make your photos searchable to millions of people who need a cake shot for Mother’s Day or a tall breathtaking mountain for a travel website. These photo databases will do the marketing and ‘selling’ of the use of your photos for you. You still own the photos and get photo attribution.

Photo databases pay you a portion of the sale each time someone purchases your photo. However, the photo databases do not give you a fixed commission rate. You get a commission, ranging from 25-45%, of the total number of your photos that have been licensed within a given time frame, e.g. 6 months or a year. For example, 500 people downloading your image of Mount Rushmore over 6 months earns the photo database $10,000; 25% of the total revenue or $2,500 goes to you.

Licensing your photos, images, and other artwork to a photo database that sells stock imagery is one way to make passive income, while having your artistic flair recognized across the globe.

To date, it is hard to find an estimated amount of how much you can make by licensing your photos. The number is very variable, depending on how many shots you made, how many images you licensed, and how many customers will like and download them.

One professional photographer who has sold photos to these virtual photo houses, however, gave this word of caution to his colleagues: improve your craft first by learning how to take good photos through commercial photography instead of spending a lot of time on creating images for the photo databases.

All those wedding shots and profiles do pay more and give you credentials. The moment you have assembled your own collection of shots, that is the good time to start licensing them digitally. And once you do have some kind of financial security as well as extra time, that’s when you can start creating artistic images for the image databases.

Create And Sell Your Own Font

Channel your inner calligrapher to earn money. Creating and selling or licensing your own typeface is among the most creative ways to make money. It is also among the most uncommon side hustles that can give your artistic talents an edge in the creative market.

Your potential customers are business owners, brand managers, graphic artists, website developers and designers, and marketing and advertising professionals. One thing they have in common is that they are always looking for new creative ways to get their reader’s attention and communicate a message that reflects their brand. Artistic fonts and typefaces can make the difference between a message being common or unique.

Alex Haigh, creative director of the font foundry HypeForType, explains the opportunity to make money by creating and selling fonts this way: “We've got thousands of sans-serif fonts, so why not create something no one has ever seen before?"

Making extra money in this field is similar to selling your photos to a photo bank database. However, when it comes to your original typefaces, you approach font foundries or companies that design and distribute fonts and typefaces for commercial purposes. While many of them employ their own artists, they are also open to hiring freelancers like you to get new ideas. 

A couple of the most recommended font foundries are HypeForType and YouWorkforThem who will be the ones to tweak, polish, refine, market, and ultimately sell your typeface to the customers we mentioned above. They can also coach you about the fonts which work and which won’t. They are like middle men or agents of your talent.

How much money can you make in creating and selling your own font? The number is hard to peg in this emerging side hustle; it can go from a few dollars to a hundred dollars per font or typeface. The amount you can make boils down to how creative and unique your font is, how much the font foundry or client is willing to pay for it, and how much they really need it.

Content Or Article Writing

Writing content for clients is very stable and reliable. It doesn’t matter if the economy is contracting---content will always be needed. Brands and companies will always be looking for writers who can capture their voice and write their messages eloquently and powerfully to their target market.

Sometimes you’ll have to find new clients but writing content will always be needed in a digital economy.

If you have a way with words, and can stick to the process of writing, then count this among your most accessible creative ways to make money.

First, it is never easy if you are new to content or article writing (freelance as a gig) , especially if you do not have a professional portfolio. It can help to get started if you already have a niche or a subject that you are genuinely interested in and are informed about.

The key to making a lot of money in content or article writing is specializing in a genre, category, or subject. For each one, e.g. business or travel, there are always at least half a dozen platforms like newspapers, magazines, websites, digital publications, and media outlets who are always sourcing good content and open to new writers like you.

Websites that specialize in particular subjects like health, wellness, IT, software, banking, tech, etc. (just to name a few) will pay good money for articles that can do a deep dive into the subject.

The more informative and in-depth the article is, the more it gives insights to customers, the more readers will be attracted to it, the more the website’s exposure will increase, the more leads the website can generate, and the more advertisers the brand will attract and demand higher rates..

You have to do your homework in finding these sites that do pay good money. Cracked pays its freelancers $100-$200 for pieces that show a unique twist to popular culture. 

Meanwhile, writers who have extensive experience and more unique insights on historical sites and tech innovations alike can charge $1000 per article from the Smithsonian Magazine.

Then of course there are companies in Craigslist who accept writers from all backgrounds, sometimes give them tests to see the quality of their writing, and pay $40 to $50 per article. 

That is one way to start writing content and articles online if you want to hit the ground running. But it is still best to aim for the high-paying publishers.

To get the attention of the editors of those prominent sites, make sure your writing is high-quality. Develop an engaging, easy-to-read style. Master spelling and grammar. Learn to do research well, be certain of your facts, and come up with relevant insights and ideas that will knock your readers’ socks off (Hint: don’t just spin).

Blog Writing And Marketing

Your content marketing money-making can spill over into blog writing. There are a couple of ways to earn money from writing. First, you can earn extra income if you write for brands and companies who want blogs written for their products. The process is the same as for content writing.

Like in all kinds of professional writing, you have to invest time and effort in making sure you deliver top-notch content.However, just writing great stories and information is not enough. The real gold mine in blog writing comes if you own the blog itself or apply digital marketing skills to the blog, or both. Again the money does not come overnight. Affiliate marketing, analytics, and search engine optimization can bring traffic to your site. Writing good content in itself is a huge factor in drawing users to your blog. But you have to actively promote the content on social media and the internet in general.

You do have to study about the tools that show that your target market is constantly clicking into your site. The website numbers have to support this. Once you get a regular number of users clicking in---from 5000 to 30,000 every month at the least—that’s when you’ll get the notice of advertisers. Build traffic from your audience, and advertisers just might come to you asking your help to advertise their products and services on your website.

The same rule in creating your own niche in content marketing also applies here. If you want to get traction, be a specialist. Find a couple of topics you genuinely like, know about, and continually study. That focus can help you immerse yourself in the topic, and over time provide authoritative information that users who read that topic will want to consume. You might also become an influencer or thought leader. Most important of all, you can stand tall over the competition, getting more clicks, pageviews, and engagements than they do.

Your blog and messages do have to rise above the multitude of voices on the internet. Optin Monster says that WordPress alone posts 70 million new blog articles a day. Growth Badger estimates that as of January 21, there are 600 million blogs on Planet Earth. All that means is that you have to craft your own unique voice and promote it enough to get noticed and shared on the internet.

Now on to the good news. Blogging Wizard pegs the blog readership on the planet at over 3.5 billion. If we do the math, correlating the number of blog readers with the number of blogs, each reader reads about 5 blogs. That’s still a huge growing market. What is to stop each blog reader from that 600M-strong-market to increase their choice of blogs beyond five? Why not draw them to include your blog in those new choices? And 600 million blogs is not a fixed number, but one that can still grow as more users are latching on to read blog posts from the internet. A whole new audience that is interested in just your content, is there for your wooing.

Making money with a blog happens once you get traction and traffic. Brands who are looking for a specific market can pay to advertise on your site. Again, this is where niche and specialization come in. For example, if your blog site is dedicated to pet parenting, you know your specific audience: human beings who treat their cats and dogs as part of the family. 

What you write about pet accessories and pet perfume makes that connection between human and animal even more special. Advertisers who are targeting pet parents will be drawn to your site. A lot of them might be brands who are in the pet care market, but others might come from different groups. A bakery who wants to reach out to soccer moms who are cat lovers can just reach out to you.

Advertisers might want to place their banners on your site and pay you in two ways: cost-per-click (CPC) means they pay you a certain amount every time a user clicks on their ad, and cost per thousand (CPM) where you are paid a fixed amount once the viewership of their banner ad reaches a certain number, e.g. 1000.

You can also monetize your blog and content with affiliate marketing. Some brands will actually give you a percentage of their sale if a customer buys their product through your site. The advertiser’s messages on your site would be clickable to the brand’s ecommerce store or website where products can easily be ordered. Ecommerce giants like Amazon Associates do this all the time.

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Fun And Imaginative Ways To Make Money

Believe it not, making money can be fun especially if it takes you out of your comfort zone and challenges you to try new things. Activities that you like and which you can do for hours without noticing the time fall under this category.

Testing Video Games

Get a sneak peak into the latest video games BEFORE they enter the market, and earn a few bucks on the side. How cool is that? It can be your ultimate dream gig if you get a kick out of blowing up monsters and finding hidden treasures. If you are under the age of 30, playing video games is likely a habit and a lifestyle. Earning money from playing video games just might be sweetening the money-making pie for you.

A Quality Assurance Video Game Tester tests up-and-coming games before they fill up the store shelves or are made available for download or streaming. A video game tester gets paid to discover the glitches, see if every tool is working according to programming, and assess how the game performs. More than that, the video game tester actually reviews the game as a whole, and provides feedback about which parts of the game work and which fail. The game owners and designers also ask for ideas on how to improve the game and make it better.

Some big video game companies do advertise Quality Assurance Video Game Tester jobs. So do community sites like Tech Adviser Forum and Modsquad.

The pay is low, starting at $10 to $15 an hour, although the more experienced QA video game testers can get $30 an hour. But then again, money is not the real reason why gamers are testing video games---but they are the most qualified people to do the job.

Audiobook Reading

Videos may be at the top of the content food chain, but audio is coming back. Take a look at the spike of interest in podcasts and social media networks that specialize around audio-only communication.Increasing audiobook sales are another example.

Many people want to get information and entertainment without having to look at an eye-straining screen or while multitasking at their desk, while doing chores at home, or traveling. As a result, publishing houses are producing more audiobooks which are the dramatized versions of a book or novel, enhanced with music and sound effects.

Audiobook readers work an average of four days reading and recording the material either in a studio or in their own homes. Payment ranges from $100 to $500 for every hour read for one finished audiobook.

Audiobook reading counts as among the creative ways to make money. Voice-over artists and actors, preferably with experience, are the best suited for reading books and recording the audio. Amateur experience also counts. If your classmates and teachers applauded every time you read Shakespeare or Steinbeck during your high school or university days, or if you’ve recorded voice overs for class assignments or commercials, you might also have a chance of succeeding in this side hustle.

Bear in mind that it’s not just the quality of your voice that matters. Even the best voice artists need the right audio equipment to make sure their words are clear, the editing of the spoken word is precise and seamless, and all background and extraneous noise are filtered out. Many promising audiobook readers lost an audition and a potential job during their early years simply because their second-rate gadgetry recorded the sound of a neighbor’s car in the driveway.

Local Tour Guide

You can make money as a local tour guide on your own or for a travel agency. The best part of this side hustle is that you don’t have to leave your hometown. In fact, you are promoting your local area because you love it and know its most attractive features. You feel that inner pride whenever visitors to your area marvel at the beauty, architecture, climate, outdoors, history, or activities. You can’t wait to show the tourists the hidden gems in your community like the best seafood restaurant in town.

But there has to be more than passion in what you are doing. Your research-rich knowledge of your state should be peppered with nuggets of information in history, archaeology, sociology, and anthropology. A degree or diploma in these subjects can also boost your credibility.

One last thing: you do have to like people, especially the travelers to your area or the tourists. Make them feel welcome, and part of your town. Answer their questions with a smile. Always invite them to come back.

A new tour guide earns $8 to $15 an hour, while experienced tour guides get $100 to $150 a day.

A Clown At A Children’s Party

What can be a more fun way to make money than making kids laugh as a clown during their birthday party? You can include this in your list of creative ways to make money if you have a sense of humor, have a knack for practical jokes and pratfalls, are willing to make fun of yourself, and genuinely love kids.

That ability to connect with and entertain children is essential. Kids are cute and generally easy to get along with. But there are times that they won’t get your joke or do not cooperate. There will be instances where, despite the party going on around them, they are not in the mood for a good laugh. Engaging with people who are in an unfriendly mood becomes part of your challenge then: to loosen them, break them out of their stupor, and show them how happy and silly life can be.

Don’t ignore parents either. After you get a gig, ask them about what their little boy or girl likes. Does the child like to play ball? Does she love dancing? Are their friends into superheroes or animals, etc? Design your act according to what the client’s kids prefer, and incorporate some of the ideas of their parents. Not only do parents know what makes their children happy, it wouldn’t hurt to get on the good side of the person paying the bill. They are the ones paying you, after all.

Be A Fashion Stylist Or Wardrobe Consultant

It’s not just the celebrities who need to always look at their personal best. Almost every working professional does, especially if they want to give a good impression to their clients or look stunning in an event. Some people just want to look good to boost their self-confidence, while others are hoping to get noticed by their soulmate.

Regardless of their motives, they need help from a fashion stylist or a wardrobe consultant. This could be you if you know instinctively the kind of clothes that will bring out the best side of people. You know where to get the most attractive piece of clothing that they need at the price that they can afford. You can turn what seems to be a weird colorful coat into a stunning blazer. While you keep up with the latest fashion trends from Paris or New York, you don’t impose them on your clients. Instead you get to know them first, and come up with a combination of clothes that will let their true and best selves come out.

Personal stylists can make $20 to $100 per hour. If you have a degree from a reputable fashion school, you can charge double.

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Innovative and Inventive Ways To Make Money

These creative ways to make money take you off the familiar path into uncharted areas which at first glance do not look like money-making ventures. 

Participate in focus groups. 

Your opinion matters, and you can get paid for sharing your opinion, and you do not even have to be an expert. All you need to do is fit a certain demographic that brands and advertisers are interested in learning about or hearing from. Companies are always doing research to improve their products or come up with new ones. With the help of agencies, brands launch secret focus groups that do interviews of customers who belong to the audience they are targeting.

For example, a beauty company in the final stages of developing a new skincare product will invite women in their early 30s to share their feedback about their new product by taking a consumer survey. These ladies will then be asked questions on how they take care of their skin, and why they prefer some brands more than others.

In another example, an education technology company can interview new graduates about their experience of online learning and how they compare it to the traditional classroom setting.

Some of these focus groups can have very detailed requirements of the individuals who represent the target audience that they are studying. Advertisers want the data they collect, and are willing to pay as high as $75 for a 30-minute focus group discussion.

To participate in these highly granular studies, search for the agencies and organizations that conduct them. Some examples are Brand Institute, Survey Junkie, and VIP Voice.

Print T-shirts On Demand

One of the most user-friendly, creative ways to make money, is to print t-shirts on-demand. On-demand t-shirt printing allows you to custom-design t-shirts (usually in low quantities) and earn income at your own pace and time. This is why on-demand printing is so attractive to college students, artists, and working mothers. Online entrepreneurs who already have their own online store selling other products can add this as another product and service.

The earnings depend on how many people buy from your online store. The more products you have, the better. Print-on-demand caters to a wide range of products on which customized designs can be infused, such as mugs and bags. But for now let’s stick with T-shirts. Sell one T-shirt for $2 a piece a day and you earn $60 a month; increase sales to 400 per day and you can earn as high as $24,000

Your job here is to custom-design a shirt and put its image on a website that has ecommerce capabilities. Then you also need to spread the word online via social media and blogging and market it through sites like Shopify, Printful, and Redbubble.

The printing of the actual t-shirt, and then packaging and shipping it, goes to your dropshipping fulfillment partner. That means you do not have to take care of logistics; nor do you need a stock full of inventory. What you do need to focus on is to make your designs attractive and your website searchable for marketing and selling your t-shirt designs.

The minute a customer orders, the payment goes to you. You then inform your printing partner who takes care of the rest. Most of these steps can be automated.

Artists, illustrators, and other designers will find t-shirt design a steady source of passive income. But this opportunity is open also to non-artists who have the knack of crafting unique, creative or attention-grabbing inspirational quotes, and then printing them on a T-shirt. 

Professional Shopping

Being a professional shopper goes beyond just on-line delivery, or simply driving into a store and buying the products from a list that the client has made for you. The operative word is: professional. That means you are expert-level at knowing where the best groceries, clothes, electronics, and appliances can be found.

You also have a flair for understanding what your client really wants and giving them the best choices for their hard-earned money. Sometimes, you do have to offer them certain options especially when their preferred brand and products are unavailable.

Some requirements for professional shoppers might include the following: a good smartphone or camera that can take clear, crisp pictures of the product that you will send to the client for verification. Another requirement is that you do have to be a conversationalist. Clients will probe and ask you about the choices you make for them, and you have to be able to explain clearly why your recommended product or brand is the better match for their needs.

Most professional shoppers start with a department store or a brand that offers these services to customers. Ziprecruiter pegs the pay for a professional shopper at $21 an hour.

Sell Your Plasma

Selling your plasma is still regarded highly unethical and illegal in many states. However, offering your blood plasma to certain medical centers in return for cash is allowed. This yellowish body fluid is sought after by many medical researchers and doctors because it is packed with enzymes, proteins, and antibodies. Plasma is important in treating burn victims, transplant patients, and those suffering from blood clotting disorders.

One plasma “donation” can earn you $50. However, bear in mind that the standards for buying your plasma are high. Plasma recruiters and researchers will look at your medical condition. They will assess your current and past health status. They will take into consideration your weight and other illnesses that you contracted in the past. Many centers are strict when it comes to individuals who had been diagnosed as COVID-19 positive (even if they had recovered).

If you are open to this kind of gig, apply to a licensed medical center that is allowed by the government to purchase plasma. After you have given your plasma, expect side effects such as dizziness, shortness in breath, and change in pulse rate, among others.

Website Testing

Brands pay website-testing companies to make sure that their websites are optimized and user-friendly. Companies look for website testers who check their website bugs and flaws, and click on every site feature to check if they are functioning. Website testers look at the speed of the website to download and interact with, if the interface is engaging and quick, and whether the shopping cart is working properly. Brands regularly ask for testing this because their websites are the first platforms that their customers go to (the other one would be their social media accounts).

If the website takes too slow to upload or crashes during use, the customer will just click on to another site, and probably never return. When customers abandon a purchase, that is lost business which the brand naturally tries to prevent.

Website testers are paid $10 to $30 for each test which takes about 30 minutes to finish. Because they do this at home, they need a functioning computer with a high-grade microphone and camera as well as the most updated web browser. Broadband internet connection should also be quick and stable. 

To get into this gig, enroll in these website-testing companies like Usertesting, Userbrain, and Respondent. 

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Inspiring ways to make money

These creative ways to make money do not just bring cash into your pocket, but also bring positive impact to an individual or a community, and can also inspire them to do good to others.

Life Coaching

Say the words “life coaching,” and a lot of people automatically think of self-help motivational speakers like John Maxwell and Tony Robbins wowing the crowds in auditoriums while bringing in thousands, if not millions, of dollars a year. It’s not due only to their thousand-dollar-an-hour rate but other income streams like books, webinars, online courses, membership sites, and speaking engagements. The good news is, there is money to be made in life coaching. Now while Maxwell, Robbins, and other gurus spent decades perfecting their trade to reach their audience, even a new, credible, and credentialed life coach stands to make $235 an hour. 

That’s not bad for a side hustle. Chances are if you do enjoy initial success in this business, you might want to make it long-term: create and promote your own brand and put up your own company. 

To become a life coach, you do need to invest in training, and spend time in studying the necessary leadership programs. The International Coaching Federation is one organization you might want to contact. Life coach programs tackle a whole range of life issues like starting and managing a business; career advancement; transitioning into a career shift; resolving crises situations; and making life-changing decisions.

While life coaching does not require a license to practice (unlike medicine or psychiatry), the right training will give you the foundation, principles, and methods you need to succeed in life coaching. Remember that a client trusting you to navigate him out of a career difficulty or a relationship problem is NOT similar to a friend asking for advice; the guidance you give him should help him make the right decisions that will have a powerful positive impact on his life for a long time. Or at the very least you will give your client profound, in-depth perspectives that will empower them to see their situation in a far different, but empowering light, and which will make them act accordingly. You also need to be willing to be frank with people and be able to hold them accountable to you, themselves, and others.

Writing Inspirational Social Media Posts

As copywriter extraordinaire Laura Belgray points out, you don’t have to be a social media specialist to carve a niche for yourself to write inspirational content. Now while social media managers do write and post inspirational posts on their clients’ platforms, you can still stand out if you have a way with words. Brands will pay good money for original quotes that can give them exposure through their social media profiles.

The challenging and valuable part of making money with inspirational messages is making original material and quotes that can specifically speak about a brand’s strengths or its brand values. Do not use words of wisdom copied from a philosopher or celebrity and which have probably made the rounds of the internet 10,000 times.

As Laura herself puts it, “You’ve probably seen inspirational quotes repeated all over Instagram, but I believe in posting your own original quotes. You’ll never make your mark as a brand or thought leader by solely quoting Oprah or Rumi. And I find it deeply ironic that everyone posts the same Oscar Wilde saying: ‘Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.’”

Now writing inspirational messages is easier said than done. What makes Laura’s process different and valuable is that she actively talks to her clients. She gets to know what is important to them, feel their passion, and tailor the message they want to deliver in just a few lines (or paragraphs). Why is it important to know your client? Because unlike the quotes from famous men and women, these original and personalized inspirational messages are unique and have a different voice. People recognize the difference immediately. If the message is engaging and valuable, they can attract an audience for the brand.

How much money does Laura make from her unique Instagram posts? About $650 an hour or $9000 a day.

Be An Online Tutor

Online tutors can make $10 to $60 an hour. With some of these tutorial sites, you do not need a certification or diploma to get hired. Being a teacher or an educator with classroom experience actually helps (and more on that later). You leverage your experience and use the internet to get more exposure and reach a wider audience. You could be teaching a class with a few students to dozens of them, some of whom are located in different countries.

Extensive knowledge in the subject you are teaching, English language fluency (which would not be hard for Americans), and a top-of-the-line computer with broadband internet are a must.

The demand for online tutors for English communications is growing in a lot of nations, especially China. Sites like Magic Ears, QKids, and VIPKids are actively recruiting tutors who speak English as a native language. The program and curriculum have already been designed, and recruited teachers are given time and training to learn them. The teachers can choose the number of their teaching hours as well as their schedule. Yet despite this flexibility, the most hardworking among them can earn as much as $1700 a month. 

Other online tutorial sites have requirements for teachers and other subject-matter experts who can teach other and perhaps more complex subjects. Kaplan Inc., which serves a million client-students globally, hires educators with degrees who can help these kids cope with the demands of higher education. Tutor.com has a wide range of university subjects that need to be explained and taught in great detail to paying undergraduate students. If you are a college professor, a Ph.D., student, or an industry professional with a degree like an engineer, this can be a way for you to earn side income while broadening your virtual classroom. 

Teach Live Dance Online

This digital hustle is a move for experienced dance teachers who want to reach a larger audience, and for new dance instructors who have the moves but still want to sell their dance classes. Some of the attractions of teaching live dance online is that it is contactless and doesn’t require travel. Students can participate in the dance class with their camera turned off so no one else can see them. Another reason to do online dance classes is that, given the right marketing and promotions, you can reach students outside your physical area. The more students you have, the more money you make.

There are pros and cons to teaching online live dance. The expansion of your market is a pro. At the same time, though, you do have to make considerations when it comes to your location. A home studio or room customized to become a studio, set up with the appropriately angled cameras and microphones with high reach, are valuable to attendees. 

Understand that all the technology will not fully compensate for the joy and thrill of interacting with your students face to face. Zoom’s interface may not be a two-way street: your students might be able to see you but you cannot see all of them all the time. In a way, you would be dancing “alone” until you get the hang of it.

Ironically, audio becomes an ally when video suffers. To keep pace with your students in class, you do have to call out every time you make a transition or a turn. You have to recite the number of beats loudly to make sure you are heard. The beat to the music and body has to be translated verbally.

Then, after the dance is over, take the time to get feedback from your students. Learn what worked and what did not. Find out their own areas of discomfort, and fix it or at least come to a common ground. For example, soome students who are dancing at home might be constricted by the narrow spaces of their bedrooms; as a teacher, you might have to adjust the dance program to have shorter steps or a different routine to accommodate them. 

When it comes to pricing, one online dance teacher recommended creating packages instead of charging per program or per class. In her experience, a student is more willing to pay $50 for 3 programs instead of $25 for one. Volume discounts are popular.

Teach Yoga Online 

Teaching yoga online can be extra income for yoga teachers/instructors who are already teaching face to face or in personal classes with actual students. Yoga is a passion for many of them, and transitioning yoga classes from the physical to digitally (without giving up their F2F sessions) is one major way to spread the practice’s message of peace, health, and wellness.

The most basic way to get started would be to do a live video streaming of your class to online students who would be doing it in the privacy of their own homes. You can further build your community by recording and then editing those video classes into engaging, snackable content which can be promoted through social media. If you want to really create a community of followers, then it makes sense to invest in your own website where they can update themselves about your latest classes and other nuggets of health-and-wellness information you might want to share.

SaraBethYoga is one of the most successful online yoga teachers who stream from her studio. To date, she has more than 80,000 Instagram followers, 100,000 Facebook followers, and 1 million YouTube subscribers. For a subscription fee of $29 a month, her students get access to her more than 30 classes and at least 400 yoga videos. 

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Resourceful Ways To Make Money

These creative ways to make money mean converting one of your possessions, assets, or resources into an income-generating platform. 

Car Wrap Advertising

You can earn $100 to $500 a month---or possibly as high as $1500, says one car advertising company---just for driving your vehicle. No need to divert from your usual itinerary or take any detours: just drive your daily routine from home to work, or to the mall, or to the kids’ school, and vice-versa. Be prepared to have your sedan or van be wrapped around in colorful vinyl. 

Essentially your vehicle becomes a moving billboard. This is a time-honored practice in advertising which started as early as 1926. The popular soda company Pepsi took it to new heights in 1993 after discovering that a car totally decked in promotional material can turn heads and get lots of advertising mileage. This makes car wrap advertising one of the most creative ways to make money with your car.

If this sounds interesting to you, the first thing to do is enlist in legitimate car advertising wrap companies. Carvertise, Free Car Media, ReferralCars, StickerRide, and Wrapify are the most prominent ones with thousands of drivers enrolled in their database, doing advertising on mobile for their clients throughout the United States. Applications are rigorous, and the process will screen the age and model of your car; your usual routes; the number of miles you have driven it; and your driving record.

Once you’re accepted, the car wrap advertising company takes care of everything. They will be the ones to cover your car with their glossy ads, and remove them once the advertising campaign ends. They will pay for every other expense associated with this venture.

Pro tip!: This is what sets the legit car wrap advertising companies from the fake ones (and there are a few scammers out there, so watch out). Scammers will charge you for an upfront fee to activate your participation and supposedly reimbursable fees for covering up your car. 

Rent Out Your Space For Events

Your home and all other spaces in your house can bring you additional income. You can rent out those particular parts of your real estate. Not to accommodation-sharing apps like AirBnb, but to companies and people who are looking for cozier, cost-effective, and more manageable locations for their events. Wedding planners, party producers, and business meeting organizers are always on the lookout for particular places that fit the style of their companies’ and clients’. That spacious study room that you haven’t used for ages just might be perfect for a private meeting of 12 executives. Your lavish garden lawn can become the backdrop for a romantic engagement party.

Sign up for apps that can spread the word about your fantastic piece of real estate: Giggster, Peerspace, Splacer, and thisopenspace. You charge your customers by the hour, at the rate of $50 to $500 an hour. The cost will depend on the type of event that you will be hosting, the number of people attending it, and how the organizers will want to use your place.

To protect your home and possessions, you can specify the terms of renting your space. That’s one advantage of renting out your home for an event. For example, you can limit the number of people coming in, as well as the rooms they use in your house. A networking dinner can be staged in your living room and garden, and the executives attending can make use of your public bathrooms and kitchen; but the bedrooms and your private study room should be off-limits. 

Also best to stipulate in your contract that the organizers clean up and restore your spaces to their original design, with the furniture and other appliances and equipment back to their former position. A site representative should also be present to see that everything is in order during the event and no damage is done to your property.

When it comes to broken windows and burnt rugs, your insurance policy might have to cover it. Buy an insurance policy that covers events or discuss this idea with your current insurance provider before staging the event. 

Another thing to do before signing up on those event apps is get clearance from your neighborhood association and your city officials. Some municipalities and communities have specific rules on what kind of events can be hosted by a home in their jurisdiction (weddings are in, loud bachelor parties are out). Certain restrictions can also be placed on the amount of noise or lighting that will be allowed during your event. 

Renting your home can be a huge opportunity for you to make money; just make sure you cover all the bases in your community. You wouldn’t want the local cops knocking on your door, spoiling everything. 

Drive for Uber (or other driving services)

The jury is still out on how much you can make as a driver for the ridesharing company Uber. TheStreet pegs it at a low $8 to $11 per hour, once gas and food expenses and Uber’s own percentage of the earnings have been removed. However, based on the stories of Uber drivers you can read on the net, your earnings will depend on a lot of things. One of them is how hard you work. Put in more hours a week, and yes you will earn more.

Then there are other factors that will affect how much money you make driving for Uber. A smaller car can only take a few passengers and therefore charge lower rates, compared to a bigger vehicle like a minivan. 

Drive smart and strategize. A wise Uber driver knows his city, the schedule of activities and events that bring in a lot of people, and the waiting areas where many other passengers look for cabs; he can maximize his driving time in the areas where there are a lot of people waiting to be picked up as opposed to just cruising the city aimlessly.

Just check the testimonials. One Uber driver who took the time to study his market earned as much as $1000 a weekend. Another who just plunged headlong into this driving venture without studying it first only made $20 also on a weekend---and unsurprisingly quit.

Hold An (Online) Yard Sale 

Your clutter might be a treasure to someone else. Raid your closets, turn your hobby shelves upside down, and take a good 360 degree look at all the rooms in your house. Take out what you don’t need or hold your interest anymore and put them in one box. Check what is still in good condition and clean them up. Then do a more detailed inventory of their specs and take really clear crisp photos. Upload all of that information when you sign up on an online auction site and start your own online yard sale.

Investopedia lists the best auction sites where you can sign up, each with their specific niches and markets. If you have a lot of extra auto parts, go for Copart. If you are a businessman with surplus or second-hand business or industrial equipment like printing presses or storage cabinets, then Bidspotter is the auction site for you. But for all kinds of merchandise, from toys to clothes to smartphones, eBay still rules, hands down; it can also promote your items to a global audience that now reaches more than 180 million members. Facebook Marketplace is also fast becoming popular to online buyers and sellers.

It’s hard to predict how much you can regularly earn as a seller on eBay or Facebook Marketplace. The easiest way would be to treat it as passive income. Just upload your stocks and items on the site, make sure you are searchable, and just sit back and wait as buyers who like your baseball cards start bidding for them.

But if you want to draw in a huge amount of money, e.g. $1000 in a weekend, then you have to be smart and strategic about it. This is what one successful seller, Ramit Sethi, advises:

“First, make your products a must-buy for the customers looking for them. Do not just lump them on the site and leave them there. Write mouth-watering descriptions, complimented by gorgeous photographs, that will get a lot of eyeballs. Actively promote a specific date for your online yard sale on your own social media sites and website.”

Then time your listing right which you have to mention in your marketing. You can make your listing short, e.g. 5-days---and communicate to your buyers the urgency in this sale. Urgency is usually associated with premium items which buyers don’t want to miss out on. On the other hand, if you list your sale for a longer duration, e.g. 12 days, the bigger the window of opportunity that other customers can sign up to bid for them. 

Be A Drone Photographer

This can be your captured market if you are an experienced drone user, skilled photographer, and know how to wield your equipment like a pro (licenses are required in some situations). You can get stunning shots of landscapes and cities, houses and farms, and not just from the traditional top-down aerial approach. You know the precise moment to zoom in to capture the heartwarming smile of a child, or the excitement of a swimming party that is happening in a hotel.

A lot of companies will be looking for your skill, many of them based in property development. Hotel managers can use your aerial shots to market their properties to clients searching for a comfortable luxurious place to do R and R. So can architects of glass-door buildings that have to be leased out to companies. Your drone photographs of a glorious sunrise set amidst a wedding can add a romantic touch to a couple saying vows.

The money comes in when you start networking. Get to know where these property owners and developers are, connect with them, and show them your portfolio. Also do your homework when it comes to the laws of the city, municipality, or state where you plan to do your shoot; check legalities when it comes to privacy, not just of the building where the event is taking place, but of the neighbors and communities surrounding them.

The effort will be worth it. One assignment pays $250 to $350 with an additional $70/extra hour.

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Simple, User-friendly Ways To Make Money

These are probably the easiest creative ways to make money because you can do them quickly without having to involve yourself in a complicated process. 

Do A Yard Sale

Let’s call this an F2F (face to face) yard sale to make it different from the online one we just discussed above. You might prefer to do an in-person yard sale if you feel that you don’t have the time or patience to learn how to do digital auctions. A yard sale set within your own home and open to your neighbors (and other visitors) can actually be a fun experience. Seasoned yard sellers who do this regularly say you can earn $500 to $700 from the start to finish of the yard sale.

The key to a successful yard sale is planning and promotion. It is not just a simple matter of gathering all your formerly beloved collectibles, placing them on a couple of tables facing your street, and opening your gates to the curious and the interested alike. Give yourself three to four weeks to prepare and promote your yard sale, instead of rushing it.

First, do the paperwork. Consult with your municipality and city officials, as well as your neighborhood association, on the rules that govern a yard sale in your area. Are you actually permitted to do one? What’s the maximum number of days that you can do it? Do you need a permit, and how long will it take to get one? Are you allowed to put up signs and other posters around your neighborhood advertising your yard sale? Are there health protocols you should observe especially if you are holding it within a pandemic? Do you have to collect sales tax, etc.?

Second, check with your insurance company if it covers any potential risks and liabilities, no matter how seemingly small, that can happen under your roof during a sale.

Next, select the date of your yard sale very clearly. It is best to do it during summer and spring, and avoid rainy days and the snowy months. Start on a Friday and continue throughout the weekend; people have more time and energy to drop by and stay around for at least an hour. Do a little research and see if there are other activities happening in your area during your preferred schedule. While the community billboard is not advertising another yard sale, your local YMCA might be holding a sports meet, or the local church might be conducting a fund-raising program. Avoid those dates; you don’t want competition distracting your potential buyers from visiting your yard sale.

A yard sale can also be among the most creative ways to make money offline from home. Aside from the paper posters and billboards you will post around your neighborhood, promote your yard sale through social media. Make the yard sale look fun and inviting; post interesting images of your more unique items. 

Extend that sense of fun during the actual yard sale. Be the gracious host and make all your visitors feel welcome. Don’t be over eager and start showing your wares around. Instead, get to know them first and what they really need and want. Show genuine interest in what they are looking for. Once that connection is established, then you can give them the grand tour of your yard sale.

One last tip from seasoned pros: play a bit of background music during the entire sale. Light and breezy pop music can raise the energy level and make the mood more fun and inviting.

Rent Out Your Car

Yes, your car can be a source of passive income. Many Americans, especially those who have families, have at least two cars in their garage. Instead of letting one (or both of them) languish idly during the weekend, you can make extra money by leasing them out. This is one way of converting your car into an asset--especially if you don’t relish driving it for Uber or for a car wrap advertiser. The average income you stand to get for leasing your car ranges from $800 to $1200 a month. Beginners usually charge $50 a day.

The best and safest way to do it is sign up with online marketplaces that specialize in leasing cars. Think of them as the AirBnb for car owners and potential users. The most recommended sites are Turo, Avail, Getaround, HyreCar, and TravelCar. Similar to other digital platforms, you can upload the photos of your car after enrolling in an account. Car sharing companies will also do the regular screening, and this time they will be looking for indicators of the value of your vehicle: a clean title, record of damage (preferably none), the number of miles you have driven it, and the fair market value of your vehicle. 

Many of these companies do offer insurance for your vehicle during the time that it is being used by one of their customers. Sometimes the contract includes a cleaning service after the user is done with it, which is something you might welcome especially if your previous customers were smokers. 

Still, it does not hurt to do your own due diligence. Once a potential customer or car renter likes or clicks on the image of your vehicle on the app or site, you will get a notification. Do meet this car renter before you turn in your keys---personal, and not virtual. Ask to check his driver’s license. Subtly interview him about his driving style and experience. Remember, you do have to feel comfortable about this entire situation before finally entrusting your trusted Toyota to this stranger.

Rent Your Garage For Storage Space

The next piece of property that you can convert into a money-making asset is your empty or unused garage. Depending on its status, level of maintenance, size, and features, you can charge a price ranging from $80 to $250 a month.

Garage rental has been steadily booming, with its customers including plumbers, woodworkers, and location movers who need a place to store their extra equipment. Other interested parties are hobbyists, bikers, and sports aficionados. Former singles who are about to get married might need a space for the extra furniture they can’t relocate into their new apartments or condos. The reverse is also true: newly divorced individuals who are moving out of the houses they once shared with their ex-spouses require a safe space for their belongings. 

The same rule in leasing your car also applies here. Research about the laws in your state or county if they allow this kind of rental. If you do not own your home and are also renting it, check with your landlord or building administrator if this is permitted. Check with your insurance provider the kind of liabilities and risks that your policy can cover in this scenario.

Once you have covered those bases, make sure that your garage is clean and in prime working order. Remove your own clutter and the other furniture and equipment you stored in it. Invest in a professional inspector to assess whether your garage door is functioning properly, or if you need to add a little more electrical wiring and plumbing.

Finally, enroll in a peer-to-peer storage platform, which also acts as an online marketplace for your garage-for-rental. The more popular ones are Neighbor and Kostok. Do be careful in signing up as there are illegitimate sites out there who will take advantage of you. The authentic sites will screen and verify you (and other users) first before allowing you on the platform. They offer insurance services that provide you a level of security once you rent out your garage. They also have payment guarantees that ensure that you do receive your monthly rental income regularly. 

Do Data Entry Work

A part-time data entry job is ideal for those who want to work at home on their own time \without exercising a lot of brain power. You also only need a high school diploma to apply for it. What you do need to succeed in this side hustle is a sense of organization, attention to detail, meticulousness, fast typing skills, and the ability to meet deadlines. If you have a high tolerance for repetitive work, then this is for you.

Data entry simply means encoding into a computer a wide range of information from paper documents like home addresses, hotel bookings and reservations, insurance forms, legal notes, medical records, official receipts, and surveys, among others. Law firms, banks and financial institutions, government offices, medical centers, and company sales departments are the frequent customers who need data entry work done. The average pay for data entry encoders is $12 an hour, although the more experienced ones can earn as much as $17 an hour.

To apply for this kind of job, apply on legitimate sites that are actively recruiting for data entry professionals: Amazon MTurk, Clickworker, Fiverr, FlexJobs, Microworkers, and Sigtrack. 

Do Transcription Work

Transcription work is like data entry in that you have to convert information from a physical form into a digital form for a computer program that can use and store a lot of information. However, it is more complicated because you do need a listening ear to process all that data you hear from audio files or physical documents. Accuracy is also a must, because in this case, you will be transcribing medical diagnoses, legal proceedings, sales evaluations, and even judicial hearings. One wrong word, phrase, or term can affect the meaning of an entire document. 

Your turnaround time must also be fast. Doctors, lawyers, and your other customers working in specialized professions need their documents transcribed within a certain period of time. If you are late, then they just might cancel the order.

The good news is, transcription work pays higher than data entry work: an average of $15 an hour which can go to as high as $30 an hour once you have become familiar with the industry you are transcribing. If you want to make a long-term career out of this, then specialize in one field, e.g. law, and read up on it in your spare time. Now if you do have a law or medical degree and are looking for extra income, then transcription work for your chosen industry might be good for you. 

There are many legitimate sites out there who are actively looking for transcriptionists. They will ask you to do a transcription test during your screening. Beginners who are just starting out can check these sites: Daily Transcription, GoTranscript, GMR Transcription, TranscribeMe, and Rev. Once you’ve clocked a couple of months in transcription time and feel you have enough experience to charge higher doing more complex online documentation, you can graduate to these higher-paying, yet more demanding sites: Athreon, 3Play Media, SpeakWrite, Transcript Divas, and Ubiqus.

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Start On Your Journey: Creative Ways To Make Money

Your journey is just starting on the MANY MANY creative ways to make money. We have covered dozens of them that can appeal to you on so many levels: aside from the financial side, they can also be emotionally and psychologically rewarding as they enhance and promote the skills that you probably never thought you had. You might also be able to manage more balance between work and home as these gigs can be done in your own time and at your own pace. Perhaps you have also seen opportunities that are attractive enough to entice you out of your comfort zone.

Read our lists again. Note down the creative ways to make money really stand out for you. You might end up being able to do one or a few of these creative ideas.

Go back to our original section on measuring the risks and rewards, the investments and time you do have to allocate, and the kind of earnings that you project you can earn.

Once you have come up with a selection of creative side hustles you want to work on, put on a winning attitude. You can succeed and be good in the venture you have chosen. There will be roadblocks, stumbles, and learning curves along the way, but all that is just a preparation for a new side business or side job that you can maintain for the long-term.

Other individuals have succeeded in these creative ways to make money. So can you.