One of the golden rules of investing is to never have all of your eggs in one basic, meaning don’t place all of your money in any one single investment. What you don’t hear discussed much is why it’s a bad idea to only have income from a single source.
When I almost lost my job 2 years ago, I vowed to never allow a single employer to control my ability to provide for my family again. I was in a situation where if the company decided they no longer needed me, I couldn’t put food on the table or keep a roof over our heads for very long. Fortunately, that didn’t happen, but it was just close enough to literally scare me to death. Fear is quit the motivator sometimes and I very quickly made a few changes to get things under control. One of those changes was to begin looking at other options for alternative income streams.
Alternative income from the internet
I am techy, and have been since I was young. When perusing any job whether your primary or secondary, I think it’s important to do work that you not only enjoy doing but are naturally good at. For me, doing some type of work on the internet was the obvious choice. I had experience in retail and sales as well, so selling goods online would be a great fit. I started absorbing everything I could on running online stores and selling items on eBay.
Around the same time I started Gather Little by Little having no idea at the time that blogging could be a viable business. I started it just as a hobby and to help others. Helping others is still the #1 reason I write here on Gather Little by Little, but I have learned I can monetize it as well and earn a reasonable income.
There are literally more ways to make money on the internet than you can imagine. Here are just a handful of ideas I am aware of:
- Affiliate Marketing - This is where you sell a product for someone else and get a percentage of sale. This is often done either through a blog, a web site, or Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC). Interested in learning PPC? PPC Coach is a great program I’m currently enrolled in.
- Blogging - As I’ve said blogging can be a very viable source of income. Many bloggers have recently gone full time. I’m not there yet, but sure would like to be.
- Online Stores - Have a product you think you can sell? Start an online store. Even if you don’t have a product, you can sell other people products and earn commission. Niche stores are a great way to earn money.
- Consulting or Coaching - Are you an expert in something? How about teaching others how to do your skill or providing consulting services so people can benefit from your expertise. Create a website and begin marketing and telling people about your services. Knowledge is always a very marketable product.
- Complete Online Surveys and Read emails - While you won’t get rich this way, it does provide some extra cash. Options are: MySurvey.com, MyPoints, and CashCrate. There are lots of others, but these are one’s I have used and like.
- Write eBooks - I am not convinced eBooks are a great money making opportunity anymore like they were, but many people still are. Know a lot about something? Compile your knowledge into an eBook and sell it on Clickbank or eBay.
As I said, these are just a few things you can do. The opportunity to earn money and provide a valuable product or service on the internet are limitless.
The internet is not easy money
One of the misconceptions I had early on was that you could just throw a website out there on the internet and it would begin making money. I even thought blogging would easy. Both options are a great deal of work and involve many of the same types of things a brick and mortar business require.
The days of making money quick and easy on the internet are over. Regardless of which option you choose, it will require work. I spend on average 10 hours a week just on Gather Little by Little and then another 10 hours or so on my other sites which include Niche Stores, other blogs and the new consulting service I am in the process of ramping up.
So, if you see and ad or hear somebody telling you that you can get rich overnight, walk the other way. It just isn’t true. Internet businesses like any other require commitment and hard work. The more you put in, the more you’ll get out.
Do you earn alternative income through the internet? If so, how? Share your thoughts and perspective. Add a comment!
Photo by: Kapungo
译文:
网上的多渠道收入
投资的金科玉律之一就是千万别把全部的鸡蛋放到一个篮子里，即不要用你所有的钱来做任何孤注一掷的投资。而你比较少听到的说法是只有唯一的经济来源也是一种不明智的做法。为什么这么说呢？
两年前，我差点失去我的工作。于是我发誓说再不会让唯一一个老板来控制我养活一家人的能力。我那时处在这样一种状况中：如果公司决定解雇我，我们全家将很快就没饭开、没房住。幸好我没被解雇，但这件事已足以把我吓得个半死。恐惧有时会是一种动机，我很快就做出了一些改变来让事情 处于我的掌控之中。 这些改变中，有一个是开始寻找别的渠道来获得其它的经济来源。
网上的多渠道收入
我从小就很浮躁。当你在找不管是首要的还是次要的工作时，找到自己既喜欢又擅长的工作很重要。至于我自己，在网上赚钱是个不错的选择。我还有做零售商和销售员的经历，所以在网上卖东西很适合我。我开始为开网上商店搜集一切商品，并开始在EBAY卖东西。
大约同时，我开了个叫“点点收集”的博客，当时并不知道博客也可成为吸金之地，我只是把它作为一种兴趣和帮助别人的手段。帮助别人仍是我写这个博客的首要目的，但我已经懂得把它货币化并获得不错的收入。
在网上赚钱的途径多到超出你的想象，以下只是我所知道的几个：
- 合作行销 - 即你帮别人卖东西并从中获取回扣。这常可通过博客、网站或PPC来经营。对PPC感兴趣？PPC教程是我最近报名参加的一个非常棒的项目。
- 博客 - 我之前说过博客可以是个非常可行的赚钱方式。最近有些博主一刻不停地在忙。我还没到那种程度，不过将来肯定会的。
- 网上商店 - 你有想出售的产品？开一个网上商店吧。即使你不生产商品，你也可以在网上卖东西给别人然后获得厂家的销售委托。开间合适的网上商店会很赚钱。
- 顾问或辅导 - 你是某一行的专家吗？试试教人们怎样掌握你的技术或向人们提供顾问服务怎么样？这样人们能得益于你的专业知识。创建一个网站来经营，向人们宣传你的服务条款。知识总是一种受欢迎的产品。
- 填网上调查和阅读邮件 - 尽管你不能以此方式致富，它多少能给你带来一些收入。可供选择的网站有： MySurvey.com、 MyPoints、和CashCrate. 还有其它很多很多，但这几个是我用过的，很喜欢。
- 写电子书 - 我不是说写电子书还像以前那样容易赚钱，但有些人的确还能以此营生。对某种东西非常了解吗？将你的知识收集成册写成电子书，然后在Clickbank 或eBay 上销售。
正如我所说，你可以用多种手段在网上赚钱。在网上赚钱和提供商品或服务的机会是无限的。
在网上赚钱并不容易
之前我以为只要在网上建立一个网站，丢在那里它自己就会开始赚钱；我也以为博客很容易赚钱。其实这两种方法都需要做大量像盖砖瓦涂泥浆一样繁琐而辛苦的工作。
在网上又快又多地赚钱的日子已经过去了。不管你选择哪种网上营生手段都需要辛苦的工作。我平均每星期要花10个小时在“点点收集”上，再花另外10个小时在其它网站上，包括Niche 商店、其它博客和正在走上坡路的新顾问服务等等。
所以，如果你在广告上看到或听到有人说你可以在一夜之间变得富有可千万别相信，因为这是不可能的。网上商务像其它任何工作一样需要承诺与苦干。你对其投入得越多，你从中得到的也将越多。
你能在网上获得多渠道收入吗？如果能，你是怎么做的？将你的想法和观点跟大家分享一下吧！欢迎你的评论！
由 Kapungo摄影