Now that we’ve covered some of the best short-term ways to make extra cash, it’s time to explore some long-term strategies to make money online.
Unlike the previous section, the entries in the following list require some initial investment in terms of time, and in some cases, money. Even so, they are worth considering if you’re looking to expand your skills and work portfolio.
- Make Money Blogging
Blogging is an excellent way for avid writers to earn a source of income. Many people start a blog to share insights, express their views, and establish a brand.
Popular blog examples include Say Yes and Anywhere We Roam.
The homepage of the blog Anywhere We Roam
You can start a blog about anything, like a travel blog, food blog, or book blog. Researching some of the most popular blog ideas can also help you find a profitable niche.
Some of the most common ways to make money blogging are through advertising and affiliate marketing. Selling products and doing brand sponsorships are other popular monetization methods.
To have a profitable blog, it’s essential to find a niche and be consistent with posting content. These factors are also crucial when building an audience and having successful marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) strategies.
- Join an Affiliate Program
Joining an affiliate marketing program is a great way to make money online.
Earn a commission as an affiliate by promoting products, services, or businesses on different platforms. When a customer clicks on an affiliate link and completes a purchase, you earn a percentage.
Many affiliates have found success in this industry, with 35% revealing that they earn at least $20,000/year. Signing up to more than one affiliate network is one way to gain more opportunities and make additional money.
With so many affiliate programs and networks to choose from, make sure to join the ones that fit your niche. For instance, if you have a blog dedicated to computers and technology, you can become a Hostinger affiliate.
The landing page of the Hostinger Affiliate Program
Here are some of the most profitable affiliate programs and networks to make money from:
Amazon Associates. One of the biggest affiliate networks, it offers rates between 1% and 10%.
SEMrush. A great option for content marketers, this program provides a 40% monthly commission rate for all subscription plans.
CJ Affiliate. A popular choice for affiliates with established platforms wanting to work with large and reputable brands.
eBay Partner Network. A good starting point for all affiliate niches and levels.
Tripadvisor. Perfect for affiliates within the travel industry.
GetResponse. A platform offering one-time referrals and recurring commissions for affiliates in the marketing niche.
Like any other business model, affiliate marketing takes trial and error. Some of the biggest mistakes to avoid in affiliate marketing include choosing the wrong niche, not producing quality content, and ignoring website performance.
- Build an eCommerce Website
Selling products online is one of the best ways to make money, especially since retail eCommerce sales continue to rise and is expected to surpass $7 trillion in 2025.
More and more brick-and-mortar stores are also turning to eCommerce due to its advantages. Apart from having a broader market reach, eCommerce stores require lower startup costs. For example, you don’t need to rent different retail locations to scale operations.
Before launching an eCommerce business, it’s essential to decide the store’s niche. If you’re unsure, researching trending products helps to narrow down which types of products to sell online.
Creating an online store today also couldn’t be easier, even for beginners, thanks to the growth of eCommerce platforms. However, picking the right one is an important decision since the platform will contribute to your and your customers’ overall experience.
The homepage of Zyro
Here’s our compilation of the five best eCommerce platforms to build an online store:
Zyro eCommerce. A beginner-friendly website builder offering free themes and multiple AI-generated tools.
WooCommerce. An open-source platform built for WordPress that provides all the necessary site functions to create your dream store.
PrestaShop. An open-source eCommerce software offering robust product management functionality and analytics tools.
Shopify. A popular option with a built-in abandoned cart recovery feature and SEO tools.
In addition to selling high-quality products, you’ll need to consider factors such as inventory, warehousing, packaging, and shipping. Make sure to take these into account when formulating a business plan.
Note that you may also need to obtain a business license depending on the type of business model you opt for. These may include registration certificates, local and federal permits, and a sales tax permit.
- Start Dropshipping
Dropshipping is one of the most profitable business ideas you can start out. It’s a B2C business model where you sell products via an online store but a third-party supplier processes and fulfills the order.
It’s an easier alternative to running a standard eCommerce store since dropshipping doesn’t require the hassle of dealing with inventory and shipping.
Starting a dropshipping store is similar to a typical online store and involves choosing a niche and a platform to sell on. The key difference here is that dropshippers have to find the perfect supplier since this decision can make or break the business.
The homepage of Modalyst
To help get you started, here are some websites where you can connect to reliable suppliers to start a dropshipping business:
Spocket. Choose from thousands of suppliers worldwide and enjoy easy integrations with platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify.
Modalyst. Curate your online store with products from different global suppliers and use their profit calculator to set prices.
SaleHoo. Find low-cost dropshippers in different product categories and explore their community forum for dropshipping tips and tricks.
- Create a Digital Course
Projected to reach $336.98 billion by 2026, the eLearning market is an excellent industry to enter if you excel in a particular subject and enjoy curating learning material.
Digital courses can come in different formats, from simple PDF downloads to YouTube videos. The most popular online course topics include computer skills, business and entrepreneurship, education, and personal development.
There are two primary ways to sell digital courses – by joining an eLearning platform or creating an eLearning website. The former is easier to do, but the latter provides more opportunities to experiment with different course formats and monetization methods.
Create an eLearning website with a WordPress LMS plugin, for example. Then, sell your online courses as digital products or create a membership system to lock them behind a paywall.
A Udemy banner.
If you want to try out a few eLearning platforms before creating an eLearning site, consider the following options:
Udemy. Supports quizzes, coding exercises, and discussion forums.
Skillshare. Excellent for selling courses on digital art and creative skills.
Uscreen. Ideal for video-based courses, like exercise and cooking tutorials.
OpenSesame. Supports integration with many learning management systems (LMS) for better accessibility.
Pathwright. Focuses on result-oriented courses with actionable steps.
- Tutor Students Online
If selling digital courses isn’t your thing, but you’re still interested in teaching, consider becoming an online tutor.
Many students today actively look for remote lessons. That’s why many independent tutors offer their services via video communication apps like Zoom and Skype and accept payments through PayPal.
Earn money by giving on-demand lessons and providing personalized feedback. Note that being an online tutor means that you not only create lesson plans and learning modules, but you also need to keep track of the student’s progress.
Popular tutoring subjects include math, languages, and computer science, but make sure to evaluate your expertise when choosing a topic to teach. Also, consider obtaining certification to enhance your credibility as a tutor and improve the hire rate.
The homepage of BitDegree
When you’re ready, join an online tutoring platform to start promoting your services. Here are five popular platforms for online tutoring:
BitDegree. Create unlimited courses and manage your students’ progress easily.
Skooli. Schedule lessons in advance or accept them whenever you’re online.
TutorMe. Connects students with tutors based on their needs and preferences.
TutorRoom. Offers virtual classroom features, like an online whiteboard, scheduling system, and modules.
Preply. Tutor in different languages and set custom rates for your services.
- Create a Membership Site
Creating a membership website is another great way to make money online if you want to run your own platform.
Membership sites make money by selling access to exclusive content through subscription plans. By having a tiered membership system, you divide each member’s privileges and determine which content they can access.
The subscription system makes for a robust revenue source, as members have to renew their plans to maintain access privileges. If you’re building a brand, a membership site can also help foster a potential customer base for upselling.
Mark Manson's website.
There are plenty of niche membership websites to take inspiration from. For example, Mark Manson and Magnetic Memory Method focus on self-improvement. Meanwhile, Smart Blogger offers tips on blogging and content writing.
After finding a niche that suits your interest, start developing the membership website. The easiest way to do this is with WordPress. Many excellent membership plugins offer all the tools necessary to create plans and accept transactions online.
- Sell Advertising Space
Selling digital advertising space is one of the most common ways to monetize a website and earn passive income.
Ads are popular for high-traffic sites since revenue is measured based on clicks or user impressions. However, websites with low to medium traffic can also benefit from selling ad space.
Other important factors that advertisers look for include a website’s content category, audience demographics, and user devices. So, it’s vital to dedicate time to creating quality content and improving your site’s SEO strategies to attract advertisers.
To start selling ad space, sign up with an ad network like Google AdSense and simply embed the ad code in the site.
When choosing ad placements, keep in mind not to oversaturate the site since this can negatively affect user experience. Instead, we recommend using a heatmap software tool to determine the best ad placements for optimal conversions.
The landing page of Google AdSense
Here are some other advertising network options that you can sign up for:
Adcash. Use an anti-block feature to bypass users’ ad blockers and obtain higher earnings.
Propeller Ads. Supports multiple ad formats, including interstitial and push notifications.
Media.net. Get exclusive access to the Yahoo! Bing network for keyword-targeted ads.
Carbon Ads. A great option for technology and design-based ads.
- Create a Subscription Job Board
With more and more employers turning to online hiring, job boards have great market potential.
There are two main ways you can make money online when creating a job board website. The first is to rent out space for employers to advertise their job listings. The second is to sell access to exclusive job listings to job seekers via a paid membership system.
For example, popular job board websites like Indeed, Glassdoor, and ZipRecruiter charge employers fees for premium job post placements. Most of these sites base their pricing plans on factors such as posting period, in-depth company information, or reviews.
The homepage of Glassdoor
The easiest way to create this type of website is with a WordPress job board plugin. For example, WP Job Manager offers tools to submit and manage job listings code-free. If you want to restrict access to job postings, consider installing a membership plugin.
- Buy and Flip Websites
The process of buying and selling websites is relatively simple.
After purchasing a site, optimize its content for search engines, generate revenue, then sell it for a profit. It’s an ideal money-making project for anyone who enjoys doing website design, improving SEO, and curating a great user experience.
Knowing which websites to buy and grow is essential since not all of them have future value. A good rule of thumb is to opt for ones that already generate revenue and traffic. Similarly, websites with a popular niche and a premium domain name are easier to sell at higher prices.
The homepage of Flippa
Here are a few marketplaces where you can find and purchase websites:
Flippa. Offers a wide range of niche websites and a global network of buyers and sellers.
Latona’s. Mainly promotes websites and online stores no younger than a year and with a minimum annual revenue of $20,000.
Empire Flippers. Sells profitable websites that make over $1,000/month.
SideProjectors. A platform to buy websites, eCommerce stores, apps, and domain names.
To avoid a bad investment, there are a few things to consider before purchasing a website.
The first is to ask for proof of concept and revenue and enquire about its current monetization methods. Then, check the site’s source of traffic and traffic volume – this is a good indicator of a website’s potential.
It’s also a good idea to ask about existing site issues and verify why the original website owner sold it in the first place. Also, ensure that you double-check the seller’s background and avoid buying sites from anonymous brokers.