Realistic Ways To Make Income During COVID

It’s testing times! If people have been lucky enough to keep the jobs they enjoyed pre-pandemic, they will likely have experienced a reduction in income. It’s to be expected with so many government restrictions making operating businesses as normal virtually impossible. But the pandemic doesn’t have to be a complete disaster for your livelihood; it also presents opportunities.

In this article, we’ll express some of the ways you can realistically earn extra money, or replace a lost income, from the comfort of your home while adhering to pandemic protocol. It’s the perfect opportunity to turn that long-standing idea into a reality, or, abandon the fixed ideas you had about the future and try something new.

Thankfully the pandemic hit at a time when the digital world is reaching maturity. It has meant that individuals and businesses can easily find new opportunities online to maintain their businesses, and in some cases, even grow. There are no fanciful ideas on this list, without any merit. It contains only realistic ways to earn cash online.

Test Websites

Are you an avid internet user with a laptop, desktop, and smartphone? Are you reasonably savvy with technology and know when a website is user-friendly or not? You could be the type of person many companies and developers are looking for to beta-test their websites for them and check performance.

A business website needs to be easy for users to understand and navigate. Modern Internet users have certain expectations and low stress-tolerance. It’s vital, then, that websites are optimized properly from the outset. A website that is not user-friendly will affect income streams and will need to be re-engineered.

That’s where you come in! How would you like to earn $10 for twenty minutes of work logging on to a website and checking it out from a user’s point of view? This is the standard arrangement for most opportunities, but you could earn up to $60 per test.  

To become a website tester you will need some basic equipment, a computer, a webcam, a smartphone. Criteria vary depending on the company. You will also need reasonably good communication skills. If it sounds like it’s for you check out a range of websites that offer this opportunity and apply.

Declutter and Downsize

Wouldn’t it be nice if everything in your home had its own intentional place, a neat and tidy cupboard space that has room for all the items presently scattered around the living room floor? This situation generally only occurs once a year, in the Springtime: but this year it’s different.

Combine the idea of decluttering and downsizing your home with the simultaneous chance to earn some extra income, and you’ve no reason not to get started with this easy and wholly beneficial freelance opportunity. Global pandemics don’t come along very often when they do you might need High Net Worth Divorce During Pandemic; so why not make the most of it. Think of it as the mother of all Spring cleans, and a chance to start fresh.

There might be items in your home that you are happy to give away or donate. There is no harm in this, but there are also many online marketplaces, such as eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook, where you can easily trade household goods for cash. If you’re very ambitious, you might even consider selling items of value as you remodel your lifestyle.

If you want to get more niche about your household trading, then consider other, less well-known, sites. Gazelle, for instance, is great for selling electronic items. Poshmark or ThredUp is excellent for slightly worn clothing, and check out Bookscouter to off-load old unwanted, or previously read books.

Blogging and Youtubing

Do you have an itch to share your passion with the world? Or, do you have an area of interest or expertise you know others could benefit from? Are you stuck at home during the pandemic, it might be a good time to make a start on that project that could translate into a future income.

Be warned, earning an income from blogging and YouTubing won’t happen overnight. You have to build up a following first who are interested in your niche and what you have to say. This comes more easily if you are genuinely interested in it. Once you have an audience, a blog or youtube channel can be easily monetized.

Normally this is done through advertising, affiliate marketing, and influencer marketing. But you can also monetize through donations and sites like Patreon. Many people who have started blogs and youtube channels based around their interests have been able to give up their day jobs due to online success with ads and affiliate links.

After you have identified your main interest, the next step is to set up a website or YouTube channel. This will give you the platform you need to start putting your content online. Keep it simple at first. Concentrate on quality and show your passion for the subject. Later, when you have a dedicated following, you can begin to monetize.

E-commerce

Setting up and running an e-commerce store has never been easier thanks to websites like Shopify, Woocommerce, and Big commerce. Maybe you have an idea of something that you would be good to sell, or maybe you like the idea of running an e-commerce store. The pandemic offers an excellent opportunity to get it started.

With an e-commerce store, the sky’s the limit. If you need an income to replace a lost revenue stream, then e-commerce is the way to do it, but if you only want to earn a little extra cash for a rainy day, it can provide that too. What you put into your e-commerce business will determine what you get out of it.

Running an e-commerce business will allow you to work from home, set your own hours, and crucially, avoid going outside to earn an income. Instead of breaching pandemic protocol, why not stay indoors and get busy with your e-commerce site? Now is an excellent time to set it up, so it returns dividends in the future.

Begin by making a website. WordPress is a good place to start, but other platforms also exist. You might even use a site like Shopify who helps you with everything. You will need to determine your products and how you will ship them, will it be an affiliate store with dropshipping? Finally, generate interest by producing quality online content.

Freelancing

In recent years the market for freelancers has boomed. There has been an exponential rise in the need for digital skills such as coding and graphic design, along with other more traditional freelancing crafts, like writing. This demand is in-line with the growth of online marketing and the need for digital skills to improve commercial revenues.

Due to this exponential rise, the market for freelancers has really opened up creating a need for developers and content creators at all skill levels. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced practitioner of your craft, there will be someone online with a need for your abilities at your chosen market value.

Imagine working from home, setting your own hours, making your own price list, and spending the majority of the day doing something you love, or something you would be doing anyway. This idea was once a fantasy for many people sitting in sweaty offices or battling rush hour traffic. The freedom of freelancing is now a reality for a growing number of people.

If you have a freelancing skill such as writing, graphic design, marketing, coding, etc, then it’s an excellent time to market that skill and bring in some cash. Sign up to websites like Fiverr, Toptal, Flexjobs, UpWork, or Remote.co. They efficiently match up freelancers with clients who require their services. With so much growth in this sector, you’re sure to find some success.

Invest

Do you have some money accumulated in the form of savings or perhaps a lump payment from a redundancy? You could save it and receive a meager rate of interest, or you could invest it wisely and benefit from returns in the form of lump-sum payments or dividends.

Did you know that the pension fund you pay into at your job, or the contributions you make on your tax return are also an investment? That’s right; there’s no guarantee of a return. So why not invest your own money more wisely in places that show promise in the short and long term?

Getting into investing can be like starting a freelance enterprise. Even if you don’t know much about investing you can start to learn about the nuts and bolts of it, the same way you would learn about any new endeavor. With some background knowledge and understanding, you will have more confidence when investing your first money.

To get started with investing, watch some YouTube videos, and sign up to some respectable sites. You might consider hiring an agent if you want extra advice. Traditional investing focuses on bonds, stocks, and real estate; but other opportunities exist, such as cryptocurrency.