How to make money online? For most of us, jobs are necessity as we need money for sustenance and meeting our expenses. It is not the most ideal way of life (unless you enjoy your job and get paid well). If we had resources to live a life without the fear of a monetary crisis, we might have quit our jobs to pursue other things.
If you are able to achieve financial freedom without having to work for a job which requires you to work more than 40 hours a week, you can quit your job. When you know how to make money—whether offline or online—the road to financial freedom and quitting your job becomes a possibility. The road to financial freedom is open for all. If you are willing to make the effort to explore new opportunities and execute them, you can become a self-employed professional or an entrepreneur.
If you are wondering how to make money without having to work for a job, there are numerous ways of making money in the traditional market as well as in the online world. In the traditional market, you can easily earn money by trading in stocks and derivatives, buying or selling real estate, offering consultancy service or setting up a small business. If you are not ready to start a your own business venture, consider going online and tapping the huge market to earn a decent living.
Starting an online venture is easy and quick. You can set up your online business/project in less than a few minutes and make money online. How to start making money from home? In this article, we will see various ways of making money on the Internet and bringing home the bacon.
1. Earn money with websites
How to make money online?
The Internet has millions of websites. Did you ever wonder why? Websites are like online real estate. You can have different types of online properties, websites being the simplest of them. You don’t need to have a degree in Internet technologies to create a website. All that you need to do is register a domain name (around $10 per year) and purchase hosting space (less than $100 annually).
You can acquire basic knowledge of HTML and creating websites over the Web and then create your website. You can also your content management systems such as WordPress and Joomla to create websites. Once you have your online property ready, sell advertising space and hyperlinks or offer to publish paid content.
2. Make money with blogs
Blogs are specialized websites which are updated frequently and have a different format of presenting information. Blogs can be about a niche topic, personal experiences, travelogues or how-to guides.
You can use keyword research to pick a topic for your blog after analyzing your area of strength and advertising revenue potential. Use tools like Google Keyword Tool and SpyFu to see if there are a lot of people looking for information on the topic that you want to write about.
You can use free services such as Blogger to create a without spending a penny, but it is advisable to buy your domain name and integrate it with your free Blogger blog. Better still, get your own WordPress blog with own domain name.
Pick an interesting topic, write good articles, share with all your friends on Facebook and Twitter, and you are off to a good start. Once your blog starts getting decent number of readers, monetize it using ad networks, joining affiliate programmes, writing paid reviews and content.
3. Offer copywriting services
Don’t want to start a website or blog? With the increasing number of websites and blogs, there is a constant demand for content for these websites. You can provide content for websites and make money online. Still wondering how to make money online by offering copywriting service? Check out freelancing websites such as Fiverr and Elance. Fiverr is a hot place for offering copywriting services. You can create a gig to write one 500 words article for $5.
If you want to make money offering writing services, make sure that you know how to write for search engines. For SEO, the article should have 2-4% keyword density, or the number of times the keyword phrase appears very 100 words. If you are writing 500 words on ‘removing virus’, it should appear 10-20 times in the article.
4. Write for content networks
Several content network websites pay for articles or blog posts. Associated Content and Helium “pay for performance” based on page views for articles on almost any topic. When you write articles on topics specified by them, you can earn payments of as much as $200. Also, a lot of companies require part-time bloggers to update their blogs.
You can also make money online by creating content for websites like Squidoo , HubPages and Google Knol. You can create articles or hubs on any number of topics and get paid a share of the advertising revenue. If you promote your affiliate links, you have all the mney generated though them for yourself. Though the money can be very small if you write just one article, it can grow into a decent additional income as you have more number of popular articles on these websites.
5. Create an e-book
Do you have good knowledge about some subject? Can you help others find solutions to their pressing problems? You can write an e-book on your computer using any word processor. Once you have it ready, format it like a book and convert it into an e-book in PDF format. You can also add an interesting e-book cover to make it look attractive. You can easily find someone on Fiverr .
How to make money online through ebooks? Sell it on your website/blog or eBay. You can also sell it through affiliates. Joining an affiliate programme such as ClickBank or Commission Junction as a seller and promote your e-book through affiliates by offering them a commission for sales.
6. Offer newsletters
Do you have access to plenty of information in any particular sector or niche? Make use of this resource to make money online. Compile all information, news and articles in an elegant newsletter and offer it for a subscription fee. Your newsletter can be daily, weekly or monthly.
Who will subscribe to your newsletter? Get a list of prospective buyers from public information repositories or paid directories and give them a free trial subscription of your newsletter. Once they see the value in your newsletter, you will get plenty of subscribers.
7. News clipping services
Among many jobs of a public relations company is keeping track of articles and reports published in newspapers, magazines and online journals. Some also track the latest developments in the client’s business area. You can offer this service as a stand-alone. Offer to send them daily or weekly updates and maintain a database of news reports and clipping for companies.
If you are a bit creative, you can modify and customize it to the requirements of your local companies and executives. What about a service which tracks all the news and developments in the client’s business area while he is off on a vacation? Your client won’t have to struggle with staying updated with news during or after his vacation. Charge a small fee for this comfort. Does this sound like a cool way of making money online?
8. Earn as an affiliate
Most would love to earn money by promoting products, but it requires you to connect with your readers in a way that instill confidence and trust in you. Affiliate marketing requires you to have a friendly and informal relationship with your prospective buyers using unconventional strategies.
If you want to make money online by promoting a web hosting company, you can offer to help your prospective buyers help create a website or blog. Make them feel cared. If they can rely on you for help, they are more likely to buy web hosting through your affiliate link.
9. Sell stock photos
How to make money online selling stock photos?
Even if you are an amateur photographer, you can sell photos on stock photography websites such as Fotolia, ShutterStock, Dreamstime and iStockphoto. Magazines, web designers and advertisers are constantly in need of stock photography for websites, newsletters, presentations, brochures, etc. You can make a sale if your photo meets their requirements.
Make sure that you don’t include images of trademarked brands, art or people’s faces that are readily identifiable without having a model release. Upload all good pictures with proper tags and description. Some sites put your images through a rigorous quality check, but once you have a good number of images on stock photography websites, you can have a constant flow of passive income.
10. Virtual tutor
Can you help school and college students understand their course studies better? If you can tutor students, there are several e-tutoring websites such as TutorVista, e-tutor and SmartThinking where you can make money. Apply with a good e-learning website as a tutor, take the certification test and start helping students understand their syllabus or complete their homework. You can work for any number of hours a day. Once you establish yourself as a good teacher, you can start giving lectures and webinars instead of tutoring individual students.
11. Buy and sell domains
Can you spot the difference between domain names? What is the Page Rank of a domain? If the answer is yes, you can start domaining , or the business of buying and selling domain names. If you don’t target top domain names, you can start your business with a small investment. Spot domain names which can be registered, bought from owners or in domain expiry auctions. Before buying a domain name, confirm that the domain will interest some prospective buyers. Get hold of the domain name and then offer it to the end-user for a premium.
Domaining requires that you keep exploring the options available on websites like Sedo ,SnapNames , Flippa and eBay . Several good domains are allowed to expire by their current owners. Look for such deals on domain auction websites where domains get listed after expiry. The lists of terminated domains can be a good starting point for making money online.
12. Flipping websites
Like real estate, there is a whole bunch of investors and speculators willing to buy websites and blogs. You can tap this pool of buyers by offering them new, turnkey websites created on topics or niches which are considered good money spinners. If you own a website with a steady income, buyers will be willing to pay around 12 times the monthly revenue. You can also buy websites, increase traffic and revenue through SEO and then sell it for a high price. Go and check out Flippa to see how others trade in this market.
13. Search engine marketing
How to make money online doing SEO?
Most of the traffic to websites is driven through search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. A website/webpage in the first position in search engines for its target keywords will get the maximum number of visitors. So it becomes very important to optimize your website for search engines and strive for being at the top on search result pages. This entire process is called search engine optimization or SEO. It is a lucrative business and just a few good clients can get you a steady online income.
14. Social Media Marketing
With the rise of sociall media websites such as Facebook and Twitter, a new avenue for making money online has emerged. You can manage social media accounts for companies and help them maintain their brand image on these social media platforms. There are also people who get paid to tweet on behalf of companies and build brands and positive image for them among their fans and followers.
15. Sell fans and followers
Rise of Twitter and Facebook as important social platforms means every brand and company feels it necessary to maintain an account on these networks. If the company or brand is not a household name across the globe, they might not be able to get attention and following that the company wants. To make their accounts look good, such companies often buy Twitter followers and Facebook friends.
You can offer to build fan following for such companies. Once you get a gig from a company to increase their following on social media websites, you can get in touch with providers who sell friends and followers in bulk at lower rates. So you benefit from the arbitrage and make money online.
16. Freelance programmer
If you can write programmes in PHP, Javascript, Ruby or other languages, you can find plenty of work on freelancing websites. Register yourself with some good freelancing websites, roll up your sleeve and start working. Offer bargain prices in the begining and increase your rates gradually as you gain reputation as a top-quality service provider. A lot of people use this method to make money online.
17. Become a web designer/developer
Every day a large number of websites are created and several old ones wear a new look. There is a huge demand for people who can create websites. Even if you do not know anything about web designing, it will only take a few weeks to learn basics of website designing and coding. Start taking simple website jobs and keep learning advanced techniques on the job. You can turn to books, websites and blogs for help. Web development work projects can be found on freelance websites and webmaster forums.
18. Design icons, flyers, brochures
How to make money online selling graphics?
If you have good Photoshop skills, use it to create stock icons, graphics, brochures, flyers and logos which can be sold on stock image websites. Graphic and web designers have to offer multiple options for logos, fliers and brochures to their clients. Only one of them is accepted by the client and the rest remain unused. You can also put such materials for sale on stock image websites.
19. Create website themes and templates
Not everyone can afford to get a custom website made as web designers charge a decent amount of money. Bloggers and website owners who want an attractive website or blog without paying hundreds of dollars to web designers use premium website templates and themes which are available for just a fraction of the cost.
As a designer, you can create template and themes for popular content management systems (CMS) and sell them on websites like ThemeForest. Make sure that your theme has loads of features and is flexible enough to meet the buyer’s requirements. WordPress being the most popular CMS, creating WordPress theme is very lucrative.
20. Sell merchandise
How to make money online selling merchandise?
Can you create sexy illustrations and designs that can be used for t-shirts, coffee mugs, posters, greeting cards, key rings and other stuff? You can sell merchandise with your artwork, slogans or logos without having to bother about manufacturing or creating your own inventory. You can upload your artwork on websites such as CafePress , which takes care of managing and selling products with your artwork. You will receive a commission for each sale.
21. Write a book
With websites like Lulu , anyone can become a published author. You write your novel or book and submit it to the website. When someone orders your book, it is printed and shipped. You get a commission/royalty.
22. Become a YouTube performer
If you can create funny skits, drama or parodies, head over to YouTube. You can upload any video which does not violate any copyright issues or rules of YouTube. When your videos become popular on the video-sharing website, you will be given the option to show ads and generate revenue.
23. Use YouTube for affiliate marketing
Video are way more interactive than written text. Select a product to sell and join the affiliate programme which offers the product. You can find thousands of products from different niches to promote on ClickBank. Create interesting video reviews of the products and include your affiliate link in the video and in the description text on the webpage. Add short URLs for your affiliate links and start making money online. It is easier to sell on YouTube.
24. Virtual assistant
Small businesses, online entrepreneurs and individuals often need people to take care of their daily works or administration. Often the amount of work is not enough to justify a full-time employee or they want to outsource the job. As a virtual assistant, you will have to work like an assistant or a secretary. You can make money from your home, interacting with clients either online or over the phone.
25. Sell stuff on eBay
More and more people buy books, videos, electronics and other stuff online. The volume of Internet marketing has been growing constantly. You can also make money online by selling new or used products on websites like eBay. You can also find second-hand cars being sold on eBay.
26. eBay trading assistant
Selling products on eBay requires a lot of work from monitoring orders, tracking progress of new orders and shipping. Several sellers do not want to handle all this work on their own. You can be their eBay trading assistant after registering with eBay.
27. Amazon affiliate programme
Amazon, one of the top online stores, provides commission (2-3%) to people who bring business and help them sell products. If you have a website, you can join Amazon affiliate programme and promote products there. You can also create websites which review products available on Amazon.
28. Sell trinkets
It’s not just high-tech gadgets that sell online. Handmade items such as bags, jewellery, key rings and greeting cards are also in demand from online shoppers. If you can create such stuff, join websites like Etsy and start making money online.
29. Internet directories
A website directory can be used to make money online by charging website owners to be listed in your directory. If your website directory is reputed among users and search engines, you can command a premium for listings and backlinks.
30. Article directories
Article marketing is one of the strategies for improving SEO. As Google improves its search results, old article directories are losing favour from search engines. You can create article directories for specific niches, accept only high-quality articles and charge the users for the privilege of getting backlinks from your directory.
31. Microjobs
For those who lack any skill or don’t want to make the extra effort, there are micro jobs which can be as simple as joining some Facebook fan page. You get paid a few cents to a couple of dollars for such micro jobs on websites like MicroWorkers .
32. Sell web hosting
You don’t need to set up server hardware to start a web hosting company. Several hosting companies such as Hostgator and GoDaddy allow reseller accounts where you sell web space to customers and the hosting company hosts them under your reseller account. You can charge customers as much as you want. If you promote your service locally, it can be an even better way for making money online.
33. Arbitrage opportunities
If you are familiar with the online space, you can easily make some quick buck by taking advantage of the price difference between services provided on two different platforms. For example, webmaster might be buying backlink packages on a forum for $10-25, while the same packages might be available for $5 on Fiverr. Be the intermediary and keep the difference.
34. Online researcher
Many authors, educationists and students need researchers to get information on certain subjects. You can be the person who does the research and makes money online.Check if someone is looking for a researcher on Craigslist classifieds website .
35. Get-paid-to websites
Get-paid-to websites are for those who don’t have any skill to make money online. Sign up with legitimate get-paid-to websites for free and take part in surveys, read newsletters, visit website or play games. Don’t get scammed in your desire to make money online.
36. Forex trading
Start as a forex trader and make money online speculating the movement of currencies. You will have to understand the currency market first. You can take a course online or from a local currency trading company. Again, beware of scam artists.
37. Gambling
Gambling can be the road to riches for many. Gamble your luck against other gamblers in the online world and pocket nifty cash in short time. How to make money online gambling? Just Google for numerous ways of gambling online.
38. Proxy websites
Set up a proxy websites which allow users to bypass website censorship at workplaces, schools or colleges. Some proxy services make money through advertising, while others charge money for providing access to their service. There are numerous ways to monetize a proxy website.
39. Digg for cash
Social sharing websites such as Digg and StumbleUpon are often used to promote news, events and products. If you are a reputed power user on websites like Digg, people will start approaching you to create buzz on their company or products. You can cash in on the opportunity and make money online. If you are just starting, it will take some time before you see any cash.
40. Sell databases/emails
Don’t worry, it is going to be legal. Several websites such as DMOZ offer valuable data and contact directories for free download. You can download these databases and sell directory listings, modified or value-added DMOZ data or email lists. You can download DMOZ database and combine it with other information like phone number and postal address from physical Yellow Pages directories. You can then sell the enhanced product for a premium.
41. Start online forums
Does your local community faces issues on which there can be a good forum where people network and share ideas? Are you passionate about something and want to offer a common platform for others like you across the globe. Once established, your forum flourishes on auto-pilot.
42. Forum posting
If you enjoy sharing ideas with others on forums or helping others with their problems, you can offer to be paid forum poster. New forums need ghost members to make the forum look active even when there are just a few users.
43. Professional gamer
If you like playing video games, there is money to make in this too. Top players get paid for participating in tournaments, attending gaming fests and endorsing products.
44. Building apps
With smartphones and tablet computers like iPad becoming popular, there is a growing market for apps for use on these devices. Developing and selling your own app can make you a millionaire. All that you need to do is invest time and effort in creating a really interesting and useful app.
45. Create a web comic
If you can illustrate, create a digital comic character for your very own super here comic book or comic strip. You can create comic books/strips and make them available on your website. Monetize the website with ads. If your comic is good enough, try getting it into some syndication network or local newspaper.
46. Sharing files online
Do you know why there are so many people offering stuff on file sharing websites such as Script Mafia? Several file sharing websites offer money to the uploader every time someone downloads the file using his link. Upload files on sharing websites such as Ziddu, Uploading and ShareCash.org and get paid.
47. Get paid to answer
Sharing your knowledge and start making money by answering queries. You can find websites such as JustAnswer and Ether where you can make money by offering your knowledge and expertise.
48. Install web applications
Installing website scripts or platforms such as WordPress and Joomla can be tricky for new website owners. You can make money online by charging for installing website scripts, CMS and forums on others’ servers.
49. Translating documents
With globalization, content in one language often needs to be converted into another. If you know two languages, get paid for translating documents online and offline. You can find work through free classifieds as well as freelancing websites.
50. Comment on blogs
You can offer to leave comment on websites for making it look a happening place or to get do-follow backlinks from other websites. You can leave comments on do-follow websites or blogs on behalf of a website and get paid.
51. Dropshipping
You can sell stuff by collaborating with manufacturers which offer dropshipping, which involves shipping the product to customers on behalf of the seller. You collect the order and then instruct the manufacturer to ship the product to your buyer. After paying the manufacturer, you keep the remainder.
Now you have plenty of options for making money online. Choose the one that you find interesting. If you looking for a unique answer for how to make money online, you can generate more online business ideas by modifying these according to available opportunities.
You need not quit your job for starting an online venture. Start working onlline in your spare time while still having the security of a regular income from your day job. Once you have enough experience and start making a decent income online, you can start working online full-time. Don’t just keep reading about how to make money online. Create a plan, roll up your sleeves and start working.
