There is no exact data on how many freelancers there are on the market and how much they earn - such information is too difficult to collect.

 Who makes money on the Internet and how?

There is no exact data on how many freelancers there are on the market and how much they earn - such information is too difficult to collect. Different studies give different figures. From the PwC report it follows that in Russia the number of people making money on the Internet increased from 2017 to 2020 from 5 million to 14 million people. At the same time, the average earnings of 64% of them are no more than 30 thousand rubles. per month. More than 100 thousand rubles. only 6% earn [ 1 ].

Similar data are provided in a report by the National Research University Higher School of Economics: supposedly, 15.5 million people are part-time employed in the Russian platform economy, and for 1.7 million people this is their main job [ 2 ].

The Center for Strategic Research (CSR) shared the following figures: on average, Russian freelancers earn about ₽408 per hour and work about 27 hours a week. However, only 6% of respondents provide services entirely online. That is, the majority of those employed through platforms only receive orders via the Internet and provide services offline - such as taxi drivers and couriers [ 3 ].

According to statistics from FL.ru, one of the largest Russian labor exchanges for freelancers, in 2020 the number of people earning money on the Internet grew by a record 76% [ 4 ]. Most freelancers began to offer their services in categories such as texts (+321%), management (+240%), translations (+234%) and mobile applications (+171%). But employers turned out to be interested in other areas: the maximum number of customers grew in the categories of audio/video (+130%), game development (+104%) and training and consulting (+90%).

The sharp growth in these categories is largely due to the fact that such work can be easily transferred “at home”. However, not everything is so simple - some specialties will require in-depth knowledge and expensive equipment, although there are also those where you only need a laptop and a little perseverance. Below we talk about the most popular and popular ways to make money online.


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How to make money on the Internet: TOP 11 ways
1. Lyrics
What to do: write articles and other materials. The list of customers is huge - from media to advertising agencies and any companies that require text to promote their products.

Earnings: according to a study by Textodrom, a freelance exchange for copywriters, the average salary of an author in Russia varies from 5 thousand rubles. up to 20 thousand rubles. per month. A small part of respondents receive more than 100 thousand rubles, but subject to overemployment and constant self-development [ 5 ].

What you need to know and be able to: work with text, search and check information, be literate, master artistic and journalistic styles of speech.

2. Author's content
What to do: create content. The format can be any: text blog, podcast, YouTube channel with training videos, streams and much more. The type and form of presentation depend only on you, the main thing is to find your niche in order to differ from others and interest the audience.

Earnings: Average income is difficult to determine as it varies greatly depending on the size of the audience, the type of content and its quality. As a rule, the main income comes from advertising: affiliate programs and referral links [ 6 ], as well as through monetization tools on the platform where you post content. Gazeta.ru [ 7 ] gives the following average estimates: a blogger with 2-3 thousand subscribers on Telegram can earn on average up to 1.5 thousand rubles. for an advertising post, for 50 thousand views of a post in VK you can get 1 thousand rubles, and for integration in Yandex.Zen - from 500 rubles. up to 2 thousand rubles It must be said that this is one of the most difficult ways to earn money, which requires considerable effort and patience. Many bloggers work “to zero” for years, increasing their audience, and only then begin to make at least some profit.



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What you need to know and be able to do: first of all, you need to know your niche and have a good understanding of the selected topics. Video bloggers and models may want to think about purchasing expensive video/photo equipment—viewers choose quality content. In general, in-depth knowledge of a particular specialty is not required here, with the exception of educational content. The main thing is to be able to arouse the interest of the public.

3. Dropshipping
What to do: engage in resale. Dropshipping [ 8 ] is an intermediary between the manufacturer of a product and the end consumer, where delivery is carried out by the manufacturer. The dropshipper advertises the product on its platform and attracts customers. Example: A furniture maker wants to start selling his chairs online and shipping them to customers, but doesn't know how. A dropshipper comes to his aid, taking high-quality photographs of chairs and selling them through his online store, which multiplies the furniture maker’s sales.

Earnings: There is no price ceiling here. The dropshipper makes money from a markup on the price from the supplier, which is paid by the client. What the premium will be depends only on you.

What you need to know and be able to do: web design skills and knowledge of marketing will come in handy. It is also important to feel and analyze which products will be most in demand. As a rule, significant initial investments are not required: since the dropshipper is an intermediary between the seller and the buyer, he does not need a warehouse or office.

4. Translations
What to do: translate texts. There are online exchanges where you can create a profile and start receiving orders. The types of texts range from short advertisements to formal documents and letters. Depending on your experience and knowledge of the language, you will be able to take both simple and more complex orders.

Earnings: according to various estimates, you can receive about 30 thousand rubles per month. at the start and eventually reach about 100 thousand rubles. [ 9 ] Ultimately, your earnings will be determined by your level of knowledge, experience and performance.

What you need to know and be able to do: high-level knowledge of foreign languages; it is advisable to have a translator’s diploma or a certificate recognized throughout the world. It is worth noting that translators who speak complex but in-demand languages, such as Chinese, are more popular, which means they earn more.

5. Education and tutoring
What to do: teach online to both adults and children, and also help “catch up” with the missing material. There are many schools and platforms in Russia offering online courses. During the pandemic, there has been a real surge in this industry.

Earnings: on average, the rate starts from 500 rubles. per hour (according to a study by the National Research University Higher School of Economics [ 10 ]). The upper ceiling will be determined by the level of qualifications, experience and popularity of the teacher. There are success stories of tutors [ 11 ] who receive up to 700 thousand rubles. per month.

What you need to know and be able to do : obviously the subject being taught, and as best as possible. Ideally, it would be nice to have a diploma confirming your qualifications. But if you are a student and you just need a quick part-time job without career plans, any proof of your knowledge will do.

6. SMM
What to do: maintain accounts on social networks. An SMM manager  is a specialist who is involved in positioning and promoting companies or people on blogs and social networks.

Salary: according to the Rabota.ru service, the average salary of an SMM manager in Russia is 43 thousand rubles, and in Moscow and St. Petersburg - 45 thousand rubles. [ 12 ]

What you need to know and be able to do: understand social media algorithms, know the audience, write well, keep abreast of the latest trends. Basic knowledge of simple photo/video editors, as well as the ability to use statistical services, will also be useful.

7. Video editing
What to do: edit simple videos, usually for social networks and YouTube.

Earnings: according to FL.ru [ 13 ], the cost of a simple order starts from 1,200 rubles, the upper ceiling will be determined by the skills and ability of the editor.

What you need to know and be able to do: understand the principles of editing and color correction, master Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premier, After Effects, Sony Vegas, Avid. Understanding the algorithms of YouTube and other platforms will also be helpful, and creative vision and camera experience is a plus. It is important to note that working with video will require expensive equipment and software.

8. Programming
What to do: program, develop mobile applications and games.

Earnings: according to hh.ru, the salary of an Android developer starts from 50 thousand rubles. per month, but when working as a freelancer or in foreign companies, you can earn much more [12] . According to a study by the Rabota.ru website, the developer vacancy has become the highest paid among remote vacancies - up to 380 thousand rubles are offered for the development of a certain new social network. per month [ 14 ].

What you need to know and be able to do: programming languages, for example Java, Python, Swift, Kotlin. It will not be easy to learn them on your own, but it is possible that you can also take specialized courses; a lot of them have appeared recently . But to get really big money, courses alone are unlikely to be enough.

9. Web design
What to do : work on the appearance of the site. A web designer  is the person who chooses what elements will be presented on a page and in what order they will appear on users' screens.

Earnings : prices for simple orders on FL.ru start from 1,200 rubles. [ 15 ], but, for example, they offer about 20 thousand rubles for website development, while on average a Moscow web designer receives from 80 thousand to 120 thousand rubles remotely. [ 16 ].

What you need to know and be able to do: master programming languages ​​and programs for website development. You also cannot do without good equipment and software. A rich portfolio will help attract more clients, which means that in the beginning you will have to work hard to develop it.

10. Office work
What to do: perform the functions of a secretary, and sometimes even a full-fledged front office. This includes a wide range of duties, such as answering calls and correspondence, maintaining schedules, searching for information, and performing simple errands. During the pandemic, it became clear that most of these responsibilities can be painlessly transferred remotely, and thus save on office expenses.

Earning money: given the rather simple set of responsibilities, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to make good money here. According to Headhunter [ 17 ], a remote secretary receives on average about 30 thousand rubles.

What you need to know and be able to do: no special knowledge required. The main thing is to be collected, attentive and strictly follow the instructions of the management. Suitable for beginners or students.

11. Clicks and likes
Disclaimer : in this section we will talk about a dubious [ 18 ] type of income. As a rule, such services are used by unscrupulous companies that are engaged in increasing likes to artificially increase the rating of a product, as well as unreasonably improve search engine results.

What to do: follow dubious links, like, take surveys, watch boring videos, download low-quality games, and so on. How it works: the advertiser comes to a special website (they are also called “books”) and places his task there, and then anyone can take on its implementation. They resort to the services of “books” in order to increase the attractiveness of their website or application for advertisers, without making much effort.

Earnings: very small - cost per click is about 0.022 rubles. [ 19 ]. On average, a “booker” earns about 250 rubles per day, and at maximum load, which requires perseverance, up to 1 thousand rubles.

What you need to know and be able to do: absolutely nothing, except basic computer skills.


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Can schoolchildren work online?
Making money on the Internet is quite simple, and sometimes it does not require special knowledge. Some types of work can be done even by a schoolchild, especially if he is interested in the Internet and modern technologies. It is unlikely that you will be able to earn serious money, but you can gain valuable experience that will be useful in the future. At the same time, there are bloggers who managed to hit the jackpot while still very young. For example, Ivangay said in an interview with Yuri Dudu (included by the Ministry of Justice in the register of foreign agents) [ 20 ] that at the peak of his popularity in 2014–2016, when he had just reached adulthood, he earned about $20 thousand a month. And some even younger Internet stars were able to earn millions.

According to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation [ 21 ], adolescents under 16 years of age can work no more than 24 hours a week during the holidays, and during the school year - no more than 12 hours, and only with the consent of their parents. A person aged 16 to 18 years can work up to 35 hours a week during holidays and 17.5 hours during the school year, and parental consent is no longer required. In both cases, the teenager cannot engage in work that is harmful to health or moral development [ 22 ]. The Civil Code [23] allows children from the age of 14 to have a debit card (with parental consent), and from the age of 16 a teenager can enter into an employment contract himself. That is, teenagers can make money on the Internet, but with restrictions.

Making money on the Internet or “scam”: how not to become a victim
Before you start freelancing online, you need to study tax laws, your rights and responsibilities, and what responsibilities the employer bears. If you plan to combine freelancing with your main activity, it would be appropriate to inform your employer, since some companies have restrictions on additional employment of employees. Here are some simple practical tips to help avoid problems:

Correlate the amount of remuneration with the amount of work. If they offer too high a fee for simple work, there is clearly something wrong. It is quite possible that they simply want to use your services for free.
Research the employer. Look at his website, check that current contacts and addresses are listed there, read reviews and ask colleagues and acquaintances. For example, if a little-known company with only an email address in its contacts offers easy money in a short time, they are most likely trying to deceive you.
Sign an agreement and take tasks only on trusted sites.
Ask for an advance. For example, if the work requires investment on your part or the order is large, it is quite appropriate to ask for a partial advance payment.
Never rush , carefully check the information (including the text of the contract, written in small letters).
Updated 10/18/2023

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