Change is afoot in the world of work. No longer do we have to spend hours sitting in traffic, waiting to get to an office or factory we don’t want to go to. Instead, we can sit at home, tapping away on our iPads, like we do anyway, and get paid for the privilege.
So what’s happened? Well, for one, the internet happened. It allowed employers to connect with workers without having to have a central office necessarily. And although it didn’t come to fruition immediately, jobs started going online.
Now that we’re more than twenty years into the internet revolution, the world of work has changed considerably. The possibility of working from home and completing tasks over the web really does exist. This means that you don’t have to commute. And a lot of the time, there’s only minimal interaction with management. It all makes for a less stressful, easier working life.
That’s not to say that those who are less successful work from home. In fact, as this article from Vixen Daily points out, those who work from home need a lot of the traits that lead to success more generally. They have to be comfortable with their mistakes, and at the same time, they have to be able to spot new opportunities.
In 2016, there are a whole host of new opportunities waiting to be uncovered on the internet. So let’s take a look at what’s out there.
Online Surveys
Right now there’s a huge demand from companies for information on customer preferences. You’re a customer, so companies want to ask you questions about your habits and preferences. Why? Because it helps them to build up a picture of their market. The better the picture they have, the better their marketing will be.
But you don’t have to trawl the internet, looking for surveys to fill out. Third party companies usually collect a bunch of surveys for you to fill out at a central repository. These repositories usually tell you how long a survey will take, and how much money you’ll be paid. Don’t expect online surveys to pay all your bills – they won’t. But doing a few each evening is a good way to supplement your income.
Write Reviews
Companies benefit enormously from having their products reviewed; both good and bad. It increases their visibility and directs more attention to their products. So it should come as no surprise that some firms are willing to pay to have their products reviewed. You can find out more about reviewing products on Yelp.
Test Websites
Thousands of new websites launch every day. And the people behind them want to know if they work or not before opening up the floodgates to the general public. That has created a demand for people willing to test websites to find out whether they’re working correctly. Some website owners will pay up to £20 an hour, just for you to randomly click around their site, testing everything works.
Watch YouTube Videos
YouTube is fast becoming the biggest media platform in the world. And, given that it has a global audience and there is new content every day, this should come as no surprise.
But this attention is also an opportunity for advertisers. They’re desperate to use YouTube as a channel to promote their products and do better business. That means that getting likes on YouTube is big business, and something companies are willing to pay for. Sites like Swagbucks ask you to watch certain promotions, and they pay you in points, which can be redeemed over Paypal.
Do Data Entry
You may not realise it, but all that time you’ve spent writing emails and punching numbers into Excel has given you an important skill. You’re quick at entering data. And right now, there’s big demand for people with data entry skills. Jobs for data entry work are often posted on sites like Craigslist and Upwork. Often it’s just cheaper for companies to advertise one-off jobs than try to fill a position. And as a result, they don’t expect you to travel to their offices. Most jobs can be done via telecommuting.
Become A Virtual Assistant
These days it seems that you can get a virtual anything, from mailbox to office. But so-called “virtual” services are in big demand right now, and something you can cash in on.
As mentioned, businesses don’t always want to take on somebody new. They’d rather just hire services as and when they need them. This is where you step in as a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants can offer services to multiple clients. Your job, working from home, will be to arrange client schedules, organise emails and make travel plans.
But your role won’t necessarily be just administrative. You may also be called upon to do bespoke research for clients in particular areas. And as a result, you can expect reasonable compensation in return. Sites like Zirtual and Upwork are good places to look for this kind of work.
Set Up An At Home Daycare
You’ll need to get certification from your local authority for this one. But if you can get it, the rewards are great. Recently, the price of day care has been rising, far more than inflation. And as a result, the parents are looking for alternative day care services.
This is an opportunity for the stay-at-home worker. You’ll get paid plenty of money, and if you’ve got your own young children, you’ll be able to stay at home with them too.
Technical Freelancing
When most people think of freelancing, they typically think of writing – on a laptop. But freelancing is a lot broader than most people would imagine. There are opportunities to use skills in areas as diverse as design, marketing, and web programming. And there are plenty of sites that conveniently organise this work, like Freelancer and Demand Media.
Transcriptionist
One of the things that artificial intelligence can’t do well yet is listen to a conversation and write down what is being said. And although it’s getting better, there’s still room to have a human in the loop.
If you’ve got good typing skills, there’s demand out there for people to listen to audio recordings and write down what is being said. For this type of work, you need an eye for detail. But you can work flexible hours anytime you like. And the pay is not bad either.
Online Tutoring
Online tutoring is finally becoming a thing for a couple of reasons. One: the pressure on young people is high. They have to do well, just to be considered for a job these days. And so that’s driving them to get extra help outside of the classroom.
And two: online tutoring is usually much higher quality than what they’re getting in college and school. Here they have an opportunity to have a one-to-one conversation with a tutor about their work and where they’re getting stuck. If you have a degree under your belt, tutoring is a great place to earn money. Pay ranges from about £15 per hour to over £80 at the highest level.
Associate Marketing
Many people already make a healthy living at home through their blog. Perhaps you’re a blogger with an interest in a certain area. Well, you’re not limited to simply blogging and creating interest that way. You can also generate revenue by teaming up with an external company to promote their product.
The best way to do this is to choose products sensibly. Don’t just start promoting any old thing: this will devalue your blog. Instead, choose products that you genuinely believe in and will be of interest to your readers. Each time a person reads an article promoting a product, you’ll get paid.
Start A Blog
Speaking of which, blogging itself is now a great way to earn money. And although the field is tough, it’s something that is accessible to all.
You can now start a blog from as little as £3 a month. All you need is a decent domain name and somewhere to host your site.
Past that the sky’s the limit. Some bloggers can earn over £150,000 a year. Why? Because they’re able to drive traffic to their website through interesting content. And as a result, all the advertising money flows in their direction. Popular topics include things like health, cookery, technology and video games. But the most successful bloggers always find some unique twist on these regular topics.
Fix Search Engine Mistakes
Search engines like Google and Bing are always looking for ways to make their results more relevant and useful. After all, that’s why we use them in the first place. And, given the hype, you might think that they’ve already got smart software to do this. But you’d be wrong. Their software is good, but it isn’t perfect. And it’s certainly not as good as a human sifting through all the data to find the most relevant content.
You can earn about £10 per hour ensuring that content is relevant and useful.
I’m going to show my son this list. He’s hoping to earn extra money this summer.
I love that the internet has opened up so many ways to earn money at home!! These are great ideas,I started with online surveys years ago and still have fun doing them.
This a great list of jobs that can be done from home. I have already done a couple of things that are listed above, and it is so great to be able to make my own schedule and work from home.
I like this list! I had no idea about some of the places that you suggested. I am going to check them out.
Great suggestions. I have found some great money making ventures online. Craigslist was my first place, even found a great one time job handing out flyers at the fair that paid really well.