Let me share with you 3 easy ways to earn money online with websites!
As we all know, there are many ways to earn money from the internet. However, I want to explain the 3 ways I earn money online with websites. I earn money with information websites, affiliate websites and product websites.
3 Easy Ways To Earn Money Online With Websites
In the late nineties, I decided to create a website for work only because no one else would. It was a simple six page website. I think I used Microsoft FrontPage as the html editor!
As someone with a math/science major, I discovered that I enjoyed writing code and creating websites. It was around 2005 that by accident I discovered that I could actually earn money from websites. The internet began to boom around this time.
It the early days of the internet, it was relatively easy to earn money online with websites. These days you can still earn money online with websites if you are willing to put in the hard yards.
I like to earn money online with websites that have very little in way of set-up costs. Yes, you will need to purchase web-hosting and a domain name. And yes, you will need to spend some money on a good WORDPRESS theme (I will discuss these costs below and why they are necessary?).
1. INFORMATION WEBSITES
It is quite easy to set-up an information website. Let me give you a brief explanation on how I created an information website.
A. Check for profitable niche
Most online entrepreneurs suggest that there are three ever-green markets where you can search for a profitable niche – health, wealth and lifestyle.
I chose to create my first information website around my favorite holiday destination (lifestyle niche). The reason I chose this niche was because I had an intimate knowledge of the region and it was a very popular place for camping. People are always searching for information relating to the camping sites.
I decided to write around thirty articles providing general information relating to each campsite.
Over time I have narrowed the focus of those articles to give specific information to the visitors to the website.
I like to write articles that look at the “how to….” Usually, these articles are around 1200words. I also write articles that look at the “tips for….” These articles have around 1500words. Finally, I write articles that look at the “pros and cons….” I may look at a comparison between two camping grounds and give the pros and cons. These articles are usually around 3500 words.
I use only Google Adsense on these websites. When people visit these websites and click on a Google Ad, I earn money. Each month I receive a check (direct deposit) from Google. It is that simple!
B. Create the information website
When I created my first website, I purchased web-hosting with a dedicated IP Address from Bluehost. Furthermore, they provided a free domain name with the web-hosting plan.
In the early days, I wrote the html code and designed the websites with Adobe Dreamweaver. I even designed my own responsive templates when mobiles became a prominent player with the internet.
However, I now simply use WORDPRESS (free software) and a WORDPRESS THEME (a purchased theme). I use Genesis with a child theme (mainly Magazine Pro) from Studio Press.
C. Create traffic to the website
This is where the rubber hits the road – traffic to your information website. If you get traffic to your website, you will earn money online from websites.
There are only two types of traffic – free traffic or paid traffic. Free traffic comes from organic results from search engines or social media like facebook, twitter or pinterest. Paid traffic comes from the likes of Google Adwords!
I use the free traffic method like SEO with keywords, blogging and social media.
Organic results from search engines relate to content articles developed around certain keywords. For example, you may have a photography website. You could write an article around “how to create blue sky photographs?” (1200 words) or you could write an article around the topic “5 guidelines for composition in photography” (1500 words) or you could write an article around the topic “Is it time to go full frame? Pros and Cons” (3500 words).
The goal behind these articles is to get them on page one of google, bing or yahoo search engines and by writing great content, you should be able to achieve this!
2. AFFILIATE WEBSITES
People often us review websites for affiliate websites. I have chosen to use information as the basis for my affiliate websites. This is how I create affiliate websites.
A. Check for profitable niche
I have undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and I teach students in my vocation. So I built affiliate websites around my passion and I sell affiliate products on those websites – I use amazon associate and clickbank.
I tend to sell products between 10 and 50 dollars because people tend to impulse buy up to 50 dollars. When someone buys an item above 50 dollars, they tend to do more research. So you are targeting the impulse buyer.
Initially, I write around 50 articles for these websites until I get a reasonable amount of organic traffic from google, bing or yahoo. I have written up to 150 articles. It can take between 3 months and 2 years to get the required traffic and sales.
I work on the same principle with information websites. I write three types of posts – how to (1200 words), tips for (1500 words) and in depth (3500 words).
B. Create an affiliate website
As I said before, I like to use WORDPRESS (free software) and a WORDPRESS theme (purchased theme). I usually use Genesis with Magazine Pro child theme from Studio Press.
You will need web-hosting and a domain name. If you purchase web-hosting from Bluehost, you will receive one domain name free with the web-hosting plan.
C. Create an email list
With an affiliate website, you may want to give away an electronic e-book and collect their email. Once you have an email list, you can promote associated products by sending emails to your list.
D. Drive Traffic to Affiliate Websites
Again, traffic is the life-blood of your websites. If you are not driving traffic to your websites, then you will not earn any income.
You must keep in mind that there are only two types of traffic – free or paid. If you build the affiliate website based on content, then you will rely on free traffic from search engines and social media.
3. PRODUCT WEBSITES
I have a couple of product websites based around several e-books. I create my first product website in 2010.
I sell the e-book for $9.95. If I sell around 300 per year, then I am achieving my goal. I wrote the e-book over 3 months. I refresh it each year and change the copyright date. That all I do and every year it continues to sell.
A. Create an e-book
The e-book I created came from my work experience and it is around 140 pages. It is helpful material for those searching that topic.
Some people engage a writer to put together an e-book. Personally, I like to write my own e-books. I am in the process of writing an e-book for a new website. I have found a very profitable niche that I would like to explore.
B. Create product websites
I use WORDPRESS (free software) with a WORDPRESS theme (purchased theme). I use Genesis with the child theme – Magazine Pro – from Studio Press.
You need to buy web-hosting and a domain name. If you buy web-hosting from Bluehost, you will receive a free domain name with the hosting plan.
C. Create buying traffic
If you use free traffic from organic search or social media, then you will need to create great content that will convert your traffic.
I use the same principle as with information websites. I write how to, tips for and in depth area around keyword phrases that touch on the topic of my website.
If you have a photography website, you could sell e-books associated with photography. If you create a cooking website, you could sell a recipe e-book. The topics are endless!
With free organic traffic, it will take some time (3 months to 2 years) to get enough traffic to make your product website profitable.
These are my 3 easy ways to earn money online with websites!