Top 5 Ways to Make Money on the Internet

 

Unless you're a freegan and have found a way to live entirely off the grid, you probably need some sort of steady income in order to survive. The traditional way to earn money, of course, is by having a job. You work for a company or start your own, and the work you do earns you money, which you spend on things like a mortgage, rent, food, clothing, utilities and entertainment.


Most people typically work from their company's central location, a physical space where everyone from that organization gathers to exchange ideas and organize their efforts.

But a few lucky souls have found ways to make money within the comfort of their own home. With the Internet, an ever-changing arena for businesses, some looking to earn money are finding ways to do so.

Some forms are best for part-time endeavors for those looking to make a little extra money on the side, while others can lead to full-time jobs and Internet success stories.

We've put together a list of our top 5 ways to make money on the Internet, in no particular order. On the next page, we'll start with an old favorite.

5: Selling Stuff on eBay

Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Finding stuff you don't need but others are willing to pay more for is a popular way to make money over the Web.

It's a fairly straightforward concept that most people are familiar with by now -- if you have a bunch of stuff that you don't necessarily need but others want and are willing to pay extremely inflated prices for, you can auction off the items on eBay or other online auction sites. Simply gather your goods, create a seller's profile and start selling.

It sounds simple, but takes some practice to sell successfully. Creating persuasive and legitimate product pages for the goods you're selling will help get buyers interested. It's also important to set reasonable minimum bids to ensure that people will buy. And remember to deliver the kind of customer service that will garner positive feedback ratings and to communicate with buyers to let them know you're reliable. The more positive feedback you receive, the more people will be willing to do business with you. And that, of course, means more money.

4: Blogging

If you have a particular passion for something, whether it's a hobby or an obsession, and you have something to say about it, blogging could be a profitable way to pour out your endless stream of thought. The key here, as with many other services on the Internet, is in selling advertising.

After starting up a personal blog, many writers sign up for ad services like Google AdSense, which post those familiar sponsored links you often see at the top and on the sides of Web sites. The more times your blog readers click on those ads, the more money you'll make through the ad service. This works fine if you're a casual blogger, and you may make some extra spending money. But if the blog is consistently interesting, well-written and really takes off, you may be approached by companies who want to reach your fan base with graphical advertising around your blog. Some of the more successful blogs, like I Can Has Cheezburger? and Boing Boing, have become pop-culture phenomena, and their creators have been able to quit their day jobs and blog full time because of the money they make from advertisers.

3. Designing and Selling T-shirts

As you walk around most high school and college campuses, you're likely to come into contact with lots of words. But it won't be material from textbooks or term papers -- those are probably in backpacks or sitting unfinished at home. Instead, they're the simple phrases or logos -- most of which are ironic or amusing -- printed on the T-shirts on the backs of the students.

Usually, the more unique and offbeat the design is, the more desirable the T-shirt is. The growth of the Internet has made it possible for vendors to sell T-shirts all over the world. In fact, sites like CafePress.com and SpreadShirt.com allow you to set up your own store, create your own designs and sell them yourself. If you create your own shirt design with a clever catchphrase or come up with your own unique statement and people like it, you can start making money.

2: Freelancing

Freelancing is similar in some ways to blogging. For one thing, you get to work from your own home or office most of the time. But there are a few important distinctions. First, if you're thinking about freelance writing, chances are you need to have more experience than the average blogger. Many freelance writing positions cover specialized topics for online publications and may require expert knowledge on a subject. However, if you're passionate about things like travel or food and know how to write, a freelancing job can provide you with good income.

Writing's not the only way to make money freelancing, of course -- anyone with graphic design or programming experience can find contract jobs that pay well and provide challenging work, too.

1: Domain Name Flipping

Based on luck, strategy and business savvy, domain name flipping can be one of the more lucrative ways to earn a living online. The term comes from the real estate trick that involves buying old, undervalued houses, fixing them up to make them more attractive and modern-looking and selling them for a much higher price.

n this case, the old and outdated place is not a house, but rather a domain name -- the main address for a Web page. With a little bit of searching, dedicated domain flippers locate unused, poorly maintained Web sites that have generic and recognizable identifiers and buy them. They usually pay a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars, but after extensive updates that make the site more business- and user-friendly, the domain name can fetch several times more than it was originally worth. The domain bird-cage.com, for instance, was bought for a mere $1,800 in 2005 -- after a redesign two years later, the site was sold for $173,000 to a bird cage vendor [source: Bhattarai].

For more information on doing business online and other related topics, invest some time in the links on the next page.

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Tough Slog on Health Care Plan Gets a Little Easier

WASHINGTON — A columnist for the online news magazine Slate once proposed that the month of August be banned, as “it has a dismal history” and “nothing good ever happens.” A week ago, President Barack Obama might have cosponsored the suggestion.

The first week of the month, congressional Democrats, on their summer recess — or “district work period,” as some call it — were on the defensive; the “Astroturf” anti-health-care-overhaul demonstrators took over constituent sessions, forcing Democratic members to cancel town hall meetings. Republican derision of the Obama stimulus plan dominated the political debate.

By last week, the dynamic had shifted some. Democrats and health care proponents didn’t have the edge as angry demonstrations against the health care plan continued, but a counteroffensive was gaining ground. On the economy, and to an extent on health care, the president and Democrats were giving as well as getting.

Representative Joe Donnelly, a second-term Democrat who represents an industrial slice of Indiana, says the passion in his district is palpable. Last weekend, 300 constituents turned up in the delicatessen section of a supermarket to discuss health care. On Aug. 12, he expected 70 people in Kokomo; 500 showed up, and the event had to be moved to the street.

Though the gatherings were intense, Mr. Donnelly says that these residents largely were “respectful” and that there was “more of a balance” on health care the past week: senior citizens worried about Medicare cuts, parents worried about coverage for children with pre-existing conditions and people who after many travails — unemployment ranges close to 20 percent in some of his counties — are “overwhelmed” at the notion of tackling health care, too.

There are two likely causes for the more balanced perspective, which was also observed by other lawmakers.

One, the administration caught a big break on the economy. The July unemployment number was better than anticipated. The last two Federal Reserve chairmen — Ben S. Bernanke and Alan Greenspan — along with Nouriel Roubini, the prescient prophet of gloom the past several years, and Goldman Sachs Group all saw an economy on the mend.

And the oft-ridiculed fiscal stimulus package is starting to look like a winner. Mayors and local officials around the United States now say the federal funds are demonstrably creating or at least saving jobs.

Some of the Republican governors who initially talked of rejecting stimulus money are either out of office (Sarah Palin of Alaska), discredited (Mark Sanford of South Carolina) or spending it freely while claiming credit for its effects in their states (Rick Perry of Texas and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana).

With only 15 percent of the cash spent, the stimulus has already saved more than 500,000 jobs, according to separate estimates by Moody’s Economy.com and HIS Global Insight. “There are clear signs the stimulus is working,” said Kenneth Goldstein, an economist at the nonpartisan Conference Board in New York.

The fate of health care is inextricably linked to the economy. It is a test of the administration’s competence: if they can’t get a stimulus right, how do you expect them to overhaul 17 percent of the nation’s economy? It also forms the perception of the financial climate for any other measures.

The other factor that has neutralized the bleak situation that faced Democrats is the overreach of critics. Some of the opposition may be ginned up by conservative groups, but Obama Democrats — accused of orchestrating the huge crowds for their candidate during the campaign — invite ridicule when they suggest the protesters at the health care gatherings are all puppets.

The opposition, however, has gone over the top. At a town hall meeting with Democratic Representative John D. Dingell in Romulus, Michigan, a woman with disabilities was shouted down by health care overhaul opponents; some lawmakers have been threatened physically, and a swastika was painted on the office of a Democratic congressman in Georgia.

Demagogic misrepresentations that the health care proposals mandate euthanasia or are a magnet to attract illegal immigrants abound. It’s not just from fringe groups. Ms. Palin, the 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate, railed that “my baby with Down syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel”’ if the Democrats’ initiative were enacted. That canard is offensive to families who have loved ones with disabilities.

Then Investors Business Daily, in criticizing the Obama health care plan, charged that if the famed scientist Stephen Hawking lived in Britain, its National Health Service wouldn’t save his life, which “because of his physical handicaps is essentially worthless.” Mr. Hawking, 67, who has a motor neuron disease that is like Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a British subject and has received lifelong care from that nation’s health system; he was one of 16 recipients of the Medal of Freedom from Mr. Obama this week.

The White House, working with Democratic supporters, plans to stay on the offensive for the next week, with more town halls and by directly taking on the critics. Mr. Obama plans weekly phone-ins for Democratic senators and House members to discuss strategy.

Enacting a health care overhaul still is a very tough slog. Opponents have an easy, if sometimes false, target; Democrats haven’t coalesced behind a consensus proposal yet, which creates awkward dialogues and allows peripheral issues to dominate.

And while the economy is improving, new budget deficit numbers out later this month aren’t likely to be confidence-inducing. “We couldn’t pass a bill that adds to the deficit,” Mr. Donnelly said.

Although the Obama economic plan may be succeeding, there remain painful dislocations and 15 million jobless Americans.

That makes the president’s decision to vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, later this month puzzling. Certainly, the Obamas need and deserve a family vacation. But with the worst economic situation since the Great Depression and joblessness close to 10 percent, paying more than $25,000 in weekly rent to hobnob with the elite seems off key. Isn’t there something nice, a lot cheaper, on Lake Michigan?

However well deserved, Mr. Obama will have returned from that vacation when the battle is fully joined in September. And while he has been slow to react, history is encouraging to health care overhaul supporters. He initially was slow off the mark in the presidential primaries, the general election and some of the early moments of his presidency. When he gets going, though, usually he’s more than a match for the opposition.

Tropical Storm Claudette bears down on Florida

 - A satellite image from 2 p.m. ET Sunday shows a tropical storm nearing the Florida Panhandle.

At 2 p.m. ET, Claudette's winds had picked up to near 50 mph, based on observations by an Air Force reconnaissance plane. The center of the storm was about 40 miles south of Apalachicola, Florida, and about 160 miles from Pensacola, the center said. It was moving at about 14 mph, putting it on course to hit land by Sunday evening.

A tropical storm warning was in effect from the Alabama-Florida border east to the Suwannee River. A tropical storm warning means that weather conditions will likely deteriorate in the next 24 hours.

The storm could bring 3 to 5 inches of rain, with isolated amounts up to 10 inches, and storm surges across portions of North Florida.

Meanwhile, two other tropical storms were in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday. Tropical Storm Ana was moving west but losing strength, forecasters said, while Tropical Storm Bill was gaining strength as it followed behind Ana.

Ana was about 240 miles (385 kilometers) east of Dominica at 2 p.m. ET Sunday. It was expected to arrive at the Leeward Islands by late Sunday or early Monday, the center said. It was moving about 25 mph, and its maximum sustained winds were close to 40 mph, the center said.

Tropical storm watches were in effect for Dominica, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, St. Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius, Guadeloupe, St. Martin, and St. Barthelemey.



Tropical Storm Bill -- which could become a hurricane on Monday -- should be watched closely as it heads west-northwest in the Atlantic, possibly toward Florida, CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf said. The storm was 1,555 miles east of the Lesser Antilles at 11 a.m. ET Sunday.

Microsoft, partners announce first set of phones carrying Windows Mobile 6.5

In a Tuesday announcement, Microsoft and its partners said that the much-awaited first set of phones carrying the updated Microsoft's mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5, is all set to hit the stores.

The first three Widows Mobile 6.5-based phones include Verizon's HTC Imagio and AT&T's HTC Pure, and HTC Tilt 2.

Microsoft expects over 30 phones running its new Mobile OS by the end of this year, with a number of them debuting from now onwards till the holiday season. Moreover, as per Microsoft's February announcement of the Windows Mobile 6.5, some current Windows Mobile 6.1 phones can also be upgraded to the new Mobile OS.

While the updated Windows Mobile 6.5 is largely a reinforcement of Microsoft's conventional OS, it boasts an additional app store and a few usability enhancements. In addition, the operating system also features an improved browser, Adobe Flash support, and easy-to-navigate menus.

With Windows Mobile having faced a downslide in its market share, with fierce competition for RIM and Apple, analyst Tina Teng at market researcher iSuppli said: "Windows Mobile is facing a host of challenges, including rising competition from free alternatives like Symbian and Android, the loss of some key licensees, and some shortcomings in its user interface."

However, Teng also added that "Windows Mobile holds some major cards that will allow it to remain a competitive player in the market."