This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I only ever recommend products that I have personally used and loved. Thank you for your support!
We all know that we should do something good as often as possible. After all, a good deed a day keeps bad things away.
Most of the time, ‘doing something good’ makes us immediately think about charity work or donating. And most of us don’t want to spend our limited time and money doing that.
Fortunately, there are also more subtle and effortless ways you can help your fellow humans.
The following good deeds don’t require you to spend money, and they take barely any time.
Yet if you commit to doing them as often as possible, you leave a trail of happiness wherever you go.
1. Leave a review
As the average citizen of industrial countries, I am sure you regularly order stuff online, a lot of them probably from Amazon.
But how often do you leave a review for the product? I admit I rarely do it.
Yet I regularly read the reviews to determine whether or not a product is worth the purchase.
So obviously, those reviews provide some value for me. They help me spend my money more wisely (by the way, you might be interested in 11 Ways To Spend Your Money Wisely).
That’s why I decided to provide the same value for other people.
After all, it doesn’t take long for you to leave a review. Amazon even reminds you per email of it!
And although it takes so little effort from your side, you are helping multiple potential customers and the seller.
After all, most people look at the number of reviews and the ranking of a product before going through with the purchase.
2. Share content
Sharing content also doesn’t take much effort. Just a few clicks are necessary. It might not even take you a minute, but it can help the content creator soooooo much.
And, of course, it will make others happy to discover helpful and inspiring content.
So, the next time you read, listen to or watch some awesome content that you really like, why not share it with at least one person.
You don’t even have to do it online. Just recommend it to a friend of yours.
It’s an excellent and effortless way to say “thank you for creating this content. I really appreciate it!”.
3. Use Affiliate Links
Most of you will probably know by now that many online entrepreneurs and influencers make their money through affiliate links.
In essence, they share the link to a product or service they recommend, and every time you purchase something through the link, they get a commission for it.
Often enough, you even get discounts through the links.
In the end, it’s a win-win-win situation.
You win because you get a great product or service and even some discount on it. The affiliate marketer wins because he receives a commission. And lastly, the producer wins because he makes more sales.
If you actually want the product and there is a discount from the influencer, you will probably automatically use their affiliate link.
However, I have another idea. Imagine you want to order a new Kindle online. You’ve been thinking about this for a while now and haven’t been influenced by any online personality.
Before purchasing the Kindle, why not use an Amazon affiliate link from one of your favorite YouTubers, etc., to get to Amazon.com.
You don’t even have to buy the product the link leads to. Instead, the Affiliate Marketer will receive a commission for any sale that has been made on Amazon within 24 hours after the link was used.
Pretty incredible, right? And the best part is that again you can thank other people for their excellent work in a significant way without putting much effort in or having to sacrifice anything at all.
4. Click and watch YouTube and Blog Ads
Another good deed that you can do in the internet age is clicking on the ads in YouTube videos and blog posts.
Most of these pay CPC (cost per click); in other words, the content creator only earns if the viewer clicks on the ad.
Some ads are CPM (cost per thousand views), meaning the viewer needs to watch at least 30 seconds (or half of a very short ad) for the creator to earn something.
It might only be a few seconds for you, but it can make a difference for the content creator.
5. Comment and Like
Like many of those mentioned above, commenting and liking content online helps content creators more than you might imagine.
The algorithms of many platforms (Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, etc.) display content more prominently the more engagement it has.
Especially those first few comments and likes on a new post can get the stone rolling.
6. Ask for Content
Is there something you’d like your favorite content creator to talk about? Tell them!
Content creators continuously have to be creative and develop new content ideas; therefore, it is a massive relief for them to find some inspiration through their audience.
And once again, we effortlessly created a win-win situation.
You get the content you want, and they have an easier time creating it.
7. Compliment others
Now we finally take a step away from the online world. Another effortless and free good deed is complementing other people.
And I am not talking about fake compliments; people notice whether or not a compliment is honest. So don’t pretend.
Simply tell other people something you like or admire about them whenever you find something.
For you, it might not be a big deal to say those few words, but it will stay in their memory for a long time and will make them very happy.
8. Smile at others
We need to smile more! But, seriously, what’s wrong with people nowadays?
We seem to live in a society where everyone walks around with a resting bitch face.
The next time you make eye contact with somebody, give them a small smile. You don’t need to say anything or hug them; just smile. With or without teeth, your choice.
It can instantly lift the mood of the person on the receiving end. In fact, it will probably also boost your mood because you will be proud of yourself for having done something beautiful today.
“How to Win Friends & Influence People” even suggests that we humans can pick up on whether or not the person we are telephoning with is smiling or not.
This can make or break a deal whenever you request something over the telephone.
If you are interested in other inspiring concepts like this, you should check out my Reading List for Personal Growth.
9. Sympathize with others
Again, this is inspired by Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends & Influence People.”
We, humans, love it when other people sympathize with us. And sympathizing with other people generally creates a more harmonious life.
Next time you are annoyed with somebody, try to step into their shoes for a moment. Maybe they just had a bad day and can’t perform as well as usual. Perhaps they are getting sick. They probably did their best.
If you only show a bit of sympathy towards people, they will be thankful for it, especially when most others are not as thoughtful as you are.
10. Donate clothing
We all know that donating clothes is a good thing to do. It’s also way less time-consuming than selling them online!
You don’t have to take pictures, upload them, write descriptions, or answer questions.
So next time you give your wardrobe a cleanout, donate at least some of it. Your clothes can make someone out there very happy.
I hope these 10 Effortless And Free Ways To Help Others inspired you to do something good today.
I know you might think I only recommended most of these good deeds because they can help me and my blog. But by all means, don’t let that stop you from using them!
Honestly, I don’t care if you use them on me or any other content creator that you love.
These were just things I never thought of until I started my own blog, and now I am really excited to help other people in such an effortless way.
Can you think of other free ways to help people? Comment down below!
It would be fantastic if our community of Felicity Seekers could help as many people as possible even before we have the money to do so in a financial way.
Besides that, I encourage you to continue creating that extraordinary life of your dreams! Even if you just take a small step today, it is still one step closer to your end goal.
We at Striving for Felicity believe in you!
