If you’re looking for quick ways to earn money online, you’ve probably stumbled upon many adverts for fake surveys or scams asking you to pay to join. These are common ways people are trying to trick you into thinking that there’s money to be made online, but there isn’t. If you’re wondering how to make money online or why some people are willing to scam you, keep reading.
The Downfalls Of Earning Money Online
While there are plenty of ways that you can make money online, there are also a lot of pitfalls that you need to avoid. One important thing to keep in mind is that not every online money making opportunity is created equal. Some online opportunities can be extremely lucrative, while others can be a complete waste of your time. It’s important to do your research before you get started with any online money making venture so that you don’t get scammed.
Here are seven ways that you can make money online that aren’t what they seem:
1. Take Surveys
You’ve probably heard of Survey Junkie, Swagbucks, OneOpinion, Ipsos iSay, Ipsos iSay TV, Survey Crowd, and Ipsos iSay Squared. All of these are survey sites where you can earn cash by taking surveys. These are typically short-lived moneymaking opportunities, as you’ll be asked to fill out a survey and then you’ll be rewarded with money or gift cards. For example, you might be rewarded $1 for each survey you complete. You can take these surveys quickly and easily, and you can potentially earn a substantial amount of money from them. Keep in mind that these are all-consuming. You’ll have to guard your time heavily so that you can continue earning from these survey sites. Otherwise, you’ll lose out on all of that potential income because you didn’t keep proper time management.
2. Start An Online Store
You’ve probably seen or heard of Etsy, Shopify, and WooCommerce. All of these platforms allow you to set up an online store where you can sell your artwork, your own designs, or whatever you feel comfortable selling online. Since these platforms make it easy to get started, there are a lot of unethical marketers out there trying to trick you into thinking that there’s money to be made with an online store. One important thing to keep in mind is that these are all transactional platforms. What this means is that you’ll be asked to provide a certain amount of money (usually in the form of cryptocurrency) in order to set up the store in the first place. If you decide to go this route, do your research and be sure to read reviews before you get started. You’ll be spending a lot of time keeping track of your orders and shipping them, so make sure that you have everything written down beforehand. Even if you follow all of the instructions and do everything correctly, there’s no guarantee that you’ll make any money. Most of the time, these types of opportunities are complete scams.
3. Start An Online Tutoring Business
Taking online tutoring jobs isn’t a bad idea. After all, there’s a wide range of topics that you can tutor on, from English to Math, so there’s surely something that you’re competent in. The catch is that most of these tutoring businesses require you to purchase expensive software to get started. Once you do, you’ll be asked to take online tests and provide tutorials to students. While there’s nothing wrong with providing online tutoring as a supplementary income stream, make sure that you do your research and keep your expectations realistic. Most of the time, these types of opportunities are complete scams.
4. Start An Online Coupon Business
If you’re the kind of person who likes to get discounts and bargains, you might consider starting an online coupon business. There are many different ways that you can go about doing this, but the most straightforward way is to get a site where you can post coupons and discounts for various products. Then, you can use your phone or laptop to scan products at the store and send the coupons via email. Some of the more popular coupon sites include Groupon, Living Social, and Red Ventures, so there’s plenty of competition. Just keep in mind that with these types of businesses, you’re basically just setting yourself up for getting scammed. It’s always a good idea to be skeptical of any offer that seems too good to be true, and online coupons are no exception.
5. Start An Online Travel Agency
If you’re the creative type, you might consider starting an online travel agency. The idea is the same as above, but instead of selling coupons and discounts, you’ll be matching vacationers with travel agencies that they contact you through your website. If you decide to go this route, be sure to research the best time to contact the agencies, as well as the type of vacations that they offer. You can also get creative with the name of your travel agency. Incorporating your website’s name into the name of your agency can be a way of drawing in potential clients.
6. Start An Online Wedding Planning Service
If you’re the creative type, you might consider starting an online wedding planning service. The idea is the same as above, but instead of matching vacationers with travel agencies, you’ll be helping couples plan their wedding. You can do this by taking reservations for the ceremony and the reception, as well as offer advice on menu planning and wedding entertainment. Just keep in mind that this is a very competitive market, and you’ll need to put in the time and effort to make sure that you stand out from the competition. You might also want to consider providing a personal touch by becoming a wedding planner in your area. Many couples will travel all over the country to plan their weddings, so you can potentially help them find the perfect celebration in their vicinity.
7. Start An Online Bookstore
An eBook store isn’t inherently a bad idea. After all, a lot of people love to read. The issue is that, as with the other six options above, there are a lot of scammers out there trying to trick you into setting up an eBook store. Typically, these kinds of opportunities require you to purchase eBook software, and the scammers will tell you that you can make a quick profit by selling and converting books to eBooks. What happens next is that you’ll be bombarded with requests to review books, some of which can be very expensive. Unless you’re equipped to handle these kinds of requests, it’s usually a good idea to avoid eBook stores.
If you’re looking for quick ways to earn money online, there are a lot of opportunities out there. The issue is that not every online money making opportunity is created equal, so you need to do your research and make sure that you’re not being scammed. The above options range from totally legitimate to mostly legitimate. If you have a creative mind as well as a good amount of free time, you might want to consider trying your hand at one of these legit opportunities. Otherwise, it’s probably a good idea to steer clear of them all together.