5 Ways to Start Internet Money Makers

The Web has come along way since it first started in the 1990s. Now, you have a variety of choices when developing your online business plan:

1) Sell a Product

Have you always dreamed about opening a retail store? Do you have a unique, or niche, product that interests you? Do you have expertise in this product that you can share with others?  You can sell homemade items, such as clothing or wedding cakes.  You can make arrangements with drop ship companies that will fulfill and ship your products for you.  Or, you can hook up with a company like Amazon.com and put all their products on your site.

2) Sell a Service

Instead of a tangible product, you may have a service to sell. For example, you may be a freelance Web blog writer or a business consultant. Your Web site can be tied in with your brick-and-mortar offsite business or just for online marketing and sales.

3)  Sell Information

“How To” books are always big sellers offline, and they they are big sellers online as well. People come to the Web to search and find information, especially unusual information that they will not find other places. They are always looking for experts in a field that interests them. You can sell downloadable e-books and e-reports or print-on-demand (POD) materials.

4) Sell Memberships

This type of business can combine products, services and information or just one of these items. For example, you may charge for a dating service or a list of area childcare providers. Or, you may have aWeb site that provides additional hard-to-find  information and products to paid members, such as Webinars.  You could have a membership that includes a Web site as well as offline activities, such as monthly meetings in different cities.

5) Sell Affiliate Products/Services

With associate or affiliate programs, you sell another company’s products or services and get a commission based on the number of people you send to the affiliate’s site or how many individuals buy a product or service or perform another type of activity, such as sign up for a newsletter or membership.

Each one of these types of businesses has its advantages and disadvantages and depend on your particular interests, online and business experience and resources.