For anyone looking to make a little extra money on the side, or to replace their current job eventually, making money online is an exciting idea. You spend time online anyway, so why not do something productive, but with so many ways to start an online business, where do you begin?

From launching an online shop to affiliate marketing, becoming a freelancer or simply working remotely for a business, there are endless routes you can take to earning money online. People have been successful in all of these and more, but for those new to entrepreneurship, some are better options than others, here’s why.

Setting Up Your Own Online Store

If you want to make money, sell something. This sounds like a great idea, and with platforms like Shopify, setting up an online store, even taking card payments and so on is easier than it has ever been before. Online shopping is also a fantastic industry to be in, seeing growth every year, so on the surface, your own online store seems the perfect option.

However, while it may be the right option for some, there are some challenges. A store needs stock, so you either have to be able to make something worth selling or buy in stock. That can mean significant investment up front, which may not be ideal for many. It also requires somewhere to store that stock, and that just is not practical for everyone.

Working Remotely

There are businesses all over the world looking to hire people to work remotely in almost every industry. If you are unhappy with your current job but want to stay in the same field, this can be an option if your skills transfer to the digital world.

However, this is replacing one job with another, it is not going to be an additional income or a way to build something of your own. Not everyone does jobs that can be accomplished remotely either, so while it is making money online, this is not an option for anyone looking to escape their jobs and take control of their income.

Freelancing

Working for others not as employees but selling your skills for a specific project or period as a freelancer has become incredibly popular with both workers and businesses. It offers flexibility, you only take on the work you want, you can fit it around your current schedule, and you are making additional income from your current skills. Sites such as Freelancer make working from home as a freelancer simple too, and reduce the risks over payments and so on.

However, while freelancing works for graphic design, coding, writing and so on, it is not ideal for every skill you may have. In addition, freelancing is so incredibly popular that competition is fierce too, and in recent years that has seen prices freelancers can charge reduce as well.

Freelancing is a good option, but it is becoming a challenging market and takes time to get clients and build a reputation for quality work. A long term prospect if you have appropriate skills, it can be a great way to begin a new business if you persevere.

Affiliate Marketing

One of the first ways to make money online that really took off, and still the best today, affiliate marketing requires little upfront investment and no stock, yet allows you to profit from sales of almost any product you can think of. Instead of offering your own stock that you have to manage and send to customers, as an affiliate you will direct your audience to stock on someone else’s store, whether that be anything on Amazon, a specific store, digital products, clothing, lawnmowers or anything else.

In return, you get a percentage of the profit they get from sales made from your links. There have been many approaches to affiliate marketing over the years, but comparison sites, that show people the best options for a specific market, product type or other grouping have proven over time to deliver great results while being simple to set up and manage.

Sites such as slotsites.uk offer valuable information to visitors, and generate revenue through the links they have to the various sites they compare. Those who use the links get to enjoy the best experience, and the site earns money. This approach can be used in almost any field, from model train reviews to holiday offers and everything in between. You can choose something you think will be profitable, or just turn your real-life interest into a business.

With low initial investment, most of the work involving promoting your site and others creating the product, affiliate marketing is a great entry into online money making that can fit around your existing income generation while it builds, but also has the potential to generate substantial profits over the long term. It is the perfect online business, and one every entrepreneur should include in their income portfolio.