Trying to make money online can be a frustrating and humbling experience. All of the advertisements and rumors of making fast cash with minimal work, are well, a bunch of crap. Sure, a few people may have hit pay dirt not doing much but I don't know any of them. Most of the people I know that are successful online, spend time researching their options, creating a plan and then working that plan. With that being said, there are various ways to earn online. I will discuss some of the best ways below.

1. Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate marketing is a fast way to start making money quickly. Because you don't have to worry about creating or designing your own product, you can get started quickly. You are a given a link to a completed website and the only thing that you have to do is to promote it. While this used to be far easier a few years ago, it can still be very profitable. It will just take a little bit more work. Consider creating a simple website that provides information on the same topic as the affiliate product you are trying to sell. Be sure to collect email addresses, as you may be able to market other products to this same group. Market affiliate products using articles, social networking sites, forums and pay-per-click.

2. Selling Your Own Product: Selling your product is another great way to make money online. Depending on how you go about your product development, this could be a fast or slow process. One way to speed it up, if this is a concern, is to purchase PLR rights. Often times Private Label Rights come with a ready made website. For a few bucks, you have your very own e-book and website to sell it from. However, this method has its? disadvantages, namely, other people will be selling the product and perhaps for cheaper. To combat this, consider, re-writing the sales letter and purchasing new graphics. Also add special and unique bonuses to make your offer appear more attractive.

3. Ebay: Many people are still making money on Ebay. Ebay has cracked down on digital products. However, you can still sell them, just put them on CD and send them out. You can also use the classified ad format listing to sell digital products. I use it and have had some success. If you want to sell physical products, find a good drop shipper or wholesaler.

4. Offering Services: If you have a marketable service, this is a good way to make money. Many people make money by writing articles, Press releases and site reviews for other webmasters. Other people offer coding and web design.

5. Blogging: Blogging can be a fun way to make a lot of money. The way to accomplish this is to first, monetize your blog. You can do this by selling affiliate products, your own products, selling advertising space or placing Adsense like ads on your blog. Also be sure to optimize your blog for the search engines just like you would a website. Next you need drive traffic to your blog and develop a following. Writing press releases, articles, joining forums and pay-per-click, are all ways to get traffic to your blog.