Generate Extra Income - Make Money Online

Making money online need not be difficult, but it does take time and patience will always be a virtue. If you are an active member here at Hubpages then there is a good chance that you, like myself, are a budding writer/author and are following your passion in the hope of maybe finding success. There are actually many various ways of generating income online, although writing seems to be one of the most popular and it's always better to branch out a little bit rather than just stick to one website. On a more business-sided angle, those looking to start their own web-based business rather than freelancing or earning from user-generated content should take a look at the business model of Hubpages - there are many successful web businesses utilizing it. What is there to stop you from starting your own website where users earn a small percentage of your profits? And it doesn't have to be writing either, it could be anything from pictures to music to science. Imagine the potential of a science-based web 2.0 site that allows scholars, scientists and researchers to get paid to share their views and ideas and even to collaborate on them. The sky is the limit.

Having said that, although relatively easy to do, setting up such a website takes an investment in time. Anyone who can read and write can learn HTML and PHP in a short amount of time in order to set up such a site but actually building and testing that site is a time-consuming process. If you're looking more to just earn a quick buck, then there are sites that can provide this but the revenue you generate is going to be significantly less than if you were actually one of those very sites. It's something for anyone looking to earn money online to consider.

Become A Writer

As already stated, becoming an online writer is one of the most popular avenues. In my personal experience, Hubpages is the best website for this, everything you need is already provided. You can earn money from Adsense, Amazon and eBay not to mention Hubpages' very own earning scheme. I have had relative success with both Adsense and Amazon. Promotional tools are also already embedded into your pages taking the work out of setting them up, people can share your pages on Twitter, Facebook or Google Plus. It's good to use other sites too in order to promote your content, Blogger can help you build inbound links to your articles, your own website can provide a central domain for your activities and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter can help you build a following.

However, writing is not just about slapping up articles and plastering them with advertising in the hope that someone interested will just come along and click on your ads. Your content has to be SEO-optimized, keyword rich, original, unique, informative, well written and high quality. The better you do at this, the higher the search engines will rank your pages and the more traffic you will receive as a result. But you should not rely on search-engine optimization alone.

As you start building a portfolio of articles, reviews or whatever it is that you decide to write, you will begin to build a following. You need to work hard on building and keeping this following and obviously the longer you stick at it, the more your readership will grow. You may find that your earliest articles don't receive much traffic but this is not a problem. Once you've managed to build a following it's always a good idea to edit and republish those older articles so that your newer readers get a chance to see them.

Writer's Websites:

Hubpages - Bukisa - Redgage - Helium - Ciao - Dooyoo - Squidoo - Blogger

Become A Consumer Analyst

Some people may not have the creative side required to continue writing original articles and there are other options available to such people. Instead of coming up with your own ideas you could always write consumer reviews, either on your own website/blog or for other websites. Ciao is an extremely popular UK consumer review website that pays it's users for their opinion. The rating system works so that users who write the most detailed and highest quality reviews are rewarded the most with bonus payments being awarded to reviews of exceptional quality. It's not easy to earn money at Ciao but the potential for a decent amount of extra income is there if you are a good writer and you can earn a percentage of the income of any people you refer to Ciao.

Dooyoo and ReviewStream are two more websites that pay for consumer opinions. Dooyoo can only be used by UK residents but offer as much as 50p ($1) per review plus a small bonus every time someone reads them. As with Ciao, they also have a referral scheme so you can earn extra income by referring new users. ReviewStream pay a higher amount but are much stricter, all reviews must be original and high quality and are moderated before being published (or refused). Getting readers is the key to generating income at both Ciao and Dooyoo.

Again there is nothing stopping you from setting up your very own website or blog in order to publish your opinions, giving you the full income generated by your website/blog. However, the advantage of using other sites is that they have already established a good following.

Consumer review websites:

Ciao - Dooyoo - Review Stream

Become A Micro Worker

For people who can type and discuss their opinions but don't want to write articles or reviews, there is the option of actively taking part in discussions. Web Answers allows users to use their Adsense ID in order to publish ads alongside answers to questions that have been posted. However, only top rated answers are entitled to this privelige and users are required to prove themselves first by answering at least 50 questions.

Alternatively, users can get paid at MyLot for actively starting new discussions, taking part in already existing discussions and referring users. High quality informative posts are awarded a higher payment, as are the most active and most popular discussions.

Both MicroWorkers and MyCheapJobs are websites that let you earn a small payment in return for carrying out small tasks. At MicroWorkers these tasks are predetermined by users classed as employers who need these tasks carried out. Common tasks include making a post on Twitter, Liking a Youtube video or searching search engines and clicking links. A good amount of money can be made at MicroWorkers.

MyCheapJobs allows you to to either offer jobs that you want done to users, or to respond to other's job offers. In a similar manner to MicroWorkers these jobs are usually small tasks though they can be literally anything. If you are a freelancer it's a good way of getting extra low-budget income in return for carrying out small tasks.

Micro Worker websites:

MyLot - WebAnswers - MicroWorkers - MyCheapJobs

Become An A&R Scout

Music research and consumer analytics are becoming very important in the digital music industry. Labels, broadcasters and publishers aswell as artists and musicians all need feedback on their music. At Music X-Ray you can get paid to review and rate music by taking part in focus groups. You can also earn up to $2 each time you refer a new artist. Music X-Ray is a fairly new website at the moment so songs are few and far in between but it's a great site that brings musicians closer together with industry professionals.

At Slicethepie you can also get paid to review and rate music by both signed and unsigned artsists. Slicethepie is not for the faint-hearted, they demand quality and their payment rates are quite low. They also require you to listen to a minimum of 90 seconds of each track whereas Music X-Ray require you to listen to the entire track. Slicethepiet lets you add your favourite tracks to playlists and the consumer analytics ultimately who receives airplay on their own internet radio station, Tomorrow's Hits Today.

Although there isn't a great deal of money readily available in the music industry, using sites such as Slicethepie and Music X-Ray can be a great way of springboarding you into the music business. You can start your own blog, website or even digital record label or promotional facility in order to promote, sign or review the artists you find.

Music review websites:

Music X-Ray - Slicethepie - SongPeople

If you can read and write then you can easily learn a little bit of HTML and PHP and create your own website for free at first then buy professional hosting later. Or you could use a service such as Google Sites which lets you create your website online. You can start earning money by placing adverts (eg Google Adsense) on your site. Most income will have to come from selling a product ot service if you are going to make any significant money from your website. However, your product doesn't necessarily have to be a physical one, digital media is increasingly becoming more and more popular.

Free website hosts:

google sites - 000webhost