If you’re looking for an easy way to make money online, you’ve probably considered trying affiliate marketing. The idea behind affiliate marketing is simple: You sign up for a company’s affiliate program, and when someone clicks a specified link or buys a product that’s promoted on your blog or website, you get a commission. You can then use that extra money to fund your next content creation project or to buy more products to promote on your site.
While it’s a legitimate strategy for making money online, it’s not the only one. In fact, you might be missing out on a bigger opportunity if you limit yourself to just one monetization strategy.
Here are some of the other ways to make money online that you should consider.
Monetizing Your Audience
If you’ve ever tried to make money online, you might have noticed something off about most of the traditional advice out there. We’re constantly being told to start a blog, put up several articles each week, and try to build a significant audience before we can even think about making any significant income. While it’s a valid strategy, it can also be one of the slowest and most frustrating ways to make money online. Why?
Because it’s generally accepted that most people won’t pay for content. If you want to make money online, you’re going to have to find a way to monetize your audience instead.
The best way to do this is through affiliate marketing, which we already discussed. However, there are several other options that you should consider. For example, if you’ve accumulated a decent amount of Instagram followers, you can put up a poll to see what products your audience is most interested in. Then, you can choose one product a week and promote it on your Instagram account. When someone clicks the link or makes a purchase after being exposed to your content, you’ll earn a small commission. This is called content promotion strategy, and it’s one of the most effective ways to make money online.
Curatenic Content
As the name suggests, cryptocurrency curation is the process of selecting which digital assets to include in a portfolio or to recommend to other investors. When you curate content, you’re not just selecting and promoting one or two products. You’re usually selecting several products from the same brand or category and then using your specialized knowledge to convince readers to try these products or to invest in them. Essentially, you’re creating content that’s designed to help readers make money online.
Bitcoins.com is a great example of a curation site that promotes several products from various brands. On the site, you’ll find reviews, guides, and other content that’ll help readers make more money. While it’s not always as easy as just promoting a product and getting paid when someone clicks a link or buys a product that you’ve recommended, the potential to make money online is huge if you can find a way to make your readers successful. Plus, you can always choose to promote products that you believe in and that you know will be useful or necessary for your audience. This builds credibility and makes your content more valuable.
Create a Course
Another effective way to make money online is to create a course. A course is simply a series of videos that teach others something new. You can choose to call it anything you want, but the general idea is the same: Create a series of videos that educate your audience about something new or useful. Because most people won’t pay for content, you’re going to have to find a way to get them to pay for your content. This is where affiliate marketing and other income streams come in.
You can create a YouTube channel (with a profitable video in tow) or a Twitch live stream and get paid per view (with an affiliate program). Or, you can create a free WordPress blog and get paid each time someone visits the site (through affiliate programs). You can then use that income to fund your next venture or to pay off your debts. One of the biggest challenges of creating a course, however, is getting people to actually take the time to learn it. People generally prefer to learn something new for free (or at least for a low cost), but finding a way to make money off of your knowledge and expertise is not as easy as it sounds. Nevertheless, creating a course is one of the most profitable and effective ways to make money online if you can figure out a way to make people interested in your material. Don’t underestimate the power of a good course.
Get Paid to Take Surveys
As the name suggests, take survey marketing is all about getting paid to take surveys. Like most online platforms, Survey Junkie is one of the biggest survey sites around. The platform connects consumers with businesses that pay them to take surveys. To get started, you’ll simply need to create a free account and verify your email address.
On the Survey Junkie blog, you’ll find reviews of the best survey apps and websites as well as tips on how to make the most of your account. Just remember: To avoid any misunderstandings, make sure you always perform the legally required research before participating in any online survey. Also, make sure you’re aware of the consequences and risks involved. Some survey sites and apps require you to fulfill a certain profile before you can get paid. Doing so generally means you’ll need to share your demographic information and marketing preferences. Be careful what you share, as you could end up losing access to all your accounts if you’re not careful enough.
Sell and Use Your Own Product
An ever-expanding list of digital currencies, altcoins, and cryptocurrency instruments makes it quite easy to buy whatever you want online. This has led to an explosion of online marketplaces that allow individuals to sell their products directly to customers. While this might not seem like a sustainable way to make money online, it actually can be a profitable endeavor. If you’re an experienced product creator and have something useful to offer, you can use this method to generate a passive income stream.
For example, if you create an app that saves users money, you can create a store where people can purchase products directly from your app. When someone buys a product from your app store, you’ll receive payment in the form of a digital currency. This is called cryptocurrency commerce, and it’s one of the more effective ways to make money online if you’re trying to avoid relying solely on affiliate marketing.
To get started, create a product brief that includes the following:
- Product name
- Description
- Category
- Minimum purchase
- Maximum purchase
- Price
- Shipping
- Availability
- Gross profit
- Link to product page (URL)
- Email address
Then, create a Shopify store (or similar eCommerce store) that features your product. When someone clicks the product or makes a purchase, you’ll receive a commission. The amount of payment you receive will depend on the type of product and the buyer’s location. For example, someone in the UK might pay you GBP 60, while someone in the U.S. might pay you $8.99. When someone clicks a product or makes a purchase in another country, the shopping site might not pay you directly instead paying the country’s VAT or sales tax. This is why it’s always a good idea to research the laws and regulations regarding online businesses before you begin.
Copy and Paste
This method isn’t for the fainthearted. It requires a lot of patience and a firm hand. However, if you’re looking for a way to make a quick buck, this might be the easiest way. All you have to do is find a targeted niche, build a small audience, and then start promoting products that are already paying you. When someone clicks a product and makes a purchase after being exposed to your content, you’ll earn a small commission. Just make sure you’re doing this legally. The worst thing you can do is promote someone else’s product without their permission. This is called product scraping and can get you kicked off any affiliate program you’re involved in.