First of all let me start with an apology. I’ve slightly misled you with the title. When I say ‘5 ways ANYONE can make money online’ I don’t mean anyone can make money online.
To be able to make money online you have to have two things - a computer and an Internet connection. So only people with these two things can earn money on the Internet.
‘Don’t be stupid’ I hear you saying ‘If I didn’t have these I wouldn’t be reading this article’. Correct (and I know this) the point I want to make is there are no barriers to earning money on the Internet. You don’t need to be an Internet ‘whizzkid’, you don’t need loads of money to invest and you don’t need previous experience. All you need is your trusty computer an Internet connection and a willingness to learn and work to achieve your goals.
Ok enough of my pre-amble let me give you a brief overview of the ways ANYONE can make money online.
Paid Online Surveys
Companies spend millions of dollars each year asking people like your self questions on various topics. Why? Fundamentally they need to know what people think and the only way they can do this is by asking people. The more they know about their customer base the better they will be able to market their products. And the better they market their products the more of these products they sell and the more money they make. As a result your opinion is valuable to hundreds of companies each year and these companies will pay as much as $75 per survey (average payment however is probably between $5 – $15 per survey).
You won’t earn enough to give up you job but you can earn a tidy extra sum each month.
ebay
Now I’m sure you’ve heard of the phenomenon that is ebay. This online service allows millions of people across the world to buy and sell goods in a giant online auction house.
Many people make money from ebay by selling unwanted items. However some people have gone further and make a living by buying stuff (from flea markets, yard / garage sales, charity shops etc.) and selling it on ebay at a profit.
Some of the really clever people out there do this by buying stuff on ebay and selling it back on ebay for a profit!! This is called ebay arbitrage. For this to work you need an expertise in a genre enough to see when a product is worth a lot of money but isn’t attracting a lot of bid attention (usually due to poor presentation, marketing or being put in the wrong ebayebay
Think you don’t have the expertise? You’d be surprised. Look on ebay and see what sort of things they sell. There’s bound to be something that you have knowledge of through work or hobbies. With some research you’ll soon learn to spot a bargain in your area and as time goes on you’ll become more and more of an ‘ebay expert’ in your field and this is when the cash will start to role in.
Google Cash
Not as well known as ebay but still profitable for thousands and no website required.
Basically you find online business that will pay you commission for every customer that you send to them that buys one of their products. This is called Affiliate marketing.
Then you advertise these products using Google AdWords or another pay-per-click ad system.
When someone clicks on one of your ads and goes on to make a purchase from one of the online businesses mentioned above you get paid your commission.
Obviously you have to pay the company that hosts the pay per click ads every time someone clicks on your ads. However if you’re clever and do your research this will only cost you a few cents each time. With the rewards for each sale generated by one of these ads going into $30/40/50 you can see how this can be very profitable. This methods major advantage is flexibility. As a new craze hits you’re firmly aboard the gravy train. As interest starts to wane you pull you ads and advertise the next ‘big thing’.
Affiliate Marketing with your Website / Blog
As mentioned above affiliate marketing is where you generate leads for companies selling products on the Internet. If one of these leads makes a purchase you get an agreed commission.
For example say you have a website or blog on the subject of travel. As well as details about various destinations around the world you could host advertisements for companies providing flights to those destinations and hotels at those destinations. If one of your visitors clicks on one of these advertisements and makes a subsequent purchase you earn money.
There are also schemes (such as Google AdSense) where you get paid commission for one of your visitors just clicking on one of your ads. No Sale required!
Don’t be put off by the thought of building a website. You don’t have to be a programmer nowadays to build a website. There are many tools available now that allow you build a website just by typing and organising blocks.
Build an Online Store
An online store is a website where you can shop for products or services. Visitors to these sites search or browse for their required item and when found add it to their shopping cart. When ready to make a purchase the visitor checks out and pays for the product via Credit Card or another online payment system such as PayPal.
The biggest and best example of this is Amazon, which started off selling books, and Cds before expanding to sell almost everything.
Obviously I wouldn’t recommend going into competition with Amazon (that would be madness!) but if you can find a niche and market it properly an online store is the most profitable online business there can be. category). Once purchased at (what you know) to be a bargain price you place it on yourself. This time however you place it in the right category, present it superbly and market it successfully and make a great big profit.
About the Author: Paul Middleton is a successful Internet entrepreneur. He shares some of his secrets on his website http://www.makingonlinemoney.com where he reveals how ANYONE can make money on the Internet. Included on this site is a more in depth analysis of the above online money making methods.
