10 More New Ways to Make Money Online
August 5th, 2008 (8:00am) Mike Gunderloy & Aliza Sherman 24 Comments
One of our most popular posts continues to be Anne Zelenka’s classic list of “10 New Ways to Make Money Online.” The ideas and strategies she suggests there are still good ones, but they’re not the only ones available. As the Web and its opportunities continue to evolve, and web workers continue to invent new niches for themselves, there are always more new ways to make money.
When you look for new revenue streams, think about what you do well. Whether you’re an expert in your field, a talented designer, a programmer, or a producer of content, there are ways to leverage your knowledge, skills and abilities, package them and provide them for a fee. And don’t forget that successful web workers are often pursuing more than one income stream at the same time. You may be able to assemble a career out of numerous smaller activities.
Read our latest list of 10 new ways to make money online after the jump.
1. Team up with Yahoo! to offer custom search services.
Yahoo! recently launched their BOSS API, which lets anyone build their own custom search engine or mashup using their search results. But you may have missed this teaser on their blog: “In the coming months, we’ll be launching a monetization platform for BOSS that will enable Yahoo! to expand its ad network and enable BOSS partners to jointly participate in the compelling economics of search.” The details of that platform aren’t out yet, but if you think you can come up with a compelling niche search offering, now’s the time to stake out your place in the market.
2. Sell freelance support.
Software and solutions like Copilot and Bomgar make it easier than ever to take over someone’s computer remotely, whether they know anything about how to let you connect or not. If you’re a whiz with solving operating systems and applications issues, why not sell your expertise to others who are less sure of themselves? At a reasonable hourly rate, you can still offer personal service that’s infinitely better than putting up with anonymous bored workers in a telecenter somewhere.
3. Create and maintain social networks.
While companies, organizations and individuals do see the value of marketing through social networks, many of them are afraid that they’ll “waste time” setting them up and maintaining them. Step in as their social network “developer” to determine the right places – MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, et. al. – to have accounts to help them achieve their goals. Then set up their pages and manage them on a regular basis. You can also submit reports that measure your clients’ online buzz and turn that in along with your monthly invoice.
4. Plan and host virtual events.
If you’re great at organizing, publicizing and managing events, why not offer your services online? Whether a live text chat on a client’s web site or a 3-dimensional avatar-based voice chat in a virtual world such as Second Life, companies and organizations could use your help developing and coordinating these events. You can even approach conferences and offer to create an online version of their event to reach a whole separate audience of people who cannot attend their offline happenings. Throw in some event hosting and moderating a la Oprah, and you’ve got yourself a global gig without having to jump on a plane.
5. Offer remote software demos and training.
So you’ve got a way with software, particularly newfangled Web-based applications. Offer your services as a Web apps trainer and hold online demos – for a fee. You can use GoToMeeting.com, Yugma, and similar services to broadcast your demos from your computer desktop to the computer screens of your audience members. Or approach the developers of these applications, show them you know their product almost better than they do, and offer to provide desktop demos to the media and to their higher dollar business customers.
6. Hold educational teleseminars.
Are you great at web design or online marketing or any other kind of Web work and have wanted to share your skills on a larger scale while getting paid to do it? If you’ve got the expertise, bottle it and sell it widely in the form of a live teleseminar where you charge a fee for participation and then archive it in your online store to generate recurring revenues. You can do simple web-based conference call coordination through Rondee or get fancier with simultaneous text chat and online documents with Calliflower.
7. Write part of Google’s encyclopedia.
Anyone can contribute to Google’s new Knol project, an encylopedic collection of knowledge in the tradition of Wikipedia. But unlike Wikipedia, Knol shows some prospect for paying its writers – because you can automatically hook up Google Ads to a Knol entry, and you’ll get a share of the take. If you’re an authority on some subject of interest, maintaining a Knol page could at least help pay for your internet usage.
8. Flip Web Sites.
Forget trying to think of a brand new hot web site to launch. The New York Times recently reported on people who are making a good living by “flipping” existing sites. The idea: find a niche site with good potential but poor execution, and buy it. Invest your own sweat equity in a site redesign and search engine optimization, then turn around and sell it to someone else who actually wants to run the site. Repeat as often as you can.
9. Sell your video footage.
We’ve covered the microstock photography market several times, but did you know that there’s a budding microstock video market too? If you’re a digital video fanatic, turn your high-quality b-roll into bucks using stock imaging sites that also carry video footage like Pond5, iStockPhoto Video and Pixelflow. Set your price, set your terms, and add this new revenue stream to your income.
10. Sell virtual goods.
From fashion to business tools to décor for virtual homes and offices, people who are avid users of virtual worlds are hungry for well-designed virtual goods. 
While there is a learning curve for each proprietary virtual environment such as There.com, Kaneva, Lively, and Second Life, if there is a commerce component of the world that converts to real dollars, with a keen eye for design and detail and the right building skills, you can generate income from creating products made of bits and bytes. In Second Life, for example, some of the more successful clothing designers are bringing in thousands of dollars (US) a month selling items of clothing at 75 cents to $1.50 a pop. And if you are truly an artist, your virtual goods could sell for a pretty penny.
Photo credits: stock.xchng users kipcurry, len-k-a, nkzs and secondlife (taken by Cybergrrl Oh).
What other new ways do you know of to make money online? We’d love to have your input – but please understand that we’re not going to allow WWD to be turned into a dubious link farm. Any links to sites that the editors consider spammy or scammy will be deleted without notice.
24 Comments Post your own comment
kbh712 says: August 5th, 2008 8:49am
What about online publishing? Using sites like Lulu.com, creators can fulfill a lifelong passion while making a bunch of extra cash on the side — a great way to have complete control over your edit/design, you sent your own price and have an instantaneous global market with online global communities.
nextgeneration says: August 5th, 2008 10:05am
Yes, social netowrking works, however, Myspace and Facebook don’t offer you the ability to generate an income. I’ve found a great site called Flixya (http://www.flixya.com) that is a social networking that allows members to keep 100% revenue! It combines elements of myspace, youtube and flickr and I am actually making money by sharing videos, photos and blogs. It’s fun too. ;)
Andrei Potorac says: August 5th, 2008 11:25am
For me, three things worked out:
1. Freelancing.
2. Getting a job in Webdesign company.
3. Selling virtual goods.
And I still have a ton of ideas. The problem is what happens when there is no time left! :(
CALZON says: August 5th, 2008 1:19pm
You guys are forgetting the one way that any “amateur” can make money online…. I don’t even have to say it cuz we all know what it is!!!
Host a teleseminar with Calliflower — Alec Saunders SquawkBox says: August 5th, 2008 2:39pm
[...] Worker Daily has written a list of 10 ways to make money online. #6? Hold educational teleseminars. Are you great at web design or online marketing or any other [...]
beermoney says: August 5th, 2008 5:52pm
Yuwie pays you to do all the same stuff that your addicted to on facebook or myspace so…
David Burta says: August 6th, 2008 8:27am
ALTERNATIVE TO KNOL WHERE YOU CAN SELL CONTENT OR COURSES!!!
http://WWW.Latitudeu.com ( http://www.latitudeu.com ) is an OPEN, Multi-media alternative to KNOL where anyone or any organization can learn, teach or share content or knowledge on virtually any subject for free or for SALE. Sign-up and Membership are completely FREE and LatitudeU provides free listings in a Training Provider Directory for those active in the training industry.
http://www.LatitudeU.com accepts a variety or formats (unlike both KNOL AND Wikipedia) including PowerPoint, PowerPoint with Audio, PDF’s, SCORM, Audio, Video and most standard Microsoft File formats. Loading content is easy (takes less than 2 minutes) and then your content is available to LatitudeU’s Training and Learning Marketplace which already has over 40,000 Members (since February) and over 300 “courses” with a large pipeline of courses and content from both independent providers and some of the world’s largest training providers.
Please visit us at http://www.LatitudeU.com and e-mail me if you have any questions at dave.burta@latitudecg.com .
Aliza Sherman says: August 6th, 2008 9:42am
kbh712 – I actually thought of the self-publishing idea after we went to press. Especially Lulu.com and also selling ebooks, something I’m looking into myself as an option for recurring revenues. Thanks for mentioning it!
Patrick says: August 6th, 2008 11:23am
Anybody with a good eye, sense of adventure, and an HDV camera can shoot stock video. Pixelflow offers premium royalties and is a fast growing community for video artists.
Marina Martin says: August 17th, 2008 2:38pm
In addition to selling stock video footage, there are also reputable companies that hire freelance videographers to handle local and/or geographically diverse (i.e. footage from 10 states) projects.
Elastic Lab (http://www.elasticlab.com) is one such company that has paying projects for beginning filmmakers on up through filmmakers with feature films/shorts under their belt. All work is done remotely, but you do need a quality (read: not Flip) video camera. (Disclaimer: I work for them.)
To be fair, other companies in the space include: MediaMobz.com (bidding system), TurnHere.com (editing skills required), and XLNTAds.com (contest-based projects).
How To Make Money Online says: August 28th, 2008 5:18pm
Here’s a way to make money online… selling your old cell phones.
WebWorkerDaily » Archive Sell Your Expertise Online With CrossLoop « says: September 27th, 2008 10:00am
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I LOVE MONEY » Blog Archive » Comment on 10 More New Ways to Make <b>Money</b> Online by <b>I LOVE MONEY</b> <b>…</b> says: October 12th, 2008 2:00pm
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Money Tips says: October 13th, 2008 4:44am
nice post….really different ways to make money v can try off…..thx
WebWorkerDaily » Archive Blog Action Day: Web Work as an Alternative to Overseas Worker Migration « says: October 15th, 2008 10:00am
[...] diversification of income is also more realistic when it comes to web work. Having multiple streams of income gives [...]
easy ways to make money online says: October 21st, 2008 4:46pm
sweet post great idea’s, I have done a few of those and they some have worked for me
WebWorkerDaily » Archive What Will it Take to be a Web Worker in 2009? « says: December 22nd, 2008 8:00am
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WebWorkerDaily » Archive Enhance Live Events With Virtual Ones « says: January 23rd, 2009 4:38pm
[...] to real world events. Mike Gunderloy and I also included planning and hosting virtual events in our 10 More New Ways to Make Money back in August. The virtual events I hosted recently were both held in Second Life. Clearly, Second [...]
WebWorkerDaily » Archive NTRglobal Adds Remote Support Tools To Your Service Offering « says: February 11th, 2009 1:28pm
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David Miller says: March 4th, 2009 6:10am
All great ideas. Make sure to research any before jumping in (obviously). I have been in Second Life for two years now and here is my “insight”.
Land is an okay way to generate income, I have 12 sims. But it’s a slow start, and does cost to get into it ($1000 to buy a sim, $295 per month afterwards) and you have to spend time marketing (inworld and out).
Building and selling. I do sim development for corporations and universities and that can pay pretty well ($10-40K). You compete with the likes of Electric Sheep who do phenomenal builds (for much higher $$$ too). But this is tough to get into, you have to really know your stuff (like land planning for media, etc) and you need to be inworld a lot.
Clothes and other retail sales. Lots of very good competition in here for that. Those that are very good can make a real living from it. But like the others, it takes time and talent (like anything in life).
Finally (from my experience), consulting. I am enough of a “guru” in both eLearning and Second Life to be a speaker at conferences. Which then leads to general consulting.
I like the opportunity. I have been in Flash for 10 years and SL freelancing ahs a lot of advantages over web design for example. Such as a built in payment system. When I build or sell something, the person can pay me right then and there inworld and I can take it out via PayPal.
Just my 2 cents, very good post! :)
David Miller says: March 4th, 2009 6:19am
btw, that screenshot of people around a table is great! That table come with the MystiHUD (about $2 USD) and is so easy to use.
It’s easy to snub tools like that compared to building your own table and getting “nice” chairs. But that Mysti table automatically adds chairs as more people sit and that is such a great feature of it!
Albert says: May 7th, 2009 5:43pm
These are some really great ways to make more money online. There are always sources to make money, you just got to find them.
Fill Revenue Gaps With Alternative Income Streams says: May 13th, 2009 9:01am
[...] Zelenka wrote great post with 10 new ways to make money online and Mike and Aliza followed up with 10 more new ways to make money online. However, I wanted to write about my personal experiences with alternative income [...]
The Prosperity Group says: May 20th, 2009 7:53am
Piggybacking on number 3, also use social networks to generate much needed traffic to your blog and or websites.