In addition to providing us with endless entertainment in the form of cat videos, heartwarming stories about returning soldiers, and the ability to find out whatever became of our high school sweethearts, the Internet has opened up tons of work-from-home opportunities.
It’s now easier than ever before to make money while sitting on your couch and wearing pajama pants — or no pants at all. Of course, there’s also a downside to looking for work online, and that’s the sheer number of scams and shady employers.
How can you know which positions are legitimate, and which you should avoid at all costs? Here are some tips on how to make money online fast and free!
1. Get Paid To…
There are a number of sites that will pay you to perform simple tasks online. Many of these activities are things you might do anyway in the course of browsing the internet. For example, searching the internet, taking paid surveys, subscribing to email newsletters, or signing up for a free trial of a service.
Most of these sites work on a points system. You earn the points by playing games, watching videos, answering questions, providing your email address for a mailing list, and even shopping online. Once you accumulate enough points, trade them in for gift cards to your favorite stores.
2. Perform Micro-Tasks
What are micro-tasks? Think of captchas that ask you to identify all the pictures that have a car or a tree in them. Or typing out a hand-written note. Amazon’s Mechanical Turk program and companies like Clickworker, among many others, will pay you to do things like data processing, data verification, or image and video processing.
The rates might not seem like much at all, but with some practice, you can learn to do these tasks quickly enough to make it worth your while. One distinct advantage to micro-tasks is that they don’t usually take a lot of attention or brainpower. This means you can do them while watching a TV show or listening to a podcast.
3. Begin a Blog
Sure, blogging is a great way to let your friends and family members know what you’re cooking, knitting, teaching your homeschooled kids, or just thinking about. But did you know that a blog can also be a source of income?
The first step is to sign up for the Amazon Affiliate program. If visitors to your blog purchase items or products that you recommend, a small percentage of the cost comes back to you. Or you may also want to learn how to maximize the earning potentials of affiliate marketing by taking an affiliate marketing course. In such a case, check out this course review: wealthy affiliate reviewed.
Advertisements and sponsored posts are other ways to monetize a blog, although it can take a while before your blog gets big enough to garner this kind of attention. Don’t count on blogging as a full-time job, at least not at first. But if you enjoy sharing your experiences and opinions with the world, why not earn a little pin money at the same time?
4. Try Your Hand At Transcription
Are you a fast and accurate typist? If so, look into transcription or captioning work. Essentially, all you have to do is listen to an audio file and type what you hear. Depending on the gig, there might be some fact-checking to do, as well.
If you have a background in law or medicine, you might be able to pick up medical or legal transcription work. Because these areas are more specialized, they pay more for transcription services.
In order to make a go of captioning or transcription, you will need to type 65 words per minute or more. It’s also important that you can do so accurately. As with any skill, however, you will improve with practice.
5. Testing, Testing…
User experience design and its cousin, user interface design, play pivotal roles in the development of a website or app. Before companies roll out these digital representations of their product or services, they do extensive testing to discover how real-world users will react to both the UX and UI.
You can get paid to be one of these real-world users. All you’ll need is the appropriate device, such as a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. The device will need to have a microphone, as well.
The testing firm will give you a set of instructions to follow and ask you to narrate your experience as you perform those instructions. They will record your onscreen actions in addition to your voice, and use your feedback to fine-tune the app’s functionality.
6. Live a Double Life As a Secret Shopper
Believe it or not, being a mystery shopper isn’t restricted to visiting brick-and-mortar stores. Sign up with online secret shopper services to voice your opinion and get paid for it!
Some “shops,” as they are known in the industry, require you to place a telephone call and inquire about services, store hours, etc. Others might ask you to order a pizza using an online ordering service and then evaluate the ease of the transaction, speed of delivery, and even the quality of the pie! Getting paid to order and eat pizza is about as close as it gets to “do what you love and the money will follow!”
7. Online Juror Opportunities
If you’re a law junkie, this might be a great fit for you. Trial attorneys use online juries to test out courtroom strategies or get a sense of their client’s believability. They might do this to help them decide whether or not to take a case in the first place, or simply to gauge a jury’s reaction to certain lines of defense.
Either way, as a mock juror you will get to hear about an interesting court case and make a little spending money at the same time.
Ready to Make Money Online Fast and Free?
Whether you just want a little extra pocket money or you’re saving up for something, One last bit of advice: you won’t likely get rich doing any of these methods to make money online fast and free. Some of the gigs may be few and far between. Or you might find that some simply aren’t worth the time and effort.
Sign up for as many survey sites, secret shopper sites, and mock jury sites as you can to maximize your earning potential. As you delve deeper into each one, you will learn which are the most lucrative and enjoyable!
Have we left any good side hustles out of our list? What has your experience been with taking surveys or mystery shopping? Share your thoughts in the comment section!