One of the great things about the internet is that you can go into business for yourself from the comfort of your home. All you need is an internet connection, and you can make money online. Diving into the online world will free you from the daily 9 to 5 grind of a desk job and afford you more time to travel, indulge in hobbies, and spend time with the family. Another plus is that there are so many different ways to make money online. To start, all you have to do is identify the profitable niche market appropriate for you. After that, there’s no need to hire staff, rent space, or purchase expensive furniture (unless you want to). Here are a mix of tried and true online ventures, as well as new businesses and niches:
1. Affiliate Marketing
You may already know that affiliate marketing is one of the oldest online moneymakers out there. Here’s how it works: Affiliate marketing is one of the fastest and easiest ways to start an online busniess because all you have to do is promote the products. You don’t have to worry about creating products, setting up payment and delivery systems, or handle customer support. You just simply drive the traffic and get them to click over to the companies you are promoting as an affiliate and if a sales is made you get a comission for referring that sale. These mega-sites make it easy to set up shop so customers can browse your products, and there’s no need to build your own website. Also, you’ll find a built-in search feature so that interested buyers can easily find your online storefront. Plus, you get to use the site’s shopping cart. In short, you avoid a lot of the expense and hassle of setting up an independent e-commerce website. eBay: With eBay, the procedure is very similar. You simply start by becoming an eBay seller and stay in good standing by making sure your PayPal account is verified, and then you can sign up for your store. These three steps allow you to piggyback on eBay’s reputation, reach, and sales and marketing infrastructure in order to sell your own products. Though you can list a single price on eBay the big benefit of their platform is the auction system which let’s your prospective buyers get into bidding wars - driving up the price you can sell at with the items you are listing. Craigslist: Perhaps one of the oldest sites when it comes to listing items for sale this is still a great place to list and sell items.
3. Blogging
Old-fashioned blogging is alive and thriving. If you provide valuable content on a regular basis, you attract like-minded people interested in your niche information and products. Your readers are compelled to keep reading to find out more and buy. These people are primed to buy your products either via ads or affiliate links in your posts. Why? Because you’ve been providing useful free (targeted) content and people have come to know and trust you. Also, you make your site / online storefront attractive in the eyes of Google by regularly adding useful information in the form of articles, videos, etc. This results in higher rankings in Google’s search engine so, hopefully, you appear on page one because most people don’t go to page two on Google. There are many ways you can monetize a blog and the taffic you get to it. You can promote products as an affiliate, promote your own products and services, and have ads on your blog as well.
4. Niche E-commerce
As a startup internet entrepreneur, you’re not competing with e-commerce titans or major retailers like Walmart. You also don’t need a warehouse or a logistics system to sell your wares. What you do need to succeed is to narrow-focus. In other words, find your niche, and stick to it. That way you become the go-to expert and appear high in the search engine rankings. The most important thing is that there has to be a market for your niche. For example, you might have a passion for 16th-century French poetry, but you won’t attract a lot of readers. When it comes to e-commerce the key is to have a very specialized focus that attracts a very specific audience.
5. Your Own YouTube Channel
Top YouTubers can make millions each year, and that includes 5 year-olds. Take PewDiePie who has made more than $15 million filming himself playing video games. But you don’t need millions of viewers to make money on YouTube. Some ideas for valuable videos include how-tos such as recipes, unboxing (where you open a product for viewers), food and travel reviews, music videos, comedy skits, and so on. Here’s how to make money on YouTube:
Set up your YouTube channel, the place where your videos will live.Upload videos consistently and be specific when describing the content in your video. Make sure your videos are high-quality and contain useful or entertaining content. You don’t need a fancy camera to get going; a smartphone will suffice in the beginning.Put the word out on your social media platforms like Facebook and your email marketing list. You should also share the videos on social media or embed them on your blog or website.Respond to comments from viewers to create a fan base. Your job is to attract and keep viewers.Monetize your undertaking by allowing YouTube to include ads in your videos. When viewers click on an ad, you split the fee with Google. The more views, the more revenue for you.
One other thing to mention, you don’t have to get in front of a camera to make money with YouTube videos. Many of the most successful YouTube channels are screen capture videos with tutorials of software or videos where you are seeing someone do something or do a voiceover; never having to actually appear on camera.
6. Selling E-books
The internet has put a dent in the traditional publishing world. These days e-readers are all the rage.
7. Develop Apps
Whether it’s an iPhone or Android, it’s got apps and everyone’s got one in their pocket. You can’t compete with the likes of Pandora and Pinterest, but you can get in on the action. If you have a light bulb moment that addresses a need that people have, then create an app that meets that need. It could be a new way to store photos or a podcast download organizer. Don’t panic if you’re not a programmer. You’re the idea person. You can hire people to create it. With the availability of programmers available at reasonable rates, you could probably find someone on a site like Upwork. Of course, the exact amount you’ll pay your developers depends on the complexity of the app. You should create your app so that it works on both kinds of smartphones, Androids and iPhones. That way you maximize your customer base.
