5 Real Ways to Make Money at Home

Making money at home has never been easier. There are so many ways to make money but in this post, we are going to focus on five of my favorite. Many people say try surveys or teaching English online, and while those are ways to make money, these five ways to make money are the ways that have been proven to me that they work. Continue reading find out the ways you can start making money instantly.

• 5 real ways to make money from home
• Steps to starting each way
• Selling on eBay
• Selling on Etsy
• Starting a blog
• Creating Fiverr and Upwork gigs

Sell on eBay

Do you have things around your house you don’t want anymore? eBay is the best way to make fast money. Just download the eBay app, take good pictures of your items, and list them! Check out my post: how to start selling on eBay in 12 easy steps. There are other selling apps out there like Poshmark and Mercari, but I would start with eBay.

Step 1: Open an eBay and PayPal account

Selling on eBay is the lowest cost business you can start. It doesn’t cost anything until you start selling. ($0.35 to list each item (but you get 50 FREE listings each month!) + 10% eBay fees) The very first step to sell online is to open an eBay and PayPal account. Both eBay and PayPal accounts are free to open. PayPal charges 2.9% + $0.30 per sale. Then as you get paid or at the end of the month, just transfer the funds to your bank account. 

Step 2: Find things to sell

Start gathering things around your house to sell. Clean out your closet, drawers, kitchen, living room, anywhere you can. About 10 items is a good start. Don’t buy anything you resell just yet. The key when you are starting is to keep your investments low. You can literally sell anything and everything on eBay- from parts for old vacuum cleaners to used clothes from the ’80s. Walk around your house and put everything you want to sell in a laundry basket. To find out more about how to buy and resell on eBay read Reselling on eBay | The Ultimate Beginners Guide.

Step 3: Do research to know how much items are worth

Now get a pad of paper and pen. Make a list of every item you found. Then research everything you have. How to do research: Type in your item in the search bar on eBay. Then go to “Filter” and then to “Completed Listings”. That is where you find out how much your item is selling for. You can also use websites like Checkaflip.com where you can type in your item and it shows you the average sold price. Write down the average selling price for your item that has sold recently.

Step 4: Take GOOD pictures

Pictures are key. Buy a white poster board or use a white fluffy rug with a plant. Professional pictures are preferred by eBay (a plain white background), but flat lays are really popular right now. If you decide to go with flat lays instead of a white background, look up ideas. You get 12 free pictures on eBay, so use them! Take multiple pictures of every detail. Pictures are what make the sale, so take good pictures! 

Step 5: Buy it now or auction?

I have found that doing a mixture of both works best. Everyone has different ways of shopping on eBay. Some like to bid on auctions to try and get a good deal, some like to buy the item now so they don’t have to wait. I often put my older listings on auctions. (If I have a shirt at a buy it now for $8.99 with free shipping, I will do a $4.99 auction with $4 shipping.) Try changing up your listings every time you relist them. This way you learn what you prefer. People bid on auctions so sometimes your item will sell for way more than what you thought and other times your item sells for how much you start your listing. A lot of people start their auction-style listings at $0.99, but I don’t recommend it because it might sell for $0.99. When I first started selling on eBay, I listed all my items for $0.99 so I could grow my feedback fast and I had so much fun watching the auctions go up. Try both and see what you like the best.

Step 6: Shipping your item

This part scares a lot of new sellers. But really it is the most fun part! You definitely will want to buy shipping envelopes and order free boxes. It is also very important to add something with each item that sells. It can be a short “thank you for your purchase” note, a “please shop again!” business card, or just the packing slip. It’s so easy to buy a shipping label and print it from the eBay app. Tape it on and take it up to the Post Office! Read more about how to ship on eBay here: How to Ship Items on eBay.

Etsy

Etsy is a selling platform for vintage and handmade items. This is a great way to make some extra money! You can sell vintage clothes for very high prices or make an item to sell. (How to start selling on Etsy posts coming soon!)

There are three categories you can sell on Etsy:

1. Handmade Items
2. Vintage Items (20 years or older)
3. Craft Items

My sister and I sell digital downloads and vintage clothing (for crazy prices) but you may be amazing at making jewelry, or you may be great at making dog treats. Anything that interests you, look up how to make!

How much does it cost to list on Etsy?

Joining and starting a shop on Etsy is free. Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee. Listings are active for four months, or until they sell. Then there is a 5% transaction fee and a 3% + $0.25 payment processing fee.

There are three basic selling fees: 

1. Listing fee ($0.20 for 4 months)
2. Transaction fee (5%)
3. Payment processing fee (3% + $0.25)

Step 1: Choosing a name

Coming up with a shop name worries many people and that is what stops them from opening one. My advice? Think about it for three days, looking up ideas and writing down what you like. You can change your shop name up to five times, so don’t stress about it too much. Shop names can be up to 20 characters long, and they can’t have spaces or punctuation. You may want to capitalize letters in your shop name to distinguish separate words.

The name you choose becomes part of your shop URL : https://www.etsy.com/shop/shopname and shopname.etsy.com

Step 2: Add listings to your shop

Once you’ve completed all your shop sections, you are ready to start adding products to your Etsy shop. Below are a few things to do when you set up your product listings.

Adjust thumbnails | Thumbnails are the first pictures a buyer sees when they search or stumble upon your product. These show the buyer the look and feel of your shop, so make sure they are consistent and match your brand.

Listing information | Your product description should have titles and a description that describes what it is in detail. Many sellers have a few titles like: How to order, What you will receive, FAQ, and any additional information for the product you’re selling.

Use the tags | Make use of the 13 tags available for each product. Buyers will find your products based on keywords, so make sure these keywords match what is in your tags. To find ideas for your tags, you can start to type in what you are selling and what comes up to search for is what you should use as tags.

Enter inventory quantity and price |  Add the price for each item and make sure you factor all the costs into your sale price. Include the quantity in stock, and if there are product variants such as size, color, and material.

Set the shipping fee | This is where you include shipping fees, country of origin, processing time, weight, and size. You can always update this information later if needed.

Use Etsy’s Marketing Tools | This allows you to reach out to a wider audience through social media. Etsy has made this easy to do with a new marketing tool to let sellers share their products on social platforms like Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Start a Blog

A blog is a great way to make money, but you don’t see the results as quickly as selling on eBay. When you start a blog, you have to be 100% committed to it to make money. But it is possible and SO fun. Read more about it in this post: “How to Make Money Blogging“.

Starting a blog is an amazing way to share your knowledge with the world, create a creative outlet, and (best of all) make some money. You can blog about anything you love: fashion, recipes, animals, beauty, finances, deals, or just your everyday life! There are so many ways you can make money with every topic. When you are passionate about what you write about, you will succeed.

Step 1: Find your niche & name

The first step to starting your own website is to buy a notebook. Start with writing down topics you’re passionate about. What is your hobby? Do you love cooking? Are you a fashionista? What kind of knowledge do you have that people want? Whatever you love, write about that. 

Choosing a name for my blog was very hard and time-consuming. I tried to pick a name that fit me and fit what I wanted to write about. I thought about it for a month, constantly writing down ideas that popped into my head. Then one night I sat down and actually did a domain search to see if any of them were taken. This is what really helped me to decide. After about an hour of playing with every idea I had written down, Exploring Life’s Beauty was chosen. Check out this post to do a domain search to see if your ideas are already chosen.

Step 2: Buy a website

Do you already own your own website? If not, start one. This is the first step in making the money. (Of course!) Before I bought my blog, I did hours (and hours) of reading different blogs about how to do it, what hosting to use, self-hosting or free hosting, and lots of other stuff I had no clue what I was reading. Then one day I was tired of researching; so I brainstormed for a while about a name, signed up for Bluehost, and started designing my new website! I definitely recommend just starting a blog. (It only costs the price of one coffee a month!) The way I learned was to just jump into the blogging world.

You can do your own research, but I went with Bluehost as my hosting company. (And I’m glad I did!) You can start your own website for only $3.95 a month!! (This price is only valid through this link.) Also, if you sign up through that link, you get your domain name for FREE. (yay!) When you choose Bluehost, you get WordPress.com for free. I love WordPress because it’s so easy, it’s free, you can choose from thousands of free themes and free plugins to design your blog.

Step 4: Create content

After you have set up your blog (learn how to start a blog in 7 steps here), the next step is to create useful content. Make sure what you write is useful to your readers. How can your readers benefit from what you are writing? So here’s the main goal: make your blog the go-to resource for readers looking into your niche. Your goal needs to be focused on creating 10-15 amazing posts immediately.

Step 5: Make money

The next step is to have a money-making plan. Planning is key. Immediately when you start your blog, you need a plan for an income. There are many ways to make money, but you shouldn’t just rely on one form. Many people enjoy different ways better than others. You need to find out what works for you and your blog.

To find detailed information about each way you can make money blogging, check out my post: How to Make Money Blogging.

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Upwork & Fiverr

Upwork and Fiverr are really cool websites. And even if you don’t have a skill like graphic design or blog writing, you can still find something you can do like proofreading or taking pictures. There are hundreds of different ways you could create your portfolio.

Upwork | With Upwork, you create your portfolio, find a job you are interested in, then bid on it.

Fiverr | With Fiverr, you create your portfolio, set up your plans, and wait for clients to come to you. It’s free to join Fiverr. There is no subscription required or fees to list your services. You keep 80% of each transaction.

6 Popular categories on Fiverr

1. Graphic Design

If you’re a graphic designer, Fiverr is a great place to sell your services to try and make some extra money. Graphic designers sell anything from business card designs to t-shirt designs. You can sell a gig as low as $5 to as high as $1,000.

2. Website Development

Website development is a high-demand gig right now. A website development gig can earn you between $100 and $2,000.

3. Translation

Can you speak another language? This is very popular because individuals and businesses need help translating documents and projects. You can offer to tutor people in the language and even market their products in that language. 

4. Copywriting

A copywriter is supposed to be one of the top ten jobs in 2022. Wordsmiths are in high demand on Fiverr, which is what makes copywriting a lucrative gig. As a copywriter, you can review products, write blog posts and website landing pages, or author books. A copywriting gig on Fiverr can go as high as $5,000.

5. Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistance (VA) has become a very popular term in the last couple of years. As a virtual assistant on Fiverr, there is a lot that can be included, such as data entry, emailing potential customers, cold calling, or setting appointments with clients. 

6. Social Media Marketing

Tips To Maximize Sales on Fiverr

Because Fiverr is one of the largest online marketplaces for freelancers, competition is very stiff. Here are some of the things you can do to maximize your sales on Fiverr.

Make Your Profile Stand Out

Your profile should be descriptive and detailed enough to keep buyers from guessing. You can make your profile outstanding by uploading a professional photo or video detailing your services.

Optimize Your Profile and Gigs

Your gig’s going to compete against thousands of other gigs on Fiverr, making it hard for buyers to locate you. Using SEO strategies such as user-friendly language and keywords increases your chances of selling more.

Create More Gigs

Fiverr allows you to create a maximum of seven gigs when you first start out. More gigs could mean more sales. I recommend creating as many gigs as you can. This can also show you what is more popular.

Strive for 5-Star Ratings

Consistently deliver high-quality services to earn good ratings from buyers. Feedback and reviews will not only maintain your reputation on Fiverr but also help your gigs rank higher.

Utilize Gig Extras

Making use of gig extras will enable you to attract and retain more buyers and upsell your gigs. Gig extras can take the form of faster delivery, unlimited revisions, and many more options.

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Craigslist, OfferUp/Letgo, Marketplace

Craigslist, OfferUp/Letgo, and Facebook Marketplace are websites and apps where you can buy and resell anything. They are free to sell and buy and that’s why they’re so popular. Craigslist does charge $5 now to sell a camper but other than that it’s free! One negative to selling on Craigslist, OfferUp/Letgo, and Facebook Marketplace is that you have to meet the buyer. That is a huge positive to selling on eBay, Mercari, Etsy, or Poshmark is that you can ship your item that sells and you don’t have to meet anyone.

More posts on how to sell on these platforms coming soon.

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Don’t give up

It can be easy to get discouraged when trying to make money from home. But don’t give up! Choose one of these five platforms and put your heart into it. Start selling clothes on eBay, Poshmark, Mercari, or Etsy; start a jewelry making business and sell on Etsy; start writing blog posts for bloggers on Fiverr.. when you have a goal to make money from home you can achieve it if you put your mind to it and stick with it.

Comment below!

What has helped you succeed to make money at home?

What business did you start from scratch?

What is your “why”?