Options for an online Business - A beginner's
Guide

by Carrie Lauth

Published on this site: August 3rd, 2006 - See more articles from this month

There's more than one way to skin a cat, and there's more than one way to make money online. In fact, there are tons of ways! I'll list a few here.

Information or "Content" Sites

Basically this is just what it sounds like.a website with lots of good information on a particular topic.

How do you make money?

There are several ways sites like this can make money. They can be monetized with Google AdSense ads. You can recommend affiliate products (basically selling other people's stuff for a commission) on content sites. You can sell advertising on a busy site.

1. Product Sales Sites:
   
   This is a site that sells products, whether physical or digital. Physical products would include things that need to be shipped like your lavender boo-boo salve that everyone raves about or your soy candles that don't pollute the air.
   
   Digital products would be things like an ebook that shares all your home school or discipline tips or an audio or video that teaches someone how to do something faster, easier or better.
   
   There are thousands of people online every day looking to buy cool stuff. Someone's gotta sell it to them!
   
   Even if you don't make the product yourself, you can find companies that do drop shipping. For instance, World Wide Brands is a drop shipping company endorsed by eBay itself.
   
   
2. Service Businesses
   
   A service site would market some valuable service that you provide. For instance, parenting coaching or marriage counseling. With this kind of business you're trading your time for dollars, but you can also learn to earn more money passively by incorporating affiliate products into your business.
   
   
3. Affiliate Marketing
   
   Affiliate marketing is basically selling other people's products or services for a commission.
   

This kind of business has several advantages:

1. It's inexpensive to start- affiliate programs are free to join.
   
   
2. There is no inventory to clutter up your home.
   
   
3. You can start an affiliate site and earn passive income. Once it is set up and getting steady traffic, you can go into "maintenance mode" and only update it rarely, yet still receive regular income from it.
   

4. Direct Sales
   
   Direct sales can be a great choice for someone who wants abuilt in product, business plan and support wrapped up in one package. Plus the market research has been done already and there are people interested in the product.
   
   To find a direct sales company, you may want to visit the Direct Sales Association You can search there for companies that market all sorts of products. If you're already building a direct sales business why not take it to the web so the world can be your customer or business prospect? Tons of people search online for business opportunities. There are a lot of advantages to taking your existing direct sales business to the web.
   
   
5. EBay business
   
   You were wondering when I was going to get around to this, weren't you? Online auctions have made it possible for thousands of people to earn a full time living on the Internet.
   
   If you make your own product (whether a physical product or a digital one), you would be smart to do eBay at least part time. EBay is the second busiest site on the web. It would be wise of you to take advantage of their traffic to increase exposure to your business! You can do eBay exclusively or combine it with your other business idea to increase your earnings and exposure.
   
   
6. Internet Talk Radio/Podcasting
   
   This is a relatively new concept- Internet talk radio available on demand 24/7 by anyone who has a computer! It sounds complicated but really isn't. Publishing audio on your website is as easy as signing up for an Audio Acrobat account, lifting your phone and dialing a number, and talking! Imagine getting paid to talk about your favorite topics!
   
   As I'm writing this, there is Healthy Family Talk Radio, Natural Moms Talk Radio, Homeschooling Talk Radio, Baby Talk Radio, Army Wife Talk Radio, Work at Home Mom Talk Radio. and there is plenty of room for more shows.
   

How do you make money?

You earn money from advertising, as well as from affiliate sales. For instance, let's say you interview a popular author on your show. You put a link to their products on Amazon.com on your site. People listen to the show and want to learn more, so they buy the book and you get a commission. You can also sell advertising space on your show's site, as well as on air ad spots. You can even monetize the site with Google Adsense if you like.

As you can see, there are many ways you can earn income on the Internet. Pick a business model that suits you and get started!

Carrie Lauth is the author of the Natural Moms Business Guide, a complete tutorial for Moms new to Internet business who want to start and market an online business. Get her free ecourse with getting started tips at: http://NaturalMomBusinessGuide.com/