10 Best Online Business Models

I recently wrote about how you can start a successful career as a freelancer. Today, I write about the ten best online business models that you can do should you decide to take the entrepreneur path.

I chose ten because these are the models that I have already done, and doing.

So let’s go through them one by one.

Make Money on Affiliate Marketing

Affiliating with businesses in order to promote them is not a new concept. But what you need to know here is that you can make it your main source of income without the need to physically venture an inch out of your home.

If you were to ask me a single method that marketers use to make a surefire rapid income on the Internet, my answer would be affiliate marketing. Though there are dozens of home business models on the Internet, and I’m going to cover 10 of them here, it is quite safe to say that affiliate marketing ranks among the top three.

I know this because, in over a decade of being a VA, 90% of the clients I’ve worked with are affiliate marketers. That’s what they do. That’s how they earn, and most of them are doing it passively. In fact, my very first client was an affiliate marketer. It is from him that I learned how to build a website, how to do SEO and how to find marketable products.

Basically, the affiliate marketing model means to promote someone’s product over the Internet. You are helping them with their advertising and are getting paid a commission for that.

You can start by making an account on an affiliate network such as ClickBank, ShareASale, Commission Junction, and my favorite, Amazon. This is a place where advertisers post their advertising requirements. When you are a part of any of the networks I mentioned, you can choose the products you want to promote. You will want to know what people within your network would be interested in and choose to promote those.

The roundabout way of doing this is to choose the products you want to promote first, then find out if they have an affiliate program, then sign up. This is more effective if you are like me who has chosen to promote very specific niche products.

So for example, you want to promote Tupperware. You can go to the Tupperware website and check out if they have an affiliate program. Or you can go to Amazon and see if they have Tupperware. Either way, you get an affiliate link, and you can promote Tupperware to your friends everywhere in the world where the Tupperware company or Amazon delivers. See the linked Tupperware word there? It has my Amazon affiliate link. So if you end up buying when you get to Amazon, I get a few cents out of that sale.

But wait! A few cents? Didn’t I just say that you can make this a main source of income?

Well, if you do your affiliate marketing business right, it can be. This post is going to be here until I stop publishing my website. And so that link stays for that same length of time. And this is not the only place where I have put that link. And that is not the only Amazon link that I have. Over time, it becomes a passive income.

Build a Niche Content Site

People on the Internet are mainly looking for information. If you provide them the information they are looking for, you are a winner all the way.

But what is a niche content site?

A niche content site is a site that caters to a particular group of people. Like gardening is a niche; cooking is a niche; crafting is a niche. Other people would not be interested in reading about those topics. But those who are will likely find your website and even subscribe to your RSS feed to watch out for new information that you might come up with next time.

There can also be a niche within a niche. Like, in gardening, there could be a sub-niche of how to do away with aphids or how to use the right mix of fertilizers to make those grapes bigger. These are sub-niches. You must remember one thing here… the narrower you are making your niche, the less traffic you are likely to get, but on the flipside, these people are more focused and they will be more interested in doing business with you.

Think about it. If someone really wants to have some information on aphid removal, and your site has that content and also promotes some product relating to it, like an aphid spray, the likelihood of that visitor buying the product from your site is indeed high.

This is how you need to go about it.

• First, think of a popular niche that you would like to build a site on. You could go to places like Google Suggest and check out what many people are looking for.
• Google Suggest will also give you a host of keywords that you can use. These are the keywords that most people are using when searching.
• Build content. You will need to have at least 50 pages or so of content to make some kind of impact. Spruce up your content by using the right keywords so that it reaches out to the people who are looking for the specific information.
• Then, look for products on your affiliate network site to promote on your niche site. You can put ads in the form of text and banners. By having your own website, you are saving money on advertising services such as Google Ads. You have to make your website popular so that more people will visit, which in turn will increase the number of clicks (and sales) that you get. At the same time, the popularity of your ads will increase the traffic on your website.

The Happy WAHM is a niche content site. My main niche is working from home. How to be happy working from home is a sub-niche. Or how to homeschool while working from home is a sub-niche. Another sub-niche is how to find time for a hobby while working from home. You get the idea.

Blog Your Story

This is one model where people actually have fun sharing their experiences and get paid. In my case, it also increases my business prospects.

You can monetize blogging in several different ways. There isn’t just one way in which you can make money out of a blog; there are several. Once you have a blog of your own, it is a learning experience in itself. But, at the same time, the money that comes in while you are simply sharing something that is already true to you becomes a motivation to go the distance.

A very good platform to build your blog would be WordPress or Blogger. I’m a WordPress advocate. Tried Blogger in the early days but it did not have all the features I wanted, so WordPress has been it for me.

While you can set up a free account on either platform, having a self-hosted domain lends more credibility. Partner brands would choose a self-hosted domain over a free one anytime. Some would even require you to submit your domain authority before they decide to work with you, so yes, a self-hosted domain is what you’d want to have if you want to be serious with your blogging.

If you’re interested in having one, check out my hosting services.

In blogging, content is king. If you want your site to be visited, then put out great content. In the past years, I very rarely blogged. But because the few times I did I had content relevant to my niche, partner products still found me and was fortunate enough to have written posts that I felt good about.

The following are some ways in which you can monetize your blog:-

• You could use PPC advertising on your blog.
• You could directly sell or advertise products. (See my sidebar.)
• You could give away an eBook or a newsletter subscription and get leads.
• You could build a blog, populate it and then sell the whole thing for a tidy profit. (What I plan to do with my Essential Oils website but I will get a different domain for it.)
• You can accept paid posts from companies who need help in promoting their products. My rule on this one is to only accept posts that are within my niche. I don’t want to veer away from my narrative for the site.

Shout out to these groups of bloggers who are really rocking it in the blogging world. Mommy Bloggers Philippines and Bloggers ng Pinas, thank you for having me as a member although I’m not as active as the rest of you!

Infopublishing

When we talk about infopublishing, we are talking about eBooks, newsletters, videos, audiobooks and the like. Generally, this is content that people can download to their devices.

I have so far completed one eBook. And I have at least a dozen more drafts, but let’s talk about that another day, okay?

There are two ways in which you can get into the infopublishing business:

• You could create the info content yourself on a topic that is within your chosen niche and sell it on your website. This is what I did.
• You could hire someone to create it for you, then sell it on your website.
• You could promote someone else’s product for a commission.

Whatever is the way you choose to go, you would be distributing informative content.

You can also distribute this content through your own affiliate program. If you believe you have a great product, then go ahead and set up an affiliate program and have other people sell your product for you. That will multiply your reach a thousand-fold.

Sell Software

Never underestimate the power of software applications. You are using dozens of them on your desktop yourself.

Selling software is one of the most logical ways to make good money on the Internet. People who use computers are always trying to make their jobs easier or to add more quality to their jobs. That is the reason they are looking for good software all the time. With broadband Internet, it has become so very easy to provide software in downloadable formats. You promote a link from where people can download a particular software and allow them to access it when they make payment. They will pay and you give them the link to download the software.

Many marketers tease people by giving them demo versions of the software for free. This allows the downloaders to understand the quality of the product before they decide to spend good money on it. These demo versions generally have some features locked or they are timed demos that expire after a specific number of hours worth of usage. When that happens, people are prompted to buy the product to make use of it limitlessly.

For promotion, you can use more of the same methods that you would use for affiliate marketing. If your software becomes popular, especially in places where your niche market usually visits, you could be assured of a healthy flow of downloaders. At the same time, you have to remember that there is no lifespan for this. There will always be downloaders, provided you promote well and keep upgrading your software, which means, you can keep generating a flow of passive income for years.

Just like with infopublishing, you don’t have to be the one to create your software. Come up with an idea that your ideal software will solve, then hire someone to do it for you. And then set up an affiliate program for it.

And you can also sell software through affiliate marketing, just like the way I’m doing it with Scrivener on my sidebar. I’m personally using Scrivener for my own writing projects. This is a secret, but I’m working on my own book. Sssssshhhh!!! And because I found it really great, I decided to promote it. My market? My clients in my VA biz.

Membership Sites

Membership sites are just what their name indicates – these are sites where you are asking people to become members of your website site and in return, you are providing them with a host of value-added services. On most membership sites, the members are provided with some free offers and downloadable products and they get privileges on various affiliate sites, too.

The basic concept of a membership site is that you keep your goodies hidden from the general Internet public and allow them access to it only when they have taken the membership action that you ask them to. This has been on the pipeline for me for the longest time but alas, I still have yet to implement my plans.

Membership sites do take a lot of effort. You have to have a unique concept to make your membership site appealing to members and you have to make constant efforts to provide high-quality information to your members.
They are going to be disappointed otherwise and you are going to lose credibility. I know this because I have managed some membership sites for clients. The amount of work that goes into the maintenance of such site is just overwhelming.

But maybe I will still do this in the future. I have like 40GB worth of information/resources stored that I know WAHMs are going to love. For now, I’m just skimming the surface and sharing bits and pieces of them on my page and my Facebook Group.

Sell Your Services

What’s the best, most unique and special thing that you can sell and keep selling forever?

Your own services, that’s what.

You have a talent for something? Go right ahead and peddle it on the Internet.

The Internet has a market for everything. Even for your own services. If you think you are good at something, the Internet could be the best place for you to vend your skills.

Check out my post on how you can start a successful career as a freelancer.

Of course, it is understood that the kind of services that have a demand on the Internet are services that you can provide online. These are mostly services related to website building and maintenance, and Internet marketing, just like the ones below:

• Content creation
• Blog management
• Search engine optimization
• Website creation
• Social networking services such as Craigslist postings
• Managing other virtual staff
• Proofreading and editing

The drawback here is that you have to spend a lot of time in front of your computer, all the time. Unlike in affiliate marketing, for example, where you can just set it up one time and forget about it. Until such time that you want to make an update, add a new link or remove a non-performing one. In selling your services, you earn only as much as you work and there is no opportunity for passive income.

Network Marketing

Network marketing has been present since the pre-Internet times and it has received its fair share of criticisms. However, this is a sure moneymaking biz as clearly evidenced by the millionaires you see gracing your Facebook and Twitter feed ever single day.

The concept is too darned simple – you build a network of people and jointly you promote a product or service. At the same time, you try to bring more people into the network. For each person that joins the network, the upline members earn a commission. Direct sales bring in the money, too, but the main commission is brought in through the commissions that the network building generates.

However, the implementation is not quite as simple. Building the network can be formidable to most people. To address that, trainings are provided so you can build your network well. You get a website from the network marketing company that you join, you can attend physical seminars and webinars and you have access to a host of material, online and offline, where you can learn how to promote your network most effectively and efficiently.

Presently, I am a member of two networking giants, Young Living and Lifestyles. I joined these companies because I found the products effective for me and my whole family. Earning from them is just an added bonus. Join my team!

The drawback here is that there are a lot of players in the network marketing (also called as multilevel marketing or simply MLM) world. A lot of them are scammers and these are the people who have given the industry a bad name. You have to be particularly wary of pyramid schemes in which people earn only through building a network but don’t have any product to sell.

Internet Auctions

Online auctions could be a good means to earn a good amount of online income.

Net auctions are just like the ordinary auctions that you know, except that they are conducted over the Internet. A product is displayed on the auction site with its features and benefits all spelled out. Then a minimum bid is marked.

Top of mind for auction sites is eBay. Another one is uBid. These are just a couple of sites where you can buy and sell products for a profit.

Speak Out Your Mind

Not many people know that they can really earn money for calling a spade a spade. On the Internet where anything goes, this happens, too!

You may have heard of online surveys. Yes, they’re legit. And yes, they pay.

Well, at least, some of them.

Take note, you can’t make this your sole source of income. This is just something you’d want to do in your spare time. Instead of endlessly scrolling through Facebook, try answering some survey questions instead. Online surveys can bring in money, but you can’t live on it.

But why do surveys work in the first place?

These surveys serve brands to improve their products. The brands hire a marketing team (or they have an in-house marketing department) who put up these surveys for people to respond to. Results of these surveys become the basis of how they can improve their products.

Yep, I did this, too. But only to try it out.

How to get into it? Just Google paid surveys and you’ll find hundreds of them. Just go for the legit ones, of course.

So those are my top 10 best online business models. I’m sure there are more, but I can only write about things I have firsthand knowledge of.

If you want to share YOUR favorite online business models with me, leave them on the comments below.

And just as I always close my posts, please LIKE me on Facebook.