Main focus of this blog post: provide you with valuable content, no time wasting, real actionable ways to make money online, no upfront money needed, no skill (anyone can do it).
Disclaimer: there may be affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. I only recommend what I personally use and enjoy!
Many ways of making money online come with certain hidden costs, that at first, we justify because we are serious about taking the leap, and making our financially free dream life come true. However, some times we just can’t afford, nor do we want to spend our money upfront, when we still don’t quite know if that business model is even one that aligns with our purpose, or is even that lucrative.
My personal advice: spend as little to no money when first starting your online business.
If you’re here, it’s because the idea of investing money is also not one you are really into, at this point in time. I, personally, would rather learn how to make a lot of money online sooner, than wait for my money to compound for years and years, before seeing a significant return. Maybe, after I have reached my financial freedom, investing is the way, but for now, I want a solid business model.
If that’s you too, then hey girl! Let’s get into the 4 FREE ways to make money online without no upfront investment or money down. The only investment will be time, energy, commitment, which we all have some of.
FREE Way No. 1: Affiliate Marketing
Ofcourse, this has to come right up at number 1! Why? Because you need no money upfront, and not much skill either.
For those of you, who don’t know, affiliate marketing is the business model of promoting a product or service, and once someone purchases through your referral link, you make a commission.
All that is really needed with this one, is finding the right affiliate programs/offers, signing up, and referring.
Now, in more detail, the behind-the-scenes of this business model is that I would ideally recommend you to have a website or social media platform to be able to have an audience to refer your links to. Additionally, if you have this, affiliate programs are more likely to approve you, because yes, this is like any other application process; you may get declined if you might not look legit to the company you are trying to promote.
This may sound like a lot of time and energy, that you may not have, specially if you’re working a 9 to 5, like me, but to make it simpler for you, I would recommend:
- Social Media: using Pinterest. Check out my one here to see how I have done it! You can batch create aesthetic Pins using already-made templates on Canva (for free also), and scheduling your Pins up-to 30 days in advance on Pinterest, so it can be working for you without you having to manually keep uploading, because we do not have the time for that.
- Website: I would recommend starting a WordPress Blog, as I have here, which I go into further in my other blog posts, since even if you are not yet monetised by ad agencies, or ranking that highly on Google yet, you will still have some type of traffic coming in that will see your affiliate links; organically from Google or from your social media platform. Meaning, more chances to make a commission form your referrals.
I personally have done this strategy and is why it comes at number 1, since I don’t see that many business models that enable pretty much anyone to make money online, from home.
Affiliate programs I recommend (and no, it is not Clickbank):
- Impact: this is the one I most love! It has so many different softwares and services you can apply to their programs for, which are usually the ones that have the highest commission rates, or more likely to find recurring commissions within.
- Partnerstack: this is another one I really like, and would say it is ideal for anyone whose audience are trying to become or already are content creators, since there are A LOT of affiliate programs on there that target this niche.
- Direct: if you already have a platform or company you use, then going directly to their website and seeing if they have an affiliate program is the best way to sign-up, and is how I have done so too.
These are all ways I have personally approached affiliate marketing to make money online from home. If you would like an income report or more detailed walkthrough of how I personally affiliate market, comment on this blog and I will deliver!
Sum-up: Affiliate Marketing, no upfront investment, build an audience or have a website, and know where to apply for these programs.
FREE Way No.2: Blogging
This second business model is also one I personally practice, so ofcourse it has to come up at number 2!
Now, I know this one throws people off a little bit, both because of how long-term we usually hear Blogging be as a business, without any income for a long time initially, AND because many think Blogging is dead, since Tiktok and Youtube are at the peak of its hype.
However, as long as Google is as big of a company as it is, and as long as people are still searching questions on Google, Blogging is not dead.
So, if you’re an introvert who wants to be an entrepreneur, do not fear away from Blogging because this one is about to change my life, and I KNOW IT! Also, even though, I love being on Youtube, there are times, when it simply isn’t convenient to be on Youtube if you want the answer to a question you have; for example, if you’re at work, out in public with no earphones, or don’t have much time. It is much simpler, and more convenient to search on Google instead.
Now that that’s out the way, when we logically think about the world of making money online, the biggest players out there are Google and Youtube; therefore, the two BIGGEST online businesses we could set-up and commit to, for HUGE returns, would be Blogging and becoming a Youtuber (coming up next). These two companies do not prove to be going away anytime soon, and so this would be the best opportunity to starting your online business NOW.
Starting a Blog is free, well depending on how you do it.
Don’t get me wrong, the way I advise starting a Blog does incur mostly only one upfront cost which is hosting, because this is a necessary cost to be able to have your website live, secure, and accessible to others. However, we don’t gatekeep here, so I am aware that you can start a Blog for completely free by using Blogger.com, which would mean they would host your Blog for you.
Ofcourse, I think it is very important to self-host, and therefore pay the cost (£30 to £40 annual using Bluehost is what I do), since this is a legitimate business model and so we need to have complete ownership of our website. However, Blogger.com is an option if you wish to test this out; only thing is that it isn’t very modern or customisable in theme.
Moving on, if:
- You like writing,
- Not showing your face online,
- Are passionate about a topic.
Blogging is perfect for you!
Take me, for example, I don’t want to show my face online, love writing/sharing my thoughts, and am passionate about the topic of making money online and achieving financial freedom; this business model is one I love and therefore is easier to commit to, and more sustainable to keep consistent with.
For this business model, it is free upfront (if you choose), and not much skill is required; however, if you do start, I would recommend self-educating on how to better market your Blog, produce quality content, and so on, so you can provide the very best content to serve your readers.
The key here is to keep putting out content, and answering the questions people are looking for, in your niche.
As a beginner, I would start with looking at answerthepublic.com, and seeing what ranks on Google searches, and making multiple variation blog posts of those ranked phrases.
Blogging may be a business model that takes some time to pick-up on making money online, but it is a snowball effect; put in all the work now, and you will reap the rewards very soon. If you believe in what you are putting out; don’t quit, keep getting better, and you will never fail.
Personally, I have been Blogging for 2 months and have not yet made money from it online, since I need to reach the requirements to apply for an ad agency, which I will this year in 2024 (I affirm it!), but I will start affiliate marketing on my Blog in my third month and this will be a gamechanger for blogging income online as a beginner, I’m sure of it! I’ll keep you posted on what ends up happening, on this Blog, browse through my blog posts, and let’s see what happens!
Sum-up: Blogging, no upfront investment unless you self-host, sign-up to a blogging platform, start sharing content, and promoting (for free) for more traffic.
FREE Way No.3: Youtube
That’s right, we touched up on this one in the previous free way, and so becoming a Youtuber is the next FREE way I will recommend that you can make money online without investment.
Youtube is for FREE, you simply create an account, and start creating, and sharing, your content!
Unlike Blogging, there is a lot more content online showing people’s monetisation journeys, I believe, which I wish I saw more of with Blogging, and is why I plan to be as transparent with my progress in how long I take to make money online with my Blog, and how much money I make, since this is valuable content I always craved to see more of for Blogging.
However, the flip side of this, is that there is a lot of knowledge out there that successful Youtubers have shared regarding what strategies they have taken to get monetised, and what tips they have, which makes it easier than ever to have more guidance, when starting your own Youtube channel.
Now, if you keep up with the Blog, then you’re a real one, and know that we are all introverted girlies, so starting a Youtube channel is something scares us all off at-times because we don’t want to show our face online. Nonetheless, what I would do here is start a faceless Youtube channel.
Starting a faceless Youtube channel can be very profitable, as we can see in diverse niches such as motivation and mindset, or even kids animation shows.
Creating and editing video content can be very time consuming, specially if you work a 9 to 5, and don’t want to spend every waking second of your life in your 20s hustling through life.
Therefore, I would recommend being strategic with your faceless channel; I would look to use some type of AI free software to help with video editing, or go for something super simple.
Examples of both of these routes would be like:
- Using Canva AI Editor, which is for free, but you would need to have some of your own content to upload, or you could use stock-free footage from their library.
- A super simple faceless Youtube Channel idea, for me, is one that won’t take too much editing skills for video, or require you to film content; such as meditation videos, like the fireplace or ocean scenario videos which are on loop for hours, to help people fall asleep, relax, etc. This is one that you can easily keep up with, and is the kind of video which people would look to stay on for long periods of time, which is good to help you get monetised once you start ranking on Youtube search.
If you love video editing, however, then this is a no-brainer, but I wanted to provide some options for those of us who don’t enjoy it, but like the business model and believe it can be lucrative, but needed some inspiration as to how to approach a faceless Youtube, for strategy.
Sum-Up: Youtube, free to sign-up, decide whether to go faceless or not, start creating content that aligns with your decision, be consistent.
FREE Way No. 4: Freelancing
This one must be raising huge eyebrows, since the term itself indicates you need to have some skill to provide, and even though, that is somewhat true, there is always something you can offer, even if you are not currently aware, to make some extra money online.
I have personally tried this one, but did not take it seriously since I had other online business ventures going on, and felt it was best to commit my whole energy to one business model at a time. So, I feel like I can give you some tips on this one, because I once felt like I also had no services I could offer, but no, we ALL do.
Freelancing simply means you will provide a service to someone, and get paid for it, one-time. For this, I would recommend creating an account with either Fiverr or Upwork, which is FREE.
I used Fiverr, and found it very easy to use, but I have heard Upwork is very similar also.
Now, you may be thinking “what can I offer?” Well, me personally, I thought of what I did in my 9 to 5; I do a lot of admin tasks, and thought well the best way I can translate these skills into a service to someone else would be to offer admin assistance and support online to people, particularly start-up or small business owners in a particular niche. In other words, be a type of virtual admin asistant.
Do the same in your case, and if nothing resonates as being translatable into an online service, then think about your online ventures up to now:
- Have you had much experience editing on Canva; maybe creating thumbnails or social media posts?
- Do you have a social media page, where you consistently create and post content on?
- Do you love analysing stat reports on different platforms, and researching competitors online?
All of these can be translated into online services such as:
- Creating and Editing Youtube Thumbnails
- Being a social media Manager for someone’s Instagram, Tiktok, Pinterest
- Providing SEO services to have someone’s blog wesbite rank higher on Google
There are MANY ways, and if none of these have worked, I would recommend going on Youtube and learning a skill for free!
Self-education is master when it comes to making money online, specially as a beginner.
Posting your freelancing services on Fiverr, rates (start lower, and increase once you get some reviews for credibility), and then promoting your services on social media, or simply, waiting to see if you get any customers, is one step closer to you making money online!
Why would I consider freelancing? Well, there are more and more people who are starting their own businesses, and who need to outsource tasks to help them as they grow. Freelancing, for many, of these people will be the answer, and you will be there for when it happens to profit, without any investment of money at all.
If you’re quite ahead of the game in your making money online journey, then I would actually recommend Fiverr to outsource tasks, and optimize your time management for other business elements that require more of your time. This would be a lot more of an investment in your business, than a cost.
Sum-up: Freelancing with Fiverr, money online without investment, look at what skills you have and can offer, create services on them, have lower rates at the start, market or wait for customers to roll in.
overall summary
As you can see we have gone into 4 FREE ways of making money online without investment.
These are four online business models I truly believe can make you extremely successful, as long as you are clear about your strategy, commitment, and what goals you need to hit to start making money online without investment.
I personally practice two of these ways, and have tried a third, and am considering trying the fourth (starting a faceless Youtube; will let you know if I do in future blog posts!)
I have to say they are the best ways to make money online for free, as of today. ANYONE can do this, and you don’t need to be the smartest person in the world, you simply need to look at what your options are, see what works and aligns with you, create a plan of action, and stick to it.
As you go, you will grow, become more self-educated in your craft, and all of that accumulated effort will transform into accumulated online money soon, I believe it. I believe in you.
Let’s make it happen.
If you’re interested in my personal journey of making money online, and how long it is taking me, have a look at how my stats are looking here 2 months after starting this Blog. Soon, I will have an income report to share; I just know that online money is coming real soon!!