Or, are you one of the many others who just want to add a few bucks to your monthly income without having to take a second job as a greeter at the local Big Box store?



In either case, you are interested in making money on the internet or you would not be reading this.

The only question is: How do I do it?

Basically, there only a few ways:

• Earn money by selling products on a website that you create, or on sites like eBay, Yahoo Stores etc.

• Earn money by selling services such as free lance writing, legal services etc. on a website such as Elance or on a website that you create for the purpose.

• Earn money by building a website with a lot of great content that will attract searchers looking for information or entertainment. You can sell advertising using Google, Yahoo and many others.

• Earn money by representing vendors of products and services and receive a commission for customers that you refer to them.

The problem with selling products on a website is the attendant difficulties of finding suitable products, purchasing, stocking, selling and shipping them. Drop shipping companies are eager to help with all of this, but often you find that the drop shippers price means that you cannot compete with large sellers who can buy in bulk.

If you have skills, such as writing, computer programming or web design this could be good for you to do. This option is more of a home job than a home business, but many people are doing very will with it.

To be successful selling advertising you will need to build a large website with lots of content that people want or need. If you have a passion for some subject and are knowledgeable in it, and are willing to devote the time and effort to build a following, you can do well with this approach. For most of us, we will have to look further.

This leaves the last option, which I think is the very best, representing vendors for a commission on any sales that result from a referral by you. This is known as “Affiliate Marketing”.

Here is how Affiliate Marketing works.

Suppose you have an interest in travel. You build a small site that contains information on the tourist attractions of several of Europe's major cities. Persons who are planning travel to some of those cities will visit your site. There they find, in addition to the information they are looking for, links to Airline, automobile and hotel booking companies as well as travel necessities such as guidebooks and luggage.

Each link will transfer your visitor to the sales page of the vendor. The vendor does the selling, collects the payment, provides whatever has been purchased and sends you a nice commission.

Many, many very large and well known companies have affiliate programs. There is a program for almost any product or service you can name, and often with commissions of up to 75%.

And…you can do it even without a website!

Many top affiliates earn thousands of dollars every week. This is not an exaggeration. These affiliates treat it as a business and promote numerous products from several vendors.

It is work, but “It ain't Rocket Science!” and you can put in as much or as little time as you wish. The point is, the more time and effort you put into your home business, the more money you will make!

You can start with practically no money, and you do not need any experience at all. What you DO need is a plan. At this point, the best plan is to copy someone else's successful plan.

You will find a ton of plans on the internet. You will find courses of instruction mostly of the “copy what I did and you will be successful” type. Many of these are good, many are not.

The best alternative is a membership site. These are large sites that charge a fee for you to use their instructional material and resources.

The big advantage of membership sites is the ability to ask questions and receive expert advice and instruction via email and forums.

Above all, DON'T QUIT! Keep at it and you will be successful.