There are lots of popular get-rich-quick, money-making ideas that always pop up. Do they work?

There are lots of popular get-rich-quick, money-making ideas that always pop up. Do they work?

Not really. Will you make money doing it? Maaaybe. But you’d probably make more money from your 9 to 5 job. At least then it’s a guaranteed paycheck.

The truth is there are real ways to make money online – millions of people are doing it each day. From freelance digital nomads to savvy marketers to rising entrepreneurs, there are plenty of business ideas you can try at home using your laptop and a solid internet connection. So let’s break down how to make money online… the real way.

Online surveys

An increasingly popular way for students to make money online is to fill out online surveys in their spare time. Research companies are always recruiting new members worldwide to answer surveys and test new products.

For a few minutes of form filling, you can make a couple of quid which is paid as cash or rewards. You can bag up to £3 ($5) for some surveys!

A few good ones to try are: Toluna, Branded Surveys, LifePoints, InboxPounds, Onepoll, i-Say, Opinion Outpost, YouGov, Prizerebel, Marketagent, Pinecone, Valued Opinions, The Opinion Panel, Populus Live, Mingle, Opinion Bureau, Maru Voice, Panel Base, Survey Junkie.

Also sign up for Swagbucks which rewards you for surveys as well as simply surfing the web, watching videos and playing games.

Update: See our new full guide to the best paid online surveys!

Affiliate marketing

If you've got a good presence on social media or perhaps you even have a blog or website, you can start bringing in money immediately by promoting all sorts of companies, products, services and offers online.

Sign up as a publisher on the Awin network, check their offers blog or browse the merchant listings to find something you think your friends would be interested in, grab your affiliate link and share it. If someone buys (can be within up to 90 days) using your link you'll make a nice commission.

To take it a step further, set up a website (read our guide) or a topical Facebook page and invite all your friends to join it and post your affiliate offers on there.

Become a 'Clickworker'

The Clickworker.com concept is based on 'internet crowd-sourcing' where businesses advertise specific, scalable tasks they need completing quickly. And for us, it's an easy way to make money fast from home.

There are a variety of tasks, but most commonly they involve mindless data entry, web research or form filling. You are rewarded and paid in cash (via Paypal) for the work you do, and you can choose for what and when you work. Give it a go.

Gigs on Fiverr

Fiverr is now the world's largest marketplace for people to make money selling small services (known as 'gigs').

What you offer could be absolutely anything, from writing and translating, social media posting, playing pranks and teaching to creating music, voiceovers and short video clips for people all around the world!

The default price is $5 (hence Fiverr..), but you can attach extra services to gigs for more money. Whilst it might not seem like much, it can quickly add up and there are plenty of examples of people making a really good living from the site. The key is to get a system in place which minimises the time spent on each gig.

But there is another way to profit even more from Fiverr for potentially far less work. How? By simply reselling gigs elsewhere. For example, find a decent logo designer then reply to jobs on Upwork or even local classifieds. A $5 spend can easily become $50+, and it's repeatable!

If you're not interested in selling at all there's SO much good stuff you can get done for yourself. Have a browse and get inspired!

YouTube videos

According to recent stats we now watch more videos on YouTube than searches on Google.

And with the recently introduced YouTube Partner Program you can now profit from making and uploading videos. You will receive a percentage of the advertising revenue collected per 1,000 views.

Depending on how successful you are (virality, subscriber base and topic) you can make a lot of money, and there are plenty of stories every week of more and more YouTubers making it their career.

For more tips read our guide to making money from YouTube.

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