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Why wait for “some day” to start building your empire—make money online now.
When you think about starting a new business, the thought of opening a mess of boxes within the confines of a commercial space might come to mind. But it doesn’t have to be this way because you can always start a business, online. In addition, an online business doesn’t require you to take as much a risk as a brick and mortar storefront.
It’s possible to get started right now, even if you don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on investments. And the best part? You can work from virtually anywhere and gain access to a vast audience through the Internet. We are living in changing times, and if you’re not a part of the digital economy, then you’re missing out. Plain and simple.
So, can anyone get started with building an empire online? More importantly, can someone who isn’t tech savvy or have much knowledge of the Internet make this profitable? The answer is a resounding YES! There are so many opportunities on the web that you are bound to find something that matches your expertise.
In this article, we want to talk about some of the easiest and most profitable online business ventures that you can start today!
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Become a content provider
In the world of Internet marketing, nothing happens without content. Even though the popularity of videos is steadily increasing, written content is still the king. If you think you are made out to be a crazy-good writer, then people are going to pay you crazy-good money to have your words published on their websites and blogs.
Becoming a content writer is one of the most profitable business models out there; being a native English speaker makes things all that much easier. All you have to do is sign up to a freelancing platform like Upwork, TextBroker, etc. to get started. Initially, you may have to work at lower rates to build up a reputation.
From there, work your way up the ladder, and you may even become a published author in Forbes, Huffington Post, or Fortune. Once you have a steady stream of work flowing in, you can outsource your projects to other freelance writers for profits, thus creating a business of systems.
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Start a blog of your own
If you’re cut out to be a good writer, then blogging is one of the many things you can do to make money online. Blogging is all about crafting educative content for a target audience and leading them towards better products and services. If you believe that you have good knowledge on a topic, you can always start a blog and share it with the Internet masses.
Some of the ways you can earn money from your blog are via AdSense, selling your own product, selling products of others in return of affiliate commissions, among many. The rule of thumb dictates the larger traffic your blog attracts, the more money you’ll make. Who knows, you might just become the next Arianna Huffington, or Pete Cashmore of Mashable.
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Become an SEO consultant
Okay, we’re not going to mince words here; search engine optimization—or SEO—is not something that will give you fast cash. However, this line of work is also something that will give you more riches than you can dream of. Do you think you know the intricacies of search engines or have skills in platforms such as Google Analytics? Then SEO consulting is the thing for you!
Today, businesses in every industry are popping up like mushrooms and all of them could use the services of a qualified SEO professional. As a consultant, your job would be to advise businesses on how to make their websites search engine friendly and increase the traffic to their websites. Your clients will also require some consulting on how to analyze their data the right way.
SEO is an enormously varied profession that will require you to be at the top of your game to make your clients succeed. SEO professionals and marketers like Neil Patel, Anik Singal, and Russell Bruson are now worth millions. But what do they have in common? They all started out small but had the grits to make it big!
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Become an affiliate marketer
Becoming an affiliate is one of the easiest ways you can make money online. But wait; why do companies pay affiliates again? Companies pay affiliates because they bring in business. Affiliates sell products for other companies in return for commissions.
This method of making money is quite easy and requires very little investment on your part because you are selling other people’s products. Whether you sell on your own site or through a platform like eBay, it doesn’t matter because you’re still going to be raking in the moolah! Besides, affiliate marketing is a huge industry with endless possibilities.
If you’re wondering how much money you can make, just look up names such as Matthew Woodward, Pat Flynn, Rae Hoffman, and you’ll see what we are talking about. Two of the most popular and high converting affiliate platforms are Amazon on and ClickBank. Why not give these a try for a start?
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Start an e-commerce store
If you’ve been looking for ways to earn money online, you might have come across the term “dropshipping” a couple of times. But what does that mean? Well, drop shipping is a business model where you acquire inventory direct from manufacturers and ship out products directly to your customers. Yep, you guessed it right; there is no middleman involved!
With solutions like WooCommerce and Shopify, it has become easier than ever before to start your very own online store without pouring thousands of dollars in investments. Hey, you don’t even need to worry about the logistics of warehousing and delivery. These businesses completely function on autopilot mode and can make you money. Lots of it!
There is no lack of things that you can sell online, starting from electronics and perfumes, to flowers and handiwork. If you know how to advertise and optimize your website for search engines, dropshipping is a piece of cake.
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Become an Internet researcher
One of the best things about spending time browsing the web is the vast amount of knowledge you gather, let’s say as a “side effect.” If you think you know about a lot in an industry niche, why not build a business around it? People pay top dollar to freelancers to research stuff on the web. Or do data mining, to call it in other words.
All you need is a laptop, a good Internet connection, and a staff consisting of remote researchers from countries like Philippines and India. It’s always a good idea to focus on a couple of niches and become a specialist. That way you can deliver best results to your clients, who would happily refer you to others.
Everyone from marketers to political groups or attorneys to college professors require researching services. That’s a short list of who you can add to your client rolodex.
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Get into web designing and coding
Just like content, there is now a never-ending need for websites having quality user-oriented interfaces and mobile-optimized code. It’s okay if you don’t know everything about web design yet, you can utilize various websites that offer courses at affordable prices. Udemy, CreativeLive, Linda.com are excellent sources where you can learn online.
If you think coding for websites isn’t your thing, you can still make a fortune by reselling the services. Once you’ve got designing covered, you can pitch your clients the aspect of web development, too. As a web developer, you’ll be responsible for building the base of their site, which is crucial for smooth functioning and easy interface.
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Flip domains for insane profits!
If you’ve got a creative mind and come up with short and sweet domain names, then people will pay you a fortune to have them in their possession. A lot of people get into the business of domain flipping since it requires very little time and investment. Heck, you don’t even need to come up with creative names.
You can purchase an attractive domain name at its registration price and resell it for a profit. However, like every other online business, this too would require you to do some homework before spending mone. Head over to websites like Sedo.co.uk, Afternic.com, and other domain auction sites to get an idea of what might be popular for domain names.
To list your domains for sale, just head on over to Flippa, Buy Domains, GoDaddy Auctions for starters. Think of it like real estate investing, but not as risky.
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Sell eBooks
As we discussed in our previous article on starting a business without money, selling e-books is another excellent way to make a lot of money using the Internet. You can write on any subject that pleases you provided there’s an already existing market for such a subject. Amazon has removed all the barriers that authors had to face before publishing a book. It’s now as easy as counting 123.
As a self-published author, you can make the most money from writing self-help books on life enrichment or ‘How To’ guides on topics people are searching for. Let’s say you’re good at making logos; you can write a book on ‘How To Create the Best Logos’ that people will buy. E-books are also very easy to put together and can bring a steady source of passive income.
You can publish your e-book on any platform of your choice and build up a fan base from various corners of the world. If you ever wanted to be an author, now’s your chance to shine!
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Become a social media manager
Many big companies outsource the role of managing their social media channels to different agencies outside of full-time employees. This presents itself as an opportunity for you to make yourself available as a social media manager. Your role would be to handle Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, PINTEREST and Instagram accounts to reach a broader audience.
As a social media manager and consultant, you’ll spend time developing and implementing social media strategies that bring more customer engagement. As a consultant, you will help them determine the posting schedules, help prepare content for their target audience, draw up best practices, and other tactics that help them grow their business.
Social media management might appeal to you if you have a natural talent of inducing humor and creativity into regular conversations.
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Sell your art online
Whether you like to make jewelry in your free time or piece together amazine graphic designs, there are tons of people out there who need your services. If you’re a graphic designer, then list your services online along with a stellar portfolio. For starters, you can go websites like Fiverr.com, Freelancer.com, Upwork, etc. and start pitching to potential clients.
Graphics designing is a rage nowadays as people need them for everything, starting from websites to their social media channels. You can turn your freelancing gigs into a full-time business when you start getting a lot of orders and can afford to hire other freelancers working under your wing. This job is not only profitable but also highly rewarding.
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Be a virtual assistant
Do you think most online jobs require a little too much work? No worries; list yourself as a virtual assistant (VA) and complete simple day-to-day tasks for your clients. As a VA, you’ll need to know the basics of Microsoft Word, Excel, and other software that are essential to carry out simple data entry tasks. You can also establish your own VA agency by leveraging systems to really rake in profits.
Conclusion
The preceding list provided more than a few ways you can start a business online and make money. But most people won’t even get close; do you know why? Because they won’t take action. As Robert Kiyosaki says in Rich Dad Poor Dad, “You’re only poor if you give up. The most important thing is that you did something.”
Take a leaf out of Kiyosaki’s book and take action now! The results come only out of actions and not from your plans.