What if you could make money at any time, from anywhere — even while you sleep?
This is the concept behind affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is the process by which an affiliate earns a commission for marketing another person’s or company’s products. The affiliate simply searches for a product they enjoy, then promotes that product and earns a piece of the profit from each sale they make. The sales are tracked via affiliate links
A quick and inexpensive method of making money without the hassle of actually selling a product, affiliate marketing has an undeniable draw for those looking to increase their income online. But how does an affiliate get paid after linking the seller to the consumer?
The answer can get complicated.
The consumer doesn’t always need to buy the product for the affiliate to get a kickback. Depending on the program, the affiliate’s contribution to the seller’s sales will be measured differently.
The affiliate may get paid in various ways:
Pay per sale.
This is the standard affiliate marketing structure. In this program, the merchant pays the affiliate a percentage of the sale price of the product after the consumer purchases the product as a result of affiliate marketing strategies. In other words, the affiliate must actually get the investor to invest in the affiliate product before they are compensated.
Pay per lead.
A more complex system, pay per lead affiliate marketing programs compensates the affiliate based on the conversion of leads. The affiliate must persuade the consumer to visit the merchant’s website and complete the desired action — whether it’s filling out a contact form, signing up for a trial of a product, subscribing to a newsletter or downloading software or files.
Pay per click.
Affiliate marketing is largely about generating traffic to websites and trying to get customers to click and take action. So, the myth that affiliate marketing is all about SEO (search engine optimization) is no surprise.
However, while organic traffic is free, SEO simply can’t sustain affiliate marketers in such a saturated market — which is why some affiliate marketers utilize PPC.
PPC (pay per click) programs focus on incentivizing the affiliate to redirect consumers from their marketing platform to the merchant’s website. This means the affiliate must engage the consumer to the extent that they will move from the affiliate’s site to the merchant’s site. The affiliate is paid based on the increase in web traffic.
There are two common concepts in PPC:
CPA (cost-per-acquisition): With this model, the affiliate gets paid each time the seller or retailer acquires a lead, which is when an affiliate link takes the customer to the merchant’s online store and they take an action, such as subscribing to an email list or filling out a “Contact Us” form.
EPC (earnings-per-click): This is the measure for the average earnings per 100 clicks for all affiliates in a retailer’s affiliate program.
Pay per install.
In this payout system, the affiliate gets paid each time they direct a user to the merchant’s website and installs a product, generally a mobile app or software.
So, if a retailer budgets for a $0.12 bid for each install generated via an affiliate program, and the campaign results in 1,000 installs, then the retailer will pay ($0.12x 1,000) = $120.
Advertisers
Ad networks can be a very effective and relatively low-effort way to monetize your blog. But, when you are just getting started, trying to figure out the ins and outs can also be a little bit confusing. Thus, today I thought I’d put together a quick & easy tutorial.
For starters, Ad networks are companies that sell ad space on any sort of internet real estate, like a blog or a website. You supply the real estate, the ad network sells that real estate to a company that wants to place an ad, and you get a percentage of the sale.
Ad networks are a great monetization tool for just about anyone who can provide real estate for ads. For any niche, any industry, the ad networks will deliver relevant ads to fit the internet real estate they occupy.
So, since ad networks are a great tool no matter what the niche, that means they’ll be a great tool for you, too!
A great way to earn some extra cash these days is to get paid to advertise for companies.
You may prefer to make money posting ads online. Or maybe advertising in the offline world is more for you.
Either way, this can be a really lucrative way to get some added income.
And in some cases, with a bit of work to set it all up, you can even turn this into a solid passive income stream. That is, once you put everything in place, you can sit back and watch the money roll in.
Mobile advertising is the easiest and most common way to get money from a free app these days. Using ad networks, app publishers can make money solely from ad revenue by offering their apps for free. Advertisers usually based on their buying method: Fixed Price, CPA (Cost Per Action), Cost Per Mille (CPM), CPC (Cost Per Click), CPL (Cost Per Lead), or Cost Per Order (CPO). You can take advantage of these fantastic advertising techniques to generate good revenue.
Types of Ad Networks
There are two main types of ad networks.
Horizontal Ad Networks
Horizontal ad networks are ad networks that accept all types of advertisers and all types of publishers. In these networks, the advertiser has limited control over where their ads are shown (also known as “blind networks”). So, if you have a baking blog, you might get a baking ad… or you might get a fishing ad or a workout DVD ad.
As a publisher, horizontal ad networks are appealing because they’re super easy to get into. All you really have to do is apply, show the ad network you have traffic, and follow their rules of conduct.
The not-so-appealing part is that horizontal ad networks take a bit of a “throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks” approach to ad placement. Your audience might not be interested in the ads on your website. And since horizontal ad networks pay per click, it can be harder to generate income without serious traffic.
Vertical Ad Networks
Vertical ad networks are more specialized and allow advertisers to choose which publishers to work with, which means that the ads are much more targeted. So, in order to join a vertical ad network, you have to be involved in the niche they serve.
Vertical ad networks are great because they’ll deliver targeted ads that your audience will be genuinely interested in — which means it can be much easier to generate clicks.
Within these two types, there are tons of individual ad networks you can try out. Do your research and test which ones you think would work best for your blog. You can either test one at a time, or you can work with multiple ad networks at once and see which performs best.
If that all sounds a little technical and complicated, you can also use an ad management service to take care of it for you, like AdThrive or Metric. They’ll set you up with an account manager, and they’ll handle the entire process for you. Is it an investment? Yes. But it can definitely be an investment that pays off once your ads are performing well.
Completing surveys, playing games and watching videos
Taking paid surveys online is an easy task you can do to earn money in your spare time.
Survey companies work with businesses that need feedback about new ideas or products before they hit the market. Survey takers earn cash for answering questions that will help brands improve their products.
Filling out surveys for cash can be worth your time if you sign up for the right survey sites and implement a few helpful tips.
All you need is an internet connection and a computer or mobile device to get started.
We all groan when an advertisement interrupts our chosen video content, but what if you were getting paid to watch?
Believe it or not, several sites pay you to watch ads, previews, and other content, including movies and TV shows. Although it won’t make you rich, watching online videos in your free time can earn you gift cards and extra cash that might help you stash away some savings.
There are a number of companies looking for new members to help them out, so here’s how you can get started.
Earn Cash By Going Online
Dropshipping
Dropshipping is where you sell products on your website but don’t keep the stock yourself.
Instead, once an order is placed on your website, you contact the wholesaler or merchant and pass the order onto them. They arrange the packing and delivery direct to your customer–so you don’t have to.
You make money from dropshipping by adding a profit margin to your product. The merchant will give you their total price and then you add whatever you like to that as your profit earnings.
It’s worth remembering that your profit margin needs to be realistic, as eCommerce is very competitive. However, you need to cover costs, such as website hosting, and still make a profit for yourself.
Setting product prices can be a trial-and-error process. You’ll quickly learn what your customers are willing to pay for the products on offer. Most people with a dropshipping business set around 20-30% for profit margins.
Consider the items you’re selling, too. A lower priced item might be more popular and provide a regular income, but a higher priced item will mean greater profit margins.
Dropshipping is worth it since you don’t have to pay for or store inventory. You only order the items your customer has already paid for. And you don’t need to manage the packing and delivery.
Dropshipping is 100% legal as long as you obtain all of the necessary sellers permits like a traditional ecommerce store.
After all, a dropshipping business is just like any other online store except a third party supplier handles the shipping and you handle the orders.
In fact, many large companies like Target, Wayfair and Create & Barrel drop ship other brands as an additional channel for generating sales.
However, certain forms of dropshipping are illegal on marketplaces like Amazon and Ebay. For example, you are not permitted to dropship goods from Amazon to Ebay and vice versa.
In addition, dropshipping from AliExpress and other online markets are expressly prohibited on both Amazon and Ebay.
According to the terms of service for both marketplaces, purchasing products from another online retailer and having that retailer ship directly to customers is illegal if the shipment does not identify you as the seller of record.
However, if you only plan on running a dropship store (without Amazon or Ebay), rest assured that dropshipping is 100% legal as long as you obtain a business license and sellers permit.
Earn as a freelancer
Freelancing means that you’re self-employed and working for companies or individuals on a contract basis. You aren’t considered a full-fledged employee of any one company. Instead, you can take on projects with several different companies or clients.
There’s a lot to love about freelancing. For one, you get to choose your own hours. You can work part-time or full-time and take on as many clients as you have the capacity for.
Freelancers can also set their own pay rates. Over time, this could result in higher earnings than a traditional employment arrangement.
On the flip side, freelancers typically don’t get benefits or paid time off. Income can be inconsistent, and it can be hard work to find your first clients.
In 2022, skilled professionals can earn as much money freelancing as they put their mind to, with the flexibility to decide their income based on their desired work-life balance. Freelancing has become a popular option for people looking to supplement their existing income or as a full-time income source that offers more control over the jobs they take on. The demand for talented freelancers has been growing over the years, and as a result, many freelancers can set their prices and work on projects that interest them.
Freelance payment schedules
It is essential to understand that with the increased earning potential and flexibility comes an inconsistent payment schedule for freelancers. Freelancers get paid for the work they complete, and if they don’t work, there is no paycheck coming at the end of the week. Below are the three most common payment schedules for freelancers.
Hourly: A freelancer is paid per hour for their work at an agreed-upon rate.
Project-based: A freelancer is paid a set amount to complete a project with a defined scope and deadline.
Monthly retainer: A monthly retainer is a recurring payment that a freelancer receives based on an estimated amount of work for a project’s duration or a predetermined amount of time.