How to Make Money On The Internet (2 Easy Ways)

How to Make Money On The Internet (2 Easy Ways)

Read-time: 5 minutes

I’m passionate about using the internet to create a lifestyle business.

A.k.a working on what you want and having the freedom to do it when you want.

Today I want to share two easy ways you can use to make money on the internet.

These are methods you can use to make money on the side and have the potential to turn into a full-time business if you wanted to.

They are both free (or relatively low cost) to get up and running and need little maintenance and no employees.

I hate complexity which is why this newsletter is so short - so let’s jump in.

Easy Way #1 A Service Business

This is what I did (and still do to some extent).

A service business is where you provide a service in exchange for money. It could be copywriting. It could be video creation, video editing, website building. The list is endless.

This is usually the easiest way to start making money online on the side.

This business model is great for people who have a specific skillset that other companies need.

Example: you could be great at writing emails, helping companies with their email marketing, or writing SEO optimised blog posts.

How to know what you’re good at:

Here are 2 questions you can ask yourself to give you ideas for a service business fit for you.

Question #1 What do friends and family commonly ask me for help with, that I enjoy doing?

Question #2 What is work my boss often gives me responsibility for?

Two very simple questions that will give you some viable ideas.

Tools to get started:

There’s a couple of things I’d recommend you need to make this easier, first of which is ConvertKit for creating a simple landing page to show off your service. It’s free to try (with paid options available).

I use ConvertKit to build my email list - but that’s a topic I’ll save for another newsletter ;)

You also need a way to collect payments - PayPal is great for this to get you going.

I also use Calendly to let people book onto my calendar for quick Zoom calls to discuss their work.

How to get attention for your new side business:

Share a mix of your expertise through content on social media, and when you get a few people through the door, ask them for testimonials which you can share too.

Share a piece of content everyday to position yourself as an expert at what you’re offering as a service, as well as simultaneously reaching out to potential people/companies who may want your service.

Charge what you feel comfortable with (to start with) to get initial customers onboard and provide them a great service. Bonus tip; Go above and beyond!

How to grow your new side business:

Once you start to get results and ask for testimonials, from happy customers (yay!), you can begin to increase your prices as your calendar starts to fill up.

Easy Way #2 An Online Course

This is your opportunity to package up your knowledge or skills and teach it to other people. Online courses are a great place to give tactical advice and teaching people how to achieve very specific outcomes.

For example, my course GoPro Video Magic shows people how to use their action camera to grow an audience on social media.

My Creator Media Kit Template, although not necessarily a course, shows people how to create a professional media kit that will have brands knocking at their door wanting to pay them money to work with them.

How to come up with ideas for an online course:

There’s a million-and-one ways to brainstorm ideas for an online course.

Here’s a few to get you started:

• Check your DMs: Are here questions that commonly come up that people seek you out for the answer? These are great topics for online courses!

• Ask your followers: Is there something your followers want to learn or understand - and would be willing to pay to learn?

 Tools to get started:

Again, use ConvertKit for a simple landing page and to potentially build your email list down the road.

You can also host your online course on ConvertKit or use a platform like Gumroad.

How to get attention for your online course:

• Talk about topics that are covered inside your course on social media

• Write a blog post and offer your course at the end (like I do)

• Share a link in your Instagram Bio and on your Stories

How to grow your online course:

Many of the people who join your online course will want more from you.

This is where the ‘value ladder’ comes in.

A value ladder helps customers purchase more often from you.

The typical ladder starts with a low-cost product (like my media kit or Action Camera course) at the bottom.

Then, some customers may want to move up to the next rung.

This is where you could offer coaching or another higher-ticket product that solves a specific problem your lower-ticket products may not solve.

This is how you can turn a simple online course into a fun-time business using the internet.

Let’s run the numbers: 

If you sold 3 online courses for £50 per day = £150

10% of those people opt into your next rung which is £300

Weekly results - 21 online course sales and 2’next rung’ sales = £1650/week or £85,800/year.

Ahhh, I do love the power of the internet ;)

Hope today’s newsletter was useful!

~ Alex

How Are 2 Ways I Can Help You When You Are Ready

1. Free2Paid: I put together this video series which includes 7 steps to getting paid brand deals as an online creator. Watch it here (it's free)

2. GoPro Video Magic: A complete course containing literally everything I know about action cameras, including setup, shooting, editing, and sharing on social media. Enrol here