7 Ways to Work from Home

If you have kept up with my articles you will have noticed a common focus. Since I spend a lot of my time helping those who are just beginning to pursue an internet based home business, I heavily promote the idea of starting a website around an area of interest or expertise.

It’s one of the easiest ways to start working from home. No sales techniques needed. Just steady work on a computer building a website. This is usually referred to as an information based internet business.

In this post however, I wanted to run down 7 ways to make money online. I will be upfront that my bias is towards internet business ideas that are based around the building and promoting of a website.

Some of these businesses can also be operated from home “offline” without a website in the “real world”. However, even if your home business is offline, a successful website can enhance your sales by reaching a much larger audience on the internet.

Let’s begin…

7 Internet Home Business Ideas

1. Service Based Home Businesses
Offer a service related to your area of expertise. In the offline world, it’s as easy as freelancing your services on the side. Well, perhaps not so easy because it takes cold calling. If you’re in sales, you have the skills. But most people can’t sell face to face. There’s also another problem. It’s not possible to do this in your local area if you working for a company due to a conflict of interest.

Building a website around your area of expertise however, gives you the ability to offer your services to people elsewhere in the world. It’s the way I started.

One downside to this is something I can attest to personally. The problem is, it’s not only hard work to build a website that attracts customers, you then have more work to do in providing the service. Don’t get me wrong, it sure beats working in a office. If you love what you do, why not gain more clients internationally?

2. Online Promotion of your Existing Small Local Business
If you own an offline business with local clientele, you may already have a website. But chances are it doesn’t get much traffic outside of your local area. If this is the case, consider starting a second website that is strictly information based, with links back to your local company website.

Building a website that gets worldwide traffic for your local business is a different focus altogether. It can open up new shipping avenues to your existing company. At the very least, you can sell advertising on your new “high traffic website” through programs like Google AdSense.

This new focus, marketing your existing local business online, is something you can work on and manage from home. No doubt you are already busy enough, so this is something you can work away at. Overtime, you will have a lucrative extension of your business with steady traffic being your reward.

3. Information Publisher (AdSense Ads and Product Sales)
I am the most passionate about this type of home based business, because it is the path of least resistance for people who are new to online marketing. This is quite simply, writing a blog or creating a website around your area of expertise, or a hobby. It takes no offline sales skills, only online promotion of a website filled with information. From there, you can make money through Google Ads (AdSense) and the selling of related products through affiliate programs.

The thing I love about this type of business is that it’s also the foundation for any successful website. Information. No matter what you’re selling, websites that get high traffic are websites that have unique content about a particular subject. Too many people think they can simply put up a free site with a few pages and watch the traffic roll in.

An information based internet business – built on a website that works in the search engines – is the foundation of any successful online venture. And it can jump start your online home business into other areas discussed.

The program I recommend the most for this avenue is Site Build It. It walks people through the process step by step.

4. Multi-level NetWork Marketing of a Products
This the selling of products from a “mother company” to family, friends and contacts you make. You can do it out of your home. If you are an existing network marketer, the creation of a website filled with content about the product and testimonials from your local contact list can dramatically boost your sales.

For those new in their journey to starting a home business, I want to clarify what multi-level marketing is, also referred to as Network Marketing. It’s like Amway. Totally legitimate products which you can sell, and have other people sell under you for a percentage of the profits. I’m not talking about Pyramid schemes, which is defined as the “selling of no tangible product at all”. Pyramid schemes are illegal, as are Ponzi Schemes which are fraudulent investments.

Back to legitimate home business ideas. The problem with NetWork Marketing in the online world is this: Too many multi-level marketers are simply promoting a site they are given by the main company. There is not any significant traffic to their personal url. Any successful network marketer will tell you, the only way to succeed is through networking with other people. You need to be a “people person” with strong personal skills.

That said, starting an information based website around your product with your own personal touch, can be a powerful way to increase sales worldwide and pick up new people to sign up under you. The internet is an untapped market for many network marketers because they are unable to tap into solid traffic. Highly polished websites don’t attract search engines. Content based sites on the other hand, are what search engines like Google feeds on for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

5. Home Parties Selling Products to Family and Friends
This is a common home business for work at home moms, whether they already stay at home with the kids or work at a day job. It gives you the ability to work evenings and connect with other people who are interested in your product. Yes, it takes sales. But it’s probably the easiest way to sell offline without pressure. The big plus is that most women like going to these types of parties. With a group of other women, there is less pressure for them to buy as well.

One way to grow this business is to take it online. Building a website around the product is a great way to pick up other people wanting to also sell for you, or you can promote the product directly online and start a viable mail order business.

6. Affiliate Marketing
Probably one of the most promoted ideas online, but also has the biggest confusion surrounding it for people looking to start a internet home business. This is the selling of other products where you do not have to do the shipping, or in the case of software downloads, you do not have to provide the mechanism to deliver after the sale.

You simply sign up to affiliate programs and find products you believe in. However, to be effective you will still need a website that gets traffic. The first step is to create a site around an area you’re interested in and build an information based website around that topic. Then find affiliate programs that are related. The affiliate program gives you a unique link code connected to your account. If someone on your website clicks the link and buys the product, you will get a commission for the sale.

Affiliate marketing is very competitive. Proper keyword research is required to make sure you are entering a niche market that has a good chance of succeeding. Programs like Site Build It help you do this, with a step by step process showing you how to build a website that gets high traffic.

7. Become an Online Web Developer
You may already be webmaster who knows how to build a killer site, but you are not as well versed in marketing the site and getting good traffic.

Or, you may only be in the business of dealing with local clients. While you are able to build them a great looking site, they have their own web hosting and in-house marketers to promote their business. Maybe you’re glad they do because you’re not sure how to properly guide them.

Consider learning the process of how to build a website that works. It’s more than web hosting or knowing how to use Dream Weaver, it’s about the structure, content, and marketing tools implemented for long term results.

In addition, you’ll be able to expand your expertise for your own business. Take your web development skills online and start creating websites for people all over the world. There are plenty of services like this, but very few offer the expertise in showing their clients how to add the proper keywords and content to get high rankings in the search engines.

If you’ve stuck with me this long, I’m guessing you know my bias. The thing I like about online marketing is being able to work from home and make a living without face to face selling. I can’t sell. I worked in advertising as a writer and producer of radio commercials. The sales people made all the money. But now that I am full time at home, I get to make the money – with low overhead. The process is simple, but not easy.

No matter what avenue you choose, I can’t stress enough the importance of free traffic on the search engines. There is a process involved that is simple to implement once you learn it. Simple, but not easy. It takes work. Choose a topic you love… spend a little time working on it each day… and before you know you’ll have a website that gets the traffic you need to succeed!