If you can cut through the "get rich quick" schemes, the internet can be a legitimate revenue generating resource! Countless individuals have become millionaires by finding ways of providing products and/or services via the Internet. Here e-marketers and current or future home-based business owners can find legitimate ways to make money on the internet as well as tried and true work from home resources to help you get started. Let’s begin with the most common ways to make money online:

Buying and Selling/Ebay

Drop-shipping

E-trading

MLM (Multilevel Marketing) and Direct Selling

Affiliate/Referral Programs

"Out of the box"

Performing a much needed services

1. E-bay Selling – Buying and selling products online is one of the most common and well known methods of making money online. The key is to find a product that is in high demand, for example: electronics, apparel, video games, etc. You then need to out think your competition, and on sites such as Ebay, competition can be fierce. The most important step here is to find a product you are familiar with both so you can more knowledgably market the product and so you can accurately answer your customer’s questions. This establishes their faith and trust in you as a competent seller. If you’re having trouble finding a product start by asking yourself what you’re knowledgeable and passionate about. You can then research accompanying products and see how well they are selling on Ebay already. Ebay also offers tools to help you get started such as an inexpensive storefront if you don’t want to build your own.

Drawbacks to Ebay selling are:

Finding or creating a profitable product

Ebay can be very time consuming (Plan to spend 20-30 hrs/week)

This is a very competitive market so you will have to find a way to stand out above the others

2. Drop-ship- Drop shipping can be done on Ebay as well with several other marketing ideas such as your own web site. With drop shipping you act as the "middle man" between buyer and vendor. The benefits are that you never have to mess with inventory and shipping. You simply find a product, sell it, then rely on the vendor to ship it. This can save you time and money in that you have no inventory to worry about and you do not have to make constant trips to the post office or UPS to ship your items. Another benefit is that you’re never stuck with a garage full of products that won’t sell. Your first step is to obtain a drop ship directory to find vendors who will drop ship. With enough research this can be done free of charge if you’re willing to put the time in yourself, or you can pay approximately $50 - $90 to obtain a legit directory. That money will save you more in the long run as you know they will be legitimate vendors. Use caution here, as there are a lot of fake drop shippers who are actually just middlemen themselves trying to earn a commission. WorldwideBrands is a good place to start your search as they are certified drop shippers, registered with the BBB, and offer over 8 million products to choose from.

Drawbacks to drop-shipping are:

The drawbacks to drop shipping can be negated by taking the time to find a good vendor. Otherwise the drawbacks can include:

Dealing with backorders – make sure the product is actually available BEFORE listing it on Ebay

Returns can be a headache if you’re mixed up with a bad vendor.

3. E-trading is a trend growing more in popularity every day. Forex and Etrade are both online trading companies which offer tutorials to teach you how to trade. With Forex you can begin trading with an investment as small as $25 and you aren’t charged commissions or exchange fees. They also offer "real time" price quotes. The key here is to research it and know what you’re truly getting yourself into before rushing in. This certainly isn’t a method to jump blindly into!

Drawbacks:

To see a larger return, plan to invest at least $250.

The market fluctuates greatly! Due to the short term nature of trading, daily updated are crucial. Hourly updates are highly recommended. This allows you to stay more informed and aware of trends and changes that will cause the value of your investment to fluctuate.

4. Due to the influx of scams in the MLM and Direct Selling market, this online business opportunity is often misrepresented and thus overlooked. False and misleading claims about income potentials made by dishonest distributors and "affiliates" have flooded the market and made it rather difficult to have faith in any of these ventures. MLM, Multi-Level Marketing, are companies with a product to sell and choose to do so by word of mouth advertising or by paying independent distributors to sell their products. The distributors make money selling the product, but make even more money by bringing in more distributors. The more distributors they bring in, the more money they make, as they usually get a percentage of the profits generated by any distributors they recruit. Direct Selling is essentially MLM but marketing more expensive products. Since you make a higher commission due to the higher cost of the product, you can make more money with less recruits. The key here is to find legitimate companies with good commission structures. Look for established companies and research them well. Don’t waste your time on small, newly started corporations. They are potentially less credible and those that are truly credible may not last in today’s market. In order to be successful at MLM and Direct Selling, you must have the desire and motivation to run your own business. First, you have to learn the ins and outs yourself, then you have to teach it to your recruits so that they are just as successful as you are. A major benefit here is that once you have successful recruits your income becomes residual. Even if you decide to stop selling, your recruits are still out there making you money. Keep in mind that as with any business venture, there are start up costs. Prepare to invest anywhere from $50 - $300 for MLM and $500 - $2000 for Direct Selling. However, if you’re motivated enough you can make that investment back in no time.

Drawbacks:

The main drawback here is the invasion of the scam artist. With the ease of building a web site and the creation of Photoshop, it’s very easy for anyone to create a legitimate looking web site. All too often people are cheated out of their hard earned money simply because they got caught up in a sales pitch and forgot the most important rule – RESEARCH!!! This research can be done on the Internet free of charge and often takes less than 10 minutes to divulge a scam! So be sure to do that research before handing over your credit card info.

Another drawback is the high drop out rate in MLM’s. Lack of adequate training from the recruiter and/or the recruiter’s lack of motivation are to blame. Remember, you’re not the only recruiter. The person you recruit then becomes a recruiter him/herself which directly affects your cash flow. Taking the time to choose your recruits wisely, training them well, and getting them pumped up and excited about the product and the income potential are key to holding on to good recruits!

In today’s economy, direct selling can be a challenge. The reason is that you are attempting to sell higher market items during a time when most don’t wish to part with their money. Both your end customer and your recruits may not have the money to purchase or invest, and it will take an amazing sales pitch on your part to convince them to do so!

5. Affiliate programs can be an inexpensive and ideal option. Affiliate programs allow you to sell someone else’s product without having to talk to people in person or on the phone and without spending your own money to do so. As an affiliate you choose a product to sell, then you advertise that product through various avenues – a lot of them FREE – then you collect anywhere from 50-100% commission when the product sells. 100% commission you ask? Yes it’s true! A lot of companies will offer their first product at 100% commission to you, because they upsell, (sell other products in connection with the initial product), to make their real money. This is a very inexpensive way to make money as most affiliate programs are free since you give them free advertising and bring them customers! The cost to you can be as little or as much as you would like it to be. You can advertise freely on blogs, articles, etc. or you can invest in a cheap domain/hosting package and create a web site to advertise the product. The choice is up to you. The key here is to join a few affiliate programs and create multiple streams of income. Top affiliates doing so can truly earn thousands of dollars per week simply promoting someone else’s product! Another key here is to make sure all products/companies are legit. This will result in future sales from the same customer, positive reviews in the community, (which means future sales from others), etc. There is a lot of money to be made in this venture if you’re willing to do the research first and make sure you’re not getting involved with a scam product/company.

Drawbacks:

You have to do your research and not get caught up in a sales pitch! All companies claim to have the best product/program, so a little research can go a long way in this arena.

You have to know how to drive traffic to your affiliate sites. No traffic equal no sales! If you don’t know how to reach the most people, research it and find the best methods.

6. Outside the Box: It may seem difficult in today’s day and age to think of something that hasn’t been done, but surprisingly enough it happens every day. Think of the infomercials you see on tv. Most of those products are unique and so simple we just cannot believe we didn’t think of them first. So put some thought into it. Think about what you do every single day and how you could make that task easier. For example, look at the "space age bags" product that you can put clothes, bed linens, etc in then vacuum and make massive storage space in your home. Another example is, I heard of a guy that created a very simple website that surveyed people who were searching for real estate. He created a very simple site with a very simple questionnaire asking people things such as their price range, number of rooms desired, location, etc. He then made millions by contacting real estate agents and selling this information to them. When you think of every type of business out there that could benefit from such leads, the possibilities seem endless! The key here…GET CREATIVE!!!

7. Performing much needed services! There are millions of forums online in which people advertise and are willing to pay for services. For example: I have a product to sell. My product is amazing, but I am not a writer. So I just can’t seem to write copy that will adequately promote my product. So I advertise in a forum that I am willing to pay anyone who can write an awesome ad to sell my product. You respond with the best offering/price. I pay you to write my copy for me. It’s that simple! The possibilities are endless! So think of something you’re good at and then search Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. for forums related to your interest. Once you join the forums look for posts that are requesting these services and respond to them.

Drawbacks:

Be sure to work out a payment arrangement suitable to both parties so you don’t deliver a product and never get paid.

Be sure to ALWAYS deliver quality content and what you promised to deliver! Forums are made up of tight knit communities and they will let each other know very quickly how they felt about the quality of your product. Their reviews can be your greatest asset or your biggest downfall!

I would highly recommend that you don’t let any of the drawbacks discourage you, as most can easily be overcome! All of these strategies are proven money makers and the most common ways to make money online. Any business has its drawbacks, so don’t let that stop you! Just minimize the risk and move forward in your plans! With a little diligence, hard work and research you can truly achieve your goals!