Money – a resource that is most needed when least possessed and least possessed when most needed. Most needed now, this new year when a lot of people are yet to recover from the incurred expenses from the Christmas holidays..
Now that the festive season is over (or almost over for some people), it’s a new year and you must have made a new year’s resolution to be on your A-game in terms of your finances. Don’t worry; I’ve got you covered today.
I’ll be showing you in this article, 5 surprising ways that you could make some cool cash this New Year. Some, not so surprising, but could be new to a lot of people.
The following list features some simple, but very effective ways to make money in this New Year. You can earn a lot of money, possibly thousands each month without spending much time or efforts.
Now let’s get down to business!
1- Review Websites and Apps for Cash
Does that sound strange? Well, only to those who actually never knew that this exists. Reviewing products and maybe taking surveys and filling in questionnaires but websites??.
I have good news for you my friend. There are actually websites and app developers that are willing to know what is genuinely going on in the mind of its users and are ready to pay good money for that information.
Some websites even pay you $5 just for signing up. Why not take that opportunity to make some cool cash for yourself? Here are a few websites you can begin making money, at the range of $1 – $20 just for some 20 minutes of work.
- Whatusersdo
- Usertest
- Enroll
- Utest
- Analysia
- TryMyUI
Since this article isn’t a review of every one of them, you can go right ahead and search on the internet for these guys, you already use websites and apps, and you might as well get paid for it. However, some of these sites would require you to pass a test(s) to show that you know the process and requirements for being a tester. It mostly requires just filling out an application and then waiting for confirmation from the website.
2- Sell Your Smartphone Photos
A lot of people are using smartphones nowadays and for some people, just for selfies. Did you know that people are ready to pay for the pictures you just took with your smartphone? I had friends who used their phones to take nature pictures, but sadly absolutely none of them knew of such opportunities – being able to sell those photos for cash with the same Smartphone they have.
It involves downloading an application on your phone’s application store, signing up and uploading your pictures.
Then, go through the most popular photos on the app or website you’ll be using to know what type of photos are in-demand and then imitate what you see. You could also be creative, that’s no crime at all.
Some apps only take 50% of what the picture is sold for. Let’s put this in an example, so that you can better understand how interesting this is. If 100 people buy that same picture for $10, you make without placing ads, without capital or any business plan, you make $500 (Tell me that’s not too cool to be true!). You take pictures every day for free, many of us have even perhaps thousands of images on their smartphones, why don’t you monetize it.
Here are a few apps you could sell your photos on,
- Foap
- Snapwire
- Snapcape
- Dreamstime
- Shutterstock Contributor
Tips in selling your photos online
- You may want to keep the photos generic. That means, take your shots without brand names or logos on it, those companies that have their logos on your picture may request to be paid for the picture also.
- Mixing your photos up also is another one. Try different stuff and be creative, you don’t know which shot might be your highest sold picture.
- Upload full resolution image
3- Write Slogans for Major Companies
This sounds surprising, right? Yeah, I was at some point puzzled as to why companies would pay money just for some slogan that anyone can come up with until I remembered a business in the past that I wanted to get a slogan for. It wasn’t easy trust me but ever heard the phrase “Just do it” Nike’s popular slogan? Well, companies are ready to pay a lot of money to get something as catchy as that as their slogan. Having a tagline that isn’t just catchy but also captures the heart and soul of a business is priceless.
Competitions are also held by websites to get slogans for businesses. Cash prizes go for as high as $999 for SloganSlingers. So, if you think you’re very creative enough and can piece words together that can inspire, or be captivating enough to be the tagline/slogan of a business, you can check out these websites below;
- SloganSlingers
- ThePrizeFinder
- NamingForce
And a whole lot more. You can go right ahead on Google and search on ‘slogan-writing contests. You can apply for, learn more about writing slogans and then get creative.
4- Affiliate Marketing
Well, this isn’t a “new” way of making money. But you’d be surprised how many people are yet to realize how profitable affiliate marketing is (to the non-blogging/non-business minded people).
Affiliate Marketing refers to a system where you sell other people’s products for commissions. You literally can make money while you sleep, because you won’t be physically going around as a salesperson with products up-and-down, searching for buyers when everything is already automated.
Here’s how it works: You apply for an affiliate program, fill in some relevant information on the website, you wait to be accepted or not. If accepted, you get a unique link(s) to some products, then create content on either your website (not that relevant, but very beneficial), forums, your social media handles, (just anywhere you can reach out to other people) and include your unique link to a product relevant to your content and that can also be helpful. Then everyone that clicks your link and buys has been referred by you.
Say that content was seen by a lot of people and for example, 20 people bought from your link, with your commission on each product being $5, which means you’ve made $100 using the internet and your brains in crafting a great content. All these, without having to leave the comfort of your house.
5- WhatsApp Status
Some time ago, WhatsApp was just made for chats and then we were able to make video and audio calls. Now, we can like other social media share our thoughts with people on our contact list.
Earning some money with your WhatsApp status involves going into a niche, posting regularly and gaining popularity in that field (Just like Facebook pages and blogs and YouTube channels). When you have high traffic on your “WhatsApp channel,” you can then begin to monetize and make some money off your followers with paid adverts, affiliate marketing, etc.
Luckily for you, there is an extensive guide that could help you in establishing credibility and earning from your status updates. Read How to Make Money with Your WhatsApp Status
In summary, there are so many ways to earn an income. As long as there is a need, it can be monetized. As simple as that is, some time ago, I was walking past a particular route I take every morning and I noticed an ad displayed on a wall. It said, “Improve your writing in 12 days.” It was well written, not typed, and was very catchy. I thought, “Wow, I’d really love to take a course like this someday”. Not that I had a terrible handwriting but because I thought my handwriting could actually be better. I realized that a lot of people would really need something like this and could pay for it because I really could have paid to take a course like that.
However, a word of warning, yes, there are so many ways you could make extra cash across the internet in our world today – so many opportunities, but don’t set too many goals or chase on too many sources of income because that way, you are less likely to achieve very much in any. Instead, cut down your sources of income to the very few that interests you and face them head-on. You get better that way – specializing.
I suggest that you start to work towards progress on those very few that appeal to you. I know you do not want to put all of your eggs in the same basket, but don’t have too many baskets. You may begin to regret it when you start to lose your baskets one after the other. Don’t have too many sources of income, you may begin to regret it when you start finding it difficult to track your cash flow or fall short in some areas.
On this note, I wish you good success in your finances.