Up You Income- A Top 10 Guide to Making Money Online

This article isn’t going to direct you to that website which will make you rich or a new technique which will see the dollars/pounds/euros/yuan come rolling in, so if that is what you are after then you will be disappointed. However, for those of you that can see those scams for what they are, you can breathe a sigh of relief. This article takes a step back from the detail to picks out a few guiding principles to follow in the quest to make money online, guidelines which will help you avoid pitfalls and take advantages of any opportunities that come up.

1. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, or another way of saying is that if it sounds too good to be true it almost certainly is. Instincts are often enough here. If someone walks up to you in the street and offers you money for nothing, you know it is a scam. Don’t let your optimism blind you to what they are really offering.
2. What’s in it for them? There are always two sides to any transaction, you and them. If someone is offering you money, there is a reason and they’re getting something out of it too. If someone buys something from you, they get a product or service in return. Unless it is a totally excessive amount such that your suspicions are aroused you are okay. In some transactions the motive is less apparent (cashback for signing up for a free trial service, or sampling a product for instance), but there always is one. If you can’t find it, be suspicious.
3. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Ever since the beginning of the internet (and long before come to think of it) there have been many get rich quick schemes that do the rounds, and there is a general perception with the internet that is the frontier, that is where the money is to be made. To some extent this is true, and the internet and technology generally is one of the core growth areas in the global economy, so there is more money to be made there than anywhere but it isn’t easy. To make money online you have to work hard, harder even than in the offline world, as you are competing with people from all over the world.
4. Good things come to those who wait - many of the best opportunities online are those that take a long time, and do not begin to bear fruit for months or even years. Stick at it - don’t give up if things aren’t going your way in the first few weeks, learn to bear the disappointments and don’t let them get you down, but also, enjoy the successes, however small.
5. Know the value of your own time. This is particularly true if you are doing freelancing work, surveys or other work where you aren’t building for the future but doing a one off job. If you have plenty of time but need the money, you may take whatever you can get, but if you have a limited amount of time (perhaps because you work full time for instance), then choose carefully what you do.
6. Go slow - quality is better than quantity, and online, just as in the real world, quality usually shines through in the end. If you write good quality articles, they - and you - will get noticed, by search engines, by other people. Write fast and value quantity over quality and you might reap short term benefits but pay for it in the end.
7. Help others and you help yourself. There is something about helping others that makes most of us feel good, but more than that it will more than likely benefit you in the future. Help that newcomer by showing them the ropes, and they will likely reciprocate the favour, and even if they don’t have anything to offer you now, they may in the future. Share your knowledge and experience, and others will share with you. The world is full of examples of this. I’m not saying share everything, if you have a secret niche that you do really well from, keep it to yourself, but otherwise share, collaborate, trade.
8. Set realistic goals for yourself and stick to them. It helps to make the goals small, so it is close enough to feel achievable but something you have to work at, so when you get there you will feel good. You can then set yourself new goals.
9. Be flexible and let yourself go with the flow. Sometimes you will plan to do one thing, but suddenly discover something else is working really well. It pays not to get distracted, but sometimes you should just go for it. I’ve written about a random topic before that surprisingly has done really well. I wasn’t intending to write any more on the topic, but after seeing the results I’ve dived in and turned it into a profitable little niche. If I’d stuck rigidly to my original plan, I’d never have got there.
10. Don’t burn out - if you put all your energy into something for long enough you will become mentally exhausted and ‘burn out’. By taking a break once in a while and doing something completely different, you can come back to your work refreshed and maybe with some new ideas. Following your interests helps to avoid burnout too, you will be able to keep going longer if you really enjoy what you are doing, but you will still need to take a break eventually.

I hope these few guidelines will be useful, but that’s just what they are - guidelines. Some things work for some people and not for others. Use what works for you, and don’t worry about the rest. If you know of something else share it here in the comments section.