Want to make some extra money while you’re in college? There are plenty of ways you can make a quick buck, but here are the top 9 ways you can try first:
1. Take online surveys
Did you know you get paid to fill out online surveys? Many research companies target the student demographic to perform market research before launching a new product or service. These forms can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to fill out, but that is an easy way to make extra money.
You can try sites like Toluna, LifePoints, i-Say, and Survey Junkie.
2. Start a print-on-demand business
An increasingly popular side gig is starting a print-on-demand business. You essentially have little to no startup costs, no inventory, and only shell out money to the fulfillment company when your customers place an order.
While T-shirts are what comes to mind first when you think of a print-on-demand business, you can create all sorts of customized products. You can offer custom shoes, leggings, mugs, or phone cases and make a decent living off of it.
Just make sure that your designs and phrases are not copyrighted or trademarked before you start selling them.
3. Review websites and apps
60% of millennials (ages 22 to 37) in 2019 preferred to shop online. That number is only increasing – 30% of online retail sales in 2020 are attributed to millennials (Business 2 Community).
The preference to shop online also presents a unique opportunity for students like you that want to make money – review websites and apps on your website or YouTube and monetize your content.
According to Qualtrics, 93% of customers peruse reviews online before deciding to buy a product. So, if you have a niche – like fashion or home decor – you can review products and either strike a brand deal or generate enough reaction to run Google Ads on your website or YouTube channel.
4. Search the web for cash
What if you could get paid to search the web? Qmee offers rewards to anyone that installs their browser extension and performs searches on Google, Bing, Yahoo, or Amazon. You may see sponsored results. When you click on one of them, you can claim the Qmee reward.
Qmee is currently only available in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada.
5. Become a delivery rider
To drum up some extra cash, you can consider joining services like Doordash or UberEats and become a delivery rider. You have flexible hours, and you don’t need much to get started – a bike and a smartphone with Google Maps or Waze.
You can also go around your local pizza stores to see if they need an extra set of hands.
6. Create an affiliate marketing venture
If you have at least 1000 followers on Instagram, you can qualify as a nano influencer and reach out to brands for a partnership deal.
If you don’t have a following or want to find out the best platform to grow your audience, there are plenty of ways to do that. Start posting more consistently, play nice with the algorithm, use all of the app’s features and post quality content.
Alternatively, you can also search for affiliate programs for students and sign up on relevant websites. If you have a website, it is even better because it will generate passive income for you.
7. Start selling on Fiverr
Fiverr is the world’s biggest gig marketplace, and you can offer small services for just about anything – writing, editing, video making, personal shopper. You also get to price your products the way you want and customize your services list.
If you’re unsure how to start, look at the existing categories and see if there is a good fit for your current skills. You don’t have to offer any traditional services either. Some gigs offer to create a prank video, sing happy birthday off-key or create awful portraits.
8. Sell your handwritten notes
Since textbooks are so expensive, there is a marketplace for buying and selling student notes. You could list your notes on websites like Nexus Notes for free and generate passive income.
You could also turn your notes into a neat eBook and sell it on Kindle.
9. Become a mystery shopper
Imagine if you got to go shopping, made a purchase, and got paid to do that? That’s what a mystery shopper does. Numerous companies pay you to audit a store and pretend to be a customer, make a purchase, redeem your travel costs, and pay you to do this.
You would have to take detailed notes and submit your findings, but it is a decent way to make extra cash as a student.
To sum up
There is no shortage of ways you can earn small amounts of money while being a full-time student. You just have to find something that fits your schedule, and you like doing so that you can generate cash with minimal effort.
