Unless you're a freegan
and have found a way to live entirely off the grid, you probably need
some sort of steady income in order to survive. The traditional way to
earn money, of course, is by having a job. You work for a company or
start your own, and the work you do earns you money, which you spend on
things like a mortgage, rent, food, clothing, utilities and
entertainment.
Most people typically work from their company's
central location, a physical space where everyone from that organization
gathers to exchange ideas and organize their efforts.
But a few lucky souls have found ways to make money within the comfort of their own home. With the Internet,
an ever-changing arena for businesses, some people looking to earn
money are finding ways to do so. Some forms are best for part-time
endeavors for those looking to make a little extra money on the side,
while others can lead to full-time jobs and Internet success stories.
We've
put together a list of our top 10 ways to make money on the Internet,
in no particular order. On the next page, we'll start with an old
favorite.
10. Selling Stuff on eBay
Most people today are familiar with the concept: You have things you
don't necessarily need but others are willing to buy, and you can
auction off the items on eBay or other online auction sites. Simply gather your goods, create a seller's profile and start selling.
It
sounds simple, but it takes some practice to sell successfully.
Creating persuasive and legitimate product pages for the goods you're
selling will help get buyers interested. It's also important to set
reasonable minimum bids to ensure that people will buy. And remember to
deliver the kind of customer service that will garner positive feedback
ratings and to communicate with buyers to let them know you're reliable.
The more positive feedback you receive, the more people will be willing
to do business with you. And that, of course, means more money.
9. Blogging
It
sounds simple, but it takes some practice to sell successfully.
Creating persuasive and legitimate product pages for the goods you're
selling will help get buyers interested. It's also important to set
reasonable minimum bids to ensure that people will buy. And remember to
deliver the kind of customer service that will garner positive feedback
ratings and to communicate with buyers to let them know you're reliable.
The more positive feedback you receive, the more people will be willing
to do business with you. And that, of course, means more money.
If you have a particular passion for something, whether it's a hobby or an obsession, and you have something to say about it, blogging could be a profitable way to pour out your endless stream of thought. The key here, as with many other services on the Internet, is in selling advertising.
After starting up a personal blog, many writers sign up for ad services like Google
AdSense, which post those familiar sponsored links you often see at the
top and on the sides of Web sites. The more times your blog readers
click on those ads, the more money you'll make through the ad service.
This works fine if you're a casual blogger, and you may make some extra
spending money. But if the blog is consistently interesting,
well-written and really takes off, you may be approached by companies
who want to reach your fan base with graphical advertising around your
blog. Some of the more successful blogs, like I Can Has Cheezburger? and Boing Boing,
have become pop-culture phenomena, and their creators have been able to
quit their day jobs and blog full time because of the money they make
from advertisers.
8. Designing and Selling T-shirts
A you walk around most high school and college campuses, you're
likely to come into contact with lots of words. But it won't be material
from textbooks or term papers -- those are probably in backpacks or
sitting unfinished at home. Instead, they're the simple phrases or logos
-- most of which are ironic or amusing -- printed on the T-shirts on
the backs of the students.
Usually, the more unique and offbeat
the design is, the more desirable the T-shirt is. The growth of the
Internet has made it possible for vendors to sell T-shirts all over the
world. In fact, sites like
CafePress.com and
SpreadShirt.com
allow you to set up your own store, create your own designs and sell
them yourself. If you can create your own shirt design with a clever
catchphrase or come up with your own unique statement and people like
it, you can start making money.
7. Freelancing
likely to
come into contact with lots of words. But it won't be material from
textbooks or term papers -- those are probably in backpacks or sitting
unfinished at home. Instead, they're the simple phrases or logos -- most
of which are ironic or amusing -- printed on the T-shirts on the backs
of the students.Usually, the more unique and offbeat the design
is, the more desirable the T-shirt is. The growth of the Internet has
made it possible for vendors to sell T-shirts all over the world. In
fact, sites like CafePress.com and SpreadShirt.com
allow you to set up your own store, create your own designs and sell
them yourself. If you can create your own shirt design with a clever
catchphrase or come up with your own unique statement and people like
it, you can start making money.
Freelancing is similar in some ways to blogging.
For one thing, you get to work from your own home or office most of the
time. But there are a few important distinctions. First, if you're
thinking about freelance writing, chances are you need to have more
experience than the average blogger. Many freelance writing positions
cover specialized topics for online publications and many require expert
knowledge on the subject. However, if you're passionate about things
like travel or food and know how to write, a freelancing job can provide
you with a good income.
Along a similar line, you might also consider self-publishing
your original work rather than working on contract-driven tasks.
Self-publishing offers many of the same benefits as freelance writing.
This additional step is risky, though, because it requires marketing
work to your target audience so they'll buy your work.
Writing's
not the only way to make money freelancing, of course -- anyone with
graphic design or programming experience can find contract jobs that pay
well and provide challenging work, too.
6. Domain Name Flipping
Based on luck, strategy and business savvy, domain name
flipping can be one of the more lucrative ways to earn a living online.
The term comes from the real estate trick that involves buying old,
undervalued houses, fixing them up to make them more attractive and
modern-looking and selling them for a much higher prices.
In this
case, the old and outdated place is not a house, but rather a domain
name -- the main address for a Web page. With a little bit of searching,
dedicated domain flippers locate unused, poorly maintained Web sites
that have generic and recognizable identifiers and buy them. They
usually pay a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars, but after
extensive updates that make the site more business- and user-friendly,
the domain name can fetch several times more than it was originally
worth. The domain bird-cage.com, for instance, was bought for a mere
$1,800 in 2005 -- after a redesign two years later, the site was sold
for $173,000 to a bird cage vendor.
5. Financial Services
Financial services include accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll
processing. Today, you can accomplish most of these services using
specialized software. For businesses, this means hiring fewer people to
handle these tasks. For individuals, it means doing it on their own and
hiring a consultant online when necessary.
These cost-saving
opportunities for consumers mean money-making opportunities for you. You
can create a Web site on your own or work with an existing Web-based
services group. Then, you can correspond with clients through that Web
site and via e-mail.
If
you want to offer financial services over the Internet, first make sure
you're either trained or experienced in the services you're planning to
provide. For example, you're probably not an expert on preparing taxes
for a small family farm unless you've done so before or had training in
farm-related accounting. In addition, make sure you know whether you'll
need government licenses to offer certain services, and refrain from
misrepresenting yourself or working illegally to avoid getting sued for
fraud.
4. Customer Service
Many businesses support their products through a customer service
department. In many cases, this means people who answer phone calls from
customers. A growing number of businesses also offer customer service
electronically through their Web sites and by e-mail.
At
a Web site, customer service might include live chat sales and support.
To use this, a customer clicks a link requesting to chat with a live
person, and a customer service representative answers the request and
speaks with the customer through a chat window. For e-mail customer
service, the customer fills out a form at the Web site or sends e-mail
directly to a particular address.
Since the live chat and e-mail depends only on having a reliable Internet connection
and Web browser, businesses have looked increasingly at hiring
home-based workers for these services. As a result, customer service
contracting firms like
Talk2Rep
cover e-mail and live chat support in addition to inbound and outbound
phone calls. While the pay rate is often minimal or commission-based,
the growing demand for online customer service makes it a reliable
source of income if you have a knack for it.
3. SEO Reviewing
Search engine optimization
(SEO) is a growing area for Internet-based employment. SEO is a means
of improving the results from a search engine so that they represent the
closest matches and most reliable resources for the user's desired
results.
As a contract SEO reviewer, working through a company like
Leapforce,
you can aid in this optimization. You start each evaluation task by
judging a user's intent based on the key word combinations provided and
your own knowledge of popular culture in the user's locale. Then, you
use a set of given guidelines to evaluate how particular search results
match that user's intent.
SEO reviewing can offer a steady income
from home, but there are some risks. First, an SEO reviewer has to run
reliable antivirus software and have a good, strong defense against
malware. That's because viewing certain Web sites during evaluation
tasks could introduce malware to the computer. Second, an SEO reviewer
must be willing to view potentially offensive material, such as
pornography. As a reviewer, you may be asked to check whether a given
site contains malware or pornography, so you're putting your computer at
risk as part of the job description.
2. Tutoring
With each passing year, there seems to be increasing pressure for
elementary, middle and high school students to make good grades and
prepare for a path to higher education. For some kids, this means
getting help from a tutor to bridge any gaps in understanding in certain
subjects.
Since more families often have reliable high-speed Internet
connections at home, too, Internet-based tutoring services are growing.
When you apply for these jobs, you usually have to take tests in your
selected subject areas and submit to background checks. Though you could
start your own online tutoring service, sites like Tutor.com have
already done the legwork for you in terms of marketing. These sites
match thousands of kids with tutors each week.
While many
Internet-based jobs offer flexible hours or multiple shifts, tutoring
services might require you to be online during a specific block of time
or reward you for doing so. This encourages tutors to be available
during the heaviest demand. For example, when Tutor.com has more tutors
than tutoring requests, it places tutors on a waitlist and gives
preference to tutors who work at least five of hours per week in the 4
p.m. to 11 p.m. EST time slot Sunday through Thursday [source:
Tutor.com].
1. Selling Handmade Goods
Earlier, we considered using sites like eBay to sell stuff that you
don't need. You can also use Web sites to sell your original creations.
Certain Web sites like
Etsy.com and
ArtFire.com
are dedicated to matching the artists who create things by hand with
the customers who appreciate and want to purchase their handmade goods.
If
you're like most people, the word handmade probably brings to mind some
traditional crafts like knitting, crochet, needlework, quilting,
painting and sculpting. Handmade items don't stop there, though. You can
also market woodworking, glasswork, metalwork and anything else you're
capable of building at home. Be sure to focus on projects that you're
already good at or that you have a passion for so you don't burn out producing each new item.
Existing
Web sites like we mentioned before usually let you set up your own shop
for free or for a very small fee for each item you list there. If you
have a small home-based operation, this could be a better deal than
setting up your own site. For many people, hosting and managing an
entire Web site might be a full-time job by itself.
The biggest
challenge for selling homemade goods is making back the cost of what you
put into it. Not only do you want to be reimbursed for materials, but
you also want to be paid proportional to the time you put into it. Keep
track of your sales and purchases carefully in the first few months, and
make adjustments as necessary to maximize your profit.
Now that you have our 10 ideas, click on over to the next page for even more information on ways to make money on the Internet.
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