By Kim Komando
© Milkos | Dreamstime.com
The gig economy is unstoppable. Pandemics? Social distancing? Staying home? No matter what life throws their way, hustlers will always adapt.
These days you can sell anything online. Say you’ve got some great photos on your phone camera — you can sell them online. If you’re a talented musician, dancer or voice actor, you can sell those skills online.
What if you don’t have a particular talent, but you’re a friendly person who loves to talk? Yep — you can monetize that, too! If you’re looking to make some quick cash online, you’ll love these 10 gigs we found.
1. Deliver groceries for Instacart or Shipt
COVID-19 means food delivery apps are flourishing. If you’ve ever used Instacart or Shipt, you know how convenient it is when you want to avoid the grocery store.
Tap or click here for four ways to order your groceries online safely.
Now is a great time to jump on the bandwagon. And even though you’re going to people’s homes, you can do contact-free delivery. You can even set your own hours. Plus, these apps are seeing more traffic than ever before, so you’re not likely to run out of jobs.
2. Sell your skills online
No matter what your skill is, you can sell it on Fiverr. Like writing? Sell your stories online. Like drawing? Sell your stick figures on Fiverr.
You can rap, you can say funny things in a robot voice or even read Tarot cards. Here are some random Fiverr gigs we found:
- I will teach you to speak with your pets telepathically
- I will say whatever you want in a Yoda impression
- I will throw a message in a bottle into the sea for you
- I will have fun reading your script as “Macho Man” Randy Savage or Hulk Hogan
- I will make an awesome breaking news video for you in 24 hours
Did any of these inspire you to come up with you own gig to offer? Just remember: If you can dream it, you can sell it on Fiverr.
3. Rent out your car
Are you working from home? Do you never leave the house? If so, you might want to find a new way to pay your monthly car bill. That’s where Turo comes in. It’s the world’s largest car-sharing marketplace. Here’s how it works:
List your car and upload some photos. Respond to requests so you can confirm or decline potential trips. Meet your guest so you can check their license, check the fuel and mileage, and walk around the car so you can notice if there are any new scratches when it’s returned.
After that, you can sit back and enjoy the passive income rolling in. When the rental period is over, the driver will return your car. And, according to the app, all drivers are expected to replace the gas they used.
“Your car is covered with up to $750,000 in liability insurance, contractual protection for damage and theft, and 24/7 roadside assistance throughout the trip in the US,” according to the Turo website.
4. Or you can decorate your car with advertisem*nts
Here’s another great way to use your car for passive cash. Check out Stickr.co. On this website, you can choose from multiple advertising campaigns.
Once you find an ad you like, sign up for the decal you want shipped to your home. Then:
- Place the ad on your vehicle’s back window (luckily, it’s see-through)
- Send a photo to the company to verify it’s properly installed
- You’ll start receiving monthly payments via PayPal or Direct Deposit
You can also do this through Wrapify. If you throw on multiple decals, you can make up to $452 a month. Just download the free Wrapify app on iOS or Android, sign up to become a driver and get matched to advertising campaigns. Now you’re making cash just by taking your normal commute.
5. Serve on a mock jury
Check out eJury, an online trial experience that helps attorneys develop their skills. You can make money as a mock juror, helping lawyers prepare for real trials.
Plus, you’re serving the justice system. Your work helps attorneys “determine case value, develop case themes, find the facts to emphasize, and learn ‘public’ attitudes,” according to the website.
You’ll get $5 to $10 for each verdict rendered. Of course, it depends on the length of the case you’re a part of.
If you join one case a week, you’ll earn almost enough to pay your monthly internet bill.
RELATED: Here’s how to find local court information
6. Sell your friendship
You’ve heard of online dating. But have you heard of online friending? You can meet new people online with Rent-A-Friend, a popular website with 100,000 users worldwide.
You can plan hangouts, like dinner, movies or trips to museums. Well, actually, you could do this before the pandemic. Due to Covid-19, there aren’t any more outdoor “friend dates,” but there’s a silver lining. Instead, you can provide “Virtual Friend Services” over FaceTime or Zoom.
You can also text people, talk over the phone or send each other letters as pen pals. It’s a great way to get paid for having fun. Plus, you’ll grow your social circle!
7. Put some ads on your phone’s lock screen
This is a great way to bring in some passive income. If you’ve got an Android phone, check out S’More. It’s one of the highest paying lockscreen apps.
You have to unlock your phone several or a dozen times in a day to watch the advertisem*nts. As long as your phone is unlocked, you’re sure to make at least a dime a day.
Beware of similar apps, though. A ton of apps that promise to make you money this way are scams. We checked out S’More and it looks legit, but make sure you don’t fall for any apps with poor reviews.
8. Sell your hair
Hair is always in high demand. Just think about all the elaborate wigs celebrities wear. If you’re lucky enough, one of your luscious locks could wind up in Ariana Grande’s collection.
Check out HairSellOn. You can make up to $4,000 on this website. First, you have to register for a free account and post an ad with some pictures of your “product.” Then, sit back and wait for the offers to roll in!
Best of all, there are tons of detailed categories. You can write in your length and color so people looking for hair like yours can find you quickly. There’s also a hair price calculator so you can get a good idea of which price to pick.
Another website you should check out is OnlineHairAffair,which offers tons of detailed tips that will help you find your best price. There’s also WorldofWigs, though this site only accepts hair that’s at least 12-inches long.
9. Livestream yourself eating or studying
This may sound strange. “Why would I film myself doing something so boring?” You may wonder. “Why would people want to watch that?”
Apparently, people love to watch strangers do ordinary things online. Anyone can make money by rolling a camera while they’re going about their day-to-day lives. Whether you’re a gamer, shopper, musician or student, you can run a camera and post it online.
This technique banks on the psychology of parasocial relationships. That’s a fancy way of referring to the one-sided feelings of friendship we get when watching others.
Just think about your favorite actor. When you see him or her giving an interview, don’t you feel close to them? You start to develop feelings of familiarity — even though they don’t even know you exist.
The same psychology comes into play when you’re livestreaming. Check out Twitch, the most popular streaming service out now, or even YouTube. With these livestreaming services, you can chat with strangers and start building a sense of familiarity.
Once people start to like you, they can send live donations. This may be hard to believe, but people have gotten huge donations just for playing games or eating in front of a camera. If you become a successful streamer, folks will start calling you an influencer!
RELATED: How livestream acts are taking over the internet
10. Play with pets
Who knew you could turn fun into a paycheck? With Rover, you can pet-sit animals near you. The app lets you find pet owners in your area who need people to look over their cats and dogs while they’re away.
Here’s what you can do:
- Feed the pets, play with them and give them medication
- Walk dogs whenever you’ve got an opening in your schedule
- Host a doggy daycare in your own home
- House sit or drop in on pets at their homes
- Care for a pet overnight at your place
According to Rover, this is the best way to make cash. “Sitters who offer boarding canmake up to 2x morethan sitters who don’t,” the website claims.
Interested? You can also sign up for Fetch! Pet Care or Petsitters.org. Just be ready to pass a background check. After all, people want to make sure you’ll take good care of their fluffy family members.
Tags: gig economy, groceries, Instacart, online, skills, social distancing, staying home, T, talent
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