Top 11 Profitable Services You Can Sell Online

15 min read

An online business can be profitable for anyone with a keen entrepreneurial spirit and a can-do attitude. However, it is not only products that can be sold; services are also in high demand.

We’ve put together the ultimate list of services you can offer that will not only make a difference in people’s lives but also generate a steady income. Whether you’re an expert wordsmith or a crafting genius, there’s a service on this list for you.

So, if you are considering selling a service online, check out the article below.

Why Sell Services Online?

Selling services online can yield numerous benefits for entrepreneurs. It offers the flexibility to work from anywhere at any time, enabling you to reach clients worldwide without geographical barriers.

An online service business can also offer scalability in a way that a physical business often cannot. It allows for the potential to grow and expand your business without needing a significant upfront investment or high running costs.

Plus, by selling services online, entrepreneurs can focus their time and resources on their specialty, providing superior service and building strong relationships with their clients. This model can increase customer satisfaction and generate a steady income stream.

11 Best Services for Selling Online

Whether you’re a writer, teacher, or artist, a service on this list can turn your skills and passions into a thriving online business. Don’t wait any longer—seize the opportunity and start making money doing what you love.

Here are our top picks for services you can sell online:

Content Writing Services

As the world shifts towards a more digital landscape, more and more businesses are taking their ventures online. However, what do online companies need to succeed in this ever-growing online world? Quality content, of course. And with the rising popularity of AI-generated texts, more companies are worried about their copy quality.

54% of respondents believe they can tell the difference between content written by a human and that generated by AI (Source: Forbes)

If you have a way with words and the ability to persuade, why not put your skills to the test with copywriting? With a relevant college degree and enough experience, you can build strong copywriting expertise. Start writing content and copy for various clients, such as blog posts, landing pages, articles, reviews, and much more. With minimal expenses, you can turn this skill into a full-time gig that pays the bills.

Cover Letter and Resume Service

If you have a gift for making people shine on paper, consider offering cover letters and resume writing services. You may want to consider using your skills to teach clients how to write the perfect cover letter or resume. Or, you can write resumes and cover letters for your clients.

Set up a simple online form, work your magic, and watch your clients’ job prospects soar—all from the comfort of your home. You’ll keep costs low and provide a valuable service.

Online Tutoring

Plenty of students are looking for additional help in the run-up to exams—help them excel by sharing your knowledge in a specific subject. If you understand a particular subject well enough to teach it, you should consider becoming an online tutor.

Whether in math or language arts, your expertise can make a big difference for students academically while earning you a respectable income. Or, think about becoming an English tutor and assisting non-native speakers in mastering a new language.

Set up a website or advertise yourself on one of the many tutor-finding services online to reach students who need assistance with their studies.

Create a website to promote your services and resources as The Social Emotional Teacher

To generate some passive income, you can also create an educational course and sell it on your website. If you choose this option, you might find this article on the basics of creating an online course helpful.

Personal Coaching

Personal coaching is another lucrative service that entrepreneurs can sell online. The demand for personal development, health, career, and relationship advice is vast and ever-increasing.

As a personal coach, you can utilize your expertise and empathy to provide personalized strategies and mentorship for your clients, helping them achieve their goals and overcome challenges.

For instance, as a fitness coach, you can create personalized workout plans and offer dietary advice. A career coach can provide guidance on job hunting and interview skills. Or, as a relationship coach, you can help individuals improve their interpersonal skills and build healthier relationships.

You can sell your coaching services on your own website in various forms: personal online consultations, online lessons, webinars, or pre-recorded services. This article about selling online courses covers each case in detail.

To learn more about selling your services as a coach, listen to our podcast with Antonette Montalvo, a community health consultant and life coach for nurses.

The Ecwid E-Commerce Show · E-commerce for Author, Coach, Speaker

Vlogging and Live-Streaming

Jump into the world of video platforms and share your passions with the world. From gaming to movie reviews to makeup tutorials—vlogging and live-streaming could be a good earner if you grow your audience enough.

YouTube is becoming an increasingly viable way to make money. Create your own vlog channel and discuss any topics that interest you. Of course, it helps if you are passionate about your chosen subjects.

We also recommend checking out similar channels to get some good content ideas and figure out what your audience responds to best in their viewing habits.

Alternatively, you may wish to try video streaming services like Twitch, a platform that has generated income for many content creators who want to engage with their audience.

Video live streaming is one of the most popular video content types (Source: Statista)

Pro Tip: If you use an Ecwid website, you can broadcast a live stream video on your site. Find the tutorial “How to live stream video on your website” in our blog post.

Business Plan Services

A business plan is important if one wants to attract investors and bank financing. However, for many aspiring business owners, tackling a business plan is enough to get them tied up in a thousand knots. If you’re a natural-born entrepreneur, use your skills to guide others through the intimidating process of creating a business plan.

This will help clients present their ideas and strategies effectively and confidently, preparing them for entrepreneurship’s ups and downs. Not only will you be helping other people’s businesses, but you’ll also get your own business up and running as well.

Personalized Gifts

People love buying unique, personalized items. Websites like Moonpig and Shutterfly give users plenty of personalization options on things like mugs, canvases, frames, and all sorts of home decor gifts and accessories.

However, consumers want to support small businesses and check out independent retailers for thoughtful and meaningful gifts during the holiday season. Tap into this demand by offering customized mugs, posters, and other personalized gifts.

Zealously Handmade is a store selling personalized gifts

You don’t even need to invest in a printing press or other equipment. To save on launching costs, strike a deal with a company that will print the designs for you.

Ecwid by Lightspeed makes it easy: just create your Ecwid store, sync it to a print-on-demand service, and start selling products with your custom design. You won’t have to deal with inventory or shipping—the print-on-demand service takes care of all that.

Learn more in our article:

Resell Books, Movies, CDs, etc.

Sure, streaming services may rule the entertainment industry at the moment, but there are still so many people who prefer physical media over digital consumption. As such, there is still money to be made selling second-hand books, CDS, and movies.

As more people trade their DVDs and albums for streaming services, you can provide a service and buy their pre-loved titles before selling them for a profit. You’ll have to perform specific quality control procedures before paying people for their items, but most will be happy to get rid of old items and clear some space. Plus, you’ll be helping people discover new music, movies, literature, and art for cheaper than they would have otherwise.

Pro Tip: Connect your online store to eBay to seamlessly sell on your website and the marketplace at the same time, reaching a broader audience. Your products, inventory, and orders will be synced automatically to prevent overselling.

Handmade Products

Unleash your creative genius by crafting your own cosmetics, face masks, or jewelry made from natural ingredients. The growing demand for eco-friendly products presents a lucrative opportunity for creative entrepreneurs like you.

An example of a handmade cosmetics product by Kissed by a Bee

You’ll have to source your materials and ingredients and hire some help to craft your goods to start scaling up your business. However, this could be a great side hustle that eventually turns into a full-time profession.

Take a look at what other handmade crafters are doing and see if you can identify a niche in the market.

Also, check out this article for some inspiration:

Handyman Services

If you are good at fixing things and have enough experience fixing issues around the house, you should seriously consider starting your own handyman business.

Advertise to people in your local area and as far as you are willing to travel, design a stunning website, and let people know about your services. You’ll be doing wonders in your local community and helping people with jobs they cannot do themselves, even if you are just painting and redecorating a room in their home.

If you offer a wide variety of services like Rent-A-Friend does, it makes sense to create a site

People always need things fixed in their homes, and most don’t have the skills or equipment to do so. An online handyman service with the right SEO and advertising campaign could get you a lot of clients quickly.

Graphic Design or Digital Artist Services

Many companies and individuals are always looking for a graphic design or digital art service. If you’re a whiz on PhotoShop or Adobe Illustrator, this might be your job opportunity. Whether they need a t-shirt design, a brand logo, a poster, a customized image, or something else entirely, you may want to offer your expertise and creativity to bring their vision to life.

You can sign up for websites like Fiverr, PeoplePerHour, and Upwork to find clients looking for freelance artists.

Or, you can create your own website and grow your social media presence to find customers through those channels. With Ecwid by Lightspeed, you can easily sell your digital art.

How to Start Selling Services Online

Starting to sell services online might seem daunting, but it can be worthwhile with the right approach. Let’s dive into some practical steps to help you launch and grow your online service business successfully.

Create a Website for Your Online Service Needs

If you want to go professional, you’ll need a streamlined and easy-to-use ecommerce website to help attract clients. This is where Ecwid can help.

Ecwid by Lightspeed is an ecommerce platform that makes selling online easier. It allows you to build your own site from scratch to instantly sell services online. No coding or design skills are needed! Plus, creating a website is free—which is perfect for beginner entrepreneurs.

You can use your website to sell your services and showcase your portfolio and client testimonials. This will help you stand out as a professional in your niche and be more credible.

For an easier start, choose from various pre-made design templates when building your website with Ecwid. There are some created especially with various services in mind!

Creating your website with a template takes just a couple of minutes

Take a look at Exposure Photography, a website of photographer Emilio Sierra, created with Ecwid by Lightspeed. This is where people can check out customer reviews and schedule a photoshoot.

Follow these steps to set up an ecommerce website for your online service business with Ecwid.

Start Promoting Your Online Service Business

Congrats, you have your own professional-looking website! Now it’s time to drive some visitors to it.

With Ecwid, you can grow your business using built-in automated marketing tools. For example, you can send ecommerce newsletters and automated marketing emails or run advertising campaigns on Google.

If you’re new to promoting a business online, start with our articles on the topic:

We hope this article has given you some valuable ideas for the type of services you could offer online. Remember, it’s important to prioritize your strengths and passions when choosing how to make money. This way, you can do what you love while getting paid for it.

Happy selling!

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Aug 24, 2023

About the author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.