Making Money Online
You would have, probably by now, read about or at least heard about online money making opportunities.
How would you like it, then, if I said that you too can be an internet millionaire without doing any much more than paying me a small fee of, say $99.99. In return, I’ll provide you with a cool piece of programming that allows you to reap immediate and continuous downstream rewards. All you have to do is set up a website – look, the templates are included, insert a few lines of code and hey presto, your money making machine is up and running.
Cool, huh?
Well, not that I’m immune to those offers. Far from that … like anyone else with half a brain, I’m always looking for ways to make money. Unfortunate for me, the only options I’m looking at are those that fall under the ‘legal’ column :P
Truth is, I have been tempted by these offers. For one, they do seem like they aren’t illegal in any way. At least not in my country, but I know so little of what’s allowed and what’s not.
Oh yes, I have been tempted. Really tempted … but I have yet to bite.
Seriously, I’ve lost more than $99.99 on much less arousing prospects. In fact, I’ve lost very much more as ‘investments’ over the years that I’ve actually lost count! Actually, I haven’t lost count but it’s just too painful to remember sometimes … and to add insult to injury, those were legitimate deals. At least I’m not going to jail, but then again that’s just my opinion. There are, however a few widely known and totally legitimate ways of making some money off the internet. You don’t have to go far in searching for them. They don’t look like scams and you will know when you are looking at a real deal. At the very least, you don’t pay any money to participate in these internet – for lack of better word – schemes, and that by itself would be a lead indicator of scam-less-ness. |
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Another lead indicator would also be that they don’t promise to make you multi-millionaires overnight. Some are even so kind to tell you that potential income derived through their affiliation would barely cover you car instalments. Just beware of websites and services that sound boastful.
The internet is such a unique place that, unlike in real life, you don’t really have to boast to get noticed. Being at the right place with the right material, that’s way more important. That’s where Search Engine Optimizers come in … glamorous name being SEO’s of course.
Anyways, back to basics on setting up a potential money spinner …
Some of the tried and tested methods include blogging and content based websites where you get income from advertisements.
Imagine searching for ‘portable potties’ and stumbling across a website that simply screams (and reeks) of toilet bowls. If the website is not owned by a retailer of bathroom appliances, you would most definitely see advertisements placed in the most prominent spots.
Advertisement partners such as Google through their AdSense or AdWords facilities and Yahoo! through their campaigns can detect the best advert for the contents on your webpage. This ensures that the advertisements posted are relevant to the contents of the page and increases the probability of readers reacting to them. Revenue on these advertisements is calculated based on the number of clicks made on the adverts.
Signing up for Google AdSense is easy and most importantly, free. Other services may need some experience in web advertising or HTML programming, or just a bit more time to understand the mechanisms involved.
| Organic growth of your website without much ‘marketing’ and ‘strategic affiliations’ may be slow, but if you are reading this then that itself would be a proof of concept that eventually everything on the internet will be found by someone, somewhere. Another idea is that you can try doing online surveys. There seems to be quite a few of those around, but you have a much better chance of being selected to participate in online surveys if you live in the United States or some western country. Living in eastern countries seems to hold so much less clout. Legitimate online survey providers won’t charge you a dime to register. Keep in mind though, doing online surveys almost definitely not make you rich. If you have a lot of time on your hands, then go ahead. A few bucks per survey is better than earning nothing while you are surfing. |
Which brings me to the next point …
Some companies also offer you payment to read advertisements. What could be better than this? Of course, returns for this activity would seemingly be quite low. A quick cost-benefit analysis would take care of that … nothing to lose, right? Again, free registration is what you are looking for. Sometimes there are even opportunities to gain “downlines” and the resulting residual income.
Writing can make you money – that, you know. Have a look at websites such as Associated Content or Mint Articles. These two websites offer very different payment calculations methods so read the terms and conditions and do your own comparative research before you sign up. Some methods would appeal to your preferences more than others.
Avoiding mistakes in where you deposit your articles by getting it right the first time round. Some lesser known websites may offer more and early participation may gain you preferred status and other benefits, who knows?
Of course, the more you search, the more ways you will find to make money off the internet.
Fact of life remains, even in the wonderful world of cyberspace – some methods and opportunities will make you more money than others (writing a super cool e-book would probably make you thousands and designing social networking design templates could net you a great partnership supply deal!).
Another thing that bright-eyed-bushy-tailed hopeful internet millionaires seem to miss is that internet based work is much like real world work – the keyword being WORK.
Anyone saying that you can make money by dumping a small sum (or large sum for that matter!) for a bunch of software that would continuously make you thousands on thousands for the rest of your natural life and the next, without having you do anything more than the bare minimum of waking up in the afternoon to count your money, would indeed be suspect.
So … if you could just very kindly deposit the $99.99 into my account, which just so happens to be in the British Virgin Islands or was that the Caymans. I’ll email you the Super Duper Internet Money Making Program …
On the other hand, what I have not yet explored are money making opportunities on the Internet such as co-operative purchases, multi-level marketing, and other legitimate means. Perhaps in the future, I'll take a look at these and tell you what I think of them ... or if they actually work and I end up stinking rich, I'll surely brag about it! :P
