I’m here to tell you that there are plenty of ways to start an online business and make money quickly. My goal is to open your eyes up to alternative ways to bring in passive income. Because who couldn’t use passive income?
One of the fastest and easiest ways for anyone to start earning income online is by becoming an affiliate. Affiliate marketing sometimes has a negative connotation because there are people who do it in kind of a spamming, scamming kind of way, but you, obviously, won’t do that. Let me give you some great examples of what I mean by becoming an affiliate. A wonderful example would be if you are building a website and you decide that you love using Go Daddy or Blue Host, and you’d like to teach other people how to use Blue Host.
When you become an affiliate it simply means that you refer business to them and people use a link that is associated with your name or “your account.” You’ll earn each time somebody makes a purchase. Now, almost every product that you can think of, well-known products, has an affiliate program. They might not publicize it and they might not even show it on the website, but you can find them. I would suggest that you go to the places and the services and the websites that you frequent most often, the one that you are comfortable associating your name and suggesting them to other people, like Blue Host for example.
Another great example is Amazon. Of course, each program or service that you are an affiliate for has a different percentage rate. Some as high as 70% and some as low as 2%. Take a look at how much work is involved and how much money you could possibly earn before deciding on what company you want to do an affiliate with.
Another online business idea is selling your knowledge. Many people think that means you’ve got to create an Academy. You can create an Academy, but in the process of creating your Academy, I want you to have enough experience in working with people that you are able to say “I’ve helped people do this. My students have been able to accomplish XYZ.” The only way you can do that is by actually having that experience, which I want you to charge for.
You can start charging today for your knowledge and service. Whatever it is you’ve figured out, whatever it is you once struggled with that now it’s like almost you think it’s so common why would anyone want to pay you to learn to do that? They would, because they like you and they like your style and they relate to you. People will pay for the shortcut. We don’t have a lot of time, and smart people realize that if there’s somebody willing to share their answers and cut to the chase, we’re willing to invest in them.
Maybe you could offer consultations on how to deal with a wayward teen. You don’t have to claim that you’re an expert, but if you’ve got a relationship in social media where people are coming to you and they know that you have experience and know-how in this particular area, most people would be very willing to pay the expert for the shortcuts. You’ve already been through this. You got that experience.
To do this, you don’t need a website. All you need is your iPhone. Then, you can set up a link. There’s lots of different ways you can do this. You can do it with a PayPal link, you can do it with a Western Union link, and you just ask people to make a payment in advance. In exchange for that, you explain what your services involve. Whether that’s a phone consultation or video Skype or a private broadcast just for them or maybe it’s just a phone consultation.
I think you will be surprised how many people are willing to invest with that one on one. I want to get you to a place where your knowledge is something that you can market and sell passively. The best way to get the experience and to figure out how you can help people is by actually doing it. I absolutely love this idea. It’s a way for you to start generating income immediately as well as getting the beta testing that you need to create your Academy, your e-book or whatever course it is that down the road you may develop.
The next online business idea is digital goods. This encompasses a whole range of things that later we may very well turn into freemiums. Just to give you a little reminder about what a freemium is. A Freemium is a something of value, something that serves other people. It’s how to, it’s a tool, it’s a resource, a guide, a video. It’s something of value that you could sell if you wanted to, but you give it to people in exchange for a deeper relationship. In other words, in exchange for them joining your email list.
Now, another place that you can start making money immediately is with crowdfunding. I know you might be thinking “I haven’t invented anything. I’m not launching a business. I’m not a startup, so why would I use crowdfunding?” It just depends on your crowd. I don’t think crowdfunding is a way to go if you don’t already have a supportive, loyal audience, but if you do and they know that you are working to develop a program for them and, say, you need to do some crowdfunding or crowdsourcing to be able to put together the resources you need to deliver the Academy that they want, you can try crowdfunding.
That would be PayPal, Dot Me, you can actually go to Kickstarter. There’s so many places now online where you can set up a campaign and test out a business idea and actually have the people who love and support you contribute to the process.
You know, to be honest, I’ve seen this used for things as simple as people who are entertainers or comedians or singers and using those sources kind of almost like a virtual tip jar and then putting the link in their bio on Instagram, on Periscope, on Facebook, and saying “Hey, if you want to put in a request for a song or for me to perform XYZ or to deliver a certain type of content, here is my link.”
The last one is for those of you in direct sales or multilevel marketing. Also known as MLM’s. I say that sometimes really fast because I’ve got so many of you who are in a variety of direct sales and direct marketing and multilevel marketing organizations. In those situations, I have to caution each one of you to do your due diligence and make certain that you are actually able to do something outside of the policies and procedures that you have in place for your organization. In other words, check before you proceed, because you don’t want to jeopardize your income with the organization they work with. They’re all different.
I can give you some really creative ways for you to start selling product quickly. In most multilevel marketing organizations or in direct sales, there is usually 2 ways you make money. In fact, you want to make sure that you align yourself with a company that is as interested in product sales as they are in distributor development or in the development of building a team. The way to make a lot of money long-term is to develop a team of leaders, of people that you want to mentor and to spend time with and to help them develop their businesses.
One of the ways to make money fast is to make sure you’re moving product. How do you move product without selling? Some great ideas for you, you ready? Number one, start a challenge. Your challenge could be something as simple as “Okay, guys, we’re going to eat whole foods for the next 60 days and in addition to that we are going to take this supplement. What I’m going to do for the next 30 days, 60 days, I’m going to provide you with your daily workouts and I’m also going to give you recipes, but in order to take part in my challenge group, you need to buy this starter kit,” or whatever it is.
Each organization often will put those together for you, but market it that way, where you’re saying “Listen, if you want access to me, if you want to be part of this very exclusive group, here’s the investment that you need to make in products that I stand behind.” Another great way to do that is let’s say you are a makeup artist or you are a rep for a company that sells skin care products. Again, saying that you’re going to do a private tutorial or you’re going to do a series and the only way to be eligible for the series, which is going to be limited to just a few people, because you want that urgency, right?
You want people to feel like you have access to you. You want people to feel like this is special. “I need to take action now. This is not something she does all the time. This is going to make a difference for me. I’m going to see results.” You’ve got to promise all those things, but then they need to see that they’ve got skin in the game by making an investment in your products. You can bundle these just about any creative way you think but, again, make sure that you check with your parent organization to ensure that you are staying in compliance.
Hope you enjoyed these creative ways that you can start making money now!
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