让您开始在互联网上赚钱的在线商业理念

您是否知道，如果经济上可行，75% 的美国人宁愿专注于他们热衷的工作或职业，但实际上只有 37% 的人已经开始了副业？ 该信息来自最近的一项全国民意调查，数字惊人。 为了帮助揭开开展副业的过程及其所需的工作量，我们收集了这些现在可以实际开始的高质量电子商务在线业务想法。

开展副业是开始电子商务的最佳方式之一，因为与仅仅辞掉日常工作来追求自己的激情相比，这是一种风险较低的选择，但它仍然是您可以随着时间的推移而成长和扩展的东西。 如果您是 75% 的美国人中的一员，他们更愿意从事他们热衷的工作或职业，但您不确定如何实现这一目标，那么这份在线商业创意综述应该可以帮助您开始右脚。

因此，在开始副业时，需要考虑一些重要的难题。 因为这不是你的主要工作，所以不能占用你所有的时间； 您仍然需要时间和精力来成功完成日常工作，因此在涉及您的副业时，您可能需要专注于自动化和生产力策略。 这里有一些事情需要考虑：

• 自动化：自动化是副业最好的朋友。 这意味着您可以在没有那么多输入的情况下产生更多的输出，这样您就可以获得所需的结果，而无需为达到目标而做所有工作。 寻找所有可能的方法来自动化您的副业，以便在您无法开展业务时可以在后台运行。
• 商店管理：您的商店需要低维护才能管理，这样当您有时间专注于您的副业时，您就不会将所有有限的时间都花在后端运营上。 考虑在 Shopify 或 BigCommerce 等托管电子商务平台上设置您的商店，以便为您处理复杂且耗时的商店管理任务。
• 订单管理：您的副业的订单管理也需要低维护，因为同样，当您有其他任务要做时，您不希望将所有空闲时间都花在完成订单上。 想一想如何创建一个真正高效的订单拣选和包装流程，让履单变得轻而易举，或者找到一个您可以与之合作的履约仓库来为您处理流程。
• 商务成本：由于你身边是干什么的，顾名思义-副业-你应该专注于运行其结构尽量紧凑，所以它不会吃起来的资源，你必须资助它，这样你就可以最大限度地利用您的利润率赚取潜力。 为了帮助降低您的业务运营成本，请查看这篇文章。
• 生产力：您将不得不尽可能多地将时间用于您的副业，以便帮助促进这一点，使用正确的应用程序可以使一切变得不同。 不要对应用程序过于痴迷，但使用生产力应用程序或专为电子商务和创业设计的应用程序可以帮助您在可用的时间内经营最好的副业。
• 可扩展性：副业并不总是必须扩展，它们可以在整个生命周期中保持副业，但是，如果您想围绕自己的热情建立职业生涯，并且发展副业是实现这一目标的方法，那么扩展您可能对您的操作感兴趣。 我们建议先开始，然后再考虑扩展。 虽然为您的企业的未来进行规划并立即做出有助于以后提高其价值的决策很重要，但有时对未来考虑得太远可能会导致您根本无法开展副业。 现在就开始——从小处着手，逐步扩大规模。 按照您自己的步调，一天一天地做您的副业。 毕竟，通过在正常工作之外经营副业，您可以奢侈地不将所有压力都放在副业上以提供您的生活方式，因此您可以自由地以您认为合适的速度发展它.

准备好开始自己的电子商务业务了吗？ 查看这些电子商务在线商业理念，朝着正确的方向前进！

在线商业理念#1：产品策划

以产品管理为中心的最易于管理的副业类型之一。 这是最好的在线商业创意之一，因为您可以通过使您的商店成为您想要的任何东西来真正定制它以适应您自己的兴趣和专业领域。

通过开展产品策划业务，您的主要目的是在特定市场或利基市场上磨练并策划一系列满足该受众需求的产品。 找到一个利基并坚持下去对于这类副业来说非常重要，所以如果你选择走这条路，我们建议你对你的利基进行一些扎实的研究，并查看我们的 500 个利基文档等目录，以找到完美的领域关注的兴趣。

一旦你缩小了你的利基，是时候策划一系列产品在你的商店中销售了。 您可以通过多种不同的方式来处理这部分副业：您可以制造自己选择的产品，从其他品牌批发，从现有公司为它们贴上私人标签，从直销供应商处直接运送，甚至从附属网络列出它们. 产品策划方面的业务有很大的灵活性，但请记住，这里的主要优势是专注于商店的策划方面。

此类副业的竞争优势来自于为购物者提供精简的商品选择，因此请充分利用它。 花时间采购和列出高质量的商品，而不是大量的商品，这不仅可以节省您的时间，而且对访问者也更具吸引力。

以下是您可以开始的一些产品策划在线商业理念：

• 古董、艺术品、收藏品和复古物品：这些类型的产品基本上是产品管理商店的完美搭配，因为任何给定的物品通常只有一个或很少的库存单位 (SKU)，这不足以库存整个商店，但非常适合策划商店的前提。
• 服装：随着快时尚品牌从一家商店到另一家商店都拥有相同的服装库存，就消费者的服装选择而言，原创性和排他性是一种日益增长的趋势。 建立一个完整的副业，围绕着策划适合特定利基的服装项目，这绝对与现代购物者相关。
• 配件：同样，为特定的利基市场挑选一系列配件在当今的电子商务行业中占有一席之地。
• 美容和个人护理产品：这种类型的产品管理商店可以主要专注于与特定利基相关的洗浴用品或美容产品。
• 数字商品：这是一个不断增长的市场，行业内的产品数量逐年增加，为小众受众策划一系列数字产品可能对消费者有所帮助。
• 服务：同样，帮助消费者与提供他们正在寻找的服务的其他人建立联系也已成为一个不断增长的市场。

要启动并运行产品管理业务，您必须采取的后续步骤是采购产品，然后建立商店来销售它们。 您从何处采购产品将完全取决于您想要运营的商业模式类型（制造、批发、直销或自有品牌）以及您想要赚取收入的方式（通过佣金/附属链接或通过产品销售） ）。

如果您想从供应商处采购产品，请查看供应商目录，例如我们的制造商目录、服装制造商目录、批发供应商目录、直销供应商目录或自有品牌制造商目录，如果您想通过附属链接赚取佣金，请查看附属网络，例如我们在最佳联盟计划文章中提到的那些。

接下来，策划一系列产品并将它们列在由 Shopify 或 BigCommerce 等电子商务平台托管的您自己的电子商务商店中。 您将能够在遇到新产品时轻松列出它们，并在产品售罄时将其删除。 它们都是灵活的构建平台，为您提供了创建您想要创建的确切类型的策划站点的工具。

在线商业理念#2：创建在线市场

您现在可以开始的在线商业创意列表中的下一个是在线市场。 这种类型的副业可能需要更多的努力才能启动，但是一旦您运行它，它就可以相当自主地运行，并且您只需很少的投入，如果您设计它运行的话。

正如我们在如何开始在线市场文章中所讨论的，在线市场是多个商家可以向客户销售商品或服务的电子商务商店。 您可以将自己的在线市场设置为副业，让商家能够通过您的市场进行销售，这样您就不必担心采购、添加和销售自己的产品。

在线市场通常专注于为有需求的市场提供特定类型的产品或服务，因此同样，在启动自己的在线市场时，专注于利基市场也非常重要。

在线市场示例：

• 亚马逊：最初是一个在线书商市场
• Etsy：个人销售自制产品的在线市场
• AirBnb：供房主出租房产的在线市场
• TaskRabbit：一个将自由职业者与当地需求相匹配的在线市场
• 创意市场：为企业和创意销售数字资产的在线市场

如您所见，这些在线市场中的每一个都提供有需求的产品或服务，并且只专注于该细分市场。 我们建议，如果您决定将在线市场作为副业开办，您会找到一个真正需要某种产品或服务的利基市场，同时也是其他人能够向您提供产品或服务的方式。在线市场。 只有当一大群人可以为供应做出贡献时，在线市场才有效，因此在创建自己的在线市场时请记住这一点。

因此，建立在线市场可能具有挑战性，因为您不仅需要协调商店面向客户的方面，还需要协调面向供应商的方面。 这意味着您将获得双倍的投入和双倍的支持，以保持工作顺畅。 然而，运行在线市场的许多方面都可以自动化，因此虽然初始设置可能需要更多的努力，但它也可能提供高投资回报。

您必须认真考虑运营在线市场的另一个方面是您计划如何将其货币化。 您可以选择多种不同的途径，例如基于佣金的商业模式、会员/订阅费商业模式、上市费用商业模式和免费增值商业模式——我们在如何开始在线市场文章。

要启动您自己的在线市场，请找到您想要服务的利基市场，通过 Sharetribe 等平台建立您的市场，并定义您的货币化策略。 查看上面链接的如何启动在线市场文章以获取更多说明和信息。

在线商业理念#3：开一家直销店

作为目前最受欢迎的副业类型之一，直销店是一项非常容易开始的电子商务业务。 如果您正在寻找一个低风险且易于进入电子​​商务世界的点，那么直销是一个很好的起点。

直销业务是一种有吸引力的商业模式，因为您作为商家可以开设自己的在线商店，而无需预先购买任何库存，也无需处理运输或履行过程的任何方面。 通过代发货，您可以与代表您运送和履行客户订单的合规供应商合作，让包裹看起来像是直接来自您。

由于无需预先购买库存、在您自己的仓库中进行管理、挑选和包装订单并将它们运送给您的客户，您可以节省大量时间和金钱，您可以将这些时间和金钱花在其他业务上。 这些任务外包给供应商，供应商代表您完成这些任务，让您的客户觉得流程无缝。

开设直销店是最重要的在线商业创意之一，因为您不必担心商店的许多方面！ 这意味着它将占用您更少的时间，这是有利的，因为当您有空闲时间时，您将忙于工作，并且大部分业务运营将外包和自动化。

但是，Dropshipping 确实有一些缺点，我们在 Dropshipping 101：什么是 Dropshipping 文章中对此进行了深入讨论。 主要是，您缺乏品牌控制，因为另一家供应商将制造您的产品并将其运送给您的客户，并且因为该另一家供应商代表您处理流程的许多方面，您的利润较小，从而降低了您的盈利潜力。 虽然这些对于副业来说可能不是很大的缺点，但它们可能会影响您的业务未来的可扩展性。

要开始代销，您需要找到合适的代销产品和合适的供应商来采购代销产品。 然后，您可以设置您的商店并开始向客户销售。

要查找直销产品创意，请查看我们关于 75 种按需印刷产品创意的文章，要查找直销供应商，请查看我们的优质直销供应商目录。 如果您正在使用 Shopify 设置直销商店并希望将您的供应商直接集成到您的商店，以最大限度地自动化流程，我们甚至策划了 Top 10 Best Shopify Dropshipping 应用程序列表。 我们推荐的一些顶级直销供应商包括 Printful、Gooten、Modalyst 和 Spocket——所有这些供应商都拥有可以直接连接到 Shopify 商店的 Shopify 直销应用。

如果您正在寻找副业，您可以轻松快速地开始，而不会影响产品质量，那么请考虑开始直销副业。

在线业务理念#4：寻找在线业务进行销售

这可能是我想到的一种不太传统的副业类型，但是，寻找在线业务出售可能是此列表中最好的在线业务创意之一。

当您搜索待售的在线业务时，您可以找到您正在寻找的确切规模和您愿意承诺的阶段的确切商店，以便您可以建立您正在寻找的确切类型的副业操作。 通过购买已经启动并运行的业务，您可以跳过启动在线业务的耗时的形成阶段，直接进入运营部分。 对于想要经营在线业务但花费更少时间完全从头开始的人来说，这是一个理想的选择。

然而，这种副业理念并非没有其自身的一系列缺点，因此，如果您认为自己感兴趣的是购买在线业务以进行销售，请记住这些：

• 您可能需要花费大量时间来寻找适合您的业务。 您可以在 Shopify Exchange 等市场中搜索以找到适合您的业务，但是，您可能无法立即找到所需的内容。
• 并非所有待售企业都是副业规模的企业。 如果您正在寻找可以在业余时间真正开展的副业，请确保在进一步追求之前彻底评估承诺水平。
• 在购买待售企业时，您可能没有多少自由来使该企业成为您想要的样子。 由于企业已经围绕它建立了品牌、供应商关系和客户关系，因此可能无法改变企业的某些方面，而不会疏远以前从该在线企业购物的人。

如果您正在寻找已经完成大部分艰苦工作的在线商业创意，并且您可以直接进入并开始运行该节目，那么购买待售业务可能是您的最佳选择。 有关如何查找待售在线业务以及如何为您找到合适的业务的信息，请查看这篇文章。

在线商业理念#5：创建一个附属电子商务商店

这是另一个低维护的副业理念，对于不想处理任何库存和不想实际将产品运送给客户的人来说，这是一个很好的选择。

通过开展附属业务，您将通过向您的受众推荐产品或服务来赚取收入，并且您将通过促成的每笔销售赚取佣金。 这样，您只需向您的受众推荐产品，他们就会从公司的网站上购买这些产品，您实际上不必在您的商店中销售任何产品。

附属副业可以通过多种不同的方式运营：您可以开设自己的附属电子商务商店，为您的访问者提供一系列可供浏览的产品，或者您可以发送专注于利基主题的电子邮件通讯，并通过使用推荐相关产品会员链接，或者您甚至可以将会员链接添加到您的博客、YouTube 频道、播客或 Instagram，以通过您通过这些频道提出的推荐赚取收入。

无论您打算如何运营您的联盟电子商务商店，您都必须注册联盟计划和网络，这样您才能开始通过推荐的建议赚取收入。 查看我们关于 100 多个电子商务企业家最佳联盟计划的文章，以找到适合您的利基和市场的联盟计划。

要将联盟营销作为副业赚取收入，您必须建立社交媒体关注者或网站访问者的受众群体，以便从您促成的销售佣金中赚取大量收入。 建立这种受众可能需要一些时间，但这与为新的电子商务商店建立任何类型的受众所需的时间没有什么不同。 从小处着手，逐步建立您的受众群体。

在线商业理念#6：创建数字产品

对于想要将自己的产品实际销售给客户而无需创建实体产品然后必须将其运送给客户的人来说，创建数字产品是最好的在线商业创意之一。

销售数字产品可能是一项非常理想的副业，因为您只需创建产品的一个版本，然后就可以一次又一次地向您的受众销售它。 与实体产品不同，您不必为购买它的每个客户创建单独的项目，因此您无需采购和存储库存，也无需担心产品破损或损坏、缺货或产品丢失运输过程。 数字产品管理起来更容易、更快捷，一个数字产品文件可以发送给无数客户。

作为副业，这很有效，因为这意味着您的数字产品业务比实体产品业务通常需要更少的注意力，如果您花在副业上的时间非常有限，这将是一个不错的选择。

以下是您可以开始的一些数字产品在线商业创意：

预设

随着过滤器在 Instagram 等社交媒体平台上越来越受欢迎，销售过滤器预设是目前流行的数字产品。 由于能够改变照片中的颜色、色调和渐变，预设很容易创建并且通常以捆绑销售。 预设是自定义创建的，通常用于 Adob​​e Photoshop 或 Lightroom 等软件。 有关如何创建和销售您自己的预设的信息，请查看 Skillshare 的操作视频。

电子书

作为副业，编写电子书既有吸引力又有利可图。 这主要取决于您定期写作的能力和愿望，即使是少量写作，例如每天 300-400 字。 编写市场上流行的信息和教育电子书，或编写您热衷的主题，不仅可以带来经济上的回报，而且还可以使人感到充实。 如果您更喜欢创作和讲故事的创意类型，那么写小说对您来说可能是一个不错的选择。

如果我们分析亚马逊上电子书的受欢迎程度，就会发现小说比非小说更畅销：亚马逊上多达三分之二的电子书是小说，而只有 30% 是非小说。 所以，如果你认为写小说是你可以做的事情，你需要决定你有兴趣写作的小说类型，并找到一种方法来让自己与竞争对手区分开来。 有一件事是肯定的——因为小说很受欢迎，你会有很多竞争对手，所以你需要一个独特的想法和伟大的营销在它写成和出版后。

非小说的竞争力不如小说，主要由独立和中小型出版商制作。 平均而言，它们的长度比小说短； 非小说类电子书的平均字数在 15,000 到 40,000 之间。 由于在线发布电子书的最佳地点是 Amazon Kindle 商店，您可以访问它并研究每个类别中最受欢迎的类别和最受欢迎的电子书。 例如，一些非小说类最饱和的主题是“操作方法”书籍，例如如何在线赚钱、如何学习演奏乐器等。 自助书籍、烹饪书和健康生活方式指南也做得很好。

如果您想在最受欢迎的自助出版商网站（亚马逊的 Kindle 商店）上出版图书，这里有您需要完成的流程的分步说明。

决定一个更广泛的主题
首先，您需要为您的电子书决定一个更广泛的主题，无论您决定使用小说还是非小说。 小说的例子可以是科幻小说、犯罪小说或悬疑小说。 对于非小说类书籍，您可以选择食谱、自助书籍或任何其他信息和/或教育书籍。

研究和头脑风暴主题和标题
第二步是进行研究和集思广益的部分，目的是找到要写的确切内容，然后创建完美的标题。 例如，如果你决定写一本自助书，你可以写很多主题，比如时间管理或如何管理压力和焦虑。 如果你决定写一本教育书籍，你可以为孩子写一本初学者编程指南，或者一本关于健康饮食习惯的书——几乎所有的东西都介于两者之间。

书名非常重要，尤其是非小说类书籍。 它需要关键字丰富，以便人们可以通过搜索栏找到您，但它也应该听起来自然并且对读者来说很有希望。

写出你的初稿
完成前两个步骤后，接下来您需要开始写作。 你可以决定每天写特定数量的单词，或者每天留出一定的时间来写。 这完全取决于你有多少空闲时间，你想多快完成你的书，以及你的书应该多长时间。

校对和编辑
完成初稿后，您需要校对几次，看看一切是否正确。 然后，您将对其进行编辑或重写某些部分，以便完成并准备发布。 您甚至可以聘请专业编辑来帮助您或将其提供给朋友以获得诚实的意见。

设计封面和套装定价
这是最简单和倒数第二个步骤。 虽然它可能是最简单的，但它对于您的书的成功非常重要：创建封面并决定电子书的价格。

您可以在免费或付费的照片编辑器中自行创建封面，但您也可以聘请自由平面设计师来帮助您创建精美且具有专业外观的封面。 封面完成后，您所需要做的就是为这本书定价（电子书通常从 0.99 美元到 4.99 美元不等）并出版。

发布
至于出版，亚马逊的 Kindle Direct Publishing 页面提供了简单而全面的说明，可以引导您逐步完成出版电子书和获得付款的过程。

图库摄影

如果你有一台好的数码单反相机，并且对拍出好照片有敏锐的眼光，你应该考虑把股票摄影作为副业。 即使您在拍摄高质量照片方面没有太多经验，您也可以使用 Google 可以找到的所有教学文章、视频教程和大量资源，一次一步地轻松自学。

如果您知道自己在做什么以及市场上最需要什么，那么成为一名股票摄影师可能是一项很好的投资。 拍摄和编辑照片后，您可以在许多网站上的任何一个网站上出售它们以获取库存照片，例如 Shutterstock、Unsplash 或 iStockPhoto。

这些是您需要采取的步骤才能成功地成为股票摄影市场的一部分。

选择一个主题
如果您是摄影初学者，这是最重要的一步。 为什么，你可能想知道？ 好吧，如果您拍摄照片的利基市场竞争激烈或需求量不大，您的照片将不会被看到或下载——这意味着没有利润。 您需要在最流行的库存照片网站上进行研究并阅读许多文章，以便您真正了解库存摄影市场的实际需求。

看看搜索次数最多的关键字、下载次数最多的照片，不要忘记像广告商一样思考。 许多使用库存照片的人都是广告商，他们将它们用于宣传册、海报和其他广告和宣传材料，因此请了解您的未来客户，以便为他们提供所需的东西。

请记住，这是一个竞争激烈的空间，因此如果您想成功，请查看您的照片是否可以在某种程度上与竞争对手的照片区分开来。

摄影与编辑
第二步是随身携带您的相机，尽可能多地拍摄，选择最好的照片，并在需要时进行编辑。 拍照时，尽量让它们尽可能专业。 在图库摄影中，图像的大小及其质量非常重要。 您必须使用数码单反相机，最好配备优质镜头，才能拍出高分辨率照片。

如果您没有必要的知识和经验，请先进行研究。 花一些时间报名参加摄影课程或查看一些在线摄影教程。

优化您的照片
在最终发布您拍摄的照片之前的最后一部分是给每张照片一个好名字、描述，当然还有关键词。 优化您的照片将使它们在图库摄影网站中更易于搜索，所以不要错过这一关键步骤。

您可以通过在我们提到的网站上出售您的库存照片以及将它们直接出售给企业（如果您决定创建自己的网站在其中发布您拍摄的所有内容）来使这项副业盈利。

字体

字体是一种重要的数字资产，可以以多种不同的方式使用，无论是用于徽标、品牌、网站、产品、数字媒体、纸质媒体等，还有整个世界的字体爱好者欣赏排版艺术。 要了解有关字体的更多信息并在在线数字市场上销售它们，请查看 Creative Market、1001 Free Fonts、Adobe Typekit、Font Fabric 和 MyFonts。

模板

徽标模板、名片模板、小册子模板、网站设计模板、电子邮件通讯模板、演示文稿模板和社交媒体模板都是可以追求的在线商业理念。 如此多的人购买数字模板，以便他们可以创建自定义数字资产，而无需与昂贵的专业设计师合作，因此市场上对这些数字产品的需求很大。

在在线销售您的数字产品时，请考虑在您自己的电子商务商店或通过 Creative Market 等在线数字产品市场进行销售。 Creative Market 专门销售所有不同类型的数字产品，他们为他们的网站吸引了大量流量，这意味着您可以更多地关注自己的产品。 要了解有关创意市场及其提供的功能和服务的更多信息，请查看我们的创意市场评论。

在线商业理念#7：自制产品

这可能是最基础的在线商业理念之一，但自制产品经受住了时间的考验。 这是一种非常有吸引力的副业，因为它易于访问，易于管理，并且通常可以围绕个人爱好或技能建立。

要围绕您可以在家制作的产品开展副业，首先要考虑您的能力以及您的目标客户细分市场。 这将帮助您缩小要销售的产品类型以及建立业务的可行性。

然而，当涉及到以自制产品为基础开展副业时，请考虑到竞争相当激烈，因为这是一种易于开展的业务类型，而且扩大自制产品的生产规模可能很难缩小如果对您的产品的需求增加，则该生产线。

Here are some online business ideas of products you can make at home:

• Bath Bombs
• Solid Cologne/Perfume
• Beard Oil
• Body Lotion
• 肥皂
• Exfoliating Scrubs
• Hair Products
• 腰带
• Bow Ties
• Pocket Squares
• 围巾
• 头带
• 袜子
• Enamel Pins
• 手包
• Hats & Beanies
• 手袋
• 手机壳
• 珠宝
• Greeting Cards
• 针织
• Crocheting
• Posters, Art & Canvas Prints
• Terrariums
• Candles
• Mugs
• 枕头
• Beach Blankets
• 绑腿
• T恤
• 连衣裙和裙子
• 连帽衫

For further explanations about how to make these types of products and how to start a side business around them, check out our articles on 30+ Products You Can Make Yourself & Sell From Home and How to Start 11 Different Types of Ecommerce Businesses.

Online Business Ideas #8: Work as an Influencer

We'll start off this section by saying this isn't one of those online business ideas that's just easy to jump into, as it typically takes a lot of work to grow your social media accounts to influencer status. However, it is important to note that not all influencers have hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers and, in fact, micro-influencers are a very important part of the influencer ecosystem as well.

Micro-influencers are generally understood to be known as influencers on social media platform who have a relatively modest number of followers (think anywhere from 5,000 to 50,000 followers) but whose followers are highly engaged. This means that for every photo or video they post, their followers are watching and listening to their recommendations and they trust the content that the influencer puts out there.

If you want to start working as an influencer as a side business, understand that it takes an enormous amount of time and consistency in order to grow an engaged following, but if you set your sights on becoming a micro-influencer rather than a full-blown influencer, this becomes a more achievable goal as it pertains to being a side business.

Micro-influencers are also important because not all brands can work with the top influencers in every niche. Influencers cost money to work with, as their work needs to be compensated, and high-value influencers can charge hefty fees ranging anywhere from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars per post. Micro-influencers, on the other hand, generally don't charge nearly as much because they have a smaller number of followers, so they're more accessible to small-to-medium sized brands.

This means that as a micro-influencer, you'll have paid work opportunities with brands just like high-ranking influencers do, so you won't be missing out on that type of revenue stream. If you choose to work as an influencer, remember that you have several different ways to diversify your revenue streams, such as through partnerships with brands, affiliate links, Adsense revenue, advertising revenue, and by selling your own products. When working as an influencer as a side business, dipping into each of these distinct revenue pools can help you make the most of the work you do and it can present more revenue earning opportunities.

To learn more about what influencers do and how to start a side business around it, read on.

What Influencers Do

Influencers are individuals with a large following online who are known for their expertise in a specific field or industry. They are loved for their honesty and openness, or for simply for being regular people, unlike celebrities whose lifestyles may seem unrelatable to the general population. Influencers have increased their numbers in the past few years, mostly because being an influencer is both profitable and a great home-based small business idea. This is especially true for micro-influencers.

If you think you have the qualities that people like when it comes to influencers and are interested and informed in some field or industry – you can become an influencer yourself.
Let's see what steps you'll need to take in order to achieve this.

Find Your Niche
The first step to becoming an influencer is to find your niche, or a topic which you're capable of writing articles, recording videos, and/or creating content about. Depending on your interests, hobbies, or education, you can choose one of the many niches out there.

The field or specific niche you choose for yourself should also depend on your love and passion for that particular topic. This is essential since you should create new content regularly and be up-to-date with the new information in that field or industry.

Choose your Social Media Platforms
The second step is to decide what your main social media channels are going to be. There are many platforms where you can establish a presence but if you choose all the popular ones, you may have a hard time keeping up with and engaging your followers.

That's why you should choose two or three social media channels — the most popular ones being Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and more. The ones you choose depend on where your target audience mostly hangs out, so do your research and choose accordingly.

Create Content Strategy & Publish It
The third step is to create your content strategy and publish your content. Depending on the social media networks you've chosen, you will create the appropriate type of content that's mostly popular with your target audience.

If you use Instagram, your strategy might be to create and publish 2 to 4 images every day, if you decide to go with YouTube you can record videos and publish them weekly or even daily, and so on. When you have enough followers, you can start publishing sponsored photos or videos. Be sure to publish them after a couple of regular posts, so that you can earn money without overcrowding your followers with ads or sponsored stories.

Engage & Grow
The fourth and last step is to engage with your followers and grow your channel/profile. Make sure to reply to comments, ask your followers questions, and even create some contests.

Want to know more about growing your influencer side-business on Instagram by acquiring more followers? Check out our Advanced Instagram Marketing Tactics to Get a Ton of Followers article and you'll learn how to get the most out of your Instagram account.

写博客

Are you passionate about a certain topic that you want to write about? Is it useful for a certain audience? Do you have great writing skills and if not, are you willing to improve them? If the answer to these questions is yes – blogging is definitely a side business idea worth considering.

Still a viable source of income, blogging is the type of side hustle that's easy to start now more than ever. With so many guides, tutorials, online classes, and vlogs on how to start blogging nowadays, you can easily familiarize yourself with all the technicalities and strategies necessary to start, grow, and profit. What's more, blogging is a home-based online business you can start with little to no money, so all you really need is the desire, a computer or a laptop, and an internet connection.

Blogging is a great way for you to express your thoughts, knowledge, and creativity while producing content that's in some way useful to your audience. In time, as you grow your audience, you can earn and make a profit in various ways — from ads to affiliate links, and more!

Want to start a blog? Here's briefly what you'll need to do first, just so you know what you'll be getting yourself into.

Find Your Niche
Finding your niche means choosing a topic (or topics) to write about, but it's much more than that — it's what will define your blog and decide what's going to be its main focus of interest.

Of course, your blog can be about more than one topic – your travels, your career, parenting, personal development, and so on. However, creating niche content means finding your target audience more easily, acquiring loyal readers and a growing audience and, most importantly, monetizing your blog more efficiently via AdSense or affiliate links.

Niche blogs also do better in search engines like Google and help you carve out your place as a knowledgeable person in that particular field, so make sure the niche you choose is something you're really interested in and passionate about.

Choose a Blogging Platform & a Hosting Provider
After choosing your niche, the next thing you need to cross off your list is creating a name for your blog and choosing an available domain. Both should be short and memorable with keywords that represent your niche and tell readers what your blog is all about.

Next comes choosing a blogging platform. This is the place where you'll create, design, and publish your content. Don't worry, the blogging platforms out there are mainly easy to use and don't require prior knowledge. WordPress is the most popular one at the moment, both for beginners and experts.

When that's out of the way you need a hosting provider. This is the platform that'll host your blog on the internet, meaning it'll keep all your files secure and will give readers access to your blog. For this, we recommend Kinsta as it's one of the most high-quality hosting service providers on the market.

Create a Content Strategy
Creating a content strategy is not simply just about writing quality content, but much more than that. You need to define your goal for the blog and really know your target audience in order to understand what type of content they find most interesting and useful.

According to this, you then need to set aside a few topics you want to write about and use all the help you can get. See what your target audience likes online and do keyword research accordingly. You can use keyword research tools like KWFinder to generate more ideas, visit similar blogs for more inspiration, brainstorm with friends and, of course, write everything down. This way you'll have a more clear idea on what to write about and if you're ever stuck or lacking inspiration you can simply go back to the list and check out your content ideas.

Publish and Promote Your Posts
Once you start publishing your blog posts you need to promote them in order to drive traffic. Doing this via social media is the best way to do it. Since you know your niche and your target audience, see what social media platforms your readers mostly use and focus on one or mostly on two in the beginning. Other platforms you could use for promotion would be forums where your target audience is most active, message boards, even guest posts for other blogs in your niche, and so on.

Instagram

One of the top influencer platforms is Instagram, so if you're starting a side business as a social media influencer, consider using Instagram as one of your main platforms. Not only can you interact with and engage a massive audience of people but you can partner with brands and promote affiliate links to help earn revenue.

To grow as a social media influencer on Instagram, you'll have to organically grow your following by posting interesting and engaging content. The more consistently you post, the better, as more eyes will be drawn to your content more regularly.

You'll be able to start earning revenue as soon as you amass an engaged Instagram following which can generally start at around 5,000 – 10,000 followers. From here, you can join affiliate networks to work with brands, you can promote affiliate links in your Instagram Stories, you can post ads in your Instagram posts and you can promote your own website and products to your audience as you go.

To get started, simply start posting content consistently! Do some research on how to post engaging content, look to other influencers to see what they post and how they interact with their audience and begin to interact with other accounts on the platform by liking and commenting their posts to help your account gain more exposure.

Podcasting

Having your own podcast can be a great side business idea while working full time that can be started entirely from your home or office. If you already have an audience somewhere — like from a social media profile, a blog, or a YouTube channel — you have a big head start. If you start a podcast in a niche that's your expertise or one that you have knowledge in, then you'll probably have people in mind who can be guests on your show. This, too, is an advantage and can help you to speed up the process of building your audience.

Most podcasters have guests who are influencers in some field that their podcast show is about. Because of that, they have an audience who is interested in that specific field or niche and the sponsors are easier to be found considering their advertisement would be closely related to the topics of discussion.

That being said, your main focus, in the beginning, should be gathering an audience that is interested in your podcast, looking for guests, and coming up with topics of discussion. When you have a large enough audience, more influential people will be interested to be guest on your podcast show and that's when you'll get serious and bigger sponsors to work with you.

Find Your Niche
The first step, finding your niche, for many is the easiest step. If you have knowledge about a certain topic or a huge interest in some field that you'd like to improve your knowledge in, you already have your niche. Also, think about your target audience. Are there enough people interested to listen to discussions and interviews in your niche of choice? If the answer is yes, you're good to go.

Get Equipment & the Necessary Software
The next step is to get the right equipment and software for audio editing. When it comes to the equipment, you would need a microphone with an additional stand and a windscreen (or pop filter) which eliminates the sounds from blowing air into the microphone. A shock mount would also be useful to have since it can reduce the vibrations that the microphone picks up.

As for the software, you need it for your intro and outro as well as for some prerecorded ads from your sponsors. There are both free and paid alternatives, so editing your podcasts can cost you no money at all.

Invite a Guest and Prepare Your Show
The third step is to find and invite guests as well as to prepare the concept of each podcast. If you're a beginner, it's a good idea to find some competitors in your niche and see how they plan their podcasts for inspiration.

Record, Edit & Publish
The final step is to record your podcast episode, edit it (if needed) and publish it. You should already have a title for the show, description, and keywords so you're found more easily in search engines.

Learn more about how to start a podcast here and enjoy your podcasting journey!

YouTube

Successful YouTube video creators are the present-day celebrities in this digital era we live in, and some of them earn millions each month. That being said, you don't need to have millions of subscribers and be a popular YouTuber in order to earn money. In fact, what you actually need is a good idea, a good camera, a healthy dose of dedication, and a little bit of patience.

What makes YouTube a great side business idea while working full-time? 继续阅读。

First of all, it's an online, home-based business so you can work from the comfort of your own home whenever you want. Secondly, you can express your thoughts, knowledge, and creativity for the world to see. The best part about it, however, is that if you do it right it can really grow and even turn into a full-time job and a profitable business.

So, what type of video content is best for monetization nowadays? Let's give you some ideas so you can choose according to your passions and knowledge.

Before we start, bear in mind that whatever topic or niche you choose for your YouTube channel, it should be something that you care about and know about to some extent. Even if you're not that knowledgeable about it, you should at least have the desire to learn more as you make videos and grow your channel since your audience will trust you and learn from you. Having said this, let's briefly go over the type of video content that works today.

Makeup, Hair Care & Fashion
Makeup and other beauty regimens are some of the most popular topics on YouTube, especially among women. If you find yourself drawn to this niche, you can perform makeup tutorials, hair care and skincare tutorials, beauty product reviews, fashion videos, and much more. If your channel starts to grow, you can monetize it via brand sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and/or Adsense.

Cooking, Food & Nutrition
If you're a foodie who enjoys cooking, there are plenty of opportunities for a potentially successful YouTube channel. Cooking videos, or “What I Eat in a Day,” videos are a great idea if you have plenty of interesting or practical recipes to share so you can give your audience some ideas for their upcoming meals. Even if you don't like cooking but are nevertheless interested in food and nutrition, you can do informative videos on nutrition and different food diets. You can later earn via Adsense, affiliate marketing, and/or selling your own products if you decide to take that route.

Gaming
Do you know that some of the most popular YouTubers out there started out with gaming channels? Indeed, gamers still have a massive following so if you're into gaming, you can stream while playing some of the top video games, review your favorite games, talk about news from the industry, and so on. You can earn money via Adsense, affiliate marketing, and/or via third-party advertising networks for gaming channels.

Fitness & Yoga
YouTube has become one of the go-to places for workout inspiration. More and more people use this platform to get in shape whether it's through general fitness, weightlifting, yoga, pilates, and more.

So, if you're a fitness instructor or a self-taught enthusiast, why not share your passion and make some money on YouTube? You can target a specific fitness-focused audience and grow your channel by keeping your viewers motivated so they subscribe to your channel and visit it as often as you post content. Once you have enough subscribers, you can earn via Adsense, sponsorships, merchandise, and even affiliate marketing.

Digital Marketing
Since more and more people are starting online businesses or marketing their already existing businesses online, digital marketing is an essential skill to learn. This platform is a great place for learning digital marketing and that's exactly why YouTube channels based on this topic have a huge potential for growth.

You don't have to be an expert in digital marketing to create this type of channel. The only thing you actually need is an interest in this subject and willingness to learn more — along with some good research on what topics precisely interest people the most. When your channel starts to grow, you can earn via Adsense, affiliate marketing, or you can even offer one-on-one Skype sessions and turn this into a full-time business.

How-To Videos & Tutorials
If you have knowledge about a particular topic or you're passionate about something and are willing to learn more along the way, how-to videos and tutorials can be a great idea for your YouTube channel. In fact, how-to videos and tutorials can be a great idea if you don't feel comfortable being on camera yourself since you can always create screencast videos by recording your computer screen while showing your audience how to do certain things. Once your channel starts to grow you can earn via Adsense, affiliate marketing, sponsorships, and even one-on-one sessions.

Unboxing Videos & Product Reviews
Another really popular idea for a YouTube channel is filming unboxing videos where you unbox products and give your honest opinion about them. Before buying some products, many people consult online reviews and YouTube is one of the first places they go to.

Reviewing products where you simply talk about your experience with them is not only fun to do but this type of channel has a big potential for growth and once you have an audience, you can attract some really interesting sponsors. Many businesses want to get their products in front of as many people as they can, so you can later earn revenue via sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and of course, Adsense.

Ecommerce
If you already have a product or service and an ecommerce website, you can use YouTube to grow your business and utilize video content to your advantage. Just check out our article on How to Make Money on YouTube Through Ecommerce and see how you can use YouTube to help your business grow.

Online Business Ideas #9: Be a Remote Freelancer, Contractor or Employee

Working as a remote employee can be one of the best online business ideas because oftentimes the job positions aren't structured around being present during certain hours of the day so you can fit the job tasks around your schedule. This means you can earn money in your free time while learning skills in a relevant job or industry you might be interested in.

Remote ecommerce jobs are a great way to get your foot in the door if there's a particular ecommerce-related job you want to develop your skills in but need guidance or if you want to learn the tools of the trade from a specific mentor. Even taking on entry-level positions can offer a lot of insight and knowledge, so don't shy away from those if you're looking to take on a side job role.

These are some of the top marketplaces you can go to find freelance, contractor or employee work in the ecommerce industry:

• Jobspresso: Curated remote jobs in tech, marketing, customer support, development, writing & editing and more.
• Upwork: Freelance services in web development, mobile development, design, writing, administration support, customer service, marketing, accounting and more.
• Fiverr: Freelance services in graphics & design, digital marketing, writing & translation, video & animation, music & audio, programming & tech, business, and more.
• WeWorkRemotely: Remote jobs in business & management, programming, sales & marketing, customer support, finance & legal, copywriting, design and more.
• FlexJobs: Vetted remote, part-time, freelance and flexible jobs in various categories.
• Remote.co: Remote jobs for developers, customer service representatives, recruiters, designers, sales professionals, and more.
• WorkingNomads: Remote jobs for digital working nomads in categories such as development, management, marketing, design, sales, customer service, writing, consulting, finance, healthcare, legal, and more.
• JobRack: Find high-quality Eastern European developers, designers, project managers, content writers, administration support, sales & marketing representatives and more.
• StackOverflow: Remote jobs board for developers.
• Toptal: The freelance marketplace for high-quality and leading freelance talent.
• PeoplePerHour: Freelance services by the hour.
• iWriter: Online content and article writing service.
• Dribbble: Social network for creatives to show and tell, promote, discover, and explore designs.
• Behance: Showcase & discover creative work in the graphic design, photography & illustration fields.
• Freelancer: One of the largest freelance marketplaces online.

Although you can look for job roles on these marketplaces, if you're looking to start your own side business, you might be more inclined to work as a freelancer or contractor in order to make a name for yourself in your chosen industry. If you're looking for inspiration for the types of freelance or contract work you could do, check out the lists below to find an area that best suits your own skills and qualifications.

Types of Remote Writing, Copywriting & Editing Online Business Ideas

• Articles & Blog Posts
• Resumes & Cover Letters
• Product Descriptions
• Website Content
• Technical Writing
• Proofreading & Editing
• 翻译
• Creative Writing
• Research & Summaries
• Sales Copy
• Press Releases
• Transcription
• Legal Writing
• Email Copy
• Business Names & Slogans

Types of Remote Social Media Online Business Ideas

• Social Media Marketing
• Social Media Ads
• Social Media Account Management
• Influencer Outreach
• 网红营销

Types of Remote Business Online Business Ideas

• 虚拟助手
• Data Entry
• Market Research
• Business Plans
• Branding Services
• 演示文稿
• Public Relations Management
• Growth & Growth Hacking
• Contracts & Grants Analysts
• Payroll Support

Types of Remote Web & App Development Online Business Ideas

• WordPress Development
• Shopify Store Development
• Web Programming
• Mobile App Development
• Desktop App Development
• Data Analysis & Reports
• IT Support
• Chatbot Development
• User-Experience Testing

Types of Remote Marketing Online Business Ideas

• 搜索引擎优化
• 电子邮件营销
• 内容营销
• Video Marketing
• 网络分析
• Local Listings
• 调查
• Domain Research
• Search & Display Marketing
• Ecommerce Marketing
• 网红营销
• 网络流量
• Mobile Advertising
• Music Promotion
• 项目管理
• Campaign Management

Types of Remote Customer Service Online Business Ideas

• Email Support Management
• 电话支持
• Chatbot Support
• Social Media Listening & Message Support
• Cold Calling
• Customer Satisfaction Management
• Telemarketing

Types of Remote Graphics & Design Online Business Ideas

• Logos & Design
• Flyers & Brochure Design
• Shipping & Product Packaging Design
• 产品设计
• 插图
• Book & Album Cover Design
• Business Cards & Stationery
• Presentation Design
• Infographic Design
• Cartoons & Comics
• Architecture & Floor Plans
• 3D Models & Product Design
• Photoshop Editing
• Banner Ads
• Social Media Designs
• Invitation Designs
• Computer Aided Design (CAD)

Types of Remote Video & Animation Online Business Ideas

• Whiteboard & Animated Explainers
• Intros & Outros
• Logo Animation
• Slideshow & Promotion Videos
• Live Action Explainers
• Short Video Ads
• Spokesperson Videos
• 视频编辑
• Lyric & Music Videos
• Animated Characters & Modeling
• Product Photography
• Visual Effects

Types of Remote Music & Audio Online Business Ideas

• Voice Overs
• Mixing & Mastering
• Producing
• Composing
• Jingles & Drops
• 声音特效

结论

As you embark on the journey of starting your own side business, remember to select the side hustle that fits within your skill set. This way the part time business of your choosing won't seem too hard and won't take all of your free time. After all, starting a new side business while working full-time can seem daunting but if you do it right you can earn some additional revenue on the side and maybe even turn it into a full-time business or career.