6 Best Ways To Make Money Working From Home for Free ($100+/HR Jobs)

Most people assume starting an online income requires buying something first. A course, a tool, a subscription, a starter kit. That assumption is wrong, and this video proves it. Every method covered here costs exactly zero dollars to get started. As an affiliate marketer I have personally promoted everything from security cameras to stand mixers, web hosting to online courses, and every single one of those income streams started from nothing.

This post walks through all six work-from-home methods Alston covers in the video above: what each one is, how to get started today, which tools you will need (mostly free), and what realistic income looks like for each. By the end you will know which one fits your situation right now.

What You’ll Walk Out With

A clear picture of all six free work-from-home methods, not just the popular ones you have already heard about
The specific tools mentioned in the video: Teespring, Shoutcart, Gumroad, ThemeForest, Udemy, ClickFunnels, LearnDash
Real numbers from the video: a $5 digital product, $300 to $3,000 WordPress sites, a 5.8 million-view no-face YouTube channel
How to stack multiple income streams from a single content channel
An honest look at how long each method actually takes before you see your first dollar
A framework for deciding which method matches your current skills and schedule
Not sure which of these six fits your specific situation? finder.platformproof.com gives you a personalized starting point in two minutes, for free.

Method 1: Become a TikTok Influencer

The first method surprises people because they assume influencing requires being famous first. It does not. In the video, Alston pulls up the hashtag #ad on TikTok and what you find are regular people with modest followings getting paid by brands of all sizes to create content. One example he shows is Peyton King, a creator who had no massive celebrity status but landed a paid McDonald’s ad simply by posting content consistently and building a niche following.

There are three concrete ways to make money as a TikTok influencer. First is brand deals: companies pay creators to feature their products, and the threshold to get your first deal is lower than most people think. Second is shoutouts: once you have an engaged following, people will pay you to mention their account so their own audience grows. Websites like Shoutcart and Fiverr exist specifically to connect influencers with people who want that exposure. Third is merchandise: if you have a phrase, a visual identity, or any recurring element that your audience associates with you, you can put it on products through Teespring.com. Teespring handles the inventory, shipping, and payment processing. You design it, they take a cut, and you keep the rest without touching a single physical product.

Why TikTok specifically? The algorithm will show your video to strangers even when you have zero followers. That is not how most platforms work. On YouTube or Instagram, a brand-new account gets shown to almost nobody. On TikTok you can get views on day one. Your investment is literally your phone and your time.

Method 2: Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is the practice of recommending someone else’s product and earning a commission when someone buys through your unique link. Alston describes it as his personal favorite method because the range of products is endless. He promoted security cameras, stand mixers, microwaves, sound bars, web hosting, and online courses. Every major retailer has an affiliate program you can join for free.

Here is the exact workflow. You pick a product. The video shows Bluehost web hosting as an example, but Alston also lists Amazon, Target, Walmart, eBay, and Ulta Beauty affiliate programs to make the point that there is no niche too specific. You then figure out what question your target customer is asking before they buy that product. If someone is considering a specific hair serum from Ulta, they are probably searching YouTube first to see a review. Alston pulls up “Silk Infusion Silk Reconstructing Complex” on YouTube and the results show a channel with 111 subscribers that had 14,000 views on their review video. Another channel with 183 subscribers had 86,000 views. These are tiny accounts earning affiliate commissions because they answered a specific question.

You create a review, unboxing, or test video. You put your affiliate link in the description with a straightforward call to action like “if you want to buy this product, click the link below.” When someone clicks and buys, you earn a commission. That is the complete model. It scales because you can do this across thousands of products in thousands of niches at the same time. You are not locked into one company, one topic, or one income source.

Method 3: Create and Sell Digital Products

A digital product is anything you can sell and deliver without shipping a physical item. Ebooks, templates, checklists, blueprints, frameworks, audio recordings, and even a recorded podcast episode can all be packaged and sold. The startup requirement is a free Google Doc and a free Google Drive folder. That is it.

Alston shares his own real example in the video. He created a 43-page Google Doc over the weekend teaching people how to grow an online business using vertical video, covering TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels, and Pinterest. He sells it for $5. The price is intentionally low. The purpose of a $5 product is not to get rich from that one sale. It is to convert a stranger into a paying customer. Once someone has bought from you, even at $5, they are far more likely to buy a higher-priced product from you later.

For the sales page, your options include Gumroad (simplest and free to start), a basic WordPress page, or ClickFunnels for a complete sales funnel. Alston also mentions Etsy, but notes that Etsy is competitive and conversion rates are typically better when you drive your own traffic rather than relying on Etsy’s internal search. The traffic strategy is the same as affiliate marketing: create content on TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram around the topic of your product, and direct people to your product link. You can have a product live and potentially earning on the same weekend you build it.

Method 4: Create and Sell Online Courses

Courses are a level above digital products in terms of depth and price point. The underlying premise is the same: identify something you know, package it into a structured learning experience, and sell access. The key insight from the video is that you do not need to be the top expert in the world on a subject. You need to be a few steps ahead of the person who wants to learn it.

To show how wide the market is, Alston searches “basket weaving” on Udemy and finds 55 courses. Basket weaving. He then searches “Google Sheets” and finds a single course with over 3,700 reviews. Both searches make the same point: there is a paying audience for every topic, no matter how obscure or commonplace. The reason people pay for courses when YouTube is free is simple and Alston addresses it directly: people pay for structure, for all the information in one organized place, and for the ability to ask the instructor questions. Watching scattered YouTube videos interrupted by ads takes far longer than spending $20 on a course that gives you a clear path from start to finish. That time savings is what the customer is actually buying.

For hosting, you have two main paths. You can sell on Udemy, which gives you built-in traffic from their marketplace. Or you can host it yourself using a WordPress plugin like LearnDash, which Alston has used personally, or ClickFunnels. Showing your face is not required. A PowerPoint presentation with a voiceover is completely acceptable and common in this format. Once the course is built, you can sell it again and again. Alston calls it semi-passive income because you may need to answer student questions occasionally and update the material now and then, but the production work is front-loaded. You build it once.

Method 5: Start a YouTube Channel

YouTube earns its own dedicated section here for one reason: it is both a standalone income method and a distribution engine for every other method on this list. A YouTube channel can generate ad revenue through the YouTube Partner Program, drive traffic to your affiliate links, send people to your digital products and courses, and build an audience that carries over to any other platform you want to launch on later. It is the method that makes all the other methods bigger.

The biggest mental block people have about starting a YouTube channel is thinking they need to appear on camera. They do not. Alston pulls up a search for “how to permanently delete Instagram account” and the top result is a two-minute tutorial with 5.8 million views. The creator does not show their face at all. He scrolls further and finds multiple channels in the 13,000 to 29,000 subscriber range getting hundreds of thousands of views on similar screen-recording tutorials. One channel had 569 subscribers and 45,000 views on a single video about deleting a Quora account. These are real channels making real income from screen recordings.

You do not need a computer or professional equipment. You can record your phone screen walking through a process and upload it directly. To qualify for the YouTube Partner Program and earn ad revenue, you need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours. While you are building toward that threshold, affiliate links in the video description earn commissions from day one. Alston recommends uploading at least five times per week to build algorithm momentum, but two to three times per week works if that is what your schedule allows. Consistency over frequency is the real rule.

Which of these six methods fits your actual situation right now?

Answer a few questions at finder.platformproof.com and get a specific recommendation based on your skills and schedule, not a generic list.

Method 6: Build WordPress Websites for Clients

The sixth method is the most direct path to a concrete hourly rate. Alston quotes $100 per hour as what you can earn once you are comfortable building WordPress sites. The market opportunity is laid out with two numbers: over 1.86 billion websites exist online right now, and more than 547,000 new websites are created every single day. Most of the people behind those new sites do not know how to build them themselves. That is the client base you are serving.

The pricing range for a basic five-page website is $300 to $3,000. Once you have built a few sites and know your way around WordPress, a standard five-page site takes about three hours to complete. At $300 minimum for three hours of work, that is $100 per hour. You learn WordPress on YouTube or Udemy for free. You practice once or twice on your own test sites. Then you are ready to charge.

Alston walks through his actual workflow in the video. Once a client is signed, he goes to ThemeForest.net and finds a WordPress theme that fits the client’s industry. His example: he types “church” into ThemeForest, finds a church WordPress theme for $39, buys it, installs it, and makes whatever customizations the client needs. The client provides the images, text, and content. You assemble it and hand it back. A first-timer can complete this in one to two weeks. Someone with experience finishes it in three hours. As your business grows, you can hire someone else to build the sites while you manage the client relationships. At that point the income becomes much closer to passive.

Honest Comparison: How Long Until Your First Dollar

These six methods are not equal in how fast they pay. Here is a realistic breakdown based on what Alston covers in the video and how each method actually works once you start.

TikTok influencer: Slowest to first dollar. You need a following before brands pay you or before shoutout requests start coming in. Merchandise can come faster if you already have any kind of audience. Realistically you are looking at weeks to months before income is consistent. The upside is that TikTok’s algorithm gives new accounts real exposure faster than almost any other platform.

Affiliate marketing: Can earn within days if you already have an audience somewhere. If you are starting from scratch you need to build a content channel first, which takes longer. The ceiling is high because you can promote thousands of products across multiple niches simultaneously. Affiliate commissions from YouTube description links can start generating before you even qualify for the Partner Program.

Digital products: You can have a product listed and theoretically earn your first dollar on the same day you launch it, provided you have an audience to drive to the link. Alston built his 43-page guide over a weekend and started selling it immediately at $5. The bottleneck is traffic, not the product itself.

Online courses: The build phase takes a weekend or two to put together the content. Publishing on Udemy gives you access to their built-in audience. Selling on your own requires traffic from your channel or social presence. Once published, a course sells repeatedly without additional production work. It is the highest front-loaded time investment on this list but also the most durable.

YouTube: The 1,000-subscriber and 4,000-watch-hour thresholds for ad revenue take time to reach, usually several months of consistent uploads. The 569-subscriber channel with 45,000 views that Alston shows is real, but that kind of result does not happen on the first video. Affiliate income from description links can start earlier. Budget three to six months before the algorithm consistently sends traffic to new uploads.

WordPress websites: The fastest path to a specific, predictable dollar amount of any method on this list. Find one client, build a five-page site, get paid $300 to $3,000. No algorithm. No follower count. Just a skill and a willing client. That can happen in week one if you already know WordPress, or in week three if you are learning right now. For anyone who needs income on a short timeline, this is the method to start with.

Which Method Should You Start With?

The answer depends on two things: how fast you need money and what you are already reasonably good at. Here is a quick decision framework based on the six methods above.

If you need income within the next 30 days, start with WordPress websites. The path from learning the skill to getting paid is the most direct. No audience required, no algorithm to build. Just learn WordPress, find one small business that needs a site, charge $300 minimum, and deliver.

If you have something you know well and want to package it once and sell it repeatedly, start with a digital product or course. Build over a weekend, list it for sale, then spend your ongoing time driving traffic to it through social content.

If you are thinking long-term and want a content asset that generates multiple income streams from one place, start a YouTube channel. It takes the longest to build but it enables affiliate income, product sales, course sales, and ad revenue all from the same platform. Alston has used this exact stack himself.

If you already spend time on TikTok and enjoy creating short-form content, lean into the influencer path. Brand deals and merchandise are both accessible without a celebrity-sized following. Consistency and a clear niche are what brands actually look for.

Find Your X

Six methods is a lot to sort through, especially when each one sounds like it could work for different reasons. The real question is not which method is best overall. It is which one fits your skills, your schedule, and your timeline for seeing income. A person who needs money in two weeks should think differently than someone building a five-year content business.

If you want a specific recommendation matched to your actual situation, go to finder.platformproof.com. Answer a short set of questions about your skills and goals and you will get a clear starting point, not a generic overview of options you have already read.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do these methods really cost zero dollars to start?

Yes for most of them. TikTok is free and you already have a phone. Affiliate marketing means signing up for free programs. Digital products need only a free Google Doc. YouTube is free to start and you can record with your phone. Building WordPress websites requires a small investment in your own hosting if you want a portfolio site, but you can practice on a free local install first. The only hard cost Alston mentions is a $39 ThemeForest theme for a client project, and that expense is built into the project fee the client pays you.

How many TikTok followers do you need before brands will pay you?

There is no fixed threshold. The influencer income path Alston covers focuses on brand deals and shoutouts rather than TikTok’s own Creator Fund. Small brands work with creators in the thousands-of-followers range when the niche is highly specific and the audience engagement is strong. The key is consistent content and a clear, identifiable audience so that a brand can immediately see who is watching your videos and why those viewers would care about their product.

What is the best affiliate program to join first?

Amazon Associates is the most common starting point because Amazon sells almost everything, the approval process is straightforward, and viewers trust Amazon links. Alston also mentions Target, Walmart, eBay, and Ulta Beauty in the video as examples. For higher per-sale commissions, web hosting programs like Bluehost pay a flat fee per referral that is significantly higher than Amazon’s percentage-based model. The best program depends on what topic you are creating content around.

What should I put in a digital product if I don’t consider myself an expert?

You do not need to be an expert. Alston is explicit about this in the video: you need to be a few steps ahead of the person learning from you, not at the top of the field. His 43-page guide was something he put together over a weekend from his own working experience with vertical video content. Think about something you have actually done that other people want to do: set up a home office workflow, launch a side income, learn a piece of software, organize a budget, train for a physical goal. Document your actual process. That is the product.

Why would someone buy a course when free YouTube tutorials exist?

Alston addresses this question directly in the video. People pay for courses because they are paying for structure and for everything in one place. Free YouTube content is scattered across dozens of channels, interrupted by ads, and requires the viewer to build their own curriculum from scratch. A $20 course that delivers a clear path from A to B in three hours is genuinely faster than spending 20 hours hunting through YouTube to assemble the same information. The price of the course is paying for the buyer’s time, not just the information itself.

Can you really build a profitable YouTube channel without showing your face?

Yes, and Alston shows multiple real examples in the video. The most striking is a two-minute tutorial with 5.8 million views on how to permanently delete an Instagram account, created by someone who never appears on camera. He shows additional channels with 13,000 to 29,000 subscribers getting hundreds of thousands of views using only screen recordings and voiceovers. One channel had 569 subscribers and 45,000 views on a Quora account deletion tutorial. Face-free formats work especially well in the tutorial, how-to, and software walkthrough categories.

How do you land your first WordPress client with no track record?

Create content showing your work publicly. TikTok and YouTube are both valid ways to demonstrate the before-and-after of a WordPress build, walk through your process, and show what a finished site looks like. That content is a portfolio. You can also approach local small businesses, nonprofits, or community organizations and offer a reduced rate in exchange for a testimonial on your first one or two projects. One live site plus one happy client is enough to charge full price on the next one.

Which of these six methods has the highest income ceiling?

No method has a hard ceiling, but the combination with the most upside in the video is YouTube with affiliate marketing layered on top. A YouTube channel earns ad revenue once you clear the 1,000-subscriber and 4,000-watch-hour thresholds, plus affiliate commissions from description links, plus any digital products or courses you create and promote through the channel. Alston built his own business across multiple income streams starting from content creation, and the six methods in this video are the same ones he used. The channels that earn the most are usually running several of these simultaneously from a single content platform.

Sources

YouTube video: “6 Best Ways To Make Money Working From Home for free ($100+/HR Jobs)” by Alston Godbolt: https://youtu.be/lYOMT10cBLg
Teespring.com: print-on-demand merchandise platform for creators
Shoutcart: influencer shoutout marketplace
Udemy: online course marketplace (basket weaving: 55 results; Google Sheets: 3,700+ reviews cited in video)
ThemeForest.net: WordPress theme marketplace (church theme example: $39)
Gumroad: digital product sales platform
WordPress stats cited in video: 1.86 billion websites online, 547,000 new sites created per day