In today’s age of technology, it is very easy to create an online income stream, using only basic tools such as a laptop/smartphone and a good internet connection. The boom in the e-commerce industry, especially after COVID-19 has significantly contributed to a lot of people shifting from their regular jobs to earning online. Students are also benefitting from this opportunity and looking for ways to create a passive income stream through online earning. How can you benefit from this trend?
Lets take a look at 5 best ways in which you can start earning online in Pakistan.
1 | Online Surveys
If you have no prior experience of online earning, you must be wondering how to make money online for beginners in Pakistan? Don’t worry, its fairly simple. You can earn from home by taking online surveys. This is a relatively easy way, as it does not require any technical skills. All you have to do is register at any survey site, take online polls, surveys or watch videos to earn points. You can redeem these points to get cash, or gift cards. Here’s a list of a few reputable sites in Pakistan where you can earn through surveys.
Once you sign up on these websites, you can start taking surveys right away! They are mostly regarding consumer behaviour, products, and market trends. Companies use this data to research and develop new products. In the surveys, you mostly are required to share your opinions regarding different topics/products etc.
However, you must keep in mind that while this method may be easy, it is time consuming. Usually the income per survey is low, so you have to fill A LOT of surveys to earn a considerable amount. Plus, you don’t get paid immediately, as each website has a minimum limit that you need to achieve before you can cash out. So this is only suitable to make some extra cash for a temporary period.
You must bear in mind that scam survey sites are also very common. Here are a few things you can keep in mind to avoid those:
- Never pay any website to fill out a survey. If a site is asking for credit card details, or any other form of payment it’s definitely a fraud.
- Never share your bank account information.
- Do not share any sensitive personal information such as ID card number, driving license etc. You will be required to provide identifying information such as your age, gender etc but it’s mostly anonymized.
- If a survey site is offering a huge signup bonus, free products, expensive gadgets, vacations, etc then it’s more likely to be a fraud. You should expect more realistic rewards, usually between $2-$10.
advantages of earning through online surveys
Here are some of the advantages of earning through online surveys.
2 | IG Influencer
Instagram is another fun and interesting way of making money online in Pakistan. Chances are you already have an IG account. With a little bit of strategy and hard work, you can actually turn your account into a passive source of income for you! How? Lets check it out!
In order to monetize your Instagram account, you need to have a sizeable following with a good engagement rate. The first step is to create an IG account, based on a specific niche. Some of the most popular niches in IG these days are
Keep in mind that on Instagram Quality > Quantity! So instead of posting random content, make sure it’s super relevant to your niche. Optimize your account by adding a relevant profile picture, and description. Use emojis and special characters to make it catchy! It’s a good idea to add your top keyword in your title.
Remember Instagram is all about aesthetics so the more interesting your content will be, the more your audience will engage with you. Display your content through a mix of mediums such Posts, Stories and Reels. The more IG features such as effects, filters, stickers, GIFs you use, the better and more interesting your content will turn out to be. These days IG is focusing more on Reels so post more of those! Keep posting consistently for your account to grow. In order to gain more followers, you should never
- Join groups for followers
- DM random people to follow you
- Buy followers
These measures will give you temporary growth but have a negative impact on
your long-term growth.
Instead, try the following to have a steady, organic account growth
- Post highly engaging content. Make use of the relevant hashtags to
increase your visibility - Build trust with your followers. Make use of stories to post everyday
things, in a story-telling manner so your followers can relate with you - Upgrade to a business account so you have the Insights tool. Analyse
your audience and its preferences and post accordingly. - Post content that solves the problems of your audience. Make sure
whatever you post adds value to your audience’s lives.
Once you have around 10k followers, and a 5-7% engagement rate, you can start pitching to brands related to your niche for affiliate marketing. It’s better to start with small brands as that will increase the chances of your pitch being selected. Keep the following in mind while pitching
- Try to be as professional as possible. Use email as a medium of communication.
- Present your marketing idea in a unique and different way, which adds value to the marketing strategy of the brand.
- Aim for a long-term work partnership, not just to enjoy free goods from the brand
- Always deliver what you commit!
- Don’t wait for brands to contact you! Pitch pitch pitch!
You can promote their products through your content and get paid by these brands. It may be a fun way but requires more time and effort. You need to wait for at least 6-8 months before you can actually start earning.
3 | Blogging
Blogging is a popular example of how to make money in Pakistan online. if you are passionate about anything, this may be just your thing!
This first step is to create a blog! You need to decide a profitable niche, which is also preferably your area of interest. Ask yourself these questions before deciding
- What are my areas of interest that are also profitable?
- Who is my target audience?
- How can I add value to my audiences’ lives?
Some popular, profitable niches
The most cost-effective way to go about it is to create a free blog on Wordpress.org, while paying for only a domain and a web hosting package. Wordpress offers a number of free themes and templates. You can use these to set up your blog.
Once it is up and running, start adding your blogposts. Make your posts as personalized as possible so your audience can gain from your experiences/opinions.
In the beginning, it is not advisable to spend on paid tools. Make use of free tools as much as possible, once you have a steady income stream, you can upgrade to professional subscriptions.
Start by identifying the problems your target audience is facing and come up with easy solutions to those. Make your tone as engaging as possible. Wanna know how to do it?
The next step is to bring traffic to your blog. . Write Search Engine Optimized content to rank your articles. You can make use of a number of free tools to find your relevant keywords such as
- Moz Keyword Explorer
- Ubersuggest
Simultaneously, come up with a social media marketing strategy to rank your blog. Share the link of your articles on your social media accounts. You can also make special business accounts for your blog. Keep growing your blog by exploring other avenues such as
- Creating youtube videos of your content
- Hosting webinars
- Creating podcasts
- Hosting live sessions on IG
- Collaborating with other blogs
Once you have a decent amount of traffic on your blog, you can monetize it.
Here are a few ideas for you to explore
1- Run Ads
Using Google AdSense, you can display ads on your website and earn money. AdSense automatically matches the relevant ads with your content and audience. For each click on the add, you get a certain commission.
2- Add affiliate links
If you have a product review based blog, you can also add the affiliate links to the products and earn commission
3- Offer paid subscriptions
It’s best to offer a certain amount of content free on your blog initially. Once your traffic builds, you can start offering paid subscriptions.
4 | Sell Your Skill Online
if you already possess a specific skill, the best way to earn is to start selling it online. There are a number of platforms such as Fiverr, Upwork & Freelancer where you can sell your services in a secure way. You can also hunt for clients from Facebook groups-make sure you search for super specific groups based on your niche. Some of the avenues that you can explore are
1- Copywriting
If you have a flair for writing, good vocabulary, and command over the correct grammar of the language that you want to write in, then this is the simplest option for you. English is the most popular language being used but you can also write in Urdu if you prefer.
2- Photography
With a good quality camera and an eye for capturing beautiful photos, you can start selling your services as a professional photographer. Your potential clients can be business owners, social media account handlers, modelling agencies, celebrities etc. You will also require professional photo editing software such as Photoshop or Canva. You can also sell your photos to stock image websites or start selling them online under a registered trademark.
3- Web Design & Developer
The recent boom in the e-commerce industry has spiked the demand for web developers. This is more of a technical skill and has a lot of potential as the main source of income. You can also learn this skill through Udemy, or even YouTube!
4- Social media Manager
Yet another fun and interesting way of online earning, this method doesn’t involve many technical skills. You are mostly required by businesses to handle all their social media accounts. You do require some basic graphics designing & copywriting skills, and very good knowledge of all social media platforms and their norms. You most probably would also be required to run their social media marketing campaign, so it would be advisable if you also learn how to run relevant ads, manage business profiles, use analytics etc.
5 | Start a YouTube Channel
This is yet another popular method of online earning in Pakistan. The best part about it is that you can turn your passion into a source of income. Start off by creating a YouTube channel on any of your areas of interest. Some popular niches trending these days are
Make sure that you upload highly engaging content for your videos to rank. You would require a very high-quality camera and advance level photo editing skills to make your videos interesting. You need to be above 18, and your channel should have over 1,000 subscribers and over 4,000 watch hours over the last 12 months, for you to start exploring monetizing options.
1- Earn through ads
Sign up for the Youtube Partners Program to enable Adsense to display adds in your videos. Keep in mind that your content should be advertiser-friendly content. This should not be your main source of YouTube income since you only get paid if the ad is clicked and Adsense takes about 45% of your revenue.
2- Affiliate marketing
Find brands to set up affiliate partnership programs such as Amazon. Create product review videos, add affiliate links and redirect traffic to drive sales of the brand. You can earn a commission on every sale you make.
3- Sell Merchandise
You can start selling your own merchandise such as T-shirts, mugs, caps, pens. In order to achieve this, you need to become a brand yourself. Come up with a marketing strategy that your audience can relate to. Set up your own online store and link it to your channel.
Remember, you will only be able to earn well if your channel ranks in the top spots. Therefore, you must
- Create high-quality content
- Optimize it with Youtube SEO
- Make use of an extensive marketing strategy to direct traffic from your other social media accounts to your channel.
One way to go about it is to select a certain high-ranking channel in your niche as a competitor and create similar videos. Don’t copy their content entirely, but make sure you add your own personal touch as well.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, this article provides you the relevant answers on how to make money online for free in Pakistan. Through these ways, you can easily earn online, with zero investment from the comfort of your home. All you need is the consistency to work on a daily basis, and a laptop/ smartphone with a good internet connection. Happy earning!
