Editor’s note: This article was first published in September 2022, and its figures are from 2022: paid surveys at 0.20-0.50 euros each, websites paying up to 30 euros per article, and the author being offered 60 euros for a weekly finance article.
One of the most common things people search for online is how to make money quickly and easily, and when they land on a page, I’m sorry to tell you that most of the money-making ideas there are the result of ignorance, error or, worse still, bad intentions.
While it’s true that today, thanks to the internet, you can make money fast in a relatively easy way, the truth is that it’s neither that fast nor that easy. In many cases it takes dedication, effort and some work before you see results. Even so, with sacrifice and patience, I’m sure the results will be more lasting and better for your financial health.
But today I’m taking the opportunity to give a slap on the wrist to many media outlets that, possibly just to fill an article, recommend ways of making money that are very harmful to readers and sell them as a cure-all. The problem is that anyone without much experience in certain subjects may decide to take that path and end up losing time and money, with time being the most important of the two, since they could have been using it to make money in many other ways, even if not quickly (or easily).
Quick and easy ways to make money that you should avoid
You’ll find that most sites fall back on the same business ideas or the same ways of generating income.
Dropshipping, a risky way to make money
It’s true that you can make money with dropshipping, but most of the people who train in this business model today are already losing money. And those who do succeed (who are very few) have first had to invest time and money, and the money certainly doesn’t come quickly. Perhaps the way to make big money with dropshipping is to sell courses teaching others how to do dropshipping. Now that is profitable.
See also: A business opportunity in translation, and work for translators
Invest in crypto because it goes up a lot
I’d shove the head of whoever gives you this advice as a way to make money down the toilet, and then flush. There is no greater irresponsibility than recommending that someone invest in a highly speculative and extremely volatile product as a way of earning income. It’s truly irresponsible, on the same level as our next quick and easy money idea.
Do some trading
Only another irresponsible person would recommend trading, or any form of investing, as a way of earning quick income, because it’s not the road to making money but the road to losing it, especially if you have no experience in these matters. Trading is just like dropshipping: it’s an excellent business for making money as long as you’re selling courses, because when it comes to actually doing it, almost everyone fails. And that’s not just me saying it; the statistics say so.
Multi-level businesses
There is a very fine line between a multi-level business and a pyramid scheme. That line, as we have explained on several occasions, is crossed when most of a multi-level company’s income comes from recruiting new members rather than from repeat sales to end customers. In other words: if to make money you have to recruit other people rather than sell products to your existing customers, like it or not, you are in a pyramid scheme, not a multi-level business.
Having said that, multi-level businesses can be very profitable, but they take a lot of effort and hard work, so once again we’re not talking about fast money, let alone easy money. There’s a reason why 90% of people who start a multi-level business end up quitting without having made any money.
Making money filling in surveys
There are companies that really do pay you to fill in surveys, and they are a legitimate way to make some extra money. The problem is that the amount they pay for filling in surveys, compared with the time you put in, often isn’t worth it. Getting 0.20 or 0.50 euros for surveys that often take quite a lot of effort is not usually the most profitable option. We always advise using that time to look for other ways to make money and to build, with dedication, a different kind of business. Still, if you don’t know any other way, earning a few euros through paid surveys can be one way to do it.
So how can you make money?
Writing
Depending on your skills or talents, there are indeed different ways to make money online. For example, writing articles on a subject you know inside out. Websites and blogs constantly need to publish articles. Although the price paid for writing an article keeps falling, even at top newspapers (which explains the poor standard of journalism today), some sites can pay up to 30 euros per article. In my case, I’ve been offered up to 60 euros for a weekly article on finance. Incidentally, I turned it down because I can barely keep up with my own articles.
If you’re more ambitious in this respect, in this article you can read the advice of a woman who earns up to 950 euros an hour writing advertising copy.
With apps
There are some apps you can make money with. Most of them won’t make you rich, but they are a way of earning some extra cash. Some simply pay you for having them installed, which usually means a few cents that slowly add up, while others can be put to more profitable uses.
See also: If you have a good voice, this is how you can make money with it
Offering your services
Offering all kinds of services on sites like Fiverr and similar platforms is another excellent option if you need to make money quickly. It’s true that, as a rule, they don’t pay much, since people come looking for a cheap service. But it’s also true that if you build a good reputation and the clients who hire you end up happy with your work, you can raise your rates and charge more. In any case, building a good professional reputation usually takes time.
Making money online in other ways
The internet offers quite a wide range of ways to generate income:
- Making templates and selling them on Envato.
- Making money translating texts.
- Working in data entry.
- Managing contact databases.
- Selling stock photos and video.
- Designing thumbnails for YouTubers.
- Editing videos for creators.
- Managing other people’s social media accounts.
For more information on these ideas, you can read our article with 28 ways to make money online.
We have also updated our list of ideas for making extra money with all kinds of ideas, and we keep updating our rankings of the best business ideas, both small businesses and business ideas that don’t exist yet and that you could be the first to bring to life. These are a more ambitious form of entrepreneurship and, it must be said, riskier and more demanding in terms of dedication.
You can read our latest updated article: 36 ways to make extra money from home.
Featured image: Paramount Pictures, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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