1. Social Media Manager
This one is for individuals who have experience in image management. If you have previously been in charge of a campaign or brand compliant social media outlet, you could easily transfer those skills into this business!
Social media management requires individuals to seek out up-and-coming brands and influencers who need some focus for their online presence. One would be most interested in entities with only a few thousand followers on Instagram (and increasing) or pages on Facebook gaining traction.
This gives the manager an opportunity to establish rapport with these companies and people right before they blow up and gain huge amounts of attention, giving you the chance to gain experience and knowledge as well as leverage those skills to set higher fees.
The most successful managers are those who network effectively, so get out there and make some connections!
2. YouTube Personality
YouTube is a platform that has allowed thousands of individuals the ability to show off their talents and flex their creative muscles, all while making a living doing it. There are tons of different venues through which one can gain a following through this outlet: from comedians, impressionists, vloggers, gamers and more.
The most important aspect of YouTube is that you have to be comfortable talking to a camera! Most successful YouTubers start out by monologuing to themselves and feel okay with letting their thoughts and ideas run free. If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of being alone, get a friend who start a channel with you!
A good jumping off point might be to do some research on trending topics on YouTube and to determine how your voice fits into those subjects!
3. Podcasting
Podcasting can be a wonderful channel through which one can freely speak about current events in all sorts of topics like technology, politics, sports, cooking and more!
Being passionate, genuine, funny and relatable are necessities for this form of business in order to gain a following. Once you have an audience you can begin advertising products and gaining sponsors from other brands. Websites like BuzzSprout will allow you to begin your podcasting endeavors free of charge for the first month in order to determine whether podcasting is right for you.
The first step to becoming successful in podcasting is to determine what you’re passionate about and write a rough script and practice it until you feel confident!
4. Basic SEO Optimization
Many websites and creators still struggle with best practices to be followed in order to ensure their pages show up at the top of all search results. If you have expertise and experience with search engine optimization, you could easily offer your services for things like link building and content creation to help others reach a wider (or more focused) audience. This could also include adding alt text to images, anchor text and Google friendly titles and headers.
SEO often requires individuals to have extensive knowledge on major search engine algorithms, so it would be a good idea to research Google and Bing SEO before getting started! And why not take a certification coarse to dig-in and gain promotable credibility.
5. Proofreading
If you enjoy reading this opportunity is the one for you. Tons of different content creators and websites put out a huge number of articles, news, and opinions on a daily basis. Due to this heavy amount of information constantly streaming onto many different platforms, mistakes are common. Even major online news outlets are not exempt from this problem!
Being a proofreader tasks one with reading content and identifying and fixing mistakes like spelling errors, grammar and sentence format; as well as solving any glaring factual errors. In order to shake off any rusty skills, it can be beneficial to go back through your own work and look for any errors before you jump into a paid opportunity!
6. Translator
Many online companies desire to reach markets outside of their native tongue. Individuals that can read and write in multiple languages can be quite the commodity for online businesses.
This can be quite a lucrative opportunity for multilingual people as the most common payment form is priced-per-word. This opportunity is becoming more and more relevant as online businesses continue to expand on a global scale.
Grammatical errors in text translation can often times distort the meaning of text, so one should ensure that they are up to date on their reading and writing translation skills!
7. Online Research
Many business entities desire knowledge garnered through hours of dedicated research across online platforms. This can be burdensome and time consuming to big online companies who will often contract this work to individuals outside of the company.
This provides you with the opportunity to utilize your investigative abilities and find information for whatever subject your contractor needs! Often this will require you to source many different websites and academic journals to find the information useful to your specific requirements.
Some great assets include websites like Statista and government websites for factual numerical resources.
8. Online Tutor
In the digital era you don’t even have to leave your house in order to teach! Many venues such as Tutor.com and Skooli will pay individuals with in-depth knowledge across many different subjects to tutor individuals online. This is often times paid per hour and requires one to establish a connection with the other individual they are tutoring in order to determine how best to serve their needs.
Compassion and patience are characteristics that are deeply desired in this profession, so take that into account before diving into this opportunity!
9. Blogging
Blogging allows the creator to have a level of freedom not available in some of the other more rigid business opportunities on this list. It consists of researching a topic the writer finds interesting and writing a post that could lead to more website traffic to your unique blog.
Blogs often have themes around science, government or healthy living. Its best to pick a subject that is important to you as the writer and stick with it.
Over time your blog will gain more traction and lead to increased opportunities for sponsorship and advertisement.
Creative inclination is the name of the game when it comes to blogging, so try some writing exercises to get back into flexing your creative muscles!
10. Dropshipping
Dropshipping connects consumers with unique desires to businesses that have solutions. This online business entails creating an eCommerce venue through which individuals will purchase items from third party suppliers.
You as an individual are not responsible for the costs of warehousing, shipping, tracking orders, or managing stock. Often dropshippers are paid a commission for each customer that purchases through your eCommerce website.
Dropshipping requires heavy use of customer service and adaptability skills, so make sure yours are up-to-par!
11. Cryptocurrency Trading
This is a fun one!
Cryptocurrency has taken the world by storm over the last decade and has blown up as a form of freely traded and loosely regulated currency that is not controlled by a single bank or entity. Bitcoin (the most popular currency) hit a high of almost $20,000 per coin!
Individuals can begin trading cryptocurrency for as low as twenty dollars on some websites. This kind of trading will require you to watch the markets just as if you were investing in any other stock or company.
It is best to research this subject more in depth before jumping in and be sure to invest responsibly in order to get the best possibly ROI.
12. Illustrator
If you have a talent for drawing you could succeed at this venture online! Companies will often contract out illustrations for their websites for items such as logos and banners.
Illustrators can also make money by doing commissions for drawings that fans of major television shows and online media desire. Illustrators are often times paid piece-meal so be sure to set your prices beforehand!
Digital illustration requires a unique skillset and understanding of common software used in this field. It could be helpful to research software like Infinity Design or Adobe Illustrator before paying for a whole package.
13. Job Search Consultation
You’re looking for work, why not help others? Job search consultation is best for individuals who have experience in the job market. It requires the individual to determine what characteristics are most desired by companies hiring within your client’s expertise field and then educating them on those desires.
For example, this could include suggesting that an SEO major straight out of college get his certification in HubSpot or Google Analytics to make them more appealing to recruiters.
Other parts of this job include proofreading and improving client resumes and connecting them with job leads.
Always make sure you’re giving the best possible consulting advice. Some starting points might include researching commonly desired resume practices, most sought after characteristics to display in interviews, and best online networking opportunities!
14. Affiliate Marketing
If you have an established website with a consistent amount of traffic this could be a rather lucrative endeavor. Affiliate marketing is all about being paid to host outside products on your website from partnered brands.
It is best to do this with a reputable business with quality products as to ensure satisfaction from both your customers and business partners, so explore your options heavily before deciding on a partner.
15. Homemade Goods
Companies like Etsy have made it easier than ever for individuals to sell their crafts and trinkets online. This has created a burgeoning market for unique and hand made items for things like blankets, quilts and doilies.
Vendors have also been successful in selling sculptors and taking commissions based on customer preferences. This avenue is best for individuals who like to get creative and work with their hands. So make sure you have the tenacity required to make it in this fast paced environment!
