6 Legit Ways to Earn Money Online
On Friday, I talked about not settling for earning online through clicking on emails or other ridiculously low paying methods, but that brings up the question, “Exactly how do you earn online, then?”
There are a number of ways. Some are easier than others, but all of them are being used successfully by someone. Let’s take a look.
1. Writing Online
I’m still working on a writing course that will teach this more in depth, but to give you the basics, it is possible to earn a LOT online. To give you an example, I made just over $1,000 this past week. Entirely through writing, though I have other things going on, as well.
Online writing can mean places like Gather.com and Associated Content, but that’s not where the real money is. In fact, you can do much better by picking an area to focus on, such as SEO articles, blogging or writing press releases and then either answering ads online or contacting companies directly with your services. Here are a few sites I would recommend if you want to start earning decent money in the writing business.
2. Affiliate Marketing
While affiliate marketing is often lauded as a way to earn money super fast, it really doesn’t work that way. In fact, a lot of people never earn a single cent. Why is it on my list then? Because if you take the time to really learn about affiliate marketing, it can be very profitable.
The way it works is this, when you recommend a product to someone and they buy it, you get a percentage of the price. This can range anywhere from 4% to 75%, depending on the product. In general, virtual products, like ebooks will offer higher percentages because they aren’t expensive to make, whereas real books will be costlier to print and stock, resulting in lower payouts. However, if you are selling big ticket items, like motorcycles or real estate, then even 4 or 5% is a nice chunk of cash!
To learn more about affiliate marketing, I suggest you visit these sites:
3. Teach People Something
There are so many directions this could go in that it could actually make up the rest of the list, but to keep things informative, I’ll pack it all into one section. People are always learning, so what can you teach them? What are your special skills?
A few ways you can teach online include:
- One on one tutoring via Skype
- Writing and selling an ebook
- Creating an online course
- Offering an instructional blog
- Making instructional videos
There are various ways to market your teaching, of course, but you need to make sure there are people looking for what you have to offer before going to great lengths to provide it. Do some research and you will see that you can do a lot just by teaching skills you already have.
A great site to visit if you want to learn more about marketing your own product:
4. Blogging
You knew this one had to be on the list, right? 
Now, there are quite a few people who are making money on blogging. I am not one of them, so I am not very qualified to talk about this. However, my focus is more on writing at the moment, as opposed to earning with my blogs, so keep that in mind.
That being said, blogging is possibly one of the most difficult and overhyped ways to earn money online. It takes work, plain and simple. A blog with two posts, a year apart, is not going to do anything for you. It requires daily commitment and constant updating, so the amount of effort being put into the blog might not have payback for a long time. It is NOT a get rich quick scheme.
If you are interested in learning more about blogging, then I suggest checking out these websites:
5. Doing Tasks for Others
This actually falls into two categories. There are VAs or virtual assistants who work with business owners on tasks that range from sending emails and writing press releases to making phone calls and doing social media marketing, and there are freelancers who do specific jobs.
VAs are a special breed of people. They work diligently on promoting other people’s businesses and are essentially online secretaries. It isn’t a job that everyone enjoys, though because there can be severe pressures.
Doing specific tasks means you are usually just doing one thing, like social media bookmarking or blog commenting or even forum posting. While all of these can be lucrative, forum posting is the area I am most familiar with. Owners of new forums don’t want the space to be empty, so they will hire people to come in and start conversations, respond to others, etc. It pays per post and there are usually specific requirements that need to be met. You can find jobs like this and others on job boards.
For more information on being a VA:
6. Selling Real Items Online
From selling crafts online on sites like Etsy to auctioning things off on Ebay, a lot of moms make money online using this method. Rather than selling virtual products, you have a real, tangible item that people can purchase. This is an excellent way to earn if you know how to do it, but you need to consider shipping costs, of course.
In order to sell your product online, you have two choices. One, you can sell through a third party site, like Ebay, or two, you can set up your own website to sell things. Your own site won’t command a commision, but it can be difficult to get the traffic that the large sites get, so you will need to research this before jumping in.
Sites that can give you more information:
It is possible to earn money online, doing something you enjoy a lot more than clicking on ads and making a decent amount. None of these methods is going to make you an overnight millionaire. However, using them you can get started in building a proper income.
Have more ideas for earning online? As long as you aren’t spammy or offering a scam, I welcome comments with links to sites you think offer great insight to this topic.
I’ve also heard of folks recently flipping websites for profits. Might be something to add to your list.
You are correct in saying that blogging entails commitment. It also requires persistence. It doesn’t pay a lot at first, but once you’ve hit your stride and people start visiting the blog regularly, then the money starts flowing through JV, advertisements and other money-making deals.
I believe that whatever you choose to do online, takes commitment. If you do not commit your self to that thing, you won’t succeed.
So many people run away from the four letter word w-o-r-k, and want to become wealthy. No wonder they fall into the hands of scammers.
Always remember, no pain, no gain.
I have found making money online a real challenge up until recently. I tried many of the things listed above however I am now teaching people something I have been doing for 11 years via a 6 month weekly video training course. I found some really great mentors and I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel without being tied to my computer hour after hour.
Outsourcing or doing tasks for others is an extremely easy way to make money online. You will be trading your time for money which isnt always ideal but it is very easy to get started.
Outsourcing is a great way to get those tasks done that take up time , whilst you can concentrate on doing those things that make money. You have to be careful though as it is a process that needs to be managed, and managed carefully . I have a saying ” Hire Fast” and “Fire Faster”. I use a lot of guys to outsource to , but if they don’t perform , they are gone !
Thank you for this article. Weeding through the fluff to find a substantial area for a mother to focus her efforts is a frustrating task. I appreciate your willingness to share these ideas and streamline the process for the rest of us.
Funny you didn’t mention affiliate marketing with articles (Bum Marketing, essentially) as a hybrid of the two.
Like to add Create A Membership Site? It can be a paid membership, in which case you generate revenues, or a free membership, which generates a database of prospects for niche products or services that you can sell to them for affiliate commissions.
That’s a good point, I’ve actually written about BUM marketing in the past somewhere on this blog, but forgot to mention it here. Thanks for bringing it up.
Membership sites can be excellent ways to earn online, as well, another great tip.
My pleasure, I should add that membership sites can require some work and commitment though (seen a LOT of IM gurus selling “it’s a hands off opp” type stuff, which is B.S.). It IS very rewarding on the other hand if it’s based on a subject you care about.
Ooooops, forgot to mention; CPA offers (cost per action) which in laypeople’s terms means GIVING trial products away, not as hard as “selling”.
yes outsourcing is great but sometimes difficult when you are looking for the right partners to work with, after you establish a good relationship with a good writer things get much better.
when I first looked to outsource my writing I had a difficult time finding a good writer, the first one I tried had very good feedback but the articles he returned to me just didn’t make any sense, I could hardly understand what they were about. He probably just used a spinning software.