Ways For Teens To Make Money Online: The Digital Age Is Here
Back in 2013 I was 16 years old. At the time I was in High School and I began thinking about my future. Lucky for me I saw an early trend.
I knew the world was making a massive shift, a shift towards a digital world. To clarify, I knew pursuing a career online would catapult me into the right direction.
However, I didn’t know exactly where to begin. I asked myself “How do I make money online as a teen?”. They sure weren’t teaching this type of stuff in the classroom ?.
This is where it all began. To give you some context, I currently have a full-time successful online business. I started building the business when I was in High School. I’ll dive more into that later in this post.
However, before I stumbled upon success I had to educate myself on all the ways to make money online as a teen. Trust me, I studied them all and I tried them all.
The reason why I wanted to share this little glimpse into my life with you is because nothing really has changed. In fact, the only thing that’s changed is the fact that the world is fiercely moving more and more towards a digital world.
So, creating yourself a little side income online as a teen can actually give you a lot of experience. Especially if you’re interested in pursing a career in todays world.
Side Hustle? Or Potential Career?
Before I break down all the exciting ways to make money online as a teen I must present you with the big question.
Are you just looking to build a little side hustle online? Or are you seeking to start building something big online? Because both of these options are possible. Similarly, there are multiple options for both.
However, each option requires certain standards. Making a side hustle online will bring you some extra cash and you won’t have to put a lot into it. On the other hand, you could build a promising future online but it will require all of your efforts.
Some of these ways to make money online can be used as a side hustle or a potential career. So, for the ones that can be both I will break them down into two routes.
The side hustle route: these will be ways you can make money online fairly quickly. And they won’t demand a lot out of you.
The potential career route: these will be ways you can build businesses online that will crossover into your adult life and potentially brind you a lot of success.
Before You Start
Before you begin making money online as a teen you need to take care of a few things first.
Number One: You’re going to need a way to collect your money. Consider setting up a PayPal account or Bank Account before you dive into anything else.
Number Two: Make sure you check age requirements for any of the websites or Apps you’ll use. If you don’t qualify for the age requirements you won’t be able to get paid.
Number Three: You’re going to be making money online so it’s in your best interest to treat it like a job. Make sure you keep yourself organized. Consider setting up a schedule for yourself.
Number Four: Let your parents know that you’re looking into starting a side hustle online. We know you may not want to do this but once you start making money they’ll be wondering how you did it. Make sure you inform them that you’re starting this journey.
Ways For Teens To Make Money Online:
Ultimately, anyone can pursue these side hustles online. However, they’re more geared towards teens because little to no experience is required. Similarly, as long as you have internet connection and some drive you can pursue any of these options.
1. Social Media Manager
Age requirement is 16 years of age or older
You’re a teen in todays world. In other words, you’re probably looking at social media for hours each day. Why not make money online while you do it?
Here’s the thing. Majority of older people look at social media like the wild west. They don’t know how it works and they probably don’t have the time to figure it out.
For a few months after High School I worked at a digital marketing agency. During my first few months of learning the business I was mind blown. I could not believe people were paying us $800+ per month to literally watch over their social media accounts.
I’m talking about literally just monitoring them. We would log in each day, reply to any DMs and comments and that was it.
Then, there were people paying us EVEN MORE to do that plus post regularly for them. Now, granted we were a digital marketing company. So, people knew we could be trusted. However, the point I’m trying to make is the demand is there. People are willing to pay hundreds per month to have someone else manage their socials.
Heres the good news. As a teen, you may not realize this but if you’ve been on social media like every other teen then you have experience. You probably know more about social media than some of the experts. So, you can use that as leverage to start making money online as a social media manager.
Now, to get started you have a few options.
The Side Hustle Option: Remember you’re here to make some extra cash. So don’t think too much into it. Start by reaching out to business owners in your town that either don’t have social media accounts or have accounts that look like they could use some extra attention. When you reach out just be genuine. Let them know you’re young but you are an expert at social media. Maybe offer to do some free work first, then let them know your monthly price. You could also skim through social media accounts and find ones representing business and directly DM them.
Potential Career Option: You’re young, so remember you have time. Take some time to put together your brand. Build yourself a website, list your services, make yourself a logo then start reaching out.
2. Become A TikTok Influencer
Age requirement is 13 years of age or older
The word Influencer may be a little intimidating. When you think of an influencer you probably think of some wealthy person faulting their riches online. However, this really isn’t the case anymore thanks to Tiktok.
Tiktok is currently one of the most used social media apps on the market. The good news is they give everyone a shot.
Instagram used to be like this when it first started. However, once they started verifying people it became harder and harder to grow on the platform. It seems like theres more moving parts involved in becoming an Influencer on Instagram than anything else.
However, with Tiktok it currently seems like consistency is key. If you really take the time to study some of the users who have grown large followings you’ll see a lot of them don’t really have any special talents. They simply post daily glimpses into their lives and over time they grow.
Now, how do you become an influencer on Tiktok? More importantly how do you make money on Tiktok?
The Side Hustle Option: If you’re not camera shy just start posting! Seriously, post whatever comes to your mind. Wether it’s a rant or some stupid joke. When it comes to money you can make it two ways. One is by going live and having your followers reward you with gifts. Or reach a certain follower count and apply for the Tiktok creator fund. This fund will pay you a small amount for each view on your videos.
Potential Career Option: Similarly to the side hustle option just start posting. However, if you want to build your account into something bigger start thinking of the future. Once you gain a lot of followers what will come next? Think about money making opportunities like starting a clothing line attached to your account. Most importantly have a plan in place.
3. Sell Old Stuff Online
Age requirement is 13 years of age or older
I’m not sure if garage sales really rake in the dollars anymore. However, I do know hosting an online garage sale can bring you a lot of extra money. Selling old stuff online is a great way for teens to make money online.
I knew a Youtuber who used to do this as a side hustle before his Youtube channel took off. He used to re-sell items on Facebook marketplace and he’d make over $1k per month doing this.
You can list your old stuff on marketplaces such as:
4. Freelance Your Skills
Age requirement is 13 years of age or older
You may be young, but if you’re tech savvy I bet you have some skills people are willing to pay for. If you’re not, you can easily build up the skills quickly.
When I was in High School I learned graphic design. I learned it all from Youtube videos. It took me a few months of watching tutorials to master it. Then a few years later I learned web design. I did it the same way, Youtube Tutorials.
Anyways, after I learned these skills I started freelancing them. As a result, I started making extra money fairly fast. You can freelance a lot of skills online. Here are the most highly demanded ones:
- Web Design
- Graphic Design
- Logo Design
- Voice Overs
- Video Editing
- Photo Editing
Once you’ve got the skills covered you can sign up for a freelancing site. A freelancing site will bring the clients to you. They also handle all the backend tasks such as payments.
There are plenty of freelancing sites out there. However, we discovered the best ones for teens is Fiverr. This is because their age limit is only 13. Other sites require you to be at-least 18.
The Side Hustle Option: Explore what type of services you could offer as a freelancer. Then simply sign up for Fiverr and start posting your services. You can take on clients whenever you want. Therefore, you won’t have to deli-gate a lot of time towards this.
Potential Career Option: Take on as many clients as you can. Gain experience from working with others and build up your portfolio. Then once you feel like you’ve gained enough experience you can either apply for an agency that offers your services or start your own!
5. Review Products
Age requirement is 13 years of age or older
Did you know you could get paid to just review products? User Testing makes it possible. This is one of the easier ways for teens to make money online. However, you won’t get rich off it.
User Testing will pay you to review products, apps, and websites. They payout $10 for each review you complete. However, you have to wait for the company to choose you to be a reviewer. Basically companies choose people who are their ideal customers. So, as a teen you’ll be providing unique value.
Some of the top companies that pay for reviews on the site include:
- Walmart
- Airbnb
- Dick’s Sporting Goods
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many ways for teens to make money online. However, these are the top 5 best ways to do it. Based on my experience a lot of other ways usually aren’t worth it. They take more time out of you then they pay you. Similarly, they don’t help you build any real life skills. So, when it comes to making money online as a teen, I suggest you start with one of these 5 options to get the most out of your time.
