With 2021 looking to become another challenging year for businesses, it’s time to get creative and see how you can generate more income online! There are a few ways to productise and monetise your business. These can create new income streams, ensure you weather the current storm and even make you more prosperous in the future. Below you will find 5 online monetisation methods that you can start today! Some of these have the potential to make you money straightaway, while others might take a while to build up. All of them, however, are worth considering for your business development.
1. Creating a course or subscription service
If you have a skill you can share with the world, you can absolutely use that to create a course or subscription service! You can easily do this from the comfort of your own home, with relatively minimal costs and, potentially, high return. For example, if you have a bakery business, you could host live online classes and bake-alongs, release recipe e-books and create paid courses. You could do this on a subscription basis, or as a one-off payment – whatever works best for you and your audience. Maybe you’re a video producer? You could create a course on video editing or a particular video software.
You can also publish your online course on other platforms like Skillshare or Udemy. The online education market is growing at the moment, so this is a great opportunity. People are either bored and looking to learn a new set of skills or are thinking of adding more qualifications to make themselves stand out in a volatile job market.
2. Creating merchandise
Despite financial hardships as a result of lockdowns, ecommerce market was booming in 2020 and will continue to do so in 2021. If your business is mainly service based or you typically sell direct to customers, creating merchandise or products could be a great additional income stream. This online monetisation method may feature your unique branding or products your audience will enjoy.
For example, as a private fitness instructor, you could create workout equipment such as resistance bands, exercise mats, weights and supplements. Since many of your clients will probably be working out at home, they could find these products incredibly useful. Maybe there is a particular catchphrase or important message that your business stands for – you could create branded clothing, mugs and other items. This is one of the online monetisation methods that can truly create a meaningful contribution to your business. You will no longer have to rely on freelance work and direct sales only and you can access a wider, remote customer base.
3. Consulting
As a business owner, you have likely developed a broad skill set that can help others on their entrepreneurial journey. You have a vast experience and you’re an expert in your field – so why not monetise it? Consultants can make a respectable amount of money coaching others on topics they already know well. You may have experience in building a social media following, increasing conversions, team building, training and more! Identify the areas where you have proven, tangible skills and use them to advertise your consulting services.
4. Starting a blog or YouTube channel
Unlike the previous online monetisation methods, blogging, YouTube and other forms of content creation can take a while to monetise. Having said that, they can be really lucrative in the long run. Even in the early stages, they can set you apart as an industry expert. This could help you attract more clients and increase conversions, while you are growing your following. Content creators make money via Google Adsense, as well as brand collaborations and endorsements. If you choose to go down this route, make sure your content is consistent, engaging, good quality, relevant to your audience and properly optimised. The great news is that you can get started with virtually no equipment, just your phone or laptop. There are plenty of free and low-cost video and photo editing apps that can add those finishing touches to your videos, posts or blogs.
5. Collaborating with other businesses
Joining forces with another business is a great online monetisation method and a way for both of you to tap into each other’s audiences. If you are offering similar or complementary products or services as another company, don’t be afraid to approach them and think of how both of you can work together. These times can be difficult for SMEs especially, so collaborations are a viable way to ensure you both come out of it as winners and create a fantastic support network.
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