In this day and age, very few businesses still run without computers, technology and the Internet. Almost every self-employed person has their own website or is active in social media. Especially in recent years it is becoming easier and easier to successfully earn money online. Advertising, sponsorships and small side jobs allow self-employed people to generate additional income virtually on the side. The five easiest ways to earn money on the Internet are explained in the following article.
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Use online gambling
Nowadays, gambling games are no longer played exclusively in the classic casino. Both card games and "slots", i.e. games on machines, can be played on relevant websites. Some of these games do not require any actual money to be wagered and are purely for fun. These websites and apps are especially helpful for beginners who are still learning how each gambling game works. Other websites offer real gambling, in which the player wagers real money beforehand in order to be able to win real money as well. Founders can almost turn their hobby into a profession here and, depending on the game, sometimes win large sums of money.
The big advantage is that betting and gaming winnings are generally tax-free and do not have to be declared to the tax office. Of course, this does not mean that self-employed people should declare all income as "gambling winnings", but if they win something from gambling, this money does not have to be taxed.
On the other hand, playing in the online casino is a nice pastime and provides fun. The range of games is exactly the same as in a stationary casino, with the difference that here players don’t even have to leave their couch at home. Even the suit that is obligatory in the "real" casino can stay in the closet. All the more comfortable is this way to earn money.
Attention: For all the fun of the game, the risk of addiction should not be neglected. Especially people who successfully gamble and win money are at risk of falling prey to gambling addiction. The BZgA informs about possible dangers and gives advice on therapies and other help for gambling addiction.
Surveys and tests for consumers
Especially in recent years, portals on which users can earn money with surveys with little effort have mushroomed. The providers are diverse and often internationally active. The procedure is very simple:
- The user fills out a registration form and, in addition to e-mail address and personal data, also specifies interests, marital status and profession.
- The company invites the user to take part in surveys that might suit him or her. In this case, the information provided is decisive: if the user falls into the appropriate target group (age, place of residence, profession, interests, …), he or she will receive an invitation.
- The user answers the questions within a certain time limit and receives a predetermined amount for each survey. The distribution of the money usually takes place from an amount of ten euros.
Tests that users can perform online work in a similar way. These surveys and tests are usually commissioned by market research institutes – similar to telephone interviews. Here is the advantage that users can make money with each survey. The only important thing is to pay attention to the seriousness of the providers. By the way: Even with such surveys it is not necessarily necessary to pay tax on the earnings.
Turning your knowledge into money
Whether writing texts, taking photos or spreading one’s own knowledge in forums – there are numerous ways to turn one’s own knowledge into money. The two most lucrative are:
Writing texts
Online there are many platforms where users can write short and longer texts for good money. Clients pay a certain amount to the platform and commission the texts there. The platform in turn pays users per word. The only catch: the money is only paid out if the client also accepts the text. Therefore, users must take care to produce high-quality texts. Plagiarism should also be avoided. Not only scientific papers have such copies, but also texts that are to appear online are checked for plagiarism before publication. Even with the large portals, the payout is usually from 10 euros. The writers have to take care of the taxation themselves, here it is important to inform yourself in advance.
Shoot photos
Almost everyone has a good camera integrated in their cell phone these days. This is often enough to take beautiful and high quality pictures. Of course, a quality SLR camera is also suitable for selling and posting one’s own photos online. In any case, hobby photographers can sell their pictures on relevant websites and earn money that way. There are even portals that commission certain photos and pay a certain amount for the creation and submission of the corresponding image.
Blogs and YouTube – the social media
Who does not know them? YouTube channels, blogs and profiles of so-called influencers. The largest part of the earnings in this area runs through advertising. For example, companies place ads in front of YouTube videos and on blogs of well-known personalities. For each click, the user receives an amount of money from the provider or directly from the advertiser. The second variant are sponsorships. In doing so, companies send products to the influencers or provide them with services free of charge. As part of the advertising contract, the person places the product on their platforms. For this, as a rule, also flows an additional payment.
Important: Advertising must always be marked as such! Otherwise, there is a threat of warnings and severe penalties!
With the placement of advertising and the help of sponsorships, more and more people can make a living from their accounts in the social media. The most important prerequisite is a broad following.
Develop your own app
This is the supreme discipline among the methods of earning money online. If you know how to program, you can easily launch an app on the market yourself. Games are particularly popular here, but useful applications are also finding more and more buyers. There are two ways to earn money with this:
- Placing advertisements within the app and generating revenue with it.
- The app itself or individual functions can be subject to a fee. Also it is possible in many applications to have the advertisement removed with the help of a purchase. Here, too, the developer earns money directly.
However, this method is really only suitable for people with programming skills. Otherwise the effort, both in terms of time and money, would be too high and the development would no longer be profitable.