Earn money online guide 2012
Are you looking for a legitimate way to earn money from your own home using only your internet connection? As you know over the last few years I have spent a lot of my time explaining different methods here on the blog, but one question I got all the time was “what is your method for making money?”. Well it’s taken me quite some time but I have finally managed to put my entire system into one eBook that you can download and read in minutes. But what are the main features of this eBook and will it really make you rich? The answer is yes and I am willing to show you the same secrets that I have used to clear my personal debt and create an income that even makes me money when I’m asleep! 
So what are some of the main features of your system?
- Everything you need in one easy to read ebook
- Earn money from anywhere in the world
- The main investment is your time, no need to spend £££
- No technical knowledge needed, if you can turn a computer on your qualified!
- Work for yourself – be your own boss
- Unlimited earnings but it takes work (this is not a get rich quick scheme)
- Money back in 30 days if you dont agree (I belive in this system)
So as you can see this is a real chance to make money using the net that isnt a get rich quick scheme or some system that you have to pay monthly for. This is one simple ebook that contains everythnig you need to make a living on the net today! If you want to know more just head over to the ebook page and ill explain just how this eBook could change your life!
Earning money in 2012
Filling out online surveys
Pros: Can start straight away, open to most people, no investment of time/money needed
Cons: Limited payouts, shortage of surveys for certain demographics, sometimes you get paid in credit not cash
There are lots of sites offering payment for filling out surveys online but I’m going to recommend just a few, Valued Opinions, MySurvey and Justtheanswer. These three all have a good reputation for paying on time and supplying plenty of surveys to fill out. The payout per survey will vary from 10p to £3.00 and how many you get offered will depend on your profile i.e. your job/gender/age/location so surveys can be hit and miss. I think the most you can realistically make is around £200 a year which doesn’t exactly get my pulse racing but could appeal to some.
Writing content
Pros: Very scalable – write more content and you make more, huge demand
Cons: You won’t earn much in the beginning, time consuming
I’ve spoken about this before on EarningMoneyOnline but most people are unaware of it. One of the main building blocks of any website is content and with 1000s of new sites being created every day there’s a huge demand for articles/blog posts and general text to go on these sites. Some people may think “I’m not good at writing” but even so there is a demand for all levels of content and if you’re a native English speaker you will definitely get work. Content is priced per word and how much you earn will depend on your reputation and the quality you produce. To start with you will probably write for 1p per word and you can get it up to 3 – 4p if you’re good, if you can get the work you could easily be making £20 – £30 a day. To get jobs you have 2 options, go to an agency like TextBroker who will get you writing jobs but take a cut or you can promote yourself on webmaster forums like DigitalPoint or Warrior forum to webmasters who need content. Remember if you build up a reputation as a reliable writer then webmasters will keep coming back for more and you won’t have to bid/look for work.
Freelancing web design/seo/programming
Pros: Make much more money than surveys or article writing, skills that will last for years
Cons: Lots of competition, you need to have a real skill
I bet the title of this has already put some people off! It’s important to realise that there are many different levels of web design/programming/marketing and while all require you to have that skill (to some extent) often the skill isn’t a difficult one to learn. Since many businesses are outsourcing these kinds of tasks freelancing sites like elance, freelancer and fiver (all jobs are $5 lol) have sprung up which allow employers to post projects which freelancers then bid on. Now the main issue is do you have a skill that you can sell, and if not what would it take to learn one? This is very difficult to say as I don’t know your circumstances but the best route would be to try out one of those “for dummies” books as I learnt php in around a week with one (the basics). Also remember the goal with this type of work is the same as the last example, you want to build up a reputation with clients so that eventually they can give you steady work and you don’t have to bid on the freelance sites (they can be a pain).
Niche affiliate marketing
Pros: Unlimited earnings, your own boss, work on projects your interested in, no technical knowledge required
Cons: Some investment of time and money
I’ve saved the best until last (in my opinion) and it’s the one I’ve talked most about on this blog. In short affiliate marketing is the process of building small niche websites which are used to attract traffic (website visitors). Because the website is geared around a specific subject the traffic is valuable to advertisers who will pay commission on the sales we generate for them. Ok so the above statement may be simplifying things a little as the main job is getting people to the site, but the unique aspect of this system is that a successful website can be making you money even when you sleep. If you are interested in this method then I will be bringing out a new and improved ebook very soon which explains exactly how to build a website (with no technical knowledge) and get it earning money fast.
Ok so that’s 4 great ways anyone can make money from the internet in 2012, there’s something here for people of all skill levels, time and financial constraints. As with everything your results will depend on how much you’re prepared to put into any system, there’s a reason people filling out surveys are only getting 50p a time, anyone can do it. Until next time…
PS. If you’re looking for motivation check out the video below by Anthony Robbins, it’s about how Sylvester Stallone got the movie Rocky made, amazing stuff.
Another day another waste of time
You know things are getting bad when you starting seeing ads for “cashback websites” on primetime TV. The latest one I’ve noticed are “quidco” who are a UK firm (where I live btw) who offer you money back if you buy certain products/services through their site, it’s essentially a big affiliate program. Don’t get me wrong you can in theory earn some money with this but the idea of making back £5 on £1000 life insurance policy doesn’t exactly get my pulse racing. I have visions in my head of happy consumer’s spending money on sub-par products just for the cash back, don’t forget:
You still have to buy the product!
Also bear in mind that you’re handing your personal details over to these guys who will most likely be spamming you to death for the next 100 years until you finally tap-out. Am I a born sceptic or just hard to please, I can’t tell but my view on these “free for all” systems that allow anyone to make money has never really changed, it can’t work, it doesn’t work and it never will.
One thing I will say is you can’t really lose anything with these cashback schemes apart from your time, this is different from the daily “stock market secrets” eBook that gets pedalled to my junk folder. The real scams always involve some crazy up-front investment with promises of millions down the line, I wonder how many people get sucked in, probably more that you’d think.
So is it possible to earn real money on the web?
Well yes it is but as mentioned many times before it always involves time and effort. Sometimes it’s in research of the idea/concept and sometimes it’s just 100% application. My main money making “scheme” is web-development and internet marketing which in a nutshell is building websites and getting as many people too them as possible (like how I summed up a few years work in one sentence?). Well actually it’s not going to take years but at the same it’s not like you’re going to get to a certain level and quit, its lifelong learning and not in the pretend university way.
The Idea that I have a system is also a bit of a misnomer, I have concepts and ideas that are never set in stone. The web is constantly changing and how people are finding websites is too, just look at the rise of social media companies like facebook and twitter. Traditionally seo people are terrified of social media but I think it just provides even more opportunities, ten years ago if you wanted to reach a few million potential customers it would cost you thousands. Now with a good idea and some effective viral marketing you can do it for about a £10!
Still you’re not going to see any of these money making ideas that actually work in the mainstream any time soon, its way to complicated to fit into a 30 second TV spot. Until next time…
Do you have to be unique to make it online?
Here’s a concept I’ve been thinking a lot about lately and that’s how unique or new does your business have to be to make it online? On the one hand you have the really big successes like Million dollar homepage which was a unique idea marketed perfectly, it was even on the news where I live! The problem with many great web ideas is that they don’t have the marketing strategy behind them to turn them into money spinners. I remember the guy on million dollar homepage generated lots of publicity at the start by contacting radio stations and newspapers about his site, he then sold some of the space at the beginning to family and friends. People often underestimate the value of hype because that site would never have gotten off the ground with it.
In some ways it does depend exactly what idea you’re trying to get off the ground because not every site is competing in the same type of market. However the principle of getting what you’re doing out to influential people holds firm no matter what your site is about. To me the basics are:
- Contact other bloggers, don’t just ask for a link but explain what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.
- Forums are a great way to get in touch with real people. But not just any forum, try to find one which is related to your industry, you need people who are engaged.
- Twitter/Facebook/Youtube have changed the game in terms of how fast you can become popular. It’s now possible to reach millions of people in a matter of hours, but only if you have viral content (that’s a big if).
You see whether you’re the exec at coca-cola or your some local mechanic trying to rank your site in your home city, the principles are the same, it’s just the scale that changes. At the heart of this game web promotion is a popularity contest and there’s a million ways to become popular (just like the real world).
The reason I’m pointing all this out is that so many people do have great and unique ideas for websites and ways to earn from them. But unless you have your marketing/seo/ppc strategy 100% then you’re going to fail. The problem still remains that even in 2011 internet marketing is the afterthought post web-design. Honestly id rather spend ¼ of the budget creating the website and the rest promotion, at least that way I have a real chance of making money.
So that’s it for this post, what crazy methods do you have for promoting your idea?
How to earn money from your website
Ok so with this post maybe I’m skipping the complex stuff like how to pick the right market and getting traffic in the first place, but I wanted to show a few different monetisation methods that can be used for almost any type of site. It’s also important to show the end result of all the research and promotion and that there is a path to cash down the line, after all the goal as my site implies is to create an income online that’s both legitimate and passive. So before I list the different “schemes” I have to point out that how much you can earn will greatly depend on the topic of your website and the amount of traffic you’re getting. Often people will understand amount of traffic concept but completely forget the topic part and wonder why their 1000 visitors aren’t generating any profits. With that being said here they are:
Google adsense
Probably the biggest advertising platform online and the one most people have heard of. Adsense is mostly suited to sites with big traffic and also a wide range of topics as it seems to adapt really well to different visitors and content. Essentially Google tries to show the most relevant advertisement to that visitor so in theory they are more likely to click on it if it’s what they are looking for.
Advantages: No problems with getting paid (its Google after all) and easy setup, it’s just one piece of code. As mentioned it can be really good for large sites with lots of different types of content.
Disadvantages: Google take a pretty big percentage cut of your earnings, around 40%. Prices per click can vary wildly, everywhere between 5p and £5 that I have seen, so it can be hard to judge how much you’re going to make.
Company affiliate programs
Essentially these are just affiliate programs setup by online retailers and businesses to provide you with a commission on whatever sales you generate. For example if you had a weightlifting site you might sign up to a fitness stores affiliate program and integrate their banners and links onto your site. Nearly all will be on a pay per sale basis, i.e. you won’t get paid per clicks but it will always be free to sign up and try them out. You can either find them in a network link commission junction, tradedoubler or just go to their site and see if they have a program.
Advantages: Commissions can be pretty high depending on the store and if you do generate good sales most likely they will give you a bump in your commission. If you can find a company that provides exactly the product/service your visitors are looking for then conversion rates and sales can be really high.
Disadvantages: Payments can on occasion be a problem since you may be dealing with a small company. The most important thing is to build up a relationship with them over time so you know what to expect from them and vice versa. Also it can be pretty time consuming finding the ideal company to work with, a lot depends on their site and how well it converts customers into sales, if there’s a flaw here then it won’t matter what traffic you send them.
Sell advertising on your site
This method of making money from your blog can take many forms but mostly it’s about advertisers coming to you because you have a popular site and they know you have the traffic, I’ve never seen it work when you go out hunting for advertisers. It can range from selling banners on your site to ordinary links but the main principle is that they pay for the advert on a fix cost basis, i.e. you don’t get less or more money depending on how much business you deliver for them.
Advantages: You’re not required to deliver a certain amount of clicks or sales to the advertisers so it’s pretty worry free. Also as mentioned in most cases the advertisers are going to come to you (if you have a big site) so there’s not much work in that respect either, it’s as close to easy money as it gets with internet marketing.
Disadvantages: Who wants to wait around for people to make offers on your site? I’d rather be out there making my own deals. Prices for adverts vary greatly and you’re going to have to negotiate for the best deal. Also bear in mind Google has a policy against selling links for seo purposes on your site so you have to take that into consideration.
Sell your site
This is the only one I haven’t done I have to admit because I see it as a bit of a catch 22. IE if a sites making money every month why would you want to sell it? Similarly if your site doesn’t earn money why would anyone want to buy it? I do know people who have sold their sites for good money though, and often it’s to a company who can monetise the traffic much better, i.e. they can now sell their products directly on the site instead of just banner ads/links. You will need to use some kind of broker to negotiate the transfer of both the money and the domain name and they are going to take a cut. Sites like Flippa will allow you to list your site for sale and they also help negotiate the transfer (I think)
Advantages: Can be big money if you get the right company who really wants the site. Leaves you free to work on new sites after you sell.
Disadvantages: Working out a price can be difficult, some people use 15 – 18 months of revenue as a marker for final value but there’s no definite rule. You lose your monthly pay check. Broker is going to take a cut. Also by listing your site on places like flippa or eBay you’re going to get a lot of fake bidders, much easier if the seller comes to you first and you work from there.
So those are the main ways to make money from your site that I know of. Again as I said at the start so much depends on the site you have and the market you’re in. However I have to say that if you have a site that ranks and gets targeted traffic then you’re going to earn money with it some way or another, i.e. even if you do nothing people are going to mail you offering deals. I suppose this is why I spend most of my time building up my sites in the first place and worrying about the money aspect of it later.