Online Alternatives

Not sure about the hard sell but want to earn some extra cash, give writing online a chance. The business start up: share a topic you love and promote products your readers will find useful. For this you must have patience to see any return on the time you spend writing and the ability to write interestingly and informatively about topics that people want to learn more about. Write about niche topics that interest you, become known in your field. Share your expertise in your subject with readers so they build trust in your opinion. Don’t be too pushy or people won’t read what you have to say but be convincing if you are recommending a product. Be ethical in the ways you promote goods, and be clear if you are benefiting if your readers purchase something, rather than claiming to conduct independent reviews for example, this is a big no no and readers won’t return if they feel they have been tricked or misled. And the number one rule, always publish original content!

Squidoo/Hubpages- Use one of these well established writing platforms to get your articles noticed by search engines. They are both easy to use and incorporate easy to follow guides about how to write and how to monetize your article. Squidoo in particular makes linking with external websites particularly easy. Earn commission on any sales made from your article. Be prepared to publish a number of articles and update them regularly to keep them ranking highly.

Blog- Start your own writing page, choose any topic that suits you and type away! Be consistent and try to stay on topic, general blogs do not tend to perform as well. You need to build a loyal following who are interested in what you have to say. Update your blog regularly you don’t want readers to forget you exist. The most popular blogging platforms are Blogger run by Google or Wordpress both sites are easy to use and make posting blogs and designing your page simple. To make money you have to get a good following and a regular high number of hits, you can track your progress using Google Analytics. Once you feel confident your blog has been noticed offer businesses the opportunity to advertise on your page, make sure the adverts do not become overpowering though and keep them targeted and of interest to your readers. Another way to do this is to allow Google Adsense to list targeted adverts on your blog earning you money per click.

Affiliate Schemes- If you have your own web page, blog or belong to one of the writing platforms above join an affiliate scheme. Many websites run these now, including Amazon. Sign up to as many schemes as you like but keep on topic as to what you write about. When you visit websites scroll to the very bottom of the page to see if there is an affiliate or marketing partner link, this will show you how to sign up and how commission will be paid. Link with sites that have products your readers will like, if you talk about the products directly make it clear you will earn money from the sale.