Today I’d like to cover 7 of the best ways for teenagers to make money online. I started trying to make money online back in high school and ran into so many scams and ways that didn’t work. I’ve been making money online now for over three years and know the best ways for teens to get started making money online.
On this list, you’ll find some ways to make quick cash and also a few ways that might not make you much now, but can be a huge income a few years down the road. I know it’s hard to pass a $20 income now, but take a hard look at the first option on the list. It may not make you the money you’re looking for now, but can be a full-time income if you stick with it.
I’ll quit lecturing now, here’s some awesome easy ways for teens to make money online.
7 Easy Ways For Teens To Make Money Online
Start A Blog
I started blogging in 2013 and wish I’d started much sooner. I’m only 22, but I wish I’d started back in high school. I can’t even imagine where my site would be if it were 5+ years old. It’s ideal to get started as soon as possible because it does take time to build up traffic and an income.
I recommend this method first for a few reasons. Mainly because if you start a website/blog now, dedicate a few hours a week, and stick with it. In 2-3 years you could have a huge online income. It’s not the best option for “Fast Cash,” but it’s a great option due to the financial capabilities long term.
You should build a blog about something you’re interested in, in other words, “a niche.”
With your blog you can make money different ways through ads, affiliate sales, private advertising and much more.
I know this list is about free ways, but I’d recommend buying your own domain name and hosting. Free platforms don’t seem to get the same results, and you don’t own the site. You can usually get started for around $10.
If it sounds confusing to you, don’t worry. Creating a website and learning how to make money with a blog is easier than ever. Check out my Wealthy Affiliate review; it’s a great option to find out how it all works for completely free.
Start A YouTube Channel
My next favorite option is starting a YouTube channel. This is another option that does take some time to build up a following and an income. Really until your channel is very popular the only way to monetize your channel is through ads.
This won’t be a big income at first because you’ll need a lot of views to make good money, but here’s what I’ve done. I’ve posted one video a week for the last 16 months. I’m now making $100 or so a month just by people watching ads and my videos.
Again it takes time to build up, which is why it’s a great option for teens. Start a channel now, spend an hour or two a week uploading videos, and you can have a decent income in a few years.
If you do decide to start a YouTube channel, I’d recommend making videos that interest you. That will make it easier to get started and stick with it.
Sell On eBay
To sell on eBay, you’ll need a PayPal and eBay account. Both require you to be 18, but you can create both with your parent’s permission.
I ran an eBay store for about a year and was able to make $800-$1,000 a month by selling old stuff, buying things from buy and sell shops, and by going to storage auctions.
It does require some work since you have to ship each item, but it can be profitable if you have some good things laying around the house. Your parents might be able to help, see if they have stuff to sell and offer to sell it for them for a cut.
If you’re under 18, this might not be the best option, but with your parent’s permission and help it can be a profitable way to make some extra money online.
Head over to eBay and sign up for an account to get started.
Sell On Etsy
If you have a creative side, selling on Etsy might be a great option. Again you’ll need parents permission to get started, but it can be a profitable business.
Etsy is a good place to sell crafty items that you can create. I don’t have any experience with Etsy, but I know that it’s a good way to make some money online selling what you can make. If you’re going to make creative items, it’s a much better option over eBay.
If you have a cool and creative item you can make, head on over to Etsy and sign up for a selling account.
Sell On Fiverr
Fiverr is a website that lets you sell services for $5, well you get $4 because Fiverr takes $1 per sell, but it’s still a great way to earn some extra cash if you have a skill.
I’ve used Fiverr a bit; I mainly used it to sell guest posts and advertising on my websites, but you can create a Fiverr “Gig” for almost anything.
Some of the more popular categories are web design, graphic design, voice overs, advertising, writing, and music. But almost anything can be a profitable Fiverr Gig.
If you have a skill or a unique idea, check out Fiverr and see if you can get started making some money. I recommend keeping it simple; you’ll only get paid $4 so make sure it’s not something that takes up too much of your time.
Take Online Surveys
One of the most popular and “go to” ways for teens to make money online is through paid online surveys. I like surveys, but you should know that they won’t be a huge income.
The good thing about survey sites is, most sites allow anyone over the age of 13 to join and it’s easy work.
I do recommend a few surveys sites, but to me, it’s not the best way to make money online for teens. Yes, you can make $10-$25 a month, but if you take surveys each month for five years, you’ll still be earning $10-$25 a month.
That’s why I recommend a Blog and YouTube Channel much more. Down the road, you could have a much larger income with the same amount of time invested.
But, if you’d like to try some surveys, here are the sites I highly recommend.
Extra Income Websites
The last way to make money online as a teenager is through extra income sites. This is just like Paid Online Surveys, but there’re different ways to earn.
Again these sites won’t grow down the road; you’ll still have to use them, and in 5 years you’d still be making the same. But these sites can pay you to do things like search the internet, watch videos, complete offers, and much more.
I won’t list all the options here, just visit all of these Extra Income Sites I Recommend to learn more
Make Money Online As A Teenager
Hopefully, you enjoyed this list of great easy ways for teens to make money online. My personal favorite is starting a website/blog. It’s what I did, and I think it gives you the best income potential. I know it can be hard to have the mindset of small income now and a significant income down the road, but I know if you make the choice you’ll be very happy that you did.
Any of the other options are great too, but just know that the income potential doesn’t raise over time. If you make $10 a month taking surveys now, you’ll still be earning close to the same amount in a few years.
But the choice is yours; these are all scam free legitimate ways for a teen to make an online income. If you’d like to learn more about starting a website, visit My #1 Recommendation to find out how to get started for completely free.
What option do you think is best? Are you already making money online as a teenager?
Those are all very good ways of making money not only for teenagers but for people in general. There has been a cultural shift introduced by the internet and the possibility is enormous. However we should all start small and build upon that. Most importantly we should, blog, vlog about thing we like. I think that’s most important. Which on of the 7 ways would you suggest to your teenage boy/girl?
Hey Sam!
Thank you for taking the time to read and you’re right, these are 7 of the best ways for anyone to make money online.
Since I run a few blogs I think you know what I’m about to say, blogging or even as you mentioned vlogging (or niche based youtube channel) (can even be a combination of blog and channel) is what I recommend.
The big thing is, as you mentioned, you start out small and slowely increase your following/traffic. As your traffic increases your income usually increases.
Once you start to grow the process just repeats and you continue to create new content and keep growing your traffic, following, and income.
By far the biggest advantage is 3 years ago I sat down to write a post about a site. To this day I still make money from that post and the program I promote on that post is one of my biggest earners each month. You don’t just do the work, get paid, and then do the work again. You do the work once and can leverage what you’ve already done to continue to earn 3+ years down the road!
Hope this answered your question. Check out My #1 Recommendation to learn more about the process of what I talked about above!
Brok
Hi, I find some of these items you mentioned here very useful, in fact some are new to me, like Etsy. I know somebody who might try it, a person who is making some practical peaces of art, though not a teenager of course. But is this really for teenagers? I am not sure, many of these possibilities are terribly time consuming. My children are grown up now and I think I would be concerned about their studies if they were engaged in these activities. Perhaps a YouTube channel and online surveys would be OK, I am not sure really.
Jovo,
I personally ran an ebay store while in college, and yes it is time consuming, but anything that makes you money is. Even blogging or YouTube videos are time consuming up front and to really make a decent passive income you’ll have to put a lot of work in.
All I can say is all of these methods do require work and time, if you can’t devote the time there’s not really a chance of being successful.
Brok
There are certainly a few good suggestions here for teenagers to make money on the internet. You have obviously done your research! Personally I believe that the best way for anyone to make money online is to build a long lasting business that they can grow over time. Being a teenager gives you the advantage of being young enough to grow your business over a long period of time.
Hey Andrew,
Glad you agree that building a website is the best way for a teenager to build a long term business. I always tell teens if they can learn how to do it and then devote 2-3 hours a week they could have a profitable online business by the time they’re out of school.
I got started when I was 20 and really wish I would have started much much sooner!
Brok
Hey Brok,
I love these methods of earning money, how I wished I stumbled upon them back then while I was studying! Would have been able to pay my own fees lol.
Blogging is something very intriguing to me, I’ve heard so many people getting success over it but also there are others not succeeding in it. I want to start blogging, you inspire me but what advice could you give me in order to succeed if you don’t mind sharing? Cheers
Hey Riaz,
Thanks for checking out my recommendations and you’re right that there’s many people succeeding, but even more that don’t. Really the only way you can fail is by giving up. Most people are looking for instant results and that’s not how it works.
It takes time to gain traffic and start making money blogging. My recommendation would be to start as soon as possible. The next advice would be to keep at it. It’s not going to be an over night thing you’ll have to consistently work at it to become successful.
But a great place to start is at Wealthy Affiliate.
Hope this helps,
Brok