With some patience, a working laptop, and a strong Wi-Fi connection, there are many different ways to make money online. The only problem is that not all of them are worth your time and effort. The internet is teeming with money-making schemes that promise full-time incomes with part-time efforts. These are the easy schemes to spot. Others may look like legitimate opportunities until you’ve sunk 20 hours into taking online surveys only to find that you made pennies compared to what they promised.

So, how do you know which of these money-making methods are more likely to be worth your time? Take it from us and skip the surveys and get rich quick schemes. We’ve done the research to remove the guesswork from the process of making money online. But it’s always a good idea to check reviews on any option you uncover and make sure that it lines up with your goals, schedule, and preferences, too.

Six Ways to Make Money Online

1. Try affiliate marketing

This is a very popular and often easy way to make money online. And you get to choose the company that you market for, so it gives you a good amount of flexibility, too. With affiliate marketing, you’ll earn cash for promoting companies, brands, or products. Think of it as a commission. Each time someone uses your link to make a purchase, you’ll earn. It may be a small amount per purchase, but you can market for several different companies at the same time to boost your earnings. This option is ideal for people who already have a blog or website or are interested in starting one. Some of the larger affiliate merchants include Amazon Associates, CJ Affiliate & Rakuten, but there are plenty of smaller and mid-size merchants that may be easier to get started with and offer higher commissions.  

2. Become a blogger

Making money online is easy if you know how to create content that other people will be interested in. There are blogs on everything from recipes and DIY projects to parenting and traveling the world. You can share your own tips on making extra money or document the most interesting stops along that cross-country road trip you took a few years back.

Once you’ve built your blog, you have a place to put all of those affiliate marketing links. You can also make money by allowing other companies to place ads on your site. You can sell products there and share sponsored posts, too. And you may even get discount codes from the companies you’re marketing or sponsoring, so it could be a good way to both save and make money. Blogging is a creative and versatile way to make money online if you have the time to dedicate to building a following.

3. Transcribe videos

Transcribing videos can be done from your couch, your bed, your porch, the beach – basically anywhere. With speedy fingers and a decent pair of headphones, this is a great way to make money in your spare time. Websites like Rev make it easy. They provide a style guide, practice tests, and plenty of videos to choose from. They’re ranked based on their audio quality, so if you’re patient and you have great hearing, you can snag the higher paying gigs. But even the ones with great audio quality and a slightly lower rate will add up pretty quickly.   

4. Teach a course

If you have a unique, desirable skill or knowledge, sharing it with others is an interesting and relatively easy way to make money online. If you’ve tried blogging or affiliate marketing, you may already have your own website to sell your course through. If you don’t have a website, platforms like Udemy give you the space to sell your online course. Once you’ve created your course, you won’t have much work to do moving forward. This is great for people with knowledge to share but not too much time to offer. Creating an online course will earn you nearly passive income.

5. Offer freelance services

While we’re on the topic of desirable skills and knowledge, offering freelance services is another great way to make money online while helping other people. You can write, edit, proofread, or work as a virtual assistant. You can consult, tutor, develop ads, assist a marketing team, and so much more. This one depends entirely on what you’re good at or willing to learn. You can use freelance websites like Upwork and Fiverr to promote your skills, search for clients, apply for jobs, and make money online.

6. Work as a remote customer service representative 

With a low barrier to entry and few required tools, working as a virtual customer service rep is a great way to make money online. This one may require more time and effort than most of the other tasks on this list, but it’s one of the best options if you’re looking to replace your full-time income. Remote jobs are on the rise, and research has shown that working from home boosts productivity, improves work/life balance, and fosters better mental health for employees.