Making Money Online – The Beginner’s Guide
The question of how to make money online has many different answers, though the effectiveness of the available opportunities may vary. If you have things to sell, there are a variety of options that you can use. Or, if you are more of a writer or a website builder, you have the option of including paid advertisements in your newsletter, blog, or site.
The Internet is the ultimate frontier of commerce and marketing in the information age. With thousands of homes and businesses subscribing to Internet broadband technology every month, Internet entrepreneurs are keeping up with the pace of potential demands. For example, in 2008 alone, 90% of all U.S. households that have Internet connections have availed of broadband technology — which means around 200 million people can be reached through online marketing means.
Asia alone holds the single biggest online market for any kind of products and services — more than four times the size of the North American online market. As the sophistication of technology continues to increase exponentially, online marketers are moving from simple text ads to richer multimedia experiences that aim to sell and to give value at the same time, to prospective customers.
Major Internet Marketing Avenues
Internet Marketing has a lot of aspects to it, so if you are a big fan of making money online in general then it helps that you narrow down want you specifically want to do. Like traditional marketing, it is very broad, as you have to specialize in one or a few facets of online marketing:
• Search engine marketing
- Search engine optimization
- Paid inclusion
- Search analytics
- Pay per click advertising
• Direct Marketing
- Interactive advertising
- Direct trading
- Social media optimization
- Display advertising
- E-mail marketing software
- Cost per impression
- E-mail marketing
- Web analytics
• Affiliate marketing
- Revenue sharing
- Contextual advertising
- Cost per action
• Mobile advertising
- MMS and SMS campaigning
- Mobile site referrals
Let’s hone in and discuss a little on three popular facets of making money online.
Direct Trading/eBay. Selling your stuff on eBay remains one of the more obvious ways to make money online. If you’re a beginner, experts recommend auctioning (rather than fixed-price selling) of unusual, hard-to-find objects that you already own; such things are likely to be profitable on eBay.
You need to create a seller’s account on eBay, and for purposes of verification, you will be asked to give details about your credit/debit card or bank account. A digital camera, for taking attractive pictures of your items for sale, is also recommended. Beginners who need tips on how to make money online can try the New to eBay Board in eBay’s forums.
Storefront. Although it is the most widely known, eBay is only one of the online selling sites that you can use. If whatever you are selling is a niche item, you may have better luck if you list it on specialized sites such as Etsy (which is known for selling handmade crafts and vintage items) or Craigslist (which may be preferable for more localized selling).
There are also plenty of systems for creating an online storefront to suit your specific requirements and to incorporate it in your own Web site if you already have one. Choose a system that provides easy navigation and purchasing so that shopping will not feel like a chore for your customers. An online storefront should preferably include a telephone number that a customer can contact.
For the customer’s peace of mind, you should also make sure that your storefront is secure.
Affiliate Marketing. This is how affiliate marketing programs work: on your site (or perhaps on an e-newsletter you publish), you place a link that sends people to the Web site you are affiliated with. If they buy something there, then you get a commission as a reward for sending customers to the company’s Web site.
Becoming an affiliate for a company is probably one of the more easily implemented ways to go about Internet marketing, though it is not without its pitfalls too. If the companies you are affiliated with require banners or other graphics for the links to their sites, your site or newsletter can become cluttered and slow to load because of all the graphics, and this may turn off your site visitors or newsletter readers. Internet marketing specialists strongly suggest that you join specifically targeted affiliate marketing programs so that you are more likely to reach people who would ostensibly be interested in clicking on the links and making purchases. It’s not very smart to indiscriminately join a lot of programs just to increase your chances of commissions.
Affiliate tracking can also become a problem if you participate in too many programs. You have to make sure that the code you use for each program is correct to be able to collect profit from it.
What do I need to start marketing in the Internet?
When starting out a venture, one has to have tools in order to succeed. Internet marketing requires tools that may be simple at the onset, but can get more complicated as the needs become more diverse.
Workstation. A workstation with above-average speed and memory should be enough for most Internet marketing ventures. Remember, most online marketing activities require various research and tracking software to monitor sales, analyze leads, observe competitors, follow market trends, or update ads, and make adjustments to your automated marketing program.
Invest in the speed of your computer’s processor core and the capacity of your PC’s working memory. Depending on your area of online marketing, you will have to install various Web analytical software vital to keeping you updated. Nowadays, a 3.0ghz or more processor and a 4gb RAM is pretty standard.
The hard disk memory should also be big enough to house various databases of customers and other kinds of business information.
Website. Of course, having an online marketing program should entail having a website obviously. Website design for marketing purposes is a crucial element in your marketing agenda, so getting your storefront or customer interface right is imperative.
Hosting. Hosting also requires considerable investment on the entrepreneur’s part. There are a lot of hosting options available online, and some of the biggest names out there are:
GoDaddy.com
HostMonster.com
HostGator.com
JustHost.com
FastDomain.com
Hosting is an entire subject unto itself. When choosing a commercial hosting site, remember to take into consideration some of these major factors:
• Data Transfer/Bandwidth Speed – Determine how much traffic a hosting company provides.
• Disk Space – Try to ascertain how big your website will be, and purchase disk space that is adequate for your site.
• Speed of Access – A host who guarantees (and shows) a minimum uptime of 99% should be preferred.
• Control Panel – This is where you can control all functions of your web account.
• Subdomains and Multiple Domains – You might need other domains if you expect to expand your website.
• Technical Support – 24/7 support is better and guarantees quick repairs and immediate inquiries.
Proprietary Marketing Software. For each aspect of Internet marketing, there is a number of software out in the market that may meet your needs.
For example, if you are into pay-per-click advertising, you may have to get a software which manages your earnings per click and generates data about your market. If you are into email marketing you may have to get email generators and autoresponders to automate the process. It helps to familiarize yourself first with the available tools of the trade concerning your marketing niche.
Online Resources and Information. It is important to find forums that are dedicated to your aspect of Internet marketing. You can find a lot of professional help here, as well as marketing resources that may not cost anything.
For instance, if you are into copywriting and content sales, you might find Copywriters Board to be a great forum resource. For the true newbies at Internet marketing, Self Starters Weekly Tips or IM4Newbies can help you get started. In here you can find low-cost or even free resources to make sales online.
The Warrior Forum has probably the most number of competent online marketers in one place. It has been around a long time now and one of the best places to ask for Internet marketing resources.
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