Earn Extra Money

The Unconventional Way

Earning more money doesn’t necessarily mean getting a job. There are plenty of ways to earn money, or just earn extra money, in very unconventional ways.

The conventional (and somewhat boring) way to earn money is to get a job. If you need to earn more money you might get a second job, or a third. But getting a job isn’t the only way to earn money. There are other ways to earn money that don’t involve getting a job.

In this post, we’ve got seven different ways to earn extra money. Of course, there are lots of unique ways to earn money that we haven’t covered in this post but we hope these will at least inspire you to dig a bit deeper and find something that fits you perfectly.

These ways to earn extra income are slightly unconventional. They might not be as stable as a full-time job but they can be a great way to earn a bit of extra money on the side.

Writing:

There are many ways to earn money writing. You could write e-books. You could become a freelance grammar checker. Starting a blog requires a significant amount of writing on a regular basis. But probably the most common way to earn a bit of extra income is by freelance writing.

There are lots of websites, blogs, business out there looking for fresh content. They pay freelance writers to write articles, blog posts and website copy. On the low-end they pay $20-$30 per article, at the high-end they’ll pay $200+.

Rent Out Your Place:

AirBnB has made this easy. You can rent out your place during periods of high demand. By doing this you take advantage of large events/conferences/shows and only rent your place for top dollar. You might only rent your place 3-4 times per year but each rental could earn you double or triple the normal rate. Crash with a friend/family for a few nights & buy them a nice dinner. Or better yet, time your vacation accordingly and take off for a few days.

Tutoring/Teaching:

There are many ways to earn extra money tutoring or teaching, in person, classes, or online. Teaching English online is one way to earn extra money. If you’re good in the STEM classes you can tutor students in math & science. Anyone who has gotten high marks on tests like the GMAT, MCAT or LSAT can earn extra money by prepping students for these major tests.

Selling Stuff:

Sites like Amazon have made it easy to sell stuff online. Amazon will even handle the fulfilment process so you don’t even have to touch the product. There are also platforms like Shopify that can help you set up your own e-commerce store. You can resell stuff from overseas or make stuff yourself to sell.

You don’t even have to sell anything of value to make money online.

Even having a garage sale is a quick and easy way to earn a bit of extra money by selling stuff.

Affiliate Sales:

As an affiliate, all you need to do is connect the buyer and the seller to earn money. Affiliates make money by making the connection and they take a good % of the final sale for their trouble.

Affiliate programs like Amazon Affiliates make it easy to become an affiliate but there are affiliate programs for nearly any product. Any of those “top 10 gifts for xxxx” lists are full of affiliate links.

I once read a story about a guy who make $1,000+ per year because he created a top 50 book list that went semi viral. The list was full off affiliate links to Amazon. Each person who clicked a link and bought the book earned him $0.20-$0.50. This went on for years.

Check out this guide from Neil Patel if you want to get started with affiliate marketing.

YouTube Videos:

You don’t need to create a popular channel to earn extra money on YouTube. Things like ‘How To’ videos, product review videos, explanation videos all earn money by having ads enabled.

These videos are great because they remain relevant for a long period of time so a little bit of effort up front can earn you money for a long period of time.

It’s possible to make even more money with product placements or affiliate links for products you use or review in the videos.

Freelance:

Freelancing uses skills you already have and lets you do small jobs for people all around the world. There is less commitment than a part time job so freelancing provides a bit of flexibility when earning extra money.

Some skills that are in high demand include writing, editing, graphic design, web design, app development, software development, virtual assistants etc. But you can get into unique/niche areas too like marketing strategy which pay higher rates. You can sell any of these skills to other people around the world.