Table Of Contents
- Build a Niche Site
- Become a Virtual Assistant
- Start a Blog
- Flip Stuff
- Freelance Writing For Bloggers
- Do Proofreading
- Sell Courses
- Sell Arts and Crafts
- What do you really need to make $4000 a month!
So, you’re looking for work-from-home jobs that pay $4000 a month?
$4000 sounds like quite a lot but it’s actually more or less the average monthly salary in the USA, which stands at $3714 per month at the time of writing this.
The majority of people will bear the dreaded car/bus/train journey to get to work, which can be a massive pain in the neck for most people, not to mention expensive to boot.
But remote working is now becoming a lot more popular and is expected to become much more commonplace in the coming years ahead.
I have worked at home since the beginning of lockdown (from around March 2020) in my job as a lawyer and although the computer network I work from can be a little slow at times, I am now quite well adjusted and I definitely see some benefits.
You’ve probably got an idea as to some of the benefits of working from home but I think it’s worth recapping what they are:-
- You can avoid the frustrating and expensive commute
- Better work life balance
- You can save money (gas, expensive lunches etc..)
- Less stressful and quieter environment
- Ideal if you prefer independence and working alone
- Choose your own hours (if self-employed)
Of course, working from home does have its drawbacks as well, such as it being less sociable and potentially more distracting.
But my experience of working from home has been a good one so far and I could quite happily continue like this in the long run.
But how hard is it to make $4000 a month from home?
That’s the real question and the info you’re undoubtedly looking for from this post.
And you want to know how to make $4000 fast, right?
Let’s be honest with ourselves, making $4000 a month from home is unlikely to be achieved by just doing casual side hustles, and you’re probably going to need to run some kind of business for these figures to be achieved and, more importantly, maintained.
Making $4000 a month from home consistently is not without quite a bit of hard work, but it’s definitely doable.
So, with that in mind, this post will cover 11 ideas that are doable but will involve some effort on your part!
This blog makes $2000 a month quite consistently and I work on it around 10 hours a week.
So there’s my inspiration to you!
So, without further delay, let’s check out 9 realistic ways of making $4000 a month from home.
Whether you’re looking to make $4000 a month, make $4000 every 2 months, or make $4000 a year – I’ve got you covered!
This post contains affiliate links meaning we may receive a commission for any products purchased via those links. For a list of our partners, please read our disclosure.
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Build a Niche Site
If you’re wondering what a niche site is, I’ll quickly explain.
So, a niche site is a website that is dedicated to providing information on a very specific topic.
Some niche site examples might be:-
- Garden furniture
- Vacuum cleaners
- Bass fishing
- Electric toothbrushes
On your niche website, you would write reviews and answer questions about these topics to help people search for information about them (usually on search engines like Google).
How to make money with niche sites
The two main methods of making money with niche sites is affiliate marketing and display advertising.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is where you promote a person’s or company’s product/service in exchange for a commission.
So, someone comes along to your niche site, clicks a link to a product that you’ve reviewed or written about, that person goes on to purchase that product, and you gain a commission.
The main affiliate network for niche sites is Amazon Associates (but there are many others).
Amazon Associates is Amazon’s own affiliate program that allows you to place affiliate links for the products sold on Amazon onto your website.
The great thing is that if someone clicks your Amazon affiliate link but doesn’t go on to buy that specific product you’ve written about, but buys something else on Amazon instead, you still get a commission.
The level of commission varies from around 2-10% depending on the product being sold.
Display Adverts
Display adverts are the adverts that you see when browsing websites and blogs.
I am running them now on this blog through the advertising network “Mediavine“.
You should see these ads on my site unless you have an ad blocker activated.
Essentially, Mediavine (the ad network that places the ads on my site) pays me for every 1000 visitors I get to my site.
My payment for every 1000 visitors is around $20 – $25.
On a niche site, you would place these ads in the exact same way as on this blog and earn $20 – $25 or thereabouts (depending on the niche) for every 1000 visitors.
How to Start a Niche Site
The first thing you need is a website or blog.
I would recommend using WordPress.org (not to be confused with WordPress.com) for starting your niche site.
WordPress.org is somewhere where you can build your website. It’s fairly simple to use and is very low cost.
The only thing you need to get started is hosting (i.e. a place for the file for your site to be hosted from).
You can set up a WordPress.org site for as little as $3.95 with BlueHost.
How Much do Niche Sites Make?
The success of your niche site will depend on how much traffic you can get to your website.
This will depend on finding a popular niche topic that you can write about and using Google to get people to your website.
I know many niche site owners who make well in excess of $4000 a month.
Mike Pearson who runs the course “Stupid Simple Seo” (a course about building website traffic) makes over $20,000 a month with his two niche sites in the home and credit rating improvement niches.
For further reading, we have crafted a 5000-word blog article on how to build a blog or niche site to $4000 a month.
Become a Virtual Assistant
Virtual Assistants complete virtual tasks for people that they haven’t got time to do themselves.
This might be things like:-
- Managing an email list
- Creating pins for pinterest
- Writing blog content
- Maintaining a website
- Creating online marketing campaigns
- Answering customer queries.
How Much do VA’s Make?
The average salary in the USA for work at home is $67115 according to Zip Recruiter.
So well in excess of $4000 a month and the average US yearly salary.
How to Make Money as a Virtual Assistant
Being a Virtual Assistant doesn’t require any specific qualifications but it is helpful to have excellent IT skills and to understand digital marketing.
One of the best resources I have found for learning to be a Virtual Assistant is a course by Gina Horkey who quit her job to become a virtual assistant and was earning $4000 a month within the first year of starting.
Her course will teach you everything you need to know about doing the job and how to create a successful online business as a VA. She is currently offering an introductory course for only $19 which is incredible value
Start a Blog
Blogging is a brilliant way of making a very healthy income working online.
You can blog about all manner of topics but it is important to remember not all blogs make money and not all blog topics are capable of making money.
My advice is to stick to one of the tried and tested niches such as:-
- Personal finance (like this blog)
- Food
- Health and wellness
- Dieting
- Yoga
- Travel
- DIY
The last thing you want to do is blog about a topic that no one is searching for. Not if you want to make money from your blog.
How Do Blogs Make Money?
Blogs make money in various different ways, the main ones being:-
- Affiliate marketing (see above niche site example)
- Display adverts (see above niche site example)
- Selling products like courses, e-books or guides
- Sponsored posts where a brand pays for you to write about their product
How Much do Bloggers Make?
Blogging earnings can be anything from $0 to millions of dollars a year.
Here are some examples:-
- Debbie Gardner – The Flooring Girl – $20k per month
- Ryan Robinson – RyRob.com – $40k per month
- Alex and Lauren – Create and Go/Avocadu – $200k per month
- Michelle Gardner – Making Sense of Cents – $100k per month
How Can I Start a Blog?
Starting a blog is very similar to starting a niche site in terms of the tools you need.
I have written a 5000-word blogging guide that takes you through everything you need to set up a blog and make $1000+ a month like this blog.
You can start a blog with WordPress using BlueHost for $3.95pm. This is ridiculously cheap, especially when you consider I know of bloggers making $100k+ a month from their sites.
Flip Stuff
Flipping is the art of buying items on the cheap and selling them for a profit.
How Does Flipping Make Money?
The key is to find sought-after items at a knock-down price that you can then sell on to people looking for those items and willing to pay good money.
Some places to find such items might be:-
- Garage sales
- Closing down sales
- Ebay
- Auction house
- Flea markets
- Craig’s list
- Ebay
How Much Can I make?
The best example I can give you is Rob and Mel who have made a full-time business out of flipping.
They make over $100k a year flipping goods for a profit and have sold things as bizarre as:-
- Door knob: Purchased for $8, sold for $200
- Double stroller: Purchased for $90, sold for $380
- Patio set: Purchased for $50, Sold for $2,100
- Carousel Horse: Purchased for $175, Sold for $1,299
- Old radio: Purchased $15, Sold for $200
How Can I Learn Flipping?
Rob and Mel also have a course where they teach how to do everything that is involved in flipping for profit.
The course will teach you:-
- How and where to source goods
- How to market and sell the goods
- How to run a flipping business
Freelance Writing For Bloggers
When blogs get to a good size, are popular, and are making money, the owner doesn’t always want to continue to write every article.
This is often because the blogger wants to focus on the business side of the blog like marketing and promoting it or to work on other ventures.
At this stage, more often than not, a blogger will outsource some of the writing work to a freelance writer to lighten the load.
There are millions of blogs on the internet, which means there’s a high demand for freelance writers to pick up work.
How Can I Write Freelance?
Anyone can become a freelance writer.
There is no requirement for formal qualifications as you are working on a self-employed basis.
Yes, you must be proficient at writing and it’s also helpful if you have knowledge in a particular area or areas.
But you do not need to be George Orwell or Shakespeare to succeed.
Where Can I Get Writing Gigs?
Writing gigs can be picked up in various places such as:-
- Fivver
- Problogger
- Flex Jobs
- UpWork
- Gig Bucks
These are just a few examples.
How Much Can I Make?
Freelance writing is about building a regular client base and getting your name out there.
If you can pick up 5 or 6 regular clients then you will have a steady stream of income coming in.
Some clients might require 4 x blogs per week to be written. Times that by 5 and you have 20 gigs per week.
Now in my experience, a freelance writer will charge between $50 – $100 for a 1500 word article.
If you can get 20 gigs per week then you’ll be looking at $1000 – $2000 a week income on the above figures.
Do Proofreading
Proofreaders check through written documents to look for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and other errors commonly found in writing.
The idea is to ensure the document you’re proofreading is ready to be published, free from errors.
How I Can I Start?
Proofreading is another online job where you don’t necessarily need qualifications.
You will need a good grasp of written English so you can spot those errors but you don’t necessarily need any more than that.
It does help to be educated to degree level when it comes to getting gigs but this is not essential.
If you’re serious about Proofreading as a profession or side hustle then I would strongly recommend Caitlin Pyle’s “Proofread Anywhere” course.
Catilin is the online guru of Proofreading and made $43,000 in her first year doing it.
Caitlin will teach you:-
- How to be a proficient proofreader
- How to get gigs
- What to charge for your services
- How to build a proofreading business from scratch
How Much Can I Earn?
The average proofreader salary in the USA is $52,000 per year so it is above the $4000 target I am discussing in this post.
Your earnings will depend on how successful you can market yourself and the client base you can build.
However, Caitlin Pyle now makes over 5 figures per year with her business so $4000 per month can be easily exceeded.
Sell Courses
Selling online courses is one of the most profitable online businesses you can do.
Courses can be made for pretty much anything where people are trying to acquire a new skill.
Such as:-
- Blogging
- Digital marketing
- Piano
- Guitar
- Music production
- Writing
- Photography
The list is pretty much endless which means there is a huge market for online learning material.
What Do I Need?
All you need to make courses is some expertise or knowledge in a topic.
If you are an expert in something then there is bound to be someone out there who wants to learn from your expertise.
The question is, how do you market a course?
There are various ways you can do this such as:-
- On a blog. The wealthiest bloggers pretty much all create and sell online courses of some type!
- On websites such as Teachable and Thinkific where you can build a course
- On Udemy or Lynda
- Through an email list where you email people about courses you produce
How Much Can I Make?
Selling courses is one of the most lucrative online businesses on this list.
This is especially so when combined with blogging where you’ve built up an audience.
Lauren and Alex at the blog Create and Go make over $100,000 a month selling blogging courses.
How I made $3500 on Facebook with affiliate marketing
In around 2015, I started affiliate marketing on the only platform I had available to me at the time – Facebook. I didn’t have a blog back then.
Even so, I still managed to make around $3500 just by using Facebook!
Better still, I only posted on my Facebook wall around 20 times to do this. That’s the power of affiliate marketing!
I have written a full post about exactly how I did it.
READ HOW I MADE $3500 ON FACEBOOK
Sell Arts and Crafts
There is a huge market out there for bespoke and unique arts and crafts.
If you have a skill for creating craft products then this is the ideal online business for you.
You could create products such as:-
- Jewellery
- Clothes
- Home Decor
- Pottery or ornaments
Where to Sell
There are now a few places you can sell your own designs, artwork, and craftwork pieces such as:-
- Etsy
- Shopify
- ArtFire
- Amazon Hand Made
They do tend to charge for you to sell your products either via a monthly subscription or through commission from your sales.
How Much Can I Make?
The sky is the limit when it comes to the money you can make selling online crafts.
The earnings can easily surpass the $4000 proposed as the topic of this article.
Here’s some motivation:-
- Three Bird Nest – $70k a month selling jewellery on Etsy
- Bohemian Findings – over 1m sales selling craft bracelet and necklace charms and jewellery
- Little Highbury – $100k+ per year selling headgear for babies.
What do you really need to make $4000 a month!
Making $4000 a month from home is within your grasp if you’re prepared to do the groundwork.
It will take time but the benefits of making that kind of money at home are immense!
If you want to hit this target I strongly believe you need to do the following:-
- Be prepared to dedicate a lot of time at the beginning to planning and implementing your money making idea;
- Research the market you’re entering. For example, if you’re thinking of blogging, read other people’s blogs, take courses, listen to podcasts, watch videos and try and work out how your competitors’ businesses tick;
- Work hard initially. Hard work and finding the time are often the biggest obstacles to making a good income online. You need to focus and not be scared of burning the midnight oil. Work hard at first and you can relax later – not the other way around;
- Try and get noticed. You need to bring something new to the table where possible. Try and set yourself apart from the competition.