Since the economic downturn of 2008, many have looked for ways to make money online. While it’s not difficult to find work on the internet, there are many pitfalls that anyone seeking to make money online should avoid. In fact, many big-name celebs have had to resort to crowdfunding or loans to supplement their income.
While some can make large sums of money online legitimately, many struggle to make a decent living. Those looking to make money online should learn from the mistakes of others so they don’t have to struggle as much.
1. Get a niche and specialize in it.
One of the best ways to make money online is to find a lucrative niche and specialize in it. If you can become an expert in something, you can build a profitable business around it. For example, if you are an expert in mortgage loans, you can build a digital brokeragehouse around handling mortgage loans. Or, if you become an expert in travel, you can create a travel agency that specializes in luxurious holidays. Your specific niche should be something that you are passionate about and that has the potential to make you a lot of money.
2. Start your own blog.
Blogs aren’t just for fun these days, they can be very profitable. If you start up a blog for fun, you can always monetize it later. However, if you start up a blog with the intention of making money, you can actually monetize it early on. Blogging is a great way to build a platform and gain credibility. When you have a sizable audience, you can use the platform to pitch your products. Additionally, if you become a recognized authority in your industry, you can easily become a top freelance salesperson, commanding higher paychecks and more lucrative opportunities.
3. Start an online store.
If you’re looking for an easy way to make money online, you can always start an online store. This is actually a very profitable option, as all you need is a storefront, a product or service to sell, and a payment processor to accept payments online. You can use Shopify, which is one of the most popular platforms for creating online stores, to easily get started.
4. Sign up for a gig-working platform.
There are many platforms designed for online gigs, like Fiverr, Gigs.com, and Upwork. On these websites, you can take on small jobs for businesses or individuals. If you’re the best guitar string trimmer in your area, you can sell your services to guitar stores and guitar manufacturers to make some quick cash. Just remember that these platforms are all about generating revenue, so they may not be the best place to look for legitimate work.
5. Start an online store of your own.
If you’ve got a knack for creating logos, websites, and marketing material, you can start your own graphic design company. You’ll need a domain name for the website, webhosting, and a payment processor to accept payments (which you can get with Bluehost). Once you’ve got that, you can use Stripe to set up a simple online store. Startups like Shopify and Wix make it quite easy to launch a store, even if you’ve never done so before. And for those looking for a more complex experience, you can use Shopify’s Big Commerce or Wix’s Business Plus to launch a more advanced store.
6. Start an online market place.
If you’re the best photographer in your area, you can start an online market place. If you’re skilled in editing photos, you can start an online photo shop. Or, if you’re a graphic designer, you can start your own branding company and develop logos, websites, and marketing material for businesses.
There are many different ways to make money online. If you’re truly looking for a way to make money online legitimately, consider the above suggestions. However, if you want to make extra money online without putting in the effort, you can use the above suggestions to simply find some work to do. Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of serendipity or good timing to make money online.