The 3 Top Ways to Earn Money Working Online

The creation of the Internet and the mass production of computers in the late 80's changed the way we live our lives forever. Now, everyone has the potential to be their own boss whether you are a student, a stay at home mom or an accountant.

By doing a search on Google you will find countless opportunities to earn money working online.
The possibilities seem endless. Below are the most popular ways to earn money working online
along with some of their pros and cons.

E-commerce
This is the start from scratch method. You register a domain and sell your own products from it. It could be an informational product, software, or a physical product such as a book.

Pro: There are many ways to monetize with this method. Along with your own product you can
offer users affiliate programs and earn money with Google Adsense. It’s also often easier to market because this is your baby and you are more likely to know it inside out as opposed to an MLM program where everyone has the same home page and you aren’t part of the decision making when it comes to the growth of the site.

Con: This type of business takes a lot of time, energy and often, money to get set up. Profits don’t come pouring in right away. If you have a physical product you will need to find a way to get your products to your customers either with a drop ship company or on your own.

The real bonus of this system is once you know what you’re doing you can make a lot
of money and you can find ways to do it without working as hard.

Affiliate Marketing
If you got paid every time someone used a service or bought a product that you recommend you would probably earn a lot of money. This is the concept behind affiliate marketing. You recommend a site to visitors and then pick up a percentage of the sale that those visitors make.

Pro: This is one of the “easiest” ways to earn money working online. It’s easy in the sense that you don’t have to worry about having your own product or service and don’t have to deal with customer service.

Con: Finding a good affiliate program can be daunting. You have to keep in mind that you will be competing with other affiliates for commissions. Unlike having your own product where you keep 100% of the profits, you only get a portion so you have to sell a lot of products to earn the kind of money that online gurus brag about.

As long as you actively promote your products and stay ahead of your competition you should find this to be a satisfying way to earn money online

Getting paid to do surveys/read emails
Your opinion really can count for two cents. Surveys and emails arrive in your inbox and each time you complete one you get a reward. It could be in the form of cash or points. Most times you will receive a free sample or an entry into a draw for a cash prize.

Pro: This method of earning money online has the most appeal for many work at home beginners. You don’t need a product, you don’t need to promote, you don’t even need a website. You simply read e-mails and complete surveys.

Con: You have to read a lot of emails and complete tons of surveys to earn any real cash. Many of these “read emails and get paid” programs pay you in cents. And although you can earn up to $100 for a survey the chances of you getting one of those is slim and they are extremely long. You are more likely to get a survey invitation that pays $3.00. Or you may only receive a coupon for a survey that took 30min of your time.

The trick is to sign up with a lot of programs, at least 10.

There is no one size fits all method for earning money working online. You need to decide how much time you have and how much you are willing to spend. There is a program that is suited for you; you just have to find it.

Jeff Casmer is an award winning entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and Internet marketing consultant with career sales over $25,000,000. His "Top Ranked" Work at Home Directory gives you all the information you need to Earn Money in the 21st century.