So, as I briefly mentioned in my introduction post, I like to try new ways of earning money online. To help others doing the same and learn from my experiences, I have written this post. It doesn’t only include success stories. I have tried serval things in order to find the ways that work for me. You’ll find that most of them require some creative effort, but there are also some methods that are less creative. I know there are a lot of other things you could do and I am curious what it is that you do? Apart from cryptocurrency ;).

Icons

During my studies, I did a lot of projects for companies and the university. In these projects, we always had to design things. Sometimes marketing material for selling our fictional product to the teachers, and sometimes conceptual propositions for an application. In order for this material to be convincing, we usually created nice renders of our product, with explanatory texts about the features of the product. To make it look nice, we also created icons for each function or buttons on the interface. However, when the project was finished, most of the stuff was put away and never looked into again.

Some of the icons I have created that are available online.

Then I figured there should be a way to monetize the effort put into these designs, without damaging the interests of the company or university. In the end, I came across websites that let you sell icon only. I started with putting up icons that I had already created; every cent you get for that is extra. After I while it became a kind of hobby (read: obsession), and I started to design for the sole purpose of selling it online. The great thing is, that once an icon is online, you can potentially earn money with it the rest of your live. Of course, this depends on using the right tags, and creating icons that are really needed by the customers.

My most downloaded icon is this ‘wind’ icon. Don’t ask me why, it just is ;)

Upsides

• Once online, you can reap benefits from it over a longer period.
• You usually are credited when people use your stuff, so your name floats around the internet :).

Downsides

• As soon as it is online, you can never reclaim exclusive rights to your own creation.

Second-hand stuff

If you have a keen eye for a certain niche of products, you can try and buy second-hand stuff and try to sell it online for a higher price. It can be something that you know a lot about, such as your hobby. The hardest part is being sure you actually will sell the product and not having to store it for a long time.

For me, I mostly buy furniture and related design items. Furniture is great since you can use it until you can sell it for the price you want. Personally, I noticed that for me the hardest part is that I actually like the stuff I buy so much, that I tend to keep it. So, if you are in it for the money, be careful about that ;).

This is my latest buy, It is a well-known coffee machine (at least in the Netherlands), which design originates from 1964. My parents used to have one at home when I was a child and I thought it was such an ugly thing. But now I love the design and guess what, they are still begin produced and sold for an amazing 219€ (260$). So, when I came across this one in a second-hand store for only 15€ (18$) I just could not let it slip. So now here I am, having two of these at home ;). But I have good hopes that this one will be sold very soon.

Upsides

• You help giving second-hand things a new life.
• The people you buy it from are happy, the people that buy it from you are happy, and you are happy! Everyone is happy!
• It might earn you some nice pocket money.
• In some cases, you can use the stuff until you can sell it.

Downsides

• It costs effort to buy and sell stuff.
• You might end up with stuff that just does not seem to sell.

Mock-ups

Just like icons, you can also sell other graphic pieces, such as mockups. In my graphic studio Studio Vector we use mock ups a lot to show clients what the end result looks like. So it show them how a business card or poster design will look like when it is printed. This works really well because the client sees the product in the actual environment (i.e. a poster in a frame on the wall).

Usually, you can get a good looking mockup on the internet. Yet, sometimes, we are assigned with work we feel requires a specific mockup. In that case, we like to shoot our own photo and edit it in Photoshop to create our own mockup. When the project is finished, we can sell the mock-up online. To give an example, we are currently working on a coffee brand, for which we are tasked with the design of the label on the coffee bag. In order to give the client an impression of what our proposed label looks like, we created this mock-up.

This is not the real label we designed, we are still working on that ;)

When the project is finished, we will sell this online. The chances for sales are not that high since it is very specific, but we have already created it so we have got nothing to lose, right ;)

Upsides

• Effort once, with potential revenue for a longer period
• Other people use your creative work, which is awesome!

Downsides

• Sales are unpredictable.
• Mock-ups need to be of (very) high quality before it gets accepted for sale on the platforms.

Clothing

So, a few years ago, a friend and I started our own clothing label named wolk (Dutch for cloud). We started to use Spreadshirt, a service that produces custom shirts. On our website, customers could order a piece and automatically it was ordered at Spreadshirt.
We only had to focus on marketing our product. This however became a problem. Since each order had to be made custom, the margins on our product was way too low. On each order, we would only earn a few bucks. Compared to the time we invested in our company, this was no value for money. So, in the end we decided to quit. It was a nice adventure though, and we have definitely learned a lot.

Recently I have been using a different function of Spreadshirt. You can sell your design on their marketplace, so other people don’t have to design a thing, but just sell it. For each order, you can earn a few bucks. This might be a nice way to still earn some money without having to worry about the marketing. However, keep in mind the effort you put into this. If you (like me) already have some nice stuff you can put up there, it is worth the time. If you on the other hand start designing stuff from scratch just to sell it on the marketplace, you might find yourself investing a lot of time without any reward.

Upsides

• Once created a great design, you can reap benefits from it over a longer period.
• It is absolutely amazing to see other people wearing products that you have designed.

Downsides

• You put a lot of effort in designing stuff without being sure it is ever rewarded.

Cryptocurrency

Yep. Cryptocurrency. It is simply booming and the value seems to increase endlessly. Having now crossed the 10.000 USD price for one Bitcoin, the hype is bigger than ever. Blockchain (the technology the different cryptocurrencies are built upon) is one of those technologies that will change the technological world drastically. This is accompanied by lots of chances and lots of risks. You cannot rely on past result to predict the future, but as of yet, this method has proven to me to be the easiest way to earn a lot of money without having to do a thing. However, keep in mind the huge risks.

I’ll keep this one short since there is already a lot of stuff said about it by people much more involved in this, and the upsides and downsides are rather obvious.

Upsides

• Chances for insane profits!
• Supporting and adopting new technology.

Downsides

• Chances for insane losses.
• The market is completely unpredictable.
• You need money to make money.

Cashback

Saving is just another way of earning money, right? In any case, there are a lot of websites which offer you a saving program when you buy things using their portal. Depending on the platform and the shop you are buying from, this ranges from one to five percent.
There is not much to be said about this method. To be completely honest, I don’t like it that much. Usually the effort of having to log in with your account (I always forget passwords) combined with the really small reward is enough to make me stop using these platforms. On top of that, having your mailbox spammed with new deal isn’t ideal either. But, if you plan to do a big buy online, it can save/ earn you some money. So, if you plan on buying a washing machine or refrigerator, become a member and save some money! (Oh and it also works on offers!)

Upsides

• You can save on things you would already buy

Downsides

• Small rewards
• Receiving (daily) mails about shitty offers you would not even consider buying.

Branding

If you have time to spare, you can submit to websites that help starting companies with their branding. As a member, you can help them by coming up with a brand name, logo, website, business cards and other marketing material. However, you are not alone. Usually, these platforms use a competition style structure, which means that you’ll have to do your utmost best to win the competition and earn the reward. This is the major downside of this method. Depending on the assignment, there are over a hundred submissions, which means that the chances for you to win this thing are indeed, very low.

The only upside is, that once you have created something that does not make you win the competition, you can still use the idea for another competition, provided that it fits the assignment of course. This keeps you from starting all over again and might save you some time. However, the rewards can be quite low, and might not be worth the time. Personally, I have won a few of these things, but I still doubt if it is worth the time. If you have time to spare and enjoy working on these challenges, this is your thing. It also extends your portfolio, which is a nice side benefit.

One of the competitions I won by creating this logo featuring a custom made font

Upsides

• You don’t have to look for creative work, there are always assignment.
• You can re-use parts of previous work.
• You build up a nice portfolio.

Downsides

• Little chance to win anything.
• Small rewards for quite some work.

Assessing user interfaces and experiences

The domain of user experience is gaining more attention of companies and this results in several platforms that help companies test their ideas on the end-user: you! For me doing this is more like a hobby. Since my area of expertise is in the field of user experience, I like to see what companies come up with. It helps me broaden my own view on the topic and keeps in the loop with the latest trends. The pay-out is marginal but it also depends on the type of platform you’re on. I like to quickly glance over a page and see what I can make of it, rather than an in-depth review of one proposal.

Upsides

• It might help you to see what other companies are working on and how they solve UX related issues.

Downsides

• Don’t expect to make much money here.
• There are not always assignments available.

Surveys

If you are looking for something that is always available, it is filling in surveys. I don’t like this because it is not creative or cool it is just dull. It does result in some extra bucks, but it costs time to fill in these tests and usually the payout is not great. I have started it when I had some time spare but stopped after I received my first payout.

Upsides

• Everyone can do it.

Downsides

• Low pay-out.
• In my opinion, not a really satisfying way to earn money.

Crowdfunding

If you have some money to spare, a great way of making it grow (potentially!), is to lend it to companies. Nowadays, existing companies and start-ups might have a hard time getting a loan from the traditional banks (at least in the Netherlands). Luckily for them and for me, there is now an alternative way to receive funding: crowdfunding. There are several platforms online that connect lender and borrower. On these websites, a company describes what the money will be used for and there are risk indicators based on the financial information that is available. This helps you to make the decision whether or not you trust this company to ever give your investment back. To spread the risks, always make sure you have a portfolio of companies that you invest in.

The nice thing is also that you can determine which company you want to support on moral grounds. There are lots of projects that have a social aspect to it, that makes it even more worthwhile. An example of a company that I have recently invested in, is The Ketchup Project. This company helps Kenyan farmers by investing in a machine that helps them dry the tomatoes that would otherwise be thrown away. This is subsequently processed into delicious Ketchup, of which I, as a funder, received one bottle for free :).
That is what I call a win-win situation.

Upsides

• You don’t have to create, build or make anything.
• You get to help a company building its success
• You can influence your success by doing research into the company in reading through the financial reports.
• Way more interest than a bank gives you on your savings.

Downsides

• In contrast to most of the other topics, crowdfunding can actually make you lose money, so be careful out there!
• Even though a risk indication is given, there is always a chance it goes wrong.
• You need money to make money.

Conclusion

There are many ways to earn money online, but these are the few I have tried. I know that there is already a lot of info available about this topic, but I hope that I can add something to it by giving my opinion based on my experience. I hope you like it :)! Do you use some of these methods, or do you have other ways of earning some bucks on the side? Looking forward to hear your ideas! Also, if you have any other questions or suggestions about this post, please let me know!

Joost