News

A Half-Dozen Online Businesses You Can Start with No Money

Do you want to live the laptop lifestyle? There are constantly stories online about how someone went from working a regular job one year and making little money to starting an online business that gave them financial freedom.

Sound too good to be true? Well, making millions of dollars isn’t easy, but thanks to the internet you can make a comfortable living working online.

To help you think of some online businesses to start here are some suggestions. There really is no limit as to what you can do. All you need is an internet connection and determination.

Online directory and review website.

With reviews being such an important part of the marketing strategies for local businesses, there are plenty of opportunities to build out a review platform for either local communities or specific niches.

For example, a pizza review website could have it broken down by states and cities and rank the top pizza locations and allow users to submit reviews. You can monetize it via ads and also by selling sponsored listings. Many businesses will gladly pay you money to be positioned on top.

Using this model you could charge a low $10 per month per top city positioning. If you had just 20 cities in each state (50) that would generate $10,000 per month in revenue. When you think like this it becomes obvious there are plenty of opportunities.

Niche-specific blog.

This is a great way to leverage an interest or a topic you are very familiar and knowledgeable about. You can write new blog posts daily (the more the better) and as it builds a reader base and attracts organic traffic, you will be able to monetize it from things like AdSense and affiliate offers.

“AdSense is easy to set up but it will not make you rich. It might cover the costs of operating the blog at first which is a help,” explains Loren Taylor of Soothing Company, a website that provides a guidebook on outdoor planters. Then as you build it up you can then introduce affiliate offers that pay you for referrals.

The best blogs will introduce their own product or service once they have the traffic to support that business model, as it offers the highest margins. A blog like this, for example, can monetize with ads or affiliate offers, or they could even white label their own health products. There are plenty of options, all of which can scale along with the blog’s growth.

The best blogging tips for those interested in turning a blog into a full-time business are to be well aware it’s a long-term process and know that those who are making decent money blogging didn’t get lucky. It takes a lot of work before you see results.

Content writing service.

Content is such an important part of online marketing and SEO these days, but many people struggle with it because they simply cannot write well. “If you have writing skills you can be paid very well, and it’s something that has an unlimited supply of customers,” says Tad Thomas of Thomas Law Offices. “On top of that, you can charge a premium for having the knowledge to write about topics such as law and legal matters.”

You can get started right away and source your first clients on the popular freelancing and gig websites. Tip: offer a lower rate at first to build up some customers that you can then use as references. From there the sky is the limit and large brands will pay top dollar for well written content.

Website or graphic design.

Again, if you have this skill, now is the time to put it to use as a freelancer. With so many companies operating remotely now, it has opened the door for freelancing opportunities that were once in-house roles. There are many online companies like this Stafford SEO company which offer a multitude of web service including web design. You may contact them regarding such services.

Graphic design and website design are in high demand and if you want to really stand out it’s good to stick to one niche, as Perth Web Design reports. For example, if you specialize in website design for law firms it will allow you to build a very targeted portfolio which you can then leverage to pull in more business. Target niches with businesses that have deep pockets and high budgets.

Social media consultant.

Every business needs to be active on social media these days but many business owners don’t understand it enough to be effective on the platforms. This has caused a lot of consulting opportunities to become available.

“If you are a social media pro you can help with everything from profile setup and optimization to full on campaign management, from organic posting to paid ads management,” says Pedro Del Nero of Vaporizer Vendor. “We are always on the lookout for new talent to help scale our social media. There are a lot of opportunities and if you can deliver results you might want to consider a more lucrative performance-based pay model.

Virtual assistant.

With so much work online these days, many business executives are in need of help, which gives you the opportunity to offer your services virtually. From managing email inboxes to handling billing and invoicing, there are many different needs.

There are a lot of virtual receptionist companies available. We recommend AnswerFirst, as a great example to see how you can take this concept and scale it into a large operation. Even the simplest online business has the potential to grow into a major company.

It’s best that you offer services that you can do quickly, which allows you to take on more clients. For example, if you are an expert at billing and invoicing, you might be able to easily handle 20 clients. At $500 a month that is $10,000 monthly income. You need to find a skill that is in high demand that you can take on volume.