You’re making a decent living now, but you could use more money. You’ve heard the Internet is flush with cash. You just need to know how to get your hands on some of it. Here’s the thing – while there’s definitely a lot of opportunity out there, there’s nothing special about the web. It’s just another medium for businesses to advertise on. Fortunately, you can use that to your advantage to create a predictable, reliable, income.
Blogging
How do you make money blogging? You don’t. What you do is attract an audience and cultivate trust. Then, you sell your audience stuff through well-placed advertising. Is it a lot of work? You bet. However, once you have readers, the income is actually quick easy to generate.
All you need to do is sign up for an ad platform like Google Adsense. Place ads on your website and Google takes care of the rest. When people click on the ads generated by the Adsense program, you receive a cut of what Google makes from the advertiser. It’s probably the oldest affiliate program out there.
If you’re not into “Big G,” you can approach websites directly and ask them to advertise on your site. It requires a little more work, but you get to keep all of the revenue generated. You can also price ads on a monthly basis so your income is a bit more stable.
Another technique is to become an affiliate by placing a banner on your site for a related website that is willing to pay for the customers you send over. You would be surprised at how many online stores like www.lenstore.co.uk have affiliate programs.
eBay
If you have old junk hanging out in the closet, you’ve probably got money that you didn’t even know you had. Originally launched as “AuctionWeb,” eBay came on the scene in 1995 – back when the Internet was still a baby.
Today, it’s the largest online marketplace in the world. eBay isn’t just a virtual yard sale though – you can make a decent full-time or part-time living there. More than $2,000 worth of merchandise is sold on that site every second. More than a million people depend on eBay to pay the bills.
Etsy
If you’re a crafter, Etsy is probably more your speed. While it’s an e-commerce site, it focuses exclusively on handmade vintage items as well as art and craft supplies. People selling art, photography, hand-made clothing, bath and beauty products, jewelry, and even food can be found here. In a sense, it’s a sort of online craft fair.
Surveys
In the real world, companies pay for market opinions. The problem is that the distribution system for surveys isn’t great. You have to be on a company’s mailing list, or know someone who is already hooked up with a company dolling out the cash.
In the online world, finding companies that pay for surveys is rather easy. A simple Internet search will hook you up with companies that consolidate multiple company offerings. Once you sign on with one of these “survey brokers,” you just pick and choose which companies you want to do surveys for. Pay varies by company, and it’s about the easiest and quickest way to put cash into your bank account.
Rosalind Miller owns an Internet business of her own. When she has time, she enjoys helping others get started, by posting on the Web.
