15 smart ways to make money online as a student in Nigeria

Some ways to make money online as a student in Nigeria include freelancing, working as a social media manager, an influencer, copywriter, or blogger, or you can try graphics designing.

Life as a Nigerian student isn’t an easy one. You’re either battling fuel scarcity, rising dollar costs or fears that ASUU will strike again. 

But none of this is a valid excuse for not submitting assignments on time. As a student in Nigeria, you wouldn’t always want to call your parents or guardians to send money for every little expense you have on campus. 

What if they are not financially buoyant? It would help if you had a side hustle that would always put money in your pocket.

Whether you’re the ‘bookworm’ who’s always ahead in class or the ‘aluta’ warrior always ready for the next protest, there’s something here for everyone. 

From ‘Yahoo Yahoo’ – just kidding, we keep it legal here – to legit online hustles that won’t affect studies, here are 15 Ways to Make Money Online as a Student in Nigeria.

15 ways to make money online as a student in Nigeria

Here are 15 ways to make money online as a student in Nigeria;

1. Writing and Copywriting

Writing and Copywriting are some of the most common ways that a student in Nigeria can make money online. As a Nigerian student, the opportunities in writing and copywriting are endless. 

You can choose to work as a freelancer and apply to work on gigs from freelance platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, etc, or you can also pitch directly to employers. 

There are options to work as a remote writer, so you don’t have to leave your campus to go to work. You work right from the comfort of your bed.

Many businesses need writers to update their blogs, publish newsletters, update company profiles, or even send emails or sales pitches. 

How much you will earn as a student writer or copywriter depends on your charges and the services you’re offering. 

The location of the company you’re working for also determines your earning capacity. You can earn as much as 150,000 – 300,000 naira working for Nigerian brands and at least $15 – $20 for 1,000 words for foreign brands.

There are a lot of areas to specialize in. You need to choose what works for you.

Here are different writing and copywriting niches and ideas that you can explore:

• Fictional Writing
• SEO Writing
• Writing and publishing books on Amazon
• Ebook Writing
• Technical Writing
• Finance Writing

2. Graphic Design

You can make money online as a student with graphic design by designing logos, covers, branding packages, flyers, and illustrations for local brands, clients, or businesses around you. These include restaurants, hospitals, churches, schools, clubs. 

Your options as a graphic designer are limitless. The beautiful thing is that you don’t necessarily need to visit these firms; you can send a pitch/proposal online with the best samples of your work.

You can also earn money as a freelance graphic designer on Upwork or Fiverr. You will find clients who can pay as little as $25 for a logo or flier, and this is roughly 34,000 naira. It’s a better sum than the minimum wage in Nigeria!

To become a profitable graphic designer in Nigeria, you must do the following:

• Have an eye for detail and a natural flair for colors and visual aesthetics.
• Take Courses on graphic design and practice consistently
• Get the right tools and software: Adobe Illustrator, Coreldraw, Photoshop, etc
• Build a portfolio and showcase your work via social media platforms
• Pitch your services to potential clients, offer freebies and discounts, and ask your friends and coursemates for referrals

3. Blogging

In 2022, the Growth Badger website reported over 600 million active blogs and websites across the internet, and over 50% of these blogs are owned by 21 to 35-year-old bloggers. Isn’t this interesting?

Of course, blogging looks similar to writing, but the mode of operation and earning are slightly different. 

Unlike in writing and copywriting, where you write to get paid by people, blogging allows you to author and publish articles in your name and earn from being a website owner.

There are certain financial obligations to this because you will need to purchase a domain and hosting, hire a website designer to design your blog or design it yourself if you have sufficient knowledge of web development.

Before even buying a domain, you have to decide your monetization strategy with your blog. This will help you determine your niche and explore how to drive traffic to your blog and improve online visibility. 

There are different blog niches to explore: health, auto, travel, finance, pet, crypto, lifestyle, education, scholarship, etc. 

The earning capacity is not the same for all of these niches, so you have to choose one that matches your interest and is at the same time profitable. 

However, you can go from as low as $10 monthly as a newbie blogger to as high as $2,000 monthly as a pro.

How to make money as a student blogger in Nigeria

• Earn from ad networks like Google AdSense, Adsterra, Mgid, etc, which calculate the numbers of impressions and Clicks emanating from your website and pay you accordingly.
• Get Paid for sponsored articles and Guest Posts
• Earn advertising for different brands on your website
• Earn selling products and services on your website

4. Virtual Assistant Jobs

Most Nigerian students do not know they can earn money online working as virtual assistants. Virtual assistant jobs might not be as popular as graphic design or writing, but they are also profitable for earning cool cash. 

You get to handle your client’s basic tasks as a virtual assistant. This can include scheduling emails, making phone calls, drafting social media activities, and their daily or weekly schedule. 

The beautiful side is that you can do all of these remotely. You will need to take some professional courses to understand what is expected of you as a virtual assistant, but you are assured of a monthly salary between 80,000 and 250,000 naira.

5. Social Media Manager Jobs

Nobody knew about social media management jobs until recently. Now, it is apparent that you can get paid for managing different people’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (now, X) accounts. 

You draft a social media calendar for your clients, decide on a brand tone, host campaigns, make posts, and handle replies and comments. 

You are in charge of all interactions on their social media handles, ensuring enough content to keep their fans and readers glued to their account, thereby sustaining their online relevance. All you need to work as a social media manager includes;

• Good Communication Skills
• Experience in social media management
• Good internet access,
• Laptop or a phone.

Some clients will require that you create a social media strategy for them, and your services might cut across different social media platforms. Knowledge of these platforms will make work easier for you. 

Your salary as a social media manager depends on the type of brand you’re working for, its capacity, and the amount of services you’re offering. 

You should expect to earn between 100,000 to 160,000 naira monthly as a student. Quite enough to cover the basic needs of a student.

6. Social Media Influencing

You can turn your social media accounts into a money-making machine instead of just Twitter bants, WhatsApp gossip, and Facebook drags. How can you do this? 

By influencing different brands. You get to talk about products different firms offer, review their offerings, promote services, create awareness, and convince your social media fans to use them.

Some of these companies can provide branded coupons to gift your fans. You can reward your social media followers for performing tasks for these companies. Davido is a brand influencer for Martell, and Enioluwa is an ambassador for Crocs. 

You don’t need to be as big as these guys to start. Start with that local car dealership near your school. Get them to sign a partnership deal with you, and you get paid for each customer you bring for them. 

The social media creator economy has evolved so much that you don’t need to be affiliated with a particular brand. Just create things, push impressions, and amass engagements, and you’ll be smiling to the bank with a big bag every month. 

As an influencer on Twitter, you can earn from as low as 50,000 naira ($35) per tweet to as high as 500,000 naira ($352).

7. Whatsapp Marketing

Did you know that over 100 billion messages are sent on WhatsApp daily? Now you know. Thousands of people and students are making money from WhatsApp, and nothing stops you from joining the trend.

The world is digital, so anything of sale on WhatsApp is pretty straightforward. Clothes, shoes, phones, you can even start a real estate business or a car dealership on your WhatsApp. 

According to Hootsuite, the demographic of WhatsApp users was actually different from what people anticipated. The platform has a somewhat male-dominated user base, with males accounting for 54.5% and females comprising 45.5% of its total users.

As such, you can use this to your advantage. All you have to do is post videos and pictures of plots of land and cars on your status and give your viewers reasons why your offers are the best. 

You can resell other people’s items, too. Get pictures and videos from the original owners and add your commission. Ensure that you make your status entertaining before you turn your status into a rowdy market.

Depending on the profit margin of the items you’re selling and their ease, you can make roughly 50,000 naira to 550,000 naira monthly via WhatsApp sales.

8. Fashion Sales

Another significant way of earning money online as a Nigerian student is by selling clothing and fashion accessories online. 

You’ll make enough money for yourself if you sell clothes, shoes, bags, thrift, local, or foreign. It’s a digital economy, so you don’t necessarily need to own a physical store. 

All you have to do is choose a brand name and decide where to host your online store. If you are not buoyant enough to host an e-commerce website, you can start with your social media handles. 

Sell on WhatsApp, market on Facebook, grow connections, and expand your reach. You’ll be surprised at how much profit you rack in. 

Buy locally-made clothes cheaply from places like Aba and Onitsha for as low as 1,500 naira and resell for 4,500 in your school’s social community. 

With a profit margin of 3,000 naira per item, you’re aiming for 300,000 naira monthly with 100 successful trades.

9. Crypto Trading

It is risky, but crypto trading is another way a Nigerian student can make money online. According to the New York-based blockchain research firm Chainalysis, Nigeria recorded a surge in crypto trades between July 2022 and June 2023 to $56.7 billion.

These trades cut across p2p, future, spot trading, and exchanges. You will need advanced knowledge of how this works to ensure you don’t lose money. But you can build yourself a fortune as a student with crypto. 

Crypto is a very volatile business, so it’s hard to decide exactly how much you can make from the trade. 

A gem coin can make you $5,000 richer, and another rug-pulled shitcoin can plunge you into bankruptcy. 

Make sure you have a solid knowledge of what you’re getting yourself before investing massive sums.

10.  Online Tutoring

As a Nigerian student, you can make money online by teaching people what you know. You already have a broad knowledge of courses and subjects, some of which you deeply understand. 

You can share your wisdom via different online tutoring platforms and get paid for it. Here are some online tutoring platforms that you can make money from as a Nigerian student:

• Tutor.ng
• TutorMe
• Preply
• Chegg
• MathElf, etc.

You can earn $2 per hour as an online tutor, with a guaranteed salary of 130,000 – 270,000 naira monthly.

11.  Freelancing

Another way to make money as a Nigerian student is freelancing. As a freelancer, you are not fully employed, but you are hired on a contract basis and will get paid based on the services you deliver. 

According to a survey conducted by Zirtual blog, “Freelancers earn, on average, 45% more than their traditional employee counterparts.” Isn’t this a goldmine for you as a student?

You can freelance in different niches, with the option of working remotely as a Nigerian student. Some of these freelance niches include;

• SEO Writing
• Copywriting
• Graphic Design
• Email Marketing
• Technical Writing
• Landing Page, About us Page, service page writing
• Ghostwriting
• Digital Marketing

Depending on the niche you’re freelancing in, you can earn as low as $10 per article as a freelance writer or be placed on a thousand-dollar salary as a marketer during the contract period. This also depends on whether you’re working with foreign or local clients.

12.  Affiliate Marketing

The massive campaigns of the popular Nigerian digital marketplace Expertnaire in 2021/2022 made affiliate marketing a top-rated source of income for Nigerian students. 

There were many stories of people earning hundreds of thousands of naira in one day to as high as millions in 30 days.

In fact, in 2022, Expertnaire paid out 2 billion naira in Commissions to different affiliate marketers, taking some on vacation trips to Seychelles, Dubai, and Qatar.

However, expertnaire isn’t the only affiliate marketing program in Nigeria. To earn with affiliate marketing as a Nigerian student, you must sign up for an affiliate program, choose a niche, and promote products and services in the niche. 

Depending on the program’s arrangement, your commission could range from 75 – 80%. Your earnings as an affiliate marketer in Nigeria can scale from 5,000 per daily sale to 100,000 nairas every day.

Here are some popular affiliate marketing programs you should try out as a student in Nigeria:

• Expertnaire
• Amazon Associates program (Affiliate)
• Clickbank
• Jumia Affiliate Program
• Wakanow Affiliate Program
• JVZoo

The list of affiliate programs is endless. Almost every big company will love to pay you a percentage of their profit if you help them sell their products. You can do all these things with your phone and a data subscription.

13.  YouTube Channel

You can make money online in Nigeria through YouTube. The popular blogging platform allows users to create and monetize their videos. All you have to do is choose a niche, make videos around that niche, and push for engagements. 

YouTube will pay you per the number of views that your videos accumulate. As a student Youtuber, you can decide to make videos teaching people how to cook different local Nigerian dishes. While you earn from your views and engagements, you can make money from fans and followers paying monthly for bonus content. 

The average earnings of a YouTuber per 1000 views is $0.5 – $17. With consistency, you can aim for 10,000 views every month, earning an estimated $170.

14.  App Development

The secret to making money as a Nigerian student is to have marketable skills. Learn how to code, take courses on app development, and apply for remote jobs. 

You will be hired to build usable apps for different firms, maybe starting with entry-level roles, depending on how good you are. 

For an entry-level entry-level role, you should expect a monthly salary within the range of 100,000 nairas to 300,000 nairas.

15.  Digital Marketing

With many brands and companies looking to build their online presence and increase sales online, you can earn with digital marketing skills. 

Your skill should cut across social media marketing, email marketing, and how to run ads and PPC campaigns. If you’re good at what you do, you should expect a salary within the range of 150,000 naira to 350,000 naira.

CONCLUSION

If you’re a student in Nigeria looking to make some extra cash, there are many ways to do so online. 

From content writing and copywriting to online tutoring and translation services, there are plenty of opportunities to monetize your skills. 

Other viable options include content creation, data entry, influencer marketing, and social media management.

Some money-making ways are not suitable for Nigerian students. This is because aside from the country-specific restrictions, they might also require a great ton of your time, affecting your studies. 

The key is to find the right fit for your skills and interests. Remember to stay focused, be patient, and keep learning. With hard work and dedication, you can turn your online ventures into a profitable source of income.