How to Supplement Your Income Online

Everybody wants to make more money. Even billionaires like Bill Gates and Donald Trump want more that's why they keep working.

Most of us will never be billionaires, but we can all earn more money.

Sure, you could do it the old-fashioned way by taking a second job, but that means taking time away from your family and friends not to mention sleep. And yes, you could work overtime, but that, too, might force inconvenient lifestyle changes.

Want a better way to make a little extra money that won't interfere with your life?

(If you just answered no, stop reading this piece. There are plenty of other articles here at Associated Content for you to enjoy. If you answered yes, then you're reading the right article.)

Keep in mind, though, that this piece will not show you how to make a million dollars overnight, nor will it show you how to make a full-time living online. You will, however, learn how to earn to earn anywhere from an extra couple hundred dollars to a thousand dollars per month depending on the time and effort you invest.

Here's what you need to get started:

Sign up for a PayPal account. PayPal is a service that allows people and businesses to send money to anyone with an email address. It started as a handy way to conduct eBay transactions. Now, though, many online entities only pay through PayPal, meaning if you don't have an account, you won't be able to work for those companies.

Start a blog. "Blog" is short for "web log." Originally, blogs were online journals, diaries and personal musings. While many of the 80 million plus blogs still fall into those categories, many blogs now are information-based. If, for instance, you're looking for job search advice, The Daily Machete is a good place to get it. You can start a blog pretty easily for free at Blogger.com. If your quality and quantity are high, and you generate enough traffic, you may be able to make some money from advertising revenue.

Sign up for an Adsense account. Google's Adsense program provides contextual advertising. In short, when you put the code onto your website or blog, Google will place ads relevant to what your site or blog is about. While not the end-all, be-all, Adsense is a good place to start.

Get on eBay. Now that you have a PayPal account, you'll be able to get paid electronically for selling stuff on this auction mega-site. Most people start off by selling stuff they own but don't need or use. You will sell a good portion of your stuff, if not all. From there, you can acquire more stuff by using some of your auction earnings to buy yard sale and thrift store items. Then sell that stuff and continue. You'll need access to an electronic camera so you can take pictures and upload them to your listings. Heck, you'll probably be able to find a cheap one on eBay. An hour or two per week can easily bring home a profit of $50 or more per week.

Scour the web. There are numerous sites that list telecommuting jobs. If you have a way with words, you might want to write. If so, check out WritersRow.com. If you don't quite know what you're looking for, sites like tjobs.com can point you in the right direction. Use Google to find even more sites by typing "telecommuting jobs" (including the quotation marks) into the search field. Look for jobs that pay $50-100 per week or per project. That's an easy $200-$400 extra per month for each job. That's not much by itself, but it adds up if you work two or three such jobs. Before accepting a job, though, determine how much time it will actually take.

Pedal to the metal. Apply to the jobs you find. The key, here, is to work for several places. That way, if one fizzles, you're not totally out of luck because you still have other sources of income coming in. Keep several irons in the fire.

Devise a schedule. The reason to do work online, after all, is to allow you to have time with family and friends. Your blog, eBay and part-time jobs should work around your schedule - not become your schedule. But most of us have some free time when the kids go to sleep, just before bed, or even during lunch. Besides, re-runs aren't that important. Use an hour of extra time here and a half-hour there, and before long you'll be making extra money without interrupting your life at all.

A few words of caution: this process can become a grind after awhile. In many cases, you can work as much or as little as you want. Just keep the wheels moving and you'll have a nice, semi-steady side income.