Who doesn't want to make extra money online?Sitting at home on the couch, clicking on the buttons and money coming into your bank account.It's the dream for every lazy Millennial like me.

It's not that easy though.

I went through a lot of websites trying to make money quickly.However, without any tremendous success.If you decide to keep reading, you can at least learn from my failures.

Fiverr

You probably know Fiverr.It's not great Too many people work too little.This is their motto.

Of course, I tried it.I didn't have much to lose… just time.

Why is Fiverr so bad?

It's the whole concept.Most customers expect you to meet their unrealistic expectations for a laughable amount of money.Unless you are in an underdeveloped country or you are already a well-established specialist on the site, it will most likely be a waste of time.

Fiverr's market is saturated, and you can find hundreds of well-rated experts on all popular topics.Many people who offer concerts also live in Asian countries where even a few dollars can make you live.I have nothing against this, but if you're in a Western country, it might not be worth trying to work at these low rates.

One of the solutions will be to have gigs with much higher rates than the average in exchange for your superior work.Of course, only if you have the talent or years of experience that even then will not guarantee you success.

It's a tough life in the freelance world.

Especially for beginners or someone who hasn't developed any following, Fiverr will be a long way to finding success.

There will always be exceptions.Perhaps, if you have exceptional talent in a specific area and simply crush competitors with a great product.Or if you are in a small niche that is still growing.Doing voiceover was one of them, for all native Englishmen.I'm not sure that's the case yet.

Anyway, I've been trying Fiverr for a few months by sending deals here and there.I didn't take it seriously, which led to zero success.

Earnings: $0

oDesk

I can probably just copy and paste the same text from Fiverr and it will be relevant to Upwork.

Ok, there are some differences, Upwork is a bit higher level, but in the end it's the same nightmare for freelancers.

Chase clients with high expectations and no budget, and at the same time compete with a hundred other freelancers who try to underestimate the other service.

Most concerts receive 30-50 entries in a few minutes.You have to overcome them and offer something better and cheaper.Or have a name on the platform.

I'm not just trying to complain against the system or these sites, it's just the reality if you're trying to enter a highly competitive online market.Those people who make good money with Upwork or Fiverr wouldn't just let you come and steal their business.

For some of them, it's a way to make a living and I don't blame anyone.For a side hustle, it wasn't really worth trying it out so much.

You can also read some nightmarish stories of people who closed their accounts for stupid reasons, which is another issue.These freelancer sites are in control of your account and are the ones who set the rules.If they don't like something you're doing, nothing prevents them from banning you.

Thousands of hours of work and effort and building a personal brand could go out the window in a second if a moderator finds a reason to ban you.It is a risk that you should know while recording.

Well, similar to Fiverr, I gave it a chance, but it didn't work for me.

Earnings: $0

Blogger and AdSense

Making money with blogs?Haha.How naïve.

There are millions of blog posts every day.Until I've finished writing this story, one or two million new blogs will appear.I am also a slow writer.

The blog itself does not make you money.Advertisements or a product offered through the blog is what can bring you additional income.References to other websites are also an option.

The thing is, you need a lot of visitors coming to your blog.It's a whole brand building story where you need to invest in outlying whatever blog you have.

In my case, it was just a blog about Blogger, formerly known as Blogspot.Blogger had its days as a platform, but those days are long gone.

It's not that bad for a free platform, but it's not great.You have the simplest and ugliest design you can get.Compared to a well-designed WordPress website, the difference is day and night.

I tried Blogger because I'm cheap and didn't want to invest money to buy a domain, create a website, and maintain it.Maybe in the future when I develop my great writing skills (which won't be so soon!)

Blogger gives you the ability to add AdSense to your blog and start customizing ads and earning money.The last time I checked, AdSense was still setting up my account.It takes up to two weeks according to them.Or in my case in a few months.Something is stuck there, I guess.

I wouldn't recommend Blogger to anyone, just because it's terrible to write or read.I don't know anyone who reads blogs from Blogger, not since 2006.

As you can already understand, I didn't earn a penny from Blogger or AdSense.I wonder what percentage of people earn something from these two.I'm sure it's not high.

Earnings: $0

Medium

Since we're on Medium, I can't talk about it.Some people make money here.Lots of money!Not me.

In all seriousness, I like to write on Medium.The user interface is nice and clean.Easy to write and read.It has a huge visitor base, and you can even get paid for writing.It has everything I want from a writers' platform.

You have to give some compliments when they are deserved.Of course, Medium has its drawbacks, nothing is perfect.You know them.

They had to add the monthly subscription to earn more, but it only costs $5 per month.Not much for most people.I am not registered.I read free stories and write from time to time and don't really need the subscription.Yes, it will be nice to read something more, but this is life.

How much do writers pay is the big question?

Not much short answer.They have a complicated pattern of applause attached to your stories that are posted behind a paywall.Writers can choose whether to publish them for free or not.

Some applause can give you more money, depending on how often the person signing up applauds.You can find some articles here describing them in detail.

Medium is my favorite place to write and I'd be very happy to earn some extra money for a beer or two, but I don't even publish my stories behind a paywall.

First, I don't think I offer such high-quality writing that people would have to pay to read it.

Secondly, I have almost no view anyway.

Third, I actually made some stories eligible to earn money, which contradicts my first point, but I saw how much the little Medium pays when you have no followers and your stories get at most 30 views.

Fourth, writers should first convince people to read them, a couple thousand followers under their account.Start receiving a good amount of views and readings every day, then try to earn from it.

I've read stories of writers making a few thousand a month here, but that's less than 1% of the total number of writers who publish regularly.

Earnings: $0.35

Conclusion

Trying to earn money online on the side can be a bit daunting.That doesn't mean we should stop trying.

Even if you continue to earn $0 month after month, you develop skills in the process that could be useful one day.Or you suck at what you're doing.But you will suck less every day.

Even though my whole story seems a bit negative, my main message is to stay positive, keep trying, and have fun.

I didn't spend all my time on these failures.I have a normal job that I enjoy and keeps me busy every day.

These side activities were just side activities. I do them whenever I have the time and energy to do so.

There are other things I haven't talked about that can actually bring some extra income like doing online surveys, testing, looking at ads, mobile apps, and so on.

Maybe one day I'll write a success story… or maybe another with big failures!

Peace.