Are you looking for ways to make some extra money? If so, you’re in luck! There are a number of different ways to bring in some extra cash, and I’m going to share some of the best with you. So whether you’re retired and looking for a way to keep busy, want a lucrative side hustle, or you’re just trying to save up for a new car, read on for some great ideas. I bet you’ll be able to find something that works for you!
There are some really great opportunities you can take advantage of online to earn substantial money through transcribing audio and video content. You can use your spare time on weekends or during the evenings or, if you’re like me, in the early mornings before the kids wake up.
Cash App, one of the many money management and instant payment apps available on Android and Apple devices, may soon let you borrow money from it.
The feature has yet to make it out of beta testing, but if you beta test for Cash App, you have the opportunity to obtain a quick, relatively low-interest loan.
Some Beta Testers Can Apply for Loans
Besides having already qualified as a beta tester, you need to have deposited $1,000 in the app. You also need to make regular deposits in the account rather than putting all $1,000 in it at once.
If you have any amount less than $1,000, you won’t see the button in the app to apply for the loan. You also won’t see the button to apply for the loan if you have the standard version of the app.
Loan Terms
You must agree to the loan terms. You will pay a fixed interest rate of five percent on the borrowed amount.
You will have one month to pay back the money. You will also find that the loans provide a grace period of one week.
Increasing the Loan Amount
Once you have successfully borrowed and repaid this loan amount, you will become eligible for an increased loan amount. It takes a 12 month waiting period, but after that time, Cash App may increase the eligible loan amount by up 60 percent.
About Future Loans
If you have not yet paid back the money you borrowed, you cannot take out another loan. You must repay the loan you have out before you can take out another loan. This protects you and Cash App.
It protects you from taking out too many loans or too large of a loan, creating debts for yourself that you can’t manage. Cash App also protects itself from the risk of loaning too much money.
When Does the Feature Roll Out?
Most people cannot currently apply for this type of loan. Cash App has yet to roll it out to the public. It may not make it a widely released feature.
Not every feature that gets beta-tested goes public. If the app determines that it would cost too much or cause the company behind it too much risk financially, it won’t roll out the feature to the public.
You can find out the status of the potential app features by consistently visiting the Cash App website. You can also fill out the application to become a beta tester with the company.
Acceptance as a beta tester does not mean you will automatically get to test this feature. You will need to meet all of the other criteria first. Cash App has selectively chosen the people from the larger group of its beta testers.
Methods of Cash Deposit
Reaching the $1,000 minimum doesn’t require a transfer from your bank. For example, you could get to the $1,000 mark by using Cash App for work payments.
If you do odd jobs or mow lawns, you can use Cash App to accept payment for these.
You let the money accrue in your Cash App until you reach the $1,000 minimum.
Are These Loans Safe?
The American financial service Square. Inc owns Cash App. All of its transactions are backed by a major corporation.
The risk factors belong to the company for loaning money without requiring the same level of paperwork as a bank.
You also run a risk if you do not know how to manage money. If you want to borrow the money to build credit and already have the money to pay it back, you can feel safe doing so.
If you’re borrowing money because you need it, you may find yourself in a risky situation. If you need a loan, you probably ought to wait to save up the money. Even short-term loans are best used by those who don’t need them.
I never set out to create and sell courses. It happened organically. As the online courses began to grow, I was thrilled to hit the $300,000 in sales number my first year. In this article, I’ll share my personal experiences, what worked for me (and didn’t), and what I learned on the journey.
Build The Audience, First.
When I was first entering the blogging world, I read Purple Cow, Linchpin, and Tribes by Seth Godin. More than once, Seth said that most entrepreneurs have it backward.
They create a product or service and then work to build an audience. When, in fact, it should be the other way around.
Build the audience first, Identify their problems. Then build a product or service that addresses or solves their biggest challenges.
In my case, that’s what I did each time.
As a real estate agent in 2010, I began sharing my journey. I shared my failures, success, and lessons in real estate through social media groups, blogs, email, and Youtube.
As I learned what worked in digital marketing strategies for real estate agents, I began to teach my methods.
My mentor Dave Jenks gave my processes a name. He called it: “The Ballen Method.”
I was then able to use the videos and blogs for course material.
And The Ballen Method to Marketing course was created.
It earned $50,000 the first month (with a price of $395 originally), and then continued to make $30,000 per month for the next couple of years.
That same audience then watched me lose 50 pounds on the Keto Diet in 6-months, and many then bought my Keto courses and coaching.
And then, the same thing happened with Affiliate Marketing.
In each case, the audience came before the product.
The Right Platform Matters
My first course was costly to build. I hired a custom website designer and invested about $20,000 to custom make a membership website.
We didn’t have the options that we have today.
Today, we have many ‘out of the box’ e-course software solutions that offer video and text course platforms, WordPress Plugins, and built-in e-commerce solutions for collecting payments.
There are also websites such as Udemy and Skillshare, where you can build courses on a public platform sharing the earnings.
Some of these options include:
Teachable
Thinkific
Podia
AccessAlly
Ontraport
Kartra
LearnDash
Udemy
Skillshare
I moved platforms several times before settling into Teachable. I found that the courses were easy to build, video courses work well, e-commerce is built-in, the reporting is essential, email is built-in, and even includes a blog/website.
It’s a pain to move platforms, but I’m always willing if the pros outway the cons.
Monthly Subscription Models
One of the reasons that I chose Teachable for my course platform is that it offers various pricing structures.
How To Sell An Online Course
You can offer a one-time purchase, lease to own, and monthly subscriptions.
I believe that selling a course for a one-time, flat fee is best for a big launch. When a heavily anticipated course launches, the upfront sales can be incredible.
Time-sensitive courses and limited time availability products often come with hefty price tags earning a bit paycheck for the course creator.
This urgency creation is why you see many course creators do a big launch and then phase out their course.
When a course will always be for sale, and mainly when it includes regular updates and social membership groups, a monthly subscription can be a great choice.
Doing timed courses like a 6-week Challenge or 12-week Mastery can bring in higher ticket sales billing monthly.
I learned that online course launches and timed courses and programs create urgency and bring in substantial sales, whereas ongoing monthly systems bring in a smaller, but steady stream of income.
Some people join and stay for years, spending a lot more than they would have in a one-time purchase.
Teachable also allows me to add coupons and bundle courses as I desire. I can also create free courses for promotions and to generate interest.
Remove The Ego
When I teach, I take it very seriously. Too seriously, most would say. I care immensely about inspiring my class and empowering my students to take action.
When I Teach I Take It Very Seriously. Too Seriously Most Would Say. I Care Immensely About Inspiring My Class And Empowering My Students To Take Action.
Most won’t.
In reviewing my Teachable reports for course sales, I was disappointed repeatedly to see how few students ever logged in more than a time or two.
No matter how I changed or updated the course, how much I did or didn’t use video, written text, PDF Downloads, and workbooks changed nothing.
I tried emailing weekly, creating a social buzz, and even text messaging with updates.
Still, very few people logged back in. Over time, I learned that most course creators report the same thing, especially with tech-based courses.
Yet, they were willing to pay AGAIN to attend a live webinar. When I first realized that, I was astonished!
Even though they had paid for the full membership that already had a recently updated lesson with the same content I would teach on the webinar, they would still buy the webinar.
And this was true even after I reminded them that they had the access.
I’ve made more money selling marketing strategy webinars than I ever did selling courses.
Webinar jam works for selling webinars, and Teachable worked well with GoToWebinar as well. Both have automation processes and Zapier formulas for streamlining processes.
If you have Infusionsoft or Keap, you can also make simple invoice sales and then add your paid members to the webinar platform.
The nice thing about selling webinars is that you are finished when you end the stream.
There’s no updating required.
That said, with webinars, you are trading time for money where courses can be evergreen and earn income while you sleep or vacation!
I like using them all as part of my sales stack.
Email Marketing is Still Powerful for Course Sales
Building a contact list is essential. Whether you use email, direct mail, text, chatbots, re-targeting, and so forth, a healthy list is very valuable.
The concept is simple.
Attract your “would-be’ audience to your blog, video, podcast, social channel, etc.
Offer an item of value for which they subscribe. This item could be a checklist, list, workbook, guide, video, free mini-course, template, etc.
Follow up with a series of value items, stories, tips, and so forth to build brand awareness with the new contact.
Offer a time-sensitive discount on your course.
I use KEAP for my contact list communication.
When You Lose Interest, So Will They
You always have to be creating buzz around your courses. As soon as you lose interest, so will they.
My best course sales are when they launch. That’s because I’m most excited about them when they launch. I work hard to create buzz, urgency, make announcements, and tell stories. I’m proud of my course and can’t wait to get the students enrolled.
And then, when the “newness” wears off, and the course sales become “the normal,” it’s not easy to find the enthusiasm to “sell.”
For me, I’d often instead build a new course or host the next big webinar than be always creating buzz around an evergreen course.
The solution for this challenge, however, is pretty simple. Let the systems do the work.
Going back to the list above on building a contact list, it’s all pretty simple to keep going like a well-oiled machine.
One of my favorite items of value is a free webinar.
Adding an Optinmonster pop-up, slide-in, or banner to the main pages on my blog, promoting a webinar can generate hundreds of new leads every month.
The webinar can be live or evergreen using a platform like EverWebinar.
When people attend the webinar, which is packed full of excellent training, they are then offered a limited-time promotion for the course.
Free webinars also help increase brand awareness, and people begin to trust and like you. These are the people that become your tribe.
The five different ways to make money with video tutorials are through affiliate marketing, paid advertising on Youtube or other sites, services, digital products, sponsors.
Before you think self-publishing is an easy way to make money online, you need to be aware of all the steps involved to create, self-publish, and promote your eBook.
With direct sales, you make the sales and the product is delivered directly to the customer. With Network Marketing, and Multi-level marketing (MLM) you build a team and earn on their sales as well.
Medium has “locked” content in which people subscribe and pay for. When you publish articles after being accepted to the Medium Partner Program, you have the opportunity to earn money based on various performance metrics, including reader engagement.
