In the pre-pandemic era, working online was considered a borderline endeavor yielding borderline results, mostly for the random nature of the income generated this way. In today’s world, making money online is no longer an option available only to six-figure social media influencers and select few professionals like artists and writers.
Whether you are looking to earn some pocket money online or hope to find a source of reliable income to ensure your wellbeing long-term, we’ve got you covered.
Advantages of Working Online
Making money online has become the sweet spot for many people – you don’t need to leave your home and still earn money. The advantages of working from home are numerous and include the following:
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flexible work schedule
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increased productivity
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potentially better work/life balance
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financial independence
Working online allows you to start and end your day as you see appropriate. You can sleep in till afternoon or work until after midnight. You can take a day off in the middle of the week or keep going on weekends if you feel inclined. You are no longer bound by established office hours, and can exercise full control over your work schedule.
It lets you focus on what really matters – your work.
As a result, your productivity will likely get a dramatic boost compared to working in an office, where you show up in a depressed mood, sleepy, exhausted and without a shadow of motivation. You no longer need to deal with an abusive boss and sneaky colleagues or worry about bad weather and being stuck in traffic.
When done right, working online contributes to a better work/life balance, and with due amount of effort, eventually leads to financial independence.
However, advantages of working at home can easily turn into disadvantages.
First of all, high productivity requires you to stay focused on your task. This is easier done in the office than at home because a good office environment provides extra motivation, while you need to check on your performance yourself when working at home.
Then, there’s also a danger of falling into the other extreme. The office helps you draw the line between professional and personal life, even if you overwork regularly. At home, on the other hand, it is easy to lose that distinction and work longer than you should. Sooner or later, this will inevitably result in burn-out and procrastination.
It helps to keep track of both advantages and disadvantages of working online as they reveal themselves and relate to your particular circumstances.
With that said, making money online is still a better option for the majority of people around the world, even if for the simple reason they can reasonably expect more for the same amount of intellectual effort than they would if they were regular employees in their home countries.
So how can we earn money online in real life?
How to Make Money Online in Nigeria
The global expansion of the Internet created opportunities that align with skills and passions of every person alive. In essence, it means that no matter your skill set, you can earn money with it online. In fact, you don’t even need a skill set to begin with, although you always should seek to develop one (or many).
You can earn money online by:
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taking surveys
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apps & websites testing
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typing texts
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writing reviews
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copywriting
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translating
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trading & investing
These jobs are available from anywhere with Internet access and you can begin by taking the ones that don’t need any qualifications. As your skills add up, you can work toward accomplishing tasks that require more expertise and are paying better.
Taking Surveys
Taking paid surveys online won’t make you rich, but it is a simple and easy way to make extra money on the side, especially as a means to pay for minor expenses.
Sites like LifePoints, Swagbucks, InboxDollars, Opinion Outpost allow you to make money by answering questions, playing games and watching videos. The rewards vary depending on the task and the platform, and can range from as low as 5 cents and all the way up 20 dollars.
Here you earn points which can then be redeemed for gift cards or cashed via PayPal after reaching the minimum withdrawal amount.
Apps & Websites Testing
You can get paid for testing websites and applications, which comes down to simply using some website or application and then providing your feedback.
To become a paid tester, you will use website testing platforms such as Userlytics, UserTesting, TestingTime, UserFeel. This job pays more than taking surveys, and you can reasonably expect anywhere between $5 and $120 per task.
Ironically, this is a type of side hustle where the less experienced you are the better as companies and developers need their products tested by simple users, not professional testers.
Another option is bug testing where you are paid for finding important technical issues.
Typing Texts
Due to its simplicity and low entry level, online typing jobs are one of the most popular forms of making money from home. The only qualifications you need for this kind of job are good and error-free typing skills.
Typing jobs options include data entry (adding data from an external file into some system or spreadsheet), transcribing (writing out words from an audio or video file), captioning (listening and preparing captions), captcha typing (typing the words from different types of images).
Companies that offer transcription jobs:
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DailyTranscription
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Aberdeen
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OneSpace
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TranscribeMe
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CastingWords
Unlike the previous two entries, this gig can be a full-time job and a reliable source of income provided you have excellent typing skills and can work through the drudgery of it.
Writing Reviews
Writing reviews can be considered an extension to apps & websites testing with emphasis on your feedback. You try out some service or product and write a short review about it. Businesses may be interested in hearing honest stories from the users of their products, and can pay you for these reports (usually, on the order of $10-20 per review).
Apart from direct offers by companies, which they typically post on online marketplaces, there are specialized sites where you can look for this type of job. These are:
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ReviewStream
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CrowdTap
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UserTesting
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GetReviewed
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Blogsvertise
Once you get the hang of it, you can take it to the next level and look for a copywriting job.
Copywriting
Copywriting refers to creating content for online or offline publications. This content can be anything including web pages and sales pages, social media posts and blog posts, white papers and how-to guides.
This is an area which is accessible to both beginner writers and professionals, freelancers and full-time corporate writers. Sites that help you start off on this path are:
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Upwork
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Freelancer
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Fiverr
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Contena
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SolidGigs
It is also paying to participate in online communities and become a member of thematic forums of your interest. Once you build a solid reputation there, you are set to get a steady income from the local community.
A personal page on sites like LinkedIn won’t hurt either.
Translating
If you are fluent in two or more languages, you can monetize your lingual skills and generate some extra money from online translation jobs.
And to help you get started with these jobs, there are a number of freelance platforms that serve as an intermediary between translators and companies as well as individuals that need translations:
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Upwork
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TranslatorsCafe
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Fiverr
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OneHourTranslation
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Unbabel
As with copywriting, your goal is to build a strong customer base along with a solid portfolio of translations that in due course will start paying off – and quite handsomely at that.
Trading & Investing
As Warren Buffett puts it, if you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die. Investing allows you to earn money without having to work your fingers to the bone just to provide enough sustenance for yourself and your family. But unlike other methods of making money online, you need initial capital here. And that’s why you need online jobs – to be able to eventually step up your game by investing.
The easiest and most accessible way of investing online is crypto.
In fact, if you get paid in cryptocurrency directly, you will already be invested in digital assets simply by accepting payment in the coin of your choice. Then all you need to do is exchange some of your coins for fiat, wait until the price goes down (it invariably will, even if for a brief moment) and reinvest the profits. The same applies if you are paid in fiat, but in reverse order.
In case you are going to use the Nigerian Naira for fiat on- and offramps, your best choice would be peer-to-peer marketplaces, for example, Bitpapa. This marketplace allows you to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Toncoin, Monero and USDT for Naira in a safe and secure manner:
By investing even a small fraction of your income and then reinvesting profits earned, you prime yourself for achieving true financial freedom and independence, Warren Buffett style.
This should be the ultimate goal in your pursuit of making money online.
As a Wrap-Up
Working online has been a sweet dream since the dawn of the Internet, and the truth is, today you can easily make that dream come true if you are not lazy and have a functioning brain. The Internet provides a wealth of job opportunities that you can sign up for right from your bedroom (or basement) regardless of where you are, what your age or race might be.
And once you get the ball rolling, all that remains to be done is letting your money work for you.
FAQ
Q: Can I Make Money Online Without Paying Anything?
A:Yes, you can. In fact, this is exactly what jobs are for – to get paid, not pay. For most online jobs, you only need an Internet connection and a computer.
Q: How Can I Make Legit Money Online in Nigeria?
A: Start small by signing up for simple jobs like taking surveys and website testing, then slowly work your way up in the world. Remember, sure and steady wins the race
Q: How to Make Money Online in Nigeria by Watching Videos?
A: Sites that pay you for taking surveys also offer playing games and watching promotional videos for money
Q: How to Make Money Online in Nigeria as a Student?
A: You can start by writing short reviews and essays, or you can apply for an app and website testing job
