In January 2021, I resolved to do online work. I have done some of the best online jobs in Kenya, both short-term and long-term. I started by learning about how the online market works and the necessary skills before I could land my first online paying job.
In this blog, I will unveil the best online jobs in Kenya, based on experience. So what I will share will be what I have been doing over the three years. The journey comprises different stages of my skill development in online work.
Although AI has largely affected the volume of online jobs across the globe, there are still jobs for the experts out there. So brace yourself and follow me as I unveil the best online jobs you can do in Kenya—in the comfort of your home.
How Did I Start?
In January 2021, I registered and designed my brand site: ceciliawayua.com. My initial plan was to make money blogging, but at first, it was nearly impossible. So, instead, I started writing samples and showcasing my work to potential clients. And that took me to my first online job in Kenya.
Best Online Jobs in Kenya: Freelance Writing
Freelance writing is all about writing blog posts, news articles, copywriting (content for selling products), landing pages, white papers, etc.— all remotely. This means you will look for writing jobs, and then do them in the comfort of your home.
Since I was green in everything, I wrote samples and published them on my site. Although the writing wasn’t that polished, it somehow helped me land my first client. But getting the first client is where the real struggle was.
So, I enrolled in Walter Akolo’s Upwork Master Course, which helped me to land my first client on Upwork. Currently, Walter retired from training writers. However, there are tons of free courses on platforms such as Coursehero, Udemy, YouTube, and popular blogger sites.
You can still open an Upwork account and start applying for writing jobs there. However, you need to know how to send proposals that win your client’s attention. The good thing I liked about Upwork is that I could withdraw the cash directly to my Mpesa. So this makes a good place to find the best online jobs in Kenya that pay through Mpesa.
Apart from Upwork, you can create and sell gigs on Fiverr, or apply for jobs on various job boards such as ProBlogger or LinkedIn. Nowadays, I would recommend anyone starting out to start by customizing their LinkedIn profile to match their skills.
You can also be active on various social media platforms such as Facebook and you may as well land clients. For example, in my case, I used Upwork in the first six months, then shifted my energy to finding clients on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Remember the rule—learn a skill before engaging in anything online. I’m sure you don’t want to ruin your online reputation by delivering poor work!
Now this takes me to the next online job I did after I mastered freelance writing.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
At first, I would skip all jobs that require SEO expertise. I was never sure whether I could really crack the search engine’s nut and make my blog posts rank on Google’s first page. Actually, I didn’t know what SEO was to start with.
So one day, I decided to face my fears and learn about SEO. I remember asking Walter to recommend me a good SEO course because I had then earned my first dollar through freelance writing.
So Walter recommended the SEO course by Brian Dean of Backlinko. It was about On-Page SEO and it was free. So, I took the course and implemented everything. While doing the course, I started writing a new blog post for my site and did what the course said about on-page optimization.
I still continue to learn from experts in the SEO industry such as Neil Patel to stay at par with the ever-changing Google Algorithms.
One thing that helped me succeed in this skill is that I had a personal website where I could post all sorts of content and track results. You cannot realize the results of SEO without having published articles.
The screenshot below shows the first article I ever optimized in 2021. I was targeting the long-tail keyphrase— ’best profitable side hustles in Kenya’. The article still shows up on Google’s first page (no. 6) even years after publishing it.
This single post positioned me as an expert in SEO and as a result, I got a long-term client from LinkedIn with whom we have worked together on different sites since then.
I later expanded my wings and learned about technical SEO, which is so technical and requires some lines of code.
So this automatically took me to my next skill, Web design & development, one of the best online jobs in Kenya.
Best Online Jobs in Kenya: Web Design and Development
So, I was very determined from the word go because I took the bold step to start a website. Although, at first in 2021, I designed Cecilia Wayua Tech by watching YouTube Tutorials, I later started learning lines of code to advance in that sector.
I was like: If I managed to design a fully functional website, I could really learn coding and advance my career in Web development. So I took HTML and CSS courses on Codecademy.
My coding skills have helped me build tens of websites for businesses and individuals looking to elevate their online presence.
Another reason I would recommend you to have a personal website is that it will serve as your first sample for your design. Cecilia Wayua Tech has helped me land Freelance writing and Web Design clients. My site always stands as a portfolio that showcases my design and writing skills.
The good thing, the site opens the door to making money passively through blogging.
Blogging
So blogging is one of the best online jobs in Kenya. Remember, when I started Cecilia Wayua Tech in 2021, my main aim was to make money through blogging. However, it wasn’t as simple as I thought. But that grand step of faith has brought me to where I am today.
Blogging really takes time before you can see tangible results, and it took me a year for me to withdraw my first dollar from blogging on Google Adsense. And the dollars didn’t come from Cecilia Wayua Tech, but from other niche sites targeting tier-one audiences (US and UK to be specific).
I started offering a blogging course in 2023, and I’m still enrolling new students for the Blogging Mastery Course. The course goes for Ksh.4,000 and with it, you can learn to design your own blog and write articles that will make you money.
Reach out to me on WhatsApp here at +254704902120, or email me at ceciliwayua94@gmail.com.
Blogging is a business where you invest in content that will start paying you after it drives traffic to your site. However, this will happen through placing Google Ads and Sponsored Ads or Affiliate marketing links.
For Google Ads, you earn once a reader clicks on any ad on your pages. While for the Sponsored Ads, you can earn per specific action as per agreement with your merchant. On the other hand, with affiliate marketing, you earn a certain percentage after a buyer makes a successful purchase of the products or services that you are promoting.
You can send traffic to your blog through SEO and Social Media Advertising. If you leverage both, you will be safe in the blogging industry.
With blogging, there is no way I was gonna avoid graphic design.
Best Online Jobs in Kenya: Graphic Design
Now, all the blogs you see out there need special images, probably customized to the sites or post purpose. And you can only achieve that through graphic design.
So this started way back in 2021. I started by creating images for my blog posts and some for the clients I wrote for. I started using Canva back then and I have not regretted it a bit.
So, now, I have honed my skills and I usually create posters for events, business cards, brochures, product posters, business logos, etc.
I usually get my clients from social media, and referrals. So, graphic design is one of the best online jobs in Kenya.
I learned through tutorials on YouTube and trial and error methods till I made it. You can as well, start by designing your social media cover photo and keep learning.
Most of these design apps have tutorials on how to navigate and design through them. So you have nothing to worry about if you really want to learn this.
I have also spread my wings on other things such as Writing and selling Ebooks.
Writing Ebooks
I already have two published books on Amazon KDP. This creates another passive income, which I make regularly.
If you have anything that you can make into a book, you can start writing and start earning money from it.
Whether it’s a fictional or nonfictional copy, you can still make money by selling these books. Plus, who doesn’t like being a published author? Well, I guess no one.
And now, all these skills need to be marketed, and the simplest way you can reach more people is by engaging through social media. So this takes us to the next online job in Kenya, social media marketing.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is the thing of today. People are now camping on social channels to relax after a day of work. So, the best thing is showing up with your skills on these social media channels and the right people will reach out to you.
I started getting clients from social media channels in 2021 and that has never stopped to date. Once in a while get clients from Facebook groups.
Something else, from marketing my skills and products, I learned crucial ways to do social media marketing. So, I can comfortably do social media marketing for businesses out there.
To succeed in social media marketing, you should ensure to learn about the best time to post your content on the different platforms. Also, learn to use scheduling tools to help you deliver consistency for your brand.
For example, Facebook and LinkedIn have a scheduling feature that allows you to plan your content for one month. If these are your main platforms like mine, you do not have to pay for social media management tools.
However, don’t ignore video content which can give you tremendous results for your business. You can learn how to create and edit short videos for YouTube Shorts, Facebook Reels, and TikTok. With this, you can spread your wings to a broader audience.
So Now, What’s Next?
From my journey in the best online jobs in Kenya, you’ve seen that for every job I have done It started by learning the skill. Therefore, don’t say you want to earn money from online jobs in Kenya but you don’t want to learn.
Everything starts with learning and then implementing everything to test results before you can start working for clients. So, start learning an online skill today and unlock your journey to get the best online jobs in Kenya.
Start today, don’t procrastinate!