20 Ways to Make Money From Home During the Coronavirus Pandemic

You're not alone. In the past few weeks, millions of Americans have suddenly found themselves out of the job and there's no end in sight. While many of these workers can rely upon unemployment and their government stimulus check to cover some or all of their expenses, others aren't so lucky.

If you need a little extra cash or you're just bored sitting at home all day, here are 20 ideas you can try to start making money from the comfort of your own home. Fair warning: Some of these ideas are more long-term business ventures and may not provide you with a lot of money immediately, but if you stick with them, they could end up replacing your 9-to-5 at some point.

As a full-time freelance writer myself, I can tell you it's definitely possible to make a living writing from home. Establishing yourself at first can be tough, especially if you don't have much of a writing background, but as you build up your reputation, you can seek out higher-paying jobs.

You'll do best if you focus on a niche rather than trying to write about everything under the sun. Think about what specialized knowledge you have and what media outlets publish that kind of content. Then, watch out for job listings that match your criteria.

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Blogging is another opportunity to leverage your writing skills if you aren't interested in freelancing or are still trying to get your career off the ground. It's possible to make a comfortable living blogging, but this usually takes time. You must build up a user base and publish content regularly to keep them coming back.

Many successful bloggers also sell ebooks, courses, or other products to provide them an additional source of revenue besides ads and affiliate marketing. Still, if you're committed to it, it's possible to make blogging your full-time occupation.

Online tutoring is a great option for teachers who are out of work due to COVID-19, but it's open to anyone who has the expertise and willingness to give it a try. You could help students with traditional school subjects or branch out into things like art or music lessons, depending on what you're good at.

There are several online tutoring sites where you can advertise your services. You can also post about your services on your social media platforms to see if you can draw in any customers that way.

Creating and selling your own online courses can be an alternative to or a step up from online tutoring. One of the key advantages to this strategy is that it doesn't depend on the hours you put in. Once you publish your course, it can make you money at any time going forward.

Think about what you're good at and how you could market those skills. It could be traditional business-related skills, like SEO or project management, or it could be something related to a craft, like sewing or woodworking. The options are limitless.

You've probably heard you can make money doing surveys online, and you can -- but you probably won't make very much at it. Most surveys don't pay that well, so this isn't the best choice if you're hoping to earn a substantial amount of side income. But it could still be worth it if you're just looking for something to do that earns you a little bit of cash.

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Focus groups are similar to surveys, but they pay a lot better. I've done two of them and I earned roughly $100 each for an hour or two of my time. The trouble with focus groups is they're hard to get into. The businesses who seek out focus groups typically want feedback from a certain demographic of people and focus group companies usually try to make sure they aren't using the same people for every survey. So while it can make you a fair amount of money, it's not a reliable source of income.

If you're interested, create a profile on a focus group website. It'll usually ask you questions about your background, interests, and products or services that you use. Then, when the focus group company has a study they think you might qualify for, they'll send you an email with a survey to test your eligibility and if you qualify, you can participate in the focus group.

Some companies hire remote workers to answer calls from customers rather than paying to operate an expensive call center. This kind of work isn't ideal if you want a flexible schedule. You'll have to be available whenever the company needs you to be. But you can expect a pretty steady paycheck if you find a remote customer service representative position.

A virtual assistant is essentially a remote personal assistant for people who lack the time to handle all of their daily responsibilities themselves. Your exact tasks and work schedule will depend upon who you're working for. If your schedule's not too demanding, you might be able to work as a personal assistant for more than one person.

If you're artistically inclined, you could try making a living selling your work. This might be artwork, jewelry, furniture, clothing, or other types of home decor. This is another one of those businesses that could be very lucrative but takes a while to get off the ground. It might also involve a significant investment in materials, which could reduce your profits. Weigh these factors when deciding if this is the right money-making opportunity for you.

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Use this time to declutter your home and sell any items you're no longer using. There are several online marketplaces for gently used clothing and it usually isn't hard to find people willing to purchase old cell phones. You might be able to sell unused furniture, fitness equipment, or tools too.

Testing websites is where you get paid to go to a website, perform certain tasks, and describe your experience, including anything you found annoying or difficult. It helps organizations build better, more intuitive websites for their customers. This is another job that pays pretty well for the work required, but because of that, it's competitive and it can be hard to get a lot of work this way.

If you know someone who's hoping to build or enhance a company website and you're pretty tech-savvy, this could be a great money-making opportunity for you. You can also post your services to a job board or reply to job ads for people seeking help with their websites.

You'll have to talk with your client about what they want done and you should make sure it's within your abilities. Using a website builder is much easier than building a website from scratch. Make sure you understand what you're signing up for so you and your client don't end up frustrated.

If you're a computer whiz, you could consider offering remote technical support. There is software that enables you to remotely access other people's computers (with their permission, of course), so you can fix problems with their devices without actually meeting them in person. You may have to start with friends and family at first until you build up a reputation for your work.

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For the less technically inclined, you could seek out simple data entry tasks. While these don't usually pay that well, they don't always require your full focus either. So it's something you could do while you're listening to music or watching TV if you just want to make a little extra cash. But you can't let your attention wander too much or you could make mistakes.

Bilingual people can make money doing translation work for individuals and companies. You can work independently or partner with a translation agency to find work more easily. If this isn't providing enough income, you could pair it with some of the other ideas listed above, like tutoring, to make even more money.

You may not have thought much about it before, but narrating audiobooks is someone's job. And it could be yours too. You'll need to create some voice demos and find a company willing to hire you, and you may also have to purchase some specialized recording equipment for your home so you can produce high-quality recordings.

Some political advocacy organizations pay interested workers to help champion their causes by organizing letter-writing campaigns or conducting phone or email outreach. Not only could you get paid for doing this, you could be a part of some serious policy changes that help make your state or country a better place.

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Lawyers sometimes hire mock jurors before a real trial. They present the same case to the mock jurors that they intend to present to the real ones and at the end, the mock jurors give their verdict and help the lawyers identify weak points in their cases that they can improve before the real trial. This is similar to a focus group in that you can get paid well, but it can be difficult to get this kind of work regularly.

If you know any essential workers who are working longer hours than normal, see if they need someone to look after their pets while they're gone. If you're concerned about coming into contact with someone that might be sick, you could just have them drop off their pet on your doorstep and then allow the pet inside once the person has left.

Most people are at their own homes right now, but if a friend or neighbor has to leave theirs for an extended period of time, they might pay you to look after it for them. This might just require stopping by to water the plants or it could involve staying there for a few days. Consider giving the home a thorough cleaning upon your arrival if you're concerned about COVID-19.

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We don't know how long we're all going to be stuck at home or how much longer it's going to take our economy to return to normal. It might be tempting to binge-watch one show after another, but try to use at least part of every day to help build up your financial security net.

The above list isn't exhaustive. You might be able to think of other ideas too. Try a few that appeal to you and see what you think. It's possible you could end up turning your newfound side hustle into a full-time business that lasts long after the stay-at-home orders lift.

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