Making a Living Online

As much I’m often asked about online marketing, I’m also asked about general e-business questions like, “How do you build a web store,” “What kind of Internet-related careers can I pursue,” and “What about all these ‘too-good-to-be-true’ money-making opportunities online?”

So, though we’ll be veering off subject a bit this week, I still feel as though I’d be doing our audience a service by answering some of these common questions and providing a few additional resources to get further information.

Let’s begin with, “How do I build a web store?”

On the simplest level, you can set up shop using one of the many online build-your-own-web-store sites. There’s HyperMart, BigStep.com, Yahoo Store, iCat.com, Lycos Stores, or ShopStarters.com. These services can sort of “do it all” for you so that you can reduce your coordination burden.

If your ecommerce concept is more intricate than that, the next thing you ought to do is to speak to a firm that specializes in ecommerce development. These days, simply contacting a web designer is not good enough because, quite frankly, anyone can hang out a shingle and call themselves a web designer. There are enough off-the-shelf software packages to help people build web sites that you really have to be careful with whom you’re dealing.

A good ecommerce development shop is going to know as much about “front-end” (the look, feel and design of a site) as they do about the backend (order taking, order processing, credit card authorization, inventory, etc.). They’re going to be able to integrate all the pieces of the puzzle for you…and, it ain’t gonna be cheap.

To that end, you need to weigh out your return on investment: what are you planning on selling and generating in revenue from your web store vs. what does it cost to build it?

Here’s a site with loads of helpful articles on this subject: MoreBusiness.Com

Next question: “What kind of Internet-related careers can I pursue?”

More than you can imagine! In addition to the more well-known ones you could think of like “web designer,” “programmer,” and “technical engineers,” come other catchy positions such as “content manager,” “web architect,” and “media specialist.” Even more far-flung are titles like, “New Metrics Analyst,” “Community Strategist,” “Consumer Experience Manager,” and “Metamediary Chief.” Yeesh!

If you’re not familiar with some of the online job sites like Monster.com, HotJobs.com or CareerPath.com, you can certainly go there to learn more about current job opportunities as well as what’s out there. There are also some sites and articles related to this subject at:

Lycos.Com
Business2.Com

As for, “What about all these ‘too-good-to-be-true’ money-making opportunities online?”…

Certainly, the credo, “If it looks too good to be true, it usually is,” stands true. Of course, there are still some legitimate money-making opportunities out there, but one always must proceed with caution. Below are a few of the legitimate money-making opportunities online:

(1) Become an Affiliate
Many sites, as an incentive to use you to help bring them traffic and/or sales, have started affiliate (or “associate”) programs. These programs will pay you either per visitor or per paying customer you send to their site. Amazon has popularized this kind of program.

(2) Pay-To-Surf/Pay-To-Read Programs
Programs like AllAdvantage, Surfing2Cash, and Spedia.net pay its members for surfing, reading emails, online shopping, participate in games and sweepstakes, and sign up for programs. If you’ve got the time and don’t find advertisement-overload too offensive, you can make money. Read the fine print thoroughly.

(3) Sell Your Writing
If you write, you can publish your materials online in electronic format and make money. See our archived marketing tip on Fat Brain from (1/21/00), and also visit Xlibris, BananaFish, and FirstPrint.Com.

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