Today is the 3rd installment of how to make money online. If you missed the previous posts, you can check them out here:
Once again, I’m going to list a bunch of legitimate ways you can earn income using the Internet. These aren’t the “get rich quick” schemes that many people promote. Instead the eleven methods I’m about to discuss are actual methods people are using right now to make money:
#1- Create iPhone & iPad Applications
The iPhone/iPad application market is really hot right now! There a lot of individuals who make a full-time income just from this market. Even better – This is one of those industries that’s rapidly growing. So there’s a lot of potential here for anyone with a creative streak.
You won’t make a lot of money on each app you sell. Most only go for $5 or less. However if your product goes viral, it’s possible to generate some nice passive income.
Many people won’t go into this market because they think it’s only for techies. The truth is anyone with imagination can do well. The trick is to think of an idea for an app and then find the right people to design it. Once that’s done, all you have to do is market the heck out of it!
How to Get Started: I like Mike and Quoc’s eBook on how to create iPhone apps. This is recommended because it teaches how to design an app people without a programming background. It’s a great guide for the non-techies out there.
#2 – Build an eBay Business
EBay is usually the first site people think of when someone talks about an “online business.” Probably everyone reading this article has tried selling stuff on this site. I know I have!
As you know, it’s not easy to turn eBay into a full-time business. You need the perfect combination of the right product at the right price with the right marketing. Even if you manage to make to a lot of money, it’s still a challenging business to run. More orders mean more time spent on shipping products.
With all that said, you CAN generate a sizable income using eBay. The secret is to promote your eBay store like you would with any other physical product site. Provide an excellent product at an affordable price. And then spend a lot of time marketing your store.
How to Get Started: Success with eBay comes down to selling the right product. That’s why I recommend the Worldwide Brands site run by Chris Malta. This resource is widely considered as THE place to find a quality product.
#3 – Run a Niche store through eBay
This is an interesting concept I came across the other day. One of the cool things about eBay is you can promote products on this site through affiliate links. If someone buy a recommended item, you get a sales commission.
To really ramp up earnings you build a store around a niche group of items. You use software to organize the eBay listings and then put these items into a website. Visitors can then purchase directly from your links and you get a sales commission.
Like with a lot of “automated” sites, it’s not easy to make money. You have to understand search engine results and know how to drive lots of traffic. If you’re clueless about how to do this, then this isn’t the business for you.
How to Get Started: There’s a decent product called Build a Niche Store (BANS). What this site offers is software and website templates to create an eBay store. In addition they also provide tutorials on how to quickly build a catalog of niche eBay sites.
The one downside I see with this product is it seems to rely on a “if you build it, they will come” mentality. ALL online businesses require a traffic strategy. So I’d only recommend this product if you’re well-versed at search engine optimization and how to promote a website.
#4 – Be a Consultant or Coach
Do you have expertise in a particular market? If so, you can earn money by offering coaching or consulting services. Many people need expert advice in a variety of niches. This is especially true since there’s too much information. YOU can be that guiding hand who helps folks figure out what to do in their lives.
What’s great about being a coach/consultant is the flexibility. You set your own price. You work when you want . And you deliver services through a variety of mediums like over the phone, through email, or even in person.
A coaching/consultant business is all about making YOU the “brand.” Nobody is going to hire you until you prove expertise in a particular market. I recommend starting with a blog and then using social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube) to connect with people who need your services.
How to Get Started: There’s a pretty good book called Start Your Own Coaching Business. This guide covers the basics of creating a thriving coaching business. I recommend reading this book, then creating a website that showcases your talent in particular market. Use social media and coaching sites like My Private Coach to connect with potential customers.
#5- Do “Micro Jobs”
Many companies need people for what’s commonly called Human Intelligence Tasks. These are small micro jobs that can’t be automated, but only take a few minutes to complete. They don’t pay a lot of money, but you can earn a nice side income if you do enough of them.
This isn’t a long-term way to make money. But it’s perfect for those people who don’t want to deal with the hassle of building a business. Micro-jobs can easily be squeezed into a hectic day and don’t require a large block of time to do.
How to Get Started: There are a bunch of micro-job sites on the Internet: Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, Micro Workers, and Short Task. Each has their own method for accepting jobs, doing the work, and how you get paid. Start with these and see which site you like the best!
#6 – Do “Bum Marketing”
Bum Marketing is the brainchild of a guy named Travis Sago. A few years back, he found a loophole in Google search results and created a simple system:
1) Target high volume keywords
2) Post content around these keywords on sites like Ezine Articles
3) Promote affiliate products in these articles
4) Rinse and repeat till you have a full-time income.
This technique helped a lot of people make some serious money. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like it once did. Too much competition has made it really hard to get a good listing for your article.
However, I feel the major elements of Bum Marketing still works. The important principle is to find sites that Google naturally prefers and create content on them. So while EzineArticles.com might not be the darling of Google like it once was, there are still sites that can be “gamed for profit.”
How to Get Started: Read Travis’s free report on Bum Marketing. This provides an excellent overview of Bum Marketing. The only point I’d add is to look beyond EzineArticles.com. This site is still great for article marketing, but it’s no longer possible to get thousands of views for every article. I suggest you read Travis’s guide and look for additional places to use the Bum Marketing techniques. Like Squidoo, YouTube, and Scribd.
#7 – Sell Stock Photography
A passion for traveling and photography can be turned into a nice side income. There are a lot of stock photography sites who need pictures and they’re willing to pay for them!
Obviously, you need to be a decent photographer. Nobody is interested in the snaps you take of your family on vacation. The secret is to offer pictures that a stock photo site wants to buy. So I’d only recommend this income model if you possess an eye for photography.
How to Get Started: Go to iStockPhoto. First, look at what’s currently selling. Then take (or submit) pictures of a similar nature. To get going on this site you’ll submit a sample of THREE pictures. Make sure they’re your best work because this is your resume. If the photos stand out, you’ll be on the way to becoming a “professional photographer.”
#8 – Hijack Product Launches
Product launches have now become a big business. Every day, dozens of products are released to markets hungry for information. What’s great is you can turn this feeding frenzy into a profitable side business. Let me explain…
During a product launch, there is always a 1 to 2 week period where the marketer builds anticipation for the product. Naturally, some people want outside information and will search Google for sites that “review” this product. You make money by creating sites that discuss this product and then redirect people back to it using your affiliate link.
In my opinion, this isn’t an ethical way to make money. Most people that “review” a product have never even read it. So this means they’re not giving readers an accurate picture of what the product is really like. With that said, you can make money if you know when a product is about to be released and can quickly create lots of content around it.
How to Get Started: Mike Deiure has a pretty good system he calls The Launch Sniper. He teaches how to find soon-to-be-released products with a special emphasis on creating review sites that maximize your affiliate earnings. I feel the trick to this system is to maximize the sites that are naturally favored by Google. You can easily dominate a product launch by creating a network of articles on different web destinations.
I do like this product. But like I said before, I’m not a big fan of “review pages” made by people who have never read the product. Simply put, it’s bad karma to misinform people.
#9 – Manipulate Current Trends…For Profit
Seasonal items are a great way to make money – Especially when you promote stuff that’s currently hot.
With this income model you take advantage news items and trends. Or even better…you promote a product that’s about to become popular. You make money by building content websites that market specific products found on Amazon.com or Clickbank.com.
Your thinking cap is needed for this technique. Pay attention to the news and magazines. What’s popular now? What’s going to be popular? What technology is about to released? What holidays are coming up? What new toy do the kids want?
Once you have a good idea of what’s going to be popular, create content on sites like Squidoo, Blogger, and WordPress.com that promote products related to this trend.
How to Get Started: This technique works if you’re GREAT at following current trends. You need to build these sites before the mass market becomes aware of them. I recommend starting with the Google Trends and Google Insights for Search sites. And then find sites that help you track what’s going on in the world.
The trick is to take immediate action when you find a profitable idea. Create lots of content around this trend and use affiliate links to promote items that tie into it.
#10 – Promote Products through YouTube
As I said in the first installment, video has become THE way that many people to consume content. The benefit to you is most marketers don’t do video. So the supply is definitely exceeded by the demand.
With this income model, all you do is review different products and then direct traffic to them using an affiliate link. This is better than the previous review technique because you’ll actually show the benefits of the product instead of parroting what’s written on the sales page.
The review videos don’t have to fancy. All you need to do is use a screen capture program and record your voice as you go over the benefits/features of a product. And then all you do is provide an affiliate link.
To go large, I recommend carving out a small niche. Create a series of videos in a specific market and review everything in it. Remember, people want an authority to act as an information filter. If you’re give honest opinions about products then you’ll build a loyal following, while making money at the same time.
How to Get Started: Go buy the Camstasia program. This is an amazing piece of software that records your voice and captures what you do onscreen. To be honest, I’m still trying to figure out everything that Camtasia does. But so far, I’m really impressed with what you can do with this software.
#11 – Help Local Businesses Increase Their Presence
This income method is perfect for those who are skilled at Web 2.0 and website promotion. Basically you sell a service to local businesses who need better results from their online presence. Nowadays, most local businesses have a website. But they don’t do a good job of using it to drum up more business. You fill that need by providing a marketing plan that targets potential customers online and gets them to patronize a local business.
To make this concept work, you need to be an expert at leveraging social media sites and getting people excited about a brand. It’s all about building expectation and excitement for a particular business.
How to Get Started:. Read The Zen of Social Media Marketing. While this book doesn’t go into the technical aspects of social media, it does do a great job of teaching how to use social media to market any business.
Then you’ll want to build up a potential group of clients in your local area. To start, work with a few businesses for free. Help them get more customers. Then you’ll have a proven track record of helping local business. This can easily be parlayed into a full-time business.
Of Course…There’s MORE
Once again we’re at the end of a “making money online” post and I find myself with more to say. Up to this point, you’ve learned at TOTAL of 38 ways to earn an Internet income. But there’s more to say!
Next week, I’ll be back with the fourth installment in this series. So stay tuned…
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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Another great post Steve, and I love how you preface it with “legitimate ways to make money online.” It’s sad that it’s necessary.
On the product launch hijacking idea, another technique is to launch a mini version of the product that was offered, and make it available soon after or during the big launch. Some info products can cost thousands, and not everyone can afford it, or pay that much (another rant). So you can swoop in and help these folks with something smaller at a better price point.
As always the product has to be good though, otherwise it falls onto the other side of the fence.
Great idea Robert! Actually if you’re interested, I’d love to have you do a guest post on that topic. I’ve seen people do it, I just don’t really know how it’s done….let me know!
I’d love to. I have another idea for a guest post heading your way via email too
Thanks Steve.
Awesome! Look forward to seeing it.
About the product hi-jacking, Steve, you can subscribe to JVNotify pro to see which product is launching and be ahead in the game by making website and doing SEO work to rank #1 spot before anyone else does and make money. I think that’s what the Launch Sniper is teaching people to do.
Cool, that sounds like a nice little bit of info Mike. Like I said launch sniping is something I have read about and seen, but I have never done, so little tips like that certainly help!
Steve, when I read the last two posts in this subject I thought you’d just about covered it all, but you’ve suggested even more useful ways to make money on the internet.
Niche stores, whether on ebay or just in general can do very very well, but I can’t overstate the need to be very careful where you get your information. As you say Chris Malta and worldwidebrands are a good place to start, I’m a member of the forum and I’m always dismayed by the number of people who have arrived there having set out to build a webstore and been very badly scammed along the way.
Lesley,
You are right, this type of online stores far from my area of expertise here in another certainly is potential there can be done but I have not had much experience besides knowing that Chris Malta site is a decent place. His service they knew what be careful about you there are a lot of scammers out there to take advantage of people.
as always thanks for adding an important and point to the conversation
More goodies in the awesome post, Steve!
You’ve provided 38 ways to make some cash, meaning that there is something for everyone.
I have considered the product reviews via YouTube, as this fits in nicely with the niche sites I’ll build this year. Picked up a copy of Cam Studio 7 some months ago and this will be a good use of it.
Looking forward to Robert’s post as well, sounds pretty interesting. I’d like to know how that’s done for info purposes. I have my hands full already with this year’s plan, which brings up another point.
People should decide on a model or two and not pursue a grab-bag approach, attempting too many things at once and getting nothing done in the long run.
Keep rockin!
Hi Jimi – I agree with you on the sticking with a model or two. There are so many directions to go in and I know I was pulled in all of them when I got into Internet Marketing. When you go down too many roads you may never get to Rome!
“People should decide on a model or two and not pursue a grab-bag approach, attempting too many things at once and getting nothing done in the long run.”
absolutely 100% agree, these plans are to give people an idea of everything out there. Some I work for one person and not for another. Is good to know everything that is available. But it is also important to only focus on a few closely related areas.
Some of the ways to make money do work closely with others, so couple of them can be pursued simultaneously. But outside of close to related areas should only be pursuing one real “Avenue” at a time. Or one theme with close related ideas.
It is also important to give everything enough time. Try something for one month deciding it doesn’t work is not enough.
Hi Steve:
You have written so much on this topic, three big reports, that you can create an ebook on this subject. Lots of information here. Bum marketing is the same as
affiliate marketing, but use articles for promoting your affiliate link. If it is any different than that I will like to know the difference.
However, Buzzle.com is next best directory after Ezine Articles. But it looks very simple and so dead. I have no temptation to write there. But their articles are really good.
I have a feeling this site of ezine articles might stop publishing in future. They have already started three other sites. Two this year and one last year.
Or they might be getting too many ads and needed space. Any ways.
Fran A
Fran,
Yes, there are article sites all over. Buzzle is one of the better ones (I think you might be right that it is #2 PR, but not sure. They are cropping up all over the place. But I think Google is also starting to doing them on how good it considers links from the sites. It is a hard to say most of it is guessing anyway. But they can still worth doing it and developing it within a strategy, but perhaps not as a sole focus.
I’ve seen BANS a long time ago, probably when it was just hot off the press and therefore there were no reviews to be found so I was sceptic. And to think that it costs $97 it wasn’t cheap for a total newbie to try out. But now that I’ve seen good reviews about it, I think I’d go for it this time.
Anne,
I have checked into the product a little bit (and read a lot of reivews) it LOOKS good, but I would be curious to know how effective it really is, let me know what you think of it if you do decide to get it.
My impression is that it would be good for someone who is experienced but likely not for a newbie..since it all revolved around building but did not mention much about traffic.
Wow Steve! You are ramming the hell out of the “make money online” stuff through this series of posts. And here I am, trying not to get overwhelmed with all these ways of making money. Well, I have been prey to the temptation to attempt too many things at one time, and I have learn’t from my experiences so far. So for now I will just stick to the basics and keep all other means for use only later when the snowball actually starts rolling
Mark,
Definitely don’t get overwhelmed. Is important no options are out there, but you don’t want to be a “jack of all trades master of none” it is important that you only highlight two or three that are close to related and really go after them. It would be about impossible to be successful at them all for any single human being. there’s too much work involved in making any of them successful.
Certainly sticking to your basics right now the best thing to do. Don’t you might be good is if you find some sort of a flourish as closely related to what you’re doing.
OOOO and there even more ways to make money coming. Every time I think of a few I think a few more it seems…
This all seem like great ways to make money, but I think that although they all seem simple now you have to work hard for each and every one of them for it to make a nice passive income.
I really like the bum marketing idea (although some of the big article directories don’t accept affiliate links anymore) it’s still an awesome way of starting to make an income from nothing, well practically nothing, you still have to spend some time writing the article and submitting it.
Ebay sounds like a good idea, but I heard they have some strict requirements for their affiliates. Although is nice that they are giving a percentage of the sales.
Okay, there is certainly no excuse for those that are not making any money online!
This is a good list, but some ideas are just not newbie-friendly like creating an ebay business, or creating ipad applications (unless you’re a software developer, but even then I’d create a web app instead).
The best way for a newbie to get started is thru the blogging route with Adsense + affiliate programs. Or create a newsletter and generate a very targeted mailing list where you can pitch either your services, a website you own, advertising. It’s very flexible
You are absolutely right. They are not all newbie friendly. But they are out there, just trying to give a pretty complete picture. IPAD obviously needs a lot of starting technical skill or a good idea and money to bankroll a programmer and like you said, eBAY can be very tricky for someone with no experiece.
Steve,
Another great list here. I’ve never heard of BANS before. I’ve seen quite a lot of niche ebay stores on Ebay but have actually thought that a product exist to teach you how to set up niche stores.
#9 is kind of interesting. I think this boils down to how popular a product is in the current “trends”. Probably setting up niche hub pages and “squids” is a viable idea if its a short term thing or an entire niche site created specifically for it.
I only have mostly theoretical experiece with BANS. It looks good, but I do think it takes starting knowledge for traffic generation that (as far as I know) isn’t really included. To really make money on Squidoo or hupages I think you really need to have a few interlinked pages on a tight niche subjects with external links coming in. Basically as a forum to attack a small niche market. Mix that in with some that you create for backlinking purposes (hey they still make something, and get some traffic) and maybe a “trend” or two and maybe you can start making some serious money over time. 5-6 pages will seem like nothing, just like 5-6 articles on a content site would. YOU need hundreds and then you start to see some serious traction and money.
The good thing is you can build it slowly. Make “backlink” pages you use for other things. And maybe just everyso often try to make the 4-5 pages. It may take a while to get really solid money, but it could at least be a nice little residual income.
Hi Steve
I like the coaching/consulting. Would eventually love to do something like that. And you have given lots of very different ways to earn internet income. I am also going to be looking at affilate marketing with a friend this week.
Thanks for all your generous sharing of information Steve. Much appreciated.
Patricia Perth Australia
Steve, what great ideas! Of course I’m familiar with some/most of them, but you’ve shared some great links to resources (which I’d never heard of) to make them worth investigating further. Thanks for sharing!
Matthew
Thanks for this thorough roundup. There are some ideas and sites I’ve never heard of before – and I’ve seen a lot of them.
I think that coaching is a really good one for bloggers. Although being well known as a blogger is obviously an advantage, I don’t think you’d have to be a super-expert to qualify, since there are so many people out there who are keen to get into blogging but don’t know where to begin. Basically, if you can give them a few good pointers to send them in the right direction they will really appreciate it. I suspect people will pay you well for this.
Thanks Matt,
I agree. That could be a great help to many. I think everything on this list (and the two others I made) are for “someone” out there. They may not be for everyone, and everyone should absolutely not try them all, but every person will have a few that they would naturally be better at. It is just a matter of finding out what the things you are good are are and capitalizing on them.