These days, there are countless ways to make $1,000 per month online.
However, just because the opportunity exists, doesn’t make it easy.
You have to be intentional, driven, and consistent if you want to achieve your income goals as a solopreneur. But even before that, you have to start with a good business idea.
Luckily, we’ve compiled a list of 11 legitimate side hustle opportunities that you can pursue to start earning extra income.
So, if you’re looking for a few great ways to make $1,000 per month (or more) online, keep reading!
1. Freelance
The gig economy has exploded in recent years. In fact, according to Gallup, approximately 36% of US workers are now involved in the gig economy (source).
This is partly due to the fact that finding work as a freelancer has been made easier thanks to sites like Fiverr and Upwork.
The beauty of freelancing is that you can market almost any skill that you have.
Whether you’re a writer, illustrator, web designer, graphic designer, proofreader, or photographer, you can earn money as a freelancer.
All you have to do is assess your skills, and figure out what potential clients might be willing to pay for.
Then, you just have to decide upon your marketing strategy, set your pricing, and look for your first clients.
Although things can be slow in the initial weeks, as soon as you complete some projects and receive some testimonials, you will see your income explode in no time at all.
Seriously, working as a freelancer is one of the fastest ways to make $1,000 per month online.
Interested in freelancing? Check out some of our other related posts:
- 9 Lucrative Freelance Skills You Can ACTUALLY Learn Online
- 17 Proven Ways To Make Money As A Freelance Writer
- How To Make Money Editing Photos (The Ultimate Guide)
- 15 Proven Ways To Get Freelance Clients
- 10 Ways To Make Money Editing Videos
2. Start A WordPress Blog
It’s a badly kept secret that blogging can be a lucrative side hustle. But with so many blogs competing for your attention, it’s important that you create a compelling site with helpful and insightful content.
We recommend setting up a WordPress blog and hosting it on a server like Bluehost. This is because WordPress sites rank well and are packed with features that enable you to monetize your blog.
Whether you promote sponsored content, market products, or earn money through affiliate marketing, monetizing your blog is an excellent way to make $1,000 per month online.
Just be mindful that monetizing your blog doesn’t happen overnight.
You need to begin by creating awesome, original content, and as your audience increases, so too will your opportunities to earn money from your content.
Interested in starting a blog? Check out these other helpful posts:
- 15 Ways To Make Money As A Travel Blogger
- 5 Blogging Secrets Every Beginner Needs To Know
- 10 Blog Writing Tips To Get More Traffic And Subscribers
- 21 Legit Ways To Grow Your Blog Traffic
- How To Write Blog Posts Faster In 6 Steps
- 18 Proven Ways To Make Money With A WordPress Blog
- Blog On A Budget: 10 Low-Cost Essentials For New Bloggers
3. Develop Websites
Every business owner and entrepreneur needs their own website these days. Even if it’s just a simple landing page to direct clients to social media channels, it’s vital that people can find you on the Internet.
Therefore, if you know how to build websites, regardless of the platform you use, you can easily market your services as a freelance web developer.
While fully coded websites command a larger fee, you can easily make a living by designing websites on a platform like WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace.
You might want to think about designing websites within a particular niche to refine your search for clients.
Of course, you will have to host an impressive website of your own and create an attractive portfolio to impress potential customers.
Considering the fee you can charge for web design; you might find that only one or two clients a month will help you earn your $1,000 target.
4. Start Your Own Online Store
Have you ever sat and thought about how incredible online shopping is these days?
The fact you can go online, type something into Google, and be directed to a store that sells exactly what you’re looking for, is nothing short of remarkable.
What’s more, you can often get it delivered to your home within 24 hours, which is simply baffling.
With online shopping expected to continue its exceptional growth in the coming years, now would be a great time to get in on the act.
Just take a moment to think about what you would like to sell, and set up a store on a platform like Shopify, Wix, Weebly, or Etsy.
Whether you’re dropshipping products from the other side of the world or selling stunning vegan cakes that you bake at home, you can make excellent money by setting up and marketing your online store.
Oh, and if you’re interested in starting an online store, check out our recent post: 10 Best Online Store Platforms In 2021.
5. Become A Virtual Assistant
Have you ever heard of a virtual assistant? If not, think about the role of a personal assistant, but 100% online, and you’ll get the idea.
Entrepreneurs and small business owners from all over the world seek to hire virtual assistants to help them manage their ongoing projects. From scheduling travel and meetings to inputting data and running marketing campaigns, virtual assistants are in demand.
And the best part is, you don’t need any specific qualifications to become a virtual assistant.
You just need to be organized, punctual, and an effective communicator, then the world is your oyster.
You can find lots of virtual assistant opportunities on freelancing sites like Fiverr, so be sure to do some research and look at the different types of things that virtual assistants do.
6. Manage/Run Paid Ads For Businesses
The marketing landscape has changed drastically in recent times.
Although some companies still hire marketing agencies to promote their brand, many smaller businesses and entrepreneurs are seeking new ways to get their products and services in front of potential customers.
Paid ads on search engines and social media sites is one such method employed frequently by small businesses.
However, running appropriate and effective ads isn’t straightforward, and it requires both research and planning.
As such, entrepreneurs often outsource their marketing strategy and hire freelancers to set up their online marketing campaigns on their behalf.
While you don’t need to be a marketing executive to run ad campaigns for businesses, you will need to have a working knowledge of how search engines and social media algorithms work.
If you like the idea of helping small businesses market their products, begin by watching some YouTube tutorials to understand what’s involved in running ad campaigns. You can then reach out and offer your services to prospective clients.
7. Do SEO For Local Businesses
Search Engine Optimization [SEO] is a highly sought-after skill by anyone with a website.
Why?
Because if you want your company to be found, you need to rank on Google.
SEO experts deal with the backend of your website and optimize your content to ensure you will be found by the people you’re trying to sell to.
Because the Internet is so competitive, SEO experts are like gold dust. It’s not easy to be found on the first page of Google, but if you can help your clients rank for search phrases within their niche, they are likely to pay a good price for your services.
Consider taking a course in SEO before offering your services as a freelancer.
After all, it’s not the easiest thing in the world, or everyone would be doing it!
If you have experience in your professional life with SEO or can study to improve your skills, you can earn excellent money in your spare time helping small businesses rank on Google.
8. Offer Social Media Management Services
For small businesses, maintaining an engaging presence on social media is just as important as managing their website.
Yet, with so many social media channels, it’s extremely time-consuming for small business owners to focus their energy on managing their accounts.
That being said, they recognize how important a social media presence is when attracting clients.
The result?
They look to outsource their social media management to freelancers.
So, if you spend lots of time on social media, and have amassed a decent personal following of your own, think about marketing yourself as a social media manager. You can bill your clients hourly, per post, or perhaps on a monthly retainer by taking over the actual managing of their accounts.
If you sign up for a platform like Hootsuite, you can manage multiple social media accounts from the same source, making planning and publishing content a lot easier than thinking about it every day.
9. Graphic Design
For almost all of the positions we’ve introduced above, unique images and branded content is essential. While there are certain free tools available [like Canva] to create content for a brand, there’s no substitute for high-quality graphics designed by a professional.
If you’re skilled at using tools like Photoshop or Illustrator, you can earn excellent money as a freelance graphic designer.
Just think about the mass of unique content that is shared on the Internet every day. Whether it’s social media posts or tailored YouTube videos, content is published online every second of the day.
Think about breaking your offer down into unique sections. For instance, offer a one-off fee for artwork and an ongoing fee to work with clients on a longer-term basis.
You will find that anyone who is serious about high-quality social media content will be willing to invest in a graphic designer who can create compelling content for their channels.
10. Sell An Online Course
While it might not be the first thing you think of when it comes to earning money online, selling an online course can be extremely lucrative.
Although you might struggle to think of what to promote in your online course, people are willing to learn a whole host of skills that they will gladly pay for.
As a rule of thumb, if you can earn money as a freelancer from a specific skill, you can teach others how to do it. For instance, if you’re a successful freelance writer, you could launch a course that promises something like:
“How to make $1,000 per month as a freelance writer, without having to leave your home.”
Providing you have the knowledge to back up your claims, you will find people within your niche that are willing to sign up for your course and learn from your expertise!
11. Offer Coaching/Consulting Services
Similar in some respects to selling an online course, if you’re an expert in a particular field, you can work with your clients as a consultant or coach.
However, there’s an important distinction to be made between the two.
A coach is usually someone who helps to inspire and motivate you to achieve particular outcomes, whether they’re personal or professional.
Meanwhile, a consultant is an expert in a specific field or niche and provides clients with expert advice to help them achieve their business goals.
Whichever way you look at it, working as a coach or consultant is extremely rewarding, and you can easily pick up $1,000 a month from one or two clients.
Just remember that to be a successful coach or consultant, you will have to have a proven track record of delivering results.
People won’t hire you as a consultant unless they’re sure you can deliver on what you claim, so try and get some testimonials behind you when promoting your services.
Final Thoughts
In the age of the Internet, we’re truly spoiled for choice when it comes to different ways to make $1,000 online.
Although we’ve only shared eleven ideas in this post, we could just as easily have shared dozens more; such is the potential for earning online.
Also, while this post has focused on $1,000 as the target amount for your monthly earnings, there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t easily exceed $1,000 per month with each of the eleven ideas we’ve presented.
While things might start slowly, the more clients you work with, the more testimonials and reviews you will receive. As you gain more experience, you will be able to increase your prices, and you will notice a snowball effect as both your workload and income increase.
Soon, you will be wondering why you haven’t been doing this forever and may even want to quit your job and focus on your side hustle full-time!
So, how do you plan to make $1,000 per month online? Be sure to drop your thoughts in the comments below!
