5 Clever Ways to Earn Some Extra Cash in College
Going to college isn’t necessarily “cheap.”
And for many students, being able to earn extra money is a massive help.
On top of student loans that you’re trying to pay off, you may also have to pay for things like car insurance, food, room, board, and textbooks.
Not to mention essentials like your phone and a laptop.
You’re also going to want some extra spending money for clothes, eating, going out with friends, etc.
In this post, you’re going to learn about some of our favorite methods for earning extra cash as a college student.
Granted, not every one of these options is going to be for everyone. But there’s sure to be at least one or two options that’ll prove to be a good fit for your life and skill set.
Let’s dive in.
1. Start a Blog
If you’re a good writer and you know how to create content …
Starting a blog and learning how to monetize it can be a great way to build traffic that you can use to sell something.
You can use your blog as a way to sell your own services (writing, photography, graphic design, fashion consulting, etc.).
Or, you can leverage that traffic to create an affiliate blog. Use it to earn commissions when you sell products from stores like Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
If you really want to earn some serious money, you can blend the two.
Create products as an extension of your consulting or artistic services:
- ebooks
- courses
- checklists
- guides
A blog takes time to grow. But if you start while you’re in high school, you should be able to generate some serious cash by the time you get to college.
How Long Does It Take To Make Money Blogging?
The main thing to remember about a blog is that it will take work and time to grow.
At first, you won’t have hardly any traffic.
It all depends on:
- How quickly and consistently you can publish content
- How much you learn about how to grow a blog in the process
You’ll need to know a bit about SEO optimization and how to rank well on Google to be successful.
It may take anywhere from six months to a year to start actually earning revenue from it.
But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth it. If you work really hard on growing a successful blog, it can become an asset for you to generate extra money for years to come.
And the more you work on it, the more it can earn you.
It just takes time and hard work. This is probably the best long-term option, but it isn’t the easiest option.
If it were easy, everyone would be doing it!
How Much Can You Earn Blogging?
I’ve seen people earn anywhere from $50 to $3,000 per month, starting from scratch, in under a year.
The more you put into it, the more successful it’ll be.
2. Become a Social Media Consultant
If you know how to get followers, keep them, and create content, you can sell that skill to companies who have no clue about social media.
Start with local businesses or businesses that you frequent that don’t have a good social media presence.
The great thing about social media marketing is that you can do it remotely, right from your dorm!
If you’re an IG, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or Facebook expert (or on any other platform), leveraging your knowledge could earn you some serious cash.
3. Sell Your Class Notes
If you’re an ace at taking notes in class, you can make money by selling them online.
You can use websites like Course Hero or Nexus Notes for this purpose and make quite a bit of money.
How Does It Work?
Nexus Notes allows you to upload your notes directly to their site. Their team goes over them, approves them, and then places them for sale on the marketplace.
These notes sell for $35 per set. And every time a set sells, you earn a 50% commission.
Course Hero works a bit differently. You can leverage the use of your notes and your class experience to tutor other students on your schedule. You can make up to $1,500+ tutoring students on Course Hero, which is awesome.
4. Teach Your Native Language on iTalki
If English isn’t your first language, sign up to become a tutor on iTalki. It’s an online foreign language lessons platform for people looking to learn new languages.
Now, you need to provide proof of certification to become a professional teacher. But to become a community tutor, you only need to upload a 1-3 minute demonstration video.
After you’re accepted and have set up your account, you can name your price for tutoring.
Tutors and teachers keep 85% of the money they bring in. Italki keeps the rest as a platform fee.
There’s not really a limit to what you can earn. But if your uploaded video is good, you should be able to make a couple extra hundred bucks per month or more.
5. Take Online Surveys
You won’t get rich taking online surveys. In fact, you’ll find that earning cash with this method isn’t as easy. You’re much more likely to earn gift cards.
But it’s a way to earn some extra spending money doing something easy, effortless, and kind of fun.
Taking online surveys also provides an added benefit. They can serve as a great distraction/way to spend time online while cutting back on your social media usage.
If you want to try this method, one of the biggest survey companies out there is Survey Junkie.
Conclusion
There you have it — five clever ways to earn some extra money as a college student.
Of course, these options are just scratching the surface of the opportunities available to you.
At the end of the day, the real question is this:
Can you provide a valuable product or service that someone else needs?
If so, you can probably market it and sell it.
That’s the basis for business and the ultimate entry-point query for making extra money regardless of where you’re at in life.
Now get out there, get to work, and earn that extra cash.
[Author bio]
Adam Marshall is a freelance writer who specializes in all things apartment organization, real estate, and college advice. He currently works with Traverse Commons to help them with their online marketing.
