If you are interested in how to be paid online, how to pay online, or anything related to getting money in or out through the web, you’ve come to the right place. First, we will cover the most important question: what are the ways in which people make money online and get paid by companies, and then how to actually pay for something you want to buy online.
People are paid online for doing a lot of things.
For example, some people are paid for writing reviews. Did you know that monetary incentives for writing reviews can enhance product sales? They certainly do, according to this study! There is a high demand, and there are many opportunities to review products online, you just have to put the work in it. Some people are paid online for reviewing songs and sharing their opinions with people who compose. Listening to music can become a part-time job for anyone interested. If you are a musician, you might be asking yourself how to be paid by Spotify. How is the music streaming platform paying artists? We will have a section covering everything you need to know. If you want to find out more about the current state of streaming services in the music industry, check out this research paper.
There are other ways in which people are paid online. For example, there are some companies that pay people for doing surveys, or even searching on the web. Actually, you would be surprised how many companies are paying for surveys. But, what’s even more incredible is that people are paid for playing games, and how much they earn is based on a combination of time, luck, skill, and experience.
If you don’t want to spend all your time online, you should know that you can be paid to travel. There are many successful travel bloggers who serve as an example of successful entrepreneurship businesses, earning a substantial income while traveling the world and pursuing their passions. Here is an interesting whitepaper about travel blogging by Michelangelo Magasic.
If we come back to the online medium, there are those who are paid for reading books, reading news, or writing articles. There’s actually a whole industry for online article writing. So, if you are good with the pen and paper, this should be one of the first things you explore. You should also know that you could use your voice to earn some money online, you could be volunteering, and the last thing we will explore is if it’s possible to make money online while watching Netflix.
There are many companies that pay users for online stuff. You might be interested in how to be paid by Google. If so, you should know that Google pays webmasters for renting advertising space on their websites. All you have to do is build a few decently popular websites and you might be receiving regular checks from Google.
You might be wondering how to be paid by Youtube. This works in a similar manner, content creators are renting advertising space on their videos (just before their video starts, or inside, from time to time). And this method might be better than most at generating income. Check out this research paper that found out that Google AdSense and YouTube are better when compared to other income generating activities. If you are not sure what to do, starting on Youtube should be among the first things you consider if you want to get paid online. Here is a table showing the most popular niches on Youtube:
| Gaming | News | Food / Kitchen |
|---|---|---|
| Life hacks | Top Lists | Product Unwrapping |
| Celebrity gossip | Compilation of fails | How To |
Similarly, many people ask themselves how to be paid by Facebook or how to be paid by TikTok. On this website we will explore all these possibilities in-depth for each individual case. Some people ask themselves how to be paid by Instagram. In this particular case, Instagram does not pay its users, but there are ways in which you can earn money if you have a decently popular Instagram account. You might work out some sponsorship deals, or you might actually sell your own merchandise.
Gamers may be wondering how to be paid by Twitch. There are plenty of opportunities to earn money online as a gamer. It can be done by anyone with consistency and skill. Here is an interesting whitepaper covering live video streaming. We will have a whole section of this website dedicated to help gamers who just want to start their online journey and become more famous.
On the business side, many people are wondering how to be paid by Upwork, or how to earn money as a freelancer. One study made by the Stanford Graduate School of Business revealed that working from home improves work performance by 13%. And in 2020 more than 57 million Americans did some kind of freelance work (according to Freelancersunion). So, it looks like many people are doing it, and it is more productive. If you want a breakdown of the self-employed sector, check out this survey made by the Labour Force.
There are other ways in which you can earn some income online. For example, if you are able to build a community and provide consistent high-quality services or consultancy, you should know that some people are paid through membership websites. You can create a membership website and be paid by members regularly.
There’s one more thing people ask themselves when researching how to be paid online: how to be paid in bitcoin. Is it possible to do some work online and get paid in bitcoin? Of course it is, there are many websites and online platforms that pay directly in bitcoin, without any intermediary or middleman. If you want to get more into bitcoin payments, here is an interesting whitepaper about blockchain technology. We will cover this in an in-depth guide soon, and in the meanwhile we recommend reading Bitcoin from Beginner to Expert: The Ultimate Guide to Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Technology.
After you start earning some money online, you certainly will want to spend it. If you are wondering how to pay online for anything, the next section will cover the main methods to pay online, and in time we will cover every possible payment method and payment system. This section is meant for beginners who are just starting their journey online.
How to be paid online, the short and easy way:
Set up a Paypal Me. This is one of the easiest ways to be paid online.Just share your own PayPal.Me link (paypal.me/YourName) with others, and they can send you money for any reason. They don’t have to know your email address or mobile phone number, or even have the PayPal app. They can just tap on your link to go to your PayPal.Me, type in the amount, and send the money. You need a PayPal account for this. Log in and generate your link. You should know that PayPal is one of the most popular ways to get paid online, but it’s not the cheapest. They actually have some hefty fees. If you don’t know about PayPal, we have an in-depth guide covering almost everything about PayPal here. Check it out, especially the PayPal fees section. They also have pretty bad exchange rates if you receive money in multiple currencies and want to convert them.
The next method is one of the cheapest, but probably not the most convenient for your clients. You can set up a TransferWise account. This is one of the cheapest ways to accept international payments and avoid fees. They are known as a transparent company when it comes to fees and exchange rates. And they work with a lot of currencies. You can create a “borderless account” and you will get 4 different bank accounts: for the US, Australia/New Zealand, the UK and the EU. And then you can accept money in any of the currencies of those countries. Ask your clients for a bank deposit and give them the appropriate bank account.
The last method is not the cheapest, but it’s one of the most convenient. You can use an online form builder like JotForm or 123Formbuilder. It will cost you a monthly subscription of around 10-20 bucks. But for more convenience you will have a link that you can send to anybody who wants to pay you. You don’t have to own a website, or have any kind of online presence. You can also add a customizable form and you can collect more info from the people that pay you. You will also have a list with all the people who paid and you can set up to receive notifications on your email each time you get a payment. You should be able to set up automated recurring payments this way.
And a few words of advice before you start exploring the online payment systems:
- You should never reveal your password to anybody, not even to the administrator of the payment system you are using. He has a master password, he does not need yours. Only somebody that pretends to be the administrator will ask for your password. If somebody asks for your password, simply don’t reveal it, contact the support and ask for more info.
- Avoid paying online directly with your credit card (if possible). If you are interested in how to pay money online to somebody you don’t know in person, use a trusted third party payment processor like PayPal or Moneybookers. These payment platforms will never reveal any of your sensitive information. The money is transferred from your card into their account, and then paid from there.
- For payments over the Internet use only one credit card with limited funds on it. Don’t keep thousands of dollars on the credit card used for online payments. If something bad happens, you won’t lose a lot of money.
- Educate yourself on how to pay online before you actually start paying the bills, services, or even before you start shopping. You can begin educating yourself on the National Cyber Security Center official page. And a second good resource should be the Stop Fraud Task Force page. Also visiting industry events like the National Cyber Summit will bring some unique learning experiences from experts like Katie Arrington, who is the Chief of Information Security Acquisition at the Department of Defense, or Robert Powell, who is the Senior Advisor for Cybersecurity at NASA.
- You should know that things like cyber insurance can help to protect businesses and individuals from internet based risks.
Information on our website can be summarized as the answer to two more general questions: “How to pay online?” and How to be paid online. If you are interested, then we invite you to explore the different internet payment options and to choose the best one that suits your needs.
About the author:
This article has been written by Remus Zoica, with the goal in mind to help any beginners understand how to pay and how to be paid online. Remus Zoica has a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Oradea and has been using online payment systems for more than 15 years. He has worked with financial related companies and products, and over time he has noticed that there is no real “beginner’s guide” for people interested in earning money online, or paying securely for goods.. Most of the online information is presented with the assumption that users already know sophisticated terms and jargon. So this guide was born from seeing the lack of information and resources available to beginners. Even though this article is long and comprehensive, there are surely a lot more questions beginners might have. That is why this article is a “work in progress” and it will be constantly updated with important questions and relevant answers. If you have anything that you think is useful, feel free to send suggestions using the contact form.