Making money online used to
pretty much require you to have
your own Web site, products to
sell and some marketing savvy.
But a new generation of dot-
coms have arisen that will pay
you for what you know and who
you know without you having to
be a web designer or a
marketing genius.
But it's hard to tell hype from the
real deal. I did a search on "make
money online" and "making
money online", and much of the
information out there is just
promoting various infoproducts,
mostly about Internet marketing.
I see why people sometimes ask,
"Is anyone making money online
besides Internet marketing
experts?"
So I put together a list of
business opportunities with
legitimate companies that:
Pay cash, not just points
towards rewards or a chance
to win money
Don't require you to have your
own Web domain or your own
products
Don't involve any hard-selling
Aren't just promoting more
Internet marketing
Give a good return on your
time investment
In the interest of objectivity,
none of the links below are
affiliate links, and none of them
have paid or provided any other
consideration for their presence
here. These are legitimate
companies with business models
that allow you to get paid for a
wide range of activities.
Help friends find better jobs.
Sites like ReferEarns, Zyoin, Who
Do You Know For Dough?, and
WiseStepp connect employers
with prospective employees,
many of whom are already
employed and not actively job-
hunting, via networking - the
people who know these qualified
candidates. Rewards for
referring a candidate who gets
hired range from $50 on up to
several thousand dollars - not
chump change. If you know a lot
of job-seekers (and who doesn't
these days?), this is a great way
to break into the recruiting
business with no overhead.
Connect suppliers with buyers.
Referral fees are a common
practice in business, but they
haven't been used much in
online networking sites because
there was no way to track them.
Sites like Salesconx, InnerSell and
uRefer now provide that.
Vendors set the referral fees
they're willing to pay (and for
what), and when the transaction
happens, you get paid. uRefer
also allows merchants to set up
referral programs for
introductions and meetings, as
well as transactions.
WRITE.
A growing number of sites will
pay for your articles or blog
posts. Associated Content and
Helium will "pay for
performance" based on page
views for just about anything
you want to write about. Articles
on specific topics they're looking
for can earn direct payments up
to about $200. The rates are
probably low for established
writers, but if you're trying to
break into the field and have
time on your hands, they're a
great way to start. Also, a lot of
companies are looking for part-
time bloggers. They may pay per
post or on a steady contract.
Weblogs Guide posts blogging
jobs weekly in the forum.
Start your own blog.
You don't have to have your own
Web site, or install blogging
software, or even figure out how
to set up the advertising. At
Blogger you can set up a blog for
free in less than five minutes
without knowing a thing about
web design, and Blogger even
automates setting up Google
AdSense so you can make money
off your blog by displaying ads
and getting paid when people
click on the ads. To make even
more money from it, set up an
affiliate program for
books, music, etc., and insert
your affiliate links whenever you
refer to those items. You'll have
to get a lot of traffic to become a
six-figure blogger, but pick an
interesting topic, write well, tell
all your friends, and you're off to
a good start.
Related: Monetizing Your Blog
Create topical resource hubs.
Are you an expert on a particular
niche topic? Can you put
together an overview of the topic
and assemble some of the best
resources on the topic from
around the web? Then you can
create topical hubs and get paid
through sites like Squidoo,
HugPages and Google Knol.
Payments are based on a
combination of ad revenue and
affiliate fees. You'll get higher
rates doing it on your own, but
these sites have a built-in supply
of traffic and tools to make
content creation easier.
Advertise other people's
products.
If you already have a Web site or
a blog, look for vendors that
offer related but non-competing
products and see if they have an
affiliate program. Stick to familiar
products and brands - they're
easier to sell. To promote those
products:
Place simple text or graphical
ads in appropriate places on
your site
Include links to purchase
products you review or
recommend in a blog,
discussion forum or mailing
list you control
Create a dedicated sales page
or Web site to promote a
particular product
They all work - it just depends on
how much time you have to
spend on it and your level of
expertise with Web design and
marketing.
