All the best ways to make money from home: Coronavirus edition

Create an e-commerce store

With everyone sitting at home feeling their government checks burn a hole in their pockets, people are itching to buy sh$%. With a bit of time, patience, and luck, you might just be able to break into the e-commerce business, simply by signing up to be a seller with Shopify.

The concept is simple: find an item you think will go viral, then pay for the marketing to get it popping up on everyone’s social feeds. The industry thrives on impulse buying, so the catchier the better. Once you’ve got the perfect item, set up your shop, create marketing campaigns (using either Facebook ads or Google ads), and watch the money roll in. 

Write online articles

Being stuck at home can suck, but if you’ve got some imagination and a flair for words, writing online might be a great way to make an extra buck. A quick Google search gives you endless lists of websites that pay you for articles. You could even find writing gigs on Fiverr.

But there are also choices for those who want to write for themselves. You can set up a WordPress site and activate Google AdSense to generate some passive income, or you can sign up on Publish0x and create your own blog that lets you get paid in cryptocurrency.

Take online surveys

Finding people to click & tick boxes thoughtfully is harder than you’d think. This is why a number of companies are willing to pay you to give real answers to their marketing surveys. 

If you have an opinion that’s more interesting than “OK”, try signing up to answer surveys on Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, Survey Club, or InboxDollars. You can find more by searching around; the number of companies that offer these opportunities is always growing. 

Make YouTube videos

Do you have things to teach, opinions that need to be heard, experiences you want to share? Starting a YouTube channel and generating passive income with ad revenue might be a great option.

Camera shy? Or perhaps you don’t like to hear yourself talk? You can also use stock footage or Creative Commons videos to generate content without anyone knowing it’s even you!

Provide copy-editing services

Do you have a knack for details, spelling, and Oxford commas? With a slew of companies now etching an online presence, a competent copy editor is essential. Once again, Fiverr is a great source for starting gigs, but you can also find work on Upwork, Indeed, and ProofreadAnywhere.

Learn crypto trading

Cue the shady dude in the corner wearing a trenchcoat. By now I’m sure you’ve heard of Bitcoin, but that’s not the only digital dog on the block. With a bit (or a lot) of homework on how to read charts & patterns, you can trade digital currencies like any stock. 

Depending on your location, platforms such as Deribit, Binance, or E-toro offer opportunity for sick gainz.* Make sure to do your research before investing or trading.   

Use affiliate marketing

This method requires that you have some sort of platform that people like to visit (see list items above). Once you’ve set up said platform, adding a link to sponsored content is a great way to make extra cash. People come to your platform to get information, then you provide them affiliate links to helpful services and products related to their needs. They get what they need, and you get a kickback. 

Sell photos to Shutterstock

Everyone has a phone now and everyone is a damn model, so why not use those sweet photos you’ll never look at again and sell them to Shutterstock? You can sign up for an account on their site and upload any high-quality photos you have. They’ll pay you a one-time fee, and if you’re lucky you just might see that photo you took in some dinky frame at the dollar store one day.

Test products online

Nothing is perfect. New software is no exception; it needs to be tested by average peasants like you & us. Programs, websites, apps, and all sorts of digital products need proper QA (or quality assurance for the newbs) before they’re released. You can sign up with a number of companies such as UserTesting, Userbrain, TestingTime, or uTest to become a product tester and make some extra money on the side. 

Sell custom designed art

Are you an awesome designer or artist? Yeah, we’re not surprised you’re here. Your skills are a gold mine on the net. Creating logos & prints that can easily be sold and resold is a great way to leverage your work. There are crafty sites like Etsy & Zazzle where you can sell your art, but you can also sell T-shirt designs to Threadless or Teespring for a great side stream of income. 

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*Ed. note: Don’t actually do this unless you’re very experienced at trading, or you’ll lose your shirt. Neither is financial advice, of course.