Are you looking for a way to earn more money? Well, you could pick up some shifts at your local Starbucks, mow your neighbors’ lawns or even walk their dogs. On the other hand, you can simply fire up your laptop, sit back on your couch and earn some money online.
Ok, it will take a little bit more effort than that. However, thanks to the huge reach of the internet, there are now more opportunities for ordinary people to earn some extra cash from the comfort of their homes than ever.
The rise of the “gig-economy”
Even though some people still doubt it – yes – you can make extra money online. The Internet economy is actually booming at the moment. According to a new survey conducted by The Pew Research Center, last year, almost 25% of people in the United States made some money using the Internet.
Some people sell their personal things on sites like eBay and Craigslist full-time while others use their computers to do some extra work. In fact, more than 5% of people in the US say they’ve done some work – like taking surveys – in their spare time and during work hours.
And filling out random inquiries isn’t the only way to make money in your spare time. You can type reports for others or write product descriptions for ecommerce merchants, among other things. If you’re interested in putting in some extra work, here a few things you can do in your spare time…
Rent out parking space/rooms
This is perhaps the easiest “job” on our list. Let’s say you have a driveway outside your house that you don’t use often. Then simply head over to a site such as Just Park, and rent it to a random person. If you live near the airport or some tourist attraction in your city, your driveway will be in high demand.
Conversely, if you have a spare room in your house, renting it for a few days can be seriously lucrative. Although Airbnb is known as the go-to service for renting out rooms, houses or apartments, there are lots of options out there. For instance, if you have some land, Glamping allows you to rent it for people to camp on.
User-test websites
Did you know that you can get paid simply for testing and review websites? Here we have a website called UserTesting that pays people $10 for every completed test. In some cases, you might need to download an app, test it out, and give your feedback.
Other tests require you to complete a certain set of tasks and record your commentary into a microphone. And don’t worry, you don’t need an actual external microphone, the built-in mic on your laptop will do. Plus, the website you’re visiting will explain how to complete tasks, record the commentary and upload it to UserTesting’s servers…
Search for items online
According to InternetLiveStats, Google processes around 3.5 billion inquiries per day. So just how often do you look up something on Google? Probably a few dozen times a day. By using a site like Qmee, you’ll be able to earn some money for all of those searches.
You just need to enter your search terms, like usual, and Qmee will automatically add a search result, alongside your regular results. Click on it and you’ll get a small cash reward. We should point out that you’ll only earn a few pennies per search, however, the money can quickly add up…
Become a survey/research participant
If you’re wondering how to make money online by doing only the simplest tasks, you should definitely look into doing online surveys. On average, these surveys last around fifteen minutes. You just need to enter some basic information like your name, gender, and you’re ready to go.
Furthermore, you can earn up to $40 per study at the Harvard Business School or get a $5 gift certificate in less than ten minutes. Usually, the researchers ask you about potential decisions you’d make in certain business-related disciplines such as psychology and economics.
The bottom line
While it’s true that some online jobs are nothing more but scams, all of the jobs we presented above will definitely earn you some pocket money. Needless to say, none of these jobs will make you rich overnight but they will provide you the extra cash you need.
The best thing about them – they only require a PC, good internet connection and a little bit of skill. And since you’ll work as a freelancer, you’ll be able to pick where, when and how much you want to work.
Victoria Lawes is a contributor to bizzmarkblog.com, and she loves to write about topics that can really boost people’s business growth. Curiosity is what drives her in life and she’s always on a lookout for new information and experiences.
