I'm not sure what it was about me or my life but this article topic has been on my mind lately. I've read tons of articles about starting your own online business but none seem to have answered my question. What's the most profitable online business to start if I don't want to work full time at another job?
Some people are all-in when they say that making money online means having no boss, working anywhere around the clock, and getting paid every two weeks. That sounds like heaven! But many others will tell you that building a successful online business takes years before you see any profits. So which one is right? Well, neither really because there isn't just one answer to the question. It depends on who you ask (and also where you live).
I'll give you some examples below along with explanations as to why each option might be more appealing to different types of people. For instance, if you need extra cash very fast, then investing 10k into something that pays off immediately might be worth considering. On the other hand, if you enjoy traveling and seeing new places, then perhaps a long term investment strategy would suit you better. The point here is to figure out what works best for you personally so you can focus on the things that matter the most. If you'd rather not think too hard about it though, let's take a look at some quick tips.
Let's assume you already know what kind of income level you want to achieve. This should help narrow down your choices even further. Now we're ready to find a few options that fit your needs.
The first step will probably be deciding whether you want to use free traffic sources or pay per click ads instead. Free traffic usually comes through social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc., whereas PPC requires paying for leads. You could choose between both depending on your budget and goals. Personally, I prefer using PPC since it allows me to test multiple campaigns at once without spending anything upfront. However, if you only have limited funds available, go ahead and try out some free methods first. They won't cost you much anyway. As far as I know, popular platforms such as Google AdWords offer free trials for their services.
Once you decide on which method suits your preferences the next task is finding the best affiliate networks to join. Affiliates are those companies who promote certain brands or offers. In return, affiliates receive commissions based on sales generated by visitors clicking on links provided by them. There are dozens of ways to become an affiliate marketer including creating a blog, writing ebooks, selling stuff on Amazon, eBay, Etsy etc. Some of the biggest ones include ClickBank, Commission Junction, CPA Lead System, LinkShare & ShareASale. All these websites allow users to sign up for free and create custom landing pages where they put banners promoting specific offers. Then they drive traffic back to the websites mentioned above who pay them commission fees for referring customers.
Another way to monetize your site is through advertising. Instead of letting advertisers place banner ads directly onto your website, you can partner with someone willing to advertise on your behalf. These partners provide ad space on their own websites and pay you commissions whenever users visit them via your link. Most big names like Google AdSense, Mediavine, Chitika and Yahoo! display ads on thousands of websites daily. Again, the process involves signing up for free accounts on various providers, setting up custom landing pages, and driving traffic to them.
Next, you'll need to build an email list. People buy lots of items online nowadays thanks to the convenience factor alone. And the best part is that they never have to leave their homes! Therefore, giving away valuable content in exchange for opt ins is a great idea. Here are five easy steps you can follow to grow your email subscribers:
1) Write good quality posts regularly. Don't worry about SEO yet. Just write useful content that people actually care about and post it somewhere relevant. Use tools like Hootsuite, Bufferapp, Evernote or Trello to schedule regular updates.
2) Build trust with your audience. Answer questions they may have regarding topics related to your niche, share useful resources, and show genuine interest in their lives.
3) Offer value. Include short guides, videos, tutorials and cheat sheets inside emails. Make sure to add call to actions to encourage people to subscribe.
4) Add value over quantity. A single subscriber is worth more than 100 non-subscribers. Try not to send hundreds of identical messages to everyone. Focus on providing value to your readers and followers.
5) Put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel if you found out someone was sending you useless information? Would you open their emails and check out their content? Probably not. Keep this in mind while developing your marketing strategies.
Now that you have everything set up, you're finally ready to begin earning money. Let's talk about how to make the most profit possible.
As previously stated, it doesn't really matter what type of business you decide to start - as long as you pick something that makes sense for you. When choosing a product, consider its popularity, demand and price. Popularity indicates how many shoppers are buying the item every day. Demand refers to how many people are actively searching for it. Finally, price signifies how expensive it is relative to competitors. Choosing a high priced product will bring you higher revenues overall, however, the risk of losing all your capital increases significantly.
You can learn more about pricing techniques here. To sum it up, always aim to purchase low volume products with high margins. Examples of such products include food, clothing, electronics, office supplies, furniture, household appliances, software and books. Also keep in mind that there are exceptions to the rule. Sometimes high margin products are less popular which causes supply shortages and skyrocketing prices. An example of such situation is Apple stock. Since iPhone 7 release, Apple shares skyrocketed due to huge demand. Unfortunately, many people bought stocks expecting prices to continue rising indefinitely. Eventually, they got burned.
For a little bit of fun, you can also calculate ROI (return on investment), which shows the amount of money you'll end up bringing back after 1 year compared to the initial investment.
Finally, remember that success often takes longer than expected. Patience is key. Start small and scale up later.
Assuming annual salary of $10,000, $100 monthly passive income yields approximately $15,600 annually. Of course, this calculation relies heavily on your personal circumstances. For example, if you plan to quit your current job soon, your net income will drop dramatically. For comparison purposes, $10,000 invested into Google Ads returns approximately $8,400 yearly (assuming 3% conversion rate).
There are countless possibilities. Below are three of the most common options to consider:
1) Software development company
Software developers typically charge clients hourly rates ranging from $25-$200/hour depending on experience levels. You must understand that programming skills aren't cheap either. Good programmers require extensive training which costs thousands of dollars. Even experienced coders rarely make enough revenue to support themselves solely through coding, especially during early stages. To avoid being stuck in the middle, you can offer consulting services alongside code creation. Your potential clientele includes individuals who hire web designers to develop simple websites and freelancers needing assistance with complex projects.
2) Online tutor
Online tutors are similar to teachers in school except that students pay tuition instead of going to class. Tutoring sessions vary greatly depending on the student’s age, skill level, availability, location, etc. Prices range from minimal ($20+/hr) to maximum ($150+/hr). Typically, teachers accept lower payments for older kids who lack motivation and excel academically. Younger children tend to attract younger parents who cannot afford private lessons. Regardless of the case, tutors generally need to establish relationships with their students prior to receiving payment.
3) Digital agency
Digital agencies specialize in designing and developing websites, apps and digital solutions for businesses. Clients usually pay for ongoing maintenance contracts instead of recurring monthly bills. Fees depend on project size, complexity, number of employees involved, and additional features requested. Typical charges range from $500-$2000 for basic websites to $50,000-$300,000 for large enterprise systems. Small businesses usually benefit the most from this service since they need fewer complicated features. Once again, establishing strong connections with clients is crucial.
I've been building websites since about 2003 and have built a few hundred of them in my time. My first website was based on affiliate marketing, which has now become one of the more popular methods of making money online. It's also one of the easiest ways to make money online if you are not tech-savvy or don't want to spend any money getting your site off the ground. You can create a blog (or even multiple blogs) using WordPress for free! If you are interested in starting out as a blogger then check out our guide to blogging for beginners here.
The key things to know when choosing what type of internet business to go into are whether it will be high volume and/or low cost per sale. This means a product or service where there is either a lot of competition in the market place or a large number of people willing to buy at a lower price point than normal. For example, selling eBooks requires less work than selling physical goods like clothing so is ideal for someone who wants to build a passive income stream but doesn't have much technical knowledge required to run their own store front.
There are many different types of online businesses that are highly profitable including those listed below. The thing to remember though is that each type of business comes with its unique challenges. For instance, if you decide to open a brick and mortar store then you'll need to pay rent somewhere safe and secure to keep all your stock stored. Selling digital products such as software allows you to ship anywhere in the world without needing to keep inventory. However, this does come with certain limitations around copyright laws and fraud protection. There are plenty of great tools available to help protect yourself against both of these issues.
Here are some of the most common types of online businesses you may wish to consider launching next year.
1. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is probably the quickest way to set up an online business because it only takes a small amount of effort to begin earning a profit. In order to succeed you need to find good quality content related to whatever niche you choose and post it onto your website. Then you simply share links back to other sites with relevant information in exchange for a commission on sales generated through the link. Some examples include Amazon Associates Program, ClickBank, ShareASale etc.
2. Digital Products & Services
Selling digital products and services allow you to offer something valuable to a larger audience compared to traditional offline retail stores. As mentioned above though, they do require a bit more upfront investment in terms of setup costs and ongoing maintenance. These days anyone can take advantage of cloud storage solutions such as Dropbox and Google Drive to upload files and host video tutorials straight away. Also, there are lots of excellent SaaS apps available to manage everything from email to bookkeeping. Examples include MailChimp, Wix, Zoho etc.
3. Dropshipping
Dropshipping involves finding suppliers who already have orders ready to fulfil. Once you locate suitable vendors, you send them your customer details and ask them to fill the orders themselves rather than having you deliver the items directly to customers. They charge a fee which covers shipping costs and fulfillment fees. When sending your customers' payment info over to the supplier you should always use a trusted third party escrow service like PayPal. Doing otherwise could leave you exposed to fraudulent activity.
4. Online Courses / Training Programs
Online courses and training programs aren't quite as easy to scale as dropshipping but still provide another lucrative opportunity. One option would be to sign up as an instructor for Udemy or Skillshare. Another choice might be to register as a private tutor for companies like TutorVista or WyzAnt. Both of these platforms let you teach classes remotely and collect payments via credit card processing.
5. Freelance Work
Freelancing isn't really an online business but it's worth mentioning due to its popularity amongst entrepreneurs. To earn extra cash you can hire freelancers to complete tasks for you such as writing articles, designing logos, editing videos or transcribing audio recordings. Many freelance jobs fall under the umbrella term 'virtual assistant'. Others involve helping clients with social media management, creating graphics, proofreading documents and conducting research.
6. Ecommerce Stores
Ecommerce stores are perhaps the simplest form of online business to set up. All you need to do is purchase hosting space and install a shopping cart plugin. Depending on how big you want to grow your business you can add additional features such as SSL certificates, custom domains, automated emails etc.
7. Membership Sites
Membership sites usually require monthly subscription fees although there are options available to join for free too. Examples include membership forums like Reddit and newsgroups like Yahoo Groups. Other possibilities include paid memberships to dating sites such as OKCupid and professional networks like LinkedIn.
8. Networking Opportunities
Most successful online marketers promote their business online through Facebook groups, YouTube channels, podcasts and their own blog posts. A quick search reveals hundreds of networking opportunities across virtually every topic imaginable. The key is to focus on niches you truly believe in and try to learn as much as possible before promoting your brand online.
9. Video Tutorials
Video tutorials are a fantastic way to learn new skills and turn your hobby into a full-time gig. There are several well known places you can publish your own content including Vimeo, YouTube and DailyMotion. Popularity among viewers depends heavily on the subject matter however so it's important to ensure you pick a niche that appeals to a wide range of potential buyers.
10. Content Creation
Content creation is becoming increasingly difficult to monetize thanks to the rise of ad blockers. That said, there are still plenty of opportunities available within smaller communities to write original pieces of content that others value enough to click on ads alongside. An alternative approach is to curate existing material produced by influencers in your chosen niche.
11. Virtual Assistants
Virtual assistants perform administrative tasks for individuals and businesses. Examples include scheduling appointments, organising travel arrangements, booking hotels and flights, setting up invoices, managing client accounts, collecting payments, uploading documents and providing general support. Due to the nature of virtual assistants, working hours tend to vary depending on the individual company.
12. Writing
Writing is arguably the hardest skill to master yet offers endless opportunities for success. Whether you decide to pursue ghostwriting, copywriting or article publishing, you can easily generate some decent revenue from a single piece of work.
13. Blogging
Blogging is often seen as being similar to advertising a physical storefront. But the fact remains that it provides a far greater reach than anything else discussed in this list. With millions of readers visiting almost daily, bloggers enjoy higher levels of engagement than nearly any other kind of online advertisement.
14. List Building
List building refers to the process of attracting subscribers to opt-in mailing lists. While there are numerous techniques available, the two main approaches are cold outreach and targeted traffic generation. Cold outreach includes signing up to email newsletters, joining various discussion boards and engaging in guest posting campaigns. Targeted traffic generation involves buying leads directly.
15. Podcast Hosting
Podcasts are essentially radio shows broadcast over the Internet. Unlike regular radio broadcasts, podcast hosts typically record episodes on a weekly basis and release them automatically for download on iTunes and Stitcher. There are thousands upon thousands of podcasts available covering pretty much any topic conceivable.
16. Social Media Management
Social media management describes the activities involved in maintaining active profiles on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Linkedin, Medium and hundreds of other platforms. Companies like Buffer handle the heavy lifting while letting you concentrate on generating fresh content.
17. Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is basically raising funds from strangers online instead of friends and family. Platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo are particularly useful for startups seeking funding.
18. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing involves hiring experts in specific fields to endorse products or services you are trying to sell. Examples include celebrities endorsing beauty products, fitness gurus endorsing gym equipment and nutritionists endorsing diet pills.
19. SEO Consulting
Search engine optimization is a hugely effective technique used to increase visibility on search engines like Google, Bing and Yandex. It helps to improve rankings and drive organic traffic to your site.
20. Web Design
Web design encompasses a variety of distinct disciplines ranging from HTML coding to graphic design. Websites designed professionally look better and load faster than amateur efforts.
21. Website Hosting
Website hosting is the act of renting a server owned by a third party provider. Typically speaking, web hosting is provided by data centers located in countries outside of the US.
22. Software Development
Software development is a broad field encompassing everything from desktop applications to mobile apps. Most software developers end up specializing in areas like Java, C#, Python or Ruby.
As you can see, there is no shortage of online businesses that can bring in impressive amounts of residual income. And once again, we must stress that none of these suggestions are guaranteed to make you rich overnight. Instead, these types of ventures require time, patience and persistence.
The internet has become a powerful tool in our lives today - it's where we shop, learn new things, find jobs, socialise and play games. But what if you could harness this power and turn it into something more useful? What if you were able to earn some extra cash on your own terms?
With so many people working from home due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, there are now plenty of ways to help you set yourself apart from the crowd and build your own income stream without having to leave the comfort of your sofa. It doesn't have to be complicated or take years to figure out either! While some may choose to go down the route of affiliate marketing, selling ebooks or creating digital content, others might want to opt for a hands-on approach and create their own physical product to sell online.
Whatever method you decide upon, one thing is certain: starting any type of online venture will require a substantial amount of investment capital upfront. You'll need to buy equipment like a computer, laptop, printer, camera and other tools needed to run your business effectively. Even if you don't intend to use all those items at once, they should still form part of your initial budget as you won't know exactly what you need until you've started researching different options.
It goes without saying that not everyone is cut out for entrepreneurship, but even if you only plan to dabble in the world of online sales, you should at least consider investing in some basic resources before diving headfirst into your chosen field of choice. These include learning about SEO (search engine optimisation), making sure your website looks appealing and easy to navigate, getting familiar with Google AdWords and Facebook ads, and knowing which platforms offer the lowest rates for advertising space.
Once you've got everything sorted and ready to roll, here are 22 ways to generate passive income while building your portfolio from scratch.
Starting a small online store isn't always feasible when you first begin your journey towards financial independence. If you're lucky enough to already have access to a few thousand dollars lying around, however, you should definitely try to invest in a web hosting package instead of buying individual servers and software. This way, you can focus on developing your brand identity rather than spending time managing multiple websites.
You can also look into setting up a membership site through sites such as ClickFunnels. Once you have signed up, you can then promote your services to potential customers who sign up to join your network. This allows them to interact with each other under one roof via discussion boards, live chat and email support. The idea behind this model is to provide members with valuable information along with educational articles, videos and podcasts that teach them how to market themselves better.
When you combine both of these methods together, you can easily charge anywhere between $5-$50 per month depending on the quality of service provided. And if you think you'd prefer to keep your earnings low initially and slowly increase them over time, this may be the perfect option for you.
Depending on how much cash you have available to spend on launching your new career path, you can choose to purchase a domain name for your website, host it on WordPress or Squarespace, and install plugins to enable users and visitors to connect with you. There are several pre-made templates to choose from, too, so you shouldn't have trouble finding what you're after.
One of the biggest advantages of owning your own website is that you control every aspect of its design, including layout, colour scheme and text style. In addition, you can add multimedia elements such as images, audio files and video clips, giving readers a richer experience.
If you're keen to learn more about making money fast using Instagram, check out this guide to boosting your following and earning money off your photos. Or maybe you'd rather explore YouTube monetization strategies instead. Whatever works for you!
While starting an online business takes significant amounts of upfront capital, it often comes with very little ongoing costs. For instance, you may end up paying just $10/month for web hosting, whereas a full-time employee would cost thousands of dollars annually.
This means you can dedicate a lot of energy into figuring out how to maximise profits in order to cover the expenses incurred during the early stages of your project. However, there are some key factors that will determine whether or not your efforts pay off. Firstly, you need to ensure that your niche is popular among consumers. Secondly, you must develop an effective strategy for driving traffic to your website.
For example, if you're planning on establishing a blog focused on travel tips and advice, you'll probably struggle to attract attention unless you write engaging posts filled with helpful statistics and detailed descriptions of places visited. Meanwhile, if you're hoping to start an affiliate marketing campaign promoting beauty products, it's vital that you master keyword research techniques in order to rank highly within search engines.
The good news is that you can leverage the same principles used by big brands to skyrocket your success. All you need to do is follow these six steps:
Identify what people want and need
Focus on providing solutions to problems
Provide high value content
Engage prospects regularly
Deliver results consistently
Offer free resources
Once you understand how to apply these tactics successfully, you'll soon see why so many entrepreneurs rely heavily on outsourcing their work to freelancers. After all, hiring someone else to handle tasks like writing blogs and editing copy is far cheaper than employing a team of employees. Plus, the fact that you can scale up your operation whenever necessary makes this kind of setup ideal for anyone wanting to expand their reach quickly.
Although you can certainly start a successful online business with less than $1K, doing so will involve a lot more effort. It's important to remember, though, that this will likely result in significantly higher returns throughout the long term. To put it simply, you'll need to invest lots of time in generating leads and converting them into loyal clients.
In order to succeed, you'll need to come across as trustworthy, reliable and knowledgeable. Therefore, it's crucial that you gain relevant industry knowledge and expertise before venturing out onto the open market. When you feel confident in your abilities, you can finally share your skills with eager individuals willing to pay handsomely for your expert opinion.
As you continue to grow your audience, you can gradually introduce additional offerings to your list of services. Eventually, you'll be able to establish yourself as the go-to source for anything related to your area of interest.
Which brings us neatly back to that question...
There are various routes you can take when deciding on how to proceed. Perhaps you're interested in becoming an influencer through blogging, vlogging or podcasting, or perhaps you'd prefer to concentrate on selling courses or coaching sessions instead. Either way, starting a lucrative side hustle doesn't necessarily mean you need to quit your day job completely.
However, regardless of whether you wish to pursue a paid gig or freelance projects, it's essential that you stay consistent with your daily routine. Otherwise, you risk losing momentum and ultimately failing to achieve your goals. As such, you'll need to spend no longer than 30 minutes each morning preparing breakfast, shower and dress according to your usual schedule. Then, sit down for 15 minutes and review your progress since last week. At the end of the session, you can reward yourself with a healthy snack such as fruit or nuts.
By taking action every single day, you'll soon realise that it becomes easier to motivate yourself to complete your assignments. Moreover, you'll also notice that your productivity levels improve naturally. So, although you may start out with modest intentions, you'll eventually discover how rewarding it feels to turn your passion into profit.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.