The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an expansion in online activity, and more people are working online than ever before. But the pandemic has also caused many companies to close down, leaving countless people without jobs.
Today, more and more people are looking for ways to make money online in a way that’s creative, unconventional and safe. This list will give you some inspiration on unusual ways to make money online that you probably never knew about.
1. Write Hilarious Wedding Speeches
Wedding speeches are all the rage online. It’s a trend that hasn’t shown any signs of dying down, whether you’re watching YouTube or scrolling through Facebook.
Get to know your prospective clients and write them a brilliant speech that has their guests roaring with laughter. Inside jokes, excellent puns and heartfelt sentiments are three ingredients for a great wedding speech, and most people aren’t keen on writing their own—which is where you come in!
This can quickly become a successful business, and there are countless platforms you can sell your services on:
– UpWork
– Fiverr
– Freelancer
– Guru
2. Become a Virtual Babysitter
With schools intermittently closing because of the pandemic, many working parents are at their wits end dealing with homebound kids. And would you believe that when it comes to weird ways to make money online, virtual babysitters are at the top of the list!
This idea involves a Zoom or Skype video call with your client’s children. This keeps them out of their parents’ hair while you read stories, play games and even educate your audience.
This has become a godsend for many parents who can now enjoy the space and silence they need to get their work done while their kids are entertained. Great idea, right?
3. Create a Local Online Market Place
For this online money-making category, I’d like to show you 2 crazy ways to make money online through Facebook that are so easy, it’s almost criminal!
Create an Expert Facebook Page
People are always looking for free advice on just about any topic. Choose an industry you’re fairly familiar with and invite a bunch of experts to join the page. The community can now ask questions, bounce ideas off of each other, and even hire experts for their needs.
This idea provides twofold, because it gives experts a platform to advertize directly, and helps people get valuable information from those same experts. All you have to do to make some extra cash is charge your experts a small fee for posting custom ads on the page!
Advertize for Your Local Places of Business
I know for a fact that this one works because a friend of mine did it and can hardly keep up with all the work she has generated! Many of the businesses that you yourself frequent don’t have Facebook pages, and even those who do aren’t using them to their full capacity.
Approach your local small businesses and tell them that you will weekly promote their specials and discounts for a low monthly fee. Simply take a few great photos whenever you’re out shopping, and post excellent deals, product reviews and stories for your local stores.
Creating this kind of awareness is invaluable to store owners, and you’ll pocket a few extra dollars while helping develop your community outlets.
Monetizing Facebook pages is a huge business trend at the moment, so get in on it!
4. Develop a Mobile App
You’ll be amazed at how many pointless apps are out there. People make apps out of just about anything—and if you can find something that’s popular and royalty-free, you can use this method to make money online.
If people are buying apps that do nothing more than quote motivational messages to them, you can surely think of something that will sell, can’t you?
Consider some of these royalty-free content types:
– Hymn lyrics
– Fairy tale stories
– Old sermon transcripts
– History content
– Motivational messages
– Religious writings
– Funny memes
…the list goes on!
And it doesn’t even have to stop there. If could be just about anything that people would love to have on their mobile devices… so time to start thinking out of the box about your app idea.
Developing an app without programming experience that’s basic but delivers value is easier than you think. And even if you don’t have an appetite for learning how to develop an app, you can always develop the idea and pay someone else to make it for you. Once you’ve done that, all you have to do is make it available and create awareness.
5. Start a Puppet School
Sock puppets are surprisingly easy to make. Once you have a few soft, interesting characters, you can get creative by making sock puppet educational videos. These can range from something as simple as teaching kids helpful life lessons, to full-on math or language skills.
Creating a YouTube channel that’s synonymous with your puppet friends will gain lots of popularity with viewers whose kids are sitting idly on YouTube or watching television while home from school.
6. Complete an Online Research Study
A quick way to make money online in a more guaranteed way is to join one of many online research studies. There are some interesting ones to choose from, and all of them pay a decent amount of cash for your efforts.
Most of these can be done from home, and create an interesting business idea that offers a new experience every day. Those who do this on a daily basis report that it’s not just an easy way to make money online, it’s also super fun!
7. Become a Human Alarm Clock
There are countless people who struggle to get out of bed in the mornings. These heavy sleepers often sleep through their conventional alarm clocks and lack the motivation they need to just GET OUT OF BED!
As a human alarm clock, you can be employed to not only wake your clients up, but also talk them out of bed. This has already proven to be a successful business venture, and there are hundreds of human alarm clocks out there that are willing to motivate people to get their day started with a wake-up call.
Marketing an idea like this can be done on any of the popular social media sites (as this is the cheapest way to gain publicity) and you can also narrow your market to people in your local area.
8. Create a Learning Course
Did you know that platforms such as Udemy accept courses from experts? As someone who used to work, you no doubt have some skills to offer others. Vegetable gardeners, accountants, web developers and hobbyists are making money online by creating courses surrounding their skills, interests and experience.
Well, you can teach people what you know by investing in some affordable video making equipment and editing software. All you need is a nice, neutral background for recording videos and a magnetic personality, and you can develop a course that teaches people the basics of your skill.
Udemy will market your app on various social platforms on your behalf. Although they take a big cut of your proceeds, you’ll still make a decent sum of money if your course content is interesting and well laid out.
9. Become a Road Hog Troll
Fortunately, you can do this one anonymously, as it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But there are sites around the world that allow you to photograph inconsiderate drivers and post them online. You can also take a picture of someone’s terrible parking skills and post it with a comment on these sites.
So, why not start a site like this for your area? The ones that currently exist have proven immensely popular, as it’s a way for frustrated drivers to vent their disdain for someone cutting them off or double parking.
Once a site like this gains popularity, you can monetize it by selling advertizing space for vehicle-related companies such as insurance firms, car dealerships and tire companies. Perhaps not the most conventional idea, but that seems to be why it has worked so well for others.
10. Review ‘Faulty’ Videos
Gordon Ramsay has taken a knock because of the Covid-19 pandemic, as many of his restaurants across the globe have been forced to shut down. But this clever businessman hasn’t let that deter him from finding other forms of income.
Ramsay now has a popular series on his YouTube channel where he watches other cooking videos and riffs them. He isn’t actually saying much, but he is yelling at his screen telling them they’re doing it wrong. These videos are incredibly funny and have gained a massive following.
There are a plethora of ‘faulty’ videos sitting on YouTube, and you’ll be doing many people a great service by using your expertise to expose them. You may soon acquire the same level of popularity as some of the best professionals, and of course, you can also use this opportunity to gain exposure for your own career or hobbyist expertise.
Watching a world-famous chef criticize other cooks for their techniques is good entertainment, and may inspire you to do something similar. If you’re an expert in something and you are tired of watching people ‘getting it wrong’, review these videos in a video series of your own and let YouTube become your new source of income.
11. Become a Game Therapist
Why become an Uber driver at night when you can make money by joining online games?
This one’s great for the ladies. Would you believe that there are women—young and old—who sit in on online RPG games—just to chat? Games like Fortnite, Halo, Call of Duty and other first-person shooter games are packed with men who usually play day & night.
Become a game therapist by joining in on these games. Not to play, but to chat to these guys about their problems, their work issues and other life challenges. Ladies have made a lot of money online by becoming good listeners for these players.
This idea was first coined by a 16-year-old teenager who recognized a gap in the market and found men who wanted to have meaningful conversations while they played. So, if you have a gaming console, get online and test to see if this is an online money-making strategy for you.
Besides, who doesn’t just want someone to talk to while they’re shooting it up?
12. Rent Out Your Property or Household Items
Yes, that’s right. There are sites online that act as hubs for people who want to hire or rent out common household items. It could be kitchen items like a whisk, a blender or even a cutting board! People are actually paying money to hire kitchen equipment so that they don’t have to buy it themselves.
You can rent out almost anything you have lying around the house, including:
– Gym equipment
– Camping gear
– Novelty clothing
– Tools
– Gardening paraphernalia
– Appliances
– Board games
…and pretty much anything else you can think of!
