If you’re looking for a passive way to make money from home, then you’ve probably considered trying online trading or investing because the returns can be pretty good. But to do this you typically need to invest in equipment and take time to learn the ropes. While this might be worth it for experienced traders, for most of us mere mortals, there’s another way.
The truth is there are ways to make money online that don’t require any special training, expertise, or expensive equipment. Like many other online money-making opportunities, you simply need to follow a few easy steps to make money online legitimately and consistently.
In this article, we’ll discuss how you can make money online legitimately and how to avoid getting ripped off by scammers, hackers, and spammers. We’ll cover everything from selecting a profitable niche, to learning to build a reputable online business, to generating revenue and achieving financial freedom.
The Basics
Like many other online money-making opportunities, the golden rule of making money online is to follow the guidelines set by the government, the IRS, and the FTC. These agencies have set the ground rules for internet enterprises (the “Basics”), and created an ecosystem in which honest entrepreneurs can thrive.
To operate within this ecosystem, you must adhere to the following:
- Be honest. Don’t use fake reviews, packages, or any other forms of trickery.
- Provide value. Create high-quality content that is useful to your audience.
- Be ethical. Don’t engage in pyramid schemes or any other unethical practices.
- Do your research. Before you start your business, learn as much as you can about the field.
- Be competitive. Always look for ways to improve your product or service so you can stand out from the competition.
- Be transparent. Let your readers and customers know what you’re doing and why.
- Be sustainable. Look for ways to generate revenue while not relying on expensive, unsustainable advertising or marketing strategies.
- Protect your customers. Be careful never to disclose personal information about your customers (unless they ask you to do so). Keep your website secure by installing a trustworthy SSL certificate and using a reputable web hosting company.
The Nuts And Bolts
Now that you have the basics taken care of, it’s time to dive into the nuts and bolts of making money online. Remember, following the rules and playing by the rules will get you so far. But to ensure you succeed you must further develop your talent and skill to give you an advantage over the competition.
Like any other business, you’ll need to develop systems and procedures to ensure you can efficiently generate sales and make money online. While there are a variety of ways to generate revenue, at a minimum you’ll need to establish the following:
- A sales process that ensures you follow-up appropriately after each interaction with a customer (e.g., emailing them to follow-up after a purchase, or calling them after you’ve delivered the product).
- A follow-up process that ensures you stay in touch with your current and potential customers so they continue to feel supported and so that you can continue to provide value
- A means of generating new leads (e.g., cold-calling, banner ads, etc.).
- A way of measuring the effectiveness of each of these lead generation tactics (e.g., leads generated from a banner ad versus a social media campaign).
- A marketing plan (e.g., a set of targeted ads) that you can measure the effectiveness of.
- A way of gauging the quality of your products or services (e.g., via customer feedback or surveys)
- A way of identifying profitable markets (e.g., via online research or word-of-mouth)
- A pricing strategy,, and
- An awareness of how to sell online vs. in person (i.e., the importance of multichannel retailing).
Monetizing Your Skills
One of the beauties of making money online is there is no limit to the number of channels through which you can generate revenue. Once you develop and implement the systems mentioned above, all you need to do is choose your favorite method of generating income and get to work. Here are a few of the most popular ways to make money online: