Are you low on cash or looking to earn money to repay a loan? Perhaps you want to save for a home project or go on a trip? ✈️ Whatever the case may be, get your bank account ready because we are here to tell you how to make $500 a day without lifting a finger.
Actually, you do need to lift a finger — you’ll be using it to type on your keyboard and scroll your cursor. That’s because the opportunities we have listed are all online. Check out our list of tried-and-tested methods for making $500 daily and get that cash NOW.
If you are thinking of how to make $500 a day online you can try stuff flipping, dropshipping, print on demand, or starting a blog.
Working online is the best option for you
An average hourly income in the US is $25.75 which makes it around $200 a day. It might not be enough for a lot of us though. You can work overtime or get a side gig if you want more.
This is why working online just makes a lot more sense. You have more flexibility and sometimes a better and more reliable opportunity for income. But remember, you would still have to put in the work.
How to make $500 a Day Online
If you’re ready to do the work and make more money, 💰 here’s our list of 17 ways to make $500 a day. ⬇️
1. Stuff Flipping
Stuff flipping denotes purchasing items for a low cost and reselling them for a profit. This idea is probably the most efficient method if you’re wondering how to make $500 a day.
How does stuff flipping work?
You start with buying things on clearance sales and reselling them at a higher price to other people. For example, you can sell shoes, electronics, lifestyle gadgets, books, toys, and workout equipment. 🏋️
You can start by buying things at yard sales, and thrift stores. But why spend the time to go outside when you can look out for items on sites like eBay or Craigslist?
Bonus Tip 1: Just ensure that the item is still in good condition so that you can get a good price when selling it again. If there are damages, you should fix them first or polish them to make them look extra pretty for the camera.
Once you've found an item that fits your criteria, check out its current selling price on eBay or other sites such as Amazon, where many buyers are looking for affordable items.
Bonus Tip 2: make sure you put a price that is still lower than most listings or at least lower than a brand new item.
You can take advantage of the online marketplaces below:
- Poshmark: This website is a great marketplace for selling clothing, accessories, and shoes
- Depop: Another fashion marketplace where you can sell your thrift store finds
- Facebook Marketplace: This platform is ideal for in-person cash sales of many items
- OfferUp: A great selling marketplace similar to Facebook
- Mercari: A popular app for selling anything you want
This business model is ideal for people who have extra time and want to make some money without having to start from scratch. You also don't need more than a few hundred dollars to start making money with this method.
Begin by selling items that you no longer use. Then, you can increase your income over time by reinvesting your earnings in more used items to resell.
2. Dropshipping
Dropshipping allows you to work from home and create your schedule, not to mention the potential income generated.
Dropshipping is moving products from the manufacturer directly to the retailer without going through the usual distribution channels.
E-commerce businesses have been growing in popularity for years. Here are some tips for getting started:
Choose Your Niche
One of the biggest things you need to do before launching your e-commerce business is decide what products or services you want to sell. In addition, you'll want to pick something relevant to your interests that people are searching for online. If you combine those two things, you'll likely have success with your online store.
Create a Website
Once you've decided what products or services you want to sell, it's time to build your website. You can create a website in many ways — from using free tools like WordPress or Shopify to hiring someone specialized in designing e-commerce sites.
Learn the Skills
Learn how to market your products. You also need to know how much it’ll cost to produce each item and how much profit you can make.
Platforms
Popular e-commerce platforms include Etsy and Shopify. Their main benefit is the sheer number of customers you can reach.
- Etsy: Etsy is a marketplace for handmade and vintage items. Etsy sellers make their products, so it's a good choice if you have an idea for a craft or want to sell your existing skills. You can also sell digital products on Etsy.
- Shopify: You can use Shopify to set up an online store, allowing you to sell products through your website or blog. For example, you can sell physical products or digital downloads, such as eBooks, music, and photos.
3. Sell Digital products
You can sell subscriptions or digital downloads via your blog or website and also on other websites such as Gumroad and Patreon.
These sites help creators monetize their work by collecting money from subscribers regularly (once per month).
Examples of digital products include:
- Printables
- Photos
- Music
- WordPress templates
- software
You know what else is great about selling digital products? It can be a passive income for you. This means that you can keep making money even after months (or sometimes years) go by.
4. Print on Demand
Print-on-demand platforms let you sell apparel, accessories, and other stuff with your own design. Websites like Redbubble and Zazzle allow you to design your print-on-demand products without any upfront costs. You must pay royalties on each sale (typically 10% of the sale price).
If you have ever thought of stuff with your own design then this option is best for you. Here are some other sites where you can do print on demand:
You simply upload your design to the site and they will handle printing and fulfilment for you.
Here are important points for you to make money with print on demand:
- Research popular designs. Create them based on what’s trending or it can be for a specific group of people and gain their loyalty.
- Research popular products. Don’t just stick with mugs unless father’s day is coming up or Christmas is just around the corner. Try baseball caps and tote bags for summer or notebooks, pens and journals etc.
- Work on your design skills. Pretty obvs, right? I mean, who’s going to buy a shirt with a crappy-looking design? You can use Illustrator, Photoshop, or even Canva.
- Use SEO for your description. Write a product description that sells. This is how your design is going to show up in search results.
5. Become a Respondent
As a respondent, you can add value to someone else's business by providing advice. Your advice is based on your knowledge of various products and services you already use. If you're a homeowner with experience with home improvement projects, you can become a respondent.
If you're interested in becoming a respondent, here are some things to consider:
- Be an expert in your field
- Be trustworthy
- Spend time delivering the best results
You must be an expert in your field. People will ask you questions about different products and services, so if you lack prior experience, don’t become a respondent. The product reviews aim to provide helpful information consumers can use when purchasing.
They’ll only buy items from a company or recommend them to others if you get them to trust your opinion.
It would help if you had time available for this project. Respondents typically must complete one review every three days (sometimes more, depending on how often the company updates its website).
The trick is finding the right company that will pay for your opinion.
Here are some places to start:
- Respondent.io: This high-paying platform allows people to earn money by participating in studies in-person and remotely. In addition, on this platform, you can provide your opinion on various medical, mechanical, and finance topics.
Their average payout for a completed project is $100-$700 an hour.
- Opinion Post: This is another company that helps businesses improve their products and services by surveying customers like you. On this site, you can earn free $500 gift cards or PayPal cash if you’re willing to spend the time and share your opinions.
6. Affiliate Marketing
With Affiliate marketing, you earn a commission when someone clicks on one of your affiliate links and makes a purchase. You don't need a marketing degree to start with affiliate marketing. All you need is an internet connection and basic computer skills.
You can do affiliate marketing on the following platforms:
- Facebook is the most popular social media platform among affiliate marketers. There are numerous ways affiliate marketers can use Facebook to their advantage. You can join niche groups or even leverage Facebook ads.
- YouTube also allows affiliate marketing. Affiliate links can be added to the 'Description' field beneath your video or within the video itself via annotations.
- Your own website or blog is also a great place for affiliate marketing. Write engaging content in a niche that you like and are an expert in.
Check out these companies that offer affiliate programs! 👇
7. Start a blog
If you have great writing skills, you can make money online through blogging. Although, you should know that it can take some time to be fruitful.
Pick a niche
To start, focus on what you love, whether it's writing, photography, or baking. The more focused your passion is, the easier it will be to market yourself and build a following around your interests.
Choose where to blog
You can make a website to host your blog like Wix and WordPress to build a free or inexpensive website to share your blog.
WordPress gets a lot of hype in the blogging community, but Wix also offers phenomenal templates and plenty of fantastic add-ons to help you set your blog apart from the rest.
Write regularly
Writing regularly will help build organic traffic and increase brand awareness. But this doesn’t mean you have to constantly pump out posts or you’ll risk burnout. This is why keeping a schedule is helpful in blogging.
You can integrate lots of ways to make money online with your blog. Here are a few:
- Affiliate marketing
- Sponsored posts
- Display ads
8. Graphic design
As a graphic designer, you will create designs such as logos for websites and businesses. You can actually earn as much as $50/hour.
Different businesses need eye-catching graphics for everything including business cards, logos, social media images, and even packaging.
It would help to be an expert in Photoshop to be a graphic designer, but this is not a requirement. In fact, you can use free web design tools like Canva to create beautiful and unique designs.
Bonus Tip: Prepare a portfolio to show to your prospective clients. This gives you a better chance of getting hired.
Post a job listing or show you're available for hire at the following platforms:
9. Sell Courses
Courses are becoming increasingly popular on sites like Udemy and Skillshare because they offer students the opportunity to learn from experts in their field at their own pace — often for less than $200 per course.
Guys like Rob Percival have reached nearly 120,000 students. His courses have already exceeded $2.8 million in total earnings. Udemy has a top monthly revenue of over $13,000/month.
Selling courses is a lucrative practice and one of the few ways to make $500 a day online.
Bonus tip: Grow a social media following, YouTube channel, or blog to use for marketing. This will help create trust among interested students.
10. Be an online coach
On the topic of teaching, if you have a knack for helping people succeed, you can get into coaching.
Coaching is typically a high-margin business. You won’t believe how people are usually willing to pay a lot for an hour or two of your time if you’re an expert at something.
You can make courses about various topics like:
- Copywriting
- Business strategy
- Fitness
- Lifestyle and motivation
- Relationships
Bonus tip: Spend tons of time marketing yourself and letting more people know you. You can create a podcast, start a blog, or engage people in Facebook groups.
11. Write an eBook
What if you have ideas but don’t think you are cut out to be a course instructor or coach? Well if you are an experienced or aspiring writer, you can write your ideas down and sell an ebook!
Here are a few platforms you can sell your ebook on:
- Amazon. With Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), you can choose from a 35% or 70% royalty option.
- Smashwords: You can earn either 60% or 80% royalty. This depends if you sold through a retailer or directly through Smashwords.
- Kobo Inc.: If you are thinking of self-publishing, you can earn up to 80% royalties through kobo writing.
This can be a lucrative source of passive income while sharing your creative ideas. You can talk about your opinion with others, and publish something that's important to you.
Here are a few tips for making an ebook that sells:
- Make it simple to read. Explain things in simple terms so that even a child can understand them. This may bother you, but if your book is difficult to read, it will not sell.
- Sort it out logically. Allow each chapter to serve a larger purpose. This makes it more engaging to read instead of people dropping the book midway.
- Write something believable. Write about something current. Use data to prove how accurate the information is.
12. Be a freelance writer
Writing online can be a great way to earn money from home. The internet is full of opportunities for writers, including freelance work and paid online writing jobs.
Some websites pay people to write articles on various topics like travel, entertainment, and health. These sites usually have strict guidelines about what they want their writers to write, so make sure you read them carefully before applying for an assignment.
You can find writing gigs on these platforms:
- Contena. A premium freelance writing website. It is a paid service that will provide you with tools and courses to get started and grow your freelancing.
- Freelance Writing Jobs. FWJ formerly known as Freelance Writing Gigs includes jobs from all over the internet as well as from their own board.
- Textbroker. Has a first come, first serve policy. This can be a great place to start if you are still building your portfolio.
You can also go to freelance sites like Upwork or Fiverr.
Writing online doesn't require a college degree or any formal education. However, it would help if you could write well, take the initiative, and be able to meet deadlines. Here are important points on how to be a successful freelance writer:
- Get to know your client and give them what they want
- Make sure your work is flawless and easy to read. You can use Grammarly and Hemingway App.
- Establish a brand and work on personal websites and portfolios.
- Learn about SEO and consider this in writing especially if businesses need you to write something that will be online like blogs.
13. Be a copywriter
Over time, copywriting could build into a valuable source of income. Your job will be to create persuasive copy for websites, emails, print advertisements, or product descriptions.
"Copy" refers to the text that is meant to encourage readers to take a specific action. This includes clicking on that add to cart button 🛒 or joining an email list.
Unlike other writing jobs, copywriting is focused on marketing and sales. If you think you are already a good writer, you’re on the right track. But it also requires a few different set of skills.
Here are some distinct copywriting techniques:
- Write like you’re talking
- Be straight to the point
- Write in short sentences and paragraphs
- Focus on an audience's pain point
- Write in the active voice
Bonus tip: Prepare a portfolio of your copywriting samples to convince businesses to hire you.
14. Invest in Stocks
Stocks aren't supposed to make you rich overnight. The stock market is a long-term investment that takes time to grow your money. However, if you choose the right stocks and invest wisely, you can eventually earn $500 per day or more.
Bonus Tip 1: Invest in stocks with high dividend yields. Dividend-paying stocks offer you two ways to earn money.
How do you make money with the stock market? First, when the stock goes up in value, so does your investment. Second, you receive dividends from the company based on how much profits it chooses to share with shareholders each quarter.
Bonus Tip 2: Look for stocks with high dividend yields. Anything above 2% is good but should also have strong fundamentals that make them likely candidates for long-term growth.
Diversify your portfolio across different sectors and industries. Stocks don't all move up or down together; some might rise while others fall. Diversifying will protect your portfolio from losses during an economic downturn or recession.
You also want to spread your investments across consumer goods, healthcare, and utility sectors.
Here are some of the platforms you can get into:
15. Be a freelancer or virtual assistant
One of the pros of freelancing is that you can set whatever rate you want. This all depends on your work experience, portfolio, and how well you made your profile.
Here’s how to create a convincing profile/gig to get prospective clients' attention.
A business would hire a freelancer or Virtual assistant (VAs) when they need to outsource tasks. So it would make sense to create a profile that will communicate how you can help them with their problems.
Here are some of the most in-demand freelance skills you can go for:
- PR Manager
- Programmer
- Software Developer
- UX/UI Design
- Data Presentation
Bonus tip: Don’t send out generic applications when responding to a job post. Create a customized application every time.
16. Create videos for Youtube
Make money on Youtube in the following ways:
- Selling merch
- Sponsored videos
- Crowdfunding
- Fan Funding
Bonus Tip 1: Conduct research about trending topics. Check Google Trends, Semrush, or Ahrefs.
To increase your channel subscribers, you’ve got to produce worthwhile videos. What makes a successful Youtube video?
- Helpful and informative. This is why viewers go on YouTube in the first place, to find answers and get some help to fix a problem.
- Short and direct. Not everyone has the attention span to watch a video for half an hour. Keep it short and sweet.
- High-Quality. Creating a High-Quality involves using the right lighting, good audio, background, camera or as simple as keeping a steady hand while filming.
- Well-Edited. Just because you have all the hardware set doesn’t mean you’re all set. You should edit your videos and cut out fillers and mumbling or other mishaps.
- Understandable. This can easily be achieved by preparing a script and lots of practice. Take note that you are not beating around the bush till it’s dead.
Bonus Tip 2: Pick a niche to focus on. This is a way to attract a loyal audience and post content regularly.
17. Be an influencer
Influencers can make $500 from a single post. Some are even making $30,000 a post. Imagine that. 😮
Keep in mind though that you might need around 1000 or 100,000 followers to get offers from different brands.
Below are a few ways to grow your audience 👇
- Incentivize your followers. Hold contests and giveaways for your audience.
- Learn a bit of graphic design. Include a visual with every post to make them attractive and worth sharing.
- Share more videos. A lot of people enjoy videos more than just reading long posts, this makes your content more shareable.
- Engage your audience. Be proactive. Take time to listen and respond to your online community.
- Get your audience talking. Encourage tagging and use hashtags to improve your visibility.
When you reach a good number of followers/subscribers, you can start making money.
You can make money as an influencer by:
- Working with brands through sponsored posts
- Get into affiliate marketing
- Start selling merch and branch into eCommerce like dropshipping
- Display Ads
Conclusion
What do you think of these suggested ways to make $500 a day? Are these excellent choices for you? Some require more effort than others, but they all have great potential. Since some gigs pay less, it's up to you to decide which one suits you best.
