7 Realistic Ways to Make Money Online

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R.L. Adams

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Whether you're looking to make some fast cash, or you're after long-term, more sustainable income-producing results, there are certainly ways you can make money online today. The truth is that making money online isn't as difficult as most make it out to seem. It does require some discipline. Sure. Without discipline, you'll find it tough to make a buck both online or offline. 

However, if you're looking for realistic ways you can start earning money online now, then it really truly does boil down to seven paths you can take towards profit. Some will provide you with immediate results, helping you to address your basic monthly necessities such as rent, utilities and groceries, while others have the potential to transform your life by revolutionizing your finances in the long term.

No matter what method you select for generating your online income, there's one very important thing to understand. Today, across this globe, with its 7+ billion inhabitants, there are two recurring things that people are looking for more of. Either people want more time or they want more money. The truth? Time is far more valuable than money. You can't recreate time. Once it's spent, it's gone forever. Not money.

Money can be earned and spent, saved and pilfered, invested and wasted. Not time. That's why time is far more valuable than money. The point? When you lack the luxury of time, making money online (or offline) can seem like an impossible task. How are you supposed to do that when you're working at a life-sucking nine-to-five job? While the stability of full-time employment might allow most to sleep well at night, it doesn't empower your creative juices to search for new income-producing strategies.

Now, this isn't about some get-rich-quick method here. If you want to get rich quick, forget about trying to do it on the internet. Sure, Facebook ads are all the craze, but without a serious understanding of the mechanics behind sales funnels and conversion optimizations, which only comes after years and years of in-the-trenches work in the internet marketing field, you're largely wasting your time trying to "get rich quick."

How to Make Money Online

No matter what method you end up using to generate an income on the web, you need to adjust your mindset to help empower you rather than discourage you. The truth? Making money online can be fraught with avoidable pitfalls. There's no shortage to the rah-rah cheers of internet marketers looking to find ways to ensure they part you from your hard-earned cash. The trick? Cancel the noise and get to the real meat and potatoes, so to speak.

To do that, you have to harbor a few fundamental guiding principles in your mind. Today, if you're at all serious about generating a full-time income (and more) from your online activities, then you need to focus on passive income as opposed to active income. Sure, the active income will help you survive. That's the scarcity mentality at play. But it's the passive income ideas that will help you thrive.

Considering that you have a finite amount of time, passive income should make up a large part of your work. And if you're serious about generating any semblance of income online, then passive income should be one of your sole goals and ambitions. Why? Simply this. Wouldn't you prefer to do the work one time and get paid repeatedly as opposed to relying on your time to generate that income?

Since time is the most precious commodity on this earth, invest the time at the front-end so that you can reap the benefits on the back-end. This means putting in a bit of sweat equity and not getting paid today. Rather, you'll get paid somewhere down the road. And you'll continue getting paid whether you keep building that passive income stream or you stop. It's obvious that this is the preferred route, but clearly the road less traveled.

Anyone interested in making money online should be pursuing passive income, while also working on active income. There are loads of ways to generate an income passively on the internet, many of which start at the foundation of having a blog, generating substantial traffic and building an audience and a list. Is it easy? Nope. Is it worth it? It sure is. But that doesn't mean you need to start a blog to make money online today.

You could opt for a non-blog-starting route. Sure. But if you're looking for longevity in your income-producing abilities on the internet, then a blog should be your primary aim.

Related: How Can App Makers Improve Revenue and Keep Users Engaged?

Home Job for You

65-End

Help out during elections and get paid

Elections can be great opportunities to help make democracy work while earning some extra cash. Councils need help counting votes and staffing polling booths for general, local and mayoral elections.

What roles are available? The main tasks you're likely to see advertised are:

• Poll clerk – Help run polling stations, eg, setting up, and handing out ballot papers. You aren't allowed to leave during polling hours, to maintain the secrecy of the vote. This means a long day, as stations are open 7am-10pm, and you'll need to arrive around 6.30am to set up.
• Counting assistant – Count all the votes once polls have closed. The time it takes will depend on how many people vote and whether a recount is needed, so be prepared to stay as long as it takes – potentially overnight.
• Runner – Collect ballot boxes from polling stations and take them to be counted.

What are the eligibility requirements? Most roles don't require any particular experience. You DON'T need to be on the electoral roll either.

Crucially, you can't apply for these roles if you've worked for a political party or candidate in the election – the Electoral Commission says it shouldn't be a problem if you're just a member, though ultimately it's down to the discretion of the returning officer (the person responsible for employing polling station staff).

And working in the election doesn't stop you voting – yet you may need to apply for a postal vote if you're going to be working in a polling station other than the one you're registered to vote at.

How do I sign up? Contact your council or check its website to see if it's recruiting. Some councils keep a register of interested people and sign them up closer to election time.

It can be quicker to search online for jobs in your area, rather than hunting through your council's website (eg, 'Milton Keynes general election poll clerk jobs').

How much? It varies by job and council, but during June's general election we saw ads for count staff quoting £110-£170 and poll clerks £135-£245.

One forumite told us he earned about £180 in the past. Another said: "I got paid loads [for counting votes] – about £60 for a couple of hours' work, and it was great fun."

Find out more: Join the discussion, read other MoneySavers' top suggestions or add your own in the election jobs thread.

Be a model

If you have the confidence to go nude (or semi-nude in some cases), life modelling is a fun way of earning extra cash. For a few hours work, you can usually get a very good rate of pay because it's very hard to recruit for this role.

All you have to do is make sure you're able to hold a pose. All shapes and sizes are desired, so don't be put off if you're not 'model' size.

My ex did this for ages, found a classified in the local paper (well, I found it for him!). Good money, gentle work... and he was pretty ugly. 
- Badger_Lady

How much? Forumites report you generally get up to about £10-£20 per hour. Of course, wages vary depending where you work and some models are paid 'per job', earning more.

Find out more: Make enquiries at local colleges. Join the discussion, read other MoneySavers' top suggestions or add your own in the Life modelling discussion.

Be a TV extra

It can be a little more boring than Ricky Gervais makes it out to be, but the fun of seeing yourself in the background of shows can more than make up for it.

There are several legit online extras agencies which don't charge you for signing up, although they'll generally take an 'administration fee' out of your pay. If you're serious, you'll need to sign up to a few agencies to be in with a chance. You may have to pay your own travel expenses.

As there are a lot of agencies to choose from, it's well worth checking out forum feedback before you join to help you find the ones that are right for you.

How much? Most extras generally earn about £50 per day (it can be more), with overtime paid at about £10 per hour. It's a good idea, though, to have some professional (or at least professional-looking) photos taken in order to start off getting work.

Find out more: Join the discussion, read other MoneySavers' top suggestions or add your own in the TV extra work thread.

Be a guinea pig

If you're fit, healthy and prepared to accept the risk of tests, you could earn up to £150 a day by taking part in medical trials.

Several big companies advertise for volunteers. See forumites' experiences in the medical trials discussion for ideas.

How much? Depending on what it is you're being tested for, forumites report earning up to £150 per day (it varies by trial). You may get your travel expenses refunded.

Find out more: Join the discussion, read other MoneySavers' suggestions and add your own in the medical trials discussion.

... or take part in psychological experiments

A less risky (though sometimes less lucrative) alternative is taking part in psychological experiments. These could be on anything from how sleep affects memory to how people identify information in "noisy videos". Many university psychology departments recruit participants of all ages to help with their research.

For example, the University of Bristol's School of Experimental Psychology is currently looking for participants aged 40+ to take part in a study "investigating food choices across the lifespan". You'll be paid £15 for a session lasting a maximum of 90 minutes. Age requirements for its other studies range from 18-70.

How much? You can expect to earn £7.50-£15 an hour for in-person experiments (watch out for online psychological experiments, as they're not always paid).

Find out more: Check your local university's website, or contact its psychology department to find out about current experiments and join its subject pool.

Bag a Christmas job

There are more likely to be temporary vacancies around the Christmas period in certain sectors. Check out Gov.uk's Universal Jobmatch and Gumtree.

Check which retailers are looking for extra staff to cope with the extra Christmas shoppers. Print out multiple copies of your CV, and then do a mail-drop on your local high street.

Ask catering agencies, restaurants, pubs, clubs and bars. Festive parties may mean more jobs. Royal Mail may also be worth checking at this time of year.

How much? Varies by sector.

Find out more: Join the discussion, read other MoneySavers' top suggestions or add your own in the Christmas jobs discussion.

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Home Job to Increase Income

61-65

Be an interviewer

Ipsos Mori and NatCen Social Research are usually on the look out for freelance interviewers. The job involves interviewing selected people about all kinds of topics in their own homes, then sending the answers to your set questions back to base.

Go to Ipsos's website and NatCen's website for full details.

How much? As a guideline for interviewers, once trained you'll earn an average hourly rate varying from £8 to £12.

Find out more: Join the discussion, read other MoneySavers' top suggestions or add your own in the Doing social research discussion.

Work at the supermarket

Work weekend shifts at a supermarket – some pay up to double on Sundays and bank holidays. Generally, the posher the supermarket, the more it pays.

How much? Around the £8 per hour mark, and some may offer a discount (usually 10%) on groceries once you've been there for a while.

Find out more: Read other MoneySavers' top suggestions or add your own in the At the supermarket discussion.

Party planning & selling from home

It's possible to make cash by selling products to friends, family, neighbours and colleagues – by approaching them directly or hosting parties. Since you'll effectively be self-employed, you can make your own hours and work as often or as little as you want.

Before starting though, be sure to check whether there's already a popular representative of the company in your area. If so, it's probably best to sell something else.

Typical examples include Ann Summers*, Avon, The Body Shop At Home*, PartyLite and Usborne Books At Home. Forumites recommend choosing a company where you'll be selling products you like – you'll find it more enjoyable, which will help you succeed.

Warning – if you don't sell enough, you could make a loss. With these schemes you often have to pay a sign-up fee, and there are other costs too, eg, set-up costs for your first parties, or buying brochures with Avon. If you don't go on to make enough sales, there's a risk you might not make your money back – so only do this if you're confident you'll flog enough and are comfortable selling to friends and family.

How much? It's commission-based, so what you earn depends on your selling ability and the products you sell (and, as above, you'll need to factor in sign-up and other costs too).

With Avon, for example, you earn roughly £1 for every £4-£5 of products sold. Dedicated Avon ladies can earn £100/month or more, though of course many earn less – for hints and tips, see the forum's Avon thread.

To give an idea, forumite and Ann Summers rep Lady_Lazarus says:

The pay varies because it is commission-based, but I make about £50 a party – not bad for waving a few naughty things around for two hours.

Forumite Looneylee says:

My top tip is to find something that you're passionate about. I'm a group leader for Usborne Books and have been doing it for 11.5 years. Children's books are something I'm passionate about, and I have been able to work it flexibly around my two children.

Find out more: Read other MoneySavers' top suggestions or add your own in the Party planning thread.

Monitor exams

During exam periods in secondary schools, colleges and universities, there's often a shortage of exam invigilators since the teachers and lecturers still have other work to attend to.

Ask local institutions and temp agencies and you can earn fair cash for a couple of hours of (blissfully silent) work. You'll need a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check (formerly known as a Criminal Records Bureau check).

How much? Expect roughly about £8 per hour.

Find out more: Read others' top suggestions or add your own in the Temp at schools thread.

Use your head – tutor

To tutor up to GCSE level you don't necessarily need a degree or PGCE teaching qualification (although you can command much higher rates if you have the latter), but some previous teaching experience is a must.

You'll need a DBS check if you're to work with kids, so start out by asking some local teaching agencies about getting one, and about getting started.

How much? Without qualifications, you can charge up to about £10/hour (depending on your experience and ability). If you get a PGCE (which can be achieved on a part-time or flexible basis), you can charge as much as £40/hour in some areas.

Find out more: Join the discussion, read other MoneySavers' top suggestions or add your own in the Private tutoring help thread.

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Home Job to Increase Income

51-60

Design (and sell) T-shirts, mugs, phone cases & even socks

US-based website Teespring lets you design T-shirts, socks, mugs, iPhone cases and more for people to buy online. It's open to designers all over the world and only takes a cut when your designs sell.

How does it work? You submit designs for items, but Teespring does all the legwork – eg, sourcing blank mugs, printing designs, processing payments and dispatching items to buyers.

You set the price (in dollars initially, but you can change the currency), though there's a standard base price for every item to ensure Teespring covers costs and makes a profit. You can increase your cut of the sale by raising prices, though be aware setting them too high could put off buyers.

How much can I make? Using Teespring's recommended prices, you can make about £6-£9 for selling a T-shirt, £8-£18 for a zip-up hoodie, £3-£5 for a tote bag and £2.50-£5 for a mug.

How do I do it? You'll need to create your design outside of Teespring (eg, in Paint, Photoshop, Adobe InDesign), then select the product you'd like to sell and upload your design. See Teespring's design tips and best practices for more help and info.

Important: You should never copy or use someone else's designs, whether they're from the Teespring site or elsewhere. See its page on understanding trademark and copyright law.

How do I get paid? You'll be paid through PayPal – to set this up, go to your Teespring account settings and enter the email address of your PayPal account. You'll need to verify it, and then you'll be able to request payment for any sales you make.

What if I don't sell anything? Teespring doesn't charge any fees for listing your designs for sale. So while you'll only make money if your items sell, you won't lose anything if they don't.

Do some freelance work

If you've skills in a specific area, you may be able to do a little freelancing on the side.

International project recruitment site PeoplePerHour allows companies to list projects they want completed. Freelancers 'bid' on projects, saying why they'll be the most suitable candidate and entering their price for the work. The site's free to join and bid on work, but a fee is taken out of your pay for each job.

How much? It depends on the job, the duration and skills involved, and how many freelancers are competing for it. The only drawback is you might find yourself competing against workers from countries with a much lower cost of living, who can undercut you.

Find out more: Join the discussion, read other MoneySavers' top suggestions or add your own in the PeoplePerHour discussion thread.

Take in foreign exchange students

Renting out a room provides a stream of ready money, and a handy tax break means you can keep a decent chunk of it out of the taxman's hands.

Get in touch with local secondary and language schools to enquire about how often they take students, and the vetting process. This can be a tidy little earner.

How much? Rates of pay vary depending on the level of accommodation you provide, but as a very rough guide you can expect to earn upwards of £80 per week per student.

Find out more: Join the discussion and read other MoneySavers' top suggestions or add your own in the Take in foreign exchange students discussion.

Solve companies' problems

Several companies put problems online and offer cash to people who can come up with effective solutions.

While not a guaranteed way to grab cash, these can be an interesting, fun, and lucrative way to spend your spare time if you're a business or science boff.

At InnoCentive companies post dozens of challenges offering big money for the best solutions, though they're often quite technical. A typical example's £5,000 for low-cost labelling solutions for reusable glass containers.

Also worth a look is Idea Connection. Register and it sends you email invites to help solve firms' problems for cash.

How much? It depends on the challenge, but top paying solutions can be worth about £600,000 if you come up with a brilliant idea.

Find out more: Join the Solve companies' problems for pay discussion.

Iron out your finances

Set up a professional ironing service, advertising in local shops and newspapers. A good tip is to advertise in the poshest part of town; that way you can charge more.

How much? Ironing businesses generally charge by the item, with 20 items costing around £10. This varies depending on location, so check what other local services are charging.

Find out more: Join the discussion, read other MoneySavers' top suggestions or add your own in the Start an ironing servicethread.

Start a 'cottage industry'

If you're a dab hand at arts and crafts, try selling your jewellery and artwork, whether on eBay* or at craft fairs.

Websites Etsy* and Redbubble are designed for buying and selling homemade goods. Some talented MoneySavers make big profits.

How much? Potentially £100s, depending on your time, talent and selling ability. You will have to declare your earnings however. See A tip on tax below.

Find out more: Join the discussion, read other MoneySavers' top suggestions or add your own in the Starting a cottage industry thread.

Work, work, work

If you're willing to travel, as well as the obvious McJobs there are many ways for second-jobbers to earn extra cash. You also can maximise what you get from your current job.

Ask for a pay rise at your current job

People are often scared, yet why not simply ask? After all, the worst that can happen is they say 'no'.

Simply ask for an appointment, prepare your points – which should be more about your job role than 'I need the money' – and see what happens. It's just as difficult for an employer to say no when you ask, as it is for you to ask in the first place.

How much? Always remember that if your pay rise isn't as high as inflation (the rate at which prices rise) then your pay is actually decreasing. So why not ask for an 'inflation plus x%' rise, explaining a pay rise at inflation will just keep you level and the x% is because you're now more experienced or better at your job.

Find out more: Join the discussion, read other MoneySavers' top suggestions or add your own in the How to ask for a pay rise thread.

Make money being Santa – or one of his helpers

You can make extra money for the festive season by playing Father Christmas or an elf in one of the grottos you see in shopping centres and at winter festivals – and as a bonus, you get the warm fuzzies that come from putting smiles on kids' faces.

What positions are available? The main roles you're likely to see advertised are Father Christmas, elf/helper and grotto manager – and while peak demand is in the couple of weeks before Christmas, some grottos open as early as 1 November.

What are the requirements? A big white beard is not strictly necessary, and your red Santa suit should be supplied to you (though you may have to pay a refundable deposit).

Most grotto operators don't require applicants to have any previous Father Christmassing experience – you simply have to show you're confident, energetic, enthusiastic and good with people in an interview. However, some do ask for experience in acting or children's entertainment.

You'll almost certainly need to have a criminal record check if you don't already have a Disclosure and Barring Service certificate. If so, the grotto operator should supply you with an application form and pay for your check – you'll need to give your full name, address, place of birth and passport or driving licence number.

Where are these jobs advertised? Great Grottos is one of the biggest operators in the UK, offering over 700 positions in 60 locations – mainly shopping centres and garden centres – across England, Scotland and Wales.

It enables you to work the hours you want to work between 1 November and 24 December, provides paid training, pays grotto managers a bonus and offers them the opportunity to be a regional manager the following season.

Similar jobs are also advertised by shops such as Hamleys, resorts such as Chessington World of Adventures and event organisers such as LaplandUK on job websites such as Indeed and Monster. But it's also worth trying supermarkets, shopping centres and garden centres near you as they may be advertising.

How much? Great Grottos pays elves between minimum wage and £8/hour, grotto managers £8-£11/hour plus a bonus that's accrued hourly and paid on completion of contract, and Santas £9-£11/hour. Payday is every two weeks.

Rates differ by employer though – Wyevale Garden Centres pays Santas £7.50-£9/hour, the National Trust £8.15/hour, and the Royal Albert Hall £15/hour.

Baby-sit

Watching somebody else's TV and eating their food while the kids lie fast asleep upstairs doesn't sound so hard – and it often isn't. But you must be prepared to deal with the odd stroppy or ill child.

You'll need a proven track record with little'uns, so work for friends, family and neighbours first.

How much? Adult baby-sitters can get up to about £8 per hour, but you'll need to build a reputation first to command this.

Find out more: Join the discussion, read other MoneySavers' top suggestions and add your own in the Baby-sitting thread.

Pet or plant-sitting

Also known as house-sitting, this job sounds (and is) fairly simple: maintain a house and look after any animals and plants for anything up to three months.

You need to have no other commitments to worry about. It'll be easiest to sign up with an agency, so be prepared to provide references and expect a thorough check of your background, including any criminal records. After all, would you be happy to leave your home in the hands of a stranger?

The terms and conditions vary from company to company. Some will expect you to be available all the time while some offer work on a more casual basis. Some suggested in the forum include Animal Angels, Platinum Petcare and Nina's Nannies for Pets.

How much? As a guide, Nina's Nannies for Pets pays roughly £30/day, plus travel expenses. You can earn more depending on how many pets you look after.

Find out more: Join the discussion, read other MoneySavers' top suggestions or add your own in the Pet or plant-sitting thread.