5 June 2015: With the advent of new technology come new ways of doing things – new ways of talking, working, and making money. From blogging to playing poker, people have optimized on the connective nature of the web to make money online. Those that have taken their online hobbies further have managed to sustain a regular income. Today people engage in nearly hundreds of lucrative online money making activities such as blogging, freelance writing, affiliate sales, and online poker.

Blogging

According to Wordpress.com, bloggers produce about 41 million new posts and 54 million new comments each month on Wordpress blogs alone. In addition to publishers, over 409 million people read more than 14 billion pages every monthly. Blogs thus have the potential to reach billions of readers, and people who are aware of this use blogging as a tool to make money. Blogs generate money typically through advertising and affiliate marketing. Those who create and run a blog for money-making purposes have a basic understanding of search engine optimization (SEO) principles and likely engage in affiliate marketing.

Much like the magazine industry, blogs generate money through advertising. Expert writers at ProBlogger recommend a few guidelines which professional bloggers should use to monetize their blogs such as writing an “about us” section where the purpose of the blog is outlined; keeping the blog specific to the topic; conducting basic market research to determine the readers of the blog; and allowing third-party entities to place their advertisements on the blog.

But the blogosphere is large and growing, and many bloggers lament how difficult it is to start making money. Geoff Williams advises bloggers who resign from their jobs to make a living from full-time blogging to keep job hunting while maintaining a blog. “If you've lost your job and decide to start a blog to support yourself, good for you. But keep job-searching, especially if you don't have a spouse to bring in revenue — because odds are, this isn't going to work out.”

Freelance writing

Writing for online publications has garnered a poor reputation over the years. Once thought of as the last resort for struggling writers, online freelancing writing became notorious for exploiting underpaid writers. This is new longer true. The market for freelance writers has expanded, and manifests in the large number of freelance writing websites. With the popularity of blogs and online publications on the rise has come a demand for timely content. Website and blog owners have turned to outsourcing a large chunk of their content to external writers. They find these writers on site such as GorkanaJobs.com and JournalismJobs.com where writers can advertise their services and get selected to complete writing jobs. Recruiters also post assignment specifications and writers can “bid” for the job of their choice. Payments to writers are typically made via a PayPal account.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing thrives on online agreements, a testament to the new way in which people connect with each other. Put loosely, affiliate marketing is an online marketing practice whereby a company runs an affiliate programme to generate sales from other websites by paying those sites which display their adverts. The sites which display these adverts are rewarded or paid a commission every time a product is sold via their website.  

Companies favor affiliate marketing for its flexibility. For instance, the company can choose the product they work with. Work is also flexible and companies can work at their own pace. On the other hand, it is a highly competitive business which requires intensive marketing in order to see results. Affiliate marketing is also a popular marketing method among bloggers. Writers who have decided to monetize their blogs often allow companies to advertise their products on their blog, provided the product fits in with the theme of the blog.

Professional poker

Once seen as a hobby and gambling pastime, playing poker to earn money has come into the spotlight recently. Its merits as a legitimate career have been debated by players and commentators alike. While a consensus on poker’s status as a career has not been fully agreed upon, those who play online poker for a living contend that playing the game is a worthy way to earn a living.

Professional poker players enjoy the flexibility of the career and the high payouts. There are many stories of players who have quit their jobs in order to “go pro” at poker. Professional players can earn up to $10 000 a month during a 3 or 4 hour playing session. Many professionals cite the high payout and flexibility as the main reasons for taking poker up as a career. On the other hand, players pint out that should they apply for a job, they will have to explain a large gap in their CV, during which time they played poker. Some players recommend earning money from poker as an aside to a full-time job.

< Prev		Next >