Making money has never been easier before. In the digital age, there are several ways to earn more wealth — whether it is a side gig or a completely new venture. All you need is a powerful internet connection and a smartphone.

From building your own website to starting a blog or just playing games in your free time, you can easily earn extra money without breaking a sweat. Wondering what all options are available for you? Here’s an extensive list of online money-making ideas and gigs on the side. 

Real Money Gaming

By far, the most fun way of making money online is by playing online games for cash. The most popular online cash game in India is online rummy on ClassicRummy.com.

On the platform, players get a chance to sharpen their rummy skills, connect with others, win cash, and have fun while doing so. Classic Rummy hosts a variety of tournaments for players of all skill sets and has exclusive online rummy clubs based on their skill levels.

Higher the skill, more exclusive the club, bigger the tournaments, and bigger the cash prizes! And the best part — playing rummy for cash is legal in India!

Risks: 

• The number one risk while playing a game is that of losing it. 
• Players sometimes get carried away while playing, do not know when to hold back, and spend more savings than they should. 

Precautions: 

• Practice the game well, know your strengths before you start playing for money. 
• Set conservative spending limits and stop immediately once you cross that limit. 

Freelancing

Freelancing has become a popular way to earn money online. To be a successful freelancer, zero in on your strengths. From programming to video editing, writing and designing, there are umpteen options out there. 

Sign up on popular websites like Upwork, Fiverr, or Truelancer to find work by matching your skills with businesses looking to hire people. Based on your work, you can gradually work your way up the ladder and get better-paying assignments.

Risks: 

• Vendors looking for work might not be what they seem. Research well before signing up.
• There is a risk of plagiarism. Vendors might take free samples of your work and use them without paying you. 

Precautions: 

• Sign up only on well-known websites with a good track record. 
• Set realistic rates for your projects — too low and you might find it difficult to increase the price later. Too high, and you might not find work to begin with. 

Stock trading

Is there anything more appealing than the stock market especially when it is experiencing a bull run? That’s a time when most people try their hands at being a stock trader or at least investing a part of their savings in the stock market. 

With a plethora of platforms like Zerodha, Binance, and top banks offering trading facilities on online platforms, almost everyone can become a stock-trader now. While it is easy to make money when the market is rising, it can be quite disheartening when the market crashes. If you are looking to make money in stock trading, patience is the name of the game. 

Risk: 

• The unpredictability of the stock market is the biggest risk. No one can accurately predict how the indices will move and everyone is simply playing the stock market game based on past data and experience. 
• Different trading platforms have different transparency, ease of use, and brokerage fees. Carefully choose the one that fits your needs. 

Precautions:

• Do not put all your eggs in one basket. Diversify your investments with a portion in fixed income, safe investments, and some high-return risky investments. 
• Learn about the stock market before you wade in. If you do not have the time, take the help of a financial advisor. 

Travel Agent

Travel booking might be the most underrated, yet the most reliable way to make money online. After the lockdowns, travel is slated to pick up again in a big way making way for online travel agents or travel planners. While most bookings can be done online, people with hectic schedules and complex itineraries find the task of planning and booking their travel and vacations quite time-consuming. 

Hence, there is a dire need for travel agents to guide them through the process. You can work with websites like MakeMyTrip or ClearTrip in India and plan vacations while making a steady stream of income. 

Risks:

• Your earnings will depend upon your clients as well as the company you work for. So pick the company you work for carefully.
• The work of a travel agent can be seasonal which peaks during vacations and is slow otherwise.

Precautions:

• Stay focused, learn on the job and you could become an independent agent with your own roster of clients. 
• Save for a rainy day since the job is seasonal. 

Online Tutoring

The pandemic has given a major boost to the world of online education and it does not seem to slow down any time soon. If you have extensive knowledge about any subject — coding, academics, art, dance, music, singing — online tutoring might be worth giving a chance. 

Based on your level of knowledge and the subject you teach, you can vary your hourly rates from a few hundreds to a couple of thousands. Getting started is simple. Sign up on platforms like Udemy, Coursera, Freadom and follow their guidelines.

Risks:

• Reliability on the Internet is high so make sure you have a stable and fast connection.
• Online tutoring can be as time-consuming as a regular teaching job but lacks the benefits like health care and retirement benefits.

Precautions:

• Start with a well-known name to build up your credentials and move on to charging higher rates.
• Take care of your schedule as online teaching can be physically demanding. 
  

Selling Art And Designs: 

If you’re a creative soul, one of the most popular and appealing ways to make money online is by selling your art and designs. Many websites specialize in art and design — from Etsy to Society6 and Behance. They help in setting up your shop on their platform along with lucrative offers on marketing, sales, and shipping. 

No matter what you create — paintings, sculpture, embroideries, crochet, jewelry; there’s a market and buyers out there for your talent.

Risks:

• Plagiarism is rampant and people out there could just rip off your designs.
• Watermarking images and copywriting are important. 
  

Precautions: 

• Sign up only with reputed websites legit to reduce the chances of payment fraud, even if their charges are a bit high.
• Go through reviews and terms and conditions of various platforms thoroughly to avoid any disappointments.