The 5 Most Popular Online Business Ideas

Below you can find the 5 most common real internet business ideas. Also, I’m going to provide you with real life examples for each of them. They will be from real persons who are building different types of online businesses. They are “everyday” people just like you and me, so I hope they’ll manage to convince you that you can do the same.

Note: You’ll notice that passion and interest play an important role in all of their success stories. So regardless which online business ideas you choose, make sure you’re passionate about the subject.

Also, make sure you have enough available time to dedicate to building your online business, as well. If you don’t have enough time to actually do something, you won’t succeed. To help you, I included how much time each of these online business ideas take roughly.

5. Building a membership website

How does it work?

Building a membership website is a great online business model. You provide valuable information on a certain subject and put it behind a login platform.

Then you have to find people who are interested in the subject of your site They will have to pay you a certain amount every month so that they can access your high-value information.

How do you make money?

Obviously, you’ll make money by getting people to sign up to your website. Since you’ll probably offer a monthly subscription, you’ll receive these commissions every month.

How much does it cost?

The start up cost and maintenance of a membership website is a lot higher than other online business ideas. You have to purchase software that manages the technicalities, etc... Your monthly costs can be hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

How much time does it take?

It can take 3-5 years to succeed, working 40-50 hours a week.

Pros

•  A steady amount of income monthly
•  Great potential. The more subscribers you get, the more money you make. The sky is the only limit.

• You’ll be recognized as an expert in your field, so you’ll be able to offer more products to your subscribers. As a result, you’ll be able to make a lot more money.

Cons

•  Unfortunately, in order to get people to pay for your information, you have to make sure your content is valuable enough. Sadly, there’s just too much free information on the net. It’s very hard to get people to pay for something they cold get for free.

•  It’s not enough to get people to sign up once. If you want them to renew their subscriptions, you’ll have to provide original content quite often. So if you’re looking for a passive income business model, you should look somewhere else.

Real Life Example #1 - MembershipWebsite

Cara Faus’s http://www.healthhomehappy.com is a great example of a successful membership site (based on a “main” website as I already mentioned in a previous chapter).

Health, Home and Happiness is dedicated to grain free and GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) recipes, cookbooks and advice. Cara started this website as a way to help families live a better, healthier and happier lifestyle.

She is clearly interested in the subject, since her little daughter suffers from GAP as well. (Cara, if you’re reading this, my heart goes out to your daughter. I sincerely hope she’ll get better soon.)

You can check out her membership section at http://www.healthhomehappy.com/menusubscriptions Although offering a subscription to her grain free meal menus is not her only monetization

model, it’s a great example how you can diversify your income streams if you have a main website paltform.

She offers her own eBooks for sale, plus there are advertisements on her site and some affiliate offers as well.

Note, however, that she gives away a ton of free information, too. This is a great way to OVERdeliver value so that your visitors trust you and ultimately end up being your customers.

4. Make money blogging

How does it work?

If you can approach a topic from a unique perspective, you can start blogging about it. A blog is a lot like a normal website, but blogs publish content in a different way (blogs are like a diary).What’s common in them is that they all focus on one audience or “niche”.

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To this day, I haven't found a better course on how to make money blogging than Corbett Barr's How to Start a Blog that Matters. He walks you through the whole process and shows you step-by-step how to become another internet blogging success story. You won't just fail like 99% of everyone who tries it. You will learn how to start a blog that matters!

How do you make money?

As a blogger, you have the option to sell your own products, put up advertisements for other companies, offer affiliate sales and so on. The bigger your target audience is, the more money you can make.

How much does it cost?

Starting a blog is one of the cheapest online business ideas. All you need is a blogging platform like WordPress and hosting. You can maintain both for less than a dollar a day.

How much time does it take?

It can take 2-3 years to succeed, working 30-50 hours a week.

Pros

•  Once you’re an established blogger, the sky is the limit to what you can do. Some of the biggest bloggers make millions of dollars.

•  You can diversify your income streams. You life won’t depend on one single monetization model.

Cons

•  Starting a successful blog is very hard. There’s a ton of competition in almost every profitable niche. Also, standing out from the crowd and engaging people is not always easy.

•  Although the start-up costs are initially very low, the more visitors you get, the more money you’ll have to pay for hosting fees and additional plug-ins.

•  There’s so much conflicting information on blogging, you can easily end up getting lost. Most people just waste a ton of money, time and then give up. Although you can learn how to start a successful blog that here and qucikstart the process.

•  Blogging is not at all passive. You have to update your blog, post new articles at least weekly, reply to comments, e-mails, inquires, connect with other bloggers in your field and so on... You can easily end up working many hours a day (although it’s still a lot better than a 9-5 job).

•  The hardest part is being unique enough to get noticed. Unfortunately, blogging is one of the hardest online business ideas for the “everyday” person.

Real Life Example #2 - Make Money Blogging

Meet Benny Lewis from http://www.fluentin3months.com. He has a very successful blog with over 12.500 subscribers.

Although he’s not naturally talented with languages, he traveled to so many places around the world that learning different languages became one of his greatest passions. Also, he mentions that his www.fluentin3months.com blog pays for most of his travels. As you can see, he makes money selling his own eBook, affiliate offers and doing Skype consultations.

He’s the living proof that you can become successful with blogging, but it’s hard to publish unique content regularly. In his own words:

“The hardest part of all is writing something unique, interesting and helpful and doing so consistently.”

3. Podcasting

How does it work?

What is a podcast in the first place?

Google’s definition: A podcast is a type of digital media consisting of an episodic series of audio files made available on the Internet for downloading to a portable media player, computer, etc.

First, you have to choose a topic you want to talk about. This can be anything from project management to the latest TV show in your country.

Then, you have to record periodic episodes on your chosen subject. For example if you chose “project management” to podcast about, you have to make a 20-40 minute session about it

every week. Of course you have to provide valuable information to your audience, otherwise no one will

listen to you.

How do you make money?

You can either charge for your podcast or publish it for free. If you offer the whole podcast for free, you can make money via affiliate offers or promoting your own products through your sessions.

How much does it cost?

You need to invest a lot of money into the right technology and equipment. It can be hundreds or even thousands of dollars, depending on how serious you are.

How much time does it take?

It can take 2-3 years to succeed, working 30-40 hours a week.

Pros

•  Unlimited growth: the more subscribers you have, the more money you can make.
•  It can be a lot of fun to talk about what you enjoy. Work doesn’t have to be a chore.
•  Once you have a large following, you can make money in lots of different ways.
•  The competition in the podcasting world is less severe than in the blogging sphere for example.

Cons

• Setting up a podcast and getting noticed is extremely hard.
•  Some people are not comfortable going public with their voices. Are you one of them?
•  Although there are many guides on the market, it can be very confusing to get started.

It’s easy to waste a lot of money and time without getting anywhere.

•  Podcasting is just not right for “average” people. It’s such a unique and different platform from the usual that most people can’t imagine themselves podcasting.

•  Similarly to blogging, this is one of the toughest online business ideas. Getting noticed is the hardest part of it all. This is where most people fail.

Real Life Example #3 - Podcasting

I’m sure you’ve heard of the “Los t” series before (I was a HUGE fan). Although it’s been over for quite a while now, there’s a great guy called Cliff Ravenscraft who started podcasting about it as a hobby.

Later, his hobby turned into a full-time job. A job that he thoroughly enjoys! You can have a look at his “Lost” podcast at http://gspn.tv/category/allshows/ weeklylostpodcast/

Since then, he started a number of other podcasts as well. Even his 9 year old daughter has a podcast of her own! Talk about family business. :-)

What I’d like you to see is his “keep it real” attitude. His passion for what he’s doing is obvious. Just read this page at http://gspn.tv/plus/

Even the plus membership options are not compulsory. He lets all of his listeners decide how much they’d like to pay for a premium membership.

Where else can you find a great guy like him?

Do you think he’s doing it for the money? I highly doubt it...

Again, passion is the most important thing that determines whether you succeed online or not.

2. Selling your own digital products

How does it work?

You create your own digital product(s) about something you’re knowledgeable about. Let’s say you love knitting and know everything about it. You can write an eBook on the subject covering the most important things one needs to know to become a great knitter.

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Your Knowledge Sell! by Ken Evoy. His 180 book will tell, show and explain you all the little details of a successful eBook business, starting from A to Z.

Best of all, MYKS! is completely FREE! You have nothing to lose but an opportunity by downloading it here!

How do you make money?

Obviously you can sell your eBook or other digital product for a price. The more people buy it, the more money you can make.

How much does it cost?

Depending on your circumstances, your start up cost can be as low as a few dollars or as high as thousands. The more of a “do it yourself” approach you take, the lower your costs will be.

On the flip-side, the more you outsource, the more you’ll have to pay, though the quality will be better, too.

How much time does it take?

It can take 2-3 years to succeed, working 20-30 hours a week.

Pros

•  You can make serious money if your product gets popular.
•  You can create a huge targeted audience where you can sell your future products as well.

•  Once again, you’ll make money doing what you enjoy. That’s just the way it is with everything online. 

•  Once you set up your book for sale, all you have to do is watch the money come in. It’s totally passive income.

Cons

•  Similarly to the above examples, getting started and noticed is extremely hard.
•  If you’re a beginner, you have to learn a lot about self-publishing, editing, graphic design, market research, book marketing and so on.

•  If you’re unknown, finding an audience where you can sell your products can be very challenging.

•  Creating the product itself is actually the easy part. Marketing and selling it is where most people give up.

Real Life Example #4 - Selling Your Own Products

Shelley Hitz is a perfect example of someone who’s making money selling her own digital products at http://www.self-publishing-coach.com.

She stared in 2008 by writing her first eBook on self-esteem for teen girls. Heck, now she teaches others how to do the same! She’s become a self-publishing coach.

Here you can check out the many digital products she created: http://www.self-publishingcoach.com/book-marketing.html

She now sells each of them through her website and other channels.

You can read her inspirational story at http://www.self-publishing-coach.com/shelley-hitzbio.html.

Again, her passion for the subject is obvious. She clearly wants to help people. She’s not just there to make a quick buck.

1. Building your own authority website

How does it work?

You have to find a topic (or niche) that you’re really passionate about. Then you have to build a website and create lots of great, high-value content on the subject. The bigger your website gets, the more visitors you’ll receive and the more money you’ll be able to make.

How do you make money?

There are tons of ways to make money with an authority website. You can offer affiliate products, display advertisements, sell your own products, include a paid membership site or forum, launch a related blog, generate leads for other companies and so on...

How much does it cost?

You’ll have to pay for domain and hosting. Initially, both cost less than a dollar a day. Later, however, the more visitors you get, the more you’ll have to pay. Unless you use a fixed-price company like SiteSell, that is.

How much time does it take?

It can take 1-2 years to succeed, working 20-30 hours a week.

Pros

•  Honestly, this is how most people become successful online. They start a website on something that they’re knowledgeable and passionate about. Millions have changed their lives this way already.

•  As you can see, having a successful website can help you with other online business models. It can help you sell your own products, drive traffic to your blog, popularize your podcast, get subscribers for your membership site etc... Again, it’s another reason why I’m such a big fan of it.

•  You can make money in dozens of ways. No need to put all your eggs in one basket.
•  A successful website can generate a serious amount of passive income.
•  It’s perfect for most people to get started and noticed.

Cons

•  You have to learn a lot about the process. However, it’s not too complicated and I’m here to help you with everything for free.

•  There’s so much conflicting information in the field, you can easily end up wasting your time and money without getting anything done. But again, don’t forget. I’m here to guide you from A to Z, the simplest, shortest and least expensive way.

Real Life Example #5 - Build Your Own Authority Website

Now I’d like to show you a really encouraging story. It tells how an “everyday” guy can make his dreams come true by creating his own website.

His name is Elad Shippony and he’s the webmaster of www.coolest-kid-birthday-parties.com

His website now ranks in the top 0.5% on the net!

He has more than 34.000 Facebook fans, several streams of residual income and a perfectly happy life.

He’s an infopreneur, meaning he provides free information for his visitors. His free

information gets traffic, which he can monetize with affiliate sales and advertisements (and a ton of other ways).

He’s always been dreaming of working from home, being his own boss and living a free life. And he managed to achieve it in under 6 months by creating a high-value content site about birthday parties for kids.

Read his inspirational story to see how you can do the same!

There’s tremendous value in this case-study. I guarantee you’ll be just as motivated as Elad himself.