Are you looking to strike out on your own as a business person, or just want to make some money on the side? You can if you buy something then sell online.
Can you really make money this way? You can if you’re picking the right items and services to sell.
If you want to start making money from your PC, here are some of the best things to sell online. Who knows, perhaps you could make your side hustle a real job this way.
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Why Is Selling The Right Things Important?
If you want to get serious about selling online, you need to understand that you can’t just pick things at random and sell them. You need to have a plan in place to start selling.
As you’ll see in this list, a lot of the things you’ll sell will depend on a talent or skill that you have. If you try and sell something you’re not skilled in, you’re not going to get very far.
You also need to have an understanding of the market. Is there a market online that’s untapped?
If you think there’s a gap, you’ll want to get in there as soon as possible.
13 Best Things To Sell Online
So, what can you sell online that makes money? The sky really is the limit here.
Here are just a few things you can start selling online to start bringing in that cash.
eBooks
If you’re a skilled writer, this is a great way to bring in some cash. If you have an idea for a book, you can start writing it now and self-publish it through many online outlets.
One of the most popular places to publish is Kindle Direct Publishing, which gives you 70% of the proceeds of every book you sell. There are plenty of other marketplaces, too, so you’ll need to do your research here.
The beauty of eBook self-publishing is that you don’t have a publisher telling you what you can and can’t write. If you have an idea for a book, you can write it and self-publish it using easy online tools.
To make money off that eBook, you will need to take on some of the roles that publishers do. For example, you’ll need to market the book to your audience.
That means telling as many people as possible about it to get sales numbers up. The more people who buy it, the more that it will show up in searches.
This is an excellent option if you want to create some passive income. Once you’ve written the book, it’ll stay on the site until you take it off.
There are no printing or storage costs, so you’ll just make cash off that book for a long time after you’ve written it.
Flipping Items
Did you know there’s a huge market for some fairly innocuous items online? For example, you may find that people are happily paying three times the price for a certain brand of aluminum foil on sites like eBay.
You can take advantage of this with just a little research. Take a look at popular sales sites, and take note of the items that are currently trending.
Once you have an idea of what people are looking for, you can head to the clearance aisles in stores like Dollar Tree, Walmart, Target, and so on. Pick up these products, and you can then resell them for a profit online.
This process is called retail arbitrage, and it’s something a lot of people are doing to make some extra cash.
T-Shirts
Are you a talented artist? If you have some cool ideas for t-shirt designs, you can sell them without dealing with the whole t-shirt printing process.
You can do this through sites like Redbubble. Sign up for an account, and start uploading your designs.
Once you’ve done that, customers can find your designs and buy them on various items. It doesn’t have to be just t-shirts; it can be things like mugs, coasters, art prints, and more too.
When they buy, the site will handle the printing and shipping. You won’t have to do a thing, and you’ll just get the money once they have taken their cut.
It’s such an easy way to make money on t-shirt sales, and it’s another passive income stream that’s great for creative people.
Handmade Items
You’re probably already aware that there’s a huge market for handmade items these days. Sites like Etsy are letting people sell their handmade goods to people all over the world.
Are you already someone who likes to craft things? If you’re sitting in a home full of crafts, you could make money selling them online.
The best part is because they’re handmade and unique, you can charge more for these items too.
You can choose to use Etsy or branch out on your own and create your own site to sell items. Sites like Squarespace and Shopify are a good place to start, as they have built-in storefront tools.
Using your own site will give you more profits, as you won’t be handing some over to a third party. However, an Etsy site will help you reach more people easily.
You’ll have to decide how much work you want to put into marketing your crafts before you set up shop. It’s a great way to make money out of something you’re already doing for fun, though, so it’s worth considering.
Online Courses
Is there something that you’re an expert in? Maybe you’re the best at keeping plants thriving in a tiny apartment, or you know everything there is to know about training dogs.
If you’re good at it, then you can make money with it with online courses. These are a great way to pass your expertise on to others and make some money on the side.
First, decide on what you’ll want to make a course on. Once you’ve done that, you can start putting together the course materials that your buyers will need.
Once it’s all done, and up for sale, it’s another source of passive income for you.
Tutoring
This is another way of making money that’s similar in some ways to making courses. If you have the right experience, then you can easily make money this way.
There’s a huge demand for tutoring online, especially for Chinese students who are learning English. If you have a college degree or experience in teaching, you can start tutoring right away.
There are many platforms out there, such as VIPKID, that you can sign up with as a tutor. If you’re happy to sell your time and expertise, it’s a great way to make extra cash online.
Virtual Assistance
The internet has led to the rise of virtual assistants, who help business owners with everyday tasks online. You’ll handle all kinds of things, like making appointments, managing emails, moderating online communities, and more.
These are all traditionally done tasks in the office, but now business owners outsource to virtual assistants. As a virtual assistant, you can complete your job from your home, all online.
It’s something that a lot of stay-at-home parents are doing, as it lets them stay home with their child while still earning some income. It’s a great option for those with disabilities too, who may not be able to travel or work in a traditional workplace.
Online Coaching
There are people out there looking for help in improving their lives in some way. If you’ve managed to make changes in your own life, and have tips to share, then online coaching may be for you.
For example, imagine you managed to lose a lot of weight safely and healthily. Of course, other people will want to emulate that.
This is where you can start coaching them, so they can get the same results. People will happily pay you to get your expertise and make those changes for themselves.
You can coach people in both their personal and professional lives, so whatever you’re good at; you can help others and get paid to do so.
Graphic Design
This is another way you can make money if you’re a creative person with a skill for making things. If you’re good with tools like Photoshop and Illustrator, then this could be for you.
You can sell your services creating graphic design pieces for businesses and personal designs for individuals. If you want, you can make it a full-time gig or just do it on the side to bring in some extra income.
There’s so much demand for services like these, you’ll never have a problem trying to find clients.
Editing Services
Are you someone who knows their grammar? If finding poor grammar online drives you round the bend, you can do something about it by selling your editing services.
There are lots of people out there who need editors to check and change their work. For example, speeches, blogs, books, manuals, and more all need to be edited.
While there are full-time editors out there, there are clients out there that may not be able to afford them. That’s why they’ll turn to you as a freelance editor to help.
This is another role where you can take on as much or as little work as you want. If you want something that will fit in around your current job, it’s perfect for you.
Writing Services
Related to the last way to make money, you can make cash not just by editing but by writing, too. If you’re a good typist and put out lots of words quickly and efficiently, you can do this.
There are many places you can find people looking for writers, such as Fiverr, Upwork, and more. People are often looking for writers to create pieces like blogs and eBooks for them.
You’ll need to put together interesting and informative copy that naturally uses keywords. This is what gets eyes on a website, so you need to be good at it.
If you think that’s something you can do, you can make some good money writing for other people.
Video Sales
Are you a talented camera person? Are you able to create amazing-looking videos, all while you’re at home?
If so, you could sell your videos online for others to use in their projects.
There’s a high demand for drone videos for landscapes, buildings, and so on. If you have a drone, this is a great way to make money off your hobby.
Even if you don’t, though, you can still make cash off the videos you make. It’s an excellent side hustle to bring in that extra cash.
Photo Sales
As well as video sales, there are photo sales too. People and businesses always need good photos for their projects, after all.
You can make good money by putting your photo licenses up for sale. It’s another way you can make some passive income, so it’s worth considering if you’re a photographer.
All you have to do is take some good-quality pictures and put them up for sale on a photography site. People will buy the license, so they can download and use the pictures.
You won’t need to do anything else, so it’s a good way to make money out of the pictures you take.
These are just a few of the ways you can make some extra cash online. Whatever your skillset, there’s always a way you can bring in that extra cash.
Do you have an eye for a bargain or the ability to create something that others want? Put it up to sell online, and make that money.
