Not too long ago, everyone had a 9-5. It was expected. This is how you took care of yourself and your family. However, times have changed. With the advent of the internet and social media, there has been a significant cultural shift in what work is.
New jobs like blogger, Youtuber, influencer, drop shipper, virtual assistant and affiliate marketer have become common.
And fortunately, most of these opportunities have a very little barrier to entry and anyone can join in the party, no matter how old you are. All you need is the willingness to learn.
This article is going to show you how to make money online at any age. Let’s begin!
SURVEYS
One of the easiest ways to start making money online is by taking surveys. There are many companies out there who would want to hear your opinions and feedback about their products and services, and they don’t care how old you are!
To get started, all you have to do is sign up to a survey site like Swagbucks. All you’ll have to do next is participate in their surveys, earn points, and make some money!
Check out these top surveys that pay cash
APP REWARDS
As a kid growing up, my parents used to clip coupons and save them to later use to get better deals on our grocery shopping.
Today coupons have evolved a little. They are no longer based solely on paper clippings but smart app rewards. But the idea behind them has remained the same. These apps can help you save money on your shopping in a massive way.
Some of the major reward apps include MyPoints, Swagbucks, Modee and Belly. You can get as much as 40% back with some of these apps at major stores like Target, Walmart, Amazon, Old Navy, eBay, and Home Depot.
When you shop with these apps, you will earn points that you can redeem for gift cards or even credit to your PayPal account.
Here are reviews of my favorite money saving apps:
FREELANCING
Freelancing is a phenomenal new way of making money online that can literally transform the life of anyone, no matter how old they may be. Today, you can skip the morning commute and work from wherever you may be in the world. As long as you have a computer and a good internet connection, you are good to go.
The best part is that anyone can be a freelancer. Writers, artists, graphic designers, photographers, programmers, teachers…there are opportunities for everyone, no matter their age and experience level.
Here is a more detailed look at some freelancing opportunities you can take advantage of:
Freelance Writing
If you have always had a way with words, you might want to try your hand at freelance writing.
You can easily get started by signing up for freelancing platforms like Upwork and Fiverr to sell your skill. You can also approach small businesses that may need help with writing content for their businesses.
If you are a creative writer, you can write short stories and novels and sell them on Wattpad or self-publish in Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).
When it comes to cashing in as a writer, the opportunities are just endless.
Teaching online
These days you no longer have to enroll for classes to learn something. The internet has made it easy to learn virtually any skill from the comfort of your home.
And since people want to learn online, they will need teachers. That’s where you come in. If you have a skill that you can teach, consider creating a course about it and selling it online.
You can teach anything from English as a second language, to math, to financial literacy and even creative writing or pottery. If you are good at it, chances are there is someone out there that will pay good money to learn something from you.
Graphic Design
Another skill that can earn you a good income online is graphic design. If you are a creative person with a passion for good design, the opportunities are endless online.
A great place to start is 99 designs, which is a platform where graphic designers sell their skills and compete in contests for cash prizes.
VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
Are you super organized? Do you like getting things done and doing them really well? Are you very detail oriented? If you answered yes to any of these questions, a virtual assistant job might be in your destiny.
Virtual assistants are just like regular secretaries, except they work remotely. A lot of them have never even met their bosses in person. You might even have several bosses at the same time.
Some of the duties of a virtual assistant include responding to emails and phone calls, scheduling meetings, booking travel and accommodations, managing a contact list, preparing customer spreadsheets and keeping online records, organizing managers’ calendars, creating presentations, addressing employees’ administrative queries, and providing customer service as the first point of contact.
If this sounds like something you’d enjoy doing, Zirtual is a great place to start. It is a platform that matches employers with VAs who are appropriate based on their backgrounds, skills, and requirements. The best part is that there are no age limits, so no matter how old you may be there’s probably a VA job for you out there!
START A PODCAST
Do you have something to say? Do you love engaging and having conversations? Do you enjoy listening to the sound of your own voice? Well, if you do, then podcasting can be a great way to earn money online.
You can start podcasting on a niche you are passionate about. For example, if all your friends come to you for dating and relationship advice, you can a dating and relationship advice podcast.
Starting a podcast can be a little tricky sometimes because you’ll need to invest in quality recording and audio mastering equipment, then take the time to build an audience that connects with you, before consistently putting out content that appeals to them and solves their problems. However, if done right, it can be an incredibly lucrative online venture for anyone.
Once you have your tribe and are on a roll with your podcast, you can then approach advertisers who would want you to promote their products or services on your podcast.
Ultimately, this way of making money online takes time and requires lots of dedication, but the rewards are totally worth it.
UNSUBSCRIBE FROM ONLINE SERVICES YOU DO NOT USE
I know this sounds a little strange, but just hear me out.
These days it is very easy to have one too many online subscriptions.
For a lot of people, this is how it goes; You see a service online you like, you sign up for it, then set it up on auto-pay. A day or two later, sometimes even just a few hours afterward, you forget about it.
Unfortunately, this is one of the easiest ways to lose money online. Most of these services charge a monthly subscription fee. It may be just a few dollars a month, but it adds up. And when you have several such services running on autopilot at the same time, you have a recipe for disaster.
This is why if you want to make money online, you first need to unsubscribe from services you no longer use.
But what if you’ve forgotten what services you are subscribed to in the first place? Well, that’s where companies like Trim come in. They can help you cancel old subscriptions even if you no longer have a clue what they are.
AFFILIATE MARKETING
This is by far the best way to make money online at any age.
Affiliate marketing is a business model that allows you to earn a commission by promoting other people’s products or services. As the affiliate, you own no product of your own. Instead, you search for products you like, promote it to others, and when you make a sale, you get paid a commission.
Pretty straightforward, right?
The beauty of it is that it has absolutely no barriers to entry. This means that literally anyone can become an affiliate marketer, no matter how old they may be or what kind of experience they might have.
What does affiliate marketing look like?
Remember the last time a friend was in town and asked you to recommend a good restaurant? Remember how you recommended your favorite French restaurant because you knew your friend was going to love it there?
Did the French restaurant pay you for the referral? Probably not. But as a good friend, you just knew this was a place that your friend would love, so you recommended it.
But what if there was a chance you could make some money from that recommendation? And what if it was all online?
Here is how that would play out:
You go to your favorite restaurant. They have this new special that you absolutely love. So, you go to your social media pages and rave about how amazing the French restaurant is to all your friends.
At this point, you would post a link that your friends can use to make reservations to the restaurant. A few close friends opt to try it out, so they click on the link and book a table.
The restaurant is so happy about this. So, they pay you a commission for bringing customers to their establishment.
But the story doesn’t end there. Your friends liked the food so much, they tell everyone about this new place you posted about on your social media pages. They share that post to their friends, with your link in it.
Lots of people click on the link and book tables. The French restaurant is ecstatic! So many new customers!
Meanwhile, you have forgotten about the post you made. A couple of weeks later, you get a huge check in the mail with a thank you letter from the French restaurant. You can’t believe you made all that money from just a single post!
That’s what affiliate marketing is like.
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Which products can you sell in affiliate marketing?
There are 3 main products that you can sell in affiliate marketing. These are physical products, informational products, and services.
- Physical Products
These are the easiest to sell and have a commission of 1%-10% on most platforms like Amazon. Speaking of which, a great place to start marketing physical products is Amazon through the Amazon affiliate program. It is one of the biggest affiliates programs in the world and comes with great customer support.
When all is said and done, though, it can be rather difficult to get a high income from selling physical products. This is because the commission rates on physical products factor in a lot of other things, including manufacturing, wholesaling, shipping, among other costs. These can sometimes be huge percentages in the overall selling price, which affects your profit margins.
- Informational Products
These are products created by people who have and in-depth knowledge about a subject.
For example, a famous author can write an e-book on how to self-publish. To generate sales faster, the author can then engage affiliates to promote their book and earn a commission from the sales.
Informational products tend to be more profitable compared to physical products. The commission is usually between 30%-50%.
- Services
We all use various services every day. There is an endless list of them. If there is a particular service you enjoy, for example, a music streaming service or an app you like, you can promote that service to your audience.
The affiliate rewards for promoting services usually vary a lot depending on the type of service being promoted. There are some that will pay monetary commissions, others will offer discounts or coupons or in-app currencies.
For example, you can refer a credit card company to a friend and have reduced rates on your card.
So, how can you get started and begin earning from affiliate marketing?
Well, the first thing you will have to do is identify a product that you are passionate about and market it to your audience.
Next, build a website where you can sell the product. There are several platforms that will allow you to do this, and some of them are even completely free to use.
To increase sales, you will need to create content for your website and drive traffic to it. For example, you can create informational content like blogs, product reviews, testimonials, and tutorials to sell your product.
You can then market products to your audience through your content. Just make sure that you understand what their needs are and that both the content and your products will solve their problems.
How to find financial success in affiliate marketing
The learning curve for affiliate marketing can be pretty steep sometimes. However, this should not make you quit before starting.
Affiliate marketing is not a get rich quick scheme. It requires lots of consistent learning, patience, time and hard work.
Sometimes, it may be almost impossible to do it all on your own. That’s where programs like Wealthy Affiliate come in. Wealthy Affiliate will literally hold your hand throughout your marketing journey to help you succeed.
The best part is that it is completely free to sign up for. The free membership comes packed with lots of features, such as live help for 7 days, 2 free websites, website backup, a beginner training course, a personal affiliate blog, and one-on-one coaching for the first 7 days.
Sounds pretty impressive, right?
That being said, you and I both know that a free membership can be somewhat limiting. It may make you some cash, but you want to take your business to the next level and start bringing in that 6 figure income, not just a little cash.
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To start making that kind of money, you will need the paid subscription. With it, you will get unlimited live help and private messaging, up to 50 websites, the website security package, website backup, full access to the beginner training course, a personal affiliate blog, unlimited one-on-one coaching, 2x higher payout from the affiliate program, among other goodies.
Once subscribed, all you have to do is put in the work and learn the business. Within no time at all, you will see your affiliate marketing business grow and turn into a full-time online job.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Technology has made a lot of things possible today. Now anyone, no matter their age, has the same opportunity to make money online and get that much closer to true financial freedom.
So, whether you are 18 or 81, seize the opportunity to make money online. Age is just a number, so it should not deter you.
To your success,
Mike Aha
You might find these additional posts helpful:
17 Best Part-Time jobs for Retirees
Earn Money Doing What You Love
How To Start In Affiliate Marketing