These days, we’re all feeling the pinch. Rent, utilities, travel, child-care.. all those everyday expenses aren’t getting any cheaper, and with unemployment rising at the rate it is… well, if an opportunity comes along to make a few extra dollars online, who’s going to say no?

Unfortunately, the days of making easy money from the web are over. With so many of us eschewing the 9-5 in favor of working from home, the competition for even the lowliest paid online job is skyrocketing. And that’s to say nothing of the challenge of finding anything that’s not a pyramid scheme or a scam.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Look in the right places (and in the right way), and there’s still money to be made… even if you do have to use a little ingenuity and creative thinking to get it.

If you’re in need of a little inspiration, check out these top ten ways to make money online.

Write an eBook

Granted, this one isn’t for everyone. If you can’t structure a sentence or weave a tale, you might want to move on now. On the other hand, if you can slay a good story and have a way with words, there’s a lot of money to be made in writing. Amazon’s Kindle program or Apple’s iTunes Connect are both excellent access points into the world of self-publishing, requiring very little in the way of initial outlay to get started. If you can find your own little niche (technology and IT both have huge markets), so much the better.

Get into Micro-Tasks

No, micro-tasks aren’t going to make you rich beyond your wildest dreams. They will, however, provide you with a regular source of easy cash. There’s no end of sites offering micro-jobs, but one of the best places to start (at least if you’re a US resident) is Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. The tasks are simple to do (typical examples include recording short phrases or checking URLs for validity) and, providing you work quickly enough, the money can soon start racking up.

Pick up Gig Work on Fiverr

If you’ve got a particular talent, make the most of it. Sites like Fiverr let you advertise your products or services for cash, at a rate set by you. If you’ve got experience in areas like accounting, marketing, graphic design, or web development, you’ll find no shortage of people willing to take you up on your offer. Before signing up, research what other people are offering and at what rate, and remember, the more positive reviews you get, the more you can start charging.

Build a Blog

Ten years ago, blogging was being hailed as one of the easiest ways to make money online. Fast forward to today, and it’s not quite so simple. Sure, they can still be immensely profitable, but only if go about things the right way. To build a successful blog, you’re going to need to find your niche in an already over-saturated market. But if you manage that, and if you’re prepared to put in countless hours of hard graft, the end result could generate anything from several hundred to several thousand dollars per week.

Become an eBay Power Seller

eBay has been around almost as long as the internet itself (well, not quite, but near enough), and as a revenue-generator, it’s still one of the best around. Granted, you’ll need to do your research on markets, demand, pricing, and a whole host of other must-knows before you start, but if you can carve out your own little corner, the rewards of being an eBay Power Seller will soon show in your bank balance.

Make a Mint on Etsy

If you’re a dab hand with a crochet needle or a sewing machine, why not put your talents to good use on Etsy? Like eBay, Etsy enables individuals to market and sell their products for profit… although unlike eBay, the focus here is 100% on arts, crafts, and everything in between. Fees for posting listings are minimal, and while the competition is fairly high, there’s enough of a market to make it worthwhile.

Answer Questions for Cash

If you’ve got the answer, you can’t bet someone has a question. Put the two together and what have you got? A quick, simple way of bringing in some extra moolah. For people with a professional or technical area of expertise, sites like justanswer.com and liveperson.com offer easy money: simply provide an answer or information to people looking for the same, and you’ll get rewarded for your troubles in cash. The amount you make will obviously depend on how many questions you can answer, but if you’ve got a few hours a day to spare, it’ll soon add up.

Write Content

You don’t need to be able to conjugate a verb or understand the difference between a synonym and an antonym to make money from writing these days. Content mills are a great starting point for would-be writers, with low entry barriers and a waiting bank of clients. Admittedly, the money isn’t always great, but trot out enough articles, and you’ll soon feel the benefit. Textbroker.com, constant-content.com, scripted.com, and crowdcontent.com are all good places to get started.

Teach a Language

Online language teaching is fast becoming one of the most popular ways to earn money online. Providing you speak the taught language at native level, you don’t need experience as a teacher to qualify. Depending on the provider, you might not even need a degree. Most providers will, however, require you to commit to a certain number of hours per week, and while some offer flexibility around scheduling, others will expect you to be available at set times. Verbalplanet.com and cambly.com are just two of the avenues worth exploring.

Become a Virtual Tutor

Language not your thing? No problem… regardless of whether your tutoring expertise lies in academia, technology, or something else entirely, someone, somewhere is willing to pay for it. if you can’t find an existing provider to match you up with students, why not try harnessing the power of social media to create your own customer base? A few positive reviews are all you need for the clients to start lining up.