Internet Money – How to get Your Share

We have all seen those crazy ads online where a very loud, very obnoxious pitchman or pitchwoman is telling us how to get rich quick on the internet. They have apparently made millions of dollars working a few hours per week and now live a life of luxury with fancy cars, expensive houses, and continuous vacations. Riches with little or no effort. Sounds great! Sign me up! Not so fast….

Many of these “too good to be true” offers are exactly that, too good to be true. That loud, obnoxious pitch person will probably take several hundred of your hard-earned dollars and leave you with nothing to show for it. That is the bad news. The good news is – there are legitimate ways to make internet money and we are going to explore a few of those.

1. Online Marketplaces - eBay and websites of that sort have become the world’s

marketplace. Things you can’t find down the street or across town can be found online using sites like eBay, Amazon, Craigslist and Kijiji. How do you make money with these sites? First, you can sell your stuff. What kind of stuff can you sell…well, anything. People make money selling items like you would at a garage sale but, you can also sell items that you purchase at wholesale. Any local specialties in your part of the world? You can buy them then distribute them around the world to people who can’t get to your city. Some folks also scour online marketplaces for bargains – if you spend enough time searching, you will find them. Somewhere, someone wants to unload an item on the cheap that you know someone else will pay dearly for. Buy it then turn around and resell it before you ever take possession of it. Knowing the marketplace can make you thousands of dollars.

2. Freelance Work – Websites like Up work and Freelancer offer business owners and

contractors a place to get together. As a freelancer looking for internet money opportunities, it is generally free of cost to search the listings and find a job that fits your situation. Pick the time commitment and the pay you are willing to work for then send in an application. Make sure to treat the application process as you are applying for a job. The more attractive the resume, the more likely you are to be contacted. The better your experience, the better paying job you will qualify for. 

3. Blogging – this is an interesting one as it seems everybody and his dog has a blog but, how many are really making money blogging on the internet? For the ones who “give it a try”, maybe set up their own website and blog once or twice – then wonder why only their mother and brother have read the blog, they are probably not going to do well. There are some folks who do very, very well at blogging – i.e. they make 5 figures plus

monthly. To truly make a living blogging, it takes patience and hard work.

You need to write and write and write some more and create a personality that people like and want to follow. You want to create a blog that people crave, people want to read every day because they like you. The content of the blog is secondary; the personality of the blogger is what people are buying. So, you have the traffic but how do you make the money? Advertising – signing up with services like Google AdSense and putting those ads on your page will generate some cash. Affiliate networks are another good one – go to services like Commission Junction, grab relevant banners or buttons and place them strategically on your page. When people click and buy, you get paid. Of course, you can always sell your products and services on your blog as well.

4. Surveys/Mystery Shopping/Testing – in this

category there are several ways to make some decent internet money. They are not as lucrative as some of the afore-mentioned options but there are many legitimate organizations that will pay you to eat in restaurants then report back on your experience. A free meal and a few bucks in your pocket – not a bad deal. Taking surveys can pay you for your opinion and even testing websites, software and other consumer-facing products can put money in your pocket.

These are a few of the ways to make money on the internet. The emergence of the web

may be the greatest innovation of the past 20 years and that has created plenty of opportunity for enterprising

individuals. Start here and continue your investigation for ways to make your living on the internet. There is money to be made, why shouldn’t it be made by you?