It doesn’t take long working from home to realize the dangers of putting all your eggs in one basket. One of the main reasons companies hire remote independent contractors is because they don’t want or need the costs that come with hiring full-time employees. They need to be able to cut hours or lay off contractors as their workload changes.
For that reason, it is usually to a freelancer’s advantage to diversify income. Having multiple streams of income can give you a sense of security knowing that money is still coming to you even if a client leaves. Without increasing your workload in some cases. And we’ve got some way cooler options than the proverbial second job situation.
Today, I’m pulling back the curtain on how I make money online. I hope you can find some way for yourself.
1. Freelancing
Although this is no longer my primary means of income, I still earn a bit here and there doing work for other people. This could be writing an article as a guest expert, mapping out a social media plan or providing some personalized tips to increase blog income.
Even though I don’t need to work for anyone else in a freelance capacity these days, it’s still important to me to keep these lines of communication and networking open. As this post points out, you never know when you’ll need it.
2. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is my bread and butter. As a blogger, I earn a commission when visitors buy some of the things I recommend on my site. I make more money with affiliate marketing alone than I could have imagined in my previous 9-to-5.
You don’t have to have a blog to earn money from referrals. Almost every service today has some type of referral system. Some like Stitch Fix will pay you in store credit – getting free fabric is as good as money in my book. Others like Ebates will pay you cash for referring your friends.
3. Advertising
My ad revenue doesn’t come close to my affiliate income, but it’s still five figures per year. If you have a website, this can include sponsored posts, dedicated emails, banner ad spots, social media campaigns, and beyond. Check out this post for ways to make money blogging.
4. Digital product sales
I have had very few ebooks available for purchase over the years. It wasn’t until late 2016 that I really made a concerted effort to get that income stream off the ground. It’s not going too bad, but creating effective and efficient sales funnels is still something I struggle with – probably because I already had things in place and was trying to implement multiple funnels at once. I have no problem. i will go there
5. Investment
Investing was something reserved for “extra money”. But what about extra money? Who really has extra money? It doesn’t really matter if pennies start falling from the sky, you’ll still have something that needs that money.
If it’s important, make it a priority. Make it a bill. If you have a bill on it, it will be easy to find other areas to cut if needed. And let’s not forget that it should be a priority. If you work from home, you’re probably no longer contributing to a 401(K). You want to retire, right? Maybe you want to retire early.
And once that money starts making money… oh, boy. Now I’m obsessed with it. Betterment has some tools to help you get started investing. They have no minimum balance and minimum deposit requirements.
Acorns is another popular beginner investor option. It rounds up your purchases and then invests the difference. There is no minimum to start.
6. Interest
I don’t earn much in interest, but I will take whatever money people throw at me. Last year our bank ran a promotion where any savings deposited within a certain period earned a higher rate. You can bet we took advantage of that opportunity. Again, make it a bill. An emergency fund is therefore very important.
7. Cash Back Program
Make sure your credit card works for you. I earned a little over $400 in cash back bonuses from Discover last year. My earnings from Ebates, not including the huge amount I earn from referrals, is about $150. Then there is Ibotta and others. Again, easy money, folks. What’s your excuse?
8. Reselling
While I’m not an avid reseller on a platform like FBA, even though I do it seems pretty cool, every once in a while we get a chance to flip something for some extra cash. We have bought some raw land in the past that we sat on for a while and then sold for a big profit.
Check Craigslist for items to flip. Start small and work your way up to bigger ticket items as you reinvest your profits. Not every flip is going to pay off big time, but you can hit a winner every time.
What’s next for us? I’m not sure yet. We are definitely in the market for other business opportunities, we just haven’t found the perfect one yet. We’re not interested in being landlords, so it’s out. I have seen some really cool ideas Side Hustle Nation We can try though.
How to diversify income
Get out your handy journal and create four columns:
- service
- product
- Affiliate Opportunity
- other
Where you start your service is probably going work at home Journey When you need money now and regularly, you have more control over it. Do you have skills that are marketable?
Next, consider what products you can make and make available for sale. These are concepts that are expected to be more passive in nature. Platforms like SendOwl, Amazon and Zazzle will deliver your products to customers so you don’t have to worry about packing and shipping.
- Ebook
- eCourse
- book printing
- t-shirt
- Handmade products
Affiliate Opportunity
If you are not a blogger, don’t pass up the opportunity to earn affiliate income. As a service provider, there are probably a few things you use that you can promote to your clients if applicable.
For example, Flywheel set up their platform to allow easy transfers from web designers to their clients so that those clients continue to make their monthly web hosting payments. Think about the products you use in your freelance business and if your website could benefit from them. Now, see if they have a referral or affiliate program.
And don’t forget referral programs for services you personally use that can also be great for your family and friends. Here are a few I use:
- Ebates – Get $5 for every qualified person you refer
- Swagbucks – Earn 10% of referral earnings for life
- Stitch Fix – Get $25 in store credit per referral
- Ibotta – Get $5 for every friend you refer
other
This is the bucket for all those other little income generators and investment opportunities.
- Improvement – Investment
- Acorns – Round up your purchases and invest extra costs
- number – Automatic saving
Conclusion
It’s important to have your main gig in place before adding more to the mix. If you reduce your efforts too much, you’ll find that you’re not making much money anywhere. The same goes for additional means. Put one completely in place before moving on to the next.
Also, as you can see from the examples of how I diversify income, the more passive the better. I don’t bother with investments. Sell my digital products with the sales funnels I have. Flipping is something we do from time to time when the opportunity arises. We are not actively looking for them at this time. Don’t choose three income streams that each require 40 hours per week of your time.
I’d love to hear how you’ve created multiple streams of income. Please leave me a comment.
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