Lots of people are trying to work from home online these days. And failing. Often quite miserably, in fact. Scams can be blamed for some, circumstance for others, but for a number of them, it's often more about expectations and preparation - usually too much of the first and not enough of the second. If you really want to make a legitimate go at making money on the internet, you might want to first make sure you have the following:
A Purpose.
Obviously, your final goal is to make money on the internet, but you also need to think about what you want your website's purpose to be with regards to users. This isn't just about what you want to offer, but what sort of solutions and benefits you want to provide. This can be very important for the future growth of a site. A static website that just links elsewhere isn't going to get you very far; as time goes on, you'll want to grow and offer as much value to your users as possible. So if you are starting with an affiliate marketing website, think of how you can use that to provide additional value to people. Maybe you will provide more information on your affiliate partners, or screen them somehow, or provide a very efficient and user-friendly interface. Maybe your site's purpose doesn't even relate to your money-making endeavor (such as a comedy blog that makes money on advertisements). You want there to be a reason people are using your site for something rather than the hundreds, thousands, or even millions of other sites that are out there for the same thing.
An Offer.
Obviously, you can't make much money online without something to offer people. Whether a product or service, advertisement space, affiliate marketing, or something else entirely, you need a way to actually earn money. This is where a lot of those make money on the internet sites can be a big help, providing something for you to offer, or ads to generate revenue, or affiliate products to promote, or the like. Of course, you can also offer your own products or services as well, which is always a good option, especially if it's something you are passionate about selling.
Cheap Website Design.
One of the big points about having a specific purpose for your site is so that you can decide what you want it to do and how you want it to grow. Most people going into online business, however, don't have thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to spend on website design. A cheap website doesn't have to be a poor one, though; it just has to be a specialized one. Obviously, you won't become the next Google, Facebook, or YouTube on a budget of a few hundred dollars - but you can get a professional and functional website up and start making money online. As your income grows, you can expand your website with new features and functions.
Cheap SEO.
If you build it they will...probably not even know it exists, unless you start shelling out Pay Per Click or other advertising money. As with the website design itself, cheap SEO doesn't mean ineffective SEO; it means finding a company that knows their stuff and can pick their battles. You don't need to be at the very top for the best keywords, and you aren't going to get there easily. By getting some good but cheap SEO, you can rank for niche keywords and start getting steady traffic coming to your website. As you grow, not only can you start targeting more competed keywords, but the traffic you've gotten should start resulting in more incoming links and other boosts to SEO, speeding your growth along.
PATIENCE!
As a businessperson, would you expect to be able to start a new business - say open a store - from scratch on a small budget and have it producing enough income to comfortably support you in a couple months? Of course not! It's no more realistic on-line than off. If you want to work from home online and make money on the internet, you need to be patient about it and build up slowly. You have to keep at it even when things go slowly and deal with the setbacks that all businesses have. Many online businesses never go anywhere, not because they lack potential, but because their owners go in with completely unrealistic expectations and quickly abandon the project. Understand that you will start small, learn how the business works, and gradually build up, and you will have the best possible chance at succeeding in making money on the internet.
Author Resource:
Dustin Schwerman is the head web designer for Truly Unique Website Design. Truly Unique works on websites of all varieties, their clients offer services ranging from SEO to information on how to legitimate work at home .