subject: How To Make Money On The Internet - Three Ideas For Low Budget Start-ups [print this page] We all dream of independent income, of throwing off the shackles of the nine to five routine. None more-so than those who have recently lost their jobs, but starting a business needs capital and that's something most of us just don't have.
But what if there was a way to start a business without much financial outlay? The Internet has been the grave of many businesses, but approached properly it can also be a goldmine. You don't need a lot of money to get started; here are three low cost ideas.
By now everyone has heard of blogging. A blog is a simple type of website where it's really easy to post new, views and information.
It's easy to set up a blogging account with services like word press and blogger and they are completely free. Simply write a paragraph and press a button and your prose is there for the whole world to see, but blogging will not by itself make you money. You need to 'monetize' your blog by adding money making items.
If your blog is popular and you can attract a wide audience, you may find companies are willing to pay to advertise on your blog.
At this point you'll need to move to a paid blog service, but the cost is not great - at most $100 for a year and probably less. You can charge by the month for advertising space and of course you can include Google ads.
Setting up an account with Google is free and you'll be paid every time a visitor to your site clicks on one of the ads. You only get paid pennies, but you do get paid.
Another similar route to riches is the information web site. This can take many forms but will usually cost no more than $100 a year at most to set up. Most web site hosting companies provide a choice of software to their customers, from blogging software like WordPress to what is known as a content management system (CMS) which makes it easy for anyone to manage articles and pictures.
Information sites usually provide a certain amount of information for nothing, but may charge for membership and provide exclusive information to the members, or they may have downloadable reports, videos, email courses, e-books, newsletters or even webinars for clients to attend.
This type of information business is ideal for those who have worked for many years in one particular industry and with just a little help can turn their wealth of information and practical knowledge into something clients will pay for.
A third type of Internet business is a retail store. This is the most complex of the three, but surprisingly the first one most people think of. Like each option above it requires a web site, in this case with software which will allow users to shop, usually called a shopping cart.
There are shopping cart programs which are available free, but most reliable packages require a monthly fee which usually starts around $30 per month. The precise amount may depend on the traffic to your site or the number of products you are selling, or the facilities your Internet shop needs. As an alternative you can choose to sell on Amazon or eBay.
First you will need to decide what to sell and where to find it, but there is no need to worry about buying stock if you can find a reliable drop shipping company.
Drop shippers act as a warehouse for you - you advertise the product on your website and deal with the customer, when an order is placed you send the order to the drop shipper who then supplies the customer. The choice of drop shipper is crucial to the success of the business and there are many companies who prey on those with little or no Internet retail knowledge, but with the right guidance this can be very successful and as there is no stock to buy.
In each case, be prepared to learn. There are many aspects of an Internet business which even 30 years of retail do not prepare you for, but with patience and perseverance you can build a new and location independent stream of income on the Internet.
So if your dream is to sell while you sleep, what are you waiting for?
