One of the very first questions people tend to ask when they consider the earning potential of the Internet is “How can I a make money online?” The second question is typically “Do I have to have a list?”
Business 101 states that the very nature of earning money means that someone else hast to give you the funds they have in exchange for something you have. So, while you may have an awesome product or service, if you don’t have a way to reach people who have the ability to pay you, you will not make any money.
While you don’t have to have a list to be able to earn from these three approaches, you do need a way to get what you are selling in front of other people.
However, there is a way to get your offers in front of other people’s people 🙂
How does this work? You take your products and place them on another website/platform that has a lot of traffic. Then, the people who already go to those types of sites, have the potential to find and buy your products.
One example is selling physical products on Amazon or eBay. You list your products on those two websites because they get millions of shoppers every year. But this doesn’t just apply to physical products. It also works with digital ones.
1. Selling Printables on Etsy
Printable products are one of the easiest things to create. Most do not take a long. Because they are digital in nature (until the customer prints them out at home) there is no inventory and no upfront cost.
Also, most printables can be made using software that is free or that you already have access to. A free Canva account, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Docs, Google Sheets, etc.
What types of printables can you make? More than you might imagine! My recommendation is that you keep things simple especially if you are just starting out.
Here are several that are uncomplicated, quick to complete, and very popular sellers on Etsy.
Canva has templates available for all of these. Etsy’s regulations do not allow you to use the designs as is that you purchased or got for free from another source. This includes private label rights (PLR) products.
But you can use Canva’s templates and PLR legally if you make some changes so that the design is unique or create entirely new products using bits and pieces of the PLR.
Pros for Making Money on the Internet with Etsy Printables
- Getting started with Etsy is simple and does not have any fees. Get your first 40 listings free here.
- Creating simple printables is a quick process.
- Printables sell well on Etsy, but you can also add the same printables to other marketplaces and your own website if you choose. More income with very little extra effort.
Cons for Making Money on the Internet with Etsy Printables
You will need to create a listing that attracts attention and gets found in Etsy’s search results. This applies to any product you list on any marketplace site.
2. Sharing Affiliate Products on Social Media
I can’t tell you how many products I have purchased because a Facebook friend told me how well they worked for them. When they posted a short video showing how the product worked or they wrote a little bit in their post about why they bought it, I was hooked!
These personal testimonials on social media work wonderfully because your friends trust you. If you continue to share about products or services you have used and loved, that trust will grow and so will your income.
Usually, unless your post takes off with lots of comments and likes, you may have to repeat it to gain some traction.
The last one I purchased was from a friend who showed pictures of her extremely dirty windows. She talked about how much she dreaded cleaning the windows because, no matter what she tried in the past, they streaked.
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She talked about having used different cleaners, different paper towels or newspaper to wipe the cleaner away, etc.
Then she showed pictures of her windows after cleaning with the special cloths she found on Amazon. They looked awesome! And she said it was so easy.
Sure, there are sales pages that tell you this same thing, but they aren’t my friends. I trusted this woman. I bought the window cleaning cloths and they did not disappoint!
I recommend making all of your affiliate recommendation posts public (instead of only for friends to see) to reach a broader variety of people.
Pros for Making Money Online with Social Media
- Facebook does not have a built-in post scheduler for personal accounts at this point. You would either need to post all of your testimonials/recommendations for affiliate products manually or use/create a Facebook business page. Those allow for scheduled posts through Facebook directly or using third-party software.
- Your results will depend on how many people you ultimately reach from your friends, others who are able to view it, number of shares, etc. This allows you to extend your post much farther than if only your friends could see it.
- Social media gives you the option of using video, text, or images with your posts.
Cons for Making Money Online with Social Media
- All social media sites travel at the speed of light. A post has a very short shelf life unless you are able to gain some attention through comments, likes and shares.
- Email and other marketing channels provide actionable analytics to help you judge your success. Not all social media platforms provide data on personal accounts. You would be guessing about the effectiveness of your posts. However, you could use link trackers/cloakers such as Pretty Links or Bitly that would at least allow you to see how many clicks you've gotten.
3. Review Videos on YouTube
Right now, video is all the rage! With influencers leading the pack, people love to watch what others are doing. This includes products and services that other people are using and love.
Recording simple, from-the-heart videos that give details about and demos of products can lead to thousands of views and tons of sales.
Here is one I did a few years ago that still produces consistent sales for me today. As of now, it has gotten 27,000 views, almost 500 likes, and over 130 comments. I have made over $6,700 for a video that only took me about 45 minutes to one hour to make.
As you can see, I am not in a studio, I am not using any equipment other than my phone and I am not a professional announcer. I am a person who is sharing her experience and excitement over a product that helps her overcome a problem.
You can do the same thing. How many products that you love came from Amazon? While their affiliate program does not pay very much, you can start there and earn a little bit of money.
If there are other products you have purchased from other places, go to those websites or contact the companies and ask if they have an affiliate program. You could pick up some extra income just for sharing your positive experiences.
Pros for Making Money Online with YouTube
- Video is massively popular and people flock to YouTube all day long every day to watch videos that inform and entertain.
- YouTube gives special consideration to new videos and shows them to a test audience during the first couple of days. That gives your videos a chance to take off immediately.
- You can also make use of the description section to add additional information and your affiliate link.
Cons for Making Money Online with YouTube
- Once the videos have been uploaded, you can change the title, the description, the tags and some other text information. But you cannot edit the video or replace the original one.
- The most popular way to create affiliate review videos is by being on screen (called a talking head video). However, there are ways to create videos without being on camera if you aren’t comfortable being seen.
Using these three ways to make money online, you can get started with creating streams of passive income that have the potential to grow even if you do not have a list.
