The internet has opened a world of new possibilities for generating revenue — both for corporations and for individuals. Practically anyone can now start up some type of business online, but the question for many of us is “what business and how do we get started?” Here are a few ideas that can help you to make money online.
1. Affiliate Networks – There are a number of affiliate networks that allow you to sign up as a partner to various brands. Typically these affiliations work like this: you sign up to be a marketer for “brand X.” You are then given specific banner ads to place on your own websites and online marketing materials. Whenever someone clicks on one of these coded banners they are taken to brand X’s website. If they make a purchase, the lead is tracked back to you, and you are paid a commission for that sale. This is a good way of creating income that is fairly passive — as long as you do general marketing to draw attention to your sites.
2. Website Design – Believe it or not, being a website designer no longer means having to be a master at coding and programming. With the plethora of templates sites that are available online now, you can build customized websites for clients — with all of the features and functionality that have historically only been available from the pros.
3. SEO – Otherwise known as search engine optimization; SEO includes a number of tools and tricks used to help websites rank high for certain search terms when someone enters those terms into Google, Bing, etc. By creating websites, web content, press releases, social media links, etc., you can begin to help clients to improve their standings with the most popular search engines, thus increasing their online sales.
4. Online Stores – With the web, anyone can have their own store up and running in practically no time. Without much experience at all, you can find products to populate your store (or sell your own product or service) and get started within the course of a day. Of course, getting traffic to your site is another matter (see SEO above).
5. Buying and Selling Collectibles – Because of Amazon and eBay, buying and selling things for a profit has never been easier. You can buy collectibles, antiques, art, etc., either online or at local estate sales, and then sell those items for a hefty profit through these high traffic portals.
