Contrary to what many people think, you don’t need to be a genius computer programmer to make money online. Even if all you’ve ever used the internet for is social media and looking at cat videos, there are a variety of ways you can turn your spare time into cash.

To get started, all you need is a computer with an internet connection, a new email address and an account with a payment processor such as PayPal, which is what most websites use to pay you. Its advised to use a secondary email as you don’t want to clog up your primary one.

“Get Paid To” Websites

Websites such as Clixsense and Swagbucks act as a sort of “middleman” service for advertisers and companies who want the general internet user to complete certain tasks. These are usually simple jobs such as watching a video and viewing an advertisement to filling out forms and surveys. Once you’ve earned enough to cash out, the website will pay you via PayPal.

Many of these websites also offer a referral system, whereby you can have family and friends sign up through your custom referral link, allowing you to receive a commission on what they earn.

Forum Posting

Do you enjoy having discussions online? If so, you’ll be glad to know that you can make money from doing exactly that. Some forum owners will pay their users to make posts and create discussions in order to help grow their website.

The premise is simple: You sign up on a website known as Postloop, subscribe to forums that focus on topics you know about and get talking. If your posts are well-written and insightful, your rating will increase along with the amount of money you get per post. Once you’ve earned the $5 minimum, you can either withdraw your money via PayPal or keep saving for a bigger payout.

Be sure to follow forum rules and avoid spamming or making low quality posts in an attempt to make more money. Every post is audited and checked for quality, so the more effort you put in, the more you get paid.

Complete Tasks Online

On the topic of forums, there are many well-established ones that act as a hub for people who need work done to post their job offers. Depending on where you look, these can range from web design and copywriting to more simple work, such as writing product reviews and signing up on websites. We’ll stick to the latter for this section.

The self appointed “front page of the internet,” Reddit, has a variety of sub forums dedicated to exactly this. One of the most popular being SlaveLabour. Off-putting name aside, its essentially a hub for workers to pick up quick and easy tasks such as finding a certain video for someone or helping them with a tough math question.

Conclusion

Many successful freelancers started out earning some capital through websites such as those above. They act as a great platform to earn yourself a reputation online and build a portfolio that will eventually start bringing clients to you, allowing you to realize the dream of working on your own terms.