Tell me more… Online shops are a popular choice for mums who want to run their own business. Alternatively, you could create a website that provides information. This might be…
- A listings website showing what's on in your local area
- A blog – blogs ('weblogs') are websites which started out as online diaries, but many have now developed into websites that provide information, news and opinion on a specific subject or to a particular community.
- A social network or membership site where members pay a monthly fee to receive information, training or coaching on a particular subject. This could be as a video, podcast, e-book or e-course.
- A website selling an information product such as e-books and e-courses.
You can earn money from an information site by…
- Selling advertising space, much like a magazine
- Google Adsense – Google will pay you when a visitor to your site clicks on an advertiser's link (there are other similar programmes too).
- Affiliate links – you are paid commission when visitors to your site buy from a site you are affiliated to.
- Selling an e-book, e-course or other information product on your website.
- Becoming an expert in your subject could lead to delivering courses, selling print books, coaching or being a consultant.
What are the benefits?
- You can work whenever and wherever you want
- It's cheap and easy to get started
- You can write about a subject that you love and get paid for it.
Things to consider…
- It's very easy to start a blog which means there are millions of blogs out there. Getting large numbers of people to visit your site (you'll need at least 500 per day to earn money from advertising) will take a lot of work, including online networking and writing lots of content plus some knowledge of search engine optimisation. You'll also need to write great content that will bring people back to your site again and again.
- Getting people to spend money on your website will mean you need to convince them that what you have to sell is of value to them and that you're an expert in your area. This can take a lot of trial and error to discover what works for your audience, as well as giving away lots of information for free.
Further information
- Examples of information websites run by mums:
Business Plus Baby – this site is a blog. r-time online and Parent Pages – websites giving local information and things to do for parents. SuperMummy – a membership website.
- Want to try blogging?
You can start your own blog for free using WordPress or Blogger. To make money from blogging you'll need to move on from a free blog, but this is a good way to see if blogging is for you. To learn about making money online, see Entrepreneur's Journey and ProBlogger. For advice on writing content, see Copyblogger. Not convinced that running an information website is for you? Take a look at other business ideas for mums.
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Great information because it makes it clear that making money from infomration sites takes a lot of hard work and is not a get-rich-quick scheme.
My advice to new starters is to develop great content first and forget all the money-making schemes. This will give your site credibility, make it easier for you to get listed in directories and push you up the search engines. Once you are established then you can monetise the site.
http://www.lullaby-babies.co.uk/blog
Unusual Baby Gifts
I don’t usually post on blogs but had to on yours. You have a very easy to read writing style. A lot of people don’t have that touch, they just drone on and on in the most boring way. But not you – thanks! Don’t have time to read everything here at the moment, I found your site while looking for something else on ask.com. But I’ve bookmarked your homepage and will visit it regularly to read the latest. I really learn from reading web sites about how to succeed at working from home. It’s such an exciting subject. I started working from home about seven months ago and I have learned a lot in that time. I also started a small site about it myself. Seems like there is something new to learn constantly. Please visit my blog at http://www.LinkThe.com. Thanks again for a very educational web site.
Richard, I’m sorry this has taken me so long to respond to your comment, I thought I’d done so soon after you posted. I agree, all the advice I’ve read is to concentrate on great content first and monetise later.
Greg, thanks for the really positive feedback! I’ll take a look at your blog and I’d like to wish you loads of success in your website and in working from home.
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