Elena Prokopets
Maybe you are a ballet teacher with a lot of free time to practice, but no students to teach? Or you are a stuck-at-home bartender without a crowd to entertain? Whatever your situation, you probably have a lot of free time now, but far fewer dollars to your name due to the recent events.
But there’s no time for doom and gloom. While you may not be able to practice your craft outside (at least for now), you still have ways to earn a living. Here’s a list of online gigs you can easily pick up during the low tide (and perhaps keep doing even after the crisis is over!).
1. Online Consulting and Mentoring
If you have been working for a while, you probably know a thing or two about:
- Your craft/profession
- Running and managing a small business/being a contractor (e.g. doing taxes and all that jazz)
- The industry you are working in.
And there’s plenty of other folks out there who’d love to pick your brain and pay you some cash for that. The best part? No niche is obscure enough for consulting. Forbes says that some of the fastest-growing coaching niches this year are:
- Women empowerment
- Employee engagement
- Chronic illness
- Sexuality
- Sales
You can also provide more “down-to-earth” consulting services such as personal styling assistance, decluttering advice, wedding pre-planning or even create personalized playlists as this creative did:
So go on, give it a go. Share a quick consulting offer with your friends on Facebook or your network on LinkedIn.
Speaking of LinkedIn, you can also invest some time in updating your profile and networking – that’s another actionable way to land online side gigs. Check out our Ultimate Job Search bundle that includes a “Secret Guide to Mastering LinkedIn” among other goodies!
2. Online Tutoring
Similarly, you can monetize your knowledge by taking on virtual students. Since plenty of kids are stuck at home (much to their parents’ dismay), you may actually have an easier time finding online tutoring jobs. Indeed has plenty of active job postings for language tutors and online course instructors.
Also, here are some other online tutoring platforms you can sign up for to teach:
3. Online Classes and Courses
Online courses are another legit way to make money online. Since most are geared towards adults, you have a much larger scale of in-demand topics and niches. And no, don’t rush to discard any of your experiences or weird hobbies. Because there may be an audience for those!
Here are some of the most profitable, under-the-radar niches for e-courses according to Kajabi:
- Stress management
- Pet training and caring
- All-things-creativity
- Arts and crafts
- Travel planning and travel hacking
- Musical instruments
- Self-defense
- Home improvement
- Meditation and wellness
- Beauty and makeup
Also, you can create courses around specific tools that you know how to use e.g. Photoshop, Excel, Evernote, video editing software, project management tools, etc. Nat Eliason, for instance, created a great new course around his favorite knowledge management tool:
Cooking masterclasses surged in popularity too since most of us are suddenly rediscovering the need for this skill.
Depending on your availability and aptitude for teaching, you can start with one-time live masterclasses or short video lessons and build up your course as you gather feedback from your students. Later on, you can pack all the materials into a full-length course and publish it on one of the popular e-learning platforms to earn extra cash on autopilot.
4. Paid Livestreams
If you have a bit of a social media presence on Instagram (or a bunch of friends on Facebook ready to support you), set up a paid live stream.
Cooks and bartenders can organize short masterclass. As a fitness coach or sports buff, you can run online training streams with the eager crowd. Again, it’s all about tapping into the skills and knowledge you have and sharing those with others!
P.S. If you are an avid gamer, look into building your following on Twitch – the platform to be for free and paid gaming live streams.
5. Sell Digital Products
Here at Freesumes, we offer free and premium resume templates. That’s one of the ways we make money. And what would be yours? 🙂
There’s plenty of digital goods that you can create and sell online if you have some graphic design skills. Here are just several ideas:
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- Photoshop presets
- Simple graphic elements
- Illustrations
- Checklists, trackers and other printables
- Website themes
- Custom audio
- Stock footage
- Fonts
- Posters and artwork
Browse Etsy for even more ideas!
6. Test Websites
Website testing is among online jobs from home that can be done at any time. All you need is a good Internet connection, screen/audio recording app and a few free hours per day. The pay isn’t lavish, but hey, you are still browsing the Internet for free. Most beginner’s tests require 5-25 minutes of your time and pay $10-$20.
And here’s where you can find these online gigs:
Keep Calm and Look for Online Gigs!
Yes, the times are hard and the economy is slowing down…but we are sure to power through this epidemic! Switch your lens from that of fear to one of opportunity. You now know where to find jobs online and how to create one for yourself. So get to action!
