Practical Ways to Earn Money Online in The Philippines

One of the most guaranteed ways to earn money in the Philippines is to sell products, but there are many other ways to make money online. Besides selling products, you can also sell services, expertise, skills, and talents to customers needing them.

During the pandemic, many people ventured on how to make money online. Work-from-home jobs have become in demand, and many people use social media or job-seeking platforms to find online jobs.

If you want practical ways on how to earn money online in the Philippines, you should dive deeper into this article.

Offering freelancing services

Freelancing, in simpler terms, means that you can be your own boss. If you are a fan of the gig economy, then freelancing is one of the best ways to start making money online.

Freelancing business is ideal for students, stay-at-home parents, fresh graduates, or anyone who prefers working in the comforts of their home. The amount of extra income in freelancing depends on the skill level and the nature of the job.

There are many reasons the freelancer population is growing in the Philippines; one is Filipino’s increasing adoption of digital platforms and devices. In fact, according to the Philippines Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), the Philippines tallied a 208% growth in freelance revenue in 2020, a much more significant difference from the 35% growth recorded in 2019.

This business might suit you if you want freedom and flexibility while making money online. 

These are the things you would need when applying and working for a freelance position:

• Technical skills: Since freelancing jobs are mostly online, you need to know basic technical skills, like basic computer skills, because they are part of your employer’s assessment. Some of the basics you need to know are Microsoft Office (Word, Powerpoint, Exel, etc.), Gsuites (Drive, docs, slides, calendar, meet, etc.), and sometimes they’ll ask about your proficiency in English.

• Portfolio: Some freelance employers ask for your curriculum vitae (CV), resume, or portfolio, especially if you are applying for work in the creative department, such as graphic designing, writing, editing, and so on.

• Work equipment: Freelance jobs do not necessarily mean that they would provide you with work equipment; in most freelancing businesses, you get to provide your working equipment. Laptops are the most common work equipment for freelancing, but it would also be better if you have a computer. Mobile phones/smartphones and tablets are sometimes considered for freelancing work.

• Stable internet connection: A stable internet connection is one of the most important things you need to have aside from your work equipment. Since your work is flexible and you have freedom, you can worry less about the possibility of losing an internet connection in the middle of work, but for efficiency, you need to have some backups.

Last but not least, don’t forget about your workspace. This is where you would spend your time working and making more money. That is why you need to have it before finding freelance work. Although it is not that necessary, it depends on preferences. Since it is just freelance, you can move freely around your place as much as you like.

Online Tutoring: Teaching English or other subjects to students locally or internationally

Online tutoring or teaching English online classes to students internationally or locally is another way of making money online in the Philippines. Sometimes employers ask for a teaching background, but sometimes, freelancers like students or early graduates can jump into this kind of online business, too.

Here are some websites to find tutoring students and customers:

• Tuturoo: Tuturoo is a platform created solely for Filipino online English teachers looking for online tutoring jobs or part-time. It is an easy-to-use platform where you can sign up to be a tutor and be included in the roster of tutors listed on the website interface.

• Teacheron: Teacheron is a global platform for online tutors. You can sign up here if you want to have a wide array of possible clients, but the downside is you have many competitors or co-online teachers who are seeking an online tutoring job. But you can take your chances, no harm.

• Upwork: Similar to Teacheron, Upwork is a platform that connects potential clients and freelancers/job seekers from across the globe. The best chance to have an online tutoring job here is to lower your rates first so that many clients would hire you.

Filipino tutors usually charge 500-2000 PHP per hour for this online service. This is already a decent amount, especially if you have any background in teaching English. Some freelancers with more teaching backgrounds can charge as low as 150-1000 PHP. The rates may depend on your skill level, background, or profession.

Starting an ecommerce business

One of the significant ways to earn money in the Philippines is to sell online. Online businesses saw significant growth during the pandemic, thus helping e-commerce to skyrocket in the Philippines. Many online entrepreneurs sought ways to earn money online using a social media platform mix, social media ads, online selling platforms, and others.

As e-commerce in the country continues to grow, so do the e-commerce online platforms. Starting an ecommerce business requires ongoing efforts and dedication. You will need to use an ecommerce platform to build your online store, find your own products to sell and continuously improve your offerings.

Dropshipping: Partnering with suppliers to sell their products

Dropshipping allows you to sell products to customers without having the products in your hand or your possession. Dropshipping online sellers only need to invest a little start-up capital in this money-earning scheme because you do not need a warehouse, inventory, or storehouse to sell products. 

Dropshipping is very easy to start. Once you find your local supplier, you can create your website and gather customers. You can use social media posts and ads to popularize your own website and promote products you are selling.

There is no need to invest a large amount of money or use a large upfront capital because it works through a this-party supplier, meaning they have the products and will be the ones to ship them to your customers.

On the other hand, there is a high competition rate. There is a lower profit in dropshipping rather than selling products you get from retailers. You have less control of the brand and customer experience.

Affiliate Marketing: Promoting products or services and earning a commission

Affiliate marketing is another booming way to earn money online in the Philippines. With several social media accounts, affiliate marketers can get a chance to make money by selling or promoting the products of other companies. They earn money if they generate sales and get a commission from the company. 

One of the leading platforms for affiliate marketing and earning money online in the Philippines is TikTok. TikTok uses the yellow basket interface to direct customers on where to click if they are interested in the products. Now, here’s how it works. The affiliate marketer should make engaging videos to market the product and convince customers to click on the yellow basket on their profile.

If the consumer clicks on that link, it will be redirected to the product, and once they purchase the product from the specific link on the marketer’s account, the marketer gets a commission.

Content Creation: Creating and monetizing YouTube videos, blogs, or social media platforms

Content creation is one of the most famous means to make money online in the Philippines. Filipinos love watching vlogs, reading blogs, or skimming through social media. This niche is for you if you are into content creation and can generate content consistently.

Here’s how to monetize your YouTube channel through content marketing:

• If you reach 500 subscribers, you must have at least three (3) uploads in the last 90 days. Or you get either 3,000 public watch hours on your long videos in the previous 365 days or 3 million YouTube Shorts views in the last 90 days.

• If you reach 1000 subscribers, you get 4,000 public watch hours on your long videos in the last 365 days or 10 million YouTube Shorts views in the previous 90 days.

• Once you reach these thresholds, your video or content will have Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads, which will pay you every time people click on your content to watch.

Anyone can start posting videos online on YouTube. You can create a free account and start posting, but it is not easy to earn money abruptly. To monetize your videos and earn extra money, you need to pass the thresholds and eligibility of the social media app. 

Participating in online surveys and microtasks

Online surveys can be a great way to earn some money. You can make money by taking surveys when you visit these sites. You must be very careful when choosing which paid online surveys to take because some sites are scams, and some are clickbait.

If you choose online surveys to earn money, you need to set your expectations low, too, because these types of paid surveys have low payouts; you need to be careful because some are scams. It is not suitable if you are looking for a full-time income.

Virtual Assisting: Remotely providing administrative or customer support services

Virtual Assistance is in demand, especially for people who love the work-from-home setup. A visual assistant is like a personal assistant to someone; the main difference is that you do all your tasks virtually.

Many virtual assistants are opening jobs on Job-seeking online platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed, JobStreet, Upwork, etc. You need basic computer knowledge to make emails, create meetings, etc. The great deal about this type of job is that most employers are from other countries, meaning you will earn more than the average salary in the Philippines. 

You can earn 4-6 USD per hour, and a monthly salary with a minimum of 27,000 – 30,000 PHP might increase as some employers pay higher depending on the workload.

Online Courses or Coaching

Selling online courses is another great way to earn money online. You offer your service online to people who want to learn something, for example, how to sell homemade food online, do affiliate marketing, or become a social media manager. These paid online courses are not as easy as they are.

To do it, you first need to identify your niche and program. You can do market research about what is trending these days or just be yourself and do what your passion is and sell your passion and skills. 

After that, you need to validate your program and invest in it; it’s either you create videos or content to be included in this course and, after that, find the best online platform where your customers can visit to buy your course.

Always make room for comments and suggestions from your target audience so that you can take it as room for improvement.

Offering digital marketing services

Digital marketing services are also one good way to earn decent money in the Philippines. Social media management is in demand; when you visit job posts online, you’ll always see they hire social media managers. 

Some methods to earn with digital marketing are offering content writing services, becoming an SEO expert, selling high-quality SEO courses, selling SEO services, selling consulting services to companies, becoming a social media manager, creating and selling your digital products (fintech/solutions, etc.)

Don’t limit yourself to working as a regular employee in a company. Explore new careers or find ways to earn extra. Here in the Philippines, you can gain many opportunities.