10 Easiest Skills To Learn To Make Money Online (In 2024)

“How to make money online” is probably one of the most popular searches on the internet today.

The rise of remote work nudged many of us to rethink our income sources, and the charm of earning from our cozy corners became hard to resist. The Internet has already revolutionized our lives, from shopping and networking to expressing ourselves. But today, let’s dive into one of its most intriguing facets: making money online. I’m here to spotlight the most straightforward skills to master for online earnings. With a plethora of both paid and free online courses, there’s a wealth of opportunities just a click away. Ready to discover them?

The 10 Easiest Skills To Learn To Make Money Online:

1. Web Scraping and Data Entry

Other than diligence and attention to detail, all you need for the job is a rudimentary knowledge of using MS Office (Word, Excel, etc.) or its equivalent in Google Drive and other open sources. And, of course, the know-how to surf the net (duh!). Web scraping is a simple process where you do online research for clients and compile data on a worksheet. Several companies gather info about their target markets such as contact numbers, contact persons, websites, Linkedin, and other social media accounts, etc. This enables them to send business proposals, even customized ones, to the right person. You don’t need a college degree to master this skill. Even high school dropouts can make a living in data encoding. Potential Income: $100 and up for a one-time job, $15 – $25 per hour for continuous work.

2. Freelance Writing

If you have the knack for writing, then you can certainly make a living doing so. You learn this as one of the top money-making skills in primary school and just continue to hone it as you climb the academic ladder. So, by the time you get your high school diploma, you should be able to compose essays and other literary pieces easily. From that point on, there are a lot of ways to improve writing skills, such as taking courses, reading books and other publications, watching online tutorials, and of course, practicing. Once you attain a certain level of proficiency, there are a lot of opportunities waiting for you online or even outside the virtual setting. Just to name a few possibilities, you can earn money by writing:

• Articles for magazines, blogs, and other platforms
• Product descriptions
• Paid reviews
• Sales and marketing communique
• Social media content
• Novels, short stories, and other literary pieces

Potential Income: $5,000/month or more for native English speakers; $2,000/month and up for others.

3. Proofreading and Editing

Writing proficiency is, of course, a prerequisite for this job. It’s like you cannot correct a swimmer’s strokes without knowing how to swim the right way yourself. The art of proofreading, per se, is just spotting and correcting spelling, typographical, and grammatical errors in someone’s work. Editing may involve re-writing sentences or even paragraphs to improve their readability, remove redundancies, and fix the flow of thoughts and ideas. While the two may be distinct from each other, they sort of overlap. So, when someone hires you to do one or the other, they may always expect you to do both. Potential Income: $6,000/month or more for native English speakers; $3,000/month and up for others.

4. Front-End Web Design

You can now become a web designer without knowing a single thing about programming. Website-building platforms such as WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, etc. made it easier for everybody to plant a stake in cyberspace. Instead of coding, everything is almost pretty much just drag-and-drop tasks. In layperson’s terms, as a front-end designer, all you have to do is make a website pretty. Nowadays, you can do it with no knowledge and skills in Photoshop or Illustrator. Instead, you can just use Canva to create images and other design elements for the site. You can download a basic account for free and learn how to use it from several tutorials that are readily available on the web. If you need photos to make pages more visually appealing, various sites offer free downloadable images such as Pexel, Pixabay, and Unsplash. Potential Income: $1000 per website and up.

5. Graphic Design

If you have the eye and talent for design and illustration, then it should be an easy decision for you to decide to learn how to use Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. It is also important to install AdobeSuite on your computer. Graphics designers are always in demand since powerful visuals appeal more to consumers than mere texts. All companies require artwork of some sort from establishing their corporate identity (logos, brands, etc.) to marketing their products or services (website, brochures, etc.) to reaching the consumers (ads, promos, etc.). If you are creative, passionate, and skilled in designing, you can make your mark in this field even if you don’t have a college degree in Fine Arts or visual communications. Potential Income: $2000 and up per project, $60,000 a year or more for a full-time job.

6. Blogging

Blogging indeed is more of a be-your-own-boss means of living. So, unless you have rich parents, or substantial savings to support yourself for at least two years, this is something you cannot do on a full-time basis instantly. It’s best to start blogging as a side hustle while having a full-time job at the same time. However, most of the skills you need for blogging can also be good sources of income such as creative writing, front-end web designing, or pretty much everything I’ve mentioned above. What makes blogging one of the most lucrative ways to make money online is the potential to make a passive income in the long run. And, you have several possibilities to create revenue streams, such as:

• Affiliate marketing
• Ads
• Sponsored posts
• Paid reviews
• Sell products and services
• Sell digital products
• Offer online courses

Potential Income: Successful full-time bloggers today make between $2000/mo. to $100,000/month.

7. Social Media Marketing

Most people today depend on their mobile devices as their main source of communication, information, and entertainment. Most, if not all, of those users are signed up to at least one of the many social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. They also access Google and YouTube regularly. It’s either you become an influencer yourself (which takes time, effort, and creativity to attain such status) or you can offer your skill to companies or blog site owners to boost their social media presence. Some freelancers charge $300 per month per client just to manage one social media account, such as Pinterest, Facebook, etc. If you can develop exceptional skills in this area, then your earning prospect is great. Potential Income: $3000/month and up.

8. Vlogging

If you are not inclined to write or design but have the gift of gab, then you should start vlogging. Even if you are more of an introvert type, you can still create interesting YouTube content by using video creating and editing software, and online sources for free video and audio clips. The trick here is gaining a massive following that will make your content appealing to sponsors and advertisers. Or again, you can market this skill to companies who crave to have a viral video on the internet to promote their services or merchandise and build brand awareness. It intrigued me to hear about 3 or 4 foreigners who create various YouTube content focused on the Philippines alone, its people, travel destinations, etc. These guys quickly gained hundreds of thousands or even millions of Filipino followers around the globe in a short time and are now earning $3000 to $6000 per month online. Potential Income: $3000/month and up.

9. Teaching English as a Second Language

Of course, you have a slight edge if you’re a native English speaker. But, even if you’re not, you can still earn a living doing this if you have a good command of the English language in oral communications. The demand for this service from rich Asian countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea, as well as in other countries in Europe and the Middle East, increases every year. Don’t worry,  it is not required for you to learn the language of those countries I mentioned. Employers such as VIP Kid will provide you with a complete lesson plan and the students to teach online. Potential Income: $4,000/month and up for native English speakers; $2,000/month or more for others.

10. Transcribing

This is one of the easiest marketable skills you can develop to earn money online. However, it requires keen hearing and the ability to understand various nuances in speaking. The job entails transcribing audio files, such as interview transcripts, dictations, dialogues, oral reports, etc. into Word documents. While most work in this field consists of general transcription, some tasks require specialization. For instance, if you are going to do medical transcriptions, you must be familiar with common terminologies that doctors use. Potential Income: $2000/month and up.

Conclusion

One thing I love about cyberspace is that it is not only a place to make money, but it is also a place to learn how to make money. It’s a treasure trove of free and paid tutorials that enable you to learn new marketable skills that will help you qualify for various actual and virtual jobs, or better yet, be your boss. So, what are you waiting for? Get started with these computer skills that make money today. If you don’t know where to look for a freelance gig or a full-time job online, there are a lot of job boards you can check. I also created a list of sites that pay you to write content online. Check that next and put your new skills to good use!