Surprisingly 'Lazy' Ways To Make Real Money Online

Whether your goal is to make a few extra dollars to supplement your day job or you'd prefer to work in your pajamas full time, earning a living on the internet is a strong draw for many. Fortunately, it's now easier than ever to earn money online, courtesy of the increased acceptance of remote work in a post-COVID world (by the way, are remote workers taxed differently?). As well, the modest startup expense and low barriers to entry for online businesses make it easy to try new ideas without a lot of financial risk.

One option that's among the most popular for online work is to become a freelancer. That is, an independent contractor (or 1099 contractor) who performs work for a company, but isn't an official employee. Some choose to freelance exclusively, while others opt to take on select freelance projects to supplement their income. Your freelance gig can be in the same profession as your day job or something completely different.

Websites like Upwork and Fiverr offer freelancers the opportunity to score freelance jobs in such areas as programming, data entry, graphic design, and ahem, writing. Okay, so while freelancing is a tried-and-true online gig, it's not exactly "lazy." Staying true to this article's title, let's take a look at some other less demanding alternatives for generating easy online income.

Our first "lazy" possibility is to cultivate a blog about a favorite topic or hobby. Granted, creating your blog, filling it with strong and targeted content, and potentially promoting your blog on social media isn't totally effortless. However, once the content is posted and starts attracting fans, you can earn passive income from advertising. That trick is accomplished by joining an affiliate network.

In a nutshell, companies will pay to run advertisements on your blog, if popular. Alternatively, you could earn a small commission when purchases are made through a link that you provide to retailers like Amazon. Do note that monetizing a blog might not be the best way to make money online if you need the funds immediately. That's because it can take months or even years to build a significant audience.

With this said, if you're more comfortable in front of a camera than you are in front of a computer keyboard, much of what's written in the above two paragraphs is applicable to becoming a YouTube sensation instead of a blogger. If your videos draw a healthy number of subscribers, you'll be able to join YouTube's Partner Program and/or Google Adsense (YouTube is owned by Google). Keep in mind YouTubers will typically need at least 1,000 subscribers to take full advantage of lucrative advertising opportunities.

If you're a serious shutterbug, you may be able to monetize those photos you're already taking as a fun hobby. Sites like Fine Art America, SmugMug, or PhotoShelter will list your prize images as the basis for shoppers to create T-shirts, coffee mugs, throw pillows, good ol' fashioned prints, and more. A membership or subscription fee may be required to join, but if your photographs sell as a print or merchandise, you'll receive a payment.

While Fine Art America indicates its top-selling artists, which includes photographers, can take home up to $10,000 per month, you should probably temper your expectations somewhat. According to some popular message boards, a few hundred dollars per year is probably a more realistic goal.

Additional income may also be possible by selling stock photos to businesses and/or media outlets for use on their websites. Getting started is simple, too. If you already have a significant portfolio of images stored, you can upload them to relevant sites and see who's interested. One word of caution, though; perhaps don't buy a new digital camera during the summer months.

Finally, let's touch on the time-tested ritual of selling products online. These can be items that you create or things that you already own, like clothing or electronics that you no longer want or need. If you're particularly knowledgeable about a certain product niche, it may also be possible to buy items online or in-person for the express purpose of reselling (aka flipping). For example, combing local thrift stores at the perfect day and time for inventory that can be resold at a profit on sites, such as eBay.

Once again, though, those selling options sound like some real work could be involved. Even just photographing, packing, and shipping your own stuff can be a hassle. But that's where dropshipping comes in. The first step in becoming a dropshipping mogul is identifying wholesalers willing to sell you small quantities of product as a single unit. You can then advertise those goods online yourself — at a profit, of course — using stock photos with little effort.

When you sell an item to an end-user, simply purchase the same item from your wholesaler, but instead of shipping to your address, provide the shipping address for your buyer. In other words, the wholesaler ships directly to your end-user buyer, hence the term dropshipping. Better still, you'll make a profit as an intermediary in the transaction without storing any inventory or handling the product(s). If that isn't considered lazy, we don't know what is.