It used to be that you needed to fully commit to a part-time job to make extra cash. Now, you can make money with a laptop and good wifi.
Making money online with your laptop has never been easier. Between freelancing, dropshipping, and even investing, there are countless ways to maximize your income without ever leaving the comfort of your home.
No matter your financial goals or skillset, there is a way for you to make money with a laptop.
21 Ways to Make Money With Your Laptop
Here are great ways to earn extra money with your laptop:
- Take Surveys Online
- Start Freelancing
- Become a Virtual Assistant
- Invest in Real Estate
- Invest in Stocks
- Start Tutoring Online
- Start Dropshipping
- Try Print-on-Demand
- Start a YouTube Channel
- Become an Influencer
- Write an E-book
- Create a Blog
- Publish an Online Course
- Build an App
- Do Translation Work
- Sell Photography
- Sell Your Clothes
- Create an Etsy Shop
- Build Websites
- Start a Podcast
- Become a Social Media Manager
1. Take Online Surveys
Maybe you’re not interested in starting a whole new side gig and are only interested in earning enough for a free Starbucks gift card now and again. In that case, you should try taking surveys online through get paid to (GPT) sites!
GPT sites like Branded Surveys, MyPoints, Swagbucks, and Survey Junkie are a great way to earn extra dough with minimal effort.
GPT sites are marketing research companies that partner with brands to source valuable consumer insights about new products or marketing campaigns.
They gather this information by asking users to take online surveys or test products at home. You will be rewarded through points, cash, or gift cards in exchange for your time.
2. Start Freelancing
Freelancing is by far the most popular way to make money with your laptop. As more businesses become open to hiring contractors to complete tasks, more freelancers are needed to fill in the gap.
The best part about freelancing is that you can do it as much or as little as you’d like. You can choose to make it a full-time position or just a simple side hustle.
Freelancers exist in nearly every industry. Most people associate freelancers with freelance writing, graphic designers, or developers, but they can also be administrative assistants, tutors, or customer service representatives. No matter your skill set, there is probably a freelance role for you to earn extra money.
The trick to becoming a freelancer is building a portfolio and landing your first client. A portfolio of work is essential because it shows potential clients that you have experience and can help them immediately.
It also allows them to see if your work matches their needs. A portfolio can be as elaborate as a professional website or as simple as a Google drive folder. Whatever it is, make sure that your future clients can easily access and navigate it.
As far as landing your first client goes, there are countless job boards that you can use to advertise your services and apply for freelance jobs. For example, websites like Upwork, Fiverr, Steady, FlexJobs, and LinkedIn are among the most popular for finding and landing freelance positions.
Remember that freelancing is, more than anything, a numbers game. You’ll need to put out a lot of applications before you land your first client, but the hard work will pay off in the end.
3. Become a Virtual Assistant
The demand for virtual assistants has skyrocketed over the past few years as more and more people are building online businesses.
Everyone from influencers to digital entrepreneurs to small businesses is looking for someone to help them tackle tasks like bookkeeping, customer service, and posting on social media. That’s where virtual assistants come in.
As a virtual assistant, you will help other businesses by doing tasks that are too time-consuming or tedious for the business owner to complete. This can include replying to DM’s, answering customer service emails, building a content calendar for socials, bookkeeping, data entry, overseeing personal finance, updating calendars, writing blog posts, monitoring SEO content, and more.
Ultimately, the services you offer as a virtual assistant are up to you. Whatever you feel you can do well is what you can market to potential clients.
There are several ways that you can find jobs as a virtual assistant. You can look up virtual assistant jobs on sites like FlexJobs, LinkedIn, or Upwork.
You can also reach out to businesses directly and offer your services. If you choose to cold pitch to clients, it’s best to stick to companies in a specific niche, like sports or beauty. This way, you can tailor your marketing to those customers and build a portfolio to showcase to other clients in that niche.
4. Invest in Real Estate
Investing in real estate is an excellent way to earn money online if you want to earn passive income rather than start a full-blown business.
The great thing about investing in real estate nowadays is that you don’t need $15,000 to start. Like buying stocks, you can start investing with as little as $10 and move your way up.
To get started, download a real estate investment app like Fundrise or Roofstock. These apps let you browse and choose investment opportunities based on what you have to invest.
Unlike side hustles, investments require more patience, so give the investment some time to mature to maximize your return.
5. Invest in Stocks
If you’re looking for a passive way to make money online, look no further than investing in stocks.
Trading stocks is one of the most popular ways to earn money online because it makes money in your sleep. A well-diversified stock portfolio can have an average yield of 7% to 10% annually.
This may not seem like a lot, but those earnings will compound over time and earn you money throughout your life if you’re smart about your investments.
If you’re new to trading stocks online, we recommend starting with an online broker like M1Finance, Acorns, or Robinhood. These platforms are great for beginners and allow you to manage your investments through an app.
6. Start Tutoring Online
If you’re a teacher looking for extra ways to make money – or just someone who can teach others – you should consider tutoring students online.
The best part about online tutoring is that you aren’t limited to school districts in your area. You can tutor students across the country who need help in particular subjects. Sciences and math are the most in demand, but plenty of students need help in social sciences, history, and languages.
Like translation work, you need to be able to show that you’re qualified to teach the subject you are offering online tutoring services for. If you’re a student, you’ll need to show that you passed the course with flying colors on your transcript or through a letter of recommendation from your professor.
If you are an expert, you can show your degree or proof that you have experience in the area. This will build credibility and justify the price point at which you’re offering your services.
The best sites to find tutoring jobs online are Tutor.com, Skooli, TutorMe, Varsity Tutors, TakeLessons, Chegg, and more. There are plenty of resources to help you find tutoring jobs that fit your schedule and expertise.
7. Start DropShipping
Dropshipping is often seen as a get-rich-quick scheme, meaning many people write it off as a scam. However, dropshipping is a legitimate business model that can earn you a ton of cash if you invest the time and energy.
First things first: what is dropshipping? Dropshipping is an order fulfillment business model in which the seller doesn’t stock or store the merchandise. Instead, they work with an order fulfillment company that holds the inventory and fulfills orders on behalf of the dropshipper.
You may be wondering what kind of work goes into becoming a dropshipper. Like any e-commerce store, you’ll need to set up a domain, market your products, maintain a social media presence, communicate with customers, etc. You will essentially be running a startup as a dropshipper, so be prepared for that level of commitment.
As a dropshipper, you are essentially curating products in an online store that will appeal to certain people. It requires much more work than listing a product online and waiting for sales to rack up.
Dropshippers are business owners in their own right. If done correctly, dropshipping can attract a client base that loves the products you list and keeps coming back to buy what you’re selling!
8. Try Print-On-Demand
Print-on-demand is another popular way to make money, especially if you have a knack for graphic design. Print-on-demand (POD) is a business model like dropshipping in that you don’t store inventory for your business or ship orders out. The difference between POD and dropshipping is that you design the products you sell.
If you choose to open a print-on-demand shop, you’ll be selling items that are easy to print on, such as mugs, tote bags, and t-shirts. Customers will buy your products if they like the design or graphic printed on the product. From there, your POD partner company will print the graphic on the product and ship it out to the customer.
Print-on-demand is excellent for people that like to draw or design graphics and want to get into selling digital products. It lets you flex your creative muscles without going through the trouble of storing and shipping products.
Plus, opening a print-on-demand Etsy shop or online store is very easy, so you can start selling products immediately.
9. Start a YouTube Channel
It’s no secret that having a popular YouTube channel can help you hit the jackpot. Famous YouTubers like Jake Paul, Emma Chamberlain, and Jenna Marbles have earned a considerable amount of money and found bonafide fame – all by sharing their interests and personalities on their YouTube channel.
Building a popular YouTube channel begins by focusing on a single niche that you’re passionate about. This will help you build a loyal audience that will tune into your channel to engage in your passion alongside you.
This can be anything from fashion to beauty to video games to travel. No matter the topic, there is almost certainly an audience that will engage with your YouTube videos.
To turn your channel into a money-making machine, it’s not enough to simply upload YouTube videos. You need to monetize your content. Once you hit 1,000 subscribers, you will be able to monetize your channel with YouTube ads.
You can also take it further and partner with brands to make sponsored content. Brands will pay you to make YouTube videos giving tutorials on how to use their products or promote their services, and you get paid for your efforts. Some brands will even allow you to earn a commission through affiliated sales.
This can skyrocket your earnings through your channel and push you into actual YouTuber territory.
10. Become an Influencer
Being an influencer is one of the best ways to turn your social media channels into income streams. Like YouTubers, influencers can range from massive stars to small-scale pages. You don’t need one million followers to earn money off your social media content. You can start earning from as little as 5k followers and move up from there.
Becoming an influencer begins with building a healthy following on social media. The top platforms to get started are YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Many influencers have found success through TikTok specifically because of how the algorithm promotes your content. If you create niched content consistently, you’ll have a better chance of getting in front of a receptive audience.
Once you have found an audience that likes your content, you can start monetizing your content. There are tons of ways that you can flip your content into a tool to help you earn side income.
You can partner with brands for sponsored posts, add affiliate marketing links to your bio or posts, sell ads on your YouTube or podcast, create and sell merch, open an online store, and much more. The possibilities are endless for earning money as an influencer.
You just have to get creative and focus on building a personal brand that draws people to your page.
11. Write an E-Book
Perhaps you prefer to be creative behind the scenes than on display. In that case, there are plenty of creative avenues that you can use to make money with your laptop. Writing and publishing an e-book is a great way to pursue your dreams of authorship and create a passive income stream all at once.
Publishing an e-book has never been easier. With Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, you can write, format, design, publish, and promote your e-book from your laptop. There are several directions you can go when publishing an e-book. You can either publish something you wrote as a passion project, or you can research keywords based on popular searches and write an e-book based on your findings.
The trick to making money off an e-book is marketing it. You shouldn’t expect people to start buying your book as soon as you hit ‘publish.’ You need to generate some buzz and convince people that your book will entertain them, help them, or educate them.
One tactic that works well for e-book authors is a ‘review for review’ strategy. Freelancers on sites like Upwork and Fiverr need 5-star reviews to sell their services. E-book authors often post ‘jobs’ on these sites promising to give them a 5-star review on their profile in exchange for downloading and rating their e-book on Amazon.
This ‘quid pro quo’ strategy can help you accrue excellent ratings in a short amount of time while helping others make money with their laptop. Everybody wins.
12. Create a Blog
Blogging is one of the most tried-and-true ways to make money with your laptop. There are countless ways to make money with a blog, like YouTubing and influencing. If you are a fashion blogger, you can use affiliate marketing links to earn a side income or start your own fashion line.
If you’re a food blogger, you can write a cookbook with your most beloved recipes. You can also stick to the classic methods of content monetization if you’re blogging as a hobby instead of a full-time job. No matter what, blogging is a goldmine for people who have a passion that they want to share online.
Before you begin building your website, you need to pick a niche for your blog. Are you super into travel and the outdoors? Start an adventure blog. Are you a makeup lover? Try your hand at beauty blogging. Your niche should be broad enough that you can cover many topics but not so broad that it has no focus. Like YouTube, you want to cultivate a following that all shares a particular interest.
Monetizing your blog works similarly to monetizing a YouTube page. You can place advertisements throughout your landing pages (careful not to overdo it), add affiliate marketing links in your posts (be sure to add a disclaimer), and partner with brands to create collaboration content. The larger your audience, the more successful your monetization efforts will be.
13. Publish an Online Course
Are you an expert in a particular field people want to learn about? You can make money on your laptop by publishing an online course! Online courses are a digital product that allows you to share your knowledge on a subject and create a passive income stream. Some people earn as much as $5,000 per month through their online courses.
Online courses have been around for a while, but they took off during the pandemic when people couldn’t attend classes and workshops in person. What separates the good from the bad is your provable expertise in the subject, the depth and relevance of the course, and your ability to teach others.
To learn more about how to make your online course stand out, check out other online courses in your subject. What do people have to say about the instructor and the course? Is there a topic they wanted to learn more about that wasn’t covered? Taking inspiration from others’ feedback can give you valuable information about how to build a high-quality online course.
Once you build your online course, you’ll need to find a way to sell it to others. Selling your course on a platform like Udemy is easy and doesn’t require much promotion. You can basically upload it and forget about it.
If your online course requires a more hands-on approach, you can sell your course as a coaching experience. This means you can include your one-on-one attention as a value add when you market your course.
14. Build an App
Building an app is a great way to test your technical knowledge and make a passive income stream if you lean more on the techy side than the creative side. A good app will take time to conceptualize and develop, but some people have turned their techy side projects into a full-time job. Building an app that everyone will love takes time and effort, but it’s possible.
If you don’t know how to develop an app on your own, you might feel a bit discouraged by this money-making opportunity. However, you can always hire someone with programming knowledge to develop the app for you. All you need to do is approach a developer through sites like Toptal or Upwork with your app idea, the target audience, and the brand image. From there, your developer will take care of this on the programming side.
Once your app is finished, you can add it to Google Play and the App Store for people to download. You may think that the best way to earn money is with a paid app, but free apps can actually have more earning potential. This is because you can add advertisements and premium features to help people upgrade their experience. You’ll be able to upsell to users once they’ve downloaded the app, boosting the amount you can earn dramatically.
15. Do Translation Work
Do you speak another language in addition to English? Then you should look into doing translation work. Translation is a niche that only bilingual or multilingual people can compete in, meaning there is less competition than in other money-making opportunities.
To get a job as a translator, you’ll need to prove that you’re entirely fluent in another language. Do you have a language degree or experience translating text? Be sure to highlight this in a resume or cover letter. Most translation companies will require you to take a test without using translation tools before you’re accepted for the job.
Curious about where to look for a translation gig? There are plenty of online agencies that are constantly looking for new translators. Some popular sites for online translation work are Gengo, OneHourTranslation.com, Unbabel, and ProZ.
You can also search for translation jobs through traditional freelancer platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer.com.
16. Sell Photography
It doesn’t matter if you’re a professional photographer or just like taking pictures as a hobby. You can turn your creative passion into a way to make money online by selling your photography as a digital product.
Every business or advertising agency needs access to quality stock photography. This doesn’t just mean the cheesy stock photos you see online. This includes beautiful nature shots, lifestyle photography, candid photography, and more. These businesses are willing to pay a premium through sites like Shutterstock for the right photo for their needs. If that photo is yours, you can make money when they use it.
Monetizing your photography is as easy as joining sites like Shutterstock, Alamy, or Unsplash as a creator. You can upload your work there and wait for others to purchase the rights to your photography to use in whatever way they see fit. You’ll receive royalty checks whenever someone uses your work, which means you can earn money while doing nothing.
17. Sell Your Clothes
We all have items in our closets that just collect dust. Did you know that you can take those pieces you don’t have any plans to wear again and make money off them instead? Selling clothes online is more common than you think. Sites like ThredUp, Poshmark, eBay, and The RealReal allow you to sell your old clothes in exchange for cash or store credit. This means you can get rid of old clothes to earn money to buy new ones!
Different clothing resale sites have various means of letting you offload old clothes for cash. Sites like Poshmark and Depop act as a marketplace and allow you to post photos of your clothes and sell them to customers directly.
This takes more effort on your part but usually results in higher returns. Other sites like The RealReal and ThredUp allow you to send in your old clothes, and they’ll sell them on your behalf
The returns are usually not as great, but this saves you the effort of selling the items yourself and can clear up space in your closet immediately.
18. Create an Etsy Shop
Are you a crafty person who wants to sell your wares online? Opening an Etsy store is a great way to share your creative soul with the world and make money with your laptop all at once!
Online stores like Esty shops are a great way to make money online, but they also require a lot of work to get up and running. You’ll need to build up an inventory of the products you’re selling, market your store on social media, figure out shipping and packaging, etc.
Despite all this, Etsy shops can be a great source of income, whether a side hustle or a full-time gig. It all depends on how much energy you put into marketing and managing it.
19. Build Websites
Businesses, both big and small, are moving online, and they need high-quality websites to attract and retain customers. If you have knowledge of WordPress, digital marketing, and web design, you may be able to make money by building websites.
A good website is the foundation for a digital business, and companies are willing to pay developers and web designers top dollar to help them build a website that looks good and performs well in search engines. If you have the technical knowledge to assist companies in setting up a good web presence, this is an excellent way to make good money from anywhere.
You’ll need to purchase a domain name to set up your own website that shows off your credentials and portfolio. Then, just like freelancing, you’ll need to pitch your services to potential clients. If you have minimal experience, you’ll need to start small and work for less to build a proper portfolio. Once you can prove that you have experience building excellent websites, you can shoot bigger and up your rates.
20. Start a Podcast
It feels like everyone is starting a podcast these days, and for good reason. Podcasts are an excellent way to earn passive income in ad revenue and affiliate sales.
Just like starting a YouTube channel, the first step in creating a podcast is choosing a niche or genre. It’s helpful to think about your passions and where your podcast would fit into the overall market. Are you passionate about beauty? True crime? Celebrity gossip? When choosing a topic for your podcast, it’s helpful to think of a topic that is broad but still niche enough that it appeals to a particular group.
Once your podcast has enough listeners, you can start approaching brands to purchase advertisement time. Some brands may even give you an affiliate code to earn commission on purchases. A successful podcast begins with the content, so focus on creating good episodes, and the money will follow.
21. Become a Social Media Manager
Businesses understand that most people look to social media to tell them what to buy. They also understand that having a solid social media presence is essential for any brand worth its weight.
If you have a knack for social media and are interested in helping brands manage their online presence, you should consider becoming a social media manager.
As the name implies, social media managers help companies manage their social media accounts. This can be anything from generating graphics and video content for posting, creating story content, replying to DMs and comments, running Instagram and Facebook ads, and more.
You’ll need to show potential customers you have experience managing professional social media accounts (your personal account probably won’t cut it.) If you don’t have any experience, start small and work your way up. Everyone starts somewhere.
Should You Make Money with a Laptop?
There are endless opportunities to make money with your laptop. You can become an influencer, a blogger, a tutor, an investor, a freelance writer, and more.
Earning money online is its own form of entrepreneurship, so you will be successful as long as you’re passionate and committed.
Let us know in the comments if you are curious about how to own and operate an online business!
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