Hi guys, I know that many people come here and probably ask, "I've got a website but how do I make money from it", and to be honest there's a lot of people out there still trying, I'm one of them. I'll not be capable of giving up my day job for quite some time... I want to reverse this question and ask, how do you make extra money on the side? Money you would not normally get from your day job, and gives you a little bit extra at the end of the week, or month etc.... I think this type of thread may give a really good insight for others. If you do make money from a website, and that's your bit extra, how long did it take for you to start making this a consistent income? aka $20 every month. Also how many hours of work did it take for you to get that far (rough guess). For example: I sometimes work on websites like peopleperhour, to gain an extra bit of cash, although you get very little in return for a lot of work.
I used to write on Squidoo, and after a few months, I just stopped writing and got around $50 a month from it. I think that's the kind of thing you mean - when you can just build something and then not have to put in much effort. However, if you mean ways of making money where you're actively doing something, I would say it's a good idea to think about something you're good at. For example, if you're good at building websites, get paid to build them for other people. Writers can make money creating content. Designers can make logos etc., and even if you get one gig a month, you're earning a little bit of extra cash (e.g the $20 you mentioned).
I sell things on eBay. I usually work about an hour a day now and make about $1,000 a week. When I first started I spent more time getting it growing. Now it's basically maintaining and shipping items (no physical inventory required). Took me a month to build it up to $500/wk then grew from there. If you're looking for some other ways to make money on the side you could try: oDesk - Freelance Writing Fiverr - Offer any skills you have. Keep in mind you can offer upsells on Fiverr so you often make more than $5. Buying & Selling locally - Not sure where you're from, but try using Craigslist to buy and sell. I personally enjoyed doing this with cell phones and profited $2,000/mo. Something Unique - Gumball vending machines. I've done this one as well. It can be a lot of fun! Call or visit local restaurants etc.. ask them if you can place a machine and let them know you'll share the profits with them.
Create a "confessions" page on facebook, (any city) confessions etc.. post a couple juicy confessions on your page, share with your friends and cross your fingers to get 30,000 likes, took me about 2 months here is the results now. Open a mylikes account and post one of their links every 8 to 10 confession, ask fans to send you confessions via inbox (I created a website attached to my page where fans can submit confessions anonymously) then I copy and paste confessions to page wall.
You need an AdSense account (if you still do not have it). Making $20 with AdSense shouldn't be a problem at all.