This is the age old question. Funny to think that anything about the internet could be 'age old' but here it is.
Ever since there was an internet for us all to use, people have been trying to profit from it. Many people have succeed, many are still trying.
There are plenty of scams out there promising you instant riches for only $137. The seller of this scam will show you proof that his method works by revealing his bank account. Of course this works for him, he's selling the scam. His bank account is not proof that his ideas will make you rich. It is only proof that he is willing to cheat you out of your money. Why wouldn't he be rich, he is collecting $137 a pop to tell his story.
What is his story? Probably something like, create an ebook, market it and watch the money grow. He will tell you that in order for you to create your ebook, you will need his $97 ebook software program. To market your ebook, you will have to buy his $197 marketing plan. It's as simple as that. Wow, are you rich yet. No, but he sure is!
This is very much like the old mail order scams about stuffing envelopes. How many people fell for that trick? How does that scam work? Well you pay someone $24.95 for their informative booklet on mail order profits. When you get the booklet, you find out that in order for you to make money in mail order, you have to get people to send you $24.95 for your informative booklet on mail order profits. Sound familiar?
The only difference between that old scam and the new internet scams is the price. The idea is the same, it just costs you a lot more to get ripped off online.
So is there really any way for an honest person to make a legitimate income online?
Yes there is!
It won't be overnight and it won't be effortless. It takes time and work to build a business anywhere. Why would the internet be any different? If anyone tries to tell you different they are lying to you. They are just trying to get you to buy their informative booklet, translated = ebook.
If you want to build a business, you will have to be willing to work, research and be patient. Nothing happens instantly and no one is going to hand you the silver tablet with all the answers.
There is a lot of writing that goes into an online business. You have to write website content. You have to write a newsletter or ezine. You have to write articles. If you hate to write, you are looking into the wrong business.
Yes, you will find people who will sell you the special program that will allow you to get rich without any writing. The problem is, how did you find out about that program? The seller wrote a sales letter. Hmm... sounds like writing to me. And remember what we already talked about? There is no super software that will make you rich overnight. If someone were to create such a program, do you think you would be able to buy it for one hundred and thirty seven dollars? Hardly.
Let's stay on track here.
To build an online business, you will have to own a website. To create this website, you will have to research a topic and write about it. You will have to buy a domain name, (this is cheap and you only pay once a year). You will need to find a good hosting company to host your site. This can be pretty inexpensive if you look around. This is a monthly expense that you will have to be able to afford before you even consider building a website.
Once you have your site built and online, your next job will be to let the world know you are there. This is the biggest job there is. It is a never ending task. No one will even know your site exists if you don't work on promoting it. Many people will try to sell you information on marketing too. There is plenty of free information out there all you have to do is look for it.
Finally, once you have your site up and running, you have people coming to your site, you will need a product or products to sell or what was the point? The easiest way to get products is through affiliate programs. These programs will allow you to sell someone else's product and make commission off your sales. You don't have to stock anything, you don't have to collect money and you don't have to deal with shipping.
There are many good companies out there that offer nice commissions on their products. It really doesn't matter what you decide to create your website about. You will find someone selling something that will compliment your site.
So, back to the original question. How can I 'really' make money online? The answer is by working at it. Put your pie in the sky dreams away and start writing.
About the author - Margaret Albright is the webmaster for the website Know It All Affiliates, [http://www.knowitallaffiliates.com/niche.htm] Teaching you step by step how to create your internet empire.