11 Creative Ways to Make Money With Your Computer

Last updated on October 25th, 2018 at 01:43 pm

Looking for creative ways to make money online? Maybe you need to make some money on the side, because you’ve come up against some financial issues?

Regardless of why you’re looking to supplement your income from home, I want you to know that it’s totally possible.

I’m going to share some money making ideas with you that you can start putting into action today. It’s hard to believe that there are legitimate ways to make money online for free. It’s totally possible and I’m going to share some with you.

Some pay more than others and some will take longer to see any profit. Some people choose to quit their day job and make a career from their creative online ventures. Even if you have a full-time job, you can use these creative ventures to earn extra cash from home.

I’ve personally gathered, researched and even implemented some of the ideas I am sharing.

11 Creative Ways to Make Money With Your Computer

Start A Blog

Do you consider yourself a good writer? Do you have extra time to devote to working on your computer?

If so then, you can start a blog in a niche that you enjoy and learn how to monetize it using different methods. Starting a blog can be a creative outlet which can turn into a profitable hobby.

Make sure you read my step-by-step tutorial on how to start a self-hosted WordPress blog. Then check out my post on 35 things to do after installing WordPress.

It doesn’t cost much to start a blog, in fact, you can get started for less than $4 with SiteGround which is who I host this blog with.

Pro Tip: Make sure that you sign up for more than one year upfront. This will give you time for your blog to grow, without having to pay their crazy renewal rates.

This side gig takes a lot of hard work and persistence. However, once you start getting into a rhythm and are seeing traffic, the income potential is limitless.

Be sure to check out my eBook JumpStart Blog Traffic to learn how to start driving traffic to your new blog right away. As a new blogger, your main focus is going to be learning how to increase your page views and traffic.

Without traffic, you can’t make money online.

Become An Affiliate Marketer

I personally love affiliate marketing because you don’t have to create your own products or deal with customer service. You sign up with reputable affiliate networks like ShareASale, FlexOffers or AWIN Network.

Once you’re approved, you will drive traffic to your affiliate links. If you can drive traffic to your affiliate links, you will eventually start to earn commissions.

I highly suggest that you invest in some affiliate marketing training programs to help you learn as quickly as possible. You’ll start to see profits quicker if you are using a strategy.

I’ve put together a huge directory of profitable affiliate programs you can join to make good commissions. I recommend joining 1-3 programs to see which ones convert the best.

You don’t want to make the mistake of joining too many programs at once, especially, if you’re brand new to it. This course will teach you how one blogger makes over $100k from her blog using affiliate marketing.

Create A Course and Sell It On Udemy

Do you have a skill of some type? If so, you can create a use Camtasia to create video courses and upload them to Udemy.

There are literally hundreds of different types of online video courses on Udemy. Some people have even managed to create a business just by sharing their skills and knowledge with others.

Don’t think that you can’t teach other people something. We all a set of skills that can be turned into a profitable online venture.

There are plenty of tutorials online that will show you how to get started selling on Udemy.

Complete Online Surveys

This is my least favorite because you’re not really building an online empire that will pay off in the long run. I’m all about creating digital assets that earn passive income.

However, if you’re in the need for some quick cash, taking online surveys is a no-brainer. There are several companies that are willing to pay you for your time and feedback. Here are some of the most reputable ones that will actually pay you.

More Trusted Paid Online Survey Sites Are:

• Swagbucks (Get $5 for signing up)
• Inbox Dollars (Receive $5 as soon as you sign up)
• Survey Junkie
• Vindale Research (Earn $2 as soon as you sign up)

My suggestion is to sign up for a few of them or all of them and get started. Don’t spend too much time on surveys, instead, do this on the side while you build your digital online empire that is going to pay off later on down the road.

Using surveys should only be done for quick cash, don’t expect to get rich off of them.

Become a Freelance Writer

Don’t want to start your own blog, but enjoy writing? If so then you can offer your services as a freelance writer. Hundreds of people have learned how to make a living as freelance writers.

It will take some work to get your name out there to offer your services as a freelance writer. In fact, I recommend you read this post by Gina Horkey, 7 Steps to Become a Paid Freelance Writer”

You’ll learn exactly what it takes to build a successful freelancing business from home. If you decide to choose this path, make sure that you charge what you’re worth.

When I decided to venture out and become a WordPress freelancer, I charged way too low. I ended up attracting clients who really didn’t want to pay for my services, but wanted a lot of work done.

That’s why I’ve decided to move away from freelancing and move more towards a passive income lifestyle.

Start A Virtual Assistant Business

With more and more people starting online businesses, you can learn how to earn money by becoming a virtual assistant. Anyone who has access to the Internet and a computer can become a virtual assistant.

Here’s a great article that will show you how to get started with this venture. The best way to get started is to make a list of all the tasks that you can handle or want to do.

Write down all the tools you can use, such as Tailwind, Google Drive, Buffer and etc. This way when someone asks you if you can do certain tasks, you’ll know if you are capable of doing them.

You don’t want to get a VA job if you don’t have the specific skill set knowledge.

Once you know what type of jobs you’re willing to take on, you can start a blog to attract more clients, display portfolio, list your skills, rates, and testimonials.

I highly recommend taking a look at Gina’s guide to becoming a profitable virtual assistant. 30 Days to Become a Virtual Assistant.

Write an eBook

If you’re like me, you want some passive income streams. Yes, I know that nothing is 100% hands off and you’ll always have to do a little something so it doesn’t completely dry out.

You might want to think about writing an eBook on something you’re knowledgeable about. It won’t take you long to write and you can sell the book over and over using a plugin like Easy Digital Downloads or SendOwl.

When I wrote mine, I sat down and wrote it in one afternoon. It continues to make me sales every month, the cool thing is that it doesn’t require a lot of maintenance like online courses.

Related: How I Write An Ebook In One Day With No Fancy Tools or Tricks.

Open Up An Online Store

Do you create crafts of any kind? If so then you can consider starting an Etsy shop and selling your digital or physical products.

There are literally tons of videos and information available online that will show you how to get started. You’ll just need to set some time aside during the weekend and research some tips and watch some videos.

The cool thing about Etsy is that it’s extremely affordable for anyone to start an online store. They charge a small fee of what you sell and a $0.20 per listing fee.

I recommend listing a few items at first to see if you can actually make some sales. Once you do, you can then list more inventory to increase your sales.

In terms of learning online, I personally love Creative Live, they have tons of videos and courses that won’t break the bank and help you learn what you want to know.

They have this amazing course on Turn Your Etsy Shop Into A Sales Machine that will help your handmade business thrive.

Once you’re ready to go pro and want to branch out to a bigger e-commerce website or drop shipping, Shopify is the platform to help you achieve your online goals.

Sell Used Items on eBay or Craigslist

We all have old items that we’re not using anymore. If you need some quick cash, you can list those items on either eBay or Craiglist.

I’ve done this in the past and have had some success getting paid for things I don’t use anymore. While this isn’t your normal passive income business, it can be a great way to supplement your income.

The most important thing to remember is that you’re going to have to take amazing pictures. In blogging, your content is what makes the sales.

When you’re selling items on eBay, Craigslist or any other online marketplace, your pictures are what helps you sell.

Sell Gigs on Fiverr

Do you have hidden talents or skills that you can charge for? I bet you do, you just need to dig deep and think about it. Once you figure it out, you can make yourself available for hire on Fiverr.

You can use their site to offer your services and get paid. You’ll set up your listing (known as gigs) and start at $5. I know what you’re thinking, you can’t make any money if you charge $5 for your services.

Well, the real money is going to made on your upgrades for your gigs. For example, let’s say you set up a gig to create logos for people. You could add an upgrade where they would pay extra to get the PSD file.

Most people who order a logo from Fiverr will want to pay extra to have the PSD file, because they can make changes to the logo later on down the road if they need to.

Always price your upgrades at a reasonable price and don’t undercharge yourself. If it takes more than 30 minutes to complete, be sure to start your gig at a higher price. Get paid for your skills and Join Fiverr today!

Start An Amazon FBA Business

Amazon has now made it possible for anyone to sell items using their brand and recognition. Even if you’ve never sold anything online in your life, with a little bit of research and a lot of determination, it’s totally possible.

You can learn from The Selling Family, they will walk you through on how to get started in this comprehensive post How to Sell On Amazon – Everything You Need to Know!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a one person band, you don’t need a team to get started. Thousands of people have learned how to build successful FBA businesses and you’re no different.

I’m not saying that it’s going to be easy. But building any type of online empire takes a lot of hard work. However, once you have the knowledge and put in the work, you’ll look back and realize how profitable and worthwhile it was.

The great thing is that you’re backed by Amazon which is one of the largest online retailers. They handle the shipping process for you, all you do is send in your stock and create your listings.

You can eventually turn this into a passive income and work from your home or anywhere in the world.

If you’re ready to take the leap or just find out more about starting an FBA Business, I highly recommend checking out The Selling Family.

How to Make A Living Online From Home

As you can see, it’s totally possible to make a living online from home. Don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s going to happen overnight.

Some of the methods above will take longer than others to actually start seeing a profit. However, if you continue learning and keep putting in the work, there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t earn extra income from the comfort of your home.

Final Take Away

I’d recommend picking one method from the list above, you’ll have a hard time trying to get things to take off if you spread yourself too thin.

Once you choose a method, make sure you stick with it. Do everything that you can to educate yourself on how to have success. Don’t believe all those overnight stories that promise you fast results.

It is going to take time to build your online empire, there are NO shortcuts to success. So whatever you do, don’t make the same mistakes I made when I was a teenager, I would always try to find the easiest way to success.

I suffered from the shiny object syndrome, that I ended up wasting so much time. Now, I realize the only way to success is through my perseverance and hard work.

Hopefully, this post helped you realize that you can take control of your future. But the only way things will ever change is if you actually take action.

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Are you thinking about starting a side gig from home? If so, let me know what you’re doing and how it’s going, I’d love to hear about it.