How to Earn Income From Home – 15 Ways to Make Money Today

1. Become a freelance writer

The internet is jam-packed with billions, if not trillions of articles, blogs, guides and other pieces of text. In fact, you’re here reading this guide, aren’t you? This means that there are significant opportunities to earn money from home as a freelance writer. The most challenging part is finding clients that are willing to pay you money to write for them. However, if you have knowledge in a particular area, this gives you a massive advantage over other writers.

The amount of money that you will be able to earn will depend on a range of factors, such as your writing abilities, how well you know a particular subject, how much you are able to write, and what rates you charge your clients. However, it is not uncommon for full-time freelance writers to earn surplus of $8,000 per month.

In order to achieve this, you need to put some serious hours into client-hunting. You can do this via online freelancer platforms like Upwork, through regular online job boards, or even by emailing companies directly.

Pros and cons of becoming a freelance writer

2. Learn a high-demand, low-supply skill and sell it online

The key to making money from home is to offer a service that that is in high-demand, but at the same time, in very low-supply. In order to achieve this, you will need to think about what areas of expertise are currently being demanded by employers worldwide. For example, think along the lines of artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, machine learning, and robotic process automation.

Once you’ve found a niche, you then need to read, read, and read! What we mean by this is spend as much time as humanly possible learning the required knowledge in the niche so that you can start selling your skills. As soon as you’ve mastered the subject, or at least semi-mastered it, you can begin exploring freelance opportunities that will allow you to charge high rates for your service.

If you want to take things to the next level, you might even consider getting certified in your chosen subject area. It’s well worth checking out platforms like Coursera to explore what online courses you can engage in to get the skills you need.

Pros and cons of learning a high-demand, low supply skill set

3. Invest in the stock markets

Did you know that since 1926, the S&P 500 (which is the largest 500 publicly listed US companies ) has averaged a yearly increase of 10%? Sure, the stock markets will always rise and fall, but long-term, they have always made money. So, if you’re looking to earn a bit of extra income from home, why not consider investing some money in the stock markets?

In reality, you don’t need any experience at all, especially if you are happy to invest in stock market indices like the S&P 500 or Dow Jones. All you need to do is open an account with an online stock broker like eToro, deposit some funds, choose which stock market index you want to invest in, and that’s it!

Although there is never any guarantee that you will make money, your best chance of seeing your cash grow is to let it settle long-term. In fact, you should refrain from selling your investment for at least 5 years. This way, you stand a much better chance of riding the market waves.

Pros and cons of investing in the stock markets

4. Start an affiliate website

For those unaware, an affiliate website is where you promote other people's products and services. Everything time somebody clicks on one of your affiliate links, and subsequently makes a purchase, the company will pay you an affiliate fee.

This is an ingenious way of earning an income from home, as in reality, you don't need to make an initial investment. Moreover, you don't need to worry about buying and storing stock, as the companies you are promoting will take care of that directly with the customer.

Another great thing about starting an affiliate website is that you can do it in virtually anything. Whether its travel, finance, law, or clothing, you can do something that you are passionate about.

In order to get started, you will first need to build a website, and then sign-up to some affiliate programs. If you want a direct shortcut, you should consider using a platform like ClickFunnels, who provide a super-easy gateway to creating a same-day affiliate website!

Pros and cons of starting an affiliate website

5. Earn monthly income with a real estate investment

Real estate investing is one of the safest, and in some cases, most lucrative ways to earn an income from home. The great news is that you don’t actually need to buy a property outright to earn money from real estate. Instead, you can now use a peer-to-peer lending platform.

In a nutshell, peer-to-peer property platforms allow you to invest in properties with other online users. Your money is collectively pooled together, meaning you can usually get started with an investment of just $1,000.

Much like in the case of a real-world real estate investment, the property will be rented out, meaning you will receive your share of the monthly rental payments. Not only this, but you will also get to see the value of the property rise over time, so when it’s sold, you’ll make a profit.

Pros and cons of investing in real estate

6. Teach English Online

Do you like the sound of teaching English online, from the comfort of your own home? If so, you’re in luck, as there are some significant opportunities out there. Whether its teaching elementary English to a 7-year old in China,  intermediate English to a teenager in Peru, or Business English to a CEO in Russia, the options are plentiful.

Now, in the vast majority of cases, you will need to be a native English speaker. That means you’ll need to come from the US, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, Canada, or New Zealand. You might also need to possess a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate, although this can easily be obtained via a 100-hour online course.

In terms of how much you can make, this will vary greatly depending on the institution to teach through, your qualifications, and of course, how many hours you decide to work. However, you should expect to earn anywhere between $10-$20 per hour teaching online.

Pros and cons teaching English online

7. Bitcoin Mining

OK, so this option is a bit out of the ordinary, however, Bitcoin mining is a method utilized by many who want to earn a bit of extra income from home. While you certainly won’t be able to quit your day job, mining is a good option to make some extra passive income on the side.

So what is it? Well, you essentially buy a specialist piece of hardware such as those sold by Bitman, plug it into your computer, and then contribute your computing processing power to help confirm Bitcoin transactions. As the industry is now dominated by large players, you are probably best off joining a mining pool. This is where you pool your computing riesources with other users, and thus, share the profits.

You make money when your device confirms a transaction on the Bitcoin network. Just be warned, Bitcoin mining can consume a significant amount of electricity, so don’t be surprised when you see your monthly bill shoot up!

Pros and cons mining Bitcoin

8. Take online surveys

Did you know that there are companies out there that will pay you money in exchange for your opinion? That’s right, you can easily make a bit of extra money from home by undertaking online surveys. Arguably, you won’t make enough to quit your day job, but online surveys are one of the easiest ways to generate income.

You will need to go through a third-party platform like SurveyMonkey to get started. Once you register an account, you will then need to answer some questions about your personal circumstances. This will include metrics relating to your age, location, income, and personal interests. Once the platform is able to build a profile, they can then match you to relevant surveys.

The amount that you can earn will vary wildly depending on the survey platform, and the type of survey you are taking. However, you shouldn’t expect to make more than a few dollars per survey. What you can do to increase your earnings is to sign up with multiple survey platforms.

Pros and cons of taking online surveys

9. Buy an online business

If you’re really serious about making the transition from the office to a life of earning from home, why don’t you consider buying an online business? The it works is you would be required to make an investment by buying an already-established online business.

In the vast majority of cases, the business will already be generating income, subsequently allowing you to start getting a return on your investment straight away. However, at the same time, you won’t just be able to sit back and enjoy the profits, as you will be expected to run the online business as you would with any other venture.

In terms of the types of businesses you would be buying, this can come in a range of different forms. One of the most popular is that of online blogs that have a significant reader-base, and thus, money is usually generated in the form of advertising revenue or affiliate links. Either way, you will be required to stump-up anywhere from a couple of thousand of dollars, all the way up to $100,000-plus. This will, of course, depend on the standing of the business you buy.

A great resource to get started is to browse through an online business marketplace such as Exchange Marketplace.

Pros and cons of buying an online business

10. Become a virtual assistance

If you like the sound of working from home full-time, but you don’t want to go out and learn a high-demand, low-supply skill, then why not become a virtual assistant? As the same suggests, you will be providing your clients with assistance on a virtual basis. This could be anything from answering telephones, responding to emails, or booking appointments – all of which will be done via your laptop or desktop device.

As the work you will be performing is typically considered to be low-skilled, you won’t be able to earn as much as say, a a web developer, but, working from home isn’t just about the money. It’s also about the freedom of working away from the 9-5 grind, and ultimately, being your own boss.

In order to get started, you will, of course, need to find some clients. The internet is full of third-party platforms that can help match you up with those in need. One such avenue for this is the Freelancer.com platform, which lists a full host of job offerings for you to consider.

Pros and cons being a virtual assistant

11. Start a YouTube channel

Whether you like to sing, create music videos, or record video explainers, YouTube can be an excellent way to earn extra income from home. You will need to build up a significant subscriber base, which can take at least a year. However, once you do, you stand the chance of making some decent money through ads and in-video promotion.

Pros and cons starting a YouTube channel

12. Review products online

Much like in the case of taking online surveys, companies will pay you money to review products online. The likes of SwagBucks is an excellent platform to join, as you have access to heaps of products to review. You won’t get rich doing reviews, but you can certainly make a bit of money of the side when you have some spare time.

Pros and cons of reviewing products online

13. Write an eBook

Do you have knowledge in a particular subject, or are you passionate about something you think others might want to hear? If so, why not consider writing an eBook. You can then sell your eBook via the Amazon website, which is really easy to set up. The amount you charge for your eBook will depend on a number of factors, although this is usually between $0.99 and $10.

Pros and cons of writing an eBook

14. Become an online translator

Are you able to speak more than one language at a reasonably good level? If so, there are heaps of translation opportunities out there for you. You might find yourself translating audio recordings, or simply translating pieces of text. If you’re able to find the right clients, you should be able to command between $30-$50 per hour. A good starting point is to check out Upwork to see what client requirements are currently listed.

Pros and cons of online translating

15. Transcribe audio into text

There is a huge requirement online from clients that need audio recordings transcribed into text documents. Although anybody can do it, you will at the very least need to be a fast typer to make it viable. In terms of earnings, this can average between $4 and $15 per hour. Once again, the amount that you can earn will be dependent on how quickly you can type!

Pros and cons of transcribing audio