So What's The Best Online Business?

[1][2]For love or money? Which online business do you choose? 

It is no small task determining what the best online business is for you.  The “in” thing is to tell you to get something you are passionate about.  That’s all fine and dandy, but what if your passion doesn’t make money?  So do you go for the gold? 

What to do?  What to do? 

Well, there are some very real guidelines for finding the business that you enjoy AND that makes you money. 
 

YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS: A LITTLE FROM MANY 

One major approach to being profitable online is to get a little bit of money from a lot of people.  For example, AdSense ads and Amazon affiliates typically don’t earn very much on each “sale”, but when you total them up, it can be impressive. 

So the secret is to get a topic that draws in a lot of people.  What kinds of topics do that?  Well, how about

• How to train a puppy
• Limoges exchange
• How to make doll houses
• All about teddy bears
• The Tango
• Building all kinds of bird houses
• Salt and pepper collecting
• Baby shoes, with bronzing and all
• How to make exquisite soaps
• Guitar How To
• Bicycle touring in Canada
• Homemade weddings
• Tae Kuan Do

Well, you’ve got the idea:  Just about anything goes.

“So,” you ask quizzically, “How the dickens do I make money on topics like these?”

The answer, my friends, lies in “streams of income”.  It is unlikely that you will be able to put up a website on any of these topics and make slews of money from AdSense ads alone.  BUT, if you combine that with lots of other streams of income, a goodly income is indeed very possible.

Let’s suppose, for example, that you are going to have a site on romance novels.  With all the competition from brick and mortar book stores, this would not at first glance look promising.  But what kind of streams of income can you develop for that site?  How about …

ADSENSE.  Nearly always a good starting point.  But don’t stop here.

PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEWING.  Offer to review/edit books for a fee.  This could generate a very nice income.

AFFILIATE SALES FOR “ROMANCE” RELATED PRODUCTS.  How about flowers?  Or even jewelry?  Lovely lingerie is a real possibility.

AMAZON.COM AFFILIATE.  This is, of course, a natural for selling books.  Feature authors or periods.

WRITE YOUR OWN EBOOK ON HOW TO WRITE A ROMANCE NOVEL.  Readers (and publishers) seem to have an inexhaustible appetite for new romance novels.  Show how it is done.  Set up an affiliate program of your own, and let others sell your book too.

EBAY STORE FOR ALL THINGS ROMANTIC.  There have got to be a slew of “Scarlett O’Hara” things on eBay, as well as any number of other heroines.  Track them down and set up your eBay store.

VIDEO/ CD AFFILIATE.  Those who read romance novels probably enjoy seeing the movie as well.

Well, that should be enough to get you started.  Here are 7 streams of income.  None of them pay huge amounts of money, but put together you can do very nicely.  The real key to making this model work is generating lots of traffic.  Follow the formula of CONTENT --> TRAFFIC --> PRE-SELL --> MONETIZATION and you will be following in the footsteps of thousands of very successful webmasters.

YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS: A LOT FROM A FEW

This is the flip side of selling:  getting a lot of money from a few people.

I worked with one lady who worked in a rather esoteric corner of the real estate market.  Each of her sales, however, represented tens of thousands of dollars in commission.  She didn’t need thousands, or even hundreds, of people visiting her site each month.  If she had two or three good leads a month (which she quickly did!), she was a very happy camper.

Don’t skip over this section too soon.  There may be possibilities for you here too.  Where might you fit in?  How about

COACHING. Turning your knowledge into a “tutoring” or “coaching” business.  With the availability of easy communication, this is very real possibility.  It is, in fact, one of my major businesses.

LARGE TICKET SALES.  You may not be in real estate (but it is great if you are), but how about selling bicycles, mopeds, antique clocks or diamonds?  Turn that hobby into something really profitable.

SELLING YOUR OWN PRODUCT.  If you are an artisan with any manner of original art, this is a natural for you.

YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE: THE TRIED AND TRUE 

Still not sure where to start?  Well, here are ten great ideas for your consideration. Each one would make a great online business.

1. Cosmetics. Women seem to have an insatiable appetite for looking beautiful. Choose a topic and a product that is a specialized niche, like mineral make up, and your sales will be much stronger than if you generalize for all types of makeup.

2. Natural products. Everything natural had its real hey day back in the 1960s. Surprisingly, there is a new surge in natural stuff. Natural cosmetics, natural clothing, natural vitamins, natural food. Everything.

3. Retirement options. Yep. All those people need places to live. They need products that make their lives easier and ensure their mobility. Even tours designed for retired people are a good option – 70 and 80 year old don’t usually move as rapidly as teenagers, and they appreciate a bit slower paced travel event. 
 
4. Vitamins and age-defying products. The world is getting older. No one likes to look older, or feel older. There is a big market for products that can rejuvenate and provide a barrier against aging.

5. Designer clothing for large women. People are becoming super sized. Women in particular, no matter what their age, like to look sharp. Present great options for stylish attire. This is definitely a top network marketing product idea. 
 
6. Parties. Kids parties. Retirement parties. Birthday parties. Quincineras. Bar and bat mitzvahs. All kinds of parties need decorations, ideas, and all kinds of network marketing products.  
 
7. Children’s clothing and toys. There are soon going to be lots more grandparents than grandchildren. That means that lots of grandparents are going to lavish their grandkids with lovely toys, clothing and goodies.  
 
8. Self improvement products. The market for gaining self-confidence and friends and jobs has never waned. This has been a top network marketing product area for many years, and will likely be so for many more years to come. 
 
9. Movies. We are all still replacing our old videos with the new CD format, so there are millions and millions of movies yet to be sold. Pick your topic, and get a great selection for your clients to buy.

10. Auto accessories. Guys still have more love affairs with cars than with ladies. I don’t even know the names of all the doodads they put on their cars, but there are lots of them. And there is lots of money to be made with these top network marketing products.

BUSINESSES ONLINE: AND THE BEST ONE IS …..

The envelope, please.  TA DAH!  The best one is most likely the one that you enjoy the most.  You will be devoting hundreds of hours to developing this new business.  You have got to enjoy what you are doing.  Not only that, but the visitors to your site need to capture your enthusiasm.  With that touch of magic, most topics will be very profitable.  Without the magic, it’s a dreary dungeon.

There are lots of tools to help you pick just the right topic.  But first you need to focus your sights on the general area that tickles you.  So sit down right now and start jotting down all the possibilities.  You will amaze yourself.