5 Ways to Make an Extra Online Income in 2014

As we enter 2014, almost 6 years after the Lehman Brothers collapse, which sparked the global recession, millions up and down the country are still feeling the pinch of the economic downturn.

So, as we enter a period of new years resolutions and committing to making changes in our lives, there’s never been a better time to start utilising the thing we spend most of our time on these days, and start earning money on the internet.

These 5 ideas for ways you can supplement your income online are quick to start and require little or no start up money.

1. Drop-shipping/Online trading

As well as being a great platform to sell your unwanted Christmas gifts, eBay is an opportunity to make serious money by running an online store.

You could sell things you’re passionate about, or perhaps seasonal items which you know will be popular in a few months as a certain holiday is coming up.

There are now numerous companies in the far East (especially China), who provide a great service for people who want to buy items in bulk and ship them back to the UK to sell on eBay.

Don’t think buying and selling items from abroad is only for people with years of business and trading experience.

There are now platforms set-up precisely to help you with this process and make the experience really straightforward.

Alternatively, rather than build your side business on somebody else’s platform, start your own e-commerce store.

You can use a drop-shipping company to get items from factory to consumer, so you never have to invest any money upfront for stock, because any orders you receive are then relayed to the drop-shippers who directly mail the order to your buyers.

You could, for example, sell car floor mats for 5 years without ever seeing a car floor mat.

2. Start a blog

You may think that blogs are just there for fun extra reading, or are for people with too much to say, but they can actually a very good way to start making an extra income online.

Obviously you’ll need to be able to write a bit, but pretty much anyone can do this as we can all talk about things we love.

Ways to monetize a blog include advertising, affiliate programs and consulting.

Depending on the size and the popularity of your blog, companies in your niche will also pay you good money just to include a link to their website on your page.

• Read our free guide to blogging or places to get a free blog

3. Freelance Proofreading

You could find work as a proofreader provided your English skills and grammar are spot on.

All you’d need to do is build a very simple WordPress site, displaying who you are, your skills, services and prices, and directly market yourself to companies who might require such services.

4. Social Media Management

Wouldn’t it be great if you could earn money whilst spending time on sites like Facebook or Twitter?

Well, many companies are now seeing the value of hiring either full or part-time Social Media Managers to organise and manage their Social Media campaigns.

Companies will pay good money if they believe they’ll see a decent return on their investment, which is easily doable if you use a well guided marketing strategy and use Facebook Ads.

Even if you have no idea how to run a Social Media Campaign, you could learn the whole process in a few days just by watching YouTube videos and reading blogs on the subject.

All you’ll need to do is use a professional looking template to build a simple WordPress site, and market yourself to companies by email, or speak to businesses in your area who might benefit from having a well managed Facebook, Twitter and Pintrest accounts.

5. Self-publishing

Regardless if you have no previous publishing or even writing background, it’s now pretty simple for anybody to self-publish their own book.

If you’ve a great interest or passion for a certain subject, and don’t find it particularly difficult to express your feelings in the written word, then there’s an opportunity to earn extra cash. 60 year old ex-insurance salesman, John Locke, made $1,000,000 through selling his Kindle e-book on Amazon and was the 8th person to do so. Could you be the 9th?