Are you looking for a way to make extra money from home?
Who isn’t, right?
Now is the perfect time to stay home and find those side hustle ideas, money-making blog niches and ways to generate extra money from home.
Maybe you’re thinking that something that sounds so easy must be incredibly hard to pull off, but I’m here to tell you that it really doesn’t have to be.
Yes, making money from home takes some time and effort but the process isn’t as challenging as some may think.
As long as you have a goal and a focus, you can set yourself up to start making money online.
It all starts with your passion and talent. From there, all you need to do is create an online presence, build an audience and start selling your goods!
Whether they be digital services or handmade items, there is a market for everything.
And the equation for success will work for both!
So if you’re ready to get started in making extra money from home, here is everything you need to get started:
5 Steps to Making Extra Money From Home
Below is my five-step process to start making extra money from home. You can start small and do this as a side business or go full-force!
Just remember, this won’t be a success overnight! Creating an online presence can take months to years, but the process that gets you there can quickly lead to extra money.
1. Figuring Out Your Niche
When it comes to making extra money from home, you may think that the more services you offer and the more topics you cover, the better.
Sorry, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth.
The most successful blogs are those that focus on one central theme, topic or, as it’s known in the blogging world, niche.
Why is this?
People don’t browse online like they do at a Walmart store. Typically, a reader is looking for a specific piece of information to solve their problem or make their life easier.
If you can give your reader the answer on your blog, you’ve given them what they came for.
Unless you can offer more valuable information related to that issue, they are likely going to bounce and not return to your site.
When you provide relatable information, you’ll have a great chance that readers are going to stay on your blog and brows your blog content.
I get blog comments all the time of people telling me they spent hours on my blog or have been reading many blog posts of mine.
And with the many comments on my posts, I know that my content is relating to my readers!
Doing this makes you look like an expert – which is crucial if you plan on monetizing your blog.
Once you’ve established yourself as the go-to person in your niche, you can begin making extra money from home through affiliate marketing (your readers will trust your judgment on products) or even selling online courses (your readers will want your knowledge).
Overall, having a niche makes readers – and potential buyers – trust you and feel comfortable buying what you have to sell.
So How Do You Find Your Niche?
Figuring out your niche all starts with passion. If you can’t pour your heart and soul into your content or product, how are you going to keep up with it for months and possibly years?
You want to choose a niche you are passionate about. Not only do you want to have strong motivation to stick with your blog or business, but readers and buyers will sense your dedication and trust your information.
The next step is seeing if there is a demand in your niche. If you want people to come to your blog, interact with your content and buy your product, there has to be a need for it.
You can gauge this need by going to Facebook and finding groups where your audience hangs out.
Use the search feature to type in your niche or general keyword with your niche and see if people need help.
Lastly, you really need to consider if you can monetize your niche if you want to make extra money from home.
This all depends on how popular your niche is and how helpful you are. Check out your competition to see how successful they are in making money off their blogs.
Overall, remember that the money won’t flow overnight. You need to have the passion and drive to try, fail, and try again when it comes to making money online.
2. Starting a Blog
More and more businesses that offer a product or service are turning to blogging in order to attract customers and create a sense of expertise in their niche.
From mechanics to dentists to crafters, you’ll likely find a blog on their business site.
Apart from selling a product or service, there is even money to be made at home in just blogging! As long as you can put the time and effort into growing your blog, you can monetize it.
So how do you get started with creating a blog?
Psst: I have a tutorial and video on how to start a blog if you need more help!
Choose a Blogging Platform
A lot of sites run on the WordPress.org platform and it’s a popular choice that is easy to set up and customize.
WordPress requires hosting through a service such as Bluehost.
Think about this way: Bluehost stores all the information for your site and provides you with a domain name. WordPress is where you manage the look and content of your site.
Choose a Domain Name
Once you’ve set up your site and host, it’s time to choose a domain name!
Your domain is the first step in creating your image and brand, so you probably want to include a word that refers to your niche somewhere in your website name.
However, you’ve probably noticed that Twins Mommy really has nothing to do with my niche – apart from the fact that I focus on helping moms.
The reason why it works for me is because I’ve established a brand and content that reflects what my site is all about.
Don’t spend a lot of time coming up with the perfect name.
Just think about your niche and your audience while keeping the name short and sweet.
For a step-by-step guide to getting this all set up, check out my post here!
Come Up With a Content Plan
Now that you have a blog up and running, you need to fill it with content!
The easiest way to do this is to generate topics in your niche. Use Google and Buzzsumo to search for your niche’s keywords.
From there, you’ll get ideas of what topics are popular.
In order to fill up your content calendar and build up your blog, try focusing on these types of posts:
- Round-up posts
- List posts
- “Secrets” posts
- Opinion posts
- How-to posts
- Tools posts
- Tips posts
To help you create a full content plan, make sure to check out my comprehensive blog post.
3. Using SEO to Gain Traffic
SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization” and it’s an important aspect in having your blog rank on Google.
So when someone searches for something, you want to try and have YOUR content within the first three results – or at least on the first page.
Keywords and Phrases
This is done by using specific keywords and phrases that people actually search for.
However, the goal is not to plug your content full of these keywords just to get Google’s attention. Google is no dummy and knows whether you’re stuffing your article with keywords or you’re incorporating keywords in a natural way.
If you do this, your blog will start ranking for terms over time.
Over time, you can make keyword inclusion seem natural by actually writing with your keywords in mind.
I’d wait at least six months before doing this so that you get the hang of content writing without worrying about keywords.
Once you’re ready, choose your keywords (based on Google and Pinterest searches) when coming up with topics.
From there, you can use your keyword in the title, the introduction and in one subheading. You can also include related keywords throughout the post.
Here’s a great resource to help you get started on finding and using the easy keywords you can rank for.
Focus on Writing Content
Another reason many businesses are putting blogs on their sites is that Google loves fresh content!
While landing pages and product descriptions are helpful, it’s not likely that you’ll be updating that information regularly.
Try to focus on writing content for your blog for the first six months.
So before you go crazy trying to start an email list, offer freebies, start affiliate marketing or gain followers on social media, work on your content first.
Try to build a foundation of content in your first six months by consistently writing. Aim to post at least 2 posts per week.
After that, you can safely drop to once a week.
4. Building an Audience
The goal of bringing traffic to your site is to increase your number of readers in order to create an audience.
You want people to keep coming back to check out your content and see what’s new.
In order to build an audience, you need to understand your audience and write content that is engaging.
And the more you give your reader something to read, the longer they will stay on your blog, too.
Just make sure the content you post solves a problem for your audience. When your blog becomes their go-to place to seek answers, they will trust you, identify with you and want to share your content with others.
You can also engage with your readers by replying to their comments. This will help you build a connection with your audience by addressing them personally, showing appreciation for their comment and further helping them solve their problem.
5. How to Make Extra Money From Home
Now that you know the framework of creating your blog and its contents, as well as attracting readers and building an audience, it’s time to figure exactly how you’re going to make this money online from home.
Here are some ideas of both online services and actual physical products you can sell online to make some extra income!
1. Freelance Writing
Freelance writing is very near and dear to my heart – I’ve been doing it for over six years!
If you want to make money online from home fast, look into writing for other people’s blogs. You can do this as a content writer or a ghostwriter (where the client posts the article under their name).
In order to be an effective freelance writer, you need to have a good understanding of the English language, strong research skills and be able to write for an online audience.
It also helps if you are a fast typer and are familiar with using WordPress.
I know there’s a lot more great ideas in this list but, if you are interested in becoming a freelance writer, I have the course for you!
2. Website Design and Development
If you know anything about how a website works behind-the-scenes, you can sell your services as a web designer/developer.
While the design of a sight involves a keen eye, development does require more knowledge of the technical stuff.
However, these services are in high demand so, if you have the chops, you could be making some good money!
3. Coaching
The term “coaching” refers to a whole range of services that you can offer to clients.
Basically, if you have expertise and knowledge you can share with others, you can become a coach or a mentor.
For example, if you have a business background, you can offer business coaching. If you have built a great following on Pinterest, you can become a Pinterest coach.
As long as you can lay out a method so that others can achieve what you have achieved, you can be any kind of coach!
4. Photography
Apart from good content, images and photos are an important part of crafting readable articles and posts.
The recent trend for mompreneurs and bloggers seems to be soft feminine or funky and eye-catching images.
Many of those photos are captured by self-taught photographers or created by self-taught graphic designers.
As long as you have a good camera, then you can create your own images and sell them online.
Sorry – no iPhone cameras.
5. Blog/Social Media Management
Many professional bloggers and influencers have more than one blog and social media account.
This means a lot of content schedules, managing writers, editors, sourcing and creating images as well as setting a schedule for social media content, publishing it and formatting/editing posts.
That’s a lot to have on one plate!
That’s why these people know the value of hiring blog and social media managers.
If you decide to sell blog/social media management services, you can even throw in some freelance writing!
All you need is experience using WordPress (to publish posts and source images) as well as popular social media accounts such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Facebook.
6. Editing or Proofreading
Do you have an eye for grammar mistakes? Do misspelled words drive you crazy?
Well, maybe not crazy, but you know how to pick up on issues in other people’s writing.
If so, you can make money just by fixing up other writer’s work!
You don’t need any special skills aside from the ones mentioned above.
You can check out my post on finding online editing jobs as well as one on finding online proofreading jobs!
7. Graphic Designer
You know all of those beautiful pins you see floating around Pinterest? They were probably made by someone who was paid for the designs!
Graphic design isn’t just limited to Pinterest – if you enjoy creating visuals, you can make money online by selling social media banners and even infographics!
As long as you have a good understanding of programs such as PhotoShop, Illustrator and Canva, you can create and sell custom design graphics for bloggers and small businesses.
8. Virtual Assistant
While many of these online services can fall under the umbrella of “virtual assisting”, being a virtual assistant means that you are responsible for many tasks including blog management, email marketing, blogger outreach and research.
You definitely don’t want to spread yourself too thin if you decide to become a virtual assistant.
Instead, focus on some core VA tasks that are in high demand such as email, blog and social media management.
9. Sell Mason Jar Crafts
Making money online is not all about selling digital services. You can make extra money from home by selling crafts and physical goods!
There are many things you can make out of mason jars from candles to gifts to using them to sell homemade beauty products.
Check out my post here for 65 amazing mason jar craft ideas that you can sell from home!
10. Knitted or Crocheted Items
Handy with a hook or a set of knitting needles? You could be making some extra cash selling crocheted or knitted items!
There’s more to this craft than hats and scarves – you can also make plushies, purses, dishcloths and many more items.
Take a look at this article to see how to set up an online store and sell a variety of crafts right from your home!
11. Upcycled Items
Crafting for money from home doesn’t have to be an expensive affair. There are so many items you can make and sell simply by recycling and upcycling used and older treasures.
Think teacup and saucer bird feeders, chalkboard picture frames, wine bottle glasses and refinished furniture.
You can even make a quick buck by selling your child’s used toys and clothing!
12. Gifts and Décor
People are always looking for handmade items to give as gifts or decorate their homes with. There’s something rustic and charming about something made by someone else.
Gift baskets are a hot commodity, especially for those who don’t know what to buy for their friends, family and loved ones.
You can also try your hand at decorated mugs, string art and novel items such as wind chimes.
13. Beauty Products
Nowadays, more and more people are turning to natural beauty products and staying away from those laden with chemicals and toxins.
You do have to be careful here, though, because naturally made products have a short shelf life and there may be rules and regulations in your area pertaining to selling beauty products.
If you live in Canada, you can find more information about that here. For those in the United States, click here.
14. Food Products
Similar precautions apply for selling food products, but don’t let that stop you from selling them. People are willing to pay for home cooked goods and meals!
From baked items to freezer meals, there’s no end to what you can sell from your kitchen.
Just be sure to follow your country’s guidelines. Check out the Cottage Food Law guide for the U.S. or this information about selling food in Canada.
The Possibilities are Endless for Extra Money from Home!
That’s right! There’s no end to how you can make extra money from home!
From digital services to handmade products, there’s a market for your passion and you can certainly take advantage of it.
Now over to you:
What is your passion and how do you plan on making money from it?
Let me know in the comments!
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