If you’re looking for a new way to make money, you’ve probably considered exploring online business opportunities. Despite the growing pains that many industries experience as the world changes around them, some businesses manage to find a sustainable sweet spot, and income generators like these are worth pursuing.
Here are 10 online business ideas that make good money:
1. Affiliate Marketing
With affiliate marketing, you essentially work for other people but get paid based on the deals you make for them. To start, you’ll need to become familiar with the keyword research and market analysis platform Google AdWords. When performing keyword research, you want to find terms or phrases that are both highly relevant to your product and have enough search volume to be monetizable. To learn more, I recommend checking out this course by Matt McGillicuddy or working with a marketing agency that can help you find the right niche.
2. E-commerce
E-commerce is the buying and selling of products or services over the internet. To start, you’ll need to determine whether you want to operate a physical store or sell your products online. If you decide to go the physical store route, you’ll need to decide on which type of store to set up: supermarket, big box store, or specialty store. You’ll also need to decide whether or not to rent a space in which to host your inventory. If you decide to sell your products online, you can use Shopify or Big Commerce to easily set up an e-commerce store. To learn more, you can check out this course by Andy Crestodina or take a look at his free e-commerce cheat sheet.
3. Online Teaching
YouTubers and bloggers can make good money by teaching others. To start, you’ll need to create videos that are relevant to either a consumer or business audience. You can then scale your videos by creating different versions for different platforms like YouTube and Instagram as well as create a downloadable spreadsheet that you can send to potential students. To learn more about the ins and outs of online teaching, you can check out this course by Matt Weinberger or browse through his case studies.
4. Freelancing
Whether you’re a designer, photographer, or content writer, you can work remotely for clients across the globe. To start, you’ll need to pick a niche and identify a need for a product or service in that space. Once you’ve established credibility, you can begin to build a portfolio of work, which will then attract higher paying clients. To learn more, you can check out this course by Matt Wagner or sign up for a freelancing platform like Fiverr, Upwork, or Guru.
5. MLM (Multi Level Marketing)
If you’re unfamiliar, MLM stands for multi-level marketing, which involves selling products or services to people who are already members of the same organization. To start, you’ll need to select a product that you believe has the potential to be mass-marketed and then set up an online store to sell it. To learn more, check out this course
6. Start an Online Store
If you decide to go the e-commerce route, you can use Shopify or Big Commerce to easily set up an online store. To start, you’ll need to choose a product that you believe has a large audience and then choose a retailer (like Amazon) to sell it. Once you’ve launched your store, you can use marketing platforms like Amazon Marketing Services to easily drive sales.
7. Blogging
If you’re a talented writer with a large following on social media, you can use your blog to teach others about your chosen topics or to provide compelling content for potential customers. To start, you’ll need to establish yourself as an authority on your chosen topics and then create engaging content that draws in prospective customers. To learn more, you can check out this course by Brian Clark or take a look at the case studies of some of his successful students.
8. Online Research For Businesses
If you’re a good researcher, you can use online tools like Google Alerts and Buzzsumo to keep track of industry news and keywords that are rapidly becoming popular. To start, you’ll need to sign up for a free account on one of these tools. Then, you’ll need to enter your chosen search terms into the platform, set the frequency at which you want alerts to appear, and then sit back and watch as potential profitable opportunities roll in.
9. Social Media Management For Businesses
Managing a business’ social media can be tricky, but having an experienced social media manager on your side can help you navigate the ever-changing world of online discourse, stay abreast of the latest trends, and maximize your return on investment. To start, you’ll need to choose a social media platform (like Twitter or Instagram) and then follow the instructions of a social media course like this one from Canva or this one from Hootsuite to get up and running quickly.
10. App Creation
In the past few years, the field of app creation has exploded. With the rise of the digital nomad lifestyle and the growing popularity of smartphones, people are looking for ways to stay connected and navigate life’s little challenges. To start, you’ll need to establish what type of app you want to create (native iPhone apps or Android apps) and then decide on the features and functionalities you want to include in your app. Once you’ve established credibility, you can then use the resources of platforms like Codecademy, Hootsuite, or Course Report to teach yourself and build out your own app.