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Career Evolution > Blog > 10 Ways to Make Money Online

10 Ways to Make Money Online

If you have a computer and an internet connection, you have at least 10 ways to make money online. What's more, they cost little or nothing to set up...

September 16th, 2010 by Becky Turner

The internet is an amazing tool - it enables us to make money wherever we are. We don't have to go to a place of work, or even where the customers are. We can do everything required to earn a decent living from our own little patch of sand (or wherever it is you call home).

Understandably though, a lot of people are dubious about opportunities online. There are a million get-rich-quick scams on the net, designed to extract a start-up fee then leave you high and dry. If you haven't been burned before, it's a painful and even embarrassing learning experience, I can tell you.

But why let the scam artists sully your view of the entire internet? If you still want to benefit from this life-altering technology, you just have to sort the wheat from the chaff. A lot of that comes from experience - and common sense. I don't need to tell you that if something sounds too good to be true... then it most definitely is. Money is not free; you have to earn it - or at least invest it wisely. Putting $69.95 into a system that miraculously generates thousands of dollars in your first week is a scam.

So what do genuine work-at-home opportunities look like? Here I've compiled my preferred list of 10 ways to make money online, so you have a good idea of where to start. Between Pete and I, we've earned our living using all 10 ways to make money online at some stage over the last three years. We know they work, and we know they are accessible to a lot of people. So if you have any inkling to get your cyber feet wet, start here...

1. Freelance Your Services

The concept of freelancing has been around for years but has only become truly accessible with the rise of freelancer websites. If you have a professional service to offer (like writing, graphic design, or programming) then it's free and easy to hook up with people looking to pay for your services. Contracts are as short or long term as the project demands, you can pick and choose what work you take, and often the pay is negotiable too. If you intend to make this your full time career then you'll need to build a network to supply you with regular work. But as a supplementary income you can easily find occasional project work online. For more advice check out 15 Essential Things Every Freelancer Should Know.

2. Create a Blog

A blog is like a public diary. It's usually written by just one person who documents their thoughts fairly regularly (weekly, if not daily) on a particular topic - or on a range of topics but with a unique personal spin. There are millions of blogs on the internet, 99% of which receive very little traffic because they are poorly optimized or targeted. To become a professional blogger in the top 1% you must learn about what makes a blog successful - ie one that generates high traffic and high income.

How does a blog help you make money online? There are myriad ways but among the most popular are affiliate programs, contextual advertising, pre-paid advertising, e-zine publishing, and your own information products. These monetization models run alongside your free blog content, just as commercials run alongside TV programs. You can launch a blog in just a few minutes although I suggest you put some planning into it first. A good place to start is How to Build an Income Generating Website.

3. Create a Website

I make money online by creating niche websites on topics I am passionate about. They are different from blogs because there is no timestamp on the content; it's the difference between a newspaper and a book. I write new website articles when I have time but there is far less pressure to post every week, enable reader comments, or focus on current affairs.

Of course, there are many similarities. I believe that both blogs and niche websites should have a face, and the creator should not hide behind the anonymity of the internet. This builds much better credibility with your readers and in return they'll be more supportive of your cause.

In 2008 I created a website called Improve Vision Naturally, where I documented my experiences of eye exercises. By recommending one particular vision training program, I quickly started making several hundred dollars per month in affiliate payments. Although I only spent 3 weeks creating the site, and have spent no more than a few hours per month updating it since, it now generates more than US $1,000 per month on it's own steam. I created that website using the Site Build It model, and it's one I intend to continue replicating to make money online in future.

4. Affiliate Programs

This one is a biggie, mainly because it's where I've had the most success making money from the internet. On all my websites, you'll see text and banner adverts for relevant products. When you click on those links, a tracking cookie is stored on your computer and you are taken to the online store of my affiliate partner. At that point my work is done. If you then buy anything from their online store, I get an automatic commission which ranges from anywhere between 5% and 75% depending on the product.

This method of passive income generation enables me to focus on delivering free content to you, while also earning money from the big guys who effectively sponsor my website. Just one word of warning: anyone can launch an affiliate program and sell their homemade products, and it isn't all run by ethical people. So before you recommend any product on your website or blog, test it out yourself and make sure it's genuine. That way, your site won't get blacklisted by Google and your readers won't think you're a douchebag for recommending a scammy product you found online. To kick-start your efforts see How to Make Money with Affiliate Programs.

5. Google AdSense

Let's say you have a website or blog that doesn't lend itself to product recommendations. People simply don't want to buy anything in your niche. First off, I'd say you didn't plan your online business very well. But then I'd say RELAX because you can still make money online with Google AdSense.

To earn money, you need to have your visitors click on the text or image links provided automatically by Google (see example, right). This generates a few cents per click but with sufficient traffic this can add up to hundreds and thousands of dollars. Monitoring and tweaking the position and even color of your ads can help them perform better. Crucially though, the reader doesn't have to buy anything for you to get paid - they just have to be curious enough to click on the ad.

It's easy to set up the ads on your website, you just need to install a piece of code provided by Google AdSense. Google automatically reads your keywords to ensure the adverts are always relevant for your readers.

(Note: I don't plan to use AdSense on Career Evolution, since it will naturally be targeted by copious get-rich-quick advertisers. I put this block there to demonstrate the concept of AdSense - nothing more. In a different niche, however, you won't run into this problem.)

6. Google AdWords

With Google AdWords, you become the advertiser. Your ads populate those AdSense blocks enabling you to benefit from the readership of other people's websites, as well as Google's search engine results. All you need to make money with AdWords is an advertising budget and a product to sell.

Here's an example of how I make money with Google AdWords:

I pay 2 cents per click on my AdWords ad for a dog training e-book, which is placed on dog-related websites and in Google's search results for searches on "dog training". Already I know I'm targeting the right people and am more likely to make a sale.
As an affiliate, I make $10 commission per sale of the ebook. It's reasonable to expect that for every 100 clicks on my ad, one person will actually buy the ebook - that's a 1% conversion rate. So for every $2 I spend on advertising, I make $8 profit.
Once I see that my conversion rate really is 1% or more, I can scale up this AdWords campaign to reach 1,000 readers. That costs me $20 in advertising and generates $80 in total profits. With profitability assured, I can scale it up further - to the max!

Yep, you guessed it... this is passive income. It's highly scalable and it runs on autopilot. Just don't neglect the actual effort that goes into sourcing the affiliate product, writing the ad, and targeting your audience.

Finally, once you have a profitable campaign running on Google AdWords, you can double your profits by replicating it on Yahoo Search Marketing.

7. Write an E-Book

Fancy yourself as a published author? Nowadays, absolutely anyone can self-publish an online information product (aka e-book) for free. You may choose to write a novel or a collection of short stories as I did with Lucid Fiction, but if you're more profit-driven I recommend a factual endeavor.

My first e-book, Lucid Fiction

There is huge demand on the internet for "how to" e-books. People want high quality information and they want it NOW. Though it may sound crazy, people do pay $10, $20 and even $50 for an electronic book they can receive instantly, over a tangible $5 book which they have to wait to receive in the mail. And with the rise of Amazon's Kindle e-book reader, the market for e-books is only getting bigger.

So if you can write a simple 10 or 20 chapters on your hobby or passion, consider turning it into an e-book. The key is to fill a gap in the market, or offer something that's better than the niche e-books already out there.

Once you've written your book in Microsoft Word, convert it to a PDF using a free converter such as Cute PDF. You'll also need a professional looking e-book cover design - when it comes to e-books, people definitely judge a book by its cover. Pete made the cover for Lucid Fiction and offers an e-book design service if you're looking for a premium quality cover design.

Lastly, you need to market your e-book on ClickBank or eJunkie as I do. These are not simply e-book marketplaces; these are affiliate marketplaces, where multiple affiliates will sell your e-book on your behalf for a commission. While prices vary, I generally price an e-book at $9.95 and offer affiliates 50% commission, since they're doing the hard work of selling it on an ongoing basis. Alternatively, you can create your own website or blog and use that as a platform to publicize your e-book creation.

8. Launch an E-zine

What the heck is an e-zine? It's an electronic magazine or newsletter, delivered to your email inbox every week or month. These days it's hard to find a website that doesn't try to sign you up to their e-zine, and that's because it is a fantastic way to encourage repeat visitors, build credibility with readers, offer discounts and freebies, and make more sales.

So, if you have a website or blog, it makes a lot of sense to offer a monthly e-zine alongside it. I used to write the World of Lucid Dreaming e-zine and with minimal effort gained more than 1,000 subscribers in its first year. The main reason I put the e-zine on hold was I ran out of time. I now run four niche websites and writing e-zines for all of them doesn't fit in my schedule. My fellow internet marketers often scold me for this, because e-zines really do offer such great potential as a way to make money online.

How do you go about publishing an e-zine? If you're sending mass emails, it's essential you use a professional mailout service to ensure your e-zine reaches its final destination and you doesn't get blacklisted. You'll also get a choice of e-zine design templates and customized sign-up forms on your website. Site Build It users get this service for free but everyone else will need to sign up to a dedicated newsletter service such as Aweber.

9. Start an Online Store

A potentially lucrative way to make money online is to start an online store. Whether you make your own handmade jewelry, import designer clothing, or sell digital products, you can create a very basic online store with PayPal Merchant Services. Simply install the custom code for a Buy Now or Donate button and you'll be notified of every sale by email. Easy.

Advanced webmasters use complete storefront software which enables shoppers to add items to their cart and checkout securely. If you're a beginner with just a small selection of products, I'd start with PayPal.

What if you have no idea what to sell? There are some key decisions to make up front to avoid failure. First, decide what kind of products you want to sell and research the supply/demand ratio online. Too little demand, and you'll struggle to turn much profit. But too much demand means strong competition, so it's going to be tough to get the traffic to your site, let alone match the prices and service levels of your competition. The idea is to find a specialized niche into which few competitors have tapped.

The next thing to consider is your storefront design. A lot of people are already nervous about security when it comes to making online purchases, so far fewer buyers are going to trust a dodgy looking storefront. If you look tacky or unprofessional, people will think you're going to steal their money. So don't scrimp on your website design. Make sure it looks clean, professional and, most importantly, secure.

Pete's first online store, MMA GEAR

Pete used all these principles to set up his first online store, MMA Gear. From the first day it launched in 2008, it became New Zealand's largest importer of mixed martial arts gear. That's because he tapped into a brand new niche market with huge growth potential, and today this online business generates the equivalent of US $18,000 in annual profits. Today Pete outsources the stocking and order processing to a work-at-home mom, making this a highly passive source of income for us.

10. Revamp Websites

Once you gain experience in building websites, you may be tempted to start site flipping. This means buying an existing website that isn't reaching it's true potential, doing it up, then selling it for a profit. Be sure to treat it like any other investment and do your own research before buying. Double check the traffic statistic of the site in question, including the Page Rank, Alexa Rank and number of backlinks. Don't overpay for a fledging website that will need a lot of work to get to a decent sale price.

To start trading, check out Flippa, a popular marketplace for buying and selling websites. Or consider making an unsolicited offer on a site you like, just go in respectfully and ask if the owner is open to the idea of a sale.

I've had several unsolicited offers to buy World of Lucid Dreaming and every time the bidder screwed up by saying "I'm interested in buying your website - for the right price, of course". This is a really stupid thing to say because it tells me you're looking for a steal. Immediately my defenses are up and I'm wondering if you're a serious business person at all. I don't respond to requests like these. If I were to respond to an offer I'd want the person to explain why they wanted to buy the site, what sort of future plans they had for it, and an approximate budget range to show we were on the same page. The deal has to be mutually beneficial, and usually the target site has to be failing in some way for the owner to want rid of it.

Of course there are some big attractions to site flipping as opposed to launching a brand new website. The main features to look for are an established body of content, a daily traffic flow ready to be monetized, and some pages with a good position on Google. Your job may be to re-design, re-write and optimize the website for search engines in order to take the volume of traffic to the next level. It'll need an experienced eye and an up front investment, but it is definitely possible to earn your living this way.

Final Thoughts

As you have no doubt noticed, there is plenty of overlap among my top 10 ways to make money online. I believe the best approach is to combine these various methods to create multiple income streams to maximize - and protect - your bottom line. The brilliance of online business is that you can build up different elements in your spare time, so your business grows at a rate you feel comfortable with. Unlike most "real world" start-ups and franchise developments, there is minimal financial risk to you. There is also the freedom and flexibility that comes with working independently of any boss, taking all your business decisions in your own hands...