Return-to-the-office mandates are becoming common in the nine-to-five world. But online-only side gigs are easy to find. If you have a computer (or smart phone) and a quiet place to work remotely, here are a half-dozen ways to make money without leaving the house.
Website testing
Dozens of companies help website owners improve their customer experience by enlisting freelance website testers to evaluate the user-friendliness of their sites. This typically requires the freelancer to scroll through a site, talking out loud, with the computer’s camera and microphone running.
Sometimes, testers will be asked to complete a task, like finding a particular section of the site or ordering a product online, to find bugs in the process.
No specific experience is required, though some tests require you to be enthusiastic about the product the site is advertising, so the owner can focus on the site’s target audience and what’s intuitive to them.
Pay ranges from $5 to $10 for a 15- to 20-minute evaluation. But you can earn considerably more for longer and more detailed tests. Good sites to find these gigs include PingPong, Userlytics, UserTesting, UTest, UserFeel and UserPeek. And, since these jobs are intermittent, we’d suggest you sign up for all of them to boost your chance of getting semi-regular work.
Voiceovers
If you have a melodious voice and a microphone, try your hand at voiceovers. Voiceovers are needed for everything from commercial animation to Instagram posts. And while acting experience is a plus, it’s not necessary to earn a good living.
Having a hook — like being able to do accents or speak another language fluently — can differentiate your voiceover service from the crowd. You also need good audio equipment and a quiet space to tape, to provide the best audio quality.
The best place to find good voiceover gigs is Fiverr.
Fiverr is a broad-based freelance platform that allows workers to offer almost any legal online service, from tech help to accounting. The site’s vibrant voiceover section has freelancers offering voiceovers in multiple languages, with a variety of accents and styles.
You set up a profile, set your own rates — often charging a set rate per 50 – 100 words. You also tell clients when to expect your work to be completed, with the option of charging more for rush jobs. If a client books you, Fiverr will put their payment in escrow and release it once the job is complete.
What makes Fiverr the best spot for voiceovers is that the site does away with the time-consuming audition process. People see your samples and buy or don’t. They don’t expect you to waste your time with auditions, as you would with other sites such as Voices and Upwork.
Writing and editing
If you’re more comfortable with the written word, there are also several sites that can help you find work writing and editing everything from brochures and academic papers to blog posts. The best sites to find corporate work, whether that’s writing annual reports or articles are Contently, Skyword and NDash.
All three sites encourage writers to sign up and post a profile highlighting your past work and specialties, such as business, travel, dating, health or medical writing, for instance. The sites will then try to match you with clients that need your skills.
If you’re more interested in academic writing gigs, EditingServices works with a variety of colleges and universities that enlist writers and editors for academic research and books.
Mock juries
Love legal drama? You might be a good candidate for a mock jury. Serving on a mock jury is a lot like serving on a traditional jury, but with three important exceptions.
1) You get paid more than a token amount. Mock jurors often earn $25 to $30 an hour.
2) You work from home.
3) And you get to tell the lawyers what you think about their case, at a point when they can do something about it.
In fact, what you’re doing is reviewing the lawyer’s evidence and/or arguments to see whether you find them compelling, confusing or simply inadequate. This gives attorneys the opportunity to settle their cases — or solidify them with additional evidence — before they go to trial.
Sites that enlist mock jurors include LegalFocusGroup, FirstCourt, Online Verdict, SignUpDirect and Jury Test.
Transcription
Do you type at the speed of light? Fast typists can make a decent living working from home with transcription. However, pay is by the word, so if you type more slowly, your hourly rate can turn dismal. This is mainly a good gig for people who type at a speed of 60 words per minute or more.
A variety of sites enlist freelancers to transcribe everything from 911 calls to medical interviews and court hearings. The best places to find this work is through DittoTranscripts, GMR Transcription and Rev.
Virtual Assisting
Like being an in-person assistant, the job of virtual assisting can involve almost anything. You could be scheduling travel, handling email, helping to write or update blog posts, or posting on social media. Both pay and responsibilities vary widely. But typically, virtual assistants earn from $15 to $75 per hour.
Some good sites to get started with virtual assisting include Belay, Boldly, Time Etc. and Robert Half.
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