If you’re looking for an easy way to earn a couple of bucks, you’ve probably considered trying your hand at some sort of online gig. After all, the convenience and flexibility of delivering your voice across the globe, or engaging with potential customers over the phone, is nothing to scoff at. But is working online truly as lucrative as it promises to be? Is it possible to monetize your existing skills and hobbies, or should you opt for a career in information technology? We’ve put together a complete guide to learning more about the opportunities and challenges of making money online, as well as suggesting some viable alternatives if you don’t want to pursue a career in digital marketing.
The Pros And Cons Of Working Online
With the exception of being a virtual assistant, there aren’t many traditional jobs that you can do online. Sure, there are opportunities to work in content moderation, blogging, and social media, but the lack of traditional employment ensures that you’ll likely have to find ways to generate your own income elsewhere. While it’s great to have the ability to work remotely, the flexibility that comes with the gig can be problematic. For example, you might find that the workload is such that you need to put in extra hours beyond what would be typical for the job, or there aren’t enough hours in the day to fit everything in.
Find A Commuter Job
There are several big names in the corporate world that rely heavily on online marketplaces to power their businesses. Google, for example, makes lots of money from AdWords and other revenue generating tools found on its various platforms. And Amazon doesn’t limit itself to eCommerce either – the company runs a marketplace, offers AI-driven voice assistance, and even has a referral program where you can earn a commission for promoting other products on its behalf.
If you can find a job that allows you to work remotely a few days a week, you might want to consider pursuing this in preference to a digital marketing job. While you might not get rich off affiliate marketing or working for some big brand, you can still make a decent chunk of change. The main problem is that many of these positions are typically part-time or seasonal, so you might not be able to depend on them for much financial support. If you have bills to pay, a mortgage or rent to pay, or are just looking for a steady source of income, you might have to look elsewhere.
The Basics
Before you begin your journey to online stardom, it’s important to establish some fundamental ground rules. First of all, ensure that you have a reliable internet connection, a microphone, and some time off work. In addition, make sure that you’re familiar with SEO, social media, and email marketing, as these will form the building blocks of your online presence. Finally, make sure that you’re prepared to work hard, as you’ll undoubtedly need to put in the hours to ensure that you build up a sufficiently large audience to make money from.
Now that you have all of that taken care of, you can begin to explore the myriad of opportunities that exist in the world of digital marketing. But first, you need to create a profile on a few of the more popular professional social media networks, primarily Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. After all, the more followers, the more people that will be interested in your content when you finally have some. Once you have a decent sized audience, you can then begin to explore the various tools and websites that are out there that can help you make money online. We’ve collected a list of the best affiliate marketing platforms below, along with a little bit about the companies that run them. Hopefully, this will help you understand the various options that are out there, and make the right decision for your needs.
Top 5 Affiliate Marketing Platforms
Each of the following platforms allows you to connect with businesses seeking to promote their products and services, and allow you to connect with potential buyers across the globe. Once you’ve established a solid foundation on one of these platforms, you can then move on to the next.
1. Amazon Associate
Amazon is the mother ship of all online marketplaces, and the fact that it’s a household name makes it nearly impossible for any online marketer to ignore. If you’ve ever shopped on Amazon, you’ll have the opportunity to become an Amazon Associate, making a commission off the products you mention or promote on the site. While you might not get rich off affiliate marketing at Amazon, you can make a decent chunk of change, and the benefits of the platform include a large audience (over 100 million monthly active users as of January 2021) and a slew of tools that can help you make money online. For example, you can use the Amazon Associates dashboard to track your earnings, performance, and product suggestions. And if you meet certain earning requirements, you might be eligible to receive a monthly bonus. Finally, you can use the Alexa tool to enable speech recognition and grow your audience by delivering content and offers at the command of Alexa.
2. Google Affiliate Program
If you’ve ever shopped at Google, you might have noticed that the company is constantly in the process of growing and evolving its online marketplace, known as Google Shopping. The Google Affiliate Program allows you to make money off the clicks of actual shoppers who are searching for products similar to those that you promote on your websites. For example, if you’re an avid fan of Disney and you find the perfect item related to that brand, you can put a link to that item on your blog or website and earn a commission whenever a user clicks on that link and makes a purchase.
3. Bluehost Affiliate Program
Bluehost is the #1 web host used by over 2 million websites across the world, providing convenient, affordable, and high-quality hosting to millions of customers. The Bluehost Affiliate Program provides you with the ability to make money off the site traffic of actual customers who are also interested in the products and services that you promote. For example, if you blog about lifestyle, fashion, or food, you might decide that you want to promote French fashion brand, Charles-Jourdan, and earn a commission off the sale of all CJ products.
4. ShareASale Affiliate Program
ShareASale is the #1 affiliate marketing platform used by over 2 million websites across the globe. Simply put, ShareASale connects businesses with people seeking to spend their money on the products and services that they promote. The beauty of this platform is that you don’t have to have a huge following to get started – anyone can make money online with this tool, regardless of whether or not they have an audience.
5. Clickbank Affiliate Program
ClickBank is the #1 digital marketing platform that allows you to connect with businesses who need help marketing their products and services online. This affiliate marketing software allows you to connect with potential customers across the globe, and you can choose from hundreds of popular products that you can promote for a commission. Plus, you can choose from a variety of affiliate marketing products, including digital marketing software, to fit your skillset.
The Role Of Affiliate Marketing In 2019
As we’ve established, not every job is suitable for a remote workforce, and this particularly applies to affiliate marketing. Thanks to technologies such as video and voice-over-IP, the ability to work remotely is becoming more relevant, and it’s more common for businesses to outsource some of their marketing to freelancers who can work remotely. In 2019, a remote worker with a good internet connection and a microphone can earn about $60,000 per year, and this number is only growing as businesses become more reliant on digital marketing channels and businesses such as Google and Facebook create more lucrative platforms for those looking to work remotely.
Ultimately, it depends on you and what you want to do with your life – if you want to live a comfortable life, you can work in an office environment and generate a regular income, or you can choose to freelance on a temporary basis and achieve financial freedom. It’s all about what you want out of life, and what you will and will not put in to get it.