With the COVID-19 situation in Malaysia, our government is strongly encouraging us to stay indoors to help curb the spread of the pandemic. No surprise, then, that the interest in making money online from the comfort and safety of our homes is now the core subject in many conversations.
What once was labelled as “the future of working” is now a reality that is not too far fetched for anybody with an Internet connection. The beauty of the Internet is that it is so much more than just a sales channel, a networking hub, or a collection of communities — it is an entire world of its own.
Here’s the good news, making money online isn’t that complicated. You simply have to learn a few basics and give it time to grow. And to help you learn about the different ways to earn this money, here are five realistic ways to make money online.
Related: 8 Ways For Stay-At-Home Moms & Dads To Earn More Money
1. Dropshipping
Dropshipping
Due to the temporary closures of some brick and mortars, consumers were, in a way, herded to using e-commerce for their necessities or wants. What came after was the rise of the e-commerce industry.
Enter dropshipping. This term is more of a business model where the business owner doesn’t keep the products in stock. Instead, a third-party fulfils and ships the order for you when you sell an item. What’s even more attractive is that the startup cost for this is considerably low!
But before you go starting your own billion-dollar dropshipping company, know that there are challenges to this as well. One of them being the fact that you are, by no means, selling a new product. So you will be spending quite a bit of time figuring out how you’re going to brand and position yourself among your competitors.
2. Selling digital products
Digital products carry with them some of the greatest margins of making money online. It may take some time to master and develop what you’re selling, but the variables costs (software etc.) after that is comparatively low.
Also, a digital product allows you to keep selling it (as long as somebody wants to buy it) as you don’t need to restock the inventory. Not just that, they are tremendously scalable. That means that there is no ceiling to how many you can sell. None of the traditional costs like shipping or utility.
The best-case scenario is that you end up selling over 10,000 of your product. The worst-case scenario is that you only managed to sell a few and it cost you a few hours.
3. Blogging
Well, what you’re reading currently is called a blog. Businesses use blogging as a way to share knowledge, insights, build an audience, and improve search engine visibility. But since then, blogging has become such a staple of the Internet that anyone can build an audience and make money from it.
However, the key is not to target every single person on the Internet. Rather, it is to find a niche that you’re a master in and be that expert people need. It could really be anything, for example, restaurants in Tokyo, professional dessert artist, or even an animal lover.
After that, your income will come in as you convert this audience to buyers of your physical product, digital product, partnering up with brands, subscription services, or even freelancing services. Again, take your time with this one as it may take a few years until you get the hang of it.
Person blogging
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4. Affiliate marketing
Contrary to popular belief, affiliate marketing can add up to quite a huge amount of money if you have an audience. Essentially, when someone else uses your link to purchase a product, you will receive credit, along with some commission. So your only job is to promote the link, that’s all. Hence, similar to blogging, you really need to focus on the right audience.
Different brands may offer different commissions so there may be quite a bit of strategising on your part. The most effective strategy is one that showcases how a certain product is the best solution to the reader’s problems.
5. Freelance services
Another extremely feasible idea is to offer your expertise to clients online. Whether it is blog writing, graphic designing, data entry, or any sort of consultancy services, some business out there on the Internet is definitely going to need your expertise. Your role is to build that bridge for them to cross over to you.
Chances are, that you are already an expert in a certain industry. So why not make a little more money by marketing this trait of yours online? You don’t need a lot to start with, there are tons of freelancing websites such as Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer to help you get started with looking for clients.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you but you will be surprised how much money you can actually make with your freelancing gigs.
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