Searching for ways to make money online usually result in a load of rubbish such as getting paid to read emails or complete surveys; or paying money to buy useless e-books and courses for that magic formula. You should ignore all that “easy way to make money online” nonsense. Remember if it seems too good to be true then it probably is.
So how do you build a business and make money? Basically there are three ways which are: Affiliate Marketing, Selling your own Product or Offering a Service. I will go through these options with you so you can choose the one that is right for you.
AFFILIATE MARKETING
If you haven’t got a product to sell or a service to offer affiliate marketing is a good place to start. The general idea behind affiliate marketing is that you promote someone else’s product and that person (the vendor) pays you a commission. The vendor will supply you with a webpage that you can promote which is commonly known as a “gateway” page. This way the vendor knows which affiliate got the sale as they can track which “gateway” the order came through. The vendor deals with all the order processing and delivery while you just focus on the promotion of your gateway page.
Search for “affiliate companies” using Google and scan the listings for anything that says “Top Paying Affiliate Programs” or something similar. Look for products that you think you could offer on your website or blog. Some companies offer different size banners that you could put on your website which could result in a sale if one of your visitors clicks on the banner and makes a purchase. Look at what the product is and much commission is being offered.
Note: some companies offer a “network marketing option which is often referred to as a Pyramid Scheme. I am not suggesting these companies should be avoided but I would suggest you be very careful, especially if they are asking for a membership fee. If you are unsure about a company I recommend you enter a search term such as “(company name scam)” and see what the public says. There are many people who use the line “Is (company name) a Scam” as part of their review of the company in order to promote it. Make sure you read as much as you can from other people.
SELLING YOUR OWN PRODUCT
Your own product could be something you create yourself such as a book or a piece of software. You can earn a good income if you can write or program. Information marketing is quite popular as people are often searching for how to do something. Maybe you can make fancy jewellery and you want to teach others how to do it. If you have a good knowledge of something or a skill then you can share it with the world via an e-book. Amazon allow you to submit your book to them and will offer it for sale on their websites.
Basically anything you can create yourself can be sold online either through yourself or through a retailer who is willing to stock the product for you. I remember selling games I programmed on the Atari ST through PD Libraries as Licenceware where they paid me a commission. Of course the product doesn’t have to be something you made. You can buy and sell items through eBay and Amazon. There are wholesalers who offer products in bulk which you could sell on the market or on a car boot sale. You can also pick things up cheap from car boot sales and make a profit on them.
Everyone likes to eat so if you can cook or bake you can sell food. Of course you will need to make sure you have the necessary health and hygiene certificates before you start. Only the other day I was looking for halal pies and the two places I found were wholesalers who require me to buy pallets of pies. Well as I don’t have a big freezer or fridge then this is no good to me. So one idea could be to buy them direct from the supplier and sell them on the market, or in smaller qualities to local people if you have a car or van.
The general idea is to offer products that people want. There was a story of one Muslim woman who liked to eat ready-made meals. However there were no halal versions so she started a business selling halal ready-made meals. With Islam officially the world’s fasted growing religion there could be a good market there for halal foods. After all there are many people who are limited to their local takeaway and may want to eat other meat products other than kebabs or curries. Another popular trend at the moment is retro-gaming. The younger generation taking an interest in older computer games.
OFFERING A SERVICE
Have you got a skill you could offer people? Maybe you can repair computers or cars. Maybe you are good at gardening. Maybe you can offer custom-made furniture? If you are a dab hand with a set of tools or you are good at painting and decorating then that is something you can turn into a profitable business. Build yourself a website, get some cards printed and spread the word in your community. List your services in your advertising and make sure your prices are competitive in your area. Think of your talents and how you can use them to make money.
