Making Money with a Shoestring, a Thumbtack, and a Pea Brain

• Buffer
• Pin It
• Tweet
• Sharebar

• Buffer
• Tweet

OK, so maybe not with a shoestring and a thumbtack.

But with a brain definitely (minus the pea) as well as an Internet connection and a lap top.

Or at least access to an Internet connection and a lap top.  C’mon, we’re not going all MacGyver here, sheesh.

Anyhoo.

I thought I’d write a post today tonight 2 days ago, exploring two very viable ways a motivated chap (or chappete) could make some money online, with little to no investment and minimal tools of the trade.

Of course I’m not entirely altruistic, as I’ll be recommending top shelf resources where you can learn how to do these things on your own, yet still avoid all the mistakes and pitfalls that lie in wait for unsuspecting noobs.  This let’s you skip right to the “make some damn money” parts, and feel all warm and fuzzy.

And of course, I “make some damn money” if you decide to partake of the resources I provide, but hey… do you really begrudge a girl a little commission?  If you learn something killer useful that could just save your ass from financial ruin? Really?!

And ya’ll know of course I don’t recommend anything I don’t believe in, so no worries on that front.

And please note, these are NOT “get rich quick” schemes, nor will you become a gazillionaire by next week.  Sorry, it don’t work like ‘dat.

OK, so without further hoopla, here are my two top ways you can begin to make some money online this month.

Offer Your Skills as a Writer

OK, so maybe I’m mildly biased with this one, because it’s how I got started online and it’s a skill that has allowed me to break free of the chains of my old J.O.B. and move into full-time entrepreneurship.

But if you’ve a way with the written word and can turn a pretty phrase, you’ve got a marketable skill that could make you money.  In fact it could make you some serious money, depending upon how much effort you want to put into it, and how much you enjoy doing it.

And the best part is that a freelance wordsmith can pretty much get started with zero investment other than time.  Although if you’ve got a few bucks to invest, even better!  Below are some recommended tools to get you started with this particular little venture.

Also, be sure to investigate my friend Jenn’s Power Ghostwriting course. (Yep, kickback alert.) She’s a GREAT teacher (actually she used to BE a grade school teacher) and I drove her batty when I first started with all the questions I had, so she’s got the patience of a saint.  Plus she’s a successful ghost herself, and who better to learn from than a lady who has made it happen already?

Now Let’s Get On With Those Suggested Tools…

A Domain Name

You can pick one up on the cheap via Godaddy (tip- Google GoDaddy Coupon Code) or any other domain registrar.  Expect to spend about $8-10 bucks a year on a domain name.  Be sure to choose one that you can live with for a long time to come, as Google likes “aged domains” better than noob domains… so it’ll behoove you in the long-run to pick a keeper.

Hosting

You need a home for your domain name, and this will run you about $10 bucks a month or so, depending upon where you go.  I use Hostgator at the moment, but also highly recommend MomWebs… it’s run by people I know personally.

A Platform

I recommend WordPress. It’s free, there are lots of free and cheap themes you can use to pretty up your site, and it’s fairly user friendly.  I got started using WordPress and I knew absolutely zero about setting up a website, hosting, or anything remotely techie.

WP saved my ass in that respect, and I eventually upgraded to more customizable paid themes and learned my way around a bit of tweaking.  You can totally go this route too, or pay someone to customize a theme for you, like I did with BGB.

Using the three tools above, you can set up a website for next to nothing and begin using it to advertise your services, brand your writing business, and establish authority within your niche.  All for less than $20 bucks.

Sell Affiliate Products

While I myself only dabble in this here and there, it’s not my main income stream… I know folks who DO make selling affiliate products one of their main sources of income and it’s fairly easy to get set up and going.

You can sell virtually anything, and sell either physical or digital products, depending on the niche you decide to dive into.  Sometimes you can sell a mix of both!  If your favorite vendor doesn’t seem to have an affiliate program set up, you could contact them individually and see if you can work out some sort of partnership agreement to help them sell their shite… not many typically refuse!

And if you need a bit of help and clarity in learning just how to go about selling affiliate products and setting up your own niche affiliate income streams, I highly recommend Affiliate Staircase.

It’s run my some very good friends of mine, and I even help out with their support (and yes I get a kickback if you sign up, let’s keep it real here).  However, that said it is an EXCELLENT source of information on getting started quickly and easily with affiliate marketing, the right way.  (Please note, there is definitely a wrong way! lol)

I’ve combed through the lessons myself, and it’s top notch, quality information written with the experience and knowledge of some of the best in the business… almost like the grandfathers of marketing on the Internet.

Best of all it’s relatively easy to implement.

The first month is offered for like $5 bucks on a trial basis, and $27 there after, so if you aren’t happy with the first 4 lessons, you get 60 days to request a refund.  Zero risk.

Plus, the way the lessons are designed you should be able to be up and running within the first 4 weeks, so you can easily make that moola back pretty quickly if you put the elbow grease in.  Oh and again the suggested tools for the writing gig will also be helpful in this case as well, so figure an initial investment to get rockin’ at $25 tops.

So, check it- Affiliate Staircase and let me know how it works out for you.  You can drop comments below, or you can email me personally, I’d love to hear your results.

And there you have it… the top two ways I’d personally suggest to get started making money online relatively quickly, with very little investment on your part other than a willingness to work and believe in yourself.  Trust me, this “make money online” schtick that gets peddled all across the web all the time, isn’t a pipe dream, even though it can seem that way at times.

There are real people, making real money, free-ballin’ it (OK that’s crass, but seriously… you think some people don’t?!) in front of their computers all across the globe.  They’re just not wasting their energy on all that “get rich quick” crap, or those “make money online” gurus that promise the moon.  They understand it takes a bit of commitment, a bit of work, and a bit of knowledge to make money online, and they’re willing to put in the time.

And now you can too, if you’re ready.

Any questions?

Image Credit

Tagged as: affiliate marketing, business, get rich quick, income streams, make money online, start-up, writing