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20+ Business Ideas For College Students
College students obviously have busy schedules with classes, assignments, social lives, and extracurricular activities, but many students also need to find the time to make some money.
During the 2019-2020 academic year, the cost for the average college student was $30,050 (including tuition, fees, room, and board) according to EducationData.org.
Many college students have part-time jobs in order to cover part of that cost, but starting a business is another way to make money. Starting your own business may not offer the same guaranteed income that you would get from a job with an hourly rate, but there are some significant benefits, including:
- The opportunity to pursue something that you enjoy.
- The possibility to gain valuable experience that can help you after graduation.
- The chance to grow a business that may turn into a full-time income someday.
- The potential to earn more than you could make with the average part-time job.
With those benefits in mind, college can be a great time to start a business.
Not all businesses are equally suited for college students. Ideally, the business should be free or very inexpensive to start, because the last thing college students need is more debt. All of the business ideas covered in this article could be started with very little investment, and they could also be run part-time while you’re taking classes.
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Student to CEO started a social media marketing business as a 19-year-old college student. Ashley continued to grow the business throughout her time in college and after graduating in 2019. Ashley jumped into running the business full-time.
Because of the combination of high demand and excellent income potential, this is one of the best business opportunities for college students.
2. Virtual Assistant
Another service-related business that has a very strong demand right now is to work as a virtual assistant. You could become a virtual assistant by working through a website like Fancy Hands, but you’ll have much higher income potential if you start your own business.
As a virtual assistant (VA), you could offer a wide variety of services like:
- Moderating online forums or Facebook Groups
- Providing customer service
- Managing social profiles
- Managing a blog
- Setting up appointments
- And much more
You could take a general approach and offer a very wide range of services, or you could specialize in a particular aspect. Specializing may allow you to charge a higher hourly rate, but getting clients is a bit easier with a generalized approach.
If you’re looking to get started, check out 30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Success.
3. Blogger
One of the most flexible business opportunities is to start a blog. Not only can you work whenever and wherever you want, but you can also choose the topics that you want to cover on your blog.
Unlike the service-related businesses that were mentioned so far, blogging is a business opportunity that will require some patience, because you’re unlikely to start making money right away. If you’re in a position where you’re able to put in the work without seeing immediate results, blogging can be a great business.
Blogging offers truly unlimited income potential. Some bloggers are able to earn five or six figures per month by working on something that they enjoy.
There are many different ways to make money from a blog, with the most common methods including:
- Advertising
- Affiliate programs (getting paid to promote products or services from other companies)
- Publishing sponsored content
- Offering a service
- Selling a product
If your goal is to make money now, consider other options instead of blogging. But if your goal is to start a business that may be able to provide a full-time income by the time you graduate, blogging could be an excellent choice.
4. Freelance Writer
If you enjoy writing but you’d rather work for clients than try to build your own successful blog, working as a freelance writer is an option that you should consider.
As a freelance writer, you could be a generalist and cover just about any topic, or you could specialize in a particular industry or topic. Specializing could give you higher earning potential, but it may be harder to find clients when you’re just starting out.
Freelance writing is one of my favorite business opportunities for a number of reasons:
- You can get started right away and you’ll be making money as soon as you land your first client.
- It’s possible to get started with $0 in expenses.
- There are plenty of opportunities for beginners.
- There are also plenty of higher-paying gigs for more seasoned writers.
- It’s very possible to earn an excellent hourly rate (although you’ll typically be paid per word or per project).
- Demand for the work is likely to remain strong, due to the vast amount of content being published online everyday.
It’s also a totally flexible business. You can work the hours that suit your schedule and scale up or down depending on the amount of time that you’re able to dedicate to the business. It’s definitely possible to work as a freelance writer part-time in college and then transition to full-time by picking up a few more clients (or by doing more work for the clients you already have.
To get started check out Freelance Writing Success.
5. Author
Another business opportunity for those who like to write is to become a self-published author. Thanks to platforms like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), anyone can become an author.
Through KDP, you can write and sell e-books and paperbacks that are printed on demand, which means you won’t need to invest money in large runs of printed books.
Amazon obviously offers a massive platform that makes it possible to reach millions of book readers. You can write and sell books in many different genres, so the possibilities are virtually limitless.
Becoming a self-published author is similar to blogging in the fact that you’ll need to be willing to put in a lot of work before you really start to make a serious income.
6. YouTuber
So far we’ve looked at several business opportunities that involve creating written content (blogger, freelance writer, and author). A similar opportunity exists for those who want to create video content, and the demand for online video content is growing at an incredible pace.
YouTube is obviously the #1 platform for video content, and anyone can start a YouTube channel in effort to capitalize on the opportunity.
If you look at successful YouTube channels, there is a great deal of variety. They may be educational, entertaining, funny, or just straight-up weird (I’m constantly amazed by the YouTube videos that my kids find).
This is another business opportunity that offers high income potential but requires some time and patience to build. The YouTube Partner Program, YouTube’s advertising program, requires you to have at 1,000 subscribers and at least 4,000 watch hours in order to make money from advertising.
7. Podcaster
Podcasting is another type of content-related business, focusing on audio content (although some podcasts are also available in video format). Although podcasting has been popular for several years, it’s still a much more wide-open market as compared to blogging.
You could start a podcast on a topic of your choice and make money through:
- Sponsorships and advertisements
- Affiliate programs
- Creating and selling your own products
Just like blogging or starting a YouTube channel, starting a podcast would require you to put in the time to build your audience before you’re able to earn a significant income from it.
One of the interesting benefits of podcasting is that you may be able to build a very strong network. Podcasts often rely on guest interviews for content, and there are thousands of people who are actively looking for spots to appear on podcasts as a guest. Podcasters are able to meet a lot of people and make a lot of connections. As a college student, this could be extremely valuable to you if your podcast is related to the field that you plan to work in after graduation.
8. Tutor
One of the most practical ways to make money as a college student is to become a tutor. If you’re strong in a particular subject, you can tutor other students in your class that may be struggling, or students who are a year or so behind you. You could also tutor high school (or younger) students.
As a tutor, you can earn a nice hourly rate for sharing the knowledge that you already have. There are no costs to start the business, and you can start making money as soon as you have your first client.
9. Photographer
If you have some photography skills, starting a photography business is a natural choice, and there are several different ways that you could make money as a photographer, including:
- Taking portraits or family photos for clients in your local area
- Selling your photos at stock photography sites like Shutterstock
- Becoming a contributor at Vecteezy and giving away free photos (you get paid based on number of downloads)
- Writing for online publications like photography blogs
- Creating and selling digital products for photographers (like Lightroom Presets)
- Becoming an Instagram influencer (and selling sponsorships)
A photography business would be ideal for students who are studying something creative like art, design, or photography. It’s also the type of business that you could start part-time in college and grow to full-time after graduation.
10. Graphic Designer
Starting a business as a graphic designer is a great opportunity for those that have the right skillset. There is plenty of work available and sites like Fiverr make it possible to get started relatively quickly.
Of course, this would be an ideal business for students who are studying design, but anyone with some design skills could make it work. There are plenty of small projects for clients like designing images and graphics to be used with blog posts or social media posts.
Like several of the other opportunities mentioned already, a graphic design business is something that you could do part-time through college and then turn into a full-time business later.
11. Web Designer
Much like graphic design, web design is a skill that’s needed by many businesses, and you can make good money if you’re able to deliver for your clients.
Web design has changed a lot over the past decade. Today, many web designers are using platforms that require little-to-no coding to create custom websites for clients. You could use pre-made WordPress themes or plugins that give you customization options without the need to code.
Of course, if you’re able to code a website, that’s great. But if you’re not able to code, that doesn’t mean that you can’t work as a web designer.
Take some time to get familiar with a particular WordPress theme or drag-and-drop builder plugin and you’ll be able to meet the needs of most small businesses.
12. App Developer
If you have some coding skills, becoming an app developer is an excellent option. You could either develop mobile apps for clients, or start your own app in attempt to grow it as your business.
Coding skills are highly valuable, and the demand is likely to remain strong for the foreseeable future.
13. Dog Walker
Like many other service-related businesses, becoming a dog walker allows you to start making money right away. You can either create a profile on Rover or find clients in your local area on your own.
In many ways, becoming a dog walker is an ideal opportunity for college students:
- You can start making money quickly
- Decent average hourly rate
- Flexible schedule since appointments can be scheduled around your classes
- Lots of potential clients
- Doesn’t require any experience or specific skills
14. T-Shirt Designer
For those who are creative, starting a t-shirt business may be an ideal opportunity. You could use a platform like Merch by Amazon or Printify to sell your t-shirt designs with a print-on-demand business.
A Print-on-demand business allows you to get started without the need to purchase inventory. You’ll upload your designs and the shirts will be printed as they are ordered.
This is a business model that will require some time and patience to build. You might not start making money right away, but the income potential is there if you have a long-term approach.
A college campus with thousands of students can be an ideal place to start and grow your own t-shirt business. Get some friends to wear your shirts and start to build some brand recognition and you may find that sales start coming quickly.
15. E-Commerce
If you’re interested in starting and growing an online business, e-commerce is an excellent option. E-commerce has never been more popular than it is today with millions of people not wanting to risk getting sick by shopping in stores.
You can sell just about anything through your e-commerce store, and you can also take advantage of existing platforms that allow you to launch a business very quickly. Amazon’s FBA program is an excellent option because Amazon will handle all of the order fulfillment for you, which means you won’t need to pack boxes or run to the post office every day.
Aside from selling on Amazon, you could use a platform like Shopify to create your own e-commerce website without the need to hire a designer or developer.
You might assume that an e-commerce business would require you to store your own inventory, which would not be ideal if you’re living in a college dorm room. But there are many warehousing businesses that receive and store your inventory for a relative low cost.
16. Book Reseller
Every college student knows that textbooks can be very costly. The best way to reduce the amount that you spend on textbooks is to buy used books from other students.
Most students are eager to sell their old textbooks because once the class is over, they’ll probably never use the textbook again.
You could start a business buying and reselling textbooks. There are probably some bookstores on or near campus that already do this, but you’ll be able to offer better prices thanks to lower overhead costs.
This business does require some investment in order to buy the books, but it’s possible to get started for a minimal amount and then grow the business slowly by reinvesting all of the money that you’re making. Having some money to invest when you get started will allow you to grow faster.
17. Musician
College students who have musical abilities may choose to turn those skills into a money-making opportunity. You could make money by performing, by offering lessons, or even by creating music and selling it online.
Some of the other opportunities on this list are likely to offer better income potential, but this could be a good choice for someone who plans to pursue a career in music after college.
18. Personal Trainer
Are you in the gym every day taking care of your own body? If so, you could probably make some money by using your knowledge and experience to help others as a personal trainer.
19. Model
It’s possible to make some money by working as a model in your spare time. You could be working for a photographer who is taking stock photos to sell online, for photos that will be used in advertising, or any number of other things.
To get started, you could use a site like Model Mayhem or advertise your services on Craigslist. You can also build up your profile on Instagram or other platforms that can provide some exposure.
20. Flipping
If you’re looking for a business that you can start quickly with no particular skills or experience, flipping could be a good option. It involves going to yard sales, flea markets, auctions, or other places where you can buy things for very low prices, and then reselling them for a profit. You might sell on eBay or the Facebook Marketplace to get higher prices than what you’d be able to get at a yard sale.
This is a relatively easy business that anyone can learn. As you get more experience, you’ll have a better idea of the types of items that are likely to make a profit, as well as how much you should expect to make from an item. To get started, you can refer to this list of the easiest things to flip for profit.
This free workshop will show you how to get started in 14-days or less: Flea Market Flipper
21. House Cleaner
Another business that can be started with no particular skills or experience is cleaning houses. You can schedule clients around your other commitments, so it’s a very flexible opportunity that can be done part-time.
As is the case with other service-related businesses, you can start making money as soon as you land your first client. Finding a client is usually not that difficult. Talk to everyone in your network to let them know that you’re looking for clients, post an ad on Craigslist, put your contact info on bulletin boards in your local area, or use a website like Care.com to create a profile.
22. Child Care Provider
Child care or babysitting is an ideal part-time opportunity. You can find some regular clients that need help on a consistent basis and work to grow your business by word-of-mouth. It’s not the highest-paying opportunity covered in this article, but there is a lot of work available.
Build Your Own Business As A College Student To Earn Extra Income
If you’re a college student and you’re looking to make some money, consider starting a business from home rather than settling for a low-paying part-time job.
Starting a business may not be the right fit in every situation, but consider the options covered in this article and see if one of them might be the right fit for you.
Source: biblemoneymatters.com
6 Tips for Your Job Search During the Coronavirus Outbreak
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Disclaimer
New developments continue to pour in each day surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. The COVID-19 outbreak has drastically changed nearly every aspect of life for millions of people, and the workforce in particular has been hit hard. Businesses, employees, and job seekers are all scrambling to identify what exactly “normal” will look like in the coming months. Many employers are questioning how to continue business as usual, and people seeking new employment are left with an equally tough question: How do I get a job during this pandemic?
While things are
changing every day, it’s important to know there are plenty
of businesses still actively hiring new employees. Your job search may look a
bit different than it did in the past, but rest assured that there are still
opportunities ripe for the taking if you make a few adjustments to your overall
job search strategy.
Look Specifically for Remote Jobs
Many businesses
have been deemed “nonessential” and legally
ordered to shut their doors during the COVID-19 pandemic. With office buildings
closing up shop for the time being, it’s a great idea
to focus your job-hunting efforts on remote work.
Work-from-home
opportunities have recently seen an exponential growth in popularity, and the
coronavirus crisis has forced even more businesses to rely on remote work to
keep things operational. As you begin your search, keep a closer eye out than
usual for remote job opportunities related to your field and expertise.
Specifically, come up with a plan for yourself should you land an interview for a remote job. Be prepared for a virtual interview and have a game plan for discussing how you would manage a balanced work-from-home routine. If you have prior experience working remotely, emphasize this on your resume. Once you have a plan in place, start your search by browsing a job board focused on remote employment such as FlexJobs.
Embrace Online Networking
Your professional
network is more important now than ever before. If you haven’t logged into your LinkedIn account recently, this is the time
to start embracing the power of online networking.
In addition to
browsing available jobs on the platform, make sure you’re interacting with your connections, sharing articles, and
keeping your profile in tip-top shape. After all, your LinkedIn profile can
catch the eye of a recruiter and become a deciding factor in whether you are
chosen for a job.
Even further, according to a field experiment conducted by ResumeGo, job seekers with an active and comprehensive LinkedIn profile had a 71% higher chance of getting an initial job interview. In short, now is your time to shine on LinkedIn!
Broaden Your Job Scope and Your Resume
If you’ve been
job hunting during the current pandemic and simply haven’t found many jobs you consider an ideal fit for you, it might
be time to broaden your horizons—even if it’s just a little.
Remember to keep
an open mind as you browse openings and realize that current opportunities are
a reflection of these trying times. With companies implementing hiring freezes
and others struggling to adjust to remote work, your dream job simply may not
be feasible at the time, and that’s okay!
Reevaluate your
best skills and ask yourself how else they could be useful to a company. Are
there similar jobs for which you’d make a great
fit? Can you tap into any other skills that may not be listed on your resume?
Do your best to stay open-minded and have more jobs to consider.
Stay in Touch with Your Old Employer
If you were recently laid off due to the coronavirus, rest assured you’re not alone. Many employees lost their jobs and were left scrambling to file for unemployment or seek out other work opportunities.
However, before
you cut ties with your previous employer, consider keeping the lines of
communication open as they may plan to bring their previous staff back into the
business once the dust settles. This is an uncertain time for everyone, so keep
all your options on the table.
Take the Opportunity to Learn New Skills
Whether you’re a pro in your field or just beginning to learn the ropes,
there’s always room for anyone to acquire
new skills that can take their abilities to greater heights.
If you’re not in financial stress and don’t need to find a new job in a hurry, this can be the perfect
time to invest in your professional skills and learn something new. Browse the
internet for courses or tutorials to help you earn a new certification to add
to your resume.
Additionally, be
sure to check your local colleges and universities, as many schools are
offering free or discounted courses for people to take during the COVID-19
pandemic. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about
anything, now is the perfect time to do so!
Pay Attention to the News
New developments
to the coronavirus and related relief efforts are announced daily. As medical
professionals and government officials continue to learn more about the virus
and adjust our precautions, you can expect a new norm for many weeks to come.
While cases have
been escalating at an alarming rate, keep in mind that things will get
better. Stay up-to-date on the latest developments by tuning in to a
reputable news source so you can be one of the first to know if new
opportunities become available. Nonessential businesses will eventually open up
at some point, and when that moment comes, there will be an influx of new job
opportunities for those who move quickly.
Conclusion
During such difficult
times, it’s easy to become unmotivated when it
comes to pursuing new employment. Circumstances are changing each day, but
remember there is still plenty you can do to carry on with your job hunt.
Go to Guide
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Several businesses are actively hiring, and others are even urgently seeking new team members. While your job hunt may look different for the next couple months, keep your head up! Together, we will overcome this crisis.
McLean Mills is a career coach and resume writer, as well as a content creator for Enhancv. He has over a decade of experience helping job seekers unlock their hidden career potentials and knows the hiring game inside and out. In his spare time, he loves jogging, playing frisbee with his dog, and spending time with his children.
Sign up now.
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How to Save Money on Food This Year
With the winter months comes less fresh fruits and veggies to choose from. And with that, food costs usually go up. But just because we don’t have as many great fresh options available to us, doesn’t mean that feeding our family has to be expensive. In fact, I have found a few great ways to help save money on food this winter. The foods are not only budget-friendly but delicious and nutritious too!
Use Everything You Have
The first trick when it comes to trying to save money on food costs is to use everything you have. What I mean is to make sure you reduce food waste by getting creative with leftover items. This doesn’t have to mean eating leftovers for multiple nights in a row. Because we all know that the kids will riot when that happens!
But, you can get creative with the leftovers and create a completely different dish. A good example of this is when I made a huge pot of coconut rice in my Multi Use Express Crock-pot. I freaking love this thing because it makes my life so much simpler! I used the rice originally to go with a pumpkin curry that I made. But I usually make a lot of rice at once, so we had a lot of leftovers. I knew the kids didn’t want the same meal again the next night. Instead, I made a casserole out of the rice with black beans, pinto beans, spices, salsa, cheese, and sour cream. It was a huge hit!
Another Example
Another great way I regularly do this is with pasta sauce. The kids love pasta night, but not all of us eat pasta sauce on our noodles. So, we don’t use a full jar of pasta. Instead of letting it stay in the fridge and go bad if we don’t use it fast enough, I use it as a sauce base for my cassava pizza crusts. That way I can use up the entire jar within the standard 7-day time frame and I don’t have to spend the extra money on pizza sauce.
No matter how you look at it, just get creative with your leftover items and it will definitely help feed your family for less this winter. And save you a ton of time also!
Great Staple Foods
One of the best ways to help save money on food costs, not only in the winter but all year round is to keep staple foods on hand. Staple foods may not be the same items for everybody, depending on the foods you prefer to eat or grew up with. But, overall, these foods have a very little cost associated with them and can be stretched pretty far. Plus they fill you and your family up, so you won’t be as inclined to eat other foods on top of your meal.
Staples I Keep On Hand
Some of the best staple foods I have found, that I continually keep on hand are:
- Rice – various types, but preferably whole grain since the fiber helps fill you up and slow down insulin uptake.
- Beans – dried are the cheapest and go the furthest, but sometimes you can find a great deal on the canned no sodium added versions also.
- Potatoes – Russet potatoes are great for baked potato night, and the smaller versions work great for oven potatoes or mashed potatoes.
- Pasta – this is one of the cheapest foods for the amount you get and can be used so many different ways.
- Vegetable broth – this works great in soups, making rice, flavoring casseroles, etc.
- Canned tomatoes – fire-roasted tomatoes usually have the most flavor, if you can find them.
- Coconut water – this is a regular go-to for making rice because it adds so much flavor and keeps the rice tender.
- Oats – we use Gluten-Free oats to make overnight oats or oat balls for breakfasts for the kids and they stay full for a long time!
If you can keep even a few of these on hand, it will help make your winter budget stretch a lot further.
Soups and Chili
Winter is the best time for warm, hearty soups and chili. And I love making them almost as much as I love eating them. Most of the time the rest of the family feels the same way. But it’s hard to please everyone all the time, so I try to keep a few options in the freezer.
Ultimately, one of the easiest, and sometimes the most flavorful option is a vegetable soup. I call mine the Kitchen Sink Vegetable Soup because it has everything in it but the kitchen sink. This soup is very simple to make in that you can throw whatever vegetables you have at your disposal in it. I usually add one of my cans of fire-roasted tomatoes and a quart box of low sodium vegetable broth. Don’t forget to add whatever spices strike your fancy to top it off. Then just heat it on a slow simmer so the flavors mix. Since the vegetables always differ and so do the spices, the soup is never the same. Which my family likes because it is always a fun surprise!
Chili
My other favorite is a vegetarian chili. Which happens to be the only chili my daughter will eat, for some reason. This is almost as simple as the aforementioned soup. I throw a bag of Beyond Meat Feisty Grounds in the multi-use Crock-pot. Add in a can of fire-roasted tomatoes and 4 cups of beans. I usually use a mix of black beans, kidney beans and pinto beans.
Add a couple of bay leaves (we have a tree in our yard so I just make the kids go and pick some leaves for me). Then add in some chili spices, a pinch of salt and some pepper. To top everything off, add in a quart box of low sodium vegetable broth. Put the lid on and use the “Beans/Chili” option so that it will simmer slowly. It usually takes about 25 minutes and then we have hot, delicious, and nutritious chili. Yum!
These are some awesome hacks to help feed your family for less this winter! Click To Tweet
Help Feed Your Family For Less This Winter Summary
Feeding your family for less this winter can certainly be done. And without too much complaining also! Just remember to use everything you have first to offset waste. This will reduce your overall grocery bill since you won’t have to spend as much buying excess food. Next, make sure you have a few staple foods on hand that can be stretched very far and fills up your family.
Lastly, try making a myriad of different soups and chili. Freeze whatever you don’t eat so that you can thaw them and use them at another time. Your family and your budget will thank you!
What are some of the best hacks you have found to help feed your family for less in the winter?
Source: everythingfinanceblog.com
15 Top Income-Earning Blogs: Make Money Online Blogging [Infographic]
Table of Contents
biggest reason why you should start a blogyet?
I hope this list of income-earning blogs inspires you and proves you can make money online through blogging.
15. Making Sense of Cents
Founder – Michelle Schroeder-Gardner
Income – $146,498 per month.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner started Making Sense of Cents to “help improve my finances, keep track of my progress and to help readers improve their finances along the way.”
Well, let’s see — how has Schroeder-Gardner done in these areas?
She’s certainly improved her finances, paying off over $38,000 in student loan debt in just 7 months while growing the site’s revenue year-over-year.
Schroeder-Gardner has transparently tracked her progress in her popular monthly income reports. She says the reports act as a journal for her and keeps her accountable, while also showing others that side income is possible.
And she’s also helping others with their finances by publishing thousands of how-to articles about earning more, saving more, and becoming financially fit.
Making Sense of Cents’ primary income comes from affiliate marketing. You can see a complete breakdown of this profitable blog’s earnings here.
#14. Smart Passive Income
Founder – Pat Flynn
Income – $152,276 per month.
Smart Passive Income (SPI) founder Pat Flynn is a beacon of light in the sometimes dark and shady internet marketing space.
Calling himself a “crash test dummy of online business,” Flynn transparently shows what’s working and what isn’t working in his business.
His site details his online business experiments and gives readers actionable blueprints to follow and outlines mistakes to avoid.
Flynn didn’t invent the online income report, but he certainly popularized them. He’s been publishing monthly income reports on the blog since 2008, detailing his income sources, revenue figures, as well as his expenses. It’s still one of the most trafficked pages on the site.
Flynn is a great example of a blogger who has successfully branched out into other areas as well.
In 2010, Flynn launched the Smart Passive Income Podcast which is routinely in iTunes top 10 Business podcasts. To date, the show has been downloaded an impressive 33 million times.
He also broadcasts Ask Pat, a Q and A online business podcast, and SPI TV for visual learners.
Flynn is now a Wall Street Journal best-selling author with 2016’s release of Will It Fly?.
And while his individual success has been plentiful and hard-earned, Flynn gives back by serving on the board of the non-profit Pencils of Promise, helping to build new schools for children in underprivileged regions around the world.
SPI’s primary income comes from affiliate marketing, with other earnings from podcast sponsorship and products.
#13. Lifehacker
Founder – Gina Trapani
Income – $154,000 per month
Lifehacker was founded in 2005 by Gina Trapani as part of the Gawker Media network.
From the start, Trapani acted as the sole contributor, writing 8 articles a day. Talk about blogging like a boss!
She impressively launched the site with an exclusive sponsorship from Sony, rumored to be 3 months for $75,000. Yeah, she’s a boss.
Lifehacker eventually added other contributors and the blog continued to grow in popularity.
As its motto claims, the site’s content is about “tips, tricks and downloads for getting things done.”
Trapani moved on from the company in 2009, and Nick Denton has run it ever since.
The site still churns out 18 articles a day, all designed to make you more productive.
Lifehacker earns its most of its revenue from advertising and it’s been one of the top-earning blogs since it’s inception.
#12. Timothy Sykes
Founder – Timothy Sykes
Income – $165,000 per month
Timothy Sykes is a multimillionaire stock trader who famously earned $4 million while day trading in college.
As a high school student, Sykes took $12,415 of his bar mitzvah gift money and turned it into $1.65 million by day trading penny stocks.
Not stopping there, Sykes has created a hedge fund and starred in the television program Wall Street Warriors.
These days, Sykes documents his trades and strategy on his popular blog, TimothySykes.com. His top-earning blog offers a Millionaire Challenge and a successful subscription service where users can get real-time trading alerts and access a vast library of trading videos.
#11. Tuts+
Founder – Collis Ta’eed, Cyan Ta’eed and Jun Rung
Income – $175,000 per month
Collis Ta’eed, Cyan Ta’eed and Jun Rung founded Tut+ as a modest blog with tutorials on freelancing and Photoshop.
The site ultimately grew into a network of 15 educational blogs, helping people learn profitable online skills, from coding to videography.
At the center of it all remains Tuts+. In 2014, the group combined all 16 blogs into one central hub called Envato Tuts+.
Envato Tuts+ Premium, a subscription-based membership area offering video courses and ebooks, is the primary source of the site’s income.
You can still find plenty of free content to learn creative skills and yes, they still have tutorials on freelancing and Photoshop.
Tuts+ is one of my favorite blogs and it’s inspiring to know it started as a hobby and developed naturally and organically into one of the highest-earning blogs online.
#10. Smashing Magazine
Founder – Sven Lennartz and Vitaly Friedman
Income – $215,000 per month
Smashing Magazine is the superb creation of Sven Lennartz and Vitaly Friedman.
The blog debuted in 2006 with the goal of helping people with web design and web development interests.
Today, Smashing Magazine is a go-to site for anyone looking to acquire these lucrative skills, with an enormous amount of informative and actionable content.
Not surprisingly, the blog receives 5 million page views a month.
The site now hosts frequent web development conferences and full-day workshops all over the world, to help both professionals and amateurs improve their craft.
This top earning blog’s main income comes from their membership area, where users can learn from an impressive number of tutorials covering everything from coding, web design, mobile app development, UX design, graphics and WordPress.
#9. EOFire
Founder – John Lee Dumas
Income – $223,000 per month
I’m convinced John Lee Dumas never sleeps.
He operates EOFire.com, short for Entrepreneurs on Fire, delivers a daily business podcast, and in recent years has published two best-selling journals — The Freedom Journal and The Mastery Journal.
But his bread and butter is the EOFire podcast, which is fantastic. In 2012, he noticed none of his favorite podcasts were podcasting daily, leaving him wanting more. So he launched his daily podcast interviewing entrepreneurs, and the rest, as they say, is history.
JLD, as he’s affectionately known, has now interviewed over 1600 entrepreneurs, including Tim Ferriss, Barbara Corcoran, Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuk.
In 2013, EOFire was named Best of iTunes.
His journals wrote the book (no pun intended) on how to run a successful crowdsourcing campaign. And through a partnership with Pencils of Promise, Dumas is parlaying the success of his journals into the creation of schools in underprivileged countries. You can see one of the schools Dumas made possible here.
EOFire earned a gross income of $595,936 in February of 2016. That’s an incredible feat for one month and well-deserved for JLD.
It’s always good to see good people doing good work and succeeding.
#8. Gizmodo
Founder – Peter Rojas
Income – $325,000 per month
Peter Rojas is so awesome he’s on this list twice.
Rojas created Gizmodo to cover technology, entertainment, politics, science and science fiction.
Gizmodo launched in 2002 as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton with Rojas as Editor in Chief. The blog quickly grew in popularity by partnering with a variety of international firms to deliver translated versions of its content in Europe.
When you visit the site’s home page, one of the first things you notice is an above-the-fold banner that is larger than most. As you scroll down, you’ll find Gizmodo does a great job of showing a lot of content with only a couple of display ads along the side, with one of them being the same advertiser found at the top of the page. When you finally scroll past all the content (there’s a lot!) and reach the bottom of the page, you’ll find another large banner just above the footer, and yes, the advertiser is the same as in the other two spots.
Gizmodo’s home page has a great balance of being heavily content-focused but still being able to make a tidy profit with ads. The ads are unobtrusive but still get noticed, and because of the repetition, the advertiser gets noticed too. It’s a win-win advertising model for other sites to emulate.
#7. Perez Hilton
Founder – Perez Hilton
Income – $575,000 per month
Perez Hilton is a great example of a successful blogger who capitalized on other opportunities outside of blogging. He’s also a television personality, nationally syndicated host of Radio Perez, and author of a children’s book.
But what he’s most famous for is his celebrity gossip blog PerezHilton.com. Millions visit his site every day to revel in his brand of snarky gossip entertainment.
Hilton, born Mario Armondo Lavandeira Jr, started his blog as a hobby and decided to focus on Hollywood “because it was something I was inherently curious about, and fascinated with. And, let’s face it, celebrities — a lot of them — are crazy.”
This profitable blog earns its revenue from advertising banners on the site.
#6. Copyblogger
Founder – Brian Clark
Income – $1,000,000 per month
With Copyblogger, Brian Clark created an audience-focused content marketing machine. 
In fact, Forbes recently called it “the most influential content marketing blog in the world.”
Copyblogger has been helping people write better, sell more, and get more traffic since 2006.
The site’s original tagline was “Internet Marketing For Smart People.” In other words, they’re not selling snake oil and get rich quick schemes.
Now the tagline is “Words That Work” and boy, do they ever. Clark and his team are outstanding at writing copy.
When I read they’re sales copy, I’m always compelled to buy. In fact, this site operates on their Genesis Framework and a StudioPress blog theme.
Based on their audience research and communication, they’ve strategically added tools and platforms to help content marketers and digital entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
#5. Mashable
Founder – Pete Cashmore
Income – $2,000,000 per month
Mashable was started in 2005 by Pete Cashmore, a 19-year-old who still lived at home with his parents in Scotland.
He began by documenting the latest news about social media and emerging Internet technologies.
His work resonated with lots of folks and Mashable became an immediate success, attracting 2 million readers within the first 18 months.
Mashable has come a long way since those early days. It’s no longer just Cashmore contributing Mashable’s content (they’re hiring!), and they are now headquartered in New York City.
Mashable is positioned to be one of the top-earning blogs online for some time.
The blog is still growing with over 45 million readers a month and the content has expanded to cover business, entertainment and lifestyle and now offers 5 international editions.
Mashable’s income primarily comes from advertisements on the site.
#4. TechCrunch
Founder – Michael Arrington and Keith Teare
Income – $2,500,000 per month
Michael Arrington and Keith Teare started TechCrunch in 2005 to cover technology industry news.
The blog has grown immensely and now features big-name columnists in the startup and venture capital industries.
AOL bought TechCrunch in 2005 for a rumored $25 to $40 million..
TechCrunch earns revenue from display advertising on the blog Specifically, they charge between $19.25 and $36.50 per CPM (Cost Per Thousand views).
According to the site, they receive 12 million visitors per month and 35 million page views per month. With such a high CPM, you can see how this top-earning blog makes its considerable income.
#3. Moz
Founder – Rand Fishkin and Gillian Muessig
Income – $3,300,000 per month
Moz is the go-to place for all things SEO. Search engine optimization pros check out Moz daily to see what’s happening in the space.
They also come to use their tools and resources to help them rank their sites and extend their visibility.
Rand Fishkin co-founded the site with Gillian Muessig, who happens to be his mother. The two initially operated a web design shop and Rand had to learn SEO to promote the business. He shared what he learned in SEO forums and quickly became known as an authority in the field.
Frustrated by the secretive world of SEO, they started SEOMoz in 2004 as a way to openly share the knowledge. In fact, the Moz part of their name is a direct nod to the open-source sharing philosophy made famous by the Mozilla Foundation and Dmoz Web directory project.
These days the profitable blog and community simply go by Moz, and Fishkin jokingly refers to his title as “Wizard of Moz.”
Moz earned $42 million in 2016, primarily from its paid membership area, which offers valuable tools and services for the avid search engine marketers.
True to the name, Moz still offers numerous tools for free and even the membership area comes with a 30-day free trial.
#2. Engadget
Founder – Peter Rojas
Income – $5,500,000 per month
We last saw Peter Rojas at #8 with Gizmodo and while that blog focuses on many topics, with Engadget, it’s all about tech.
Rojas created Engadget to give sound advice and detailed reviews on technology and consumer electronics. From the beginning, the site has employed numerous writers and editors to contribute to its content machine.
Engadget is now run by AOL, who acquired the blog in 2005.
The lesson here is if you ever want to sell your blog, it’s best if it is a brand on its own and not a personal brand.
The company earns massive revenue from advertising on the site.
#1. HuffPost
Founder – Arianna Huffington
Income – $14,000,000 per month
In 2005, Arianna Huffington launched the Huffington Post with the goal of becoming a political counterpart to the popular Drudge Report. The blog provided a liberal view of politics and lifestyle and quickly gained a strong following.
The site has grown year after year and in 2011, Huffington sold the blog to AOL for $315,000.
Huffington received $21 million-plus stock options in the company as part of the sale and stayed on as Editor-in-Chief. She resigned from that post in August 2016, and now devotes her time to a new startup Thrive Global, a health and wellness site.
The site has rebranded and is now known simply as HuffPost.
It is the #1 most popular political blog according to a study by eBizMBA. Alexa Global, Compete and Quantcast.
The top-earning blog is an enormous success, earning $14,000,000 in revenue in 2016, and it is estimated to be worth $1 billion currently.
Sponsored advertising revenue provides the majority of HuffPost’s income. The site provides banners and other ads across it’s variety of channels.
What do you think?
I hope this list shows you what is possible and inspires you to follow your own path to the top.
As always I would love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think
15 Top Earning Blogs Making Money Online Infographic
As always I would love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think
As always I would love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment below. What did you think?
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Source: incomist.com
21 Easy Ways to Get Free Google Play Credits
This page may include affiliate links. Please see the disclosure page for more information.
There are several ways to get free Google play credits if you’re interested in being able to get more apps for your Android Phone.
If you find a lot of apps on Google Play that you like and want to get for free–or get credits to pay for the monthly cost of the app–check out this list of sites that will let you earn free Google play credits.
Our Top Picks to Get Free Google Play Credits
Fetch Rewards – Scan receipts from purchases you make
Swagbucks – Take Surveys and Get a $10 Sign Up Bonus
Mistplay – Get Paid to Play Games On Your Phone
In This Article
Shopping Apps
One way to get free google play credits is to use popular shopping apps when you shop online and in-store. Here are some of our favorite apps for doing that.
1. Ibotta
Ibotta helps you earn rewards two different ways. You can earn by taking advantage of in-store offers that pop up on your Ibotta app when you shop at your favorite stores.
Or you can take advantage of offers that pop up when you shop online through your Ibotta app. All of your money savings goes as cash into your Ibotta account. Then you can withdraw the cash via PayPal or Venmo.
However, you can also use your cash savings to buy gift cards to retailers that partner with Ibotta, one of which is the Google Play store.
Bonus: You can earn cash by referring others to use Ibotta as well, resulting in more money to use toward your Google Play credit purchases.
2. Fetch Rewards
Using Fetch Rewards is another really easy way to get Free Google Play Credits. When you install the Fetch Rewards app on your phone, you’ll be able to scan your receipts into the app’s system.
The Fetch Rewards app will automatically scan your receipt for cash back offers on purchases from its retail partner deals. Fetch Rewards partners with big name brands such as Kraft, Huggies, General Mills and more.
You’ll get points every time you make a purchase that coordinates with a participating offer. Then you can use your Fetch Rewards points to get gift cards for free Google Play Credits.
You can earn additional points by referring friends to use the app or by purchasing special offer products when you get notification of them.
3. InstaGC
InstaGC is a rewards site that will pay you for, among other things, shopping online. When you shop online through the InstaGC site, you earn points. After you’ve accumulated the specified number of points you can use the points to get your free Google Play Store gift card.
InstaGC lets you earn points in other ways besides shopping online too. You can earn by taking surveys, watching videos, surfing the web, referring friends to use the app, and more.
And if you’ve got enough Google Play Store gift cards, you can choose from over 300 other stores to get free gift cards to with your InstaGC points.
Take Surveys to Get Google Play Credits
Another way to earn free credits for Google Play is by taking surveys. Here are a few of the most popular survey companies that offer Google Play credits.
4. Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie is one of the highest rated and longest running survey companies on the web. Each time you take a survey, you earn points. Then you can use the points to get your free Google play credits
Bonus: You can earn extra points by taking part in focus groups and by sharing your browsing activity with Survey Junkie’s SJ Pulse add-on.
Have enough Google Play credits? Use your points to get PayPal cash or gift cards from popular retailers such as Walmart or Amazon.
5. LifePoints
Like other survey companies, LifePoints will reward you with points for sharing your opinion on popular products and services. Or for sharing your opinion on subjects such as current events.
You’re rewarded with points every time you complete a survey. Then you can use your points to get your free Google Play Store gift card. As with other survey companies, you can use your points to get gift cards to other retailers or to cash out via PayPal as well.
In addition to completing surveys, LifePoints might ask you on occasion to complete specified activities as well. You’ll get rewarded points for completing the required activities too.
6. Google Opinion Rewards
Google Opinion Rewards is another site that will reward you for completing surveys. This site is a bit different in that you have to wait for an invitation to complete a survey.
After you sign up, you might get an invitation weekly, or you might get several invitations in a given week. Oh, and can earn points other ways too such as downloading apps.
All of the surveys through Google Opinion Rewards are created by Google. So it makes sense that they’d offer free Google Play Credits as a reward for completing the surveys.
7. Swagbucks
Swagbucks has paid hundreds of millions of dollars to people who use the site to take surveys and complete other tasks. All you need to do is sign up for a free account on Swagbucks and you can start taking surveys right away.
You can cash out and get your free credits after you reach the minimum number of required points. Swagbucks will give you points for completing other tasks too, such as watching videos, shopping online, or searching the net.
Along with getting free Google Play credits, you can use the points you earn to get free retailer gift cards too.
8. Branded Surveys
Branded Surveys is another popular survey company. With this company you start by filling out a profile when you sign up. Your completed profile will help the company match you with their partners and products.
After you’ve completed your profile, your Branded Surveys dashboard will show you surveys that match your profile. Each completed and approved survey will award you a designated number of points.
Then you can use the points to get your free Google Play credits. Or if you’d like, you can use your points to get PayPal cash or other retail gift cards.
9. Harris Poll Online
Harris Poll Online is one of the longest running and most well respected survey sites. When you become a Harris Poll Online member (it’s free) and fill out the required member information you can qualify to take surveys.
Each time you complete a survey, you’ll earn what are called HIPoints. You can be as active as you want on the site, however, the more active you are the more HIPoints you’ll earn.
After you reach the designated points balance, you can trade your points in for gift cards to get your Google Play credits or get gift cards to other retailers.
Note that Harris Poll Online is one of the few companies that doesn’t pay out in cash. But if you’re looking to earn free Google Play credits that shouldn’t matter much.
10. i-Say
When you sign up to take surveys through i-Say, they’ll contact you when they have a survey that fits the qualifications you specified on your profile.
i-Say members receive an average of eight surveys per month according to the i-Say website. You’ll earn i-Say points for every completed survey. Then you can use your points to get your free Google Play credits gift card.
Note that if you don’t take any surveys with i-Say for a three-month or longer period, your account becomes inactive and you risk losing your i-Say points.
Now let’s talk about ways you can earn Google Play credits by playing games online.
Get Paid to Play Games
There are several websites that will reward you for playing games online. Here are a few of the most popular sites.
11. Mistplay
Mistplay rewards members for trying out new games that the site recommends. The site makes a Mixlist for you. Your Mixlist is a personalized game library similar to your personalized song library you might have on Spotify or similar sites.
As a member, you’ll get rewarded units every time you play. The longer you play, the more units you’ll earn.
The units you earn can be used to get great rewards such as Google Play gift cards. Mistplay has given away over $11 million in rewards to date, so you know they’re legit.
Bonus: Mistplay has regular contests you can enter to win cash and other prizes.
12. Bananatic
Bananatic is a site that rewards you for testing out games and leaving reviews after you test. You’ll earn “bananas” every time you complete a quest, leave a review and follow other directions.
Bananas are Bananatic’s own virtual currency. After you reach the required number of Bananas, you can use them to get free Google Play gift cards and other gift cards.
Bananatic has a community too where you can add friends to your group and share experiences. There’s no cost to join Bananatic and there are plenty of free games to play.
Note that there are in-app purchases you can make as well, but doing so isn’t a requirement.
13. AppNana
AppNana will give you “nanas” for downloading free apps to play games on them. The more you play, the more nanas you’ll earn. In fact, you can earn 400 nanas per day just by logging into your account.
Besides playing games, you can earn nanas for other activities too. You can earn for simply downloading apps, for watching videos on AppNana, and more.
AppNana will give you nanas for inviting friends to become members too. Then you can use your nanas to get your free Google Play gift card.
Other reward options include credits to use your nanas at the AppNana store. AppNana is available on both Android and Apple iOS.
14. AppKarma
AppKarma works similar to AppNana. You’ll earn rewards for following the app’s instructions. For instance, you might be asked to download a game app and play to level four.
There are other apps you can use to earn points besides game apps too. Your points are rewarded fairly quickly, usually within 15 minutes of completing the requirements for using the game app.
Then you can use your points to get your free Google Play credits or other retailer gift cards. Note that you can earn points for other activities within AppKarma too, such as referring friends who sign up to use the app.
Check out the other AppKarma features too, such as daily rewards.
The last section we’ll talk about for earning free Google Play credits involves apps and websites that will pay you for completing various tasks.
Complete Tasks to Get Credits
Each of these sites/apps pays you in points or other rewards for completing a variety of tasks. Check them out and see if you’d like to join and get free rewards.
15. MobileXpression
MobileXpression is probably one of the easiest task apps to use to get free Google Play credits. This is because all you have to do is download the app and do what you normally do.
MobileExpression awards you points every week simply for using the devices you have the app downloaded and activated on. The app shares your browsing information with its partners so they can better design products and services for you.
Reward choices vary, and you might not find Google Play credits as a choice for your reward. If that happens, you can always get an Amazon gift card with your rewards points and use it to purchase a Google Play gift card through Amazon.
16. FeaturePoints
FeaturePoints is an app that gives you rewards by completing various tasks such as:
- Taking surveys
- Shopping online
- Downloading apps
- Referring friends
And more. A lot of the tasks are easy, such as one-question surveys. And earning points by shopping online is easy when you shop at stores through the FeaturePoints portal.
You can use your rewards points to get your free Google Play gift card or any number of other prizes available.
FeaturePoints has instant win contests too where you can win up to 50,000 points to be used to get more free gift cards. This site has been in operation since 2012 and has paid out close to $6 million in rewards to date.
17. Viggle
Viggle gives you points for using the Viggle app to stream shows and/or movies. You’ll check in to a show by tapping on the Viggle app before you watch.
Once you’ve checked in, Viggle will keep track of your viewing and reward you with Perk Points. You can check into any movie or TV show to earn, but you’ll earn more points if you watch featured shows or movies suggested by Viggle.
There are also trivia questions and other tasks you can do to earn points. Perk Points can be used to get free Google Play gift cards or other retailer gift cards.
Or if you’d rather, you can use your points to donate to one of several charities Viggle partners with.
18. PrizeRebel
PrizeRebel will reward you points for getting free Google Play gift cards when you complete a variety of tasks. Some of the tasks you can earn points for include:
- Watching videos
- Taking surveys
- Signing up for offers
- Referring friends
Aside from using your points to get free Google Play credit gift cards, you can use them to get PayPal money too. Or you can use your points to get prizes such as video games.
Note that PrizeRebel has levels that members can obtain by reaching certain task goals within the site. As you reach higher levels, you get additional member benefits.
19. PointsPrizes
PointsPrizes will reward you with Google Play credits when you complete tasks such as taking surveys, taking advantage of daily bonuses, watching videos, and more.
The PointsPrizes website says that you could earn enough points to get a free Google Play gift card in as little as an hour if you work at it.
Bonus: PointsPrizes will give you additional points when you refer friends who use the site. For every ten points your friend earns, you’ll get awarded one point.
20. CashForApps
CashForApps will give you free Google Play and other gift cards for downloading and using apps they recommend. All of the apps CashForApps recommends are free to download.
You earn points for every app you download and test out. Then you can use the points to get your free Google Play card. The site has other retailer gift cards available as well.
21. GrabPoints
GrabPoints is similar to the other task apps mentioned here. You sign up, you complete tasks of your choosing, and you earn points to get your free Google Play credits.
With GrabPoints you can earn points by taking advantage of offers, completing surveys, watching videos, downloading apps, and other activities. You can earn points for referring friends too.
Along with Google Play gift cards, GrabPoints has gift cards for PayPal cash and for other retailers too.
One cool thing about this site is that you can earn a lot of points each day. The website says some very active members earn 10,000 to 20,000 points per day.
Summary
There are lots of ways to get free Google Play credits. Why pay for them when you can get them for free? The more credits you have, the more apps and games you can download for free.
Have you tried any of these methods for getting free Google Play gift cards? If so, feel free to share your experience in the comments section.
Laurie is personal finance writer and a licensed Realtor. Her goal in blogging is to help others find their way to financial freedom, and to a simpler, more peaceful life.
Source: debtdiscipline.com
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