How to make money online: 22 free methods and 6 high-investment strategies

If you want to make money on the internet, you’re definitely not alone. Thing is, actually getting started can be tricky. Plenty of tried and tested methods are saturated now, and it can feel hard to find anything that’ll even pay out.

Luckily, there’s still tons of money to be made online and the internet isn’t about to dry up anytime soon.

That’s why I’m going to give you a whole bunch of ways to make some extra cash today, starting with $0 budget methods, and moving onto big moves for those of you with cash to spend.

These are done and tested by numerous side hustlers, and I’ve also done my fair share of them over the last 8+ years.

So, let’s get straight to it.

Make money online with $0 upfront cost

1. Clipping

Clipping is one of the best ways to make money online right now, without having to spend anything upfront. All you’re really doing is repurposing existing content into short clips that're then posted across social media.

Tons of clippers are earning up to thousands of bucks per clip and generating billions of views for creators and brands. Take Chris Girbu, for example.

Chris is only 16, has no significant social media following, but has generated billions of views for creators.

And the best part? With an average payout of $2-$3 per 1k views, we’re talking about millions of dollars here.

And, it’s quite simple to see how anyone can make money clipping:

1. You don’t need to have a following
2. You don’t need to create any content yourself
3. You can learn and do this through just one platform (Whop)

Above all else, getting started with clipping is super straightforward. So, where do you start?

Just join the Whop Clips whop, take the Clipping course, and start clipping with Content Rewards.

This is what CR pays out on any given day:

All you have to do is pick one of the many Content Reward offers, and you can literally start making money today.

Best for: Anyone looking to learn about content creation and wanting to make money immediately
Requirements: A device and an internet connection. That’s it.
How to get started: Join this whop and take the Whop Clips course to find out all you need to know about clipping and Content Rewards.

2. Creating UGC

You can earn a ton more with UGC than with clipping. And, you can still do it faceless, or get in front of the camera. 

UGC is basically all those reviews and 'GRWM' vids that you see on TikTok and Instagram. They kinda look like ads, but aren’t really.

It's your favorite influencer sharing what they use in their beauty regimen, or a fitness creator showing you their gym fits. And, brands love UGC as it creates trust and authenticity for their products.

Thing is, UGC isn’t just for influencers. You can do it with just a phone and social media.

UGC can literally make you enough money to buy a Tesla in 40 days.

Think I’m just yapping BS? Not at all — AJ Banks bought a Tesla by creating UGC for Whop!

In just 40 days, he made $21.7k. Without being an influencer. And, most importantly, without spending anything upfront.

It wasn’t luck either. AJ had two things going for him that helped him (and will help you) make some serious cash with UGC: 

1. He dedicated his time to perfecting his content
2. He posted more than one post a day for 40 days straight

Of course, you could be the next success story. And, all you need is AJ’s mentality and Whop’s Content Rewards.

CR has plenty of UGC opportunities for big brands, some paying as much as $30 per 1k views!

Best of all, you can get started with UGC today.

Just go to Content Rewards, filter by UGC, find a reward you want to submit content for, and join the whop. It doesn’t get simpler than that.

Best for: Anyone willing to leverage social media to make money
Requirements: Vary depending on the content reward campaign
How to get started: Check 'Content Rewards' on whop, find a campaign, join the whop, and follow the instructions

3. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is one of the oldest side hustles around. But I think it deserves the number 3 spot purely because it doesn’t cost you anything upfront and can bring in a lot of recurring revenue in the long-run.

It’s kinda like UGC in a sense:

1. You’re recommending a product/service
2. Someone buys it using your link 
3. You get a commission

“Yeah, but does it actually work?” 

Well, there are tons of people who are doing affiliate marketing through platforms like Amazon, with Amazon Affiliates. 

But, to make the most money, you’ll have to check out Whop. The screenshot below says it all. 

Affiliates on Whop are making thousands every single day. 

That is, thousands in recurring revenue. 

You see, when you refer someone to Whop or a whop, you get a percentage of Whop’s revenue for life. As long as they pay for whops or make money with their whops, you’ll get paid!

Now, admittedly, I’m not going to sugarcoat this. There are a couple of caveats when it comes to getting started as an affiliate:

• Yes, you will need a following and
• Yes, even if you don’t have one, you’ll have to put in the hours to build one

We’ve got you covered, though. You can learn how to start affiliate marketing right now.

Once you have a few hundred followers, you can go down two different routes.

1. You can promote Whop to potential businesses and creators by posting on your social media about it.
2. You can create a niche community and promote whops within that niche to your members

The fact is that this is all super simple to do on Whop. Just join the Whop Affiliates whop to learn exactly how the whole process goes, from finding the best affiliate offers to actually executing an affiliate marketing strategy.

Best for: Anyone with contacts or a community 
Requirements: None
How to get started: Start visiting Whops and signing up for their referral bonuses to get the ball rolling, and make sure to check out the Whop Affiliates whop to learn more about how things work, including a free affiliate marketing course

4. Watching videos

Okay, I understand that many of you are looking to make a little bit of extra cash by doing tasks that don’t require any specific skills or too much time.

So, yes, watching videos is definitely one of them. Tons of platforms out there, like InboxDollars, have offers where you’re paid a few cents to watch short 15-30 second vids and clips (read: ads, probably).

Now, as I mentioned above, I’m a seasoned side hustler. Watching videos was definitely up there as one of my most lucrative side hustles back in the day.

Was I making a lot? Not at all:

• Most survey sites were paying $0.01-$0.05 per video. On a good day, I’d be able to watch enough vids to make $2-$3 in, like, a couple of hours.
• There were sites like Feedbackity where I was watching short films and answering a questionnaire afterwards. The pay was usually around $4/hr.

That was basically it. Not a big moneymaker, but a few bucks for watching videos passively wasn’t too bad.

Nowadays, the way to go about it is mostly through survey sites. There’s also this one platform, WeAre8, where you watch ads and get around $0.10-$0.25 per ad, which is higher than most survey platforms.

Best for: Anyone who wants to make a little cash fast
Requirements: None outside of a working internet connection
How to get started: Sign up with a platform like InboxDollars (review link above) and you’re good to go

5. Completing microtasks

Microtasks are, as the name implies, small online tasks that you can do to make money. These can range from data processing and translation to tagging and image processing.

These were a big one for me back in the late 2010s, right before I started writing. I used plenty of platforms, like Amazon MTurk, Appen, Clickworker, Telus, and Lionbridge, where I’d do all these little tasks.

Thing is, there was a limited number of tasks per project. 

So, one project might have paid a set amount per task, equalling around $20/hr, but the tasks were only available for 20 minutes, as they were on a first-come, first-served basis. And, with dozens of people doing these at the same time, 20 minutes was all I’d usually get.  

Still, I’ll say that there were months when I was working 30-40 hours on microtasks and earning close to $1k. The usual range, in general, was around $15-$25/hour.

Many of these platforms are still active. Outlier and DataAnnotation are also pretty big in the microtask community and are paying close to the $15-$25/hour range, with plenty of tasks available. 

And, you can also do microtasks on review sites, like SwagBucks and InboxDollars.

Best for: Earning a few bucks when you have a little time to spare
Requirements: None
How to get started: Look at platforms like Amazon MTurk and Swagbucks to find microtasks

6. Using cashback apps

Ok, you got us — to make money with cashback apps you do have to spend money first, but it's cash that you're already spending.

So, if all you want to do is make a little money fast, your regular expenses are the first stop. 

Ask yourself:

• Which stores are you buying from, and 
• could you turn that spending habit into an opportunity to actually earn money?

Cashback apps help you to make money with your spending, and rather than the small rewards offered by most brand loyalty programs, a lot of cashback apps offer great rewards.

We’re talking 5, 10, and even 15 percent cashback on various stores and items.

If you aren’t familiar with how cashback apps work, check out our review of Ibotta, one of the top cashback apps on the market. 

Do it right, and cashbacks apps like Ibotta can really work for you - just check out how Kay a.k.a. “Saving With Kay” was able to net back over $22 on a total bill of around $100. 

Best for: Anyone who spends a fair bit of money online at certain stores
Requirements: Make sure the cashback app you choose takes customers wherever you live
How to get started: Just find a reputable cashback app that serves your location and partners with retailers you shop at, and sign up

7. Sharing your phone usage data

Just a heads up — sharing your phone usage means giving away your privacy. Sometimes, though, that just can’t be helped when you really, really need that little bit of extra cash.

Apps like Caden and MobileXpression connect to different apps you use, such as Walmart or Uber.

They then collect anonymous data about your browsing behavior or the usage of these different apps. So, as you might imagine, a lot of companies are really keen on buying this data.

Again, the data that gets sent is anonymous, but if you’re an extremely privacy-conscious person this method for making money may not be for you.

This is personal finance expert Tom Blake, and he used MobileXpression while in college to make a little extra bread.

A little pro tip from him: if you’re phone farming to max out your earnings from stuff like watching videos or microtasks, phone usage apps are very nice to have alongside. 

More phones equals more cash!

Best for: Anyone willing to compromise slightly on privacy
Requirements: Depends on the app you choose
How to get started: Sign up for a phone data sharing app and just use your device as normal

8. Taking online surveys

This one’s a classic, so we need to mention it. There are dozens, if not hundreds or even thousands of websites out there that’ll connect you to consumer surveys and pay you for your time.

Companies simply want data on people in markets that might be valuable to them. 

They want info on the people who make the decision to spend money on something, and location matters — a U.S. or Canadian consumer is right at the top of the list since it’s a big market for most companies.

So, the information you fill out when you sign up for a survey site will dictate how much you might stand to earn, and how often you’ll be picked for surveys.

I’ve taken more than a few surveys in my time, and I noticed that I got a whole lot more survey offers (and better-paying ones) as I got a bit older and started my own household.

It’s also worth knowing that there are plenty of scams in the space, so stick with tried and tested survey sites to begin with. Here’s a review of SurveyMonkey, as well as a review of Branded Surveys to get you started with the market leaders.

Best for: Residents of powerful consumer economies like the U.S.
Requirements: None
How to get started: Pick a survey app and start filling out questionnaires!

9. Reselling freebies (and low-cost goods)

Reselling in general can be really profitable, and one really easy way to make money is by finding free stuff or items that have been mistakenly labelled far too cheaply.

That’s when you swoop in, picking those items up and selling them closer to market price, meaning heaps of profit for you!

Price errors or glitches happen far more frequently than you might think on sites like Amazon, and if you’re able to find them and snap up the items before the retailer can correct their mistakes, you’re in for a quick win.

The best to find Amazon glitch deals is to join a whop dedicated to them. These groups track almost all major retailers for price errors, so the net is cast as wide as possible.

You might also be able to find free stuff online on different websites that you can then sell for profit.

This is Jimit, and he runs the Astro Alerts reselling community on Whop. He started reselling at just 16, and with the help of membership in various reselling communities called “gook groups” got to where he is now.

So, uh, where exactly is he now?

Well, he was able to put his own reselling community together and ramped up his earnings to well over $35k a month even before he got out of his teens! 

Best for: Anyone, although it’ll help to have a little cash to take full advantage of glitches on expensive items
Requirements: You may need a shed to store some of the bigger items you nab
How to get started: Check out our top reselling Discord servers and join the ones that work for you. Many if not most of them have automated ways of scanning for price glitches and picking those items up

10. Creating an online community

Whop is easily the best online platform to make money quickly — and the smartest way to use it is by building a strong, engaged community.

Take Jasen, for example. Jasen Hunt is a professional CAD instructor and runs the only land survey drafting community in the world.

Speaking on making money with online communities, Jasen says:

It's much easier to sell to somebody that you've sold to before than someone new. This is why having a community is such a great thing, because these people will buy again and again. They know who you are, they trust you, and they trust the vision that you have.

Watch this video for more of Jasen's advice and insights.

It’s a safe bet that you’ve already got a group of your own on other platforms — you do have Facebook friends, WhatsApp contacts, and maybe even a small Twitter following, right?

Well, continuing to grow your online following from that starting point is a great way to make money.

Creating your own whop and bringing your people is much better than keeping them on platforms like Twitter/X, Telegram, or Discord: here's why.

Firstly, if you want to sell digital products to your audience, then Whop lets you sell all of your products in one place: courses, memberships, ebooks, software, and whatever else you want to sell.

Plus, Whop also allows you to put paywalls in place for your community itself, meaning you can separate your free area from your paid section really easily too. 

And hey, a paid server means that every member’s paying you to be there, and that’s a great way to make money online.

Best for: Content creators or anyone looking to build a following
Requirements: None
How to get started: Just create a whop and start bringing your RL and social media friends over to it

11. Freelance writing

Writing is one of the best ways to turn your skill into cold hard cash without spending anything other than a little bit of time and effort.

Let’s be honest, skill is a key word here. Some people are pretty good at writing, but some aren’t (and if that’s you, skip down to #14 in this list).

Still here? That means you might like to try your hand at writing, and there are a whole lot of ways to do so.

The best way to get started immediately is by just getting some words out there. Consider starting your own blog on a site like Whop.

A blog will:

• Give you the chance to not only practice your writing skills 
• Let you develop a body of work 

The second is critical as a starting writer because it gives potential clients some examples of what you can do.

Way back when, I started off by writing three (yes, just three) 500-ish word blog posts on a free blogging platform. Whop would work great, but it wasn’t around back then.

So, spend an evening or two and put a couple of posts up. Maybe even ask a friend to read them over, since it’s hard to edit your own stuff.

Then look at freelancing sites for paid writing work, usually starting at a few cents a word. It’s not much, but it adds up.

Once you build out your portfolio and your skills, you might even be able to snowball this into a full-time writing position.

Best for: Anyone who has the time and skill to write
Requirements: None
How to get started: Read our guide on how to make money writing and then start a whop of your own so you can publish posts directly to your community

12. Newsletters

Newsletters are extremely common these days, and they offer you many ways to make money. First, and most simple of all, you could write newsletter copy for local businesses.

Most business owners don’t have enough time on their hands, and a newsletter can be a step too far for them. However, they do realize the value of having a newsletter, so there’s no reason you can’t do it on their behalf as a side gig.

Beyond that, you could also release your own newsletter. 

If you’ve got some sort of content and a way to collect email addresses, such as a blog or a digital download, you’re in business.

You can keep folks informed about whatever else you’ve got going, like a premium community or other digital products to sell. You can also make money by sharing affiliate links in your newsletter.

Whop contributor Lizzie Davey has her own newsletter too, and confirms that digital products and ad spots can be good ways for making money with a newsletter.

How good, you ask? 

At around 5k subs, she could pull in $100-$500 per newsletter from these alone. 

Just imagine, two or three dollars per week with just a hundred subscribers? That’s a cool $1k extra cash in your pocket every month.

Best for: Anyone who can provide regular value
Requirements: A way to collect email addresses
How to get started: Here’s the perfect guide on how to create and launch your newsletter, which has everything you need to know

Recommended reading: This expert guide on monetizing a newsletter from a creator who’s done exactly that

13. Selling ebooks

If you ask any author, they’ll tell you that ebooks are an absolute gamechanger. Why? Publishers aren’t the only option anymore. If they say no to a book, you can just go online and publish it yourself.

So, if you think you’ve got a book in you, there’s no longer anything stopping you from getting it out there. And it doesn't have to be a novel - you can write a self-help book, a recipe ebook, or a motivational memoir.

You can even get AI to help out a bit, whether that’s for a little bit of editing assistance or to help you brainstorm.

Here’s an example of an ebook called Write Better Right Now by Whop contributor Kaleigh Moore.

As the ebook’s description suggests, Kaleigh has packed simple, useful content into this format that readers can access and digest super easily. According to her, you can also be clever with your content, and package your blog posts and newsletters into ebooks.

When it comes to selling your ebook and putting it onto your readers’ devices, there’s one great play to get you ahead of the game: Whop. 

Whop lets you sell ebooks for a far smaller fee than most other platforms, and it’s a great choice if you plan on marketing your ebook directly.

Plus, on Whop, you can sell your ebook alongside a premium community, online course, or newsletter. No other platform makes it quite as easy to present your entire range of digital products to your audience.

Best for: Aspiring long-form authors
Requirements: Time
How to get started: Here’s our comprehensive guide to writing and selling ebooks online, covering the entire process from outlining all the way to self-publishing

14. Starting a YouTube channel

YouTube is used by billions every day, and if you’re willing to put the work in, you absolutely can use this amazing platform to make serious money in a hurry.

Best of all, you really don’t need to spend anything at all.

You’ve already got a phone, which means that you’ve got a camera, a microphone, and basic software that’s all you need to start creating content. 

Making money with a YouTube channel works in two ways. Firstly, you’ll want to develop a couple of revenue streams, like a premium community for your most engaged followers or an online course if you’re more of an educational creator. You’ll then host these on your own whop.

Then, there’s the revenue you’ll earn from YouTube itself. By serving ads to viewers, the YouTube Partner Program will give creators who are monetized (you’ll need more than 1k subscribers) a certain amount of cash per 1000 views.

How much you can expect to earn from YouTube will depend on the demographics of your audience and what sort of niche they fall into. The US and Western Europe, for instance, tend to pay pretty well, as do niches like finance the audience can be expected to have money to spend. 

Best for: Anyone
Requirements: Consistency, both in terms of content as well as upload frequency
How to get started: Just create a YouTube account and get creating, and check out this post on how to get monetized ASAP without waiting for the Partner Program

15. Making YouTube thumbnails

We’ve already mentioned just how big and important of a platform YouTube is, but that means there’s also millions of videos out there for people to choose from.

So, how does one video stand out from the rest?

Simple — the thumbnail it uses.

The thumbnail of a YouTube video plays a huge role when it comes to how much traction it gets. Existing subscribers to a channel may watch it regardless of thumbnail, but new or occasional viewers? The thumbnail is a big deal for them.

Think about it for a sec. If you look at your own feed and see a video from a channel you don’t recognize or just watch now and then, why on earth would you click on it? 

Two reasons:

• Either of the title or thumbnail grabs your eye, and
• The other one of the pair confirms that this is content you might be keen on

What that means is, YT thumbnails are very, very important for any creator who wants to grow their reach.

So, designing YouTube thumbnails can be a solid side hustle. Many creators don’t have the graphic design skills or know what’s trending, so if you’re creative, this could be an easy way to make money.

You might even score a full-time position on a really big YouTuber’s team.

Best for: Anyone creatively inclined
Requirements: Some skill with graphic design
How to get started: Offer your services on freelancing sites or even create your own YouTube channel about making YouTube thumbnails to gain quick exposure

16. Monetizing TikTok

TikTok is probably even bigger than YouTube these days, and it’s got even more potential for views given the scrolling nature of the platform compared to YouTube’s thumbnail dependence.

You can make money on TikTok natively with the TikTok Creativity Program.

Just like with YouTube, there are a few minimums you need to hit in terms of follower count and video views, but once you’re there the cash will start streaming in.

The current minimum follow count for monetization sits at 10k compared to YouTube’s 1k. You’ll also need to maintain a certain number of views every month, but that shouldn’t be too bad once you get some traction.

Regardless of what sort of TikTok channel you’re rocking, growth is key — and smart creators and brands are letting their audiences grow their channels for them.

Take Druski, for example. He used Whop’s Content Rewards to promote his dating reality show Coulda Been Love, pulling in well over 10 million views on a spend of just $5000.

If you want to get more views on TikTok, strategies like clipping via Content Rewards  offer a whole new frontier in going viral.

Pro tip: There’s lots more money to be made via TikTok Shop than through native ads, and that’s a whole thing in itself.

Best for: Short-form video creators
Requirements: None
How to get started: Just download the app and start uploading videos, but make sure to check out Whop’s TikTok communities to up your understanding of the platform’s algorithms

17. Video editing

YouTube and TikTok are great platforms for showcasing creativity, but there’s actually quite a lot of work that goes into producing video content.

There’s the actual stuff that you capture and narrate, for one thing, but all of that raw video (99% of the time) needs to be edited.

In fact, editing might actually take the bulk of a creator’s time and effort.

It definitely takes skill, and while there’s plenty of video editing software out there to help, these tools need to be learned, and it takes a good editor to realize the vision of a creator or producer.

If it sounds like getting really good at video editing might be an easily monetized skill, you’d be absolutely right. 

Take Mustafa Musa who runs Whop group Media Metas. He started learning about videography as well as video editing at just 13 years old, then linked up with Sneako at 14. 

Sneako was able to go viral across all platforms thanks to Musa’s help, and Musa’s knowledge of editing and social media algorithms led him to make his first million while still in his teens. 

And working with creators is also just the tip of the iceberg. After all, TikTokers and YouTubers are hardly the only people out there needing their videos edited. 

Lots of businesses produce their own videos for different reasons, and companies like ad agencies are always at it too — and that’s not even mentioning creative industries like TV and film or the many newsrooms all over the world.

Best for: Anyone who has a decent PC
Requirements: Willingness to spend the time to learn how to edit, and a machine with enough graphical processing power to render video
How to get started: Check out some online tutorials or visit Whop’s social media communities for tips and best practices on producing and editing video

18. Streaming

Whop is taking over the streaming landscape, with more and more live streams every day giving viewers exactly what they want.

What sets Whop apart as a streaming destination? Well, first and foremost, there’s no ads to worry about, which means you can also play any music you want.

You can also let anyone else onto your livestream at will as a presenter, giving you a whole new dynamic when it comes to viewer interaction since they’re not just limited to comments like on other platforms. 

It’s up to you whether or not you’d like to paywall your stream, so there’s another option for earning money. 

Like Baradul in the image above, you can also choose to stream for free, and accept donations instead. This is possible on streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch as well as Whop, and a livestream tends to make a bunch of cash.

Why do people tend to throw so much money at their favorite streamer? Well, people know that they’ll get a shoutout, their comments read out, or their questions answered. Sometimes, that’s enough.

Baradul, for example, thanks his paying subs on stream and devotes a few moments worth of on-air chat to them, greets them when they join streams, and makes a point of giving his paying fans plenty of attention - including giving answers that go up to a few minutes long.

Whop is a great place for streamers, charging only a 3% fee on payments you take from your viewers, or 0% if any sales come through the Discover page.

In contrast, YouTube takes a whopping 30% of your superchats. That’s ten times more than what Whop does.

You can also upload the entire recording of your livestream to Whop as part of your content library (which you can charge for) or to YouTube from which you’ll earn ad revenue if you’re monetized.

Best for: Anyone willing to be on camera for longer periods
Requirements: You might need a PC if you want to stream elaborate stuff like games, although a phone works in a pinch
How to get started: Create your own whop and start bringing people in to watch you stream

19. Podcasting

If livestreams and on-demand video are starting to leave TV in the dust, then you could make the same comparison between podcasts and radio.

Good podcasts tend to concentrate on a certain niche or area of focus, and the best ones will try to provide listeners with both the quality and the consistency that they deserve.

What does that mean? Here’s the sauce:

• Regular uploads 
• Structured agenda
• Decent recording hardware 
• Well mixed audio

Monetizing your podcast effectively is the next step, and it’s something you’ll want to give some thought to as you plan out your content. 

Most podcasters go down the same sort of route, with a premium community (like a whop) tending to be the first stop alongside sponsorships.

Above, we’ve pictured Brett Malinowski from the WGMI podcast. Here’s what the top of the pod playlist looks like:

You can see how consistent things are there, not just in terms of uploads but also thumbnails, content, and how the branding works throughout.

If you subscribe to a top-notch, professionally produced podcast like this, you know exactly what you’re going to get and can really look forward to the next scheduled drop.

Podcasts are really effective since people can listen to one while going about their day — driving, cooking, working, you name it.

So, why wait? There’s no reason not to start one. 

And if it’s just a niche or topic idea you need? Well, here’s a list of podcast ideas to try this year.

Best for: Audio content creators and anyone with a message to spread
Requirements: Basic recording equipment is something you may want to spend on, all else can be done for free
How to get started: Read this guide on how to start a podcast for free and just follow the steps outlined within!

20. Online Courses

If there’s a skill you want to learn, there’s no better way to jump online and take a quick course. 

Whop has a huge selection of online courses across multiple categories, which gives you an idea of just how easy and effective they are to create, and how much money-making potential they have.

To create your course, first create your own whop and then add the Courses app. 

You can then follow the onscreen prompts to engage with Whop’s drag-and-drop course builder.

There’s really no restrictions on what your course can include, and you can upload as much video as you like to go with text elements or even sync-ups with any apps you’d like to feature. 

Now, Whop’s not the only fish in the pond, but we’ll let creators speak for themselves as to how it compares to other top online course platforms:

I'm in the process of making a course as well, and being a Whop contributor has allowed me an inside look at how courses work on Whop.

You’d better believe that not a single other platform came close, and as someone who values convenience I’m prepared to swear by Whop’s course builder.

If you’ve got a skill you’d like to teach or knowledge you’d like to share, Whop goes above and beyond the competition when it comes to features, customer service, and pricing.

Best of all, you can just put your course out there and see how it lands. Whop won’t charge you a cent until you start making sales.

Best for: Online educators and entrepreneurs
Requirements: None
How to get started: Read this detailed guide to selling online courses, then just sign up for your own whop and play with the courses app

21. Building websites and landing pages

Ecommerce has been a growing industry for a long time, and it shows no signs of slowing down - quite the opposite in fact, as ecommerce accounts for a quarter of total global sales activity.

As a result, services related to ecommerce are in popular demand, and this includes web design. 

Basic web design isn't rocket science, but guess what? The average person can't do it. 

Oh, and I’m definitely including myself in that group. Sure, I can write and create content, among other things, but web design is very much not part of my wheelhouse.

So what did I do when I realized I needed to build a website for myself?

I hired a freelance web designer.

So, by investing no more than a few hours into some free tutorials and a little bit of trial and error, you can build up enough skill to be marketable.

And let's be honest - today, there are tons of AI tools that can also help. AI isn't ever going to give you anything original, but it can whip up a decent template or layout based on what you tell it. 

Then, you can adjust and iterate to end up with some really cool designs and page layouts that businesses will pay good money for.

Using this strategy, you can get lots of jobs done in a short amount of time and put energy into scaling and client acquisition. Do it all right, and before you know it, you could have a thriving web design side gig on your hands.

Best for: Anyone with a little bit of creativity and the willingness to learn how to build clean, simple, but attractive webpages
Requirements: Web design skills, which of course can be acquired for free online through courses and tutorials
How to get started: Once you're skilled up, just create your own whop advertising your web design services

22. Selling AI prompts

Much like the previous entry, this is another one that's in ample demand and can be learned pretty quickly even if you don't currently have any expertise in it.

Whatever your thoughts on AI, it now looks a lot more like a trend than a fad, and doesn't seem to be going away.

So, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! We're not saying that you need to hop on team AI, rather that you should look into milking it for as much cash as you can.

There are quite a few ways to make money with AI, but the best place to start is with prompt engineering. 

Once you develop a solid understanding of how to make different AIs give you the results you want, it's all about finding untapped niches or areas where AI might be able to help people out.

How about an AI to help accountants automate their monthly reports, or for overworked corporate underlings to generate presentations in moments rather than hours?

A little bit of outside the box thinking (which AI can't do) and you might be onto a winner.

All you then need to do is sell your AI prompt via a prompt marketplace, your own whop or even directly on your social media.

Best for: Anyone willing to put a little time and effort into learning how AI prompts work
Requirements: None bar a little time and research into what tasks people need help with in different industries
How to get started: Play around and learn how to prompt the AI of your choice, then find the best venue to sell your prompts to your chosen target market

6 big money methods if you have cash to spend

1. Reselling

We touched on price errors and glitches earlier, but reselling deserves a closer look. 

It’s a model you can scale into a full-blown business just by reinvesting your profits, so you can grow it to big numbers if you keep at it.

That’s kinda cool, because you can start from close to zero and grow it first into a source of pocket cash, then into a side hustle, and you could be sitting atop a profitable company of your own before you know it.

And that’s not an exaggeration.

Whop features entire communities of resellers like those pictured, engaging in networking, sharing information, and continuously scouring the internet for the most profitable reselling opportunities every single day.

Millionaire reseller Tiana Porter started with sneakers, and used her understanding of the botting scene to make it big.

She says that diversifying and focusing on multiple niches lessens risk and gives her more room for growth.

As you scale up, you’ll need to put plenty of cash towards picking up the sort of inventory you’ll need to multiply your money.

Some space to store all of the stuff you buy for resale is good to have, too.

Best for: Entrepreneurs and anyone with a nose for a deal
Requirements: Capital to acquire storage and purchase products at scale
How to get started: We’ve got you covered with this beginner guide to making money as a reseller

2. Trading

Trading is almost unparalleled for potential to earn incredible amounts of money in a short space of time, but you’ll need a few hundred bucks if you want to get started in any sort of meaningful way.

Let’s be honest for a moment: the more potential for earning, the more risk. 

And the most profitable trading instruments, like options and derivatives, are ones you can lose all your cash on. In fact, it’s possible to even lose more than you put in if you make bad bets on the short side.

Let’s explain that, actually. A short sale is when you borrow something and sell it today, promising to buy it back for the owner in the future. You’re betting it’s going down in value. 

If you get it wrong, you’ll have to pay more to buy the asset back later, thereby losing money.

Gabe Plotkin made a series of short bets against video game companies including GameStop. 

End result? His hedge fund went bankrupt. 

Don’t be like Gabe.

Well, actually, it wasn’t his own money that he lost, so Gabe’s actually doing fine. The difference between Wall Streeters and most of us “retail traders” is that those guys are making risky bets with other people’s money.

So, with trading, education is key if you don’t want to lose your hard-earned cash. 

You’ll find the internet’s best trading courses and communities here on Whop, and even if you consider yourself an advanced trader there’s plenty to learn. These groups are run by bonafide experts who’ve made plenty of money on the markets.

Once you reckon you’re ready to go, you can start applying whatever trading style you’re comfortable with, and consider different assets. 

• Forex day trading can be a profitable option with limited risk, for example, while options as mentioned are risky but can multiply your money fast… like, really, really fast.
• A well-placed call option could cost you just $10 but pay $1000 if you either predict some sort of market move or spot something happening on the technical side.
• If you think you’re up for the wildest of market rides, you could also consider crypto. 

But be warned - unlike the stock market, crypto doesn’t sleep or respect your weekends! You could tuck yourself in, happy with your $5,000 crypto nest egg… and wake up to find that a zero has either been added or gone missing overnight. 

Best for: Anyone with knowledge of the financial markets and higher risk tolerance
Requirements: Some starting capital and a trading app or broker
How to get started: Sign up for a stock trading app that meets your needs and either transfer your starting funds in or begin with some paper trading to see how things work

3. Real estate flipping

Real estate is something that you’d normally get into if you can actually visit properties and check them out yourself, but today it’s possible to use online listings as a starting point and go from there.

There are generally two ways to make money with real estate:

• You could bank on appreciation, such as when a neighbourhood as a whole sees development and prices go up as a whole, or 
• You could be a fixer-upper, buying properties in need of work and renovating them completely before selling them on

It’s possible to be a fixer-upper from a distance too, hiring the tradespeople you need online or linking up with someone local to be your eyes on the ground. 

Much like with trading, there’s plenty of risk here if you don’t know what you’re doing, so a great starting point would be to check out this list of online real estate courses.

I should add, by the way, that you need some money to do this - but you don’t need hundreds of thousands of dollars ready to go.

Take Richard Taylor, for example. The brains behind Hold My Hand Wholesale, Taylor wasn’t always a multimillionaire creator and real estate investor.

He put the work in, studying real estate as much as he could, then started to get involved in real estate wholesaling with (then) limited funds.

This is a great strategy to start with, since you’re not buying the property yourself - you’re getting a property that’s for sale under contract, then selling the contract to another buyer for a higher price.

Best for: Building significant wealth
Requirements: Capital, and quite a lot of it!
How to get started: Join a real estate whop to network a little and bounce your ideas off others like you before you commit your capital

4. Dropshipping

If you haven’t heard of dropshipping before, the concept is super simple — it’s all about selling products without actually holding inventory.

Dopshipping is all about partnering with wholesalers or manufacturers who handle storage, packaging, and shipping products directly to customers.

While technically you can start dropshipping for free, you will be more successful if you invest some cash upfront. Use this money to take care of marketing and customer service, along with your online storefront and paid social media ads.

To stand out, you’ll need:

• Branding that catches the eye
• Attractive product photos
• Good marketing copy
• Accurate product descriptions 
• Product descriptions that answer your target market’s questions
• An ad budget to get yourself placed at the top of the page

This is Davie Fogarty, the Australian entrepreneur whose community, Millionaires by Davie, is one of the best value offerings out there for prospective entrepreneurs.

According to him, one facet of dropshipping not to be underestimated is the creation of a brand. 

Davie says that building a brand means building a set of values that you share with your customers, thereby creating an amazing customer experience and ensuring that they keep coming back to you again and again. 

How much has Davie made using this approach with his own dropshipping businesses? An eye-watering $800 million. 

Dropshipping can be a very good source of income, but it’s no longer an easy win since you may find yourself up against plenty of competition.

To help you stand out in a crowded market, Whop has a selection of different dropshipping communities you can join to maximize your dropshipping potential.

Best for: Anyone with a talent for logistics and making contacts
Requirements: Enough starting capital and supplier relationships
How to get started: Educate yourself by taking a good dropshipping course before figuring out what product is best for dropshipping

5. Online ecommerce store

Ecommerce plays a huge role in how value moves online, and getting started is easier than you might think. With platforms like Whop, you can set up a professional storefront and start selling digital products in just a few minutes.

Whether you're selling physical or digital products, an online store is a fantastic way to reach the widest possible market.

Getting started is extremely easy, and there are two main steps:

• Firstly, you need to decide what products you want to sell 
• Then, make sure your products are within the legal framework wherever it is you live 

If you run an online store selling physical goods, remember that you’ll need to think about managing inventory and figuring out delivery - known as ecommerce fulfilment.

Logistics is also extremely important, so make sure not to neglect it if you don’t want to run into trouble. It’s one reason that many successful entrepreneurs prefer digital products - thanks to platforms like Whop, all you really need to focus on is the product itself.

Getting the product right is crucial, but once you do, it’s just a matter of scale. For this reason, running your own online store on a platform like Whop can be incredibly profitable.

Even if you start small, you could end up deciding to make this your primary income stream no matter what sort of product you decide to sell.

Best for: Budding entrepreneurs who have both time and money to put into their venture
Requirements: Starting capital and a passion for business
How to get started: Learn from the best by visiting a top ecommerce Discord community and speak to other entrepreneurs for the most up to date industry information

6. SaaS

Software-as-a-Service may not be a term that everyone's heard or is familiar with, but it's a safe bet that you've used it.

Don’t believe me? 

As it happens, practically every popular app is an example of SaaS. Netflix? SaaS. Tinder? Also Saas. You name it, it’s probably SaaS.

What actually sets SaaS applications apart from traditional counterparts is that SaaS is known for the subscription payment model. 

Netflix, to use that same example, is an app that you or someone in your family would pay for on a monthly basis. Traditional software on the other hand used to be priced as a one-time fee. 

As you can imagine, this might be problematic if you're a small business or freelancer but you want to use enterprise-grade software that might cost thousands, and in some cases even tens of thousands of dollars.

The benefit of SaaS to the consumer is pretty clear. They make payments in affordable regular chunks while they use the software.

It's actually really good for you if you're selling the SaaS as well because it's a great source of monthly recurring revenue.

So, all that remains is to go ahead and develop your dream app. Easier said than done of course, but if you have an idea and some cash (or investment) you can easily find the tech staff to make your vision a reality.

Not every new SaaS or tech startup succeeds. But for those entrepreneurs that sell their SaaS the right way, the sky's the limit.

This is a super simple SaaS project called MediaFast, and according to his Reddit account, its founder received only discouragement when posting about it. And yet, 110 days after launch, he was able to report over $4k in earnings.

That’s not quite going to pay the bills, but it’s a very fine start. 

Best for: Entrepreneurs with vision or a problem to solve, and who can either code themselves or secure investment to hire coders
Requirements: Funding in order to establish your nascent firm and take your SaaS to market
How to get started: Put a business plan together and create a team to complement your skillset to get the ball rolling

How multiple income streams give you freedom and flexibility

You’ve probably noticed that many of the best ways to make money with your skills are creative. 

Most of them fall under content creation, and chances are, you’re already following creators who do exactly that.

Even if you’re already a creator yourself, it’s good to stay current and have an ear on the pulse of things, scouting for trends and understanding where your niche is heading.

What’s important to understand, however, is that the most successful creators don't rely on just one way to make money. 

Someone who starts out as a YouTuber will probably start streaming at some point. Plenty of ebook authors turn to podcasts next, or create online courses. Almost every creator has a premium community, too.

What’s the lesson for you here?

Mix it up. Create multiple revenue streams by doing things that complement your primary hustle.

For example, Tabletop RPG YouTuber Nonat1s has built a reputation as something of an expert when it comes to the Pathfinder roleplaying system.

His videos bring him YouTube platform revenue, but he’s also got a premium community, sells his own art and custom campaigns, and for a time used to DM games personally for a price. 

Smart, right? It’s a mix of revenue streams across different media and digital products, with some bringing in passive income and others pulling in big bucks though less reliably. 

With the right strategy, this kind of multi-pronged approach can turn your side hustle into a profitable full-time business. It lowers risk too, since if one avenue falls flat you’ve still got others going strong.

For this reason, lots of content creators are setting up their own whops since it lets them bring all of those different income streams into one convenient place.

Make money online with Whop

Since its introduction in 2021, Whop has been making waves as one of the internet’s best platforms for online entrepreneurs to make money - and by creating your own whop, you too can bring in thousands of dollars a month.

You can start small with something like clipping, and scale up into affiliate marketing and the production of your own content, or even branch out into ecommerce - and you’ll find both the guidance to get started and the perfect platform on Whop.

Whop is absolutely free to use - it costs nothing but a few minutes to sign up for your own whop and start making money today.

Read next:

• How to make money fast
• How to make your first million