Time Tested Ways Of How To Make Money Online?

I answered this one on Yahoo! Answers recently, so I guess there’s still a lingering demand for the answer to How To Make Money Online despite the reams already written on the subject. Since I have spent several years online trying to find the best answer to precisely this very question, it about time I made my knowledge public for the benefit of my friends who are still finding their feet in the vast online universe.


What the people working online tell you is actually true. Believe it. There are actually plenty of ways to make money online. You have to choose the one that works best for you.

Here are a list of some of your options. Mind you, this list is nowhere near being exhaustive.

1. Freelance Your Skills.

Freelancing is on the top of my list of how to make money online.


From website designing, online secretary jobs, writing, illustrating, programming, marketing, legal services etc there are lots of options to make money online as a freelancer.


Try freelance sites like www.Elance.com , www.GetAFreelancer.com , www.iFreelance.com etc for possible projects posted by people across the world who want help.


Most of these websites offer a free account for signup, even allowing you to bid on a few projects to get you started. It is however best to shift to a paid membership once you have sunk your teeth into the world of freelancing.


You can even try top popular sites that advertise jobs and gigs, the top catch definitely being the hugely popular and free, www.Craiglist.com .


There are lots of people looking for your skills, you only have to show them that you are there to make money online. Getting the initial breakthrough can be tough (I took three years) but there’s no looking back once the ice is broken.


I personally started writing and editing as a freelancer a few years ago on several of these websites, finally sticking to just one that works fine for me.


Regular, long term clients are what you should be looking for. Freelancing is hard work no doubt, but it does pay the bills, and pays them well.


2. Set Up A Niche Website.


That option's already been explained threadbare by lots of so called ‘Online Gurus’. It works like this - You set up your website in a niche of your choice, then try and draw traffic to it by using any or a combination of a variety of ways. These methods include paid ones that work really well such as PPC advertising and Google Adwords. Free methods include article promotion, email campaigns and the advertising on free classified websites like Craiglist.


Once you are able to build up a decent amount of traffic, sell ad space, or set up a Google adsense account to make decent money. I’m purposely not taking this further as 95% of the readers of this hub would have already read about this. Tip - take a course from an established expert so you don't have to re-invent the wheel. I recommend checking out Yaro Starak, Travis the bum marketeer, John Chow as the top of the line.

3. Sell Things Online.


Use top of the line online marketplaces like www.eBay.com or www.Amazon.com to sell your stuff. If you are already into some brick and mortar business you have an added advantage as you can sell your spare stuff without fear of incurring losses on inventory.


Another method that works is drop shipping, in which you re-sell stuff that other websites are selling, and pocket the difference. Your opportunity to make money online comes from bringing the buyer and the seller together. You are basically acting like the reseller of a product that is already available for sale.


For handicrafts, artwork and homemade stuff that you love making as a hobby, use the website www.Etsy.com to promote and sell your work. This site works far better than the generic sites like eBay and Amazon as it brings lots of targeted viewers to your work.



4. Set up a Blog.


Works mostly like serial number 2 above, with the exception that you have to add regular content. Get followers in your line of specialization to get going. Slow and steady, but can result in lots of regular income over the long term.


The difference between a website and a blog is that the latter needs a regular feed of fresh content. It is a great way of airing your views while giving you the opportunity to make money online.


For just a few hours of work a week you can earn a decent regular income online. If you have done your research well, are lucky to boot, and your blog hits a nerve, the sky is the limit for your earnings.

5. Take part in an Affiliate program.

Affiliate programs are something like this. You link up with someone who is selling a product, say mobiles, cameras, laptops, clothes, health products, ebooks, or just about anything that sells. You promote the product and get a percentage of the sale amount whenever someone buys through your link. The seller gains by having to pay only when there is an actual sale, and you earn by selling without having a physical inventory of items. A win-win situation for all.

Check out affiliate programs on popular sites like www.Clickbank.com or www.CommissionJunction.com, and promote the items for sale for a percentage of the profits. Sales can add up to a decent amount if done correctly.


The items that sell best are digital products like ebooks which also offer the best commission since there is no physical product to be sold. Electronics remain some of the hottest selling physical items as do health and weight loss products.


Do remember that more the popularity of the item, the more the competition in your flagship item. After all, you are not likely to be the only one who’s suddenly hit a gold mine out of the blue to make money online. At the same time, it does offer the best way to make your money.



6. Online Tutoring.


Take up a job as an online tutor and teach kids across the world in your subject of specialization and make good money online with online tutoring. This works best for WAHMs, the online term for Work At Home Moms. A challenging, interesting and rewarding way of making money online that also gives lots of fulfillment as you are helping someone directly.


Depending on your qualification, you can take up online tutoring in a variety of subjects at school or college level. From Mathematics, Science, English, and other languages to even teaching music and singing, there is a huge demand for online tutors in all subjects.


The website I would recommend you to use for online tutoring is www.TutorVista.com, one of the most popular websites going in the field. Check it out, and you may well find a field of your interest.

7. Write on Revenue Sharing Websites.


Sites like www.Hubpages.com, www.Squidoo.com, www.Triond.com, www.Bukisa.com allow you to share the revenue earned from articles written by you. The two ways this works is, either by sharing of ad revenue (Hubpages, Squidoo), or by a fixed amount per number of views(Triond, Bukisa).


If going for the latter model, it is well worth the effort if you have hot topics that get a lot of views, as the payouts are typically low, say about $1.5 per 1000 views or so. The good part is that these websites can give you a very good regular way to make money online with only one time effort of putting up the articles. I still get a monthly cheque into my paypal account from articles I'd posted ages ago on Triond. I definitely don't mind the tit-bits. They all add up!


Hubpages remains one of the simplest and best earning websites for making money online. You can sign up to Hubpages by clicking here to make good money online. You guessed it right - I am an affiliate of hubpages, as is everyone else who joins the gang. Signing up through my link will not affect your earnings in any way whatsoever, while it will give me a small incentive amount for signing you up and allowing you to make money.

8. Sell Your Digital Photography.


Every site or publication worth its name needs photographs. Have you ever thought where they get it from?


If you have a decent interest in photography and own a regular digital camera, you can quickly earn good money online by selling these photographs to sites selling stockphotos. The topmost site in this category is www.istockphoto.com with millions of photos for sale. Though of course there are many more such websites iStockphoto is the leader amongst all of them.


You earn by getting a share of the revenue the site gets every time someone downloads your photo. The higher the quality of the photo, the more the download rates and the more you make money online. They have a very stringent selection process though, so make sure you put your best foot forward.


Skills in a photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop will definitely help you if you are planning to make money online by selling your digital photography.



9. Make and Sell Audio and Videos.


Just like digital photographs, audio and video sell as well. There is a huge demand for commonly usable audio and video clips.


All you need is a microphone and a computer, or a webcam and a computer respectively. Create little clips of music or videos that are of general usage. The video and audio sections on Istockphoto.com are the pioneer and leaders in this field as well.

The site itself has a great and friendly forum to guide you along on your path to make money online so you can take heart even if you are a newbie.


10. This One’s For The Online Scams.


One line I always put out to all those who seek my advise on making money online. ‘If It Sounds Too Good To Be True, It Probably Is”. Remember this piece of advice always whenever you are looking for an opportunity to make money online.


There are tons of scams out there, and it is in your own best interests to keep yourself safe. These range from requests to transfer money by using your bank account, to get rich schemes that promise to make you thousands of dollars a day by simply typing a few lines or taking simple surveys. Anything that promises to make you rich super quickly should be given a very, very wide berth by you.

Do expect to do a lot of hard work though. Making money online isn't as easy at it sounds. Yes, it is convenient since you do you own hours, but do expect to put in several hours and days of hard work to get you going while learning the ropes of how to make money online.

I could go on and on with my experiences, but this hub only take so much about how to make money online. I’ll be following this up with more hubs on the topic and share my experiences with you.



Just don't be afraid. Step out and try it out, and you can really take it on from there.



Yes, you CAN make money online if you have the will and the perseverance.



Best wishes!