How to make money on the Internet: about freelancing and online business

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Where to start, where to look for clients and customers, as well as a few ideas for business on the Internet.

Ten years ago, the Internet was considered as a source of additional income. Today it is a separate business platform that allows people to become millionaires. And you don't have to invent Facebook to do this. Many people create online stores, moderate forums, and look for customers through social networks.

Some statistics Internet 2017–2018 in the world and in Russia: statistics and trends:

• In January 2018, the number of active Internet users worldwide grew to 4.021 billion people, each of whom is a potential client or customer.
• In 1995, the overall percentage of freelancers in the United States was only 7%, in 2018 their number doubled, and by 2020 one-fifth of the adult population will offer services via the Internet.
• In 2018, 62% of companies in the UK have teleworkers and use freelance services.
• The number of specialists planning to completely switch to remote work has grown from 9% to 15% in recent years.

Runet is more conservative in this matter: only 1% of the population of the CIS countries works remotely. But the general trend is obvious: both companies and specialists in different fields are interested in freelancing and are beginning to actively use the Internet to make money.

There are two ways to make money over the Internet: offer your services remotely (this is actually work from home, freelance) or open your own online business. Both options are promising, but have their own characteristics. Let's start with the first: remote work.

How to make money freelancing

Several years ago, services for finding unskilled labor were a good additional source of income. Payment was offered for surfing sites, likes, comments and reviews. The offer is aimed primarily at schoolchildren and students looking for quick money. This market is still thriving, but in this article we will look at options for full-fledged remote work.

How much do freelancers get

Freelancing goes digital according to recent research. Labor market monitoring, the average income of a freelancer in Russia is 33 thousand rubles per month, but the figure varies depending on:

• main field of activity;
• the number of customers;
• concluding an agreement with a domestic or foreign partner.

For example, remote employees working with foreigners almost double their average monthly income and receive 61 thousand rubles.

As for the areas in demand, the distribution is as follows (according to Freelance. Some FreelanceHunt figures):

• 36% of customers are looking for web programmers;
• 19.8% are interested in working with texts;
• 19.5% hire designers;
• 9.1% use freelance services for online marketing.

But most often designers, not programmers, go to freelance on the Runet:

Where to find customers

The easiest way to find a client is to seek help from specialized exchanges. Among their main advantages:

• clear interface and quick registration - most sites are similar to each other, having dealt with one, it is easy to offer services on others;
• a large number of projects published daily;
• additional opportunities for promotion (reviews, ratings of performers, placement and editing of a portfolio);
• a secure deal that protects against fraudsters: customers are guaranteed to get the job, and performers are paid.

Among the Russian-language services, fl.ru, freelancehunt.com, weblancer.net are well-deservedly trusted - together these three resources generate monthly traffic of almost 5 million visits, with the lion's share (65%) owned by fl.ru.

The exchanges also have a minus - high competition among performers. You can cope with this not only by getting feedback and updating your portfolio, but also by refusing to use stereotyped responses. To save time, many performers publish the same standard response for each project. Yes, it's convenient, but the percentage of interested customers is about 1% (one customer per 100 responses). You can increase the indicator 10 times with the help of individual proposals.

Among the English-speaking exchanges, upwork.com is the undisputed competitor. The portal contains all the most popular areas of freelancing. But the services are provided exclusively in English.

conclusions

• Freelancing is a good way to make money on the Internet for professionals who are confident in their abilities.
• It is more profitable to work with foreign customers, since they often resort to the services of remote employees and offer higher pay.
• Freelancer's income depends only on perseverance and ability to work.
• The easiest way to start looking for a job is to register on Russian-speaking or foreign freelance exchanges.
• In order to get good orders, it is important to spend time on a portfolio, build a reputation, and create customized proposals for each project.
• Fluency in foreign languages is an important help for those who want to make money remotely.
• In addition to exchanges, blogs, personal sites, social networks, and even email newsletters based on potential customers are used to search for orders.

How to start a business on the Internet

Creating and launching your own startup is a good alternative to freelancing and a real way to make money on the Internet. Previously, many potential entrepreneurs were limited by the tough economy of the "real world" - to find clients and promote them, they required serious investments and solid start-up capital. With the development of Internet technologies, it has become much easier to start a business without investment.

The digital market continues to grow and develop. In the countries of the former CIS, growth rates are lower than in the United States and Europe, but in 2018 there is a positive trend:

• the number of social media users increased Social media in 2018: global survey 15% compared to 2017;
• 85% of users go to the Internet 2017–2018 in the world and in Russia: statistics and trends on the Web every day;
• the average time people spend on the Internet has grown Internet 2017–2018 in the world and in Russia: statistics and trends tripled: from 2 to 6 hours a day.

And the e-commerce market is experiencing a real boom: almost 45% of users of the global Internet community regularly buy and sell goods and services through the Internet. At the same time, the amount of the average check, according to Yandex, is constantly growing:

All this says one thing: starting your own online business on the Internet is easier than ever. What is needed for this? Suitable business idea.

Business ideas for quick money

Starting your own business is easier if you already have a hobby or professional skill, from baking or weaving baskets to bulkheading vintage car engines or ice fishing. Any hobby can be monetized using the Internet.

If there are no hobbies, you can use a lot of life experience or excellent knowledge of a topic - this will also work. In this case, you can create your own blog. The three most popular areas are:

• Guides of any subject, answering the question "how?" For example, "How to Cure the Flu", "How to Make a Balanced Diet", "How to Raise a Genius". The range of questions is limited by your knowledge and preferences of the selected target audience.
• Recipes and reviews of cafes and restaurants. It is not for nothing that food is called one of the most powerful drugs. The topic is relevant in any country and at any time. The format can be different: from detailed recipes to the analysis of popular dishes in exotic countries. As a general rule of thumb, a food blog should have lots of mouth-watering and unique photographs.
• Sports and politics. Controversial topics causing heated discussions. It always catches the audience, which greatly simplifies blog promotion.

If text isn't your thing, you can create a video blog. Channel revenue depends on the number of subscribers and views. Earnings of those who take the first places in the top:

Here are a few more business ideas that allow you to start your own business without investment or at minimal cost.

Sale of used books

Suitable: bibliophiles, former schoolchildren and students, families with a large number of children.

Offer: sale of used textbooks, manuals, art books.

Where to look for clients: Amazon, Yula, Avito - any popular bulletin board will do. You can try visiting thematic sites and forums.

Foreign language courses

Suitable: people with specialized education.

Offer: courses for the study of foreign languages.

Where to look for clients: use message boards or job search sites.

Resale

Suitable: anyone who can find a potentially interesting product and resell it with a good markup.

Offer: limited by your imagination or existing demand for specific products.

Where to look for clients: you can use Amazon or eBay to go directly to the international market. For example, offer foreigners “local exoticism” - traditional souvenirs.

Working as a personal assistant

Suitable: anyone with planning skills or experience as a personal secretary.

Offer: organization of work schedule, calls, confirmation of meetings, recruitment, execution of other administrative orders.

Where to look for clients: social networks, remote work exchanges.

It is easy to start your own business with the help of the Internet, and it is not necessary to look for a unique idea. You can offer tutoring services, walk dogs, sell handmade soap, and help organize special events. The main thing is to convey your proposal to the target audience. How to do it? Your site will help.

How to create a website for working on the Internet

The site will be needed not only for those who open their own business on the Internet, but also for freelancers - for posting a portfolio, attracting clients, maintaining a thematic blog. Its advantages:

• Work with any target audience.
• An easy way to get across a proposal and get feedback.
• Minimum investment in the initial stages.

Today there are many builders that allow you to create a simple website from scratch, without the skills of layout and programming. Some of them are free, others ask for a small monthly fee (the initial tariff is from 200 rubles per month).

In addition to configuring the template, you need to select a domain. Again, you can use the free one, but it is better to register a memorable and "talking" domain name.

When thinking over a web page, immediately think about its SEO-promotion. For this you will need:

1. Compile the semantic core. The semantics will be based on your proposal. For example, "online home appliances store" or "dog walking in Moscow."
2. Cluster it. For this, a convenient free tool has been created - the CL clusterizer. It's easy to work with it: load a table with queries - and you're done!
3. Work out the content in accordance with the keywords. At this stage, you can hire an experienced SEO-optimizer: the number of attracted buyers or customers directly depends on his abilities.

The Internet makes it possible to make money without investment either through freelancing (remote work for customers), or by opening your own online business.

If you are a supporter of freelancing, to get started you will need to choose a direction of services, create an account on the exchange and work on an offer: fill out a portfolio, develop a response template (but change it every time before sending it to a customer), post a brief.

The second option is to do a small business over the Internet. We suggested the ideas above.

And an optimized website will help you promote your business or services, which you can create even without programming and layout skills.