Even with no product and no website, you can get paid for what and who you know
Making money online used to pretty much require you to have
your own Web site, products to sell and some marketing savvy. But a new
generation of dot-coms have arisen that will pay you for what you know and who
you know without you having to be a web designer or a marketing genius.
But it's hard to tell hype from the real deal. I did a
search on "make money online" and "making money online",
and much of the information out there is just promoting various infoproducts,
mostly about Internet marketing. I see why people sometimes ask, "Is
anyone making money online besides Internet marketing experts?"
So I put together a list of business opportunities with
legitimate companies that:
- Pay
cash, not just points towards rewards or a chance to win money
- Don't
require you to have your own Web domain or your own products
- Don't
involve any hard-selling
- Aren't
just promoting more Internet marketing
- Give
a good return on your time investment
In the interest of objectivity, none of the links below are
affiliate links, and none of them have paid or provided any other consideration
for their presence here. These are legitimate companies with business models
that allow you to get paid for a wide range of activities.
Help friends find better jobs.
Sites like ReferEarns, Zyoin, Who Do You Know
For Dough?, and WiseStepp connect employers with prospective employees,
many of whom are already employed and not actively job-hunting, via networking
- the people who know these qualified candidates. Rewards for referring a
candidate who gets hired range from $50 on up to several thousand dollars - not
chump change. If you know a lot of job-seekers (and who doesn't these days?),
this is a great way to break into the recruiting business with no overhead.
Connect suppliers with buyers.
Referral fees are a common practice in business, but they
haven't been used much in online networking sites because there was no way to
track them. Sites like Salesconx, InnerSell and uRefer now
provide that. Vendors set the referral fees they're willing to pay (and for
what), and when the transaction happens, you get paid. uRefer also allows
merchants to set up referral programs for introductions and meetings, as well
as transactions.
Write.
A growing number of sites will pay for your articles or blog
posts. Associated Content and Helium will "pay for
performance" based on page views for just about anything you want to write
about. Articles on specific topics they're looking for can earn direct payments
up to about $200. The rates are probably low for established writers, but if
you're trying to break into the field and have time on your hands, they're a
great way to start. Also, a lot of companies are looking for part-time
bloggers. They may pay per post or on a steady contract. Our Weblogs Guide
posts blogging jobs weekly in the forum.
Start your own blog.
You don't have to have your own Web site, or install
blogging software, or even figure out how to set up the advertising. At Blogger you
can set up a blog for free in less than five minutes without knowing a thing
about web design, and Blogger even automates setting up Google AdSense so you
can make money off your blog by displaying ads and getting paid when people
click on the ads. To make even more money from it, set up an affiliate program
(see below) for books, music, etc., and insert your affiliate links whenever
you refer to those items. You'll have to get a lot of traffic to become a six-figure
blogger, but pick an interesting topic, write well, tell all your friends, and
you're off to a good start.
Create topical resource hubs.
Are you an expert on a particular niche topic? Can you put
together an overview of the topic and assemble some of the best resources on
the topic from around the web? Then you can create topical hubs and get paid
through sites like Squidoo, HugPages and Google Knol.
Payments are based on a combination of ad revenue and affiliate fees. You'll
get higher rates doing it on your own, but these sites have a built-in supply
of traffic and tools to make content creation easier.
Advertise other people's products.
If you already have a Web site or a blog, look for vendors
that offer related but non-competing products and see if they have an affiliate
program. Stick to familiar products and brands - they're easier to sell. To
promote those products:
- Place
simple text or graphical ads in appropriate places on your site
- Include
links to purchase products you review or recommend in a blog, discussion
forum or mailing list you control
- Create
a dedicated sales page or Web site to promote a particular product
They all work - it just depends on how much time you have to
spend on it and your level of expertise with Web design and marketing.
Microstock photography.
You don't have to be a professional photographer to sell
your photos for money. People are constantly in need of stock photography for
websites, presentations, brochures and so on, and are willing to pay for the
right image. People generally search for images on stock photography sites by
keywords, not by photographer, so you have the same chance as anyone else of
having your image picked. Just be careful that you don't have images of
trademarked brands, copyrighted art or people's faces that are readily
identifiable (unless you have a model release), but just about anything else is
fair game, and I promise - you'd be amazed what people need pictures of, so
don't make any assumptions. If it's a decent photo, upload it. Some sites to
get you started include Fotolia, ShutterStock, Dreamstime and
iStockphoto. The great thing about this is that it's truly "set it and
forget it".
The above list is by no means comprehensive, but it highlights
some of the new and interesting ways to make money online without investing any
money, without having a product of your own, and without having expert sales
and marketing skills. Most of all, unlike taking surveys or getting paid to
read e-mail, the potential return on your time investment is substantial.
Well this is what i call the actual and factual representation of how to make money online without spending a dime.
ReplyDeleteJohnny Depp
Make Money Online
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