By: Dannie Phan | October 16th, 2020

When it comes to making extra money, there are some more common paths you can take – and some that may surprise you. In the age of the internet, this is especially the case. If you want to try and earn money in a niche field, you have the opportunity to do so, sometimes without leaving the comfort of your home.

Weird ways to Make Money

If you’re looking for a career that doesn’t see you going into an office every day, you can always try your hand at any of the following:

Paint A Dumpster (or Other Local Structures)

Everyone loves to spot a mural while they’re out and about on the town. Did you know you can get paid to paint murals for your city? If you have a talented artistic mind, or if you want to provide the trash cans in your area with a new paint job, you can work with representatives from your city to make the rounds and bring certain local elements back up to snuff.

The amount of extra cash you’ll make taking on these types of positions will vary based on the extent to which you alter a surface’s appearance. Even so, you’ll want to negotiate with those parties interested in hiring you to make sure you can make at least minimum wage while you work.

Advertise With Your T-Shirt

Everyone is looking for new and exciting ways to advertise the products they want to sell. Not only can you wrap your car, for example, but you can also work with a manufacturer to advertise a product with your clothing. While it’s true that you may not make a significant amount of money, you can still take in a free product as well as a bit of cash in exchange for varying your wardrobe – and that’s hardly a bad thing!

Manage A Fictional Character’s Social Media Account

People always want to try and interact with the characters from movies, books and television they feel especially close to. You can take advantage of that desire and create an online account for the characters that you think may generate the most engagement.

Some examples already exist, like Emo, Kylo Ren, and Guy In Your M.F.A. Should you make an account that can draw a comparable crowd, you can leave a link to a donation platform in your profile, or you can work with manufacturers to advertise products that you think the character you’re depicting may be interested in.

Upcycle People’s Belongings

DIY culture has taken a significant chunk of the online world by storm. You’ll find all manner of people taking on projects that allow them to upcycle the belongings they have in their home or find on Craigslist and eBay.

Not only can you take advantage of the belongings you no longer use, but you can sell your services as an upcycler to those parties who feel they may benefit from your artistic input. This way, you can take in an income for the time you spend upcycling something as well as for the cost of shipping.

Sell Fake Pets

Pet rocks may have been popular in the 1970s, but much like Dungeons and Dragons, they’re making a comeback. You can sell these kinds of pet kits to families that don’t want to invest in a cat or dog’s everyday needs. Platforms like Etsy make it easy to reach out to these audiences with paid advertising and audience generation tools.

Become An Influencer

The rise of social media has also offered ambitious content creators a new way to make money. These parties can now work as influencers, depicting a lifestyle, aesthetic or overall appearance that viewers online may want to emulate.

Influencers most often make money through sponsorship deals, as manufacturers are more excited to team up with them when they have a substantial and mutual audience. If you can become an influencer, you can begin to foster these types of partnerships while also generating income off of the content you share.

Cash In On Your Pet’s Good Looks

In a similar vein, you can raise your pet to influencer status. Everyone online, for example, loves cute animal pictures. If you begin to generate a substantial following, you can once again pair up with manufacturers who want news about their products to reach your audience.

Note also that even pets with health conditions or strange appearances can become influencers. Sphinx cats, in particular, generate cult followings on platforms like Instagrams, as their owners love to bond over their unconventional yet endearing appearances.

Take Stock Photos

If you have a talent for photography and a good sense of humor, you can also start to bring in money by taking stock photos with your friends. While you won’t get rich taking these sorts of pictures, you can begin to generate cents per use by sharing your photos online or by selling them to small business and people most interested in their generalized use.

Draw Clip Art

Comparatively, if you have a strong hand for drawing, you may be able to cash in on your skill by drawing clip art for companies who wish to use it to their advantage on sites like Fiverr.  Clip art helps the less-artistic people in the world use visual aids to their advantage. When you provide a consumer audience with more content to use – much like those parties who create emojis do – you can work a side hustle while also expanding your portfolio and professional connections.

Write

If you’re fast with the written word or know how to craft a story out of the strangest of topics, then you always have the option of applying to work as a freelance writer. Note that working in such a position doesn’t mean you’ll get to sit down and write about what you want day in and day out.

Instead, your work as a freelance writer may find you taking on strange and unusual topics. You may find yourself writing about HVAC systems one week and an ebook for Amazon the next week. In these types of situations, you have to be flexible and willing to do some research on the fields you may not have direct experience in. Should that sound appealing, you can request payment for your services that allows you to forgo a traditional career altogether.

Use Ads To Your Advantage

If you have a blog or another online platform, why not pair it with Google Ads? Google’s ads help you bring in money for every click you generate courtesy of connections with companies that want to reach your same audience. The process doesn’t require that much of you. You only need to sign up for the platform, and Google can begin to pair your content with ads that the algorithm believes may best suit your shared audiences.

Sing Online

Musicians and performers are always going to have an industry to work in, even if that industry moves online. Luckily, platforms like YouTube can help both aspiring and established singers alike build their audiences and generate some income.

If you can carry a tune, or if you fancy yourself a strong performer, you can share your work on platforms like YouTube or TikTok. There, you can start to generate ad money while also building your audience. If you have enough people interested in your work, you may have the chance to open up a Patreon account, which will let you accept money from patrons on a monthly basis.

Rent Out Your Property

If you aren’t home often, or if you have a shed on your property that you feel up to converting, you can always rent out your space through platforms like Airbnb. Folks looking to get away from home or for an interesting place to stay that isn’t a hotel will flock to a well-kept environment. In return for providing them with a clean space to stay, you get to keep not only a rental fee but whatever other fees you wish to charge, including those for the cleaning services you may need to hire after your renters leave.

Play Games Online

If you’re a fan of video games, you can also try to make a living by streaming your favorites online through platforms like Twitch in your spare time. A gamer can generate ad revenue while also requesting tips and subscriptions from viewers, who in turn can drive up your viewership and help you gain a larger following.

If you’re not so interested in building a platform from the ground up, you can instead reach out to the many platforms, like Swagbucks, that can help you earn points and cash while playing the games established on their sites.

If you want to use your internet connection to your full advantage in your quest to make money through the weirdest and unusual ways, why not create a Swagbucks account and make money online.

For additional inspiration on making money on the side, check out gig apps like InboxDollars, Task Rabbit, or MyPoints.

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