There are tons of ways to make money online in 2018. We all want to travel the world and make money while we do it, but it seems like its reserved for ‘dot.com geniuses’ or ‘trust-fund teens.’ Well, not anymore!
You know what I’m talking about: see the world, drive fast cars, and hang out with the coolest people. The Laptop Lifestyle. It’s a dream for most and a reality for some, but now there are so many options to make full-time incomes online it’s hard to choose one because they all work.
Each of the 8 ways to make money online in 2018 requires a few skills to learn. None of them require a college degree or lots of money. You can start these today and the only thing that will determine your success is your hard work.
Blogging to Make Money Online in 2018
You can make money online in 2018 with blogging, one of the easiest, cheapest, and fun ways to work on a beach. You don’t need any special skills except what you know already.
Take a look at what you do during the day. Maybe you play a sport or own exotic fish tanks. Virtually anything is bloggable, so take what you like and start writing about it.
If you don’t want to blog about something you like, you can blog for other people instead. Check out this article about why every business needs a blog in 2018. Use that knowledge to pitch your service to companies on Facebook or LinkedIn.
It’s good to know about search engine optimization (SEO) to build traffic to your website. If you don’t, start with Medium and then draw traffic back to the website by providing a link back to it.
Social Media Marketing Agency
These have definitely grown in popularity over the last few years. Large companies hire savvy posters to manage their social media accounts because, for the most part, they’re clueless.
If you’ve built any kind of a following on any of your platforms, you now have the resume you need to get hired and start earning.
You don’t even need a website for this. Your profiles are enough. You just need to make sure you keep up with your posting and continue to reach out to big companies that aren’t representing themselves well on each platform.
Keep up with your posting with the Buffer app.
E-Commerce
E-commerce is a major enhancement to business. Every business that sells a physical product should offer the option of buying online to keep costs low and the option of an impulse buy high. Use the platforms below to get started if you don’t have a website just yet.
Shopify with Oberlo
This combination is deadly, to say the least. You can use Oberlo (a free app when connected with Shopify) to source cheap products, then make a tightly-niched $30 per month Shopify store to sell your stuff. People use this to sell all kinds of goods, like leather bags, t-shirts, and toy robots.
It’s better to buy a domain to give you store the authentic look it deserves. Check out Namecheap. The name says it all. The domains are cheap.
Etsy
Etsy is made for the creative side of you. If you’re into arts and crafts or make a handmade anything you can easily sell it on Etsy. Careful there is a lot of competition, but it’s not that hard to get noticed if your stuff is something people want and good.
Ebay
Selling on Ebay is still not out of style. If you’re a fan of garage sales, this should be your home.
Amazon FBA
This is one of the newer ways to get rich online. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is where you sell products on Amazon, and they do the heavy lifting. It’s a win, win for you and Amazon.
Newsletters are Still Fair Game
If creating or selling products isn’t your thing, but you have some expertise in something people need to know you can create a monthly newsletter to make money online in 2018. Many current and former stock brokers and traders create stock market guides and newsletters to help people make intelligent investments.
You can apply this to virtually any business and do very well. The best part is you make your schedule and set the price.
You have to learn to build a community, so brush up on your social media skills unless you want to promote it locally with direct mail. That’s the old school way, but it still works.
Online Courses
Online courses are the craze of digital nomads these days. This is one of the best ways to make money online in 2018 and set up passive income streams for your future. If you’re on a budget using Udemy and Thinkific are great options to get started.
Udemy
Udemy is a database full of courses, where people, in search of new skills, try to find their next career path like social media marketing or a hobby like playing the guitar.
There are a ton of great classes to choose from, but take it from me, read the reviews and try to find the teacher on YouTube or social media first to see their free stuff before you give them any of your money. The credentials are pretty low, but that is sometimes a good thing. It means they’re teaching based on experience instead of sheer knowledge.
A great idea for a class would be teaching people to use Snapchat Ads. Many businesses would love to know how to tap a young market. Snapchat ads are very new and could become the next great advertising idea for companies with tons of cash.
Thinkific
If you have your own website or just want to use a Facebook group to get people into your class use a free platform like Thinkific. It’s simple to use and if you have a camera on your laptop or phone you’re ready.
Here’s a great guide to video marketing you can use to find your equipment if you want higher quality content. It really doesn’t take much to make class these days and some people with a lot of knowledge make huge sums of money with them.
Copywriting
Copywriting is “salesmanship in print.”
It’s essentially writing content with the intent of getting the reader to take some kind of action. That action can be making a purchase or clicking a link to follow. If you have a knack for sales or are a solid writer, this might be the cheap way to get out of the rat-race
Copywriters write ads, website content, sales letters, landing pages, video sales letters, and white papers to name about 1% of what they do.
All you need to do is start reading the many blogs there are about copywriting to learn the ropes and create a LinkedIn profile and a simple website. Use LinkedIn to reach out to companies that need someone to write for them (i.e. everyone).
Check out Copyblogger for some great information to get started.
Become an Instagram Influencer
Building a huge following is probably the easiest on Instagram especially if you have some skill with a camera or design. Instagram is all about beautiful images and cool videos.
If you love your phone’s camera, get it out and start and Instagram profile today. Even you’re dog can make money online in 2018 if he’s cute enough. If you have a following that engages you, that channel could be worth big money after a little while.
For more information on becoming an Instagram influencer check out this article.
Publish E-Books on Kindle
If you have a story to tell start you e-book business. Many writers can churn out a book every month or so.
E-books don’t have to be long, they can be less than 30,000 words. Check out this article to find out how to top the Kindle charts and cash in.
Summary
Learning to make money online in 2018 is not that hard. You just have to have a little creativity and some fun with something you’re already into. If you spend your time dwelling on your full-time job or your lack of time you won’t get anywhere. You need to take some action and make the most out of your life.
Having the laptop lifestyle is not a dream anymore. You can create a very steady stream of income if you do the work to set up your future.
Use the tools in this article and the links to get ahead this year. Make money online in 2018 and live a much happier life in 2019.
For more information on making your online business better, check out this article on how to get the most out of Facebook Ads. It’s one of the cheapest ways to get your business off the ground with very little money.
