6 Ways To Make More Money Online Now And Beyond

For many people, making money online would be an absolute dream come true. If they could find a way to make money with a website or some other online venture, they could quit their job to focus on entrepreneurship, spend more time with their family, and finally take back control of their time and their lives. 

 

The crazy thing is, earning money online isn’t a pipe dream. I have been doing it for nearly a decade now with my website Good Financial Cents. 

 

 I also know thousands of other people who are earning money online their own way with websites, courses, or unique marketing strategies. Now, here’s the good news. The majority of online revenue strategies aren’t that complicated. 

 

Like any business venture, your online income takes time to grow. You need to be willing to devote the time and energy required to get your idea off the ground, and you need grit to stick with it even if your journey is slow when you first start out. 

 

If you’re angling to earn money online but aren’t sure where to start, here are several of the best and most realistic strategies to consider: 
 

#1: Google Adsense

If you've visited any website, you've seen Google ads. These ads are everywhere, and for good reason. Not only are they easy to set up on any basic website, but they can be lucrative once your website starts bringing in a steady amount of traffic. 

 

One of the cool things about Google AdSense is that it's so easy to get set up. If you have a blog or website, you can sign up for a free Google AdSense Account. From there, Google will give you a unique code that you will paste onto your website. 

 

Google takes it from there, tracking your page views, traffic, and earnings on your behalf. There is no upkeep or maintenance to get this thing going, which makes it a no-brainer if you have a website already. How much will you make? I think my best month with Google AdSense was almost $5,000 over the last ten years. 

 

That amazing month blew my mind since it was actually near the beginning of my blogging journey. When you go from making zero to $5,000 in a month, that will rock your world. For me, it also got me even more excited because I knew there were other ways to monetize. 

 
#2: Affiliate Marketing

Whether you have a website or are still dreaming up ideas for a blog, you can also look into affiliate marketing. With affiliate marketing, you partner with brands and businesses within the content of your website. 

 

If you mention a product or service, you link to that produce or service using a unique affiliate code you received when you signed up for that particular affiliate program. 

 

From there, you’ll make money any time someone buys a product or service through your link. Generally speaking, you’ll want to partner with affiliates that are related to your blog concept. Since I’m a financial advisor, I have focused a lot of my affiliate energy on financial products like savings accounts, credit cards, and investment accounts. 

 

In addition to signing up for individual affiliate programs, you can also sign up for an affiliate ad network that offers a ton of different affiliates in one place. That way, you can see what works and what doesn’t work over time.

If you’re looking for inspiration, my friend Michelle Schroeder-Gardner of the website Making Sense of Sense has become the expert on all things affiliate marketing. Michelle earns more than $100,000 per month from her blog and the bulk of her income comes from affiliate sales. 

 

Michelle has had so much success with affiliate marketing that she even has her own course called Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing.
 

While Michelle works with a ton of affiliates in the financial services industry, one of her biggest affiliates is a blog hosting company called Bluehost. This just goes to show that you can make money with nearly any affiliate company or product if you know your audience and build up enough traffic to create sales.

#3: Consulting

Another way to make money online is via consulting. If you’re an expert in any field, you could potentially find people willing to pay you to counsel them on their personal or business goals.

You might think you’re not important enough to consult for big companies, but you could be surprised at the types of expertise people will pay for.

 
My colleague Robert Farrington of The College Investor is a good example of someone who consulted online on the side in an unlikely industry. Robert told me that, after he had been blogging for a few years, a couple of brands reached out to him to ask him for help with social media and online marketing. 

Robert said he did an average of 4-6 of these gigs per year for a while depending on his schedule and the work involved. 

 
The best part is, he charged a flat rate that usually worked out to around $100 per hour. And remember, this was pay he was earning to advise people on the best ways to use social media tools like Facebook and Pinterest to grow their brands. 

 

If you want to start consulting but aren’t sure what steps to take next, you can also set up a free account through Clarity.fm. This website lets anyone who wants to offer consulting set up a free profile. Once your profile is set up, people will find you and book a session you’ll get paid for.

#4: Sponsored Posts And Adverts

If you have a website or a large social media following, you can also make money by pursuing sponsored posts and ads. But, how does this work? Basically, companies are willing to pay bloggers and social media influencers to promote their products and services. 

 
If you have a platform, be it a blog or a huge Instagram following, you can cash in.
The first time I got a sponsored post for Good Financial Cents, I was totally blown away. I think I got paid only $100, but that was a lot of money to me at the time. 

 
Later on, however, I realized companies that wanted a sponsored post really just wanted a link from my website to their own site. For that reason, I started increasing my rates. These days, I charge around $4,500 for a sponsored post. 

Plus, I clearly mark all sponsored content as an #ad to stay in compliance with Google’s terms and conditions. I also only promote companies I use or believe in.

 
But, I also know bloggers that get $20,000 for a sponsored post. That’s pretty crazy, but it just goes to show what is possible. Keep in mind though, you don’t need a website to do sponsored content since you can also get paid if you have a lot of social media followers. 

 
My wife has a pretty big Instagram following, and she gets all kinds of sponsorships.
Not only does she get paid in cash, but we get a lot of free stuff, too. 

We’ve received free rugs, free lights, and free carpet cleaners. She only promotes things she loves though, so this strategy works really well for her.

#5: YouTube

YouTube is another platform that has made it possible for people to earn money online. There are a ton of YouTube channels out there on any topic if you can think of, and most of the people with a big following are earning some money in exchange for their videos and time.

 
Marine officer turned men's fashion expert, Antonio Centeno has built a million dollar business from his YouTube channel, Real Men Real Style. Last year, Forbes profiled some of the biggest players in the YouTube scene. According to the study, the top ten biggest grossing YouTube stars brought in $127 million from June 2016 to June 2017. 

 
The most popular, a gamer named DanTDM, earned $16.5 million of that on his own.

 
Will you earn that much? Probably not. However, you can start making money via YouTube using the platform’s own ad network or by getting sponsored posts. If you like doing videos, starting a YouTube channel can a fun way to earn some cash on the side.

#6: Build An Online Community

Last but not least, you can also earn money online by building an online community, although the monetization strategies you can pursue will vary a lot depending on your goals. 

 
You can build a community with a blog, for example. You can also build an online forum and charge people for membership. 

You could even build up a Facebook group and use your influence there to sell and promote products. My good friends Shane and Jocelyn Sams have become experts in building online communities.  

They have one right now for their website – Flipped Lifestyle. This community shows people how to create an online business and connects entrepreneurs who are pursuing similar dreams. Prior to that group, they had an online community for teachers looking for lesson plans. 

 

That probably sounds pretty random, but it's crazy the type of communities you can build and rally people around. If it's something that you're passionate about yourself and you want to connect with others that have that same passion, then an online community is something you should definitely consider.

The Bottom Line

There are a ridiculous number of ways to make money online and the ones I’ve covered here are just the tip of the iceberg. If you have time, a passion for almost anything, and at least some creative skill, you may be able to build an online income stream — or several — if you give it enough time. But, don’t just take my word for it. 

 

 If you look online, you’ll find thousands of success stories you can use for inspiration. One day you could even create a success story of your own. But you’ll never know unless you try.

I am a certified financial planner, author, blogger, and Iraqi combat veteran. I'm best known for my blogs GoodFinancialCents.com and LifeInsurancebyJeff.com and my book, Sold...MORE .
Jeff Rose, CFP® is determined to make sure you don't have buyer's remorse when buying an annuity.