101Geek
how to make money as a kid

17 Ways A 12, 13 or 14 Year Old Can Make Money Online (& Offline)

When I was in my early teens (13 or 14 years old) all I could think about was how to make money online and becoming a millionaire from the comfort of my room.

It turns out it’s pretty hard to earn money online and wasn’t as easy as all them sales pages and people on forums were making out. But once I learned a few money making methods I was well on my way. To help speed up the process of you earning money online I’ve put together 17 of by far the best methods a kid can know about money-making. 

You want to know how to make money at 13 or 14 years old (year older or younger still applies)? Well, you have come to the right place.

WARNING: You will learn how to make money as a 13/14/15 year old by reading this list!! ;).

UPDATE: I JUST RE-DID THIS ARTICLE AND MADE IT 100X BETTER: NEW 18 WAYS FOR TEENS TO MAKE MONEY.

#1. BECOME A YOUTUBE SENSATION.

If you’re 12-14 years old, then you’ll probably know about YouTube and hopefully you’ll understand the amount of money that can be made by something as simple as creating video content. Now most teens understand this and try their hand at becoming YouTube famous at some point in their teen life.

Why won’t you succeed? 

It’s simple, if you’ve got a low attention span, then chances are you’ll give up before you get YouTube famous.  I’ve spent a lot of time delivering thousands of views to certain YouTubers/YouTube videos and out of all the famous YouTubers I’ve spoken to, none of them ever gave up, even for the space of a month.

With the help of keyword research tools like Tubebuddy, you can grow your account much faster. With Tubebuddy, you eliminate guesswork and can aim at most searched and best converting keywords + you get extensive analytics dashboard that will give you an edge over others.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO TO EARN MONEY WITH YOUTUBE?

  • Pick what you’re going to do videos about and stick with it.
  • Find people who do the same sort of video and get millions of views for it.
  • Copy their editing, video style and content.
  • Write long descriptions on all your videos.
  • Upload new content every day.
  • Teach the people who watch your videos something useful.
  • Read my YouTube fame eBook.

Just follow these methods for the next 6 months and you’ll start seeing a massive growth in your YouTube channel. I know a lot of you will be thinking “What six months?!?!?!?” But I promise it might seem like a long time now, but it will fly by and you’ll start creating Adsense revenue within the first month.

I’ve got loads of tips and tricks on this site that will teach you exactly how to get tons of views on YouTube. Just check out some of these articles:

I’ll more than happily talk you through the process of getting view on YouTube in the comments, so please leave a comment if you’re interested about making money with YouTube and I’ll do my best to guide you in the correct direction.

#2. WRITE A BLOG.

Do you enjoy writing? If you enjoy writing then you can create a blog. It doesn’t have to be about your life, it can be about gaming, makeup, fashion, tutorials, even money-making ;). It’s simple and in this day in age, you don’t even have to be able to code to have your own .com website.

HOW TO EARN MONEY:

  • Get a cool domain name and cheap hosting (Bluehost is by far the best solution for beginners)
  • Start creating content every day.
  • Use my how to get views on a website guide.
  • Install Adsense
  • Use affiliate networks like ShareASale, you’ll get up to 40% + for selling someone else’s product. – Guide Here.

It’s all about creating good content every day if you achieve that then within no time you’ll have a website that earns cash without any work. If you’re seriously clever then I’d recommend you do YouTube and Blogging together, that way you can access two revenue streams, making you more money than ever.

#3. SWAGBUCKS.

Swagbucks (Gift Link) is a site that allows you to earn cash and gift vouchers for loads of famous websites. You just have to complete surveys, watch videos, play games, check out products and look at websites. It’s the only website of its type that I’ll promote and it’s definitely something that’s worth trying.

#4. SELL STUFF ON AMAZON/EBAY.

Something that I used to do when I was around 14  was sell things that I didn’t need/want on eBay/Amazon. I also used to find bulk suppliers of stock and sell things like remote control helicopters. I bought 50 for them for $5 apiece inc shipping and then sold them on Amazon, Ebay and in real life for around $35. That’s 1500 dollars profit from a few hours of work.

Every month I’d change products, so one month it would be helicopters and then the next month it would be Nerf guns, then remote control tanks, etc. Anything that looked sellable and I could buy in bulk I’d try. It’s best to start this off with little to no investment. So maybe sell your own games, toys and electronics, then earn some cash and start investing.

#5. Wash Cars

Busy adults are usually in a hurry and don’t have time (or just don’t like doing it) to wash their cars, but you can make some serious cash doing it for them. You’ll need some basic tools such as a bucket, soap and rags to wash with and towels for drying.

If you’re offering full service and cleaning the interior of the cars as well, you’ll want to get some window cleaner and paper towels. A portable hand-held vacuum can be a great accessory as well.

Most clients will let you use their hose and water to wash the exterior of the car. Some may lend you their vacuum for vacuuming the interior, but be sure to check with them before you take the job.

#6. FIVERR.

Have you ever heard of a site called Fiverr? For those of you who haven’t, it’s a site where you get paid $5 to do little tasks. These tasks can be as simple as writing, speaking, proofreading, giving advice, graphics design and doing something funny, cute or annoying.

You create something called a gig that offers your service. People really do buy these gigs and I personally have made money using Fiverr a few times in the past. I’ve even created two guides that will really help you earn big money using Fiverr.

Just read both of them guides and you’ll be well on your way to make money every day with Fiverr.

#7. SELLING GAMES AT YOUR LOCAL GAME STORE.

This method isn’t completely online, but it’s easy and you’ll have to buy your stock online. The first thing you do is work out who buys games in your town. Go to places like GameStop and CexExchange and see how much they’re buying games for and if they even buy games.You just need to find three places that buy games in your area.

Now head over to eBay and look at bulk video games. You’re looking for something like 5 to 15 video games for $30 to $60. Find as many as you can write down all the games on a piece of paper and then go into the game shops one by one and ask them how much money each of these games is worth.

After you’ve completed that task you need to head home and get back on eBay, work out how much you’ll earn from each bulk game package and buy the ones that make a $50 + profit. After you get them, rush down to the people who buy games for the best price and sell them all the games. Then just keep repeating every week and eventually, you’ll be earning $200 to $300 dollars per week.

#8. ARTICLE WRITING

Can you write articles? If you’re a good writer and want to earn some quick money you can always start article writing. Article writing is an extremely easy way to make money online and if you’re someone who enjoys writing then you’ll easily be able to outsource your work for $5 to $20 per 1000 words.

First let me say that you don’t need to be perfect at writing in order to earn money, look at me… I earn money writing articles and my grammar is pretty awful ;). You’ve just got to be able to write in English, research a subject, edit your writing and learn to be quick at typing.

I created an amazing guide that’ll teach you how to make money from start to finish with article writing. Go and check it out and learn the secrets of money-making with articles.

A quick breakdown of earning money with article writing:

  • Create a Fiverr gig where you’ll write 500 words for $5
  • Read the “How to get traffic to your Fiverr gig” article.
  • Get Grammarly (Best Proofreading software).
  • Start promoting your gig
  • Prepare to start earning money with articles.

I guarantee after a month of following them steps you’ll be able to start earning a nice living online.

#9. BASIC GRAPHIC DESIGN

Can you use Photoshop to create logos? If you can use Photoshop then you can make fortunes using Fiverr.

Logo and ad banners are the highest selling gigs on Fiverr. People sell thousands of them every year and once you get good at creating logos it takes around 5 to 10 minutes to create one. Most of you won’t have any idea about logo/ad design, but if you want to learn how to create a basic graphic design then this guide it for beginners and is really easy to follow. After you’ve learnt basic text design, then just start looking at other logo/ad examples on YouTube, there are tonnes of tutorials.

Once you learn basic graphic design I also have another article that will teach you how to make even more money with graphic design. I highly recommend checking that out.

#10. SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Are you good at using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or TikTok? Well if you think you can handle it then you can control people’s social media accounts.

Just use Fiverr and charge people $5 a month to look after their Twitter, Facebook or Google +. Your service should involve 2 status updates every day and interaction with anyone who speaks or asks questions about the profile.

Let people pay another $5 to get more status updates added, for example, 2 status updates per day $5 or 6 status updates per day $10. Just keep finding new ways to earn money every month. You can also charge people $5 to add another social media account to your monthly service. So you’ll then be posting 2 statues on both social media accounts each day.

Use Fiverr to serve your service and always be sure to live up to the things you offer.

#11. TIKTOK

TikTok is available in over 150 markets around the world, in 39 languages. The latest available official statistics show that there are 500 million TikTok users around the world (monthly active users).

Needless to say it is popular. So much so that the President of the USA made it a key piece of his most recent foreign policy maneuvre.

How to make money on TikTok if you are just 12 or 13 years old (or 14 for that matter)?

First off, you have to make a unique TikTok profile. And then grow it as fast as you can.

You can link your YouTube and Instagram account with TikTok. It will help you to increase audience reach for your TikTok videos. If you build a relatively big, engaged audience on TikTok, you have something those brands want. If you can help them reach and understand your peers and followers, you can make a pretty penny, too.

The easiest way 12-14 year olds are making money from Tik Tok is growing accounts and then selling them.  This is increasingly popular in the eCommerce or product space. 

The second way kids are making money from TikTok is going Live and collecting donations from viewers (similar to what you can do on Twitch).

Until TikTok’s advertising network develops further, the easiest way for TikTok influencers to earn money is by making direct arrangements with brands. As people become better known on the platform, they will begin to have brands approach them with business propositions. Once you count your followers in the thousands, you can start to look at monetizing TikTok. Companies have been known to pay $200 to $20,000 per branded video promoted by influencers, depending on the individual’s level of influence. 

#12. CREATE YOUR OWN SMALL EBOOK

If you can write and have some information that people may find useful you can create an eBook. I released my first eBook on Kindle when I was 17 and even now if I promote it, it still earns cash. It is a great way to get money as a 15 years old.

Just start the eBook by thinking of something you can teach people, maybe it’s Call of Duty advice or maybe it’s Make Up advice, just find something that you’re good at explaining and then create an eBook about it. Start promoting it using my 20 ways to drive traffic article. This might seem a little advanced but if you start when you’re 13 then you’ll be amazed at how much money you can earn by the time your 20. It’s always good to start young.

Tip: Remember to always ask friends and family for help. You should always use the tools you have and people are the best kind of tools around.

#13. BECOME A GAME TESTER

Another way to make money as a 13-14 year old kid is by testing games. Do you like playing video games? Well if you enjoy playing games then you could always start testing them for a living. There are a few sites that’ll allow you to test games for money without any education or previous experience.

The money isn’t always amazing, but as long as you’re keen and happy to work a few hours every day you’ll be able to earn a nice living.

If you want to learn how to make serious money beta testing video games then I did a full tutorial that will teach you exactly how to make real money with this method. The guide I created is a little hard to achieve, but if you’re keen and don’t mind studying I guarantee it’ll open up amazing doors in your life.

#14. REVIEWING PRODUCTS

If gaming doesn’t mean anything to you then maybe you’ll have a better time testing other products. We live in a world where you can easily earn cash every week reviewing/testing products for people. I do recommend that you get a blog using the advice given above. Then just start reviewing the products you own on the blog, build some traffic and then start asking companies in similar industries for products to review.

After you start getting products through just put a lot of effort into reviewing them and give your honest opinion. You also need to tell people your age and be sure to show loads of enthusiasm.

You can also do reviews on YouTube. Before you know it you’ll be getting loads of free products and earning money through affiliates that you promote for each product.

#15. TRANSCRIBING

Online jobs for 13 year olds don’t come by too often as there are many age-related restrictions. However, transcription is not one of them and it is one of the more popular ways for a 13 year old to make money fast. In many big industries like marketing, medicine and journalism, for example, audio files such as recorded interviews and speeches need to be converted to text for easier overview and search.

This is where transcribers come in. They listen to audio files and type them out to convert the audio into text format. 

How to do transcription:

  1. Find a quiet space. …
  2. Plug yourself in. …
  3. Open a blank Google Doc. …
  4. Open the Voice Typing tool. …
  5. Ensure the Voice Typing button appears. …
  6. Ensure your microphone is turned on and your language is set. …
  7. Click the recording button, and begin speaking. …
  8. Watch along as you transcribe.

#16. LEARN SOMETHING USEFUL

Finding what work you love to do is your most important job right now. You can earn money doing almost anything, even if you wanted to be a garbage man, you can start at the bottom and end up owning the company that manages all the garbage disposal making you a millionaire. So don’t listen to anyone who tries to get you to put your dreams in a box and hide them away.

Life becomes so much more exciting when you realise that you’ve got the power to change it in any way you see possible. Life starts on the edge of your comfort zone, so just try making life a little less comfortable every day.

So, learn as much as you can, stay focused and understand that you’re better off being the best at something small, than just okay at something big.

#17. DOG WALKING

If you need more ideas, you could also ask your friends and neighbors if they need help babysitting, dog-walking, or mowing their lawns.

Taking care of dogs or other animals usually means feeding the animals twice a day or so, making sure the house hasn’t been trashed by the animals, and if they’re dogs, maybe doing some dog walking too. 

DON’T GIVE UP

Just study all this advice on how to make money as a 13 year old and use the comments below if you get stuck, I’ll be your mentor and teach you the easiest possible ways to earn money all you’ve got to do is ask :). Just be sure to like my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter. I’m here to help, you’ve just got to ask. Thanks for reading. – 101 geek.

Felix Küster