I am often asked how to make money online, and although there are many ways to do so, this is not something that is easy.
There is no possible way to “get rich quick”, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. If you want to make money online, it’s going to take awhile to make more than a few dollars, and it’s going to involve quite a bit of work. Lots and lots of actual work. If you don’t treat your online endeavour as a job, you’re not going to make much money. It’s that simple.
However, if you’re not afraid of working hard, you can earn a decent income online. Here are a few ways to make money online in Canada:
1. Sell Stuff
There are many places that you can sell things online, including Kijiji, Craigslist, Ebay, and Amazon.
You can sell pretty much anything you want on these sites. It’s very easy to make money by getting rid of things around the house that you no longer need. My personal favourite website is Kijiji because it is free to list things for sale and the site is very easy to use.
2. Sell Homemade Goods on Etsy
Are you crafty? If so, you should really consider selling your stuff on Etsy – one of the best sites for selling homemade goods. There are a ton of members and visitors that visit this website every day to see what’s new, so you will have a large audience that you can sell your products to.
Check out this great post to learn how to increase your chances of selling your goods: 12 Tips for Selling on Etsy.
3. Become a Freelance Writer
There are many websites out there that will actually pay you to speak your mind. If you are knowledgeable about certain things (finance, child care, housekeeping, etc.), there is likely a company that is looking for someone like you to write articles for their website, magazine or newspaper.
About.com and Wise Bread are 2 companies that I would recommend looking into.
4. Start a Blog
Before I say anything about blogging, please note that you should NOT start a blog to make money. You should start a blog because you love to write and share with others. If you do this, eventually the money will come. It just takes awhile.
There are many ways that you can make money with your blog: Google Adsense, private advertising, affiliate marketing (such as Amazon Associates), eBooks and more.
Here are a few more tips on blogging for money.
5. Use Swagbucks
Using Swagbucks is a great way to earn “money” online. All you have to do is use their search engine and you will earn “bucks”. Once you have enough of those bucks you can trade them in for cash (through Paypal) and/or gift cards to local and online stores.
Be sure to check out my article on how to earn Swagbucks faster.
6. Complete Surveys
There are many reputable survey sites such as Canada Talk Now, Opinion Outpost, and Cash Crate that you can work for.
Don’t expect to make a whole bunch of money taking online surveys. You will often only be able to earn pocket change.
That money can go toward a monthly treat (a specialty coffee, a new book, etc.), though, so it may be worth the small amount of time it takes to complete these surveys.
Making money online is very hard. I didn’t start making much money myself until I’d been blogging for over 2 years!
Although it does take time (like any other job), there is something so rewarding about being able to work online from your own home (or anywhere you can get an internet connection). Maybe it’s the fact that you get to live in your pajamas (not that you should!), take breaks whenever you want and be your own boss – those are some of the things I love about my job!
The main thing to remember is that if you want to make anything more than pocket change online, you absolutely must treat your job as a job – not as a hobby.