How can I make money online?

Last Modified 16th of February 2021

According to statistics, the average UK adult spend up to nine hours a day surfing the internet – more than any other European nation! Whilst you’re sitting at your computer, there are a number of ways you can turn your hobby into a job by using your time to earn money online.

Sell your unwanted items

One of the most popular ways of earning cash over the internet is by selling unwanted items through auction sites and recycling services. In addition to eBay, on of the world’s largest online shopping websites, there are sites such as SaleHoo and eBid offering similar services.If you want to advertise something at a fixed price without the auction element, your free local advertising paper may also have an online sales forum. Alternatively, you can advertise your second hand goods on Gumtree or Shpock, both of which are general sites for selling unwanted items at fixed prices.

Many online shops offer second hand facilities – Amazon for example has a marketplace for trading second hand goods – whilst there are also websites dedicated to paying you for recycling old CDs, DVDs, mobile phones and computer games.

Children’s toys and clothing are a big online market so search the web for opportunities to sell playthings and garments that your little ones have outgrown.

Make money from being creative

If you have an artistic streak you can use sales websites and online auction houses to make money from arts and crafts you have produced yourself. By adding these regularly to the Internet, you may well find repeat customers and build up a steady monthly income on a long-term basis. Budding photographers may also find the web a great outlet for their work.

Those of you with nothing to sell can still earn cash online in several different ways. Survey websites are a good way to supplement your surfing; filling out online forms can be pretty dull but you may earn up to £5 per poll for taking part.

Hire out your business skills

If you have business skills that might be useful to others there are plenty of websites that connect those in want to those in need – whether it’s a graphic design project, website development or expert consultancy. Some sites work on a bidding basis, where you tender for a job within a specified budget set out by the company looking for assistance. Others allow you to set your rates when advertising your abilities on a prospective basis, with companies then selecting you as the right person for the job.

Monetise your blog

Bloggers can turn their thoughts into cash by adding advertising space to their site. Google Ads is one of the most popular ways to maximise online revenue – it displays adverts relevant to the content on your site and you receive a small payment everyone clicks on one of those adverts. Even if you don’t want to make your blog a commercial venture, you could still earn money for reviewing music and new products.

Cash rewards for searching online

This works the other way round, too, as you can make money searching online as well. A new website called Qmee gives you cash for clicking on links during your everyday searches. All you need to do is download an add-on for your internet browser and go about your business as normal. When you perform a search on Google, Yahoo or Bing a column of sponsored results will appear beside your usual results. If you choose to click on these sponsored result you will receive a small cash reward.

Sign up to cashback websites

Those of you who make a lot of purchases online can recoup some of your outgoings by signing up to cashback websites. These sites reward you for buying the items you need through their site, rather than by going directly to the site you need. They will pay a small percentage of your expenditure back to you, although be warned: you may not necessarily get cashback every time, even if you bought an item via a cashback website, as they can be notoriously unreliable with payments.

Switch banks

We all know you can save money by shopping around, but were you aware that you can actually make money by switching companies? A number of banks offer cash incentives if you open up a current account with them or give you cashback for taking out a credit card.

Become a comper

One final way to earn money online, which isn’t particularly reliable but still great fun, is by entering competitions. You may not end up with a cash windfall but you could be surprised with a holiday, free meal or the latest technological gadget!