10 Ways You Can Make Money Online Right Now

1. Sell Your Photos

Do you have photo skills or live in an area where images are in demand? “Stock photography websites are huge repositories of photographs, covering almost every possible subject you could imagine,” advises International Living. So how does it work? Photographers can upload their images to any one of a number of huge databases, allowing magazine editors, designers, or any organization with a website to buy them. And the beauty of stock websites: Photos can be sold any number of times—so you can continue to make money without any effort. Photography Sites to check out include Shutterstock, Photoshelter, and Getty Images.

2. Become a Copywriter

Want to earn a great income no matter where you live—a house by the sea in Latin America, a historic European city, or even on a Greek island? Copywriting could be ideal for you. According to International Living, “copywriting is a mega-industry, ripe with opportunity. And yearning for people who can fuel it with fresh marketing messages and one of the best benefits of the freelance copywriter’s lifestyle is that you can get paid in U.S. dollars…yet live virtually anywhere in the world.” Express Writers has tips on how to become a copywriter and is also a resource for jobs.

3. Teach English

“If you’re a native English speaker, you may not realize it, but you already have the number one qualification you need for a fun, portable income that can hand you a steady paycheck from anywhere in the world,” says International Living. Some resources include GoOverseas.com, TeachAway (teach English online to Chinese students), iTutorGroup (teach English online to Taiwanese children and adults), and English Hunt (teach English on the phone to adult students in Korea)

4. Set up a Content and Web Development Business

Do you know how to do web and content development? You can offer these services to anyone via online tools that make developing beautiful websites a snap. Some resources include WordPress, Weebly, and Joomla.

5. Become a Translator and Interpreter

Do you speak another language? Anywhere you find ex-pat communities—and where English is not the first language—you’ll find a need for interpreting and translation services. You can also do translation and interpretation online. You’ll find a number of resources for being a translator or an interpreter here; one of the best is Welocalize, which ranked at the top of this list of the top 20 companies for remote jobs in 2020.

6. Try Drop-shipping

Have you heard of drop-shipping? It’s a method of retail where the seller doesn’t actually have a physical inventory. Instead, when a customer makes an order, you purchase the item from a third party, and they ship it directly to the customer. “This means you’ll never have to fork over a single dime to store your products or maintain your inventory,” advises International Living. “And you’ll never have to buy products in bulk, hoping to sell enough to recoup your investment.” This method can be done with online selling platforms like eBay or Amazon. You can find out more about drop-shipping in this helpful article from Shopify.

7. Become a Freelance Proofreader

Proofreading is another lucrative online career. “Most agencies will pay around 25% of the price of a translated document to a proofreader,” advises International Living. “Agencies charge about $75 for the translation of a five-page standard business document. So proofing the same document—which takes about an hour—pays out about $18 to $20.” You can work full time, part-time or around the clock. Mediabistro—a site that offers resources for media professionals—has tips on how to become a proofreader.

8. Type for Cash

Are you a fast typist? Transcribing is simple: Listen to an audio file through headphones and type it out. “As a transcriber, your pay is directly related to how fast you type,” advises International Living. “Transcription jobs are paid by the audio hour (the length of the audio file), rather than by the hour worked. The time spent on a transcript is influenced by the audio quality, background noise, the accent of the speaker, and the speed at which people speak.” The average transcriber—typing between 75 and 100 words per minute—will complete one audio hour in four hours worked. Consider the company Rev.com, which hires freelance transcribers.

9. Create a Money-Making Blog

Do you have an area of expertise? Share your advice on a blog. If travel is your area of expertise, think about what you have to offer: Are you an expert in luxury travel or budget travel? Can you share advice about certain activities like hiking or shopping? “The more specific you get, the easier it’ll be to attract an engaged audience and to earn money with your site,” advises International Living. The sites Squarespace and Wix have tips on how to create blogs and can also host them.

10. Set up an Online Course

Or go beyond writing an e-book and create a whole online course with tutorials, PDF downloads, and videos. It’s a great way to create a passive income because people will pay for the info and can go at their own pace or post questions related to the course in a dedicated group. Here’s one resource for creating and selling online courses: LearnWorlds, which makes it possible for anyone to profit from their knowledge and experience by creating an online program.