While there are tons of ways to make money online, your options will fall into one of four categories: selling physical or digital products, providing virtual services like consulting, affiliate marketing, and selling advertising space. Most people who have internet businesses do a combination of these things. For example, I provide writing and virtual assistant services. However, I also sell private label rights articles and I sell affiliate products on the web properties I own.
I am a passionate advocate of having multiple streams of income. Having said that, I highly recommend you start off doing one thing, especially if this is your first time trying to make money online. Many of these money making opportunities have a learning curve, and it is all too easy to get overwhelmed. As you gain more experience and confidence, you can add other sources of income to your internet business portfolio.
If I have more information on a particular money making opportunity, I will link to it. If you know of a way to make money that is not listed, please contact me and I will consider adding it. (No MLMs!)
Products and services can be sold direct through your website or through third-party sites like EBay and Etsy. More information about the specifics of doing this will be detailed in upcoming articles.
Physical Products You Can Sell Online
Art
Books
Crafts
Candles
Clothing
Cosmetics
Vehicles & Vehicle Parts
Home Furnishings
Entertainment Products (Movies, CDs, Video Games)
Electronics (Televisions, DVD Players, Game Consoles, etc)
Food Products
Small Appliances (Microwaves, Toaster Ovens, etc) & Parts
Major Appliances (Dishwashers, Washer/Dryers, etc) & Parts
Fitness Products (Treadmills, Weights)
Weight Loss Products (Diet Pills)
Personal Care Products
Paper Products
Office Supplies
Computers & Parts
Cellular Phones
Digital Products You can Sell Online
Website Templates
EBooks
Downloadable Software
Web Hosting
Domain Names
Web Applications
Audio Programs
Virtual Services
Coaching
Consulting
Web Design
Freelance Writer
Virtual Assistant
Software as a Service
Brokering
Online Marketing (e.g. link building, social media marketing)
Affiliate Marketing
Pretty much anything that is on the physical and digital products list can be sold as an affiliate product. Companies will either have an in-house affiliate program, or they will outsource it to an affiliate network. Here are a few popular companies with affiliate programs:
By no means is this list exhaustive. To find out if a particular company has an affiliate program, type in the company’s name + affiliate program. If they do, the link to their sign up page will appear in the search engine results.
Affiliate Networks
The only networks I have had experience with so far are Commission Junction, Linkshare, and Google Affiliate Network. I haven’t had any major problems with any of them. I cannot vouch for the others, so you need to do your homework before committing yourself to them.
Again, not an exhaustive list. A search online will uncover hundreds more.
Advertising Sales
With this method, you make money selling advertising space on a blog, website, or in a newsletter. There are several ways you can do this. By selling traditional banner ad space, by selling text links, doing paid reviews, or displaying pay per click ads. You can work directly with buyers to sell ad space, work with an advertising network, or a combination of both.
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