Shikhar Dhawan
There are numerous ways to make money online. Unfortunately, it isn’t an easy goal to reach. Many methods or online channels are nothing more than get-rich-quick schemes that will do nothing more than take your money. However, there are several established online money-making methods that have been proven to work.
Advertising
This one’s easy but you need an established website that brings in lots of readers to attract decent-sized advertising dollars. Check out financial news site Advisor.ca whose front page advertisers include National Bank, Royal Bank and Sun Life. To attract advertisers of that calibre, you need to prove you are bringing in many eyeballs of, in this case, financial advisors. Smaller websites can attract small Google-type ads, but it won’t bring in a lot of money.
Product Sales
Fairly self-explanatory, but these days every hot product needs a website. Ideally, you’ll want a separate website for each product, but multi-products also works, especially if they are in a similar niche. Amazon is the obvious example in this category. The site practically rules the world of online content. But it’s an open category and the right product at the right time can do very well, particularly combined with some decent advertising.
Content Monetization
Many print-based news organizations and websites have begun building and fortifying paywalls to safeguard their digital content and drive up advertising sales. But it’s been more of a challenge for independent content creators. One option is ConnectPal, a platform that allows you to charge subscribers to access your exclusive online content, whether it’s written, audio or video. Aside from doing the all the billing and payment work, ConnectPal also provides web traffic with a digital marketplace business model, giving members a chance to attract a larger audience and increase their earnings potential.
Sponsorship and Brand Deals
Everybody wants an online sponsorship. It’s targeted and can be very lucrative. For example, the average mention of a single brand on Instagram can net over $300. And the top influencers with huge audiences are bringing in up to $75,000 per post. But for most creators without millions of followers, sponsor payouts are meager and unpredictable, and can be cut off at any time. If a sponsor leaves, you’re left with nothing until you find the next one. So, sponsorships can be great, but they are challenging to acquire, especially the ones who write big cheques.
Of course, there are many other ways to make money online such as affiliate marketing, where you place affiliate links within your online content and generate a small amount from each sale. You can also do well as an educator, selling online courses.
No matter which method you choose, make sure it fits with your content, without being overwhelming. Remember, making money online is great but most people still expect stuff to be free. So, step lightly.
