How To Make Money From Home ⋆ Top 10 Online Income Methods 2020

Here at the Side Hustle site we are all about making money online from the comfort our own home. I'm Marcus and I have been experimenting with different online money making methods since 2004.

Below you will find a run down of my favorite ways to make money from home. These are not get rich quick schemes or silly "beer money" surveys.

They are all genuine business ideas or freelancing opportunities that you could try. Every one I have either tried or is still currently one of my income streams in 2020.

So if you are looking for a new side hustle, why not give one of the methods below a try. It could be a valuable new income stream or even eventually replace your full time income.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Post Contents Hide

1 Top Ways To Make Money Online From Home

1.1 1. Print On Demand eCommerce

1.2 2. Start A Niche Affiliate Blog

1.3 3. Selling eBooks & Info Products

1.4 4. Build A YouTube Channel

1.5 5. Monetize Social Media

1.6 6. Freelancing

2 Other Ways To Make Money From Home

2.1 Affiliate Marketing

2.2 Flipping

2.3 Podcasting

3 Making Money From Home: Where To Start

3.1 Share this:

3.2 Like this:

3.3 Related

Top Ways To Make Money Online From Home

1. Print On Demand eCommerce

One of my favorite ways to make money from home is with print on demand eCommerce. The basic premise is you create a design for merchandise like t-shirts, mugs and stickers. You then list it for sale before its been printed and only create it if you make a sale. Even better it can all be automated, plus printing and shipping is taken care of by somebody else.

There are hundreds of different items of merchandise you can make custom designs for. Also you do not need to be a graphic designer, just simple text based designs sell very well.

Pros of Print On Demand

Free To Set Up
Automated Fulfillment
Passive Income
Zero Stock Held
Organic Traffic

Cons of Print On Demand

Takes Time To Scale
Some Niches Saturated
Trademark/Copyright Issues
Good Designs Are Copied

Is Print on Demand Working From Home Friendly?

Yes you can manage a print on demand business from anywhere with an internet connection. You can even make new designs from your mobile while at home watching the kids.

Print On Demand Resources

If you want to learn more about starting a print on demand business. Here are some useful tools, services and links.

2. Start A Niche Affiliate Blog

Creating a blog (like this one) is a great way to build your own piece of online real estate. If done right, it could generate passive income for years to come.

The key is to rank for keywords on Google, this generates free traffic to your site. You can also promote your content on social media like Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

You make money by either adding adverts to your blog or by sending visitors to affiliate products and services.

Pros of Blogging

Passive income, posts can generate traffic and income for years
Very low cost to start (under $100)
No barriers to entry, anyone can do it
Can build an email list from organic traffic
Valuable asset, they sell for up to 40x monthly income

Cons of Blogging

Slow to start, may take 6 months before you earn anything
Requires some technical knowledge to set up
You need to learn SEO to rank on Google
Writing 2k+ word posts can be very time consuming

Can You Do Blogging From Home?

Yes you can easily do blogging at home. You can create content from anywhere, even by typing on your phone. However you really need to finish off posts on a desktop computer to make sure they are SEO optimised.

Blogging Resources

3. Selling eBooks & Info Products

Do you have a specific skill or know about something that others don't? If so you should probably be making your own eBook or info product. Its one of the easiest ways to make money online very quickly. Its never been easier with platforms like Gumroad and it costs nothing to start.

A simple PDF guide can be created for free using Word and sold for $10 - $50. Twitter is one of the best places to promote your ebook to your specific niche.

It could be about anything at all like making money, fitness, DIY, mindset, pets or hobbies.

Pros of eBooks & Info Products

Costs nothing to create an eBook or course
Digital products have high margins (90%+ Profit)
Fully automated sales with no shipping
You can start making money straight away

Cons of eBooks & Info Products

Large upfront investment of time
Can be subjected to charge backs
Ideally you need to grow an audience on social media

Can I make an eBook or Info Product at home?

Yes this is another great work from home side hustle. As long as you can find a quiet place to write or record, you are good to go.

eBook & Info Product Resources

4. Build A YouTube Channel

Building a YouTube channel is a tried and tested model to create passive income on the side. Its not as easy as it used to be but you can still make money from YouTube in 2020.

There are a few ways you can generate income with YouTube. The one most people know about is that YT will share the ad revenue that your channel generates. However before this starts you need 1000 subscribes and over 4000 hours watch time. So get uploading.

The other ways you can generate income is by directing people to affiliate offers related to your niche. You can also promote your own blog or digital products like courses to sell.

Pros Of YouTube

Free to start
Could be done from your phone
Passive income
Organic traffic (no ad spend needed)
Earn straight away from affiliate marketing/selling products

Cons Of YouTube

It could take months/years to start earning ad revenue
Basic video editing skills recommended
Lots of competition
Need reasonable quality recording equipment (laptop, high spec phone, Camera/Go Pro, mic)

Can I record YouTube videos at home?

Its definitely another side gig you can do at home and in the evenings or weekends. Although you might need somewhere quiet to go for recording new vids.

Build A YouTube Channel Resources

5. Monetize Social Media

If you can gain a following on social media then you can make money. Wherever you have peoples attention, there is money to be made in a number of ways. Basically all you need is a smartphone.

This applies to pretty much any social media platform, so pick the one that best suits your skills and personality. This could be Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok or Twitch.

For example I started a Twitter account for the Side Hustle Site in Nov 2019 and after just 5 months my tweets have had 1 million impressions. See the screenshot of just the first 3 months of 2020.

Pros of Monetizing Social Media

Free to start
Large organic audience reach
Can be partially automated
Valuable Asset (Some accounts can be sold)

Cons of Monetizing Social Media

It can be addictive 🤳
Trolls, trolls everywhere
It takes consistency and time to build
You may not make money straight away

Monetizing Social Media Resources

6. Freelancing

Its never been easier to offer your time & services online to generate a regular full time income. There are thousands of people and companies looking every day for services and tasks to be done.

This could a specific skill like Web Design, SEO, Graphic Design or computer programming. Alternatively you could write articles for blogs, manage somebodies social media or even offer coaching and teaching.

Get creative and use skills you already have like a second language to translate or organisation as a virtual assistant. The most popular platforms for freelancing include Fiverr, Upwork and People Per Hour.

Pros Of Freelancing

Work as much or as little as you want
Quick way to earn money online
No boss or long commute
Freedom!

Cons Of Freelancing

May need to start free/cheap to get reviews
Exchanging time for money (not passive)
Work not guaranteed

Freelancing Useful Resources

Other Ways To Make Money From Home

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing involves recommending products and services to your audience. Rather than a stand alone money making method, its best combined with one of the other methods outlined above. You can link to affiliate offers from your Blog, Social Media, YouTube and email list.

If you are interested in joining a group of link minded affiliate marketers, then you may be interested in joining The Affiliates Club. I am currently a member myself, you can find out more about it by clicking here.

Flipping

The basic premise of flipping is buying an item and selling it for a higher price. This could be picking up cheap books from charity shops and selling them on Amazon. Some people even make thousands buying from traditional retailers like Walmart and then selling on eBay or Amazon.

Podcasting

Sadly there is no Side Hustle Site podcast just yet! I certainly listen to a lot of them and I imagine you do to. The market for podcasts is growing very quickly and you can start your own very easily for free. You make money in the same way that Blogs and YouTube channels do. From adverts, affiliate marketing and promoting your own products/services.

Making Money From Home: Where To Start

If you are not sure where to start, the best advice I can give is learn a new skill. Learn an in demand skill that you then charge people for. There are so many resources online for learning skills like Udemy, YouTube, Paid Courses and many more.

You can even turn that new skill into multiple streams of income later down the line by following this method: