Eight ways to make money online in South Africa for beginners
With the rise of internet-based tools to use, manipulate and share data, remote working has been made possible. The trend has picked up even more due to necessity of social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Online working is now replacing most offline service sector jobs and companies are now mostly hiring remotely rather than in office.
With the dawn of the internet age, many jobs have moved online, particularly those linked with service and information industries. The communication, productivity, analytical and collaboration tools have made it easier to share, analyse and use data. Information and data are the base of today’s businesses and most service sector jobs are based on that, be it banking, finance, governance, education, etc., while non-service sector jobs are also relying heavily on the internet these days to communicate, buy, sell and store data. With the rise of internet-based tools to use, manipulate and share data, remote working has been made possible.
The trend has picked up even more due to necessity of social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Online working is now replacing most offline service sector jobs and companies are now mostly hiring remotely rather than in office. The availability of online and freelance jobs on job sites has increased significantly since the start of this year. South Africans are now, more than ever, researching and searching for online jobs and ways to make money online as per Google Search Trends. We looked at how South Africans can work from home and legitimately make money online. Many diverse ways exist to make money online. These include full digital careers to part-time jobs. All you need is an internet connection, an electronic device and some job skills which are easy to learn.
Here are our eight most popular ways of making money online in South Africa:
- Freelancing
You can find several freelance and online jobs for diverse specialisations and skills. South Africans can earn money by offering their skills online. Online jobs are available in almost all areas, such as:
- Coding or programming
- Data analysis
- Financial analysis
- Customer Support
- Writing
- Digital marketing
- Video making and editing
- Artist, animation and graphics
- Photography
- Education/teaching
- Designing skills
- Others skills – such as transcription, translation, writing reviews online, data entry and surveys
Most of the above jobs require specialised skills in a particular field. If you have the required skills, you can apply for these jobs, or you can even gain skills through online learning to apply for these openings. You can also work online as per your schedule and in your free time; either full time or part-time on these jobs or even as a freelancer. Many companies are providing jobs online for the above skills and much more. You can search online for these freelance or part-time jobs and apply on websites like Upwork, Freelancer.com, Peopleperhour.com, olx.co.za, Indeed, pnet.co.za, careers24.com and careerjunction.co.za
- Online tutor/teaching
You can also take up online teaching/tutoring if you have a specific skill that others are ready to pay for to learn from you. Always remember that as a freelance professional tutor time is your most valuable commodity. Like others you also get just 24 hours a day. The more you teach and answer the queries of students, the more you can earn. There are three types of online coaching that you can provide in South Africa now:
- One-on-one coaching through Google Chat or webcam.
- Online group coaching is the second type of coaching that you can offer. It is a great way for leveraging your time and skills by grouping together like-minded individuals. You can then tutor them in a group instead of individually.
- You can also answer questions, solve problems and assist with assignments of students.
Here are a few teaching portals that you can start with: Cambly, Udemy, edX, Coursera, Chegg, Skillshare, Tutor.com, Turtlejar.co.za, teachme2.co.za
- Selling items online
As more and more South Africans are coming online and have access to the internet, they are purchasing services and goods on e-commerce sites which is a huge opportunity to make money. You can sell goods or services online on digital platforms. The goods can include anything, including things you can make yourself or source from others as well. For example, you can sell clothes, electronic goods, etc. You can even source goods from suppliers/manufacturers in other nations. These suppliers can ship them to the customers in your name through drop shipping. Always remember to do some online research for identifying assets sold recently. You can thus have a target price and profit margin. You can sell your items online on portals like eBay, TakeaLot.com, Jumia.co.za, bidorbuy.co.za, gumtree.co.za, olx.co.za, pricecheck.co.za, Amazon, AliExpress.
- Start investing
Almost all investing today is accessible and done online. People can now invest online with low initial capital through online trading and investing apps. One can invest in diverse instruments through online investing platforms and apps. These include Forex Trading, Bitcoin, Commodities, Shares, and Mutual Funds. South Africa now has thousands of investors and traders who trade and speculate online. One must be extremely cautious while investing in financial markets.
“Most stocks, currencies and commodities like oil lost much of their value in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which attracted the attention of many new and old investors who wanted to capitalise on volatile and cheap markets. Some of the instruments and stocks have rebounded and are back to their prior value or even higher than the year’s high in some cases.
This resulted in some investors gaining from this, while many others lost millions during this period,” explained Rahul from Forex Brokers.
“In most cases, many of the small investors don’t have access to timely information and they invest purely based on the sentiments that the price is low or with the fear of missing out; mostly following news and others blindly.” “This type of opportunistic investing practice can be very risky, even more so if done with herd mentality and without proper market research, and this can lead to great losses. One must only invest in an instrument after understanding its basics, risks and returns on investment.”
- Selling your Digital Products
You can create and sell your own e-products like eBooks, courses, software and photos. You may have just completed writing a novel or are in the process of writing one. It is a good business idea to share it with the world and generate income through it. Online courses are also another step in growing your digital business. You can do this through in-person workshops or teaching specific skills to people in a group. Websites like Amazon Kindle, Scribd, Clickbank and CJ are ideal for selling books and courses. Selling photos is also another good option to make money online. You must have an aptitude for photography to succeed. These platforms can have diverse requirements but you will get paid in hard cash nevertheless. You can use 123rf.com, iStockPhoto and Shutterstock for selling photos.
- Starting your Website or Blog
Starting your blog or a website is another option to make money online. You can write about what people are interested in reading or what you love. You can earn with the traffic you generate on your blog/website via affiliate marketing, Adsense or advertising. You can even create a membership website where users pay you for regular access to your expertise and/or resources. It is a great option for generating recurring income in return for offering value to your customers over some time. Over the last few years, online learning as an industry has expanded rapidly. It may be the right time now for you to create an online course in South Africa.
- Become a social media influencer
The viewership of social media and digital content platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube has now surpassed print and electronic media. Billions of users watch online videos on these platforms. Advertising and products worth billions are sold on them as well. You can become a social media influencer and create good content liked by people. It could include anything, like a parody, gaming, educational videos, or anything of your choice. Once you get a decent fan following, you can earn money through the sale of items to your followers. You can also earn from endorsements of advertisers who opt for your channels on these platforms. It may be a while before you gain considerable followers on social media. However, starting off is quite simple and may gain good profits over time.
- Make money from domain flipping
Domain flipping involves purchasing a domain at the cheapest possible price. Later, without doing anything with the domain, you just sell it to an interested party for more than the original price. Or, even better, you sell by creating a website on it. Domains are an extremely valuable commodity. One of the most expensive .za domain name sales reported was Property.co.za for $350,000. You can earn large profits through domain flipping. This is if you are in the right place at the right time and choose a domain name with huge earning potential. You can sell domains on Sedo, Dan or Flippa.
