How To Make $5000 A Month: 13 Ways To Make More Money

If you have the right skills in today’s market, you can easily increase your monthly income or create a new source of passive income. In this post, I share 13 ways on how to make $5000 a month that are free or need less than $100 to start.

Each side hustle idea on this list is in high demand and offers many benefits, such as low startup and overhead costs.

While some of these passive income ideas may demand more time and effort upfront, they all have the potential to provide great returns in the long term.

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Table of Contents

Online Freelancing

Online freelancing is when you work as an independent contractor, offering your skills to help clients in your area of expertise.

Becoming a freelancer frees you from a traditional job setup and allows you the freedom to work on your own schedule.

The easiest way to find gigs online is through freelancing marketplaces such as Fiverr and Upwork.

Start by creating an attractive profile and providing accurate information. Then, search for projects that match your criteria and apply accordingly.

Some of the in-demand skills are:

SEO services
Content writing
Web designing
Graphic designing
Web developer

However, freelancing is highly competitive, and you’ll be competing against professionals all around the world.

You should only list services for areas where you have expertise or relevant experience within a specific industry.

Blogging

Blogging is the practice of writing and publishing regular content online on a variety of topics in an informal, conversational style. Bloggers often share insights, reviews, stories, and other types of content through their blogs.

Even though blogging has been around for a while, it remains a great passive income source. If you’re a talented writer or an expert in a niche, blogging can help you make $5000 a month.

You can monetize your blog by displaying ads, selling digital products, and creating sponsored posts. In addition, you can recommend products using affiliate links and earn a commission when readers click and make a purchase.

I recommend building an email list early on, as it lets you directly connect with your audience and promote products and blog posts through email newsletters.

While blogging can be profitable, most blogs don’t make money until the second or third year, so you should have realistic expectations.

Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant is a remote worker who offers administrative, creative, or technical support to individuals and businesses.

Typical VA tasks include managing emails, scheduling appointments, data entry, social media management, research, and customer support.

The specific skill set required varies by industry. For example, an ecommerce VA might be tasked with product listing, order processing, and managing returns and refunds.

Being a VA allows you to establish your own work hours and provides the freedom to work from anywhere. But to excel in this role, you need to be organized, communicate well, and be able to work independently.

If you’re new to this, start in an area you know and look for clients on LinkedIn and Facebook VA groups.

Start An Amazon FBA Business

Amazon FBA, or Fulfillment by Amazon, is a service that allows Amazon sellers to outsource storage, packaging, and shipping to Amazon.

Not only does Amazon FBA store and fulfill your orders, but they also handle all of your customer service, including returns and refunds.

Another advantage of selling on Amazon FBA is that your listings are automatically eligible for free two-day Prime shipping.

The only drawback is that Amazon FBA seller fees are high and they continue to increase every year.

To run a successful Amazon FBA business, here are some tips to get started:

Choose a product that is not heavy, fragile, cheap, seasonal, or oversaturated.
Learn how to optimize your listings and rank your products on Amazon search.
Collect reviews for your products before launching by joining Amazon reviewer websites like Rebaid and Vipon.
Learn how to run Amazon Sponsored Product Ads.

If you want to know how to sell on Amazon, sign up for my free Amazon mini course.

Selling Stock Photos

Stock photos are professionally taken images available for licensing or purchase.

Websites like Alamy, Adobe Stock, and Shutterstock provide a platform for photographers to list their photos. Individuals, businesses, and designers can then buy the rights to use the images for their projects.

You don’t need to be an expert photographer to sell images on stock photo websites. With a good camera and photography skills, you can earn around $5000 per month by selling stock photos on these sites.

Another option is to sell your images directly on your own website to avoid paying commission fees. But the downside is that you’ll need to invest in ads and have a strategy to attract visitors to your website.

For a higher chance of success, pick a specific niche for your photography and use tools like Keywords Everywhere to gauge the search interest in your niche. Make sure you include detailed captions with keywords to show up for relevant search results.

Launch An Etsy Shop

Etsy is an online marketplace focused on handmade, craft supplies, vintage, and unique goods. The platform attracts around 450 million visitors a month.

The rising demand for personalized products has created a profitable market for handmade goods, including candles, jewelry, knitted items, and upcycled products.

If you have a creative flair and are skilled at crafts, selling on Etsy can help you make $5000 a month. If you sell custom made products, you can make even more!

While Etsy allows you to showcase your products to millions of people, the commission fees are relatively high. Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee, and 15% for OffSite Ads.

Once you achieve some success on Etsy, starting your own online store is a great way to save on commission fees.

Proofreading Or Editing

Proofreading or editing involves reviewing and improving written content for accuracy and flow.

While proofreading and editing require similar skill sets, the two roles are quite different.

Proofreaders focus on correcting grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors, while editors go beyond to improve the clarity and quality of the written content.

Both roles can manage emails, newsletters, and blog posts for businesses and bloggers as well.

If you enjoy reading and have an eye for detail, editing articles can be a great way to make $5000 a month.

The best part about being a proofreader is that you can pick your hours and work from anywhere, much like a virtual assistant.

Although anyone can become a proofreader or editor, those with a degree in English or Journalism have an edge.

New editors earn around $15 to $20 per hour, with compensation varying by niche. To increase your income, take an SEO writing course that teaches you how to optimize content for search engines, making it more discoverable online.

Facebook Marketing

Facebook marketing involves using Facebook Ads and Facebook Posts to strategically promote products, services, or content, with the aim of increasing reach and exposure.

With over 3 billion monthly active users in 2023, brands understand the importance of establishing a strong online presence on Facebook.

If you have experience building an audience organically or using Facebook Ads, you can earn $1000 to $3000 monthly from each client.

For those who are new to Facebook marketing, there are free resources and courses available from Meta (the company that owns Facebook) and other marketers.

To start, focus on helping local businesses, as they are more likely to pay for your services.

Self-publishing Books On Amazon KDP

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing(KDP) is a program that allows you to self-publish digital books on Amazon.

If you’re a skilled writer, you can publish ebooks on any topic without needing an agent or a publisher. All you have to do is follow the guidelines that Amazon outlines for formatting and content.

You can also use inexpensive tools like BookBolt which is a tool that automatically formats your book for publishing, so you can focus on the content.

With Amazon KDP, you earn up to 70% in sales royalties, depending on the number of downloads and the country of origin of the buyer.

The best part about selling digital books on Amazon is that your sales are scalable. All you need to do is research, organize, write your ebook, and promote it on social media to earn money passively.

Creating An Online Course

An online course is an educational program delivered over the internet that allows students to learn a particular subject or skill at their own pace. It often includes a combination of videos, written content, quizzes, and interactive assignments.

Creating an online course requires time and effort, but once it’s ready, you only need to promote it to the right audience. After you build a reputation and a following, you can earn money without actively working for it.

While you don’t need to be an absolute expert in your niche, you should have a deeper understanding of the topic than the average person.

For example, if you have a few thousand followers on TikTok, you can create an online course to help content creators to make money on TikTok.

You can sell your courses on your own website or use e-learning platforms like Kajabi and Teachable.

I recommend giving away most of your knowledge for free on social media. This way, people will be more willing to pay for direct access to you.

Keep in mind to break up your content into short videos since most people have low attention spans.

Get A Commission-based Sales Job

A commission-based sales job involves earning a share of your generated sales as compensation.

This method is common across sales roles and serves to motivate teams, incentivize strong performance, and drive sales.

Most jobs have a sales structure of 30% base salary and the rest 70% commission. But you can also find jobs with 100% commission with no base pay.

Sectors such as finance, technology, and wholesale/manufacturing offer the highest commission rates.

If you don’t have experience in these niches, look for real estate, insurance, or retail roles since these roles have basic qualification requirements.

To succeed, focus on effective communication, building relationships, and honing your persuasion skills.

Start A Youtube Channel

YouTube is a video-sharing and social media platform where content creators can upload, share, and monetize videos covering various subjects.

Starting a YouTube channel is quite similar to starting a blog. You need to choose a niche based on your experience and interests and produce videos on a regular basis.

To be a successful YouTuber, you must consistently post and stick to a schedule for the YouTube algorithm to recommend your videos.

When first starting out, you can use your smartphone to film your videos. But as you start earning money,you should invest in higher-quality equipment like microphones and cameras to produce higher content quality.

Remember to focus on developing a personal brand and engaging with your audience by responding to their comments.

Once you establish a loyal following, you can earn on YouTube from Adsense ads, sponsored videos, merchandise sales, and asking your loyal audience to support your channel through platforms like Patreon.

Start A Dropshipping Store

Dropshipping is an ecommerce business model where the seller partners with a supplier to handle product storage, packaging, and order fulfillment.

Essentially, the dropshipper outsources the entire fulfillment process and focuses on managing sales and customer service.

Since dropshipping is a low-risk business model that requires less capital and no inventory, the competition is high. As a result, you must choose the right niche and products to sell.

Begin with product research using tools like Google Trends, Ahrefs, and Sell The Trend to understand pricing and search volume.

From there, build an SEO-optimized online store and establish strong relationships with suppliers to make sure your orders are shipped on time.

Moreover, focus on providing excellent customer service, as it’s one of the few things within your control.

Keep in mind that the profit margins can be low at 10-30%, and you’re entirely dependent on your supplier for product supply and logistics.

Once you find some success with your dropshipping store, you should transition to selling private label products.

Final Thoughts: How To Make $5000 A Month

To reach your financial goal, find a profitable idea that matches your skills, interests, and lifestyle. Ask yourself what excites you and what you’re good at, using the resources at your disposal.

Don’t be afraid to brainstorm, research, and seek inspiration from different places. But remember, you have to give yourself a chance by stepping out of your comfort zone.

To earn $5000 monthly, aim for $160 to $200 each day, which means $30 to $40 per hour for a 5-hour workday, five days a week.

All the ideas mentioned above can help you achieve this. All you have to do is take that first step.

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