Okay, so last weekend I was sitting in my favorite coffee shop (you know, the one with that barista who always misspells my name in increasingly creative ways—last time it was “Jaymie” when my name isn’t even remotely close to that), and I overheard these college kids talking about making money online. One of them was bragging about making $500 from some random app, and I almost spit out my overpriced latte.
It got me thinking about my own journey with online income—the embarrassing failures, small wins, and that one time my aunt Marge thought I was involved in something illegal because I couldn’t properly explain what “digital marketing” was at Thanksgiving dinner. So I figured, why not share what I’ve learned? The internet truly is this weird, wonderful money playground, and with 2025 around the corner (how is it almost 2025 already?!), there’s never been a better time to jump in.
1. Content Creation: Where Personality Pays
Let’s be honest—I’ve spent WAY too many hours watching people organize their fridges on TikTok. But those people? They’re making serious bank from sponsors, affiliate deals, and platform partnerships. It’s wild.
When my job went remote back in 2022, I started a YouTube channel documenting my “digital nomad” life. Spoiler alert: it flopped HARD. Turns out nobody wanted to watch me struggle with bad WiFi in different Airbnbs while complaining about my boss. But my friend Dani started one about restoring vintage furniture finds, and she just quit her day job last month! The difference? She actually had something specific to offer. She found her people.
The lesson? Personality matters, but so does purpose. Find that sweet spot where your weird interests meet what people actually want to see. And for the love of everything, invest in decent lighting. My early videos looked like hostage footage, which didn’t exactly scream “professional content creator.”
2. Freelancing: The Rollercoaster I Can’t Quit
I’ve been freelancing on and off since 2019, and it’s been… a journey. Remember when the pandemic hit and suddenly EVERYONE was a freelancer? That was fun competition.
My first gig was writing product descriptions for a company that sold—I kid you not—luxury dog houses. $15 per description, and I had to use phrases like “bespoke canine architecture” with a straight face. But it paid for groceries that month, so who was I to complain?
Last Tuesday, I logged into Upwork and saw that one of my regular clients had referred me to someone paying actual decent rates for once. That’s the thing about freelancing—it’s feast or famine. January was so slow I contemplated applying to the local grocery store, but February was my best month ever. Go figure.
If you’re thinking about diving in, start with what you’re already good at. And maybe have some savings, because nothing tests your creative invoicing skills quite like an empty refrigerator and rent due in three days.
3. E-commerce: My Mom’s Surprising Side Hustle
So my mom—who once asked me if Twitter was “that texting thing”—now makes more money on her Etsy shop than I do some months with my “fancy college degree.” The irony is not lost on me.
She started selling these hand-painted bird feeders after retiring, mainly to keep busy. Now she’s got a wait list and had to recruit my dad to help with shipping. At Thanksgiving (the same one where Aunt Marge thought I was in digital crime), Mom was showing off her new iPad that she bought “with bird feeder money.” Meanwhile, I was eating their food because it was the end of the month and freelance checks hadn’t cleared yet.
The e-commerce world is absolutely exploding. With those AI-generated product photos (which still look kinda creepy if you ask me) and one-click shopping, it’s ridiculously accessible. My neighbor’s kid—who is TWELVE, by the way—made $400 last month selling custom gaming controller skins. When I was twelve, I was eating Doritos and trying to beat Mario Kart, but whatever.
4. Online Courses: That Time I Paid $200 to Learn Sourdough
During those weird pandemic months, I impulse-bought a sourdough bread course from some guy with perfect teeth and a suspiciously clean kitchen. Two hundred bucks to watch videos of someone making bread! And yet, there I was at 2 AM, staring anxiously at my “starter,” wondering if it was supposed to smell like that.
The funny thing? Despite my kitchen looking like a flour bomb went off, I actually learned to make decent bread. And that guy with the perfect teeth? He mentioned in the last video that he made over $400K from that course alone.
Last month, my coworker launched a course teaching people how to organize digital photos. DIGITAL PHOTOS. Something we all need but nobody wants to do. She made enough in the first week to pay off her car. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to figure out why my phone keeps telling me I’m out of storage.
If you’ve got knowledge about literally anything—coding, knitting, how to talk to cats, whatever—there’s probably someone willing to pay to learn it. Just please, for the love of everything, check your audio quality. Nothing says “waste of money” like a course where the instructor sounds like they’re teaching from inside a vacuum cleaner.
5. Affiliate Marketing: My Failed Influencer Era
Let me tell you about the time I tried to become an “influencer” and promote those meal kit services. I got exactly THREE people to sign up using my code—my mom, my sister, and my best friend (who only did it so I’d stop asking). Total earnings: a whopping $45 and a very bruised ego.
The problem wasn’t the concept—affiliate marketing works. The problem was that I have approximately zero influence and was trying to sell something I didn’t even use regularly. Now I only share links to stuff I actually love, like this weird Japanese pen that changed my note-taking game, or the backup battery that saved my butt during that power outage when I had a deadline.
Just last week, I made $78 when someone bought a standing desk I recommended in a random comment on Reddit. I’d completely forgotten I even included my affiliate link. Found money is the best money!
6. Virtual Real Estate: Still Don’t Get It, Still Curious
So this guy at my cousin’s wedding would NOT stop talking about how he bought “land” in some metaverse platform and has been renting it out as “virtual retail space.” He was either a visionary or completely delusional—the wine was flowing so it was hard to tell.
But then I saw an article last month about someone who sold virtual property for enough to put a down payment on an ACTUAL HOUSE. A real house! With walls and a roof! Bought with money from fake land! What is even happening?
I still can’t wrap my head around paying real money for something that exists only in digital space, but then again, I spent $15 on a PDF planner last week, so who am I to judge? If the metaverse really takes off like Facebook—sorry, “Meta”—keeps insisting it will, maybe virtual real estate is the new frontier. Or maybe we’ve collectively lost our minds. Time will tell!
7. Podcasting: My Three-Episode Wonder
Remember when everyone and their mother started a podcast during lockdown? Yeah, I was part of that statistic. My roommate and I launched “Two Girls, One Couch”—a podcast about our adventures in online dating. We recorded three episodes, spent way too much on fancy microphones, and then promptly gave up when we realized editing audio is basically torture.
But my dental hygienist (of all people) started a podcast about true crime in our small hometown and now gets recognized at the grocery store. She just signed a sponsorship deal with some mattress company. A MATTRESS company sponsoring CRIME stories. Make it make sense!
The podcast market is definitely saturated, but there’s always room for authentic voices. Just maybe have a plan beyond “two people talking about stuff they find interesting.” And invest in a good microphone—nothing makes listeners flee faster than audio that sounds like it was recorded in a subway tunnel during rush hour.
8. Stock Photography: That Time My Cat Almost Made Me Rich
Last spring, I uploaded a bunch of photos from a hike to a stock photography site, then promptly forgot about it. Six months later, I got an email saying I’d earned $12.42. Free money! For photos I was going to take anyway!
The real potential came when my ridiculous cat, Professor Whiskers, accidentally photobombed my attempt at taking artsy photos of my houseplants. That cat photo has sold 27 times. The carefully composed houseplant photos? Zero sales. There’s probably a lesson there about not overthinking things, but mostly I’m just annoyed that my cat is apparently a better content creator than I am.
My friend who’s an actual photographer says the trick is volume and keywording. She uploads hundreds of images monthly and makes enough to cover her car payment. Not life-changing money, but definitely not nothing for work she’s already doing.
9. Remote Work: The Pants-Optional Lifestyle
The greatest trick I ever pulled was convincing my boss I was “at my desk” while actually sitting on my balcony with my laptop balanced on a laundry basket. Remote work has changed everything.
After three jobs and one very regrettable stint as a “virtual assistant” for a guy who didn’t understand time zones (3 AM Slack messages should be illegal), I’ve finally found my groove with a company that’s fully remote. The job itself is pretty standard marketing stuff, but I can do it from anywhere with WiFi, which meant I could spend last month working from my parents’ house, saving on rent while helping my dad recover from surgery.
When my friend lost her retail job in 2021, she panic-applied to 40 remote customer service positions. Now she’s a team lead making 30% more than at her old job, and she hasn’t worn real pants to work in years. The dream!
Remote work isn’t just a pandemic trend—it’s here to stay. Just make sure you have a backup internet plan. Nothing induces panic quite like your WiFi dropping during an important meeting and having to join from your phone while sitting in your car outside a McDonald’s. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything…
10. NFTs and Digital Art: My $7 Investment
Full disclosure: I spent $7 on an NFT of a cartoon penguin wearing sunglasses last year. Why? I have no idea. FOMO, probably. It’s now worth approximately nothing, but I enjoy looking at my penguin, so maybe that’s worth the seven bucks.
My colleague’s teenage son, however, sold a collection of digital art NFTs featuring bizarre, melting ice cream cones and made enough to pay for his first semester of college. COLLEGE! From melting ice cream art! Meanwhile, I have student loans that will outlive me.
The whole NFT space feels like the Wild West—equal parts exciting opportunity and straight-up gambling. But for creative types with digital skills, it represents a way to monetize art without gatekeepers. My graphic designer friend says it’s transformed how she thinks about her work’s value.
Will NFTs still be a thing in 2025? Who knows! But the underlying concept—digital ownership and creative monetization—isn’t going anywhere.
Wrapping It Up: Just Start Somewhere
So there you have it—my thoroughly non-expert guide to making internet money. Some of these will be even bigger by 2025, others might fade away (looking at you, NFT penguin), but the fundamental truth remains: there’s never been a better time to monetize your skills, knowledge, or random photos of your cat.
My biggest regret isn’t the failed podcast or the sad YouTube channel or even Professor Whiskers outperforming me in stock photography. It’s all the times I talked myself out of starting something because I thought the market was too saturated or I wasn’t qualified enough.
The internet economy rewards action, not perfection. So pick something, anything, and start. Set up that Etsy shop selling your weird polymer clay earrings. Upload those travel photos gathering dust on your hard drive. Record that first podcast episode about vintage toasters or whatever you’re passionate about.
And when you make your first dollar online—whether it’s $1 or $1,000—celebrate it! Buy yourself a coffee. Or in my case, a catnip toy for Professor Whiskers. He’s earned it, apparently.
Actually, speaking of coffee—I’ve just realized mine went cold while writing this. Story of my life. Anyway, good luck out there in the digital gold rush, friends! May your WiFi be strong and your online ventures profitable.
P.S. If you happen to need a writer who frequently anthropomorphizes her cat and occasionally works from laundry-basket desks, my rates are reasonable and my deadline panic is excellent motivation. Just saying.
