Making money online - the conclusion...

To conclude this latest 'Making Money Online' series, I just have a few observations to add to the different levels of income that I have talked about.

• Don't be limited to just one income stream - most of us start with one thing and then start to add other similar schemes to a 'portfolio' until we have about four or five income streams. the trick is being able to decide which streams are worth pursuing and which ones will not justify the time spent on them. The more eggs in your basket, the more income as long as those eggs are all active earners.
• Make good investments - It's good to start on-line earning without having to spend a cent, but at some time, when you are climbing the income ladder, you will have to make investments. Whether it be purchasing domains for blogs, or purchasing ready made web sites, ensure that your money is wisely invested. If you have played the 'minnow' and 'starter' schemes well you should have some money to invest, but be careful how you use it.
• Be original - Starting the next Facebook may be your dream, but the truth is that Facebook is already here, you will need to use some original thinking if you want to break through, or at least put a new twist on an existing theme. At all times stay true to yourself, if you are not comfortable with an online task, remember it's your choice -you are in control effectively working as a free agent.
• Put in some hard work - if you are not prepared to work, or do not have the time, then you may not be able to rise out of the 'starter' schemes, yet for many the income offered at this level is quite sufficient. Although you won't get far without some graft, few on their death-beds will be saying 'I wish I had spent more time on-line'. Work now, so that in time, you won't need to work so hard...

Also in this series:

The scams - don't get caught with these...

The minnows - easy money, in very small amounts...

The starters - relatively easy and close to being worthwhile

The big fish - don't pack in the day-job, but nice little earners

Making money online - the big fish...

As the final part of the 'make money online' series, I am going to talk about some of the directions you might ultimately pursue to realise the dream of making a living online. In some cases, I know individuals who are close to this dream, and each of them has done it through different means.

• Start your own 'paid to' site - If you have the right attitude towards on-line earnings, starting your own scheme can be a way to build your income to reasonable levels and beyond. When you have already tried 'paid to' for yourself whether it be paid to blog, or paid to sign up etc.. you will realise that the scheme is just a broker with a reasonably whizzy website....
• Mail order business - Find your retail or service niche, whether you convert cassettes to CD's (as I do) sell books, remote fixing of computers or anything else.. play to your strengths, look after your clients, make good use of Paypal and other online resources to build up your business.
• Serious affiliate marketing - The next step in affiliate marketing... when you have dabbled (as I have) you will realise that there are potentially huge amounts to be made from selling other peoples software etc. via your own website. Boost your exposure (and sales) with intelligent PPC campaigns and good SEO techniques, and you could be well on your way.
• Serious article writing - A big step on from paid to blog, there are online opportunities with companies that need original articles written - if you have writing skills, there is good money to be made. There is a demand for anything from short articles and essays right up to full-blown books. If you have time on your hands, you may be able to make this work for you.

You will need to be very dedicated (or extremely lucky) to get to the stage where you can 'give up the day job', but for some, it can be a reality. However, for the majority, you will be able to make far more in an office job than you can on-line. So in order to rise above the crowd, a lot of hard work is generally needed. Working online, is not easy money compared with a full-time job, but the money is certainly there if you want to claim your share of it. The size of your share will reflect the amount of hard work and enterprise that you invest.

Also in this series:

The scams - don't get caught with these...

The minnows - easy money, in very small amounts...

The starters - relatively easy and close to being worthwhile

Making money online - the starters...

As an addition to my recent 'make money online' series, this post is concerned with the schemes that you can build on to give a decent return. Of course, one mans 'decent return' is another mans drop in the ocean, but then one mans drop in the ocean can easily be another ones fortune, so it's all relative.

In cash terms we are talking about the sort of opportunity where you can earn $5 for about 10-15 minutes work. The list of these on-line opportunities looks like this:

• Paid to blog - there are fewer of these about nowadays, but it is possible to earn upwards of $15-$20 for a single blog-post either via a broker such as 'Payu2blog' or picked up on a forum where this type of trade is common.
• Paid To - not including reading emails or clicking on links, this covers schemes where you can be rewarded for signing up to something, completing an on-line registration or similar activity - the rewards can be far better than paid to read etc... but you will lay yourself open to spamming if you use your regular email address for signing up. In a short while you will find you can build funds quite nicely, especially if you sign others up to the same program
• Website monetisation through contextual ads and affiliates - These can be profitable enough to make it to the next level, but you can make reasonable amounts through these schemes without going all-out. Adding these to your existing websites can bring some welcome extra income. Where you rely on this as your main on-line income, the game becomes a little more interesting.

All of these can bring intermediate earnings, but will not sustain you long-term. For more serious earners, the main course - what I am calling 'the big fish' will be your ultimate goal, but until you get there, these 'starters' can keep the regular income flowing that may one day finance your 'next step' whatever that may be...

Also in this series:

The scams - don't get caught with these...

The minnows - easy money, in very small amounts...

The big fish - don't pack in the day-job, but nice little earners

Making money online - the minnows...

Further to my previous post where I talk about the scourge of the internet (the Pyramid scheme), in this post we are going to be introduced to the shallow end of the 'making money on-line' pool, gradually working our way towards the deep end...

In this post, I am highlighting some of the schemes that are hardly worth the trouble. Many on-line earners start earning money this way, but the majority will either progress onto something else, or drop out thinking that there are no legitimate ways to make decent amounts of money left.

The 'minnows' include much of the 'paid to' programs including paid to read, or paid to click, the very cheapest of on-line activities which often yield less than a dollar for an hours work. I would also be tempted to put surveys into this category, some surveys are worthwhile, but in the majority of cases, they are not worth the trouble and my two remaining survey partners will be dumped as soon as I reach payout...

My other prime objection to 'paid to click adverts' and 'paid to read emails' schemes is that they are literally valueless - there is no value in you reading an email when you have no intention other than to simply get it read and move onto the next one. Similarly generating clicks to get 'hits' on a page is valueless and could even be construed as fraudulent - For one thing, the yield is extremely low which is why they are in the 'minnows' section, but the other problem with them is that they do go some way to insulting the intelligence of the participant - there is no satisfaction in this 'work' in my opinion. Nonetheless, it remains to be said that money (however small) can be made (at least semi-legitimately) in this arena...

Also in this series:

The scams - don't get caught with these...

The starters - relatively easy and close to being worthwhile

The big fish - don't pack in the day-job, but nice little earners

Making Money Online - the scams...

I started this blog a few years ago to find out if it is possible to make some money on-line. My conclusion can be summed up as 'Yes, you can make money on-line... but it is not easy'. At least it is not easy to make a significant amount, it is very easy to make small amounts.

In today's post, I am highlighting some of the schemes that will confirm your worst fears that anything that appears to be too good to be true... generally is - The Scams:

Pyramid schemes are the king of all on-line scams - you appear to be getting something, but you only get something when you can persuade two, three or more others to sign up for the same thing. They only get something when they get others to sign up...and on...and on. Inevitably, there is no actual 'product' and the whole scheme works on the chain-letter principal where sooner or later there is no-one else left to be suckered.

I have seen them in all sorts of guises - in one, you appear to earn 'precious stones', but I strongly suspect that beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder here, and the stones will prove to be nothing more valuable than Cubic Zirconia. To be honest, the scheme makes no sense at all, and if you apply the reasoning 'where does the value come from?' there is very little value in the scheme therefore there can be very little value in the 'rewards'. This principle applies to all Pyramid Schemes, if there is value going in (ie. $10 from each contributor), the average value across the scheme per person CANNOT exceed $10 per person... it is a lottery where the only winners are the people at the top of the pyramid - ie: those that started the scheme.

I have also seen this same principle applied to the selling of web domains - the selling of '.WS' sites began very much like a pyramid scheme, you buy your site with (relatively pricey) hosting with the idea that you can use this site to sell... that's right... more .WS sites with hosting, which can be used to sell... you get the idea? There is no actual 'value' other than for the web host who sells more and more hosting packages. all of the individual sites in the scheme are cloned 'splash pages' offering the same thing.

I believe that the .WS domain is not ONLY restricted to this type of pyramid, but it is true to say that an awful lot of them are, and if I am honest, I will admit that this is one of the most ingenious pyramid schemes that I have come across.

Although not all online scams are pyramids or 'ponzi' schemes, they are one of the most prevalent and prey on the gullibility and (let's not shy away from it..) avarice that tends to cloud judgement a little.

Also in this series:

The minnows - easy money, in very small amounts...

The starters - relatively easy and close to being worthwhile

The big fish - don't pack in the day-job, but nice little earners

Paid to blog update

SMORTY.COM is the latest paid to blog service that I have registered for, most of these type of services are very similar to each other, but there are some distinctive points worth remarking upon regarding smorty:

• You get paid weekly!!
• You have 72 hours to claim an opportunity
• You may post your opinion, you are not required to endorse any product or service
• Minimum 150 words, maximum 400 words per post

Initially there were just three opportunities available, but a fourth one appeared this week, and I remain hopeful that other opportunities will be offered. I have been paid for the first weeks 'work' so can report that much at least.

This month has proved that as far as earning potential is concerned, no other service can get near PayPerPost in my opinion. Even for a PR2 blog like Munny4Hunny, there are new opportunities every day ranging from $5 to $15. If you have a PR6 blog, earnings can be in the hundreds for a single post...

Blogsvertise appears to have all but dried up for this blog at least.

I am new to Bloggerwave, but at the moment, I have completed three offers and no more have appeared - but I can report that they have paid out and the money is sitting in my paypal account...

My one other source of income that I have not really talked about until now is an online survey company.
Ciao pay out in £GBP, they send me surveys by email, I fill out the survey and cash rewards are credited to my account. This did not yield anything for the first couple of weeks, but then the surveys started coming in. It has proved a useful additional income which doesn't take as much creative brainpower as paid to post. Most surveys start with a few questions to determine whether you are a suitable candidate, and I qualify for about half of the surveys I am sent. The payouts are small but not a bad return for minimal effort. For ease of comparison, I have assumed an exchange rate of $2US to £1GBP. They also offer opportunities to do product reviews but I haven't really worked out how this works yet...

I will add the latest paid to blog schemes to the 'quick search' in the side bar and look forward to posting actual earnings for May 2007 very shortly...