Five Legitimate Ways to Make Money Online

How to Earn Cash while Working From Home

© Elizabeth Beeson

Aug 13, 2009
Add money to the piggy bank by working online., Image by: Simon Howden
Making money online can be accomplished by using established and reliable resources. With a little direction, anyone can take advantage of cash-generating opportunities.

The internet provides a variety of valid money-making opportunities. These opportunities require effort and time, but are legitimate ways to make money as compared to the "get rich quick" schemes that are often scams. Try any of the following five methods to make money on the web.

Write for Revenue-Sharing Sites and Earn Residuals

Sites like Suite101, Associated Content, Bukisa and eHow provide competent writers with the opportunity to write for profit. These web sites operate a revenue-sharing model in which writers make money based on the usefulness and popularity of their articles. The writers make residuals on their articles, which is to say that they continually earn money for their articles as long as they remain published on the site.

Though writers do not receive an upfront payment for their articles, they have the opportunity to make a substantial amount of money over a long period of time. The more articles a writer creates, the more money he or she will bring in monthly. Writing for revenue-sharing sites will not deliver immediate money, but it is a good way to generate sustainable income.

Create Product Designs for Profit

Artists and creative people can easily create designs for products by using design sites like CafePress or SpreadShirt. These sites provide a variety of products such as T-shirts, mugs and buttons that can be personalized with designs. The designer can then sell the products online and make a percentage of the overall purchase price.

For instance, a designer could sell a T-shirt for $25.00 and make a profit of $5.00. The nice aspect of these sites is that the sales, printing and shipping are all handled by the site itself. The designer just has to promote and advertise the products. When the products sell, the web site will print them and ship them to the customer. The designer will then receive a payment in his or her PayPal account.

Sell Vintage or Handmade Items to Earn Income From Home

Sites like Etsy and eBay allow people to sell vintage and handmade items to consumers. These sites require the seller to photograph items and post descriptions of those items online. Sellers are also responsible for shipping the products. Though this money-making opportunity requires slightly more work than others, one can make substantial money selling products online.

Selling handmade items will appeal to those with a creative flair, but others can successfully sell vintage items. The advantage to these sites is that they are established and many potential customers frequent the sites. The sites also handle the financial transactions and, in turn, deduct a small percentage of the overall sale price.

Blog for Money

Create a money-making blog by using Google AdSense to advertise products on a site. This opportunity is great for people who enjoy writing about a specific topic. If one can generate a large audience for a blog, he or she will be able to make a good amount of money. In order to make money, bloggers must sign up for Google Adsense and place links to the AdSense ads on their sites.

The blogger will earn a small amount of money every time the ads are clicked. Those who use AdSense must sign an agreement to not click on their own links or promote random clicking by others. Overall, this method can provide a steady money stream for those who enjoy writing.

Sell Affiliate Products to Make Money

Sites such as Amazon and eBay allow people to advertise specific products on their web sites and make a percentage of the purchase price when that product sells. This is also a great opportunity for bloggers who might want to advertise products that relate to their blogging topics. Affiliates can make up to 15% on items that are sold through their web site. A great aspect of the affiliate sites is that the seller needs to do nothing once the ad is listed. If anything sells because of that ad, the seller will receive a payment and the company will handle the transaction and shipping of the product.

Beware of Scams

There are as many online scams that claim to be able to allow people to get rich quick online. Beware of sites that make users pay upfront to join. Also beware of people selling brochures or ebooks on how to make money online. In many of these instances, people end up spending more money than they earn.


The copyright of the article Five Legitimate Ways to Make Money Online in Home-based Businesses is owned by Elizabeth Beeson. Permission to republish Five Legitimate Ways to Make Money Online in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.


Add money to the piggy bank by working online., Image by: Simon Howden
       


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