by Geronimo Caldwell

Created on: November 13, 2009   Last Updated: November 15, 2009

Can I make money online?

The short answer is YES. How can I make money online? There are many many ways one can make money using the internet. Many require some skill, all require considerable practice. You are not going to be able to sign up for a service and start making thousands overnight. But, if you are willing and able to spend a great deal of time learning and getting set up and you have a little disposable income to work with, then you have a fair chance of making some good cash. How do I get started? Many websites offer a start out package for your new business or merchant management tools. These can be very helpful. But, know this, a merchant account alone does not a merchant make. You will have to spend a great deal of time finding a niche in which to sell your goods or services. If you do not, you will certainly be out competed by larger merchants. What should I avoid?

Stay away from sites that promise money for surveys, answering emails, and especially product trials. No one ever gets anything more than a few bucks from those sites if anything at all.

Ask yourself, do I want to offer goods, a service, or advice?

You must have some skill or knowledge you are willing to provide either for a price or for free.

Goods. Marketing goods is just about the most difficult option you can choose. You must have investment capitol to start with and more importantly a niche to sell in. In other words, you have to have something that you can market to group where there is a demand. If you try to sell the same thing as everyone else, you wont make more than petty cash. Think of it like Avon. If you are the only one selling their products in your area then you will make a profit, however that is often not the case. Beware of websites offering you a start up package that includes merchandise from their distributors. Often you will be offering undesirable products or you will be one of many webstores selling the same merchandise.

Services. This one speaks for itself. If you can do something that people want you can start a service website. They key to a profitable service is advertisement. You will need some starting money to buy ad space, print flyers, and purchase mailing lists. In addition, service websites often have a significant lag time between when they begin and when they get enough attention to provide good revenue. Often word of mouth is you best advertisement in the beginning. You might consider offering your service a low rate until you start to get a customer base.

Advice. Many websites offer advice or information to customers for little or no cost. These websites tend to make money from their site traffic. Ad space on these sites brings in a decent revenue. However, these sites are not set up and forget. You must constantly update and add more information to keep drawing in unique users.

Learn more about this author, Geronimo Caldwell.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.