Developing A Website Business 

I have researched this topic over a hundred times and could not find an answer that suited me. It wasn't that the information that was given was useless, I discovered I was not taking the time to actually experiment with the sources that were given. We all have heard the saying that it takes money to make money, right? Well, essentially it does. It’s called an investment. However, what if you don’t have the extra money? I would strongly suggest that you take all free avenues that are possible until you get some. Here are a few ways to earn extra cash. You don't have to sign up for emails or pay some small fee to get this information. It's listed on this site with links to the actual resources at no charge. Your success will be based upon what you put into it. If you go to sleep thinking of how you hate to return to work the next day, you do not have a career. A job is a temporary set up to get income for basic needs and wants. A career is permanent position that offers a sense of stability and achievement where work is for the most part enjoyable.

Build Your Own Website. Before learning the truth, I started with the free websites that made me use their domain name. The free websites didn't allow me to have the freedom I wanted. I was limited to the choices I had as far as design, content, management, and overall creativity. Basically, it was an extension of their profits in which I received none. Purchase your own domain and create your website. More importantly, your own website allows you to advertise on your site. Wouldn't it be amazing to advertise for prestigious companies such as Apple iMac, Toshiba, Kodak, and many others? You can also join affiliate programs such as HotelsCombined, where your viewers can get discount rates on hotels all around the world. Then there's SBI, Yahoo, and Godaddy affiliate programs...just to name a few of the hundreds that are out there…that can earn you some extra cash. When building myownspace2.com, I joined godaddy.com because it was highly recommended by a former college professor of mine who had been using it for years and they give you good domain rates. If you are beginner and know nothing about website building, they have pre-installed templates that are easy to customize. In the process of building my site, I also learned about a program called SBI (Site Build It). Two of the most successful online moguls, Ken Evoy and Steve Pavlina, teamed up and created this step-by-step program that gives you tools to establish a successful money earning website. If you know nothing about web optimization such as using quality keywords, search engines, and web directories then I would definitely recommend SBI (Site Build It). Once you learn more about the benefits of Site Build It, then you may want to look into their affiliate program. SiteSell.com is the affiliate program which is a seprate avenue to earn money when you get others to join Site Build It. Again, success does not happen over night. No matter what avenue you pursue, you truly have to put time into your website if you want to succeed. Here is an interview of the man himself, Ken Evoy, who will give you a brief introduction about what the Site Sell affiliate program can do for you.

What is your talent? There are hundreds of sites and prospective online employers that will pay you for a tutorial of the skill or trade you have, the trick is to find and match your skill with that particular site. Photoshop tutorials are big hits when it comes to showing your expertise. All you see in magazines and photos are Photoshop elements of that picture or model. I have personally seen websites offer to pay over $200 for a good quality Photoshop tutorial. However, there are other avenues for showing your talent besides Photoshop tutorials. For instance, I am also a freelance writer for associated content. Associated content is a freelance writing website where you can post articles and get paid. These articles can be diverse and top writers can earn anywhere from $20 to $100 per article, if you are exclusive, maybe even more. In addition to this, you get paid per view of your article. This is beneficial because Associated Content has now teamed up with Yahoo and now your articles have the potential to spread across the web like a wild fire.  

 

Sale on eBay and/or Amazon. This is pretty self-explanatory. If you have a good product to deliver, even if it is something that you built or created yourself, your customers will return and influence others to buy your product as well. Remember to be fair and reasonable when it comes to your products but by the same token, do not cheat yourself. Do some research on other sites and in stores to see what quality, quantity, and price ranges they have on similar products. One of the best free advertisements out there is word of mouth. Of course, always remain innovative.  
 

Sale your photos. If you are into photography, this is a great way to earn cash and promote your creativity. There are several websites that allow you to sale your unique, individual, copyright owned photos. I joined Fotolia because I do photography on the side, and I liked Fotolia so much that I ended up purchasing photos from the website and added them to this website. Remember, they only accept quality photos, so therefore make sure that your photos are essentially picture perfect or they will be rejected. Fotolia is a royalty free-based site that allows you to make money and it could help you build your website as it did mine. 
 

 Sale old books. For those of you who went to college, had children that went to college, took training classes at a job, or maybe you're a general researcher who has no need for a book that you have purchased, but you refused to throw or give the book away, listen up, I have a solution. Selling your books back to online stores or retail stores that participate would be a great way to earn extra cash. You can even think of it as a way of helping out another student. New college textbooks are extra expensive, right? Well, if someone buys back the used texbook you just sold, you've helped them save money. 

Taking surveys. You can actually earn money for taking surveys. Several websites will try and get you to join for a minimum fee, but I generally choose the free survey sites. Do not be discourage by the profile updates and questionnaires. This is basically done to generate what survey matches your profile. The chances of you getting rich from taking surveys are slim to none, you may earn anywhere from $2 to $5 a day, maybe even more depending on the time you have. My survey choice was Opinion Outpost until I noticed they would get me ten minutes into the survey and then say I didn't qualify. I now deal with TrafficSwarm because they at least give you 10 cents even if you don't qualify and then turnover time is sooner. The more surveys you take, the more they send you. Once you join, go to the offers portion on your account options list. This isn't a gimmick. You really do get paid. TrafficSwarm.com has been around for some time and they are free to join. 

Traffic Hit Sites. Traffic hit sites could be another way to earn extra money, but I wouldn't recommend it to drive traffic to your site. You earn money by referring people to the site and getting them to join. As far as gaining traffic, if you are mainly trying to sell personal products such as Avon or Mary Kay, if applicable, this may be a tiny start because at least you are getting noticed. Here is why I do not recommend these sites when trying to build your traffic. The first reason is that you don't really know if you are getting legitimate clicks on your website when you deal with traffic hit sites. You may ask yourself does the site use auto-clicks or are humans really visiting your site. Another downside is that everyone is primarily there for the same reason as you are and that is to drive traffic to their own website. Unless you have this spectacular website that stops someone in their tracks, you'll just be another view to earn credits, but again on the flip side, you are at least getting noticed. The more important reason why you may not want to get involved with traffic hit sites is when you are dealing with affiliate programs and especially google ads, this could be prohibited. You are able to join most traffic hit sites free, but you do have to put time into building your hits and again, you don't want to be just another view, you want actual people clicking on your website. I learned to personally put my energy elsewhere.

Building Traffic to Your Website

When building your website or even if you choose a blog to advertise from, you will need traffic to your website or blog. This can be done by submitting articles to article directories, sending emails, and posting the word on any of the social sites that you may have. When I created myownspace2.com, I knew that the competition would be fierce due nature of the content. However, the content on this website is what I live and believe in, so therefore, it was easy for me choose exactly what I wanted on my site. The greatest advice given to me was to have good content and this will keep the viewers coming. Steve Pavlina said it best when he stated if you focus on providing value instead of churning out disposable content, your readers will take heed and they will refer others to your site – in droves. You have to ask yourself, how is this website going to benefit others? Here is a better question, what would you like to see on or get from a website? Again, if your only intentions are to sell products, then traffic hits or even joining link exchange programs may be a good way to at least get viewers to discover you. Link exchange is when you get someone to link to your website from theirs and you do the same for them. If you feel you don't have the time to invest in ways to build your traffic, then there are companies who claim they can do this for you or you may want to reconsider having your own personal website business. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of sites out there that have monthly fees with the promise of bringing more traffic to your website. Don't get me wrong, these businesses may be able to deliver you desirable results. Who knows, maybe someday I will invest in an optimization company. However, as of right now, I personally do not trust (hidden) results. I rather take the time to put in the work myself because I know it is actually being done. Again, the key to starting your own personal business is to be as cost efficient as possible in the beginning.