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Making Money with Your Website: Transform Your Website Into A Success...

You’ve chosen your niche, researched the best (but not too competitive) keywords, found two or three related products to promote, and built your website. You’re ready for the traffic to start rolling in; you can barely contain your excitement!

If only it were that easy; unless you concentrate on making your website a real business and focus on effective marketing tactics, it’s likely that great website will never be seen, let alone generate you any money! If you’re looking for a little guidance on making money with your website, you’ll find the tips below very helpful.

Focus On Crafting Content For Your Audience First!

Too much emphasis is often placed on keyword optimization; in fact, many website owners focus so much on key terms and phrases, the text becomes garbled and makes little sense to readers. Focus on your targeted visitors first and foremost; let them know that you feel their pain or understand their problem, and offer effective solutions. Be sincere and transparent. In the course of writing your content in a way that offers value to your visitor, the keywords will fall in place naturally.

Offer Only HONEST Product Reviews

Until you have used a product yourself and know its benefits, you cannot write an effective review. People are “internet savvy” today; they’ve seen all kinds of faked reviews, and can usually tell whether a review is sincere, or was written solely for the purpose of selling a product. Use the products you promote, and you’ll find it much easier to recommend it to others in a way that persuades your visitor to buy.

Avoid Too Many Banners & Ads

Making money with your website is much easier if your site looks professional and well-organized, not covered with banners and ads. A few well-placed ads are fine, but concentrate primarily on a clean site with quality content, a professional looking design and simple navigation. Nothing is more frustrating than landing on a website and not being able to get to the information you are looking for! Most people get frustrated and go in search of the answer elsewhere – most likely, your competition!

The Most Important Tactic Of All – BUILD A LIST!

If you’re practising the “hit and miss” method of making money with your website, you will never reach your full potential – or great success. You cannot simply place affiliate links and banner adson your website and expect to make a fortune. Building relationships is a must, and that is done through a list of subscribers.

Sign up with a reputable email marketing provider such as AWeber and set up an autoresponder series of emails to go to those who sign up to your list. Build your list by offering a free ebook, video or email course. Be absolutely certain that the “freebie” you give away in exchange for an email address is of high quality – this is where you can start building your visitors’ trust in you. The more those on your list trust you and feel that you are an authority in your niche, the more likely they are to buy from you. Don’t think that building a list is too much work or “too hard;” without it, you may as well go back to your day job.

For more information, read our in-depth ‘AWeber Review‘.

You can’t make money with your website without traffic! Getting traffic is a major stumbling block for many website owners. Using pay-per-click ads such as Google Adwords can burn a hole in your pocket in no time flat, and most new marketers simply do not have a big advertising budget. So, how can you drive targeted traffic to your site?

Image by ‘IDS photos’

• Write articles for syndication and submit to article directories such as Ezine Articles.
• Guest post on other relevant blogs, and include a link back to your website in your bio.
• Learn where your target audience “hangs out,” and put yourself in front of them. This may be forums, Facebook, LinkedIn, message boards or a combination of all of these things.
• Keep adding quality content to your own website. Before submitting articles to directories for syndication, place them on your own blog or website first. Search engines will give you credit for the content first, instead of the article directories. Fresh, frequently updated content can lead to higher rankings with the search engines for your chosen key terms and phrases.
• Get social. If you aren’t yet engaged in social media, it’s time to start. Create a Facebook fan page, and get involved in the conversation. Social networking sites are not the place to market heavily; instead, share your expertise with others – they will get the hint that you know what you’re talking about, and want to learn more about what you do.

You can have a successful website, but keep in mind it does take effort and patience. If you aren’t currently making money with your website, don’t give up like so many others do! Put some of the tactics above to work for you, and watch as your website transforms from a failure to phenomenal.
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Tess is the owner of SEOContentConnection content writing services; she and her team of writers craft high quality content for online business owners including articles, web pages, blog posts and press releases. She also offers online marketing tips & strategies on her marketing blog, Prosper with Tess. 

Need Help Getting A Job? Then Start Your Own Website!

Lets face it, the world is in a complete mess! Many countries are on the brink of bankruptcy and there are millions of people unemployed. It certainly doesn’t look good does it?

One of the main problems is that there doesn’t seem to be enough work to go around. Those few jobs that are available require a lot of prior experience, which is particularly damaging to graduates and young people who are trying to get their foot on the ladder.

In the UK alone, unemployment is at a staggering 2.62 million and rising! In the US there are significantly more people struggling to find work. Now we can talk about what caused this and who is to blame until the cows come home, but that will not solve anything.

So, lets look at the general problem;

1. There are not enough jobs.
2. You need additional experience to show to potential employers.

Now, I know that this is a VERY simplified model as there are many other issues that can be factored in, but in its simplest form this is the problem. I’m sure some people reading this can relate to this.

We can all start pointing the finger of blame at the government or education, which is probably right, but that doesn’t help the millions of people out of work right now. So what can be done to help? What can individuals do to help their situation? Well why not start a website!

How Can A Website Help?

Well by starting your own website, you are showing to potential employers that you are self-motivated and hard working. It can be a great way to gain experience by working and managing everything yourself, which can be a major plus point to put on your CV or Resume.

Website Portfolio/Online CV

Having your own website can be a great way to display your work, acting like an online portfolio that you can show to employers. If you are a budding writer or journalist, you can publish your own work online for other people to read. If you are a photographer, graphic designer, artist, etc. having your own site that displays all of your best work can help get you your desired job. You may be an actor or musician that is finding it difficult to get noticed, why not upload videos of yourself onto your own website for people to get in contact with you.

But this doesn’t just have to apply to the creative types; plumbers, builders, office workers, gardeners, teachers, engineers, mechanics, etc. What ever your profession, you can demonstrate your skills on your very own website to help you in the search for a job.

Now I know what you are thinking, why spend the time creating your own website when you could just create a free site on one of the many job sites that are available which serves the exact same purpose? Well because it helps you stand out from the rest of the crowd! It helps to show that you are hard working, that you are adaptable and able to learn new skills.

But if you are going to this much effort, why not take it one step further!

Become Self Employed or Start Your Own Business

One of the problems that we looked at earlier is that there aren’t enough jobs available for the number of people out of work. One solution to this is to stop looking for a job that may not be there and create a job for yourself.

One thing that history teaches us is that there are more entrepreneurs, more people starting businesses and becoming self-employed during times of recession.

Now could be the perfect opportunity for you to take the plunge and try to make it on your own. If anything, it could help you get a job in the future by demonstrating that you have the confidence and ability to make it on your own.

Now a great and very inexpensive way to begin is to start your own website. Whether you are offering a professional service, freelancing, part-time contract, etc. people can find you and get in contact with you via your own website.

Perhaps you are an out of work electrician. You could set up your own website advertising your services in your local area. You may be an unemployed teacher, why not set up a website and teach people about a certain subject.

Your website doesn’t just have to advertise your real-world skills, you can create a business online. The beauty of running your own website is that it can earn you money in a number of different ways, you just have to think about things in a different way.

Example: Teacher

Lets take the teacher example from before, lets say that he or she is a PE teacher. Well, already you can see that this individual has additional skills than simply teaching, they have knowledge of physical education, biology, fitness, diet, etc. So, instead of simply starting a website to try and find a teaching job, why not start teaching people online! They could write a blog twice a week with exercise tips for people or tips for loosing weight, getting the perfect beach body, diet plans, etc. This would all help to attract visitors to their website.

So now that they are getting visitors to their website, how do they make any money from them. Here are just a few examples;

• They could place advertising on their site for related products, perhaps exercise equipment or gym membership.
• Promote affiliate products, such as dietary supplements, sports equipment, adventure holidays, etc.
• They could review and make recommendations on the different equipment that they use.
• Produce their own exercise eBook or DVD to sell to their visitors.
• Have a membership part of the site that people pay a subscription to access. Here they could offer more in depth help and guidance to people.

The great thing is that you don’t have to restrict yourself to just one method. You can add additional ways to monetize your website and build your site up as though it were a business. Check out our ‘30 Ways Your Website Can Earn You Money‘ for even more ways!

How To Start A Website

I hope that you can see the potential benefits of starting your own website, whether it be to help you find a job or start your own business. But how do you go about starting your own website?

Well essentially there are only three things that you need to get started;

1. Domain Name – This is the URL address of your website (e.g. OnlineIncomeTeacher.com).
2. Web Hosting – This is where all your website files are stored online so that it can be accessed at any time of the day.
3. Content Management System – This is how you actually manage your website. I’d recommend WordPress as this lets you manage your website without the need for any web coding knowledge.

The whole set-up process can cost you less than $100. There aren’t many ways that you can set-up a potential new business like this for that much! Check out our in-depth guide to setting up your own website, ‘Get Started Today!‘

So what do you think? Do you think that having your own website is a good way to find a job? Do you think it’s a good way to start your own business? Let me know what you think below in the comments section.

15 Ways Your Website Could Be Earning You More Money INFOGRAPHIC...

If you run your own website or blog, then you will probably want to know how to make money with it.  There are many different ways to monetize a site.  SO many in fact that you don’t have to rely on only one method, you can use as many different ways as you want! Following on from the success of our ‘30 Ways To Monetize Your Blog & Make Money Blogging!‘ post, I wanted to put together an extensive infographic for you all.  That’s why I commissioned this money infographic to be created for the site and I have to admit, I’m pretty pleased with the way it turned out!

I hope you find this money infographic to be useful.  If you do, then please feel free to share it on your own site or give it a like or a Tweet on your social media network.

This ’15 Ways Your Website Could Be Earning You More Money INFOGRAPHIC’ was sponsored byConosco.

If you found these 15 tips to be useful, remember to check out the full 30 tip list over at ‘30 Ways To Monetize Your Blog & Make Money Blogging‘ for even more detailed information on each method of how to make money with your site.

Alternately, if you would like to learn more about infographics and how they can be used to boost your website/blog traffic, check out our ‘How To Use Infographics To Attract Traffic‘ post.  I’ll try to get more infographics made for the site in the future (probably by the same people who created this one for us), so stay tuned for those.

Do you use any of these methods already to monetize your own site?  If so, which have you found to be the most successful?  Will you be trying out any of the other suggestions on the list?  Let us know by leaving a comment below!

Start An Online Business By Buying An Existing Website...

Many of you reading this are only just getting started with your own website or blog online. I have talked a lot about methods to set up your own website from the beginning, but a growing number of people are starting their own online business by buying an existing website.

Risky Business!

It can be daunting starting your own business. You can conduct huge amounts of market research, calculate financial projections, even get investment, but starting a business is always a bit of a gamble. Approximately 90% of all new businesses fail within their first year, whether you are an inexperienced novice just starting out, or a veteran of the business world with years of experience. That is just business! There will always be more risk and uncertainty with any new business, compared to an established one with a proven track record.

The exact same principles apply to websites! Most new websites never last beyond the first 12 months, whether they are run by a novice individual or a huge corporation. That is the nature of websites!

Buying And Selling Websites

Anyone thinking of making a living online has a choice to make. Either start from scratch and build up your own website or buy an existing blog!

There is a huge market for buying and selling websites online. Sites like Flippa make their money from doing exactly that, by advertising sites that are up for sale. There are tens of thousands ofprofitable websites up for sale that are looking for new owners.

But if these websites are already doing so well, why are they up for sale? Many people think this, but there can be endless valid reasons for wanting to sell up. Many people make careers from building up websites from scratch and then selling them on (known as website flipping), some people move on to bigger and better things, they need to pay off bills, etc.

Buying a website has one major downside however. It can cost significantly more to buy an existing website business with an established customer base, rather than build your own from scratch. You are essentially paying a premium for the effort that it takes to set up a site from scratch and get it generating income and traffic.

There is an argument that it is better to start at the bottom and work your way up. You can learn so much by starting from scratch yourself, rather that buying an established site, which will give you the experience to further help your business in the future. I myself, would recommend that getting started from scratch is the best option, especially if this is your first time running your own website. You are going to make mistakes along the way, so it would be better to make them and learn from them from the start, rather than risking your investment in an established business. But that is an opinion!

How To Find The Right Site To Buy

Sites like Flippa list loads of sites that are up for sale. You need to begin by browsing through them and finding any that interest you, after all, there is no point running a business that you have no interest in. You will be spending a lot of time working on it, so having a keen interest in the subject matter is key, otherwise you will get bored and not put in the required effort to make it succeed. There is no point getting involved in a business that specializes in pet fashion products if you don’t like animals, or a business that deals in religious events if you are an atheist!

Make sure that you discount sites that are very new, or that blatantly over exaggerate themselves. These types of sites can usually be created easily yourself from scratch, so there is no point paying over the odds for them.

At this point you should have a list of potential sites that interest you. You can whittle these down further, simply by doing a bit of research on them. Whenever someone puts their website up for sale, they have to provide certain information that usually wouldn’t be publicly available. This includes traffic statistics, financial information, analytics data, Adsense income, etc. You can learn a lot from the information provided, which should tell you whether you want to buy the site or not.

Act like a Property Developer

You don’t always have to bid for existing sites that have a good track record. Some sites don’t work simply because there is not a market for them, however some sites haven’t worked because they haven’t been run properly! Finding sites that just need improving can be a good way of getting your business started.

Property developers are an excellent example of this method in action. They try to find run down or derelict houses that are in excellent locations and then renovate them. These derelict houses can often be bought on the cheap and sold on for a huge profit when they have been completed.

People do the exact same thing with websites. Individuals could start a site within an excellent niche, or acquire a brilliant domain name and then never really develop the site to make the most of it. These types of sites are excellent examples of investment opportunities. Buy them and develop them into a successful business, which can then be sold on or run yourself.

Buying A Website

Should you find a site that you are interested in buying, then you need to bid on it, just like you would for an item listed on eBay. If you are successful, then congratulations! You are now the new owner of an existing business which you can then build upon. If you are outbid, don’t worry! Hopefully you will have learnt a lot from conducting research into the sites that interested you. You can use this information to make better informed decisions on future bids on websites, or take the plunge and get stuck in making your own website from scratch.

Hope you found this helpful.  Please leave your comments below & feel free to ask any questions.

How Teachers Can Earn Extra Income Online

Teaching can be a very fulfilling and rewarding career. Each day holds the possibility for many new experiences; children are inspiring to spend the day with, and becoming an educator fills a vital need in every child’s development. Simply put, the pay that many teachers receive doesn’t adequately reflect the contributions they make to society, which has forced many to search elsewhere for employment opportunities in addition to teaching. A large number of these professionals have found that working online is profitable, convenient, and can be very easy to access with just a little knowledge about the Internet.

Image by ‘myfuture.com’

Teachers Pay Teachers

Teachers already deal with many tasks online during their days in the classroom. They are communicating with parents, other faculty and administration. They utilize the Internet by researching information about a theme they may want to cover in class, or they use their district site to generate lesson plans and calendars for their many deadlines and events of importance. Therefore, they are already experts at the basics and/or advanced features and knowledge to do well online. For instance, Teachers pay Teachers is a unique site that allows working teachers to “sell” their thematic lesson plans, research papers, etc. online to other teachers. Thus, a college professor might try his or her hand at creating lesson plans for graduate programs or consider providing research papers to adjunct teachers who are learning how to teach effectively at the college level.

Copywriter

In addition to websites that purchase lesson plans, there are several other ways teachers can get paid for their writing. A number of sites offer payment (including PayPal and direct deposit services) for producing blogs, articles and business text that individuals or companies resource out to have completed. Some pay per word, while others pay by project. The amount paid usually varies by article quality, number of words written or a mixture of both criterion’s. The “author” chooses the project from a selection to be written, and can write the article based on his or her personal interests. Writers can accept a job about a subject they already know much about, making it quite easy to complete the task.

Write Your Own eBook

Budding writers might want to consider writing and selling their own eBook. With tablets and smartphones becoming widely-used devices, eBooks are rivaling the popularity of traditional books. Many sites offer self-publishing, and for a few hundred dollars, provide you with consulting services from start to finish.

For more info, check out our post about making money by writing your own eBook!

Data Entry

Teachers can be useful to businesses, such as those who need data entry or research services. Administrative assisting can be done online for certain tasks, and billing for, say, doctors, lawyers or dentists can be resourced out to those who are qualified to use spread sheet accounting software. In terms of research, there are many sites that hire researchers to help find data for books, papers and other academic projects. Teachers that like investigating information will likely find this type of online work satisfying and useful. Merely doing the work opens up new discoveries and perhaps will cause teachers to open up their world a bit more.

Start Your Own Website or Blog

Finally, if a teacher truly finds his or her niche working online, they may want to create, design, and start their own website, promoting their skills and experience producing online work. Many online platforms such as WordPress and Blogger allow teachers to make beautiful blogs with little to no experience in coding. Not only does this allow teachers to enjoy fulfilling needs in their niches, but also to share valuable skills and experiences with others along the way.

The Internet has provided an avenue for entrepreneurship and publishing at a cheaper and easier point than ever before. Any teacher has the ability to find tasks to complete, topics to write about, or just discover ways to connect with others with the Internet.

Make Money Your Way – Various Ways To Earn Money Online...

Do you want to learn how to make money online?

Making money online is a very lucrative proposition. There are a lot of advantages associated with this kind of work. First of all, this is a great option for those who like being their own boss. You don’t need to follow strict guidelines from anyone else, such as getting to work at a certain time or working a set number of hours.

You can earn money online by working from home, which means that you don’t even need to leave the facilities and comfort of your house if you choose.  You can work your own hours, the ones that are most suitable and convenient for you. In fact there are some methods of making money online that you can take up as part time jobs too.  Here is a list of various ways in which you can make money online.

1. Sell Photographs Online & Make Money

If photography is your passion, then your passion can be used to earn you money. Using an everyday household camera, you can take interesting pictures and upload them to many different websites,which will pay you every time someone downloads one of your images that you have uploaded. The best part about this is that a single photo can be sold over and over again, earning you money each and every time.

2. Sell Items On Online Auction Site

The two most popular online auction website are eBay and Craiglist. You definitely must have heard of these before, either from a friend or relative.  These sites are a great and simple way of earning money. You can sell your unused stuff,    you may happen to have bought some things which you have never used and even second hand products on these websites.

Craiglist is also one of the most visited websites in the world, which allows you to place free adverts.  List your old junk on here and see if someone wants to buy it.  Just remember that however much you end up getting paid for your items, it’s much better that leaving the stuff just lying unused in the house.

3. Share Files Online & Make Money

There are a number websites which allow you to upload all kinds of documents and you get paid every time someone downloads it.  The files can have any format, from pdf to txt to any other word document.

4. Make Money By Designing Logos

You can hone your creative skills and earn money doing it through this method.  There are hundreds of new blogs and websites starting every day. Most of these will need a logo, therefore the website owners will be looking for people who can design good logos for them.  If you have a talent for designing, then you could be making money by offering them your services.

5. Take Online Surveys & Get Paid

This is a great way of earning money online.  There are many market research companies online that are paid by different manufacturing companies to gather information and feedback from their consumers.  This is done by getting people to fill out online surveys, with many paying you to do this.

You need to be careful that you don’t end up in one of the many paid survey scams that are online. If you look carfully though, there are many companies out there which are legitimate and value your opinion.

6. Make Money Flipping Websites & Domains

You can make profits by buying a good domain name and selling it off for a profit. There are still plenty of in-demand domain names available, it’s just a case of finding them.

You can start a website or blog and build it up over time.  Once you have built up the site to a good point, you can put it up for sale and then start all over again.  Many people want readymade website and will pay a reasonable amount of money for it.

So, as you can see from this short list, there are a number of ways that you can earn money online.  For more ways, read our increasing number of articles on making money online.