15 “Proven and Easy To Start” Online Business Ideas That Make Money

Are you looking for online business ideas to make extra income on the side? The internet offers a lot of opportunities to start a business or find fulfilling careers. In this article, we will show some of the proven and easy to start online business ideas that actually make money.

The ideas we’re sharing in this article are about building legitimate online businesses, and you’ll still have to work hard to succeed.

That being said, let’s take a look at some of the proven and easy to start online business ideas that actually make money.

1. Start a Blog and Make Money From It

It is very easy to start a blog, and there are tons of ways to make money from it. One of the most popular ways to monetize your blog is by displaying ads using Google AdSense.

While you can start a blog in less than 30 minutes, you will need to work on it to make it a success. You will have to offer useful, entertaining, and engaging content to your audience on a regular basis (see our step by step guide on how to start a blog).

Luckily, there are tons of blog post ideas that you can use to consistently create content. As your blog grows, you will be able to monetize it using other strategies as well.

You will also be able to and use it as a platform to launch other online businesses.

2. Become an Affiliate Marketer

Affiliate marketers make sale commissions by recommending other people’s products or services.

Most affiliate marketers recommend these products and services by running their own blogs, websites, and email lists. They need to learn different online marketing strategies like SEO and content marketing to build an audience.

To get started, follow our ultimate affiliate marketing guide with step by step instructions for beginners.

3. Create and Sell Online Courses

If you are particularly good at something, then why not teach others and make a career out of it? Selling online courses is another popular way to start an online business.

A lot of users prefer to quickly acquire skills and knowledge by joining online courses. Creating an online course has become a lot easier with the help of LMS software. These platforms allow you to create interactive courses with easy to manage tools for classes, students, course material, and more.

The best part is that you don’t have to write a single line of code to build a course website.

To get started, see our guide on how to create an online course with WordPress.

4. Build an Ecommerce Store

Selling things online had never been easier. Anyone can easily create an online store in minutes and start selling products.

These products can be physical goods (things that need shipping) or digital downloads like eBooks, music, software, and more.

Before getting started, you need to do your research. Here are some tips to help you brainstorm ideas:

- Find a niche with high demand and low competition

- Think of ways you will make your eCommerce store standout by doing things that other eCommerce stores are not doing.

- Think of the costs involved in getting products from the manufacturer to customers. Choose a pricing model, so that your products can compete and offer great value to your customers. Last, but not the least, your profit margins must be reasonable enough to ensure that your business can sustain and grow in the long run.

You also need to choose a platform for your eCommerce store. The easiest way to get started is by using Shopify or WooCommerce. They are both great platforms. We have created a comparison with their pros and cons (see Shopify vs WooCommerce to learn more).

5. Build a Membership Website

Membership websites make money by selling subscriptions with access to premium content and community features. Instead of relying on advertising revenue, you can allow your users to directly support your website with paid memberships.

There are many types of membership websites. For example, some membership websites give users access to exclusive members-only content. Others give users access to community features like a forum, Facebook group, or Slack group.

You will need to find a suitable niche for your membership website. It needs to be valuable enough for users to pay for it.

There are plenty of membership software that can help you easily build any kind of online community. You can choose different subscription models, manage users, receive online payments, and more.

6. Make a Drop Shipping Website

Drop shipping combines affiliate marketing and eCommerce. Basically, you create an online store to sell other people’s product for a commission. You will be running an online store without managing the inventory or shipping.

The biggest advantage of running a drop shipping business is the low barrier to entry, minimum investment, and little to no hassle. However, one disadvantage is that you will be working hard to sell other people’s products at a smaller profit margin.

Most drop shipping businesses eventually start selling their own products to diversify their business and increase their profits.

7. Make an Online Job Board

Another way to make money online is by building a job hunt website. A job board website helps connect job seekers with employers for a small fee.

There are plenty of online job search engines, which means you will need to find a particular niche to make your job board stand out. For example, you can create a job board specifically for web developers or pet sitters.

You can charge a small fee for each job listing posted by employers, offer companies packages to post multiple listings or charge job seekers to upload their resumes.

8. Create a Micro-Job Website

A micro-job website allows you to make money by connecting employers to freelancers and contractors. This allows you to make money based on the overall price of the job listed. Popular micro-job posting websites like Fiverr, PeoplePerHour, UpWork, and others generate millions of dollars in revenue each year.

Basically, you will be acting as a middle-man between the employers and freelancers. You will be paid by employers for each job, and after taking your commission, you will pay the rest to the freelancers upon completion of the job.

9. Make a Food or Recipe Blog

Food and recipe blogs are a lucrative blogging niche and a great online business opportunity. Food and recipe blogs use a variety of techniques to generate revenue like using Google AdSense, affiliate marketing, selling recipe books, or run an online store.

You will need to be passionate about food and cooking. It is a competitive niche, so you will need to think of the ways to make your food blog unique and interesting.

10. Build an Online Marketplace

Another proven and easy-to-start business idea is to make an online marketplace website. These websites make money by allowing users to create their own mini-stores and selling products.

To attract sellers, you can choose a high-demand niche with lower competition. Make your platform unique and attractive to both sellers and customers by offering better user experience and support.

11. Become a Graphic Designer

Graphic designers make money by creating images, business logos, website designs, sales pages, and more. This is a massive industry with tons of business and career opportunities.

To become a graphic designer, you will need to learn how to use professional design tools like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, etc. There are tons of vocational training schools, colleges, and universities offering courses to help you get started.

12. Start a Fashion Blog

Do you have an interest in the latest fashion trends and news? Why not use it to make a fashion blog and make money from it.

Fashion blogs attract tons of advertisers, top brands, and promoters. They not only allow you to make money, you can also become an influencer and get other perks / benefits like free apparels, invites to exclusive shows, and more.

13. Become a Content Marketer

Content marketers help businesses promote their products and services by generating useful and highly engaging content. All businesses need content to attract customers. There is an increasing demand for content marketers that is not expected to slow down anytime soon.

Content marketers are good at writing content, but they are not just bloggers. They specialize in finding the content ideas that will bring more visitors and potential customers to a website.

14. Start a Podcast

A podcast is an episodic series of audio files which users can subscribe to download and listen. Podcasts are a great way to make a successful online business with many opportunities for growth.

Podcasts make money through advertisements, sponsorships, partnerships, and affiliate marketing. You will need to find a topic for your podcast that is interesting and engaging, so you can make your podcast unique.

15. Become a YouTuber

If you like making videos, then becoming a YouTuber is an excellent business opportunity. YouTube is the world’s largest video hosting platform, second most popular search engine, and a massive global community of content creators.

It allows anyone to upload their videos, create channels, and make money from advertisements, sponsorships, and deals. Some YouTubers make millions of dollars each year, and there are thousands of YouTubers earning a six-figure income.

You can create videos on any topic. You can upload personal vlogs, educational channels like List25 or WPBeginner, video reviews, cooking channel, or almost anything you can think of.

How To Make Money Online: Practical Ways To Earn From Home

There has never been a better time to start an online business and make money from home or anywhere with an internet connection. Digital technology is increasingly accessible and affordable. This means you don’t have to be a tech-whizz to set up a successful online business. In fact, you’ll see in this guide how to make money online with practical ideas and inspirations that you could start right away.

Earning money online is relatively straightforward, if you have the right approach. The best ideas can also be very lucrative, when done right.

One reason for online businesses’s high profit potential is because digital businesses aren’t limited to a certain geographical location. In theory, anyone in the world is a prospective customer or client. This means almost limitless scalability for your company.

Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to make money online with 7 of the best online business ideas so you can start generating income from home today.

Ready to begin your online career? Here are the seven ways you can earn an income from the Internet:

1. Sell products online

When it comes to selling products online, there are two different avenues you can go down: drop shipping or direct-to-consumer. The difference lies in whether or not you are in charge of the stock. Will you maintain your own inventory or would you rather use a third-party to ship products on your behalf?

Both routes offer different online business opportunities.

- Drop shipping

With drop shipping, you sell other people’s products and keep a revenue share for each sale. You don’t keep an inventory of products but rather purchase the product from a third-party manufacturer or wholesaler after a customer makes a purchase.

By buying products at a lower price than you sell them for, you can generate a profit. Getting these price points right is essential, however, as drop shipping often has low margins.

- Direct-to-consumer

The second e-commerce model is direct-to-consumer. This has more parallels with traditional brick-and-mortar stores. You are essentially buying goods and selling them online.

E-commerce has become a massive industry. Recent research estimates that ecommerce will make up more than 22 percent of all worldwide retail sales by 2023. That number will be even higher in developed economies in North America, Europe, and Asia.

2. Publish and monetize content online

Online publishing revolves around creating and posting quality content on your website to build up an audience that you can then monetise through advertising. There are three main different monetisation avenues you can leverage to make money from your website.

- Affiliate marketing

Companies are often looking for influential online publications to promote their products. Affiliate marketing involves promoting products on your site with links to purchase them. You earn commission every time a visitor from your website goes on to make a purchase from one of your affiliate partners.

To get started, you will first need a website or blog with quality content around your chosen niche. Then you will need to build an audience (that’s the hard part). You will then need to sign up as an affiliate to sell a company’s products and use your special referral link on your site. 

- Display advertising

Digital display advertising means publishing banner ads on your website or blog. Every time someone sees or clicks on the ads, you earn some money. 

Ads are sold on a cost-per-1,000 impressions or cost-per-click basis. The revenue increases as more people visit your site. Ads can be sold direct or through ad networks, such as AdThrive, Mediavine, or Google AdSense. Advertisers work with the network to create campaigns and bid to place ads on your website.

- Sponsored content

Sponsored content is the third way to earn money online from your content. It involves posts that are either written by you or brands. Advertisers will pay you to publish their stories on your site.

3. Work as a digital freelancer

Freelancers are self-employed professionals, working for themselves. Examples include:

- Copywriters: write text for magazines or marketing purposes.

- Designers: devise and execute designs.

- Virtual assistants: assist on various projects and tasks virtually via online tools. 

4. Rent your assets

We’ve entered the age of the sharing economy. Peer-to-peer renting has spread into countless niches, from apartments to camera equipment. This boom has been facilitated by developments in digital technology and fuelled by eco-conscious consumers eager for alternatives to traditional consumerism. 

Renting out your assets is one of the easiest ways to make money from home fast and a great way to make money online. One of the best-known examples is AirBnB, which created an explosion in the short-term rental market.

Renting out luxury clothing and accessories is another option—one that has made headlines in recent years. Luxury rental platforms seek to provide runway looks to trend-conscious customers by renting them out.

5. Self-publish your book online

Today, anyone can write and publish an ebook thanks to Amazon, the number one resource for self-publishers. The service has massively levelled the publishing playing field as you no longer have to find your way through the notorious gatekeepers of more establishment publishing houses.

By publishing your book with Amazon, not only will you have access to the customer base of the world’s largest online store, but once it’s up and running, you will start earning a passive income.

6. Teach an online class

If you’re passionate or knowledgable about any subject, you could sell your expertise in the form of an online class or course. You could teach almost anything, from yoga to French.

First, you need to choose your audience. Blogs are a great way to build a community of loyal readers who are likely to want to spend money learning more. Or you could begin by creating free YouTube videos on your phone, and monetising them through ad revenue. You could then charge students for certification.

You can also create online courses on sites like Udemy where you’ll have access to their large pool of users. Udemy will also do the marketing for you.

Another option is becoming an online tutor or teacher. For some of these you’ll need qualifications like a TEFL, which can cost money. But the income might be more consistent in the long-term.

7. Consult with clients online

Consulting involves providing expert advice to clients in a professional setting. It can take many forms, from advertising to accountancy. You could even be a spirituality consultant, providing life advice. Your job is to provide a fresh set of eyes on a problem, using your knowledge to provide client’s with constructive criticism and feedback.

With a total value of around $250 billion, the consulting sector is one of the largest global markets within the professional services industry. Online consultancies are some of the most successful online businesses.

Not only is it a potentially lucrative source of income but starting your own online consultancy also gives you freedom. You become your own boss. Your job is simply to teach others what you know. You don’t even need to offer your services in person now that Skype coaching is growing in popularity.

Contributing to platforms like LinkedIn or posting regularly on a blog will help you grow your audience and appear more trustworthy.

10 Online Business Ideas You Can Start Now

Owning and maintaining an online business gives entrepreneurs the freedom to make money from anywhere in the world. The idea is enticing, and more possible than ever, but many entrepreneurs don't know where to start. 

The most important step in starting a profitable online business is to find a business idea that matches your skills and strengths. Compare the top credit card processing providers to find a partner that can help you accept payements online.

1. SEO consultant

If you know the ins and outs of search engines and have technical skills in platforms like Google Ads and Google Analytics, becoming an SEO consultant could be a lucrative option for you. Many small business owners don't realize how much of an impact search engine optimization (SEO) can have on their business. Start your online consulting business by educating those business owners on the power of SEO to help transform their websites and increase their conversion rates.

You could use your marketing skills to show business owners the benefits of using analytics data, strategic keywords and content structure to gain more organic web traffic. If you are unfamiliar with SEO or want to brush up on your digital marketing skills, you can refer to Moz's Beginner's Guide to SEO. 

Keep in mind that Google's algorithms are always changing, so you will need to continue your education on SEO to stay relevant and successful in this field.

2. Small business consultant

If you have a great deal of business experience and knowledge, why not create a business that helps aspiring entrepreneurs find success? As a business consultant, you could use your skills to help new business owners get off to a good start and help experienced entrepreneurs keep up with demand. Your chances of success are greater if you focus your strategy on a niche aspect of business consulting. 

To add to your credibility, demonstrate your expertise and bring in clients, it is helpful to be present in the digital business community.

3. Social media consultant

Larger enterprises can hire an agency or full-time staff member to run their social media accounts, but small businesses often have to handle their own social media marketing. With so many responsibilities, business owners are often too busy, overwhelmed or undereducated about the importance of a social media presence to spend time developing and implementing a great social media strategy. As a social media consultant, you can help small businesses determine the best tactics, posting schedules and content for their target audience. As their follower count grows, so will your business.

Facebook and Twitter are still the top business networks, but businesses often tend to struggle with more visual platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr and Snapchat. All of these platforms have huge consumer audiences, but many businesses don't realize how big they are, how effective they can be and how to make them work for their brand. 

If you have a background in social media marketing and a passion for photography, focusing your consulting business on one specific platform, like Instagram, can be a great way to make money while helping other businesses improve their content and achieve their business goals.

4. Niche market e-commerce retailer

There's an audience for everything, even if it's as specific as dollhouse furniture or organic dog food. With a niche e-commerce site, you can reach customers who seek your specific products. Building a business in a niche market can help you differentiate yourself from other brands and build your credibility and expertise. Look to social media or your own consumer needs to come up with a product to sell on your online store.  

To get your e-commerce business up and running, all you need is a web hosting service with an integrated shopping cart feature or e-commerce software. To simplify the shipping process, you can work with vendors to ship products to customers on your behalf. This can reduce the amount of inventory you need to keep onsite.

5. Web designer or web developer

If you are a creative, digital professional who thrives on forming the layout, visual theme, font set and color palette of a website, freelance web design may be a good path for you. If you have little to no experience in this field, you can learn the basics of web design and master the tools you'll need for success, like Adobe XD, Chrome DevTools and text editor software. 

If you are more interested in the coding side of building websites, freelance web development might be your wheelhouse. If you already know HTML, CSS or JavaScript and have a good eye for solving problems with creative solutions, you can launch a service to build attractive, easy-to-use websites for small businesses. If you need to learn the basics of web development before launching your full-stack career, you can take a simple beginner's course to get started.

Put your technical and creative skills to good use for business owners who want to take their online presence to the next level. Build a comprehensive portfolio, and then create your own website to show it off and attract a steady stream of clients.

6. Blogger

Blogging may seem like an outdated business strategy, since nearly everybody already has one, but the competition should not deter you from starting this online business journey. If you love writing or have important information to share, blogging may be a profitable business for you.  

Starting a blog as a business is very simple with website builders like Weebly and WordPress, but the key to success is consistency and quality. To gain a steady following, you must continually write and produce high-quality content that provides value to your readers. Content that educates, informs or entertains your readers gives them a reason to follow you.

Once you've mastered the creation of consistent content, you can make money through your blog by selling products like online courses, digital coaching, e-books or webinars. You can also sell ad space or sponsored posts. This business strategy may take a little more time and effort to monetize, but it can be very profitable in the end.

7. Affiliate marketer

If you love leaving customer reviews on sites like Amazon, you may want to look into affiliate marketing as a source of income. Word-of-mouth advertising is still a huge lead generator for many companies, and many businesses are willing to share a portion of their profits with persuasive individuals who will promote their products to the public.

Affiliate programs break down into different levels of involvement: unattached, related and involved. Unattached affiliate marketing is a basic pay-per-click campaign that requires little to no involvement with the product you are promoting. Related affiliate marketing requires you to have some authority and content on the product you are marketing, but you don't personally use the product. Involved affiliate marketing is perhaps the most effective, as you'll be marketing a product that you actually use and enjoy.

If you have a personal website or social media presence with a large following, affiliate programs may be a profitable approach for you. PR reps are always seeking out brand advocates and influencers they can send free samples to.

8. App developer

Mobile applications are more popular than ever, with people willing to pay good money for ways to manage their lives from their smartphones. If you have a great new idea for an app and know how to code, you can run with it and create your app yourself. You can also become an app developer for businesses that need to create specific apps. Both options require you to know the basic elements of software design and at least two common programming languages, such as SQL, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby on Rails or iOS.  

If you have an app idea but don't know the ins and outs of coding, there are plenty of software developers looking to collaborate with people on app creation. Depending on your situation and know-how, you may be able to make a lucrative business out of app development.

9. Dropshipping

If you want to run an e-commerce site, you might be worried about storing inventory. With dropshipping, you can take customer orders on an online store and send them directly to a third-party retailer for fulfillment. As long as your business model involves selling items at a price higher than what you'll pay to the third-party retailer, your dropshipping business will be set for success. 

10. Digital courses

Similarly to tutoring, people all over the world might benefit from you sharing your expertise with them. Starting an online business that offers digital courses to anybody interested in the topic can easily earn you money – you can sell prepared written materials or other downloadable content for a fee.

7 Steps to Starting a Small Business Online

There is a proven sequence of steps you can follow to guarantee your success when you're starting a small business online. 

I've seen thousands of people start and grow successful businesses by doing the following:

1. Start a business that fills a need.

Most people who are just starting out make the mistake of looking for a product first, and a market second.

To boost your chances of success, start with a market. The trick is to find a group of people who are searching for a solution to a problem, but not finding many results. The internet makes this kind of market research easy:

- Visit online forums to see what questions people ask and what problems they're trying to solve.

- Do keyword research to find keywords that a lot of people are searching, but don't have a ton of competition with other sites.

- Check out your potential competitors by visiting their sites and taking note of what they're doing to fill the demand. Then you can use what you've learned and create a product for a market that already exists -- and do it better than the competition.

2. Write copy that sells.

There's a proven sales copy formula that takes visitors through the selling process from the moment they arrive to the moment they make a purchase:

- Arouse interest with a compelling headline.

- Describe the problem your product solves.

- Establish your credibility as a solver of this problem.

- Add testimonials from people who have used your product.

- Talk about the product and how it benefits the user.

- Make an offer.

- Make a strong guarantee.

- Create urgency.

- Ask for the sale.

Throughout your copy, you need to focus on how your product or service is uniquely able to solve people's problems or make their lives better. Think like a customer and ask "What's in it for me?"

3. Design and build your website.

Once you've got your market and product, and you've nailed down your selling process, now you're ready for your small-business web design. Remember to keep it simple. You have fewer than five seconds to grab someone's attention -- otherwise, they're gone, never to be seen again. Some important tips to keep in mind:

- Choose one or two plain fonts on a white background.

- Make your navigation clear and simple, and the same on every page.

- Only use graphics, audio or video if they enhance your message.

- Include an opt-in offer so you can collect e-mail addresses.

- Make it easy to buy -- no more than two clicks between potential customer and checkout.

- Your website is your online storefront, so make it customer-friendly.

4. Use search engines to drive targeted buyers to your site.

Pay-per-click advertising is the easiest way to get traffic to a brand-new site. 

It has two advantages over waiting for the traffic to come to you organically. 

First, PPC ads show up on the search pages immediately, and second, PPC ads allow you to test different keywords, as well as headlines, prices and selling approaches. Not only do you get immediate traffic, but you can also use PPC ads to discover your best, highest-converting keywords. 

Then you can distribute the keywords throughout your site in your copy and code, which will help your rankings in the organic search results.

5. Establish an expert reputation for yourself.

People use the internet to find information. Provide that information for free to other sites, and you'll see more traffic and better search engine rankings. The secret is to always include a link to your site with each tidbit of information.

- Give away free, expert content. Create articles, videos or any other content that people will find useful. Distribute that content through online article directories or social media sites.

- Include "send to a friend" links on valuable content on your website.

- Become an active expert in industry forums and social networking sites where your target market hangs out.

6. Use the power of email marketing to turn visitors into buyers.

When you build an opt-in list, you're creating one of the most valuable assets of your online business. Your customers and subscribers have given you permission to send them an email. That means:

- You're giving them something they've asked for.

- You're developing lifetime relationships with them.

- The response is 100 percent measurable.

Email marketing is cheaper and more effective than print, TV or radio because it's highly targeted.

Anyone who visits your site and opts into your list is a very hot lead. And there's no better tool than email for following up with those leads.

Step 7: Increase your income through back-end sales and upselling.

One of the most important internet marketing strategies is to develop every customer's lifetime value. At least 36 percent of people who have purchased from you once will buy from you again if you follow up with them. 

Closing that first sale is by far the most difficult part -- not to mention the most expensive. So use back-end selling and upselling to get them to buy again:

- Offer products that complement their original purchase.

- Send out electronic loyalty coupons they can redeem on their next visit.

- Offer related products on your "Thank You" page after they purchase.

Reward your customers for their loyalty and they'll become even more loyal.