The Different Ways of Making Money Online
Here are the different ways I know of making money online and my thoughts about them... This list doesn't pretend to be exhaustive: this is only what I have experienced.
First, let's start with the ones you'd better forget right away, in case you don't know them yet...
Hyips (High Yield Investment Programs)You'll see those all over the Internet... Most of the times those sites exist for a few weeks, maybe a month or two. Then they close with their members money, the admins disappear, and... Start a new site under an other name. That is, when they're not managing several sites at the same time...
They offer very high and very quick returns (50% per day for 4 days and such), but it's a fairy tale. No, let me rephrase that... It's a big old fat lie. Fairy tales usually have happy ends... The "company" does not have an address or a phone number, and if they do have an address (rare) it's only a PO box. The program is run entirely online, with a website and a forum. All those sites often look the same for a very simple reason: they all use the same site scripts and templates that they buy for a small fee... They don't offer real and serious payment options either, those which would make them take some risks in case they're not for real: checks, wires, or even PayPal (this payment system is quick to freeze an account is case of suspicion, which makes it too risky for a hyip to use).
Paid surfs / autosurfsMost of the time these are only disguised hyips. You pay for a "service" (having your ad inserted in their rotation) and you earn money and points by viewing the other members ads or sites... They last a little bit longer than normal hyips because they have an alternate income stream (the members can order supplementary views of their ads and such) but they are still hyips. A few real autosurfs do exist though, the ones that don't ask you to pay your way in... But with these you earn only cents. They're not worth your time.
Forex botsTrading the Forex market is a difficult task. You'll find people out there to sell you their ultimate automatic robot that will trade for you... Although I believe it must be possible to use such a system to assist you in your trading task, I have yet to see one that actually delivers a full automatic service without requiring assistance, knowledge and experience.
Now let's switch to the best part of this article...
Reverse Pension Plans (RPP)Although I haven't seen one of those pay yet, I am convinced the concept is viable. I know by my sources that offline RPPs do exist - and have been a reality for a long time, only they were reserved to a small minority. The Internet made it possible to bring them to the average Joe. Be careful though, I'm not saying that ALL RPPs are good to take... Some might fail. Others are probably scams - it'd be foolish for scammers not to take advantage of this business model! But I do believe that some of them are real. This won't be proven until at least one of them reaches its conclusion, though.
Affiliate marketingThis one can be a winner if you know how to do it. If you try that like a tourist, without the proper knowledge and training, you're going to fail and you'll think there is no way you could make money that way... If you ever reach that point (or if you already have), think about it again: just like you can't drive a car without knowing how to switch gears, you can't do affiliate marketing if you haven't learned how to do it. That's one of the lessons that My-data-team (see my blog) has to offer, so if you want to learn that, check them out. But be warned: it will take time! And this is normal. It's a matter of learning, and gaining some experience.
Online surveysI have a good feeling about these but I'm only getting started... You can actually get paid to give your opinion. There are big companies out there that allocate a research budget to all kind of studies, they want to know what their customers or would-be customers like, how they live, what brands they like and so on... So they hire a panel of 1000 to 1500 people in order to make a study. And these people get paid. And you could be one of them!
Data entryThere are indeed some real traditional data entry jobs out there... Most of them require some specific qualifications - this depends on each offer. Typing reports, making transcripts of audio files, and such... These are real traditional jobs, only they are performed online. That's an other one of the income streams that My-data-team (see my blog) will give you access to: they'll teach you how to do, and they'll give you lists of companies that are waiting for you...
Original article (possibly with updates and comments): [http://www.hasta-luego.net/blog/2009/08/28/the-different-ways-of-making-money-online/]