So you’ve decided to try online marketing as a means of generating income. Congrats!
The idea of making money online can feel overwhelming, though, especially since the recent wave of ‘startups’ promising to make you rich quick. Truth is, it takes some time to figure out how to make money online successfully. However, once you do, you’ll wonder why you didn’t try it sooner.
Here’s a handpicked list of ways to make money online in 2020. So you’ve got a budget and you’re looking for ways to cut costs. Try out the following suggestions and you’ll find a profitable niche that you can build a business around.
Affiliate Marketing
This is one of the oldest and most popular ways of making money online. You’ll be asked to promote products on your blog. When a user clicks on a link (typically a contextual link appearing alongside content on social media or in email communications), they’re directed to a site with affiliate content. If they make a purchase after being directed there, you’ll earn a commission.
The best part is – you’ll often earn commissions without having to spend a single dollar. The product you’re promoting doesn’t need to be expensive; an affiliate program can generate substantial income if it brings in a few high-quality sales.
There are many different affiliate marketing platforms designed for online marketing. Most offer different levels of engagement with the platform, with some allowing you to choose your audience (the type of people you’ll want to reach with your content) and others expecting you to set up automated systems to promote products.
E-commerce
E-commerce, or internet selling, was one of the first ways people made money online. Users would purchase products online and have them delivered to their doors. This can be useful for numerous reasons, from saving money on shipping to finding a a product that’s suited to your personal needs.
The great thing about e-commerce is that you’ll likely already have the equipment necessary to get started. You’ll need a store front, which many platforms provide. You’ll also need a web browser (for checking out the store), a credit card (to make the purchase), and an email account (for sending out receipts and tracking orders).
The platforms are also fairly easy to use, so even if you’ve never done any online marketing before, you’ll have no trouble getting started. You’ll just need to decide what product or products you’ll be selling and set up an online store (with a virtual shopping cart) to begin selling them.
Copywriting
If you’re a fast typer, you might consider trying out copywriting for income. Essentially, copywriters are writers who’ve developed the skill of crafting press releases and other similar materials to attract business and customers online. Your copy will be read by potential customers who are looking for what you have to offer.
As a copywriter, you’ll be required to come up with original content that’ll be published by a company or individual. The only difference is the company will pay you for your efforts. You won’t need specialized skills to become a copywriter. While many consider it to be an exclusive job to only write for businesses, it’s actually more common for copywriters to write for individuals and smaller businesses too.
The upside with copywriting is that you’ll have tons of opportunities. Not only will you be able to choose your own hours, but you’ll also get to choose which projects you’ll work on. Since copywriting is such a broad field, you’ll have the opportunity to develop your skill and become the go-to person for your chosen niche. For instance, if you’re a food writer, you may be called upon to write for restaurants or food websites.
Influencer Marketing
If you’ve got a great network of social media influencers, you may consider trying your hand at influencer marketing. Essentially, influencers are people who have a large network of followers on social media. They’ll use their large networks to promote products or services that are relevant to their audience.
The best part of influencer marketing is that you don’t really need a huge following to be able to get started. Even if you’ve got just a few hundred followers on social media, you can get in on the action. The catch is just finding relevant and popular influencers in your chosen niche. Once you’ve got your small group of followers, you can use them to gain credibility with potential customers in your niche.
Online Arbitrage
Arbitrage is the practice of buying low-priced products and selling them for higher prices on other sites. For example, if you live in New York City and you see a product you like on Amazon, but it’s much more expensive on another website, you may consider trying your hand at arbitrage. Essentially, you’ll be buying a product from one site, and then selling it on a different site for a higher price. It’s a great way to make money online and it doesn’t require any particular skills, training, or experience.
You’ll just need a reliable way to track prices, look out for sales, and then act fast when you see an opportunity. It’s a bit of a risky business, as you never know if the price is going to go up or down after you make the purchase. However, the potential for profit is great if you know where to look.
Product Reviewing
If you’re a fast typer and you’ve got an interest in product reviews, you might consider trying out product reviewing for income. While not exactly the same as product testing, which involves hands-on experience with the product, product reviewing is all about writing about your experiences with a product. You’ll simply be asked to review a number of different products and give your opinion on what you’ve tried.
The great thing about product reviewing is that you don’t really need anything more than an interest in products and an ability to write to get started. You’ll need to determine which products you’ll be reviewing and how frequently you’ll be reviewing them. Once you’ve got the ball rolling, you can begin to build up a small audience and gain credibility. From there, you can graduate to more in-depth product testing or take on larger projects as a product reviewer.
Virtual Shopping
Last but not least, we’ve got virtual shopping. Essentially, virtual shopping is the act of browsing products on a website and then picking up the items you like the sound of using a joystick or a mouse. You’ll simply have to click on the items you want, and then either pay for them using a credit card or log in to an online shop to purchase them. This is a popular way of doing business online, especially among adults who love to browse for products they like using their smartphones or tablets.
The great thing about virtual shopping is that it doesn’t really require you to have an interest in products you’re promoting. Essentially, you can use the platform to explore a variety of products and, when you find one that you like, you can click on the item to find more information and (if you want to) make a purchase. There’s also the option of creating a shopping list of the items you’ve selected and purchase them at a later date.
The Takeaway
Hopefully, this article gave you enough information about ways to make money online in 2020. If so, kudos to you! Now that you know where to look, you can begin your journey to financial independence. And, if you’ve got other methods you’ve tried that worked for you, feel free to share them with us so we can learn more about ways to make money online.