Some say, you get what you pay for.
When it comes to starting online business for free, this is rarely the case.
You will get what effort you put in finding the right platform for you and building quality content.
There are a lot of online business suggestions and offers out there that require you to pay up front to start making money.
Well, you can’t blame them for that, this is called marketing.
But if you take some time and do your research you will find a lot of ways that will show you how to start online business for free and provide you with an excellent support while doing it.
Starting Online Business For FREE – 5 Best Options
“The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new.” — Socrates
1. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is when you earn a commission by promoting someone else’s products or services on your website.
What do you need to be successful:
You will need a website with quality content and traffic. You can use an existing website, if you have one, or build a brand new one.
My opinion on affiliate marketing:
I personally like affiliate marketing because it allows me to follow my interests and passions. Ideally you would already have an existing website or you will have to develop a new website based on a niche that you really like. If you have or are building a new website based on a topic(s) that you like, producing ongoing content will not be challenging for you because you are interested in what you are writing about.
I also like that you can select quality products and services that you genuinely believe in and promote them to your visitors.
In addition, I think this is an advantage of having a website based on your passion and interest as you will be more vested in providing quality suggestions and promotions. Naturally, you will not want to put products and services that you do not believe in just to earn a commission. You will care too much about your visitors not to make the best and honest suggestions.
2. Blogging
Blogging is when you share your stories with the world via your website or other blogging platform. You pick an interesting topic and you share your views, opinions, suggestions about it in posts and articles. You will be making money by posting ads and promoting products and services on your blog.
What do you need to be successful:
The only thing that you require to be successful at blogging is a passion for the topic of your choice. You do not need to be an expert on your topic you just have to continue writing about your opinions, views, suggestions, etc.
You will have to post consistently to become and stay successful. Your content will have to be high quality to attract readers.
My opinion on blogging:
Blogging is my choice of a successful online business. I am not a writer but I enjoy expressing my opinions, views, suggestions, answering questions, helping people. If you want to share your passion with the world, this might be a great avenue for your. All you have to do is share your story with others.
3. Google Ads
Google AdSense is an online advertising platform developed by Google, where advertisers bid to display brief advertisements, service offerings, product listings, or videos to web users. You get paid commission when your website visitors click on the ads.
What do you need to be successful:
You will need an existing website with traffic, or you will have to develop a brand new website. If you are building your new website, it will take some time before you get traffic and get approved for Google Ads.
The main thing that you will need here is dedication and determination.
My opinion on Google Ads:
I like Google Ads, as once you have a great website you do not need to do anything other that upkeep your website. This is where you can just focus on your passions and favorite topics, keep sharing you stories with the world and Google Ads automatically give you online profits.
4. Freelance Writing/Editing
Freelance writing or editing is when you write articles or posts for money while not being employed by the company or organization. Freelance writers create whatever content is required by their clients. Freelance editors edit content for clients.
What do you need to be successful:
You will need decent writing or editing skills. You will also need research skills since you might be writing or editing content that you do not know much about it.
My opinion on Freelance writing/editing:
I think this is a great way to make money online for free is you enjoy writing or editing. For me personally, I enjoy writing and editing but only on topics that are interesting to me. It would be hard for me to write about something that I’m not passionate about and have no interest in.
5. Online Videos
You can make money online by making and/or posting videos online. There are five main ways:
- you make your own videos and upload them to your YouTube channel
- you can offer your services to produce a video for others that have that need but are lacking the skills or knowledge
- you can teach by creating video lessons or tutorials
- affiliate and product advertisement through videos
- you can sell your videos (if you can produce high quality professional videos of interesting topics)
What do you need to be successful:
You need to be good and enjoy making videos.
My opinion on Freelance writing/editing:
Sounds very creative and interesting but I never got into it. Making videos is not my thing, that I know of as I haven’t really tried it. I definitely think you can make money online but it will help if making videos is your passion and you are good at it.
Next Steps
“The value of an idea lies in the using of it.” — Thomas Edison
Hopefully you found something that triggered your interest in the suggested options for making money online.
3 out of the 5 options you will need a website to make it work.
To host a website will probably cost money and we are looking at ways of how to start online business for FREE.
You can find a platform where you can have your website hosted for free along with great training and other resources. For me the best platform is Wealthy Affiliate, which I use to this day. Upgrades in membership are available or you can remain a free starter member for as long as you want.
This is just one way to get your own website running for free and start building your online business.
“If you just work on stuff that you like and you’re passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.” — Mark Zuckerberg
I hope you have enjoyed this article. I also hope it was useful and you found the way to start your online business for free. I would love to hear your questions, opinions, or suggestions. Please leave them below.
Out of the 5 suggested ways to start making money online for free, which sparked your interests enough so that you will give it a try?
When we’re starting to research about starting our own online business it’s both scary and exciting. I recognize that when you get into this world of online business, at first, it is very difficult to understand the nuances or differences in the background that may exist in the many options for Internet businesses. Thanks for your guidance.
Hi Ann, thank you for your comment. Yes, you are correct, it is very scary at first but that is usually the case with everything else that is new. We can focus on the scary part or we can focus on the excitement part. The second feels much better.
It is awesome to know that it’s possible to make an online business for free! The pandemic has left a lot of people with more time than money, so the timing has never been better for anyone who has been curious about starting an online business. I like a combination of blogging with affiliate marketing to sell related products from my content and posts.
Hi Aly, great comment. I agree with you 100%. If it wasn’t for the pandemic, I probably would have never even thought about starting an online business. With way too much time on my hands, I had to find something to occupy my mind. I’m glad I did because my life has changed completely.
Blogging and affiliate marketing works best for me as well.
Starting your own business, whether it is an online or real business, can be very exciting, but also scary. There is so much information and options, that it can be difficult to make a choice. And sometimes it is a combination that works best for an individual, rather than just one. I have been combining blogging with affiliate marketing and that is working well for me.
Thank you for your comment. I agree with you, while there are many programs that will allow you to start online business for free, you will still have to do the work yourself. Educating yourself is a big part of this. If you are able to find a program that will help you with that and allow support, the process will be much easier.
I also have been mainly doing blogging and affiliate marketing through Wealthy Affiliate. This works very well for me as well.