Online Business Models that Work

Staff Editor
Jul 03, 2013 4 mins read

Online business modelsThe beauty with working online:  You can start simply and grow your business to just the size you want.

Keeping it simple doesn’t always mean your profits will be correspondingly small.  In fact, some of the most successful entrepreneurs have made the most money by focusing on one simple idea and mastering it all the way to the top.

Let’s take a look at five online business models proven to work…

1. Affiliate Marketer – This model is not as easy as some might have you think.  You won’t be generating thousands within a week or two of setting up: More people get quite excited when they make their first sixteen dollars in one month than those making their first thousand.  You have to enjoy it and have an affinity for it – but if you do, this may be the ideal model for you.

An affiliate marketer quite simply promotes other peoples’ products and receives a commission.

There are many ways to do this:

Niche blogging
Review blogging
Joining a CP Network
Displaying ads and banners on a niche-specific website
Running a course and promoting products your participants will need

And sometimes affiliate marketers do all of the above!

You don’t have to be an expert in your niche to be an affiliate marketer – though do expect to become one!  But it helps if you already have expert status or are well-known in your chosen subject.

2. Virtual Assistant – You’ve heard the saying “you can never be too rich or too thin”.   Well, it’s the same with VAs:  There can never be too many good ones.  And when a “good” one does hit the scene, she is snapped up quickly by clients.

Your best bet as a VA is to specialize.  Don’t try to be all things to all clients1 – that’s a one-way ticket to becoming burnt-out:  Instead, focus on one area you love and are talented in – and focus all your marketing towards people who need that service.

Popular areas VAs are always needed in and often specialize in.  (Make one your specialty, if it resonates with you):

Project management
Social media management
Office management
Article marketing (can include copywriting)
Audio services
Video services
Transcription services
Formatting HTML and web pages
WordPress maintenance
Bookkeeping and invoicing
Testing and tracking
Shopping cart management
Autoresponder management
Customer Service and support

3. Copywriter –There is a high demand for reliable copywriters.  Notice the adjective “reliable”, rather than adjectives such as “top-notch” or “hot” or “fabulous”.  Learning copywriting is a simply-acquired skill – but not everyone can do it.  A love of writing helps (and sometimes hinders).  But if a marketer or corporation finds a copywriter who can complete assignments consistently and on time, they are like gold.  In fact, you may find yourself turning work away.

Copywriters should also specialize – but if you want to provide complete copywriting services, plan to outsource the types of content you don’t like writing; or find more difficult to finish.  And plan to add passive streams of income too.  (For example, writing an eBook series and selling it on Amazon.)

Areas copywriters can choose to specialize in:

Articles and blog posts (keyword-optimized)
Sales Letters
Web copy
Ad writing
Direct response copy
Information products (eBooks and reports)
A copywriter who is able to make serious money for her clients can command a high rate of pay in the thousands – but for those just getting started, there is always a demand for articles and blog posts.  Expect to be paid anywhere in the range of $10-25 per 500 word piece.

4. Coach – One of the most potentially lucrative online business models is that of coaching.  You can blossom into coaching from any of the previous four business models we’ve looked at – and this is the step that takes these models from the “job” range into the “own personal online economy” range – or you can become a coach straight away, if that’s what you’d like to do.

There are many types of coaches:

Business Coach
Lifestyle Coach
Fitness Coach
Content Coach
Skills Coach
Accountability Coach
Spiritual Coach
Financial Coach

And many more.

(An example of a content coach would be a copywriting coach.  An example of a skills coach would be someone who coaches you specifically in handling AutoCAD or WordPress.)

You need three things to set yourself up credibly as a coach:

a. A strong background in your coaching area
b. Expert status and reputation in your coaching area (it helps to be well-known)
c. Credentials

You can get away with becoming a coach without credentials, but unless coaching training has been part of your previous work history, it’s well worth your while to become certified in your area.  Not only will it add to your credibility and allow you to charge competitive rates, you’ll learn priceless information that will really help you please and retain clients.

5. Estore Owner – You can also turn your hobby into an online business – and there are a number of ways to do this.  You can:

Create physical products and use Etsy.com or a Shopping Cart to display your catalog, shipping them directly from your location
Use a product fulfillment company such as Café press to create the products for you (using your designs) – and ship them directly
Find products, create a catalog using a shopping cart and have the items drop-shipped directly from the manufacturer
A retail background – especially behind the scenes – would make this an ideal fit for you.

There are many more models that work online to create a stable, day in day out income. But just any one of the five listed above a can lead you on your way to online success.

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