Way To Make MoneyThis is a longish post with some money making ideas, not necessarily to do with blogging or the Internet. It's a mixed bag, in no particular order. It's surprising what you can come up with when you try. You never know, something in the post might just get you thinking.
Money With Free Blogs.Well I had to start with this one, didn't I? And in doing so I'll take the easy way out and refer you to my three posts on this subject.
How To Make Money With Free Blogs - Part 1,
Part 2 and
Part 3.
Making Money With Your Signature.No I don't mean by selling your autograph! This is a tip I got from the knowledgeable
Tom a while back (his blog
AdSense4Dummies is an interesting read).
The signatures are those shown at the bottom of forum comments. Yes, they can be rented out for about $10 a month - subject to certain conditions etc. You need to be an established member of a forum with lots of comments under your belt and be in the habit of using the forum regularly.
Since I've been aware of this money making idea I've also seen bloggers who rent out the avatar on their forum posts as well. See a Digital Point thread where a signature is being auctioned
here.
Profit From Real Signatures - Autographs!
I know someone who buys autographed photos and then sells reproductions of these on
eBay and by other methods on the Internet. She makes up to £1250 ($2500) per month.
Yes, she has to spend to buy the original autographs but once purchased she has them for life - to sell over and over again. She buys them over the Internet, usually from abroad. The logic being that, for example, a USA star's autographed photo costs less in the USA than it does in the UK or other parts of the world. I have dabbled in this market myself - see below.
For examples of Madonna's Autographed photos (including one nude) please see my blog Madonna Photos.
Sell Links Obviously if you can sell forum signatures you can also sell your links as well. The amount paid is relative to your
PageRank - the higher it is the more you can ask. Again
Digital Point has a forum for this. This is one of the reasons to strive for a decent PR.
Advertising.If you've got a blog, or web site, you might as well monetise it, even if the result is that you simply cover your Internet costs. I've covered this subject
here so I won't repeat what has already been said. I'll just say that the most popular way to get ads on your blog or website is with
Google AdSense - but remember you must comply with their
Terms & Conditions. Fall foul of these and you could be cut off in your prime - which isn't a very pleasant thought!
Cherished Car Number Plates - UK Market.
Take a look at the motoring section of magazines such as
Exchange and Mart, or do a
search, and you'll discover a wealth of car number plates offered to discerning drivers. Prices range from £100 or so, for a number a little out of the ordinary, to something like £50,000 for a plate that spells a name.
When you look into this business you'll find several dealers are selling the same number plate. What they are doing is acting as agents for the owner of the vehicle currently bearing the number plate. They are working on a commission basis - so no big outlay involved.
All that is really required to start up is
government information regarding the transfer of number plates and the cost of advertising.
Writing Newsletters.Newsletters are in great demand amongst many varied groups of people, ranging from collectors to mail order dealers, opportunity seekers, fan club members, sixty music fans and so on.
As individuals such people carry out their interests in isolation deprived of the assistance and benefits of group membership. Someone who can bring together such people, and their interests, via weekly, monthly, bi-monthly newsletters must surely stand to make a very handsome profit. And all for what essentially amounts to writing up simple, but informative, newsletters for distribution to members.
Publishing With Reproduction & Resell Rights.
Staying on a similar theme as the last entry, this is about selling information to the public, irrespective of whether or not the information has been personally written by the publisher or purchased from outside sources.
When I published my magazines I also sold various manuals on 'how to' subjects. I purchased some of these initially with reproduction and resell rights. All I then had to do was advertise them and photocopy the material when I received orders.
Believe me, the 'how to' business is massive. We all have some knowledge that others may want. Write about this and then sell it over and over for years and years. It takes some initial effort but, once set up, it's something to sell for life (with only perhaps occasional updating). If you can't do this yourself you'll find lots of
subject matter on the Internet including eZines, guides and the like that you can reproduce for profit. A first class money maker.
Specialised Greetings Cards.
Greetings Cards seem to be all very similar. I bet at Christmas you get loads that look alike. So wouldn't it be nice if you could get a card for a loved one, or on a special occasion, which is unique and different from the norm? This is a service that could be set up using DTP or by
craft workers and those of an artistic bent.
House Sitting/Minding.
More and more people feel uneasy about leaving their homes unattended while they are on holiday or on business trips. This is a niche that could produce profits. An example of this is the service offered by
Guardian Angels.
They also want 'angels' to house sit
details here. It is however something that anyone could set up in their own area and might be ideal for someone retired.
Boarding Pets.
Follows on from the last entry. If you are an animal lover what could be more perfect that looking after dogs, cats and other creatures while their owners are away. The service could either be offered in the owners home or, if you have the space, at your own house. People do worry about their precious pets so why not exploit the market!
Jewellery Making.This opportunity can range from making and selling inexpensive jewellery, to producing custom designed or novelty items. Whatever quality or speciality one opts for, will determine the method of sale. Lower cost and gimmicky items might best be reserved for craft fairs, party plan, car boots sales or in bulk to local shops.
Higher quality items might be created to customers' specifications or else could be produced specifically for sale on a commission basis in local craft and jewellers shops, at craft fairs, trade fairs - the opportunities are endless!
Kate runs an interesting blog about making and selling jewellery. There are several useful articles.
Pattern Designer.My wife makes and designs dresses, though not so much nowadays. She has lots of patterns of dresses she has made in the past and also of stuffed animals, like
teddy bears, that she also used to enjoy making. The thing here is that many people can't make
patterns for all sorts of craft work themselves. This includes such things as knitting, sewing, embroidery, tapestry, quilting and so on. If you can make the patterns for the craft workers then there are pounds, dollars, euros to be made.
Affiliate Programs.Go
here for the low down on making money with affiliate programs. All you need is a blog and away you go!
Growing And Selling Mushrooms.
An easy enough task for anyone with a small area in which to house shelf upon shelf of compost in which the mushrooms are grown. Mushrooms actually 'grow' themselves, with very little outside assistance. There are many complete
kits and manuals available about growing this high demand commodity.
Sell at markets, car boot sales, to shops. Have a
Mushrooms For Sale sign outside your house (if not against any bye laws) and sell direct to passers by and neighbours.
Growing And Selling Plants.This is another easy cottage industry. Anyone with the slightest tinge of green to their fingers can take cuttings. I do this myself with
fuchsias. They are so easy to grow. Pick off a newish shoot, pop it in water until it has some roots and then stick it in a pot. Job done. Now look at what a nursery will charge for similar plants. Cuttings = profit. There is a host of place where they can be sold. Lots of plants are easy to take cuttings from. Hydrangea for example - expensive to buy but easy to grow.
Tips & Donations
It is possible that, if you provide some interesting information on a blog visitors may leave you a donation or tip.
There is one famous example of this -
Jason Kottke. The story goes that in the early part of 2005 he decided to quit his employment to take up being a professional blogger for one year.
His blog doesn't offer any form of service or product, and there is no advertising on the blog. His income, I'm told, is purely from donations. In February of 2006 Jason revealed that roughly 1450 micropatrons had donated over US$39,900 over the course of his one year experiment.
This is an exceptional example. Jason was already a well established blogger prior to requesting donations. However even a few tips might just come in handy. You don’t get if you don’t ask.
PayPal offer proper donation buttons and make it easy for visitors to donate or leave a tip. I always run a couple of these buttons on my own blog.
Teaching.
I don't mean in schools or colleges but simply passing on some knowledge that you have to other people. I'll mention my wife again here. She's a dressmaker so a few years back she decided to teach this to a few friends and their friends and ... so on.
I know someone who teaches yoga and has made lots of cash. Get a class of thirty all paying you £x or $x and you have a good income for a couple of hours work but, if you held lessons most days and evenings ... loads of money!
If you have a skill or knowledge use it, profit from it and don't hide your light under a bushel - what is a
bushel anyway?
Making Friends & Contacts - Over 18's Only.It can be a lonely old world and this is why there are lots of agencies, magazines and websites dedicated to bringing people together, whether this be for romance, friendship or adult relationships.
I used to publish penfriend and contact magazines for about ten years alongside my business opportunity magazine. It's a profitable business to get in to. You can read some of my experiences
here. Of course, nowadays, it's all mostly done on the Internet. As regular readers will know from my blog I'm an affiliate for the
FriendFinder Group and also
SexyAds. They have both made money for me.
The mentioned affiliate programs have plenty of back up, pay out on time and I have had no problems with them. The question is: Are they compatible to your blog or websites? If they are, give them a go!
Sex - Over 18's Only.I don't mean selling your body! Sex is a private thing and that is why retailing products for adults is so successful by mail order or on the Internet. It's the sort of thing that a lot of people would be too embarrassed to purchase in a shop but they may be interested over the anonymity of the Internet or through the mail.
One company that will give you a free adult website is
Convergence Inc. Commission is then made on any sales on your site. Needless to say this is for readers over the age of 18 only.
Please do not click on the link if you are under age.
Re-conditioned Jumpers & Sweaters
This is one I remember from visiting a car boot (trunk) sale. One woman purchased sweaters, jumpers, cardigans etc. from Jumble Sales, where prices are extremely low, and resold them at
car boot sales. She washed all of the garments, pressed them and folded them neatly into plastic bags so that they looked new - though she didn't fib and sell them as such.
Each item was priced reasonably but not too cheap. If you sell things at rock bottom prices often customers don't see the items as being of value.
She tried, whenever possible, to buy 'named' garments - either designer or big store names. There were usually lots of people round her stall looking and buying.
Selling Paper Ephemera.
Ephemera is the fancy name given to paper collectibles: tickets, adverts, magazines, leaflets, old bill heads, letterheads etc. The older the item often the more collectible the item - though this doesn't always follow. Rarity is the main thing to look for.
These items are always in demand by collectors at fairs, flea markets, antique fairs and through the mail or on eBay. See my full article on ephemera:
Making Money From Printed Memorabilia & EphemeraWriting Letters To The Press.Here lies a potentially lucrative opportunity. Most magazines and newspapers offer cash rewards for readers letters, jokes, anecdotes, recipes and so on. Study the target publication carefully to see what is required. Some publications prefer short, snappy letters: some choose family orientated subjects or other niche readers. Make sure that you know the sort of material wanted and have a go!
Leaflet & Flyer Distribution.Many firms and businesses advertise their services by means of flyers and brochures delivered to defined areas. Now a proper, reliable leaflet distributor dealing with several clients at the same time can offer a good service at a reasonable cost.
The secret is to deliver several flyers etc for different clients at the same time. You can advertise your services locally or nationwide. Prices are about £40 per 1000 leaflets delivered - see
example website for London area who offers such a service.
Big Mails.
I did something similar to the above leaflet distribution when I published magazines but through the post. I used to mail out what are known as
Big Mails. These are simply circulars from various sources that are all included in one envelope.
I always packed the envelope full to the relevant weight to make it profitable. At the time I remember I could get 10 A4 circulars in one envelope for a second class stamp. It may be different now.
I also included circulars for businesses when I mailed out my magazines. Why waste any free weight when you can get paid to pop in a couple of extra circulars.
Your Own Internet Shop.
Do you fancy having you own shop or store on the Internet and all for free? All you need to do is to get visitors to your shop - perhaps by promoting this on your blog.
Setting up a shop is quite straightforward and is really simply an extension of being an affiliate. The companies concerned, who offer the service, do virtually everything for you. There is no need to have any knowledge of HTML as the website layouts, for your shop, are all ready set up.
You normally have a choice of goods with which to stock your shop. Again this is all for free and costs nothing to set up.
A few companies who offer to set you up with a free shop or store include:
Amazon: with their aStore.
Zlio: big range of products.
SexToySex: adult products (over 18’s only).
There are many other examples. Do a search and you will find lots more.
Childrens' Entertainer.
Okay not for everyone! If you have children and want to throw a birthday party get in the professionals: clowns, magicians, puppeteers, jugglers etc. They can entertain the kids while you take a break. Only, in this instance, I'm talking about you becoming the entertainer. I mean how difficult can it be! I guess you have to actually like children and not mind making a fool of yourself.
Old Photographic Views.
Sometimes called photo antiques. In this case the idea is to sell photographic reproductions of old street and village scenes or pictures of local interest. Original photos and even postcards of such views are becoming increasingly expensive. This is where reproductions fill the void. In relation to the potential, the price of the original is relatively low for the 'reproducer'. The photos can be sold framed or unframed.
London Under Fire - WW2 PhotosIt's all so easy to do nowadays with modern printers and scanners.
Surveys.It's true that there are a lot of scams involving surveys but there are a few good ones. If you like completing surveys and polls one genuine company is
You Gov. They are looking for people from UK, USA and the Middle East for their panels. Payments are made for completing surveys. It's not big money but it is extra cash. They also offer payments for introducing new members to their panels.
Get Writing.
If you look around the Internet there are several websites that will pay you for writing articles. An example of this is
Helium. They share profits based on advertising on article pages. At the time of writing this they also have weekly prizes ranging from $5 to $300 in addition to standard earnings. To make money you need to write quite a few articles and it also helps if you can promote these on blogs, forums and so on.
Sponsored Posts.
If you have a blog then consider writing sponsored posts. You get paid a set fee for writing such a post based on various subjects and to specifications as set down by the websites concerned. The following websites offer sponsored posts.
PayPerPost,
Blogitive and
Review Me. There are also many others. Blogs need to be of a certain standard to qualify for sponsored blogs. See requirements of the mentioned websites - they vary.
Unfortunately that's my time up! There are lots more money making ideas. It's really a matter of sitting down and brainstorming and then seeing if you can find more info on the Internet.
Good luck,
Mike.
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