How does one make money online anymore?

[urlurl]

will be soon (#3) and it has the potential to be huge (unlimited growth potential)

 

[Bill F.]

Some holiday reading (100 ways to make money online):
http://www.experienced-people.co.uk/1042-top-ways-of-making-money-online/

And that's far from exhaustive.

 

[dcristo]

I've long thought I should have a "main" project, but the question is what?

The answer to that question is that it doesn't matter. The important thing is that you start something. This will allow you to develop the important skills that would be required to create great websites, so when you do come up with that great idea you will have the skill set to make it happen.

 

[draggar]

1) Find a niche, maybe a hobby of yours (not domaining).
2) Find a good domain for that hobby - either buy one or find a good one to hand register.
3) Install wordpress and a nice theme (there are sites that will make themes for you or programs like Artisteer)
4) Put some AdSense on the site
5) Add some pages to the site and a few posts, then add a post once a week, twice a month, or once a month (make sure all content is original, relevant, and interesting)
6) Profit when traffic starts to come in.

 

[south]

Own your niche if possible.

Your niche should be something that is generally available as a service online, or a product that people cannot go to the local walmart and pick up for the same price, and small enough of a niche that the big players won't take it over. Example: Travel. Just this year, google has begun to put links or maps to the airport specific locations that I would normally sell for (and receive a commission). In addition, they now compete directly on some travel products. So, a small & specific enough niche that you can make money on without grabbing the attention of the big players wanting a piece of the action. As for products, one of my best affiliate niches can only be bought online, and I own the best names for the product (a niche clothing product).

 

[Vincent]

Interesting topic. Keep it coming. You guys are awesome.

Huge Growth, that's what I'm going through right now. Too many ideas, no strong focus on anyone of them, plus little to no experience. Boy, am I glad some of the experienced domainers are going through what I'm going through. The only difference is I'm still new, learning.

 

[clasione]

No matter what you have or what you do, you MUST have a product or service that someone else wants.

Find a void and fill it.

This is a very good and accurate point (by Gerry - Find a void and fill it). Most of the money is moving to the development of your domain assets.
The big busy sites are still doing well and haven't been effected much by the changes over the last few years, specifically those which effect parked domains and generic type in value.

Having something someone else needs, either traffic or just the advertising space on a large site is where things are moving to, IMO.
I'd say, if you're looking to get serious, pick out your favorite domain from your portfolio and build it into a big huge site.

 

[gaetanomarano]

very hard, often just an illusion

 

[sashas]

Here's my advice:

Stop thinking small. That means no affiliate marketing, no PPC, no quick-and-easy ways to make money online.

Instead, think big. Think of a business. Think of something you'd want to run 10 years down the line. Something you would be proud to associate yourself with. Something that would look incredible on a business card.

That means no more mini-sites like CheapCharcoalGrillsReviewed.com (you wouldn't put that on a business card, would you?).

I don't like it when people talk about 'making money online' and not about 'running an online business'. There's a huge difference in the way those two phrases are worded.

It's becoming harder to make money online. But that's good. That means you can't do the fly-by-night thing any more. It's becoming more and more like the real world, where you have to create value to make money.

Follow TechCrunch, Mashable, and other blogs that cover startups (these blogs, btw, are big businesses in themselves). See what startups are working, what are not. Generally, the startups that work aren't doing small things; they are trying to disrupt industries.

That means you'll have to shed the 'internet marketer/domainer' hat and wear the 'startup founder' hat. Think of the next Spotify.com or create the next Path.com.

Pick up programming skills if you don't have the resources to hire the right people. Network. Attend startup conferences. If you have a great idea, even think of applying to YCombinator and TechStars.

There is a wonderful world of opportunity waiting out there. You just have to look in the right direction.

 

[clasione]

I was going to highlight the first sentance or two of sashas's post, but then realized the whole thing would require highlighting.
Agree 100%. You need to think about 'running an online business'. Create value. There is no quick-and-easy ways to make money online.
Hard work is required..

 

[JB Lions]

Have to disagree with it. The reality is it's easier to make money online with affiliate marketing and such, then having a successful startup, lot easier. Affiliate marketing is a big and growing business, with big players in it.

 

[clasione]

Have to disagree with it. The reality is it's easier to make money online with affiliate marketing and such, then having a successful startup, lot easier. Affiliate marketing is a big and growing business, with big players in it.

How do you promote your affiliate products?
I remember when I played around with affiliate programs, they always piggy backed off big sites with lots of traffic.
Do you use PPC?

 

[JB Lions]

How do you promote your affiliate products?
I remember when I played around with affiliate programs, they always piggy backed off big sites with lots of traffic.
Do you use PPC?

Do some PPC, SEO, social stuff etc. Nowadays I do more super niche type stuff, so still very easy to rank. I've never done articles or buy 1000 profile/blog/garbage links I see on forums. The only thing I've ever outsourced are things I can't do, like logos and such.

And there are some big affiliates that have more employees than most startups, mainly coupon/deal types. Just search on FatWallet, Coupon Cabin, RetailiMeNot etc.

 

[clasione]

Some people have a knack with affiliate programs and PPC, but there are so many guidelines these days, you know, what terms you can bid on and which you can't... It seems like much more of a hassle these days. I used to do some affiliate programs, but the good traffic that converted well always came from very targeted sites with lots of traffic. Having a good site with a lot of traffic is much more difficult and rare than in the past, especially with all the desire Google has in rewarding brands.

 

[Traveltext]

Good to have this post revived.

You can see from my details that I have just come back to DNForum. I have been hanging out over at Digital Point for the pats 8 years where I have been buying good domain names with websites that others have let go for whatever reasons. I always thought websites with good domains trumped good domains without a site. I tried to stay in the travel niche so as to consolidate and cross-promote my sites. And I tried to steer clear of junk content and auto-blog sites to ensure I had quality products in my portfolio.

So those sites (and many others that I created from scratch) which now total 150, were out there day and night earning a bit or a lot of money from: affiliates, advertising, subscriptions, and PPC. This was my full-time job.

Fast forward to today and I find all my income sources have been reduced (by around 25 per cent in the past year) for various reasons including:

1. Changing patterns of use by site visitors: not so ready to click ads, short time spent on sites, and better alternatives than my sites.

2. Competition from sites that have really established themselves as leaders in their niche.

3. Advertisers who have worked establishing their own sites and no longer need promotion.

4. Lower returns from Adsense due to poorly delivered ads and, I believe, less margin on clicks being passed on by Google.

5. Search engine shuffles by Google which make or break a site as far as traffic goes.

Now I realise that I have not adapted as fast as I should have to the changing circumstances, and I should have concentrated on a couple of sites rather than spreading myself so thinly, but that's the way it panned out. When you are in the think of things, making money and having fun, you can omit to see the bigger picture. I still own some good sites, but without a dominant player in my niche, I can see the writing on the wall for my "empire" in the years to come.

So, here I am back at DNF to check out the domaineering scene. A scene, incidentally, which I can see has moved towards getting content on domains while waiting for a time to sell the name, rather than waiting for a name to become "valuable". I hope to learn a lot.

 

[clasione]

I used to spend a lot of time on DigitalPoint, but the mods there aren't reasonable and the membership seems full of con artists. There are probably still some deals there becuase I bet many of the buyers have left do to fakes and frauds on there. So I do still take a look once in a while when I really have extra time to waste, but I'm much more hesitant to deal with people there unless I know who they or have done a transaction with them before.

 

[urlurl]

i agree the mods are idiots, full of scams and crap - only go there when im really board, lol

 

[clasione]

I think the guy that runs the site Sean should do something about the mods becuase they've really killed his brand. It's not really a respectable webmaster community anymore and it once was one of the best webmaster forums in the world, but not limiting them to some extent and policing their activity has ruined it IMO. It's very difficult to take the community seriously anymore, but it is still very busy. I guess it is like Howard Stern, they say more people listen to him that hate him than those who like him. They just listen becuase they want to see what he will say next.

 

[holypeter]

My sites that do best are the ones on either generic domains that get the type in traffic, and you just need to have related ads/products on there to make money. Or, the sites that I spend the most time and effort on for original content (blogs), also get the traffic.

I think you only need to have one idea or site to do well, just make sure it would have a decent size audience and if you do it well and have regular content, it should make money. If you spread your efforts out over too many projects then none of them get done well, unless you have a team working under you.


you are perfectly right.,of recently i ve decided to focus my attention on just 3 domains.
cheers

Or, spend up for a category killer domain (eg: Bobbleheads.com) and sell the product for the category.

Problem with most domainers, myself included, is we have too many ideas and domains to do them all well. Some of us would probably be further ahead if we focused heavily on just ONE or two things, and did them well. It also really helps to have an interest in the subject you pick, because then it wont seem so much like work.

you are perfectly right.i am going to focus on just three domains,develop into rich content website
cheers