How to Make $1,000 a Month Online

Would you like to learn how to make $1,000 a month online? The average income per person across the world is roughly $1,500 a month. So, how do you think people’s lives would change if they were able to make an additional $1,000 monthly? How would your life change with another $1,000 every month?

My guess is that most of the financial burdens that people face would be solved or at least mitigated with an extra $1,000 a month. You wouldn’t have to worry if your dishwasher breaks, and you wouldn’t need to go into debt with a credit card – you would have extra money to assist with whatever life throws at you.

If I were to tell you that you could easily (relative) make $1,000 extra a month online, most people would say “where do I sign up!” The truth is: you can. To learn how to make $1,000 a month online,  read the guide below.

Follow Felix’s Footsteps to Make $1,000 a Month Online

A few years ago, I got an email from a guy named Felix. The thing is, I get dozens of emails every day, and they’re usually pretty standard themes:

• Do you need help with something?
• Will you hire me?
• Can you give me advice?

However, Felix’s email caught me off guard. He approached me by saying that he loved writing, that he wanted to write for me, and that he wanted to do it for free. 

I’ve seen those Nigerian prince email scams before, so I thought “what’s the catch?”

However, there was no catch. Felix was in college at the time and was merely looking for an opportunity to gain real-world experience doing something he loved: writing.

What I appreciated about Felix was his sincerity in how he approached me. He said he was passionate about writing, and he offered to help me without asking for anything in return. This was a breath of fresh air compared to the pitches I’ve received from people asking for my time, money, or insight in their first email.

I ended up giving Felix a few newsletter writing assignments, which he completed quickly – exceeding my expectations. I then gave him more work, and he continued to prove his value (without pay) by delivering quality content on-time, every time.

After a few of these assignments, Felix approached me asking if there were ways he could improve and if there were specifics that he could do better. I began mentoring him and giving him more direction on the content.

You see – Felix was looking to not just improve his worth, but he was finding a way to take on more responsibility, thus increasing my trust in him and my dependency on him. 

Eventually, Felix asked if he could be paid for his work. Obviously, by this point, he had proven his value and became such an integral part of our team that it would be outrageous for him not to be compensated for his work.

This project became Felix’s first paying gig as a freelance writer, and in little time, he was earning $1,000 a month online from me alone. Of course, I referred Felix on to other colleagues who were looking for a competent writer. Eventually, by the time he finished college, he had 20+ people working for him and had scaled his writing gigs from $1,000 a month to much, much more.

Step 1: Find a Skill You Enjoy

The average podcaster makes it 7 episodes before quitting. So, while thousands of people start a podcast every month, most never see their 8th episode. Why do you think that is?

Well, obviously – running a podcast, especially a good one, takes a lot of time, effort, and work. But, more than that, I think people give up because they are more focused on the process of podcasting than they are trying to have fun or enjoying what they’re doing.

When Emil and I launched The Becoming Great podcast we focused first on enjoying the process of podcasting. We started by having fun and putting our energy into finding topics we enjoyed discussing. Now, more than 75 episodes into our podcast, we’re still enjoying the process and using that joy to fuel our growth and development as podcasters.

If you don’t enjoy a project, you’re more likely to give up on it when the initial excitement fades.  And, too truly become better, you need to work hard and develop your craft. 

The best of the best at any skill or profession are the ones who love what they do so much that they are willing to put in the extra work needed to perfect it. You’re not going to become the best guitarist or dancer in the world just because you want to, you’ll become the best when you truly enjoy what you’re doing.

If you want to make $1,000 a month online, start by trying several skills and finding the one you enjoy the most. If you’re able to find an activity that you have fun doing, you’ll be much more committed to perfecting it – and eventually, succeeding at it.

Step 2: Use Online Resources to Grow Your Skill

So, how do you find and perfect a skill that you enjoy? Fortunately, you have a full-ride scholarship to the best university in the world – YouTube.

YouTube is one of the best resources for anyone looking to find and learn more about a skill. Instead of investing thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours by taking an actual course, you can spend 30 seconds watching videos about different skills to see which one piques your interest.

If you find yourself continuing to watch videos on a topic, you’re probably enjoying it. If you feel yourself losing interest or getting distracted, it’s probably not a skill that you’ll have fun doing.

One of the best parts of YouTube is its breadth of content. Let’s say you want to learn how to become a pilot. Before YouTube, you’d have to spend money paying for a pilot course, or you’d have to seek out an actual pilot and talk to them about the job. 

Now, you can watch pilot training videos, interviews with pilots, and other free videos that give you insight into piloting. This 360-degree view of a topic will give you the ability to immerse yourself in that skill to see if it’s worth pursuing. Then, if you do decide to move forward with that skill, you can find video tutorials to help you perfect that skill.

To start your journey to making $1,000 a month online, use YouTube to find and train yourself on skills that you enjoy.

After you’ve found the topic that energizes and excites you, use other online resources to start exploring that topic further. Let’s say you were interested in programming, find free programming software online that will let you test and develop your programming skills. 

In addition to finding tools online that will help you fine-tune your craft, you can also join groups and forums to collaborate with others learning that same skill. Facebook Groups is a great resource for anyone learning something new. Finding a community of people with like-minded interests will keep you motivated and can help you overcome obstacles more quickly. Best of all, you’ll get to share your growth with people who are genuinely interested.

Step 3:  Grow Your Experience

To start making $1,000 a month online, you’re eventually going to have to apply the skills that you’ve been researching and practicing. After all, every journey starts with a first step.

Fortunately, the internet has made it easy for you to find opportunities to grow your experience in just about any field. You have access to freelance platforms like Fiverr and UpWork, you have the ability to contact almost anyone in the world via social media or email, and you can find full-time, part-time, and contractor work on job boards like Indeed and Craigslist. 

If we take the Felix example from above, we see the perfect embodiment of this step.

Felix found his passion for writing, gained more competency, and then began looking for opportunities to grow his experience. Once you reach a level of comfort with your skill, began gaining real-world experience.

Here are some techniques to help you gain more experience so you can start earning $1,000 monthly online:

• Outreach: The internet has made it incredibly easy to communicate with others. From celebrities and professional athletes to CEOs and millionaires, there’s usually a medium for you to reach them. Whether tweeting, emailing, or sliding into their DMs, these individuals are a few clicks away. A great way to grow your expertise is to learn how to outreach and pitch yourself and your skill. When you are outreaching, remember that these individuals get pitched hundreds of times a week – so be creative, direct, and don’t waste their time.

• Offer Your Skill for Free: When outreaching, a great way to catch the person’s attention is to offer value – and there may be no better way to offer value than by giving them something for free. If Felix had asked to be paid in his initial email instead of offering it for free, I might not have moved forward with him. However, he offered to write for me without pay and eventually began getting paid after he earned my trust and showed his capabilities. By offering your service for free, you can gain experience and open the door for a potential paying client.

• Find a Mentor: Do you want to develop experience and immerse yourself in a topic? Find a mentor and lean on them to grow professionally and personally. Mentorship is one of the most underrated steps in helping you succeed. Having a mentor can help you learn from someone who has already been through a lot of the struggles that you’re facing, and you can learn from their mistakes. 

Step 4: Build Your Book of Business

So, you’ve found a skill, learned how to perform it, and gained some experience. Now, you need to take the next step and start earning money so you can reach that goal of making $1,000 a month online.

There are several ways to grow your skill into a business, but if we follow the strategy that was so beautifully executed by Felix in the original example, you’ll want to focus on:

• • Converting Free Projects to Paying Clients: Felix was willing to invest time and effort in building a relationship with me before he ever asked for a dime. This strategy of offering your skill for free or at a discount can open the door for you to prove your value to a potential customer. Then, after you’ve shown your capabilities and built rapport, you can convert them to a paying customer.

• Ask for Referrals: Referrals are an important way for you to grow your book of business, and some estimates suggest that referrals convert 3-5x higher than other leads. After you’ve gained the trust of a customer, don’t be afraid to ask them for referrals. Whether you’re a freelance writer or a part-time social media manager, your customer(s) are probably connected to others who could use your services.

• Begin to Scale: While your goal might be $1,000 a month right now, you could decide that you want to grow it to $2,000, $3,000, or even $10,000 a month online. To grow your business efficiently, you will likely need to scale through the use of software or tools, additional employees, or other solutions that will help you streamline your activities. 

No Better Time Than Now to Get Started

There’s no denying that everyone could use an extra $1,000 a month. If you have the motivation and are willing to put in the work, you can earn extra income online. The best part is, if you follow your passion, you can actually make money doing something you love.

Keep the steps above in mind and remember Felix’s story as you set out on your journey to earning $1,000 a month online.