5 Tools to Make Money Online and Crush Your Financial Goals

Side hustling has rapidly become a mainstream trend with over 44 million Americans earning money on the side, as reported by a Bankrate survey.

Whether you want to get ahead financially or pay down your debt, earning money on the side can be lucrative and fun.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to make money online from leveraging the power of videos to marketing your skills. Here are five ways to get started making money online to crush your financial goals.

 

#1 YouTube

Making money on YouTube isn’t a new concept. You can create your own videos and monetize them by allowing YouTube to run ads on them. But there are so many more ways to create cash flow for your side hustle from YouTube.

To start, you can tap into existing videos to sell to your customers. For example, corporations like Amway offer quality videos to recruit Independent Business Owners and then help them show off the company’s products.

Someone who wants to know what Amway’s business is all about can watch the company’s YouTube channel to learn more. And if you’re pretty good at YouTube, you can offer to create videos and run the channels of area businesses looking to drum up new sales.

 

#2 Amazon Handmade

Everyone talks about selling on Amazon through the Amazon FBA program, but it has a pretty high learning curve before you turn a profit.

Figuring out what kind of products sell, securing inventory, and following all of the rules and regulations to get your side hustle launched can feel overwhelming.

But there are plenty of other ways to make money on Amazon. Amazon Handmade gives creatives a way to sell their handmade items with zero upfront costs with the option to let Amazon fulfill your sales for you.

Whether you’re skilled at creating cute posters or gorgeous pottery, there’s a place to sell it online.

 

#3 Udemy

Do your friends constantly come to you with the same questions about everything from graphic design to baking bread or creating resumes that get attention?

Turn that knowledge into a course on a platform like Udemy. You create videos and tutorials, upload your content, and tap into Udemy’s millions of members looking for new courses.

Every time someone signs up for your course, you earn a profit. The best part is once the course is created, the money is relatively passive. You will need to do some marketing to keep your course selling, but otherwise, you’re earning money on the side every month with minimal effort.

And don’t forget you can also browse Udemy to help you master selling online or figuring out your next side hustle.

 

#4 Contently

Finding freelance work, creating a portfolio, and showcasing your work can feel challenging without the right platform in place. Contently gives you a place to easily create a visual portfolio of your writing work.

Clients looking for freelance writers can look for talent directly on Contently, or you can use your own, customized Contently link to send to potential clients to view your portfolio.

The platform gives you a way to stay organized and motivated while attracting new clients.

 

#5 Upwork

Instead of going out and looking for new work as a virtual assistant, graphic designer, researcher, business manager and beyond, you can find clients looking to fill specific gigs at Upwork.

However, Upwork takes a little finessing to get right. Don’t compete on low paying jobs with hundreds of other people. Look for gigs that require skilled workers and write a sparkling proposal to really stand-out.

You could end up landing recurring work and build up your testimonials and rating to attract new clients. Upwork also makes it really easy to log your hours, get paid, and communicate with your clients in one place.

Whatever you decide to do to make money online, make it a fun and rewarding experience. There are plenty of online tools and platforms to choose from, so focus on an area you’ve always wanted to explore—whether selling products or offering a service—and see how far it takes you.