60 easy ways to make money online [2025]

The internet changed everything — how we work, connect, create, and get paid. For many people, life before the internet feels like a distant memory.

If you’re thinking about making money online in 2025, don’t worry — you’re not too late. In fact, there’s never been a better time to start. New platforms, tools, and digital trends have opened the door to endless ways to earn online.

This guide breaks down the most realistic and beginner-friendly ways to start making money right now. We’ll cover everything from launching an ecommerce hustle to getting paid for chatting online, creating content, offering services, or even flipping digital goods.

Some of these ideas you can launch in a weekend. Others might just grow into your next full-time income stream.

Let’s dive in.

How to start making money online

5 best ways to make money online:

Before jumping in, take a minute to think about what you’re actually working with. The time, skills, and resources you bring to the table will shape what makes the most sense for you.

Here’s what to consider:

• How much time do you have?
  Got a free afternoon every day? Or just squeezing this in after work? Your schedule will influence what’s realistic — and how fast you can scale.
• Do you already have an audience?
  If you’ve built a following online, you’re ahead of the game. You can start promoting right away to people who already know you.
• What are you good at?
  Play to your strengths. Whether it’s organizing, designing, writing, or coding—some money-making methods will fit you better than others.

Figure this stuff out first, and the rest gets way easier.

The best ways to make money online: From beginners to experts

This article is packed full of ways to make money on the internet, but there’s nothing like a little instant gratification.

Fast and easy ways to make money

Let’s start with some really simple ways of making money that you can literally get started on right now.

1. Getting paid as a clipper

Clipping is one of the newest ways to make money with content — and you don't even need to create the content yourself.

As a clipper you take existing longform content (like visual podcasts and vlogs) and clip the best parts into short, viral videos. Clipping is a hot market right now — creators want more eyes on their content, and clippers are happy to make money online creating viral reels.

For even more information about clipping and a crash course on what to do and what not to do, make sure to join the free Whop Clips community.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Low
• Potential profit: High if you get the views
• Key considerations: Finding solid clipping opportunities and creating clips that get traction

2. Cashback apps

You're already shopping — why not get paid for it?

Cashback apps help you earn money back when you make a purchase. This can be on small ticket items like groceries or big tech purchases.

With money-making apps like Ibotta you just download the app, shop, and claim back percentages of what you spend either in straight cash or gift cards.

Don’t worry, you’ll still be buying directly from the stores that you know and love — but how good does 5% cash back on Walmart flash deals sound? Or 7.5% on Lowes? A massive 15% on Temu?

These are the kinds of figures you can start claiming back if you sign up for a solid cashback app.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Very low
• Potential profit: Low
• Key considerations: Finding cashback apps that cover the stores you usually shop at

3. Watching videos

How many hours a day do you spend scrolling through video content?

Whether it's reality tv, indie movies, or TikToks, mindlessly watching videos can make us feel guilty and unproductive. But not anymore. Now you can actually get paid to watch videos.

In some cases, it’s just short, 30-second ads. In other cases, though, you can get paid for watching the kind of video content that you’d usually watch anyway — even full length movies!

Depending on the app or platform you choose, you’ll be given different types of videos to watch. Zynn, for example, focuses on TikTok videos and rewards you with points for every 20-second clip you consume.

InboxDollars, meanwhile, serves up slightly longer videos that you just play in the background while you do other stuff.

Now, watching videos for money won't make you rich, but it is an easy way to earn a little extra cash.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Low
• Potential profit: Very low
• Key considerations: Finding a paid platform that pays out in your area, and figuring out a system that automates your video-watching if at all possible

4. Play-to-earn gaming

If you're a gamer, then you've likely spent countless hours grinding levels, collecting loot, and mastering card decks.

Now imagine if that time actually paid off — literally. That’s exactly what play-to-earn (P2E) games are all about: giving players real rewards, like cryptocurrency or NFTs, just for playing.

Unlike traditional games packed with microtransactions or pay-to-win mechanics, P2E works differently. Instead of constantly asking for money, these games reward your time and skill with assets that hold real-world value, and can often be traded or sold freely.

Many P2E games use blockchain tech so you actually own your in-game items. That means no shady takedowns or lost progress. What you earn is yours to keep (and cash out). For example, Gods Unchained is a card battler similar to Hearthstone, where you earn $GODS tokens and tradable NFT cards just by playing well.

Play smarter, and your gaming habit could become your side-hustle.

• Initial investment: None, unless you buy in-game NFTs for a stronger start
• Time/effort required: Your choice
• Potential profit: Low with potential for appreciation if using NFTs
• Key considerations: Finding quality games remains difficult

5. Microtasks

Watching videos or playing games for money are fun examples of what’s known as microtasks — quick, simple online jobs that pay small amounts per task. While those are some of the most accessible entry points, they only scratch the surface of the broader microtask world.

On more specialized platforms, microtasks can include things like data entry, text translation, tagging images, content moderation, transcription, and data verification. These tasks are often used to help train AI systems, organize large datasets, or support tech and research projects behind the scenes.

So whether you're casually watching videos or contributing to AI development, microtasks offer a flexible way to earn online.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Your choice
• Potential profit: Low but you can scale up into a side gig or even a business
• Key considerations: There can be a lot of competition for microtasks, especially the ones that pay well

6. Sign-up bonuses

If you’ve checked out any of the apps we’ve mentioned — like InboxDollars or Ibotta — you might’ve noticed a little extra incentive: the sign-up bonus.

These bonuses give you a small boost when you join, typically ranging from a couple of dollars to as much as $20.

But there’s a catch — you usually need to hit a minimum payout threshold before you can actually cash it out. That means completing a few tasks, offers, or purchases first. Still, if you’re planning to earn through videos, games, or microtasks anyway, grabbing a sign-up bonus along the way is a no-brainer.

Another place you’ll see lucrative sign-up offers is in the online betting world. These often work as deposit matches, For example, deposit $50 and get an extra $50 to play with.

Sounds great, but keep in mind: you’ll need to wager real money, and there may be terms like minimum odds or rollover requirements.

So while betting bonuses can be tempting, make sure you read the fine print and only participate if you're comfortable with the risk. For safer bets, stick to earning through microtask apps that don’t require you to spend money to make money.

• Initial investment: None (Low if you go the betting route for deposit bonuses)
• Time/effort required: Very low
• Potential profit: Very low, but deposit matches on betting sites can really pay off if done right
• Key considerations: Make sure you check the eligibility requirements on the bonuses that you're trying to score

7. Referral programs

Very similar to sign-up bonuses, many apps and websites offer some really interesting bonuses for referrals. Instead of rewarding you for joining, they reward you for getting other people to join.

Referral bonuses are more common than you think. Ecommerce websites, trading platforms, banking apps, VPN services, online clothing retailers, Airbnb — you name it, referrals are everywhere.

Much like sign-up bonuses, there may be a few terms and conditions attached. With banking apps, for example, referrals might only activate when the people you refer sign up and actually deposit a certain amount.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: Very low
• Potential profit: Low
• Key considerations: Having an audience or circle of friends or family will really help here

8. Online sweepstakes

Online sweepstakes and giveaways can be a fun way to earn extra cash, or even score prizes worth thousands. From gaming gear to real money, there’s value on the table if luck’s on your side.

A word of warning: you’ll lose 99.9% of the sweepstakes you enter. But that’s still better than 100% if you never try.

You can start with sweepstakes aggregator sites, but Facebook is full of giveaways too. Into gaming or tech? Follow brands like Nvidia, ASUS, or major PC influencers. They often give away pricey GPUs and gear you can use or resell for serious cash.

Tips for entering sweepstakes:

• Create a separate email for entries, but keep it realistic—no “contest123” handles.
• Stick to trusted brands. Lesser-known sites might sneak in subscriptions or hidden fees.
• Look for entry boosts. Some contests allow daily entries or extra chances for sharing.

Sweepstakes won’t make you rich, but play it smart and you just might hit the jackpot (or at least walk away with something worthwhile like a PS5).

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Medium, because finding good ones might take some work
• Potential profit: Medium if you get lucky, but remember that there's no guarantee of winning
• Key considerations: Do your research, and make sure you only enter online sweepstakes that are legit and run by reputable companies and websites

9. Chatting online

Let’s take care of the elephant in the room right away: no, we’re not talking about becoming a chatter for an account on a NSFW platform (although that’s definitely a thing if you weren’t aware, and people to do it are often actively sought out and compensated adequately).

There are a lot more sites out there where you can get paid to chat with people. Yes, there's usually an element of companionship, but this can vary from giving advice to chatting about gaming.

Some chatting sites can get very, very specific. Needle, for instance, is a service where you can chat with indecisive shoppers and help them make decisions. And, if you’ve got mental health qualifications, you can try platforms like Ginger.io and HeyPeers.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Medium, since chatting is an involved activity and can take time
• Potential profit: Low
• Key considerations: Finding the sort of online chat platform that works for you, and maintains your privacy

10. Answering questions

This one sounds a bit like chatting online, but we’re getting a lot more specific here.

People often search the internet seeking answers to certain questions, and there are a lot of ways in which these questions get answered — videos, blog posts, entire websites, forums, and platforms like Reddit and Quora.

Reddit is free (for now) and a brilliant source of information about practically anything under the sun, but Quora actually does pay people who answer questions via its Partner Program.

So, that could be your first stop if you think you might be able to help people answer questions online.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Low to medium, since some methods of getting paid for answering questions require either a lot of research or involvement when it comes to things like helping with homework
• Potential profit: Low
• Key considerations: Taking advantage of your own knowledge by getting into the right niche and building a reputation for yourself

11. Taking online surveys

If you live in the U.S. or another major consumer market, online surveys can be a simple and accessible way to make money — no special skills required.

Why? Because brands are constantly trying to understand how consumers think. Surveys are one of their favorite tools, and they’re willing to pay real money for honest feedback that helps them shape products, ads, and experiences.

To avoid scams, stick with reputable survey platforms like Survey Junkie, Swagbucks, or surveys offered directly by well-known companies. These options are much more likely to offer legit payouts and real opportunities.

Now, surveys won’t replace a full-time job — but if you’re looking to make an extra $100–$300 a month, they’re a solid side option.

It’s all about being consistent, choosing the right platforms, and maximizing the chances that your voice turns into extra cash.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Medium, since answering surveys can get quite tedious
• Potential profit: Low
• Key considerations: Finding paid surveys on reputable platforms

12. Online focus groups

Online surveys are one of the most widely-used market research strategies out there, but focus groups aren’t that far behind.

Surveys provide a lot of information about consumers, specifically quantitative data. Focus groups, on the other hand, provide more qualitative information, and are paid very well to do so.

The people who take part in focus groups can teach companies how their products are used, and provide valuable feedback on things that stats can’t really indicate.

Most focus groups tend to be done in person, but online focus groups are becoming more common. It can be a little harder to get into online focus groups than it can be to find paid surveys, but there’s plenty out there.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Low
• Potential profit: Low
• Key considerations: Actually finding and getting picked for online focus groups can at times be quite hard

13. Selling data

Big caveat here: we’re not talking about selling your own personal data, or acquiring other people’s data and selling that (which would be illegal in most jurisdictions, just saying).

We’re talking about internet data, or bandwidth.

You pay your internet provider for a set amount of data at a certain speed. but chances are, you’re not using all of it. That’s where this clever money-making method comes in: sell your unused bandwidth to someone who needs it.

In places like the U.S. and Europe, where demand for bandwidth is high, some platforms will pay you up to $50 per month just for letting them tap into your excess data.

Most of these services require you to download and install software on your device so they can route traffic through your connection. While this is pretty standard for mobile apps, be cautious when it comes to desktop installations. Make sure to research and trust the platform before you sign up—privacy and security always come first.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Very low
• Potential profit: Low
• Key considerations: Picking a trusted, well-recommended platform since you'll have to install their software onto your machine

14. Online mystery shopping

You may have heard of mystery shopping (physically going into stores to test their service, aesthetics, and everything in between), but have you heard about online mystery shopping?

With online mystery shopping gigs, companies pay you to test their websites, evaluate their customer service, and sometimes even place real orders (which they reimburse you for).

All you have to do is shop online and give feedback through a report, questionnaire, or screen recording.

There are plenty of agencies and platforms that recruit online mystery shoppers from all over the world (no prior experience needed), and you can get started with just a laptop and decent internet.

Payment can range from $5 to $50+ per task, depending on how involved it is.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Low to medium
• Potential profit: Low to medium
• Key considerations: Vet the platform before giving any personal info or doing test tasks - real ones won’t charge you to sign up

15. Sports betting

Let’s get the disclaimer out first — betting is risky, and should be done responsibly. That said, it can be an extremely quick way to build a stack of cash.

Sports and betting go hand in hand, and if you're a sport fan you’ll have quite the leg up on the competition, whether it’s NFL, NBA, MLB, soccer, golf, Formula 1, Tennis, or other.

Here’s the thing, though. The secret to success with betting is to link up with other bettors and expert tipsters in order to learn all of the stats and information that’s at work. The numbers aren’t always right of course, but tied to your own sporting instincts, you’re increasing your chances of success.

Plus, you’re also going to be learning from the pros when you join a sports picks whop. That means understanding how to manage your bankroll, deal with risks, and not to lose your shirt while also having a bit of fun at the proverbial races.

• Initial investment: You can get started with as little as $10
• Time/effort required: Low
• Potential profit: Depends on your skill and luck
• Key considerations: Vet the platform extensively and make sure to understand risk and bankroll management

16. Mobile app testing

A lot of the entries on this list so far have involved downloading or using apps. These apps have to be developed and tested exhaustively before being released to the paying public — and that testing isn’t free.

Which means, you can get paid to test apps.

To find app-testing gigs, check out platforms like UserTesting and Testbirds. The sort of feedback you need to provide may vary, and keep in mind that the devs often want plenty of details.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: Low
• Key considerations: If you understand what developers are looking for in terms of feedback, you have a good chance of making this a reliable source of easy cash

Getting paid for content creation

The methods above are great for easy, mostly passive income, but if you’re ready to earn more, it’s time to explore options with higher potential.

Next up: content creation.

If you’ve got a phone, a niche, and a bit of creativity, content creation could be your next big side hustle.

17. UGC content

When you hear "content creator," you might picture big names like Marques Brownlee or Dude Perfect — and sure, it’s great to aim high. But what if you could start making money from your very first post?

With User-Generated Content (UGC), you can.

UGC is all about authentic, everyday content — short videos, reviews, photos, or even tweets — that brands can use in their marketing. It doesn’t need to be fancy. In fact, brands prefer lo-fi content that feels real. If you’ve got a smartphone, you’ve got everything you need.

Love gaming? Review a couple of titles and pitch game studios for early access. Into skincare, tech, or food? Record simple product clips or restaurant visits. It all adds up to a starter portfolio.

There are plenty of UGC platforms. But, to get going fast, check out Whop Content Rewards. You’ll find paid UGC opportunities you can apply for right away — create content, rack up views, and get paid. No followers required.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Low
• Potential profit: Medium to high
• Key considerations: Understanding the brands you're creating for as well as their audiences to make the most authentic, relatable content

18. Blogging

Blogging has been a popular way to make money online for decades now (bloggers are the OG online content creators), and it’s a great option if you’re comfortable writing.

While it's not easy to make money with a blog from the get-go, it is easy to get started. And once you have a good online presence, opportunities to make money will begin to flood in.

The best blogs tend to focus on particular niches (like these great ecommerce niche blogs), and bloggers tend to have some level of expertise or authority over that specific area of interest.

To get started, choose a niche that you’re passionate about or knowledgeable in. You may not think so at first, but sometimes, the more obscure the better — there’s likely going to be a market for it from others who share your interest all the same.

For example, The Tiny Canal Cottage is a blog all about designing and living in small spaces:

Once you’ve picked a niche, it's time to start your blog and get posting. To stand out, you’ll need to balance SEO with quality — good keyword use gets eyes on your page, but strong, helpful content is what keeps them coming back.

As your blog gains traffic, you can start earning through Google AdSense, sponsorships, or your own blog monetization strategies. like selling ebooks, courses, or memberships. And if your content connects, you’ve got a shot at building a loyal community, too.

It takes some effort upfront, but blogging can evolve into a powerful income stream.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: Medium (very low until you build an audience)
• Key considerations: Choice of hosting/platform, Search engine ranking while maintaining high quality, Monetization strategy

19. YouTube

If writing’s not your thing but you’re comfortable on camera, YouTube is a powerful platform to build and monetize a content brand — especially if you’re passionate about a specific niche.

Watching a quick video often beats reading a blog, especially for “how-to” content. Even if the host isn’t polished, seeing a process play out can be far more useful than just reading about it.

While YouTube’s monetization system favors the platform itself, you can still earn substantial income once you reach the YouTube Partner Program threshold (currently 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours). From there, revenue can come from ads, sponsorships, memberships, merch, courses, and more.

Investing early in good visuals and audio can help you stand out, but what matters most is consistency. Keep creating, refine your craft, and use YouTube not just as an income source, but also as a funnel to promote other digital products, communities, or services. That way you can make money with YouTube without a huge following.

• Initial investment: Medium (you may have to purchase hardware, including portable cameras and mics, depending on your niche)
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: High
• Key considerations: Your niche, producing quality content, using adequate hardware, and learning to edit videos

20. YouTube thumbnails

Another way to make money with YouTube is by creating YouTube thumbnails.

One of the most important things every channel should invest in is good thumbnails in order to stand out from the crowd.

If you have graphic design skills, you can easily find creators on freelancing platforms looking for thumbnail creatives.

Since most YouTube channels have a consistent content schedule, once you start working with one, there's a chance that you'll have a steady flow of work.

With good organization, you'll be able to scale your business and have every chance of turning this into a full-time gig.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: Low
• Potential profit: Low-medium
• Key considerations: Creating YouTube thumbnails might sound easy at first, but they require graphic design skills and a great deal of research to understand what works and what doesn't. Since this changes all the time, you also have to keep yourself up to date

21. TikTok

If YouTube owns long-form content, TikTok dominates the short-form world. With over 2 billion downloads globally, it’s a prime platform for turning quick, engaging videos into real income.

TikTok’s monetization ecosystem has grown fast. The main gateway is the TikTok Creativity Program, which replaced the old Creator Fund. To qualify, you’ll need 10,000 followers and 100,000 video views in the past 30 days. Once you’re in, you can start earning based on performance.

As creator Patryk Karwasz puts it in the video above:

“This is my TikTok Shop studio, and this is something anyone can do. All you have to do is get a product, get in front of the camera, and boom — start talking.

You can talk about the product — discounts and things like that — but the main point is to sell something and make money. This is going to become a huge business in the future.”

You can also receive tips and gifts directly from your fans. And with the right niche, consistent posting, and a product or two to promote, TikTok can absolutely become a full-time income stream.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: Medium (you’ll need to meet all of the monetization requirements, too)
• Key considerations: Algorithm knowledge, picking the right niche, content quality

22. Streaming

Streaming shares a lot of the same skills as running a successful YouTube or TikTok channel, but if short-form videos are a sprint, streaming is a marathon. It’s all about live, long-form content, with no editing.

If you can entertain consistently in real time — or you’re in a niche that naturally lends itself to longer sessions — streaming could be a perfect fit. While gaming is a classic go-to, you’ll find creators streaming everything from car repairs and woodworking to book chats and dog walking.

One big plus: you can start making money earlier than with other platforms. Viewers often send donations in real time, especially when streamers respond with shout-outs or answer questions live.

Platforms like Whop, Twitch, and YouTube Live all support streaming, but Whop stands out by letting you monetize from day one. You can host free or paid livestreams, and charge a membership fee to your whop.

If you're ready to show up live and build a loyal audience, streaming could turn your time, personality, and skills into a steady source of income.

• Initial investment: Medium (You will need the right hardware and software to stream effectively)
• Time/effort required: Medium (But a regular schedule is advisable)
• Potential profit: Very high
• Key considerations: Niche, being engaging/entertaining for longer periods

23. Streamer overlays

If you've ever visited streaming platforms like Twitch or Kick, there's a high chance you've seen people having unique visual overlays on their streams.

While some streamers create those overlays themselves, most of them pay graphic designers to make overlay sets for them.

These sets include camera outlines, chat backgrounds, ad placement boxes, and more. If you have graphic design skills, you can create all kinds of overlays for all kinds of streamers.

You can find clients looking for stream overlays on freelancing platforms, or you can directly offer your services by creating a website of your own or creating a whop of your own.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: Low-medium
• Potential profit: Low
• Key considerations: To be able to create streamer overlays, you have to be able to use graphic design software like Adobe Photoshop and understand how stream overlays work. Additionally, if you're interested in leveling up your work with animated overlays, you have to have animation skills as well

24. Podcasting

If blogs are for writers and YouTube is for visual storytellers, then podcasting is the go-to medium for creators who prefer audio-first content.

Podcasts typically center on a specific topic and follow a recurring schedule, whether that’s weekly interviews, educational deep dives, personal stories, or even actual play sessions of tabletop games. You can go solo or host guests, and cover broad or ultra-niche topics — the format is totally up to you.

Podcasting demands attention to audio quality. Since your voice is the star, investing in a solid mic setup, soundproofing, and clean editing is non-negotiable if you want listeners to stick around.

You’ll also need to choose a podcast hosting platform, and there are plenty out there — each offering different analytics, distribution tools, and monetization options. Unlike blogs or YouTube videos, podcasts aren’t as easy to discover through search, so marketing will play a bigger role in growing your audience.

When it comes to podcast monetization, podcasters have plenty of paths:

• Sponsorships and in-episode ads
• Listener donations
• Paid communities on platforms like Whop, where you can offer bonus content, Q&As, or early access for your most loyal fans.

If you've got something to say and the consistency to say it well, podcasting can turn your voice into both influence and income.

• Initial investment: Medium
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: Medium
• Key considerations: Audio quality, presentation, marketing, platform choice

25. Monetize your community

Once you start creating content — whether on YouTube, TikTok, or another platform — it might take time, but your audience will grow. Hitting monetization milestones like 1,000 YouTube subscribers or 10,000 TikTok followers is a big achievement, but it's really just the beginning.

Each subscriber represents someone who actively chose to follow your content, aka a community of loyal followers. The next step is figuring out how to turn that community into income.

One of the best ways to do this is by creating your own whop. With a whop, you can move your most loyal followers off-platform and engage with them directly. It gives you more control over your audience, more flexibility in how you earn, and a better way to build lasting relationships.

Of course, you can still use built-in tools like YouTube Memberships or TikTok Series, where fans pay to access premium content. But you can go beyond that by using your content to promote digital products, launch your own merch, or build a paid membership community that supports you on your terms.

We spoke to Bravo Six Picks about how they make money with their online community, and this what they had to say:

We built Bravo Six Picks with the idea that clarity and consistency win in the long run. It’s not about shouting the loudest—it’s about showing up, delivering value, and letting the results speak for themselves.

Your content might start on someone else’s platform, but your business doesn’t have to stay there.

• Initial investment: Very Low
• Time/effort required: Low
• Potential profit: High
• Key considerations: Quality content to build community, picking the right time to monetize aggressively

26. Moderate a community

If you don’t think you’re quite ready to create a paid community of your own, there’s an intermediate step — find someone else’s community and sign up to be a moderator.

You don’t even have to be a creator in your own right to do this, but it’s a good one if you are since you’ll learn valuable lessons and make great contacts that you can then utilize in your own community once you’re ready.

Moderation is very much a gig and it may not necessarily pay incredible amounts of money, but it’s often flexible work - and given the global nature of the internet, you should be able to fit it into your existing schedule with ease.

As a moderator, you also get to work closely with different creators and influencers, and those relationships could easily develop and expand into collaborations or partnerships.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: Low
• Key considerations: Finding the right creators and communities to moderate, avoiding toxicity and giving yourself a chance to springboard your own community

27. Email newsletters

Newsletters are a great way to make money, and it’s an extremely scalable and highly creative model as far as online businesses go.

You’re probably used to a newsletter being a marketing tactic and know that most businesses have one, so how can a newsletter on its own make money?

Well, there are two ways in which newsletters are becoming a business.

Firstly, you can simply offer a premium newsletter. Create a newsletter that offers unique value worth paying for, and you earn money through your subscribers.

Secondly, you can run a free newsletter but monetize it in other ways. Your newsletter could point people toward your digital products, a premium community, affiliate marketing, and contact ads (or be sponsored in its entirety).

• Initial investment: Very Low
• Time/effort required: High
• Potential profit: Extremely high for a premium newsletter
• Key considerations: Giving people a reason to pay for your premium newsletter, or monetizing a free one efficiently

28. Self-publish ebooks

The internet has transformed publishing. You no longer need a traditional publisher’s approval to release a book — especially if you’re focused on digital formats.

Self-publishing gives you full creative control over your ebook’s content, design, length, and distribution.

That said, the quality of your manuscript still matters. There’s no gatekeeper, so it’s up to you to make sure your writing is clean, well-edited, and polished. Professional editing services are a smart investment, especially if you want your work to stand out.

Don’t underestimate the importance of your cover design, either. With thousands of titles competing for attention, your book needs a cover that looks professional and grabs interest — because yes, people do judge books by their covers, even online.

Finally, choose your publishing platform. While Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is a top choice, it's not the only one. With growing competition in the ebook space, there are more author-friendly options for ebooks publishing (like Whop).

Read our guide to make money with ebooks.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: High (initially)
• Potential profit: Very high
• Key considerations: Content, cover design, platform, formatting

29. Create faceless content

Faceless content is one of the most popular content types thanks for short-form platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels.

One big reason for this is that not everyone is comfortable sitting in front of a camera and talk to their audience. Faceless content solves this problem.

Of course, faceless content doesn't mean content that has AI in every aspect of it: visuals, narration, etc. — most social media platforms still prefer content that has human elements in it.

You can earn money with faceless content in a few ways. You can join programs like TikTok's Creator Rewards Program, monetize your channel through YouTube, do affiliate marketing once your account is big enough, or submit your faceless content for content rewards on Whop.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: Low-medium
• Key considerations: Finding the right niche, using the right tools, and coming up with unique content ideas

30. Selling digital templates

Digital templates are pre-made tools that help people complete tasks faster and more easily. They can take many forms, like Canva or Photoshop templates for social media graphics, Excel or Google Sheets templates for budgeting or project management, or even Notion templates for productivity and organization.

What ties them all together is good design and usability. If you’re familiar with a specific platform and have experience in a niche — like marketing, personal finance, or business operations — you can create templates that solve real problems for people.

One of the biggest advantages of selling digital templates is that they’re low-cost to produce. You usually don’t need any upfront investment beyond the time it takes to design them. Plus, once you’ve made a template, it can be sold again and again with no extra work.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Low
• Potential profit: Low
• Key considerations: Coming up with unique content and design that people can't find in other products

31. Photo presets

This one’s very similar to the previous entry on this list, but deserves its own entry because of how much of a growing opportunity it’s becoming. 

Rather than a general template, we’re talking about a specific set of custom filters and presets here that photographers and Instagram influencers (among others) would happily pay for.

There are apps like Lightroom and VSCO that let you come up with your own photo presets, and anyone can get into it - although some skill with photo editing and an artistic eye will definitely help you make money here.

Besides, creating a photo preset takes a finite amount of work - but once it’s listed for sale, you can just sit back and watch the cash coming in.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Low
• Potential profit: Medium
• Key considerations: Creating cool photo presets that have real applications for photographers, influencers, or any other niche

Making money with freelancing and online services

Tameem Rahman — aka The SaaStronaut — thinks selling a service is the best way to make money. Here's why:

I think one of the best ways to make money online is through a service-based business. I truly believe this because I myself tried dropshipping, I tried FBA, but as someone who was short on cash at the time, I realized that these were very cash-dependent businesses.

But where a lot of people don't have funds, they do have a lot of time.

Watch this video to hear the rest of what he has to say:

Keep reading to find the best freelance and serviced-based business ideas.

32. Freelancing

Freelancing lets you offer your skills on a project-by-project basis, on your own schedule, from anywhere. Whether you’re a writer, designer, developer, or video editor, there’s a freelance market for nearly every talent.

To stand out, you’ll need to build a portfolio — even a simple web page with a few samples helps. Over time, adding client testimonials can boost your credibility, especially on freelance platforms where competition is high.

Finding freelance jobs is often the hardest part. Platforms like Upwork and Fiverr are a start, but many freelancers also pitch directly through job boards or social media. Strong pitching and communication skills can make a big difference.

Freelance copywriter Rachael Pilcher, who’s worked with Amazon and Stripe, puts it best:

“Success comes from treating your work like a real business… mastering your skill, setting boundaries, charging enough, and being just as committed to marketing and client relationships as you are to the work itself.

The writers who thrive long-term aren’t necessarily the ones with the most talent — they’re the ones who are disciplined, strategic, and relentless about improving their business skills and systems.”

Finally, be sure to stay on top of legal and tax requirements where you live.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: Very high
• Potential profit: Medium
• Key considerations: Finding clients, communication, portfolio, legal and tax regulations

33. Online coaching

If you have deep knowledge or formal qualifications in a particular field, online coaching could be a great way to turn your expertise into income. It’s often freelance-based, but focused on helping people grow personally or professionally — whether that’s in fitness, business, mindset, or another coaching niche.

Thanks to modern tools, you can coach from the comfort of your home. Whop makes it easy by giving you everything you need in one place: a private space for clients, chat and video call features, and built-in payment processing.

All you really need to get started is a reliable internet connection, decent audio and video gear, and a clear idea of who you can help.

Credentials can go a long way, especially when you’re new. Clients need a reason to trust you, and having certifications or a strong track record helps. A polished online presence, like a simple website and professional social media. is also key to attracting and converting leads.

Once you're set up, it's all about smart marketing, delivering value, and building trust with the clients you serve.

• Initial investment: Very low
• Time/effort required: High
• Potential profit: High
• Key considerations: Client acquisition, marketing, effective coaching, client retention

34. Online consulting

If you have deep experience in a specific industry, online consulting can be a highly profitable way to work with enterprise clients remotely. Unlike coaching, which often targets individuals, consulting typically involves providing strategic guidance or specialized services to businesses.

Consultants often come from professional backgrounds, having worked in the industry before striking out on their own — and they know there’s more money to be made when you’re the one writing the invoices.

To succeed, you’ll need proven expertise and credentials, and you should make those visible in your pitches, website, or online profiles. Clients want reassurance that you know what you’re doing, especially when budgets are involved.

Tools like Whop let you run your consultancy fully online, with chat, video, and payment processing built into your own private space. It’s everything you need to deliver value from anywhere.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: High
• Potential profit: High
• Key considerations: Finding clients, communication, high performance

35. Virtual assistant

Many busy professionals — executives, entrepreneurs, scientists — need help managing their daily tasks, but hiring a full-time, in-person personal assistant can be costly and inconvenient. That’s where virtual assistants (VAs) come in.

As a VA, you can work remotely from anywhere, even a different country. Unlike a traditional PA, there’s no need to be on-site. you just need a good internet connection and a clear scope of work.

Your responsibilities can vary widely. You might manage schedules, handle emails, track appointments, or even assist with business tasks like bookkeeping or research. Some VAs focus more on marketing support, creating social media posts, managing newsletters, or maintaining content calendars.

What you offer is up to you. Defining your services clearly before taking on a client is key,and offering a broader skill set can help you stand out from the competition.

If you're organized, reliable, and comfortable managing digital tasks, becoming a virtual assistant can be a highly flexible and profitable way to work online. You can even set up your own virtual assistant business on Whop.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: Up to you, you can work as much or as little as you want
• Potential profit: High, if you can optimize your schedule with multiple clients
• Key considerations: Communication with clients and getting your services out there

36. Voice acting

Voice acting has been around for decades, but it's never been more in the spotlight. Recent hits like Baldur’s Gate 3 have shown just how central voice actors can be to a project’s success — earning some performers the kind of fame usually reserved for movie stars.

The industry is booming. While video games are a major player, voice actors are in demand across advertising, YouTube content, audiobooks, TV, radio, and more. The dubbing industry also offers opportunities, especially in countries like Germany where specific actors consistently dub the same international stars.

Getting started is easier than ever. You don’t need a fancy setup, just a decent mic and a quiet space. Even your phone can work with the right apps. If you want to go pro, you can set up a basic home studio with some soundproofing and space to record.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: Medium
• Key considerations: Actually being able to use your voice effectively, so consider voice acting classes if you want to take this gig seriously

37. Resume writing

Resume writing is a small niche within the writing world, but one that can be surprisingly profitable if you do it well and market yourself right. Most people aren’t great at crafting resumes or selling themselves to employers, which makes your skillset highly valuable.

The job market evolves constantly, and so do resume trends. While the average person updates their resume once every few years, you’ll be staying current by writing resumes and cover letters regularly. That edge is a huge selling point.

If you already have writing experience, the skills transfer well. Resume writing is all about crafting a clear, compelling narrative — plus, understanding how to use the right keywords for HR screening tools is a lot like SEO.

As you build expertise, it’s easy to expand your services. You might start with resumes and cover letters, but over time, you could offer interview coaching, job search strategies, or even create courses for job seekers.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: Low until you master marketing and scaling your services
• Key considerations: Learning how the industry works and what recruiters/HR want, building your expertise fast, and client acquisition

38. Online courses and webinars

If you have valuable knowledge to share, selling online courses and webinars offer a great way to educate others, and earn while doing it. Unlike coaching or consulting, which focus on individuals or hands-on guidance, this approach lets you reach a broader audience with structured, high-quality content.

Courses are typically pre-recorded and downloadable, while webinars are live presentations — but with Whop, you don’t have to choose. You can create one whop for your course content and another for live sessions, keeping everything organized and monetized in one place.

With so many online educators out there, standing out means focusing on quality and structure. A well-designed course or a well-run webinar can make a lasting impression and help build a strong reputation over time, even if you don’t have a massive audience right away.

Courses also offer the benefit of passive income. Once created, they can keep selling without additional effort, making them a favorite among influencers and entrepreneurs. And if you build a community around your course — offering extras like group chats, Q&As, or follow-up sessions — you unlock even more revenue potential.

• Initial investment: Medium
• Time/effort required: Very low for courses, medium for webinars
• Potential profit: Medium
• Key considerations: Content quality, marketing

39. SaaS

SaaS (Software as a Service) allows users to access software through the cloud — no downloads or installations needed. While it may sound technical, you don’t need to be a developer to get started. Many successful SaaS products begin with someone spotting a gap in the market, a problem people face that doesn't yet have an easy solution.

If you work in any tech-driven field, you’ve likely come across tasks that feel clunky or inefficient. That’s your SaaS opportunity. If you’re not a coder, you can team up with a developer or hire a freelancer to build a simple MVP (minimum viable product).

You’ll also need to think about cloud hosting, UX design, and data security — especially if your users are in regions like the EU, where privacy laws like GDPR are strict. A smooth, secure experience can make or break your software.

Most SaaS businesses use a subscription model, where users pay monthly or annually for access. This creates a steady stream of recurring income and gives you the chance to scale over time.

Even with limited resources, it’s possible to bootstrap a SaaS idea into something real — especially if you’re solving a problem people are eager to pay to fix.

• Initial investment: Medium to Very high depending on scope
• Time/effort required: Very high
• Potential profit: Very high
• Key considerations: Robust code, data security and privacy, UX

40. Creating a whop

Alright, we’ve already mentioned Whop already as a great choice to host an online store, community, coaching, virtual assistant business, consulting business, course, and more.

If you’re looking to make money online you’ve got that invaluable entrepreneur mindset, and Whop was designed for people just like you!

Whop is a social ecommerce platform built for creators to grow their business and revenue. It is home to all sorts of digital products and services.

Developing a SaaS product? List it on Whop. Want to design and sell courses and webinars? Provide online coaching or sell trading signals? Educate traders? Sell your SaaS solution?

Whichever the question, Whop is the answer.

With Whop you can build your own place on the web for free. Your whop is the home of your business and is completely customizable to your needs.

Plus, Whop takes care of customer service for you, helps to handle payments, and looks after just about every aspect of both front- and back-end that you need. With Whop, all you need to worry about is providing the best digital product or service that you can.

• Initial investment: Creating on Whop is free
• Time/effort required: Very low to medium (as above)
• Potential profit: Very high
• Key considerations: Niche, product quality

41. Teach ESL online

English is the most global of languages, and while schools in most countries are doing a good job teaching it today, the previous generation(s) haven’t had it quite as good.

As a result, there’s still a huge demand for English as a second language among tertiary students and professionals looking to advance their residential and career opportunities.

The easy way to start teaching English online is via one of a number of ESL platforms, but you’ll soon find that freelancing is an even better way to go. If you’re flexible when it comes to your hours, you’ll find that you could be meeting and teaching interesting people from all sorts of fun places.

Once you have a good feel of what students need from you as an ESL teacher, you might even expand your remit and create online English courses!

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: High
• Potential profit: Low
• Key considerations: Communication skill, and learning the basics of how to teach a language

42. Online fitness

Fitness is one of those things that you can do virtually just as easily as in a physical location, and teaching people how to get fit isn’t something you need a gym for.

Whether you’re sharing the workout routines and tips that you’ve used to get fit yourself or creating a step-by-step course for people to follow, you can sell fitness coaching and programs online.

Personalized one-on-one fitness consultation could be your high-ticket item to go alongside a course and a community, for example, and there’ll be plenty of people willing to pay for those different products - you can do all of this from your own whop.

• Initial investment: Very low
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: High
• Key considerations: You’ll need to be a fitness enthusiast yourself if you want any credibility, and your communication skills will be paramount

43. Teach cooking online

Much like fitness, cooking is another business that lends itself very much to the online format. Best of all, there are a practically infinite number of styles and recipes you can quickly become proficient in, which then gives you lots of content to pass down to your paying consumers.

Again, an online cooking business’ success depends very much on how you decide to run and monetize it.

For instance, consider a cooking ebook selling your expertise for an easy win, or a premium newsletter giving subscribers a new recipe every week. Or, you can create an online meal plan service.

Cooking also goes great with visual media channels such as video via YouTube or TikTok, or images via Instagram - but the real way to make money is with a whop, where you can host live cooking sessions with the video calls app, alongside your ebook and meal plan service.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: High
• Key considerations: What sort of cooking styles you subscribe to and how you distribute your recipes

44. Launch an online travel agency

Travel is an industry that’s rebounding strongly following the pandemic-led downturn of a few years ago, and there are a lot of opportunities opening up as a result.

Running an online travel agency, for instance, isn’t something that might come too quickly to mind but it’s a very profitable business once you get the hang of it.

A lot of costs can be saved when traveling if you know how to do it and start building the right connections, which in turn can create a significant bottom line as your business starts turning over.

As with any online service, one of the big obstacles when running a travel agency is getting yourself connected with the right customers - so don’t neglect your marketing strategy and planning.

• Initial investment: Medium
• Time/effort required: Very high
• Potential profit: High
• Key considerations: Making industry connections and quickly learning how to profit from opportunities in the travel sector

45. Selling no-code websites

Creating websites for clients was something only skilled web developers did before, but now, thanks to the recent developments in AI, people who have good problem-solving and analytical thinking skills can create websites by using prompts.

While having some understanding of web development languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and TypeScript can help, everyone can create websites using AIs like Bolt and Lovable AI.

What you need to create good no-code websites and actually find clients to sell them is good prompt engineering skills.

The amount of money you can make with this method largely depends on your business model and the value you provide. On freelancing platforms like Upwork, no-code developer rates range from $15 to $75.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: Low-medium
• Key considerations: To be able to sell the no-code websites, you should have a good understanding of prompt engineering and a place to offer them (spoiler alert, it's Whop)

46. Translation services

Language barriers are still a major challenge for businesses, creators, and global brands. If you’re fluent in at least two languages, translation and localization can be a highly profitable side hustle — or even a full-time career if you choose to scale it.

Fluency alone is enough to get started, but having specialized knowledge in a niche — like legal, medical, or tech — can give you a real edge when landing clients.

Freelancing platforms like Upwork and Fiverr are popular starting points, though they take a cut of your earnings. On Whop, you can offer your services and keep up to 97% of your income, making it a more creator-friendly option.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: Medium-high
• Potential profit: Medium
• Key considerations: To be able to offer good translation services that people will actually want, you have to have a great understanding of another language on top of your native one

47. Digital business reports

Businesses and creators are relying on professional reports to guide their decisions more and more each day. These reports include sustainability reports, market research, and more.

While creating these kinds of reports requires a strong understanding of the field, it's a great way to make money online.

Your clients can range from individual creators to large-scale businesses looking to get your professional opinion on the report they're looking for. One of the best ways to succeed is to focus on niche specializations like sustainability reports or consumer behavior.

After making sure your reports are on point, digestible, and actually useful for your clients, you can offer custom reports to businesses or creators or create a platform for yourself to sell generalized reports to your subscribers.

The best way to do this is to create a whop for yourself and use the Content or Files app to provide the reports.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: High
• Potential profit: High
• Key considerations: Digital business reports, no matter their topic, require a strong understanding of the field so that you can deliver a good result

48. AI Content Tagging

Content tagging is an important aspect of how content is delivered to people by algorithms — in terms of SEO, ecommerce, and more. This is useful for creators or businesses that are looking to improve their content websites, blogs, ecommerce stores, etc.

Before the age of AI, content tagging was mostly done by automated algorithms or humans. Now, thanks to the developments in AI, you can leverage it to offer super fast and super accurate content tagging to businesses. You can do this by using tools like ChatGPT's image recognition models.

The best part about AI content tagging is that it's scalable. Since you're working with AI, you can offer extra services like alt text, metadata, and audit report generation.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: Low-medium
• Potential profit: Low
• Key considerations: While using an AI for content tagging is faster than regular, human-based content tagging, you should always keep someone in the loop to approve tags

49. Sell AI prompts

AI tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and Gemini are becoming more popular every day — but for many people, they’re still confusing and hard to use.

Since this technology is still new, there aren’t many clear guides on how to use it well. That’s where you can come in. If you take the time to learn how to get the best results from AI tools, you can unlock a lot of opportunities.

This skill is called prompt engineering — writing clear, specific prompts that get high-quality results from AI. And yes, people are willing to pay for great prompts that save them time and deliver better outcomes.

Not everyone has the time or patience to learn how AI works, so if you do, you can sell your prompts or even offer services to help others get the most out of these tools.

• Initial investment: None unless you register for premium plans with AI services
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: Medium
• Key considerations: Finding out what sort of prompts people are willing to pay for before developing expertise in those areas

50. Tweet/X management

Posting regular, relevant tweets is crucial for brands, but it requires time and effort.

This is why most creators and businesses hire people to handle their Twitter (X) accounts. The great thing about tweet and Twitter management is that the manager, which would be you in this case, doesn’t need super niche skills that take time to learn. All you need is to be good with people.

Tweet and Twitter management takes time. It's recommended that Twitter accounts post at least five times per day, while some experts suggest that 20 posts per day is ideal. Posting tweets isn’t the manager’s only job, though - they also need to interact with other accounts, reply, favorite, and quote their tweets.

A good Tweet and Twitter manager has a list of high-performance tweet formats they can use consistently. They are also great at keeping up with trends, understand the current humor the internet is obsessed with, and, overall, they're friendly people who can make others engage with and like the account they're running.

• Initial investment: None
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: Low
• Key considerations: Being able to post up to 10 unique tweets per day and engage with a lot of people about a variety of topics in a catchy way

Online trading and investing

While trading isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme and does come with risks, a bit of education and research can go a long way.

We asked Gold Pips, creator of Gold Pips Forex Trading Signals Group, for their trading advice. This is what they had to say:

Trading is a powerful way to make money online, but it's also a deep journey into understanding yourself. Anyone can click the buy or sell button, but the real test is how you handle the flood of emotions that comes after.

This is where trading's true value shows up, helping you grow as a person, because 80% of it is all in your head. It tests your loyalty: will you stick to your plan, or will you jump from one strategy to another?

The big money in trading comes later, as a result of becoming great at what you do. It's like anything in life—if you just chase the money, you're less likely to catch it.

Check out our top trading and investing side hustles below.;[

51. Passive income from investing

If you’ve ever looked at a long-term stock market chart and wondered why it trends upward, the answer lies in inflation. As consumer prices rise, so do asset prices — making investing a powerful way to preserve and grow wealth over time.

And thanks to modern trading apps and online brokers, it’s never been easier to start investing from home.

One of the simplest strategies for generating passive income is dividend investing. Many companies share their profits by paying out dividends to shareholders on a regular basis. By buying and holding these dividend-paying stocks, you can earn steady payouts — either as income or reinvested to benefit from compound growth.

But stocks aren’t your only option. You can also:

• Invest in bonds, which offer fixed returns through coupon payments.
• Explore proof-of-stake cryptocurrencies, which reward you for holding and staking tokens.

With the right strategy, investing online can become a reliable source of long-term income. To

• Initial investment: Your choice
• Time/effort required: Very low
• Potential profit: Benchmarked against inflation
• Key considerations: Choice of asset(s) and electronic investment platform

52. Trading

While investing is more passive and long-term, trading takes a much more active approach — and with the right strategy, it can be a serious way to make money online.

The key difference is that traders are constantly making decisions, watching markets, and reacting to price movements in real time.

Successful traders usually have a well-defined structure. One of the first things to figure out is your time frame. If you're available during market hours and willing to dedicate the day to trading, you might take up day trading, actively buying and selling throughout the session.

Some even use automated systems and bots to make rapid trades all day long — a method known as scalping. On the other hand, if you prefer a slower pace, you might try swing trading, holding stocks for several days or weeks based on short-term trends.

Whichever path you choose, trading demands discipline, planning, and focus. It’s not passive, but for those who thrive on strategy and structure, it offers a dynamic way to grow your income online. Check out the best trading courses on whop and the best trading Discord servers to learn more about making money as a trader.

• Initial investment: Your choice
• Time/effort required: Low to Very high depending on trading style
• Potential profit: High, but also high risk
• Key considerations: Risk management, trading style, choice of asset(s) and electronic investment platform

53. Online real estate investing

Renting out property has long been a classic way to earn income, but thanks to modern platforms, you no longer need to buy, renovate, or manage a building to invest in real estate.

Today, it’s easy to start investing in real estate online, either through REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) or fractional ownership platforms that let you buy into properties without taking on the full cost or responsibility.

These tools allow you to invest with much smaller amounts of money, lowering the risk that usually comes with buying property outright.

You can take a passive real estate investing approach by earning income through long-term rental returns or a more active one by flipping real estate-related assets. Either way, online platforms now give you access to strategies that once required huge capital and hands-on management — making real estate more accessible than ever for everyday investors.

• Initial investment: As with any form of investing, it’s your choice
• Time/effort required: Low
• Potential profit: Low in the short term
• Key considerations: Risk management, due diligence

54. Real estate flipping

This is one of the more ambitious ways to make money online, but if you have the capital and a good eye for spotting undervalued properties, it's entirely doable.

Traditionally, flipping homes involves buying a fixer-upper, renovating it yourself, and selling for a profit. But that’s a lot of time, effort, and hands-on labor — especially if you don’t have the skills or schedule to manage a full renovation.

Fortunately, with today’s tech, you can take a modern, remote-first approach. Start by scanning online listings for undervalued properties in areas with growth potential. Having a solid understanding of demographics and urban development trends can help you spot neighborhoods that are on the rise, where values may climb without much effort.

You don’t necessarily need to renovate heavily to profit — appreciation alone might do the trick. With the right deals and a strategic approach, property flipping can become a profitable business—even if you manage it entirely online.

• Initial investment: Extremely high
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: Very high
• Key considerations: The risk factor is really high on this one, and to get started you may need to go deep into debt. Approach with caution, and do your research before getting into a business like this one

55. Trading card reselling

Trading cards are one of the best types of collectible to resell. It’s a lot easier to figure out just how exclusive of a card you have compared to some other products that became collectibles due to popularity or niche appeal.

Generally, you’re going to be buying trading cards either from collectors or from social media box openings, although boxes of new collections can be found here and there. There’s a significant element of luck with the latter given that there’s no guarantee of scoring a really valuable card.

The trick here is going to be finding a way to pick up cards on the cheap and then sell them at a higher rate — and the internet’s what’s going to help.

Sourcing cards offline locally and then selling them to collectors who live abroad and don’t have a way to get the cards they want is one way to go about it.

• Initial investment: Low to Medium
• Time/effort required: High as it may take time to source valuable cards
• Potential profit: Medium
• Key considerations: Sourcing valuable cards cheaply and regularly

56. NFTs and digital collectibles

NFTs may no longer be the internet’s favorite buzzword, and you're more likely to see them mocked than praised these days — but that doesn't mean they’re useless. In fact, NFTs are much more than digital art or monkey JPEGs.

At their core, NFTs are a technology for proving ownership and uniqueness in a digital format. This has serious value. Behind the scenes, industries like logistics, manufacturing, and supply chain management are using NFT-like systems to track and verify assets.

So, how can you actually make money with NFTs today?

One route is through creating and selling NFTs as a digital artist, musician, or content creator. NFTs let you distribute your work directly to your audience, without intermediaries, and they can’t be pirated the same way as traditional digital files.

Better yet, you can embed royalties into the smart contract, earning a cut every time your work is resold.

Big brands have already adopted NFT tec h— sometimes behind the scenes — but creators are still using it to sell media, build communities, and protect their content.

Alternatively, you can try your hand at buying and reselling NFTs, though this is riskier and requires research, timing, and a bit of luck.

• Initial investment: Very low if using rather than speculating
• Time/effort required: Very low (for passive income via royalties)
• Potential profit: Medium
• Key considerations: Research and learning blockchain code, quality of content, marketing

Ecommerce and selling products online

Starting an online business or ecommerce store is a great way to make money, but it’s not as easy or quick as some other methods.

Thankfully, platforms like Whop handle the hard parts like payments, customer access, and product delivery, making it much easier to get started.

57. Start an online store

Ecommerce is one of the biggest drivers of income online — and thanks to platforms like Whop, it’s easier than ever to start your own online store and begin selling in just a few minutes. You don’t need technical experience or a big budget to get started, especially if you’re selling digital products like templates, courses, or exclusive content.

An online store gives you access to a global market, whether you're selling digital or physical goods.

The first step is deciding what you want to sell, then making sure it’s compliant with local laws. You'll likely begin as a sole proprietor, but as your store grows, it’s worth exploring options like LLCs for added protection and tax benefits.

If you’re selling physical products, logistics becomes more complex—you’ll need to think about inventory, storage, shipping, and customer service. This is known as ecommerce fulfillment, and it’s often one of the biggest challenges new sellers face.

That’s why many entrepreneurs choose to stick with digital products. With Whop, everything from product delivery to customer access is handled for you, so you can focus on building and scaling your store.

Once you’ve nailed your ecommerce business idea, the real opportunity comes in scaling. Whether it starts as a small side hustle or something more ambitious, running your own store can grow into a primary income stream with the right approach and effort.

• Initial investment: Low (High if dealing with physical goods)
• Time/effort Required: High
• Potential profit: Very high
• Key considerations: High-quality product, marketing, and customer Service

58. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is a great strategy if you want minimal involvement in a business but are confident of your ability to market it.

It’s a performance-based model that’s all about the promotion of products or services, and as an affiliate marketer, you can earn a commission for each sale, lead, or even action that your efforts result in.

Many companies of different sizes have affiliate programs, and all you need to do in order to get started is sign up. Once you’re accepted, all you need to do is pick out what products or catalog of services you think you can market, and grab your tracking links!

If you want to get started with affiliate marketing, look no further than Whop. Whop affiliates can pick up some serious cash by referring whops, so check out our guide to affiliate marketing on Whop to see exactly how to proceed.

• Initial investment: Very Low
• Time/effort required: Medium to get started, very low after
• Potential profit: Depends on audience/marketing reach
• Key considerations: Having or building an audience to reach with your affiliate links

59. PLR digital products

PLR stands for private label rights, and it's a concept you’ve likely seen before — like when generic products are rebranded and sold under a store’s label. The same idea works incredibly well with digital products, and it's become a smart way to make money online.

Digital products like ebooks, templates, courses, graphics, or software are easy to duplicate, store, and edit. With PLR, you can buy the rights to use and sell a digital product, then either sell it as-is or customize it to better suit your brand or audience.

You can also flip the model and create PLR products yourself. If you’re skilled in design, content creation, or development, you can package your digital work and sell licenses to others who want to rebrand and resell it. Many businesses are happy to pay for ready-made content they can quickly adapt and monetize.

Whether you’re reselling existing PLR products or creating your own, this model is a low-effort, high-scale way to earn online.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: Low (High if you’re creating the PLR digital products)
• Potential profit: Medium to High
• Key considerations: Identifying an audience and niche for your products

60. Start a print-on-demand business

Print-on-demand lets you sell custom products, like t-shirts, mugs, tote bags, or phone cases, without holding any inventory. It’s a great option for anyone who wants to run a physical product business without the hassle of warehousing or upfront stock costs.

Once you’ve created or sourced your designs, you can upload them to platforms like Printful or Printify, then connect those platforms to your online store. When a customer places an order, the POD service handles everything — printing, packing, and shipping — so you don’t have to lift a finger.

The biggest challenge is standing out. There are thousands of POD stores out there, but the most successful ones win with great design. If you can create unique, trendy, or niche-specific designs that people actually want to wear or gift, you’re far more likely to turn a profit.

You can make your own designs using free tools like Canva, or hire illustrators and designers from platforms like Creative Market or Fiverr to help bring your vision to life.

• Initial investment: Low
• Time/effort required: Medium
• Potential profit: Medium to High
• Key considerations: Finding the right trends and niches, creating good visuals, and having a nice and easy to use website

How to create multiple streams of income

Once you've started making money, what's next?

It's time to build multiple income streams.

As Volky from Digital Nomad Community says:

Anyone who is making money, the next logical step is to teach people how to do what you do and create an additional source of income for yourself.

The key is to monetize your content in as many ways as possible. Let's look at an example. Imagine that you're a travel blogger.

Sure, you could just try to get sponsorships for your travel blog, or you could create multiple income streams by:

• Creating a travel blog
• Uploading videos to YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram
• Creating a travel podcast

All of these options are how a travel blogger gains an audience. Then, the blogger can monetize this content by:

Creating a whop and funneling followers to this whop, then within the whop:

• Implementing an affiliate marketing program
• Selling access to a premium paid newsletter with travel tips and tricks
• Selling downloadable travel itineraries, packing lists, journals, and more
• Selling access to premium versions of free content (think supercut and behind-the-scenes content)
• Creating a course on becoming a travel blogger
• Selling an ebook documenting their travel journey
• Creating a paid community for avid travelers!

While this may look overwhelming it is made incredibly simple with Whop.

The key point here is that you don't have to choose one income stream. Ebooks may bring you some money, and affiliate marketing may bring you a little more, but multiple streams will seriously upgrade your earning potential.

Make money online with Whop

Making money online is sometimes easier said than done, but hopefully, this comprehensive list of 60 different ways to get started has awoken your inner entrepreneur.

No matter how much time or money you have, no matter your skills and background, there’s definitely going to be something for you.

Remember, you don't have to choose just one of these options. Whop helps you to create multiple revenue streams with ease. Head over to Whop and start your money-making venture today.

Making money online FAQs

Can you really make money online with no upfront cost?

Yes, many online income methods require little to no investment. Options like paid surveys, user-generated content (UGC), clipping content, and affiliate marketing are free to start and can generate income using just your phone or computer.

What is the fastest way to make money online in 2025?

The fastest ways include sign-up bonuses, cashback apps, microtask platforms, and UGC gigs that don’t require a following. Some methods can pay out within hours or days, depending on the platform.

How can beginners start making money online?

Beginners should start with low-barrier options like surveys, clipping content, video watching apps, or selling simple digital products. These require no special skills and let you build experience while earning.

What is the most profitable way to make money online long-term?

Selling digital products, building a paid community, or creating online courses are some of the most profitable long-term methods. They scale well, require minimal ongoing costs, and can generate passive income.

Are online side hustles legit?

Yes, but always research platforms before signing up. Stick to well-known options like Whop, Upwork, Amazon, or Survey Junkie. Avoid any “opportunity” that asks for upfront fees without clear value.

Do I need a large social media following to make money online?

Not at all. Many platforms — especially those offering UGC, clipping, or freelance work — pay based on the quality of your output, not your follower count. You can earn without ever going viral.