how to make free money online
1 Put up some gigs on fiverr
Fiverr is a freelancing marketplace that used to advertise the majority of tasks for 5-20 for anything from marketing tasks through to relationship advice. You can browse the categories to see what’s on offer before deciding on what you want to advertise. Most of the work is bespoke, but if you want to scale your earnings it’s a good idea to advertise work that you’ve already done, such as creating a guide or ebook that people can buy as a pdf.
2 Get paid for your music opinions
If you’d like to listen to some new music while you make money, Slice the Pie is a good place to start. You get paid to listen to at least 90 seconds of a track and review it. The pay rates depend on your star rating (which increases with the number of reviews you submit) and the number of words in your review. Unfortunately, your 2 cents aren’t paid much more than that, so it takes a long time to build up enough money to withdraw but it may be one of the more enjoyable activities on this list.
3 Become a dog walker
Animal lovers can make friends with some new dogs and earn money too. If you’re available during day times, this could be a great option for you. Plenty of people ask dog walkers to come and look after their pooch during the week, which means it’s likely that you could still keep your weekends free. Or you could branch out into pet or even house-sitting for more income options.
4 Sell your story
If you’ve lived through some unusual experiences, you may be able to make money from your story. Magazines and websites will pay for everything from extreme weight loss through to family drama and first-person accounts of dramatic incidents.
Options like Real People Mag focus on more extreme events and pay up to £2,000 for featured stories. There are also groups like FeatureMe! on Facebook which feature journalists offering slightly less (typically £100-£500) for smaller features and less shocking stories.
5 Get paid to solve problems for businesses
Businesses often need outside help solving problems or improving their products, which is where corporate problem solvers come in. Problem solvers need detailed knowledge of their subject and an innovative approach, but can earn 100,000 for their solutions, as well as professional acclaim. You can register with websites like InnoCentive to review current challenges and submit your solutions – the subjects range from medicine through to tech and product design.
6 Take part in psychological experiments
When you hear ‘psychological experiment’ you may think of things like the Stanford Prison Experiment but tests taking place today are very different to those in the 1970s; you can get paid for anything from taking online questionnaires through to having your eye movements tracked when looking at paintings. Universities typically recruit students but they’re open to non-students as well. You can see Bristol University’s current experiments here – a lot of universities run experiments if they have a psychology faculty, so just check at your local college or university to see if it’s an option.
If you’re interested in just learning a little more about psychology before diving into an experiment, you can take a range of free psychology courses (including intros aimed at beginners) with FutureLearn.
7 Change careers
If you don’t feel the same sort of passion for your work that you used to, or perhaps the industry is not as healthy as it once was, it may be a good idea to consider a career change.
While changing careers often comes with a drop in pay, you may be able to move to a more lucrative field and regain lost earnings quickly. This may not help to make money immediately, but it could be a long-term investment in your future.
We have a variety of free courses for people who want to change career. They can help you test out whether that career move is really for you, and get started on your new CV. You can also explore our interactive career mapper, to help set you on the right path.