Earning Cash and Making Money Online: Some Simple Ways

If you have a computer, you can make money on the internet.

That's a very simple concept, but many people fail at their attempts to make money online, whether because of lack of effort, resources, money, or just the right knowledge.  But it's actually very simple to make money online fast if you are willing to put work into it and can be patient enough to wait for the results of that work.

So what are some basic ways of making money online fast without needing to invest a lot of money?

1. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is quite simple to get started with, but rather difficult to do well.  Affiliate marketing is basically signing up with different retailers (digital products such as Clickbank.com, or real products through Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon.com, etc.) and then making websites, ads, and articles that link back to the retailers' sites.  When someone buys something through your affiliate link, you get a commission.

The trick to affiliate marketing is patience and hard work.  You have to pick a strategy and stick to it.  If you choose PPC (pay per click) marketing, you also need to be prepared to put money into your ads.  It also requires thorough research from the beginning.  This means knowing what keywords you need to rank for using Google Adwords Keyword Tracker, or the basic Wordtracker Keyword Tool.  Most of these are simple to use, and can be very helpful in showing you exactly what people in your niche are looking for.

2. Freelancing

Sites like Guru.com, Elance, and Getafreelancer.com are good starting points if you have a skill like writing, web design, SEO, or pretty much anything that can be used online.  People are always looking for freelancers to do dredgework for them, so sign up with a couple of these sites and start bidding.

These are really the main ways of making money online that are legitimate and reputable.  Surveys, get rich quick schemes, and the like are usually scammy and will either end up costing you money or just wasting your time.

The basic thing to remember is that making money online is a business.  Treat it like one, and you will reap greater rewards much faster.