How to Make Money Online in Malaysia
We are living in the 21st century which can also be referred to as the generation of technology. In this time and age, there are many ways that one can make money online in Malaysia.
Towards More Relevant Method of Business in 4th Industrial Revolution
Gone are the traditional ways of getting a loan to open up a physical store as you can now do all that online but for free.
Physically opening a store in the real world takes a lot of time and savings however if you apply the right skills and strategies you can do that online in a lot less time and for a lot less money.
When you hear the phrase “make money fast” exactly how “fast” are you thinking? If you are thinking about something along the lines of a few days or even a few months, you might as well stop your search here because that is merely impossible.
You would definitely be able to make some money, but getting rich after a mere number of days is just wishful thinking.
A more realistic time period to give yourself is at least a year or two and that is already considered a short amount of time to find success.
Many people have done it and have gotten great success from it and now you can be one of them too.
All you have to do is give it a try.
E-commerce As The New Business Platform
A perfect example for Malaysians is FashionValet as they too started out as just any other E-commerce fashion website, and look where they are now?
They have an estimated annual revenue of 50 million and they only established this after a couple of years.
Making money online is a good way to make some extra cash on the side as it is a very flexible task and you can almost do it anywhere.
If you become big enough, this side job of yours can even generate enough income that you can consider quitting your full-time job.
It matters not if you are currently a university student looking for extra cash or a stay at home parent looking for ways to up your household income because as long as you have an internet connection, there is nothing to stop you from trying your hand at making money online.
Without further ado, here are 24 ways on how to make money online in Malaysia and succeed at it faster than everyone else.
1. Build Your Very Own Website/Blog + Affiliate Marketing
This is the very first thing anyone thinks about when starting a blog. However, if you look into the finer details of it, it might not sound as easy as you think.
The internet is a competitive place, so how do you make your new website/blog noticeable and different as compared to the millions of other websites/blogs out there?
Website Design
First and foremost, it is a good idea to invest in an agency that is specialized in this field, just to give you a headstart on your website. This is to ensure that you have an easily accessible website design that also looks professional.
In addition to creating your website for you, Sterrific can also help boost your SEO hence increasing the possibility that your website turns up on the first page on search engines.
Alternatively, if you want a cheaper method, you can learn how to build a successful website/blog with the dozens of articles provided online however it might take a lot more time as well as a lot more brainpower.
Not to mention, it still might not be as good as the websites/blogs that agencies like Sterrific can create for you.
Affiliate Marketing
The next step would be to decide which companies are the most beneficial to partner up with considering the type of products/services you are selling.
Online Business Partnership
Affiliate marketing is essentially a type of marketing that lets you earn a commission when you help with the sales of other businesses. This process works best when you partner up with brands that are relevant to yours.
How this works is that you put links of their products on your website/blog and when someone buys a product by clicking on the link that you have provided, you then get your commission.
The profit given differs from different companies but this technique is an easy one to make money from as it is practically doing all the work for you.
Check out established affiliate networks such as Amazon, Lazada, Zalora, Go daddy and many others which will connect you to with sellers who are searching for affiliates to sell their products/services.
Quality Website Content
Following that, you then want to create quality content on your website/blog that will attract traffic to your affiliate partner’s website. It should be something that is related to the product of your affiliate partner. Maybe an in-depth analysis?
Or even a comparison in their favor of a competitor’s product. A better article that generates more traffic will allow for a higher chance of sales which would lead to more commission.
2. Online Tutoring
Living in today’s competitive society, studies are everything. Many parents go to great lengths to ensure their children get an education that is the best of the best however some students still need a little help.
Virtual Learning
Online tutoring is a good idea as there are plenty of students that are in need of tutoring but do not have the transport to go for extra classes as their parents are busy at work.
In Malaysia, it is also very hard to take public transport from some places as buses often come late and when they do come on time they can be very crowded.
Therefore to avoid the hassle, people would want to take part in lessons that are held online as it is easier and more convenient for them.
Standard Requirements
All you need to take part in this online money making strategy is to have done well in school in the past. If you have fantastic SPM, IGCSE, A-Levels, STPM grades, this would certainly increase the incentive for people to pay for your services.
As this would mean that you would have known what the syllabus was like and how to conquer it. Teach your students how to study smart and not just hard.
You might need to invest in some books to teach the appropriate syllabus and do some research in the marking schemes on the relevant exam board.
In this industry what matters the most is results, hence if you can prove to deliver good results then your good reputation will bring the customers in for you.
You can start off by joining an online tutoring platform or even make appointments with the students through means of social media.
3. Online Coaching
Similar to tutoring, you can also become some type of coach and sell people your advice and knowledge.
Sell Your Expertise Online
This is considering the fact that you are somewhat knowledgeable in a certain area for example fitness, self-confidence or even relationships.
If you can make yourself come off as some kind of expert whose advice really works, people will definitely come and pay for your knowledge.
This is another one of those strategies that do not need any initial start-up capital. All you really need to invest in this is your time, talent and charisma. You need to be able to convince people that they want/need to learn from you.
Find Your Online Clients
If you don’t know where to find people that would even want your service then you could go to websites like Coach.me that is a community-driven site filled with potential customers.
Alternatively, you could even try your hand at YouTube videos giving your future clients a little sneak peek of your advice. If they find that your advice works or finds you charming, then there is a higher possibility that they will visit your website for more.
4. Become a YouTuber
With platforms like YouTube and Instagram, anyone has the chance to become famous these days.
Vlogging For Your Own Good
Many people create content that shows them vlogging their lives or some even do very informational videos or even videos that are made with the sole purpose to entertain.
Therefore there is a lot of options that you can choose to do if you decide to start a channel on YouTube.
Being on YouTube comes with lots of competition as it is the biggest video sharing site in the world.
Can you imagine it is one of the top 3 websites that is visited in this entire world? An estimated amount of 5 billion videos are watched on the site every single day. The way YouTube works is that the more views you get the more money you get.
So it doesn’t matter that you don’t have a thousand subscribers straight away because YouTube works based on views so no matter what, you would still be making money.
After you have been on YouTube for a while, the YouTube partner program will then approve you for allowing advertisements in on your videos. This will help you boost your income from YouTube even more.
Meaningful & Entertaining Content
A YouTube channel is like a more advanced version of a blog. Instead of writing out your content, you make your content in video form.
After much research, it is shown that the most successful types of Youtube channels are ones that put out educational content such as videos that help you understand that topic in economics or tutorials that actually show you how to do a certain task.
The other type is ones that put out content solely to entertain people. A good example of this type of channel is the one owned by famous YouTuber Logan Paul called TheOfficialLoganPaul.
A good way to increase the views on your videos is to upload consistently and make sure to interact with your fans on the channel. Here are good examples of Malaysian YouTubers who started up as nothing and have made big names for themselves today.
5. Create A Podcast
Too shy to show your face on camera to post videos on YouTube? Then creating a podcast is a good alternative. It is very similar to having your own blog or being a YouTuber as it is based on the same concept.
Podcasts are surprisingly becoming more of a trend in recent times and are undoubtedly a good investment to make.
Sell Your Voice & Instrument Playing Talent Online
As with anything it takes time to gain a substantial following but when you do you could make some big bucks over advertisements. It is relatively very easy to start a podcast these days with platforms like Spotify and iCloud where all you really need is a microphone and good recording software.
Boost Your Audience
A good way to boost your listeners is to find out what is currently trending. A good tool for this would be Google Trends. With the help of tools like this, you can come up with topics that listeners are actually interested in.
In Malaysia, the podcast industry has not fully been explored by many people at the moment. Therefore it is a good idea to be ahead of the game and start your podcast as soon as possible before the market gets saturated with a bunch of competitors.
6. Be the CEO of an E-commerce site
As stated in the intro using example FashionValet, the E-commerce line could be one that could get you some big bucks. This is probably one of the most overused methods to make money online over time.
There are a lot of specifics that go into making a successful e-commerce website which goes to show that this may not be the easiest way to make money on the internet as it does take a lot of resources and time.
Be Your Own Boss
This is the one method of the many on this article that may very well be a full-time job.
Having said that, as compared to the past we have more resources now that makes the creation of an E-commerce site easier such as websites like Shopify that lets you easily customize and build your new E-commerce sites.
There are also many applications that help you maintain the good quality of your E-commerce site as stated in this article. You can take a look at the top profitable E-commerce businesses in Malaysia in order to choose the right business.
The two options that most people pick from when dealing with an E-commerce business is either to create a product themselves which is specially targeted to a certain niche in a business segment or to get goods from different suppliers and completely repackage them to sell them for a higher price online.
Be Alert on Unforeseen Matters
However, there are some issues that you should take note of before starting an E-commerce website. The first being how much stock should you carry. Followed by purchasing costs, transport fee, storing costs and some others.
This method might be very worrisome and take up a lot of time but if you do it right, you might very well be set for life.
7. Selling Products on Social Media
Instagram Domination
If you have been living in Malaysia for some time now, I am sure you have noticed that most Malaysians are always on Instagram. Wouldn’t you think that this would be the best platform to sell products on then?
The plus side of selling on platforms like this is that it is completely free. All you need to have is a following and a good product to sell.
Effective Updates
The recent updates of Instagram really cater to people trying to sell products online as they give you very good insights to your audience demographics such as where most of your followers are from, their reactions towards your post when your followers are the most active and etc.
Start Your Own Account
All you need to do to get this started is a social media account and knowledge on how to attract people’s attention. This is a good job to do on the side of a full-time job as it does not require much constant attention.
You may start up small but don’t underestimate the power of social media.
8. Selling SEO
As this world gets more and more integrated with technology, businesses and shops are moving to sell their products online. This makes the market on the internet completely saturated with a whole lot of competitors, and that’s where SEO comes in.
Bolster Your Rank With SEO
SEO is an acronym for search engine optimization and it is a good way to get organic traffic for your website.
If SEO is done correctly it will push your website higher up on the search engine result page hence making your website more visible when customers search up certain keywords.
The website of the business will gain benefits as there is more of a chance customers will click on your website and buy your products as to the ones of websites that are on the fourth or fifth page of the search engine result page.
This is a service that should be sought out by online businesses as gaining an online presence in today’s day and age is extremely important.
Master SEO Skills For Your Site
To be able to sell this service you must at least have prior knowledge of how SEO works and how to increase a business’s SEO.
However have no fear if you haven’t even heard of the term SEO before, there are plenty of articles online to tell you exactly what SEO is and how it works.
SEO right now is something that many businesses don’t know about in Malaysia, therefore, it not being an Industry that has many competitors yet.
Don’t wait for too long however as once people find out about how important SEO is for their businesses, there will be SEO agencies popping up left and right. There is most certainly profit waiting to be made in this industry.
As of right now, a leading SEO agency, Sterrific is dominating the market with its advanced and useful services so check them out to see how do you actually become a successful SEO agency.
9. Freelance Writing
If you are less tech-savvy and looking for something more creative, this is the job for you. If you are equipped with writing skills and a flair for creativity, you should try your hand at writing.
Utilize Your Writing Skills
If this comes very easily to you to the point that you are able to write an article in 30 minutes, this would be a good way to gain you a quick buck.
On top of that, it might even improve your typing skills as well as your writing skills which could benefit you in the future. If you’re not keen on hiring a copywriter, then improving your writing skills would be your best bet.
If you are able to create content that drives traffic and becomes extremely viral than a lot of businesses will be fighting to hire you. At this point, you will be able to increase your rates tenfold.
Find Your Interest to Develop Your Niche
The key to making it in freelance writing is to find your niche and study it well.
Then start networking with those who could potentially want to hire you and not forgetting to make sure each article you put out is nothing but quality.
In this industry, your name is your brand so it will be detrimental if you manage to get a bad reputation.
10. Get People To Sponsor You
This method only works if you already have a huge following on your social media accounts or your blog. Therefore if you don’t think you fit in this description, skip this step.
Reaching Out
You may not know this but if you have a large following on social media you can email a bunch of companies and ask if they are willing to sponsor you in exchange to promote their products.
You should then email them telling them why they should sponsor you and how it will benefit them in the long-run. If you have a huge following, don’t be afraid to use it to your advantage.
11. Website That Pay You
This is also another thing that is not known by most Malaysians, it is that some websites pay you when you do little to nothing. Some of these things include filling out surveys, testing some of their products and etc.
Easy Pay
Here is a list of some of such websites and what you need to do to earn a little extra cash.
Websites that pay you when you do surveys:
Websites that pay you when you test their products:
Websites that pay you to come up with content:
12. Freelance
Something similar is freelance jobs online. These are things like summarising information, coming up with simple designs, photography, translating text or even things like being able to interpret information.
Part-Time Your Skills From Home
It is almost like a part-time job which you don’t have to leave the comfort of your home to do. All you have to do is to sign up at a freelance network, create a captivating profile, upload some of your best work and sit back and wait to be hired.
These networks will help you find clients easily so you don’t have to go through the hassle of doing it yourself. A Favourite freelance network to join in Malaysia is Upwork or even Freelancing.
Freelancing will be an extra income in your household so you have a little extra cash to splash on things that you want.
13. Sell Your Talents
If you studied design, advertising, marketing or even law there are definitely ways to make use of them.
Website Designing
There are websites online that cater specifically to the services you are willing to offer, all you have to do is find them. For example, if designing is your cup of tea you can join websites like 99Designs to sell your services.
This way might turn out faster than creating your own website as you will immediately gain more exposure as these sites already have high traffic.
After some time of developing your skills and getting a good reputation on these sites, you can then start your own.
Essentially this method builds you a good foundation and maybe some loyal customers to let you venture out on your own in the future.
14. Etsy
This method is for the Do-It-Yourself masters. Always loved arts and crafts and tend to make a lot of unique creations on your own? Why not do what you do as a hobby as well as make some money from it.
Do Magic With Your Hands
Etsy allows for you to do that as it connects you with a base of customers that are actively looking for something one-of-a-kind. On Etsy, you can sell your very own handmade masterpieces all you have to do is a little signing up.
Although you might have to invest a little money in it, it is definitely worth it as you will be able to do what you love and also get paid for it.
If not for Etsy, you might not find the audience that might want to buy your products and more importantly, those that are actually interested might not be able to find you.
15. Selling photos
How many times have you been online to find pictures for that school project of yours or been online to look for a picture to include in one of your business advertisements but are scared of getting copyrighted? A Lot, am I right?
Photography Masters
Hence if you have an eye for photography or in the mood to try out a new hobby, you should give your hand a try at selling photography online. There are no requirements needed so you can do this without any prior experience in photography.
An all-time favourite website to sell your photos to is ShutterStock as for websites like this, it is plain and simple. You upload your photo on the website and if somebody decides to use your photo then you will get paid.
This is a good way to build up your experience in photography as well as making a thicker portfolio for yourself if hiring a photographer would be too troublesome for you.
16. AirBnB
Malaysia is a country of many attractions hence the constant wheel of tourist coming to our country. In recent years, AirBnB has become massively popular as tourists has realised it is more worth it than going to a hotel.
Cheaper Price & More Convenient
Living in an AirBnB most of the time makes it more convenient to get around to the places you want to visit rather than going from a hotel.
The cost to stay in an AirBnB is also drastically lesser than staying in a hotel hence it becoming the preferred choice when traveling.
Rent Your Extra Space
This is a huge advantage to the locals as now if you have extra bedroom or property lying around you can rent it out to these tourists. AirBnB can turn out to be big money so don’t underestimate it.
Having said that, it is also not as easy as you think. This is because when you have guest over you must constantly be on your toes.
You must clean up after them and they might always be on your door asking you questions such as directions or even asking recommendations on where to go.
You can, however, take advantage of this and come up with a local tour that they can pay for.
17. Online Assistant
If you are someone that is systematic and likes to keep everything in order, becoming an online assistant might just be the gig for you.
Make Use of Your Systematic Way of Doing Things
This means that you have to do tasks like keep track of someone’s schedule, do a little bit of research, plan a trip itinerary or even managing someone’s email account.
We as Malaysians are often time lazy and forgetful hence you as their online assistant would have to remind them for important events as well as make their life easier.
This is not a hard job but it is one that you cannot afford to mess up if you want to keep it.
This is a great job to do if you are looking to becoming closer to important individuals and get the connections that you are looking for in the business industry. You can look for such jobs on Upwork.
18. Transcribing
This job does not require much brain work as all it calls for you to have is time and a laptop. Professions such as a reporter, doctors or even lawyers involve a lot of transcribing but they might not have the time to do it as it is a long and tedious task.
Transforming Audio to Written Texts
This is where you come in as they normally outsource this kind of work. You would have to transcribe things like interviews, court recordings or even medical discoveries which means there will be a lot of technical terms in the audio you will be hearing.
Therefore if you have some sort of qualification in the field that you are transcribing for, you might be able to charge a higher rate.
This is probably because there is a lower chance you might make any mistakes and a higher chance that you will finish transcribing faster as you already know the technical terms used.
If you are a beginner however it might just take you a few more tries of listening to the audio to get what the people in the tape are saying but don’t worry as you will get better with time.
19. Editor
Some businesses are constantly putting out articles online to get more traffic so they have a constant reel journalist coming out with multiple articles a day. This is to increase the traffic to their website as well as have loads of content.
Show Your Grammar Nazi & Proofreading Skills
The problem with this however is that for established sites they only want to put out quality articles as to not ruin their reputation or credibility.
This means that those articles that are to be put on their website need to be proofread and edited to ensure there aren’t any spelling or grammar mistakes.
Editing does pay a decent wage which is a good plus but on top of that you also would be able to read articles from all kinds of writers around the world and this might improve your own writing in turn.
You can find many places offer these kinds of proofreading services. If you have a good command of the language you should definitely check out these websites to try out this type of job.
20. Video Editor
This is very similar to editing writing as instead of looking at a wall of text, video editing is looking at raw footage.
The world is trying to be more innovative hence instead of everything being delivered in the for of words it is also now being delivered in the form for the video.
Making Creative & Entertaining Videos
However to make a video that is full of quality, editing is undoubtedly needed. Nobody wants to watch lengthy footage of you rambling on or of people making mistakes.
People much rather watch videos that cut to the chase instead of wasting their time.
Therefore if you have a bit of video editing experience as well as the software to back it up, you might want to look into this job as it is highly demanded at the current time.
A few places where you may be able to find people looking for this service is Upwork or even on Freelancer.
21. Second Hand Items
Looking for ways to organise your home or to clean up your closet? Or have you watched the Marie Kondo documentary on Netflix and got inspired to follow her example?
Then is may be a good method for you to try to achieve just that while making a bit of money at the same time.
Sell Those Which Do Not Spark Joy To You
Selling second-hand items on the internet is an all-time favourite as it doesn’t involve a lot of work or expertise but gets the job done nevertheless.
Things, like having a huge stack of books in your house or having a huge pile of clothes that you don’t wear stuffed in your closet, is doing nothing for your other than taking up space.
There are people on the internet that might find treasure in your trash and will be willing to pay for it. This is practically a win-win situation for everyone!
Platforms for Secondhand Items Selling
Websites like Carousell or Secondhand.my will provide a platform for Malaysians to buy and sell second-hand items for a low price but still at a good quality.
It is more advantageous for buyers to buy from people that are nearer to them as they don’t have to pay extra for the transportation fees of the product. Hence it is a better idea for you to look for websites that are based on your own country rather than one that is overseas.
In addition to that, it is easier for buyers to hold the sellers accountable for their products as there is a chance that they will be able to see the product in person before they purchase it.
Selling on a Malaysian based website would also give buyers the chance to check on the quality of the product themselves which might give them more incentive to buy your product.
22. Translation
Being in a multicultural country that is dominated with not one but multiple languages brings demand for jobs like translating.
You can do this job in two ways in Malaysia which are either to do it as a freelance job or get hired by a translation company and do it on a part-time/full-time basis.
The Peak of Being Bilingual & Multilingual
Most people are only fluent in one language so if you have a flair with languages this is definitely a job that should spark your interest.
As with anything , there are certainly languages that are more in demand than others such as Chinese to English, Bahasa Melayu to English and vice versa but with a bit of searching I am sure you would be able to find a gig that suits your criteria as there are so many opportunities out there.
Once again quoting the website Upwork as it is one of the best websites to find freelance jobs including a translation job. If Upwork isn’t the site for you other options include Favser and ProZ.
23. Mystery Shopper
Come As A Guest, Leave As A Critique
No, it’s not as sketchy as it sounds. What a mystery shopper does is that you essentially visit places unannounced (hotels, restaurants, shops) and then write a full analysis and report of their experience at the visited place to the relevant company.
A good report should be an objective one with no bias. It should state things exactly how they got it and according to the guidelines given by said company.
The company that hired you would then pay you for your work in a few different ways which vary from cash payments, free products or the opportunity to experience new things for free.
What to Write On
Some things that a mystery shopper has to look out for is for the finer details like whether the employees are doing their job or just goofing off, whether the company’s uniform is being worn correctly, the cleanliness of the store and other such things.
Sometimes instead of a report, mystery shoppers would fill in a questionnaire instead of writing a report which could take up to half an hour. The report should be completely truthful.
The company that hires the mystery shopper can also check to see the shopper did their job right as in the report they have to provide the exact time the entered the designated destination and the exact time they left.
This means that the company could easily check the CCTV of the place to check the credibility of the mystery shopper.
The point of this is so that the relevant company can check on the quality of their product/service and see if their employees are correctly delivering their vision to the customers. This is also referred to as external audit.
To fully understand what it means to be a mystery shopper and read about people that have had experience in this job, check out (Get things for free and get paid while travelling: Be a Mystery Shopper)
24. Sell Your Teaching Plans
Already have a full-time job as a teacher and is doing pretty well at it? Why don’t you help those that are just starting out in the industry out by showing them what a good lesson plan looks like.
Sells Your Experience To The Newbies
Think of it as making new teachers your students and teaching them what you have learned after having all the experience in this industry.
This might sound like something that might not make much money to begin with however if your teaching plans are easy to read and follow, teachers would be dying to get their hands on it.
This is due to the fact that teachers in Malaysia aren’t often experts at whatever subject they are assigned to teach by their superiors. Therefore this would be a cheat sheet for them to use.
To make your teaching plans more relevant, it would be good to dabble into a few different syllabus to give your customers more variety to choose from.
If you are already a teacher, you would already have to make lesson plans for the classes that you have to teach. Therefore, what do you really have to lose by selling your old lesson plans online? That’s right, nothing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many ways to legitimately make money online if you know where to look. If you want my advice, stay away from things like “ How To Get Rich” scams and avoid playing with the stock market as it can be very risky.
This is due to the fact the money that you do make can be very temporary. Besides that, all of the methods mentioned in this article on how to make money online is definitely real (even though it may sound too good to be true) and trustworthy.
Therefore if you are looking for some extra cash to splash, be sure to try out some of these methods.
