Ways to Make Money Online

There are many ways to make money online. I like to group them into three main categories:

1. Making money selling your stuff


2. Making money selling other people’s stuff


3. Getting paid to do something

Let’s talk a little more about each of these categories…

Way #1 – Making money selling your stuff
When most people think of starting a business they think of selling their own stuff. Here are some of the ways that people sell their own stuff online:

1. Selling products
   When I started out online my intention was to create educational software and sell it online. Like myself, most people that start a business online start off with the idea of selling a product. Almost every product imaginable can be sold online. Arguably, the easiest to create are information products.


2. Selling Services/Freelancing
   One of the quickest ways to start making money online is by selling your services. You call sell all kinds of services online. Some of the more common online services being sold are web design, freelance writing, coaching/teaching, virtual assistants, copywriting, traffic generation, and software development.


3. Domaining
   Domaining is essentially the process of buying and selling domains. While I own quite a few domains, most of them were bought with the purpose of developing them at some point in time. Although, I would be willing to sell some of them. For example, when John Reese bought trafficjam.com I wish he had contacted me about buying one of my domains blogtrafficjam.com, since I am not sure I will develop the idea I had for it when I bought it several years ago.


4. Website Flipping
   Website flipping is a very tempting business model to me. Flipping websites is a lot like flipping houses. You buy a website with the sole purpose of making it better so that you can turn around sell it. Much like house flipping, you should buy a website with good potential that is not properly monetized and/or not properly designed and marketed. After “rehabbing” the website, you can sell it at a much higher price. This process sounds like fun to me, except that I would have a hard time parting with the site after fixing it. I am more likely to buy a website, fix it up, and keep it for the residual income.

There are other ways to make money selling your own stuff, but the ones listed above are the most common.

Way #2 – Making money selling other people’s stuff

1. Affiliate Marketing
   Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to make money online, and I will be discussing it in much more detail in a future series (or a free mini-course). Essentially, affiliate marketing is revenue sharing between online advertisers/merchants and online publishers/salespeople, whereby affiliates(publisher/sales people) are paid based on performance measures, typically in the form of sales, clicks, registrations, or a combination of methods. In layman’s terms, it means you get a percentage of a sale when you sell someone else’s stuff or cause someone to take an action that might sell someone else’s stuff. It is currently my primary method of making money online.


2. Advertising Income
   Many websites make money by selling advertising space on their site. This is most commonly done on content sites. Advertising income can also be gained through other methods like selling ad space on website templates and selling ad space in newsletters.


3. Drop Shipping
   Drop shipping is a technique where you sell products from one or more suppliers who take care of shipping the products directly to the customer. All you do is take the order and get the money from the customer, then you send the order details and and part of the money that you charge to the supplier. You make profit on the difference between the suppliers price (including shipping) and the price you charge the customer. This is essentially running a wholesale business without the inventory, although you will usually pay somewhere between true wholesale and retail prices for the goods. I have seen a lot of people run drop shipping businesses on ebay.


4. Retail commerce
   Retail commerce is where you buy products at wholesale prices from wholesale distributors, carry an inventory and turn around and sell said products. Many of the ecommerce shops you see are doing this. This model is similar to drop shipping. The advantage of this method is that you can make a higher profit margin then with drop shipping, the disadvantage is that you store the inventory and you handle the details of shipping the products.

These are the most common methods for selling other people’s stuff online, although certainly not the only ones.

Way # 3 – Getting Paid To Do Something

1. Paid to sites (Paid to surf, Paid to take surveys, etc.)
   With “paid to” sites you can make a little extra money online every month. You can’t really use these sites to make a living online (at least not that I’m aware of), so I won’t be devoting more space to them here. If you’re interested in a little extra cash, and this method appeals to you, there is plenty of information available on the internet. And if you ARE making a living from these sites, and you’d be interested in writing a series on the topic, contact me.

As you are considering how YOU want to make big money online, this list should prove a good starting place . In my next post in the getting started series, I will be wrapping up with a list of resources to help you continue your quest to make money online.

My Review Of Rich Schefren’s The Uncertainty Syndrome

I just finished reading Rich Schefren’s latest free report, “The Uncertainty Syndrome“. This is my really, really, really quick review of it:

“The Uncertainty Syndrome” is an AWESOME read! In this report, Rich reveals some big constraints that keep you from making more money online. Constraint # 4 was a big problem for me and I found the exact solution to fix my problem on page 39 of “The Uncertainty Syndrome“. In fact, I am immediately going to implement the solution on page 39 of the report, because it will make a HUGE difference in my bottom line.

If you haven’t already read the report, I highly recommend you go download it now by clicking here!

Review Of Stomping The Search Engines 2.0 and The Net Effect

I just got back from a short hiatus and I can’t really say that I missed the Internet all the much. In fact, I had an AWESOME time and look forward to getting away from it all again.

Anyway, I am a bit late on this, but I wanted to quickly let you know my thoughts on “The Net Effect and Stomping the Search Engines 2”.

The Net Effect Review

The Net Effect is an Internet marketing magazine put out by the folks at StomperNet. The articles in the magazine were loaded with good information for beginners and those new to making money online. In my opinion, the best feature of the magazine is at the end. At the end of every magazine there is an action plan for implementing what you learn in the magazine. The action plan sets “the Net Effect” apart from many of the other internet marketing magazines/newsletters that I have subscribed to and I expect many people to copy this model in the future.

Overall, I recommend The Net Effect for newbies looking for solid information on Internet marketing.

The BONUS

When you sign up for the free trial version of the Net Effect, you can also get a copy of the Stomping The Search Engines 2. All you do is pay for the cost of shipping and handling. Since you will be getting both products for shipping and handling here are my quick thoughts on Stomping the Search Engines 2:

Review of Stomping The Search Engines 2.0

Stomping the Search Engines 2.0 has excellent information on how to increase your Search Engine traffic.

Stomping the Search Engines 2 is EXTREMELY different from the first version of Stomping the Search Engines. The biggest difference is that version 1 was all audio and version 2 is a video course. Additionally, it is NEW and therefore covers the most up to date Search Engine strategies for getting high rankings.

Just like The Net Effect, Stomping the Search Engines version 2 is a good product for beginners.

If you are an advanced level marketer your time will be better spent on continuing to build your business. However, I do recommend that beginners go check out this deal, because the price for the first edition of The Net Effect and Stomping The Search Engines 2.0 is definitely worth it.

Click here to check it out for yourself.

CashMaps - Systems That Help You Make More Money Online

I have been swamped this week with the Olympics, but I wanted to let you know about something REALLY cool that Rich Schefren recently released. It’s called “CashMaps“.

Bascially, CashMaps is a monthly newsletter that reveals the systems that Rich uses to build his online business. If you want to build an online business, Rich’s CashMaps is something you should take a look at.

Click here to check it out for yourself.

What If You Can’t Find A Niche That You Are Passionate About?

In my previous posts on finding the right niche to market to I said that it is much easier to build a business by sticking with one niche market that you LOVE.

While this is true, this assumes that you can find something you are passionate about.

What if you can’t find a niche market that you are passionate about?

What if there is no money in the niche markets you enjoy the most?

I have not seen these questions answered by many people. The first time I saw this answered was when I was doing religious study, but I have also seen it answered by a few business people.

So, what is the answer?

First, let’s take a quick look back at my 7 step niche finding system:

1. Make A List Of Your Passions

2. Make A List Of Things You Do Well

3. Merge The First Two Lists

4. Choose Your Favorite 3-5 Niches

5. Determine The Traffic Potential

6. Determine The Money Making Potential

7. Make Sure You Have Time For The Niche

If none of the niches that you are passionate about look profitable, then skip step 1 (1. Make A List Of Your Passions). At the end you will have a list of niches that you are good at and that make money. If none of the niches that you are good at (or have knowledge about) are niches that you can make money in (which is possible, but unlikely), then you need to skip steps1-4. Which means all you are left doing is finding profitable niches (steps 5-7).

After completing steps 5 through 7 you now have a profitable niche to target. That’s what you do when you can’t find a good niche in areas that you are passionate about.

“What about the passion? Aren’t you going to have a problem staying in this niche if you don’t have passion for it?”

That is the million dollar question… and despite what I may have said in the past the million dollar answer is that you need to…

Love the niche that you choose! Be passionate about the niche you choose!

Loving what you do is a choice. You can choose to love any niche. This may go against many of the things you have heard in the past, but it is an extremely important principle to learn. This is so important I am going to repeat it in big bold letters:

You don’t have to be passionate about a niche to make money online. However, you need to become passionate about everything you do in that niche (marketing, writing about it, etc.). You need to be passionate about what you are doing to make it easier to stick with it long term. And that passion is a choice. You can choose to love what you are doing, or you can choose to hate it. The decision is yours. When you choose to love what you are doing, then you will be much more likely to create the online business of your dreams.

How To Make Your Own Ebook

Disclaimer: I need to start by saying that my opinion on this ebook is going to be slightly biased, since the writer of “The Ebook Walkthrough” (Ryan Ambrose) is also one of the writers for my blog.

That said, I am going to give you a quick review of Ryan’s book “The Ebook Walkthrough“.

In his ebook, Ryan walks you though the process of creating an ebook from start to finish. He explains what tools you will need, how to use those tools to create an ebook, and how to make money with your ebook.

The Ebook Walkthrough lives up to it’s promise. It reveals exactly how to write and publish your own ebook in clear, simple and easy to implement steps. I would recommend this ebook to anyone that wants to learn how to create their very own ebook.

Click here to go check it out for yourself.

Instant Resale Templates - An Online Business In A Box

Wow, this is really cool. In fact, I am seriously contemplating buying a copy of this before the price goes up.

Joel Comm has just released something he is calling “Instant Resale Templates”. Joel has invited a limited number of people to try the same business system that he has used to create over two million dollars!

Basically, Joel is selling you an online business in a box. If that interests you, then click here to check out the deal Joel is offering.

Setting Milestones For Business

Online entrepreneurs have something in common. Our desire to succeed has made us take our financial destiny into our own hands with the idea of becoming financially successful one day.

While success can mean many things for each of us, a common measure of success is managing to become financially independent of an offline job and have the freedom of working from home. While working from home is generally associated with the American dream, many entrepreneurs fail to set proper milestones in their business to get ahead.

It is too easy to become complacent while things are going well, but not setting targets that help us to grow would be like committing business suicide.

The first step is always the hardest since it often involves a tremendous amount of courage, trust in our abilities and mojo to get even started.

Fear of failure holds back many would be entrepreneurs and unfortunately this common human trait will hold these folk back from ever experiencing the power of failure. Yes, that wasn’t a misprint since failure is ultimately responsible for our successes. Without failure we very rarely grow and without growth, there won’t be any success.

Depending on what business you are involved in, you will have to set different milestones on your journey to financial abundance. To give you an idea, I have listed the goals I achieved along the way so far and how I advanced my own business by striving to meet them step by step:

• Starting my own freelancing business – check!
• Earning $1,000 month – check!
• Earning a full time income (minimum of $2,000/month) – check!
• Becoming a pro-blogger – check!
• Networking with other writers and webmasters – check ongoing!
• Taking on other writers (outsourcing) – in progress…
• Earning enough to help my husband quit his job – in progress…
• Building niche sites to pay me residual income for years to come – in progress…
• Working mornings only, while living “my dream life” for the rest of each day – in progress

Ultimately, the last statement is my largest dream. Being able to run my business from anywhere in the world and not having to work all day long every day. My dream is to earn enough money for both myself and my husband and be financially free to work anywhere I please, living the lifestyle of an LIP.

Here is what you can do to determine your very own business milestones.

I’m sure you’ve heard the terms:

• short term planning
• medium term planning
• and long term planning before

These are common denominations when it comes to setting goals and getting things done. The thing is, while for one of you short term means this week, for others it means the next three months.

It really is hard to throw all into the same bucket and depending on the nature of your business, short term really does mean today. If you are in an industry that deals with fast changes like money, real estate or trends for example, today’s hot deal could be stone cold tomorrow. Entrepreneurs in these particular industries have to set different goals than a writer like myself.

Also, often our goals have nothing to do with money but a simple measurement.

Measurements are needed regardless of the business you are involved in and could relate to any of the following and anything else for that matter if I have forgotten to mention it here: time, money, grades, recognition, education, positions, the amount of clients you have, the amount of employees you have, etc.

I’m sure you understand what I mean by now. Unless we use some kind of measure in which to advance our business with, it will be really hard to move ahead.

Measurements evoke another most important attribute. This attribute is called focus.

Without focus most of us would barely be able to earn a dime to support ourselves online, let alone our family. Focus is what gets us out of bed in the morning and keeps us pushing on toward yet another goal when the going gets tough.

As you can see, setting milestones is barely the first step we take when we embark into entrepreneurship. Milestones are a constant evolving matter that power us toward the dreams we always had.

Keep Your Priorities Straight

When you start an online business it’s easy to let your priorities get out of balance. One of my biggest weaknesses is staying balanced. That is why every now and then I like to write about staying balanced.

It is easy to let work and business take an unhealthy priority in your life and this is especially true when you are trying to make a living online. It is easy to put in that extra hour on the computer and skip that game of basketball you were planning on playing with your kid. It’s easy to stay up late at night working on your social networking profile and be too tired the next day to take time out of your day to write your spouse that love note you were going to surprise him/her with. It’s easy to work an extra hour writing that blog post, instead of working out at the gym…

You need to keep your priorities straight while you try to make money online. Otherwise you will risk losing the things that are most important to you.

Which brings me to a change in my priorities for the next few months…

The last 4 weeks I (and my family) have been fighting off colds and the flu. I have decided that in order to take care of things that I need to take care of before our baby is born in May, I am going to being spend much less time online the next two months.

I am not going to be spending as much time writing for the next two months. However, I will still be taking submissions for guest posts. Also, Ryan, Monika, and Trent will still be posting regularly on this blog.

You will still great advice on this blog, just not as much of it will be coming from me the next two months.

Keep your priorities straight… you and your loved ones will be glad that you did!