Can You Make Money Online?

A couple of days ago I wrote about the topic of whether you could make money blogging.  The short answer is yes you can make money blogging but it is doubtful if you can make enough money to support your lifestyle.  So let's extend the question to can you make money online?  The answer to this question is a resounding yes.  Whether you can make enough money online to support your lifestyle and give up your day job is another issue.  Here are a few ways to make money online along with my experience and  comments:

•  online auctions - We joined eBay back in the late 1990's.  Within a couple of months we were generating an income of $400 per month for a net profit of about $150.  That amount is hardly enough to live off of but it was a nice bit of extra income.  We were quite active sellers for a year or so then backed it down because in all honesty selling on eBay is quite a bit of work and it is time consuming.  Canadian postage rates are horrendous so we shipped from the US as much as possible meaning extra costs and 9/11 created more hassles for taking items over to ship.  We still do occasionally sell on eBay usually going in spurts.  In my opinion eBay is one of the best ways to earn online.
• online sales or services businesses - Years ago I ran a small online only business (sales).  Like any online website getting traffic is critical.  The success of an online business depends on the traffic so promotion is key.  The nice thing about running this type of business is the overhead is low and your audience is huge so if it clicks the results can be quite good.  If it doesn't click you are out mainly time and effort.  As with any business you need to establish whether or not there is a market for the business prior to starting it and you have to be willing to let the business grow rather than expect success overnight.
• blogging - Blogging income is generated through affiliate networks, advertising income from other bloggers and paid posts or reviews.  Unless you get extremely lucky a well established blog can be expected to generate enough income to cover your ISP, domain costs and blog promotion costs.  So essentially you are making enough to cover your basics.
• authoring eBooks - eBooks are growing in popularity so the potential for making money is there.  Some have been quite successful with selling their eBooks while others haven't.  I have no experience with selling eBooks so can't advise any further. 
• free advertising networks (eg. Kijji) - It is possible to generate income through sites like Kijji usually through sales of used items or through services offered.  I have limited experience with Kijji

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