10 Ways to Earn Money During the Coronavirus Lockdown

The internet has been providing us with some much-needed hope and optimism from the beginning of this health crisis.

Aside from entertaining celebrity live streams and hundreds of shows to binge on, easter eggs (and then some), the web is also host to all sorts of legitimate money-making gigs.

If you’ve taken a harsh financial hit due to the lockdown, there are plenty of ways to boost your income. Various reputable online jobs or services are available to keep you busy during the outbreak.

Here are the top ten ways we've found to earn money during the coronavirus outbreak:

• Small Coding Bounties: Gitcoin & Bounties Network
• Website UX Testing: UserTesting
• Translations: ProZ
• Teaching: AmazingTalker
• Digital Marketing & SEO: ClearVoice
• Content Writing: iWriter
• Transcriptions: Scribie
• Renting Your Computing Power: Golem Network
• Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate Window
• Sell Any Service: Fiverr

10. Small Coding Bounties: Gitcoin & Bounties Network

Gitcoin is becoming a quick and easy way to encourage open-source software development. 

The bounties platform allows developers to earn money in ERC20 and ETH tokens, as well as other currencies for their services on various open-source projects.

Examples of tasks include the development of new products, feature improvements, code reviews, bug fixes, UX design, updates, etc. 

What’s more, you can access the tasks directly through the Bounties Network. Additionally, they are directly integrated with Github. 

• Difficulty & Time Required
• Any funder can post a task or project, which means there is a wide variety of jobs
• Each task has a specified difficulty level and a submission deadline (the average deadline is around a week)

• Average Earnings
• The project funders can pay you with ETH or ERC-20 tokens, such as DAI
• Small tasks for beginners range between 10 to 50 DAI (20 to 50 USD)
• Intermediate tasks can earn you 200 DAI (200 USD)
• Larger ones reaching 5 ETH (approx. 800 USD) or more

• Who Is it For?
• Any software developer, AI professional, or data scientist with a broad skillset
• The tasks are created for Python, Ruby, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, Rust, etc
• Writers and designers can find the odd task here and there, too

• Availability
• Worldwide

9. Website UX Testing: UserTesting

Anyone with an internet connection can sign up to test apps or websites via UserTesting. 

Each test on this platform requires you to share your feedback via a simple video. Tests can also contain specific tasks related to particular features of websites, mobile apps, etc.

• Difficulty & Time Required 
• Each UX evaluation lasts around 10 to 20 minutes
• The platform requires feedback from ordinary people - meaning, UserTesting doesn’t require software knowledge and other skills

• Average Earnings 
• Up to 60 USD per task, paid through PayPal

• Who Is it For? 
• Anyone who is willing to express themselves (sometimes English can be a requirement)
• You’ll need to be able to follow the guidelines of each task - examples include testing a new button, offering feedback on designs or functionalities
• But you don’t need to be a developer to test the sites

• Availability 
• Worldwide

8. Translations: ProZ

If you’re a tech-savvy translator or a language professional who specialises in various industries, ProZ is a fantastic membership-based platform. 

Tasks include translations for just about any language or industry. The site also offers interpreting, subtitling, and similar services.

• Difficulty & Time Required
• You’ll need to have previous translating experience and solid knowledge of at least one language 
• The difficulty could depend on the translation task (website, medical or legal documents, product manuals, etc)
• Deadlines are task-specific and could range from 24 hours to several weeks

• Average Earnings
• It’s difficult to estimate the average earnings since recruiters don’t usually post the prices
• Instead, translators are required to submit their price quotes and offers before starting a task
• But minimum starts at around $0.08 per word for most languages on average, or $20 per hour

• Who Is it For?
• Any type of translator, subtitler, or interpreter could use ProZ to find work
• If you’re bilingual, it’s definitely worth a shot

• Availability
• Worldwide

7. Teaching: AmazingTalker

Similarly to translating, teaching is an excellent freelance gig that could land you some extra funds. 

If you’re a native English speaker, you could try a website like AmazingTalker. It’s one of the most popular teaching sites that doesn't require minimum working hour limits. 

Each lesson lasts 50 minutes via webcam. It could consist of conversational or business English and similar, depending on the needs of the student.

• Difficulty & Time Required
• The tutor selection process may be difficult for some, as many students could ask for relevant certificates (for example, TOEFL or IELTS)

• Average Earnings
• $19-78 per hour

• Who Is it For?
• Anyone fluent in English and interested in teaching others
• Professionals could prepare students for exams, while hobby teachers help students improve their everyday English
• Besides English, the platform has jobs for over 50 languages

• Availability
• Worldwide

6. Digital Marketing & SEO: ClearVoice

Content marketing and SEO optimisation work are highly sought-after online. If you possess some of those skills, you could join a platform like ClearVoice. 

It’s a service dedicated to freelance digital marketing work. The tasks may also include SEO optimisation, driving awareness and generating leads, and other marketing work.

• Difficulty & Time Required
• SEO experience is required
• You’ll need to invest some time to create an online portfolio on the platform
• Deadlines can depend on the client’s projects

• Average Earnings
• This platform allows users to set their rates and get paid via PayPal, although the platform charges a service fee of 4%

• Who Is it For?
• Experienced SEO specialists could potentially find long-term work through this platform

• Availability
• Worldwide

5. Content Writing: iWriter

Much like SEO work, content writing is a fundamental part of online marketing. The job is in high demand, especially on dedicated freelance platforms such as iWriter. 

Examples of tasks include creating briefs, blog posts, marketing emails, articles, etc.

• Difficulty & Time Required
• New writers will need to complete a few test tasks
• Their results will then determine their client base
• From there, anyone can try part-time or full-time writing tasks and decide on their working hours 

• Average Earnings
• Up to 80 USD for 500 words

• Who Is it For?
• Writers of different skill levels could find work on this platform
• Since the writers can choose their client range, any type of writer (bloggers, legal or technical writers, as examples) could find work here

• Availability
• Worldwide

Scribie pays users to transcribe all sorts of audio and video formats into English. 

The tasks involve transcribing and time-coding the audio/video materials such as podcasts, voice recordings, video interviews, and similar.

• Difficulty & Time Required
• The complexity of this work depends on the audio quality of the source material
• It requires some time coding skills
• The turnaround time is 36 hours per task, and the maximum weekly transcript limit is 20 hours

• Average Earnings
• 0.10 to 0.50 USD per minute

• Who Is it For?
• Anyone with a keen ear and accurate typing skills could make money from this work
• Any additional experience in subtitling and time stamping will be able to earn more

• Availability
• Worldwide, although only English transcriptions are available

3. Renting Your Computing Power: Golem Network

The Golem Network allows developers and tech workers to use rented out computing power for complex tasks that require high processing power. 

The network can pay you to rent your CPU and GPU. Your computer can be used by others for tasks such as GPU rendering, machine learning, and similar. 

The payment system is per-node or per-hour. 

• Difficulty & Time Required
• The Golem Network is created on Ethereum, and recruiters can rent any type of device they desire
• That means you won’t need a top-of-the-line machine for this type of work
• As the provider, you can decide how long you wish to rent your computer

• Average Earnings
• The providers can set their prices, and the earnings are paid via GNT tokens
• These can be sold in exchange for fiat currencies, Ehtereum, Bitcoin, etc

• Who Is it for?
• Anyone willing to share their computing power

• Availability
• Worldwide

2. Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate Window

If you already own a website or create content, you can try to make extra money with affiliate marketing. You can do this by adding affiliate links to your site pages or video content, for example. You’ll then get a commission with each sale of the linked product. 

Affiliate Window is a fantastic starting point. 

It has over 16,000 brands and partners who are looking for various website owners, influencers and content creators.

• Difficulty & Time Required
• That depends on your existing content strategy, your market, and the requests of the advertiser

• Average Earnings
• Commission from sales referrals through your content
• The advertiser will determine this, too

• Who Is it For?
• If you’ve already got a successful website, YouTube channel, or similar, you should undoubtedly take advantage of affiliate marketing as it can be quite profitable

• Availability
• Worldwide

1. Sell Any Service: Fiverr

• Difficulty & Time Required
• Fiverr is incredibly popular, so you’ll have to invest some time to make your profile stand out 
• The deadlines can vary depending on the specific task and its category

• Average Earnings
• 5 USD per project
• Prices can increase dramatically depending on your niche

• Who Is it For?
• This platform has more than 120 categories for various services that you could perform
• Bear in mind that also means the range of work here is truly impressive, and nearly anyone can earn money here

• Availability
• Worldwide

Closing Thoughts

Hopefully our suggestions will encourage you to make the most of your time at home. Please note that most of the opportunities from this list are not full-time jobs, but they can help you stay sharp, motivated, and you’ll be able to earn additional income during the coronavirus crisis.

Good luck on your job hunt, and stay safe!

 
Thiago Earp is the Global Content Marketing Specialist at Firebrand Training. He’s fascinated with technology, human behaviour and complex systems, and writes on a range of tech-related topics.