21 Great Online Business Ideas

If you want to make money online, you’re in luck! These days, basically anyone can start an online business. In this article, we will discuss 21 great online business ideas, to help you get started.

Before Starting Out

It is true that with 4 billion active internet users, the internet promises huge opportunities to make money online. However, keep in mind, it is a very competitive industry, so you need to put work in to succeed.

That is why picking up a niche is important.

If you like to travel and enjoy delicious food, you can always create a food review blog. But, your niche should reflect the specific topic that you wish to specialize in, such as street food from any places you have visited.

Alternatively, you can start with what people need. After the necessary research on the topic, you can start an online business that fills the gap of the market.

Next, there are some things you already need to have before starting your online business:

1. Web hosting. For an idea that requires a website, you need web hosting to make your website accessible on the internet. Here at Hostinger, we offer web hosting services at competitive prices.
2. A domain name. Pick a domain name that best reflects your business. This is an important business decision that you must make after picking out a niche.
3. Time. Some ideas might need more time than others. Evaluate how much time you need to earn a profit.

Online Business Ideas

Now, let’s have a look at 21 great online business ideas for making money online.

1. Writing a Blog and Monetizing It

There are many reasons why people write a blog, such as the want to communicate with like-minded people, share knowledge with others, and make money.

How to make money with a blog? First, if you don’t have a blog yet, go create one with these easy steps:

1. Get web hosting
2. Register a domain name
3. Choose the platform
4. Start writing blog posts

For more details, you can read this complete guide.

Next, monetize it. Here are a few ways for monetizing your blog:

• Google Adsense – you can learn from Jack Herrick (WikiHow) who earns $2 million per month from Adsense.
• Selling eBooks – if you want to be like Carol Tice, who made $45,000 from selling eBooks, you can do it from your blog.
• Paid reviews – while you need excellent skills to write a great review and earn money doing it, Famebit shows us how to do it successfully.
• Affiliates – Pat Flynn advocates the fact that it takes time to earn a lot of money. However, affiliate marketing is amazing for making money online.

2. Setting Up an Ecommerce Site

Ecommerce is the process of buying and selling goods and services through the internet. Amazon and eBay are big names you should be familiar with.

Setting up an ecommerce site is one of the best online business ideas on our list. The opportunity to make money in this industry is huge.

Etsy is one of the examples. It is a gorgeous site that sells handcrafted products such as jewelry and toys.

Similar to a blog, to create an ecommerce site, you’ll need:

• Web hosting
• A domain name
• Content (products) for your store

You can read up on how to start your online store for more details.

3. Dropshipping Site

Do you have great selling skills but have no space to store products? Dropshipping is worth a try.

With dropshipping, you can earn a profit from selling other people’s products.

When a customer places an order, you receive the money and buy the products from a supplier. Then, the supplier delivers the product to the customer.

So, the profit comes from what the customer pays deducted by the money to buy the products. Also, there is no additional cost because you never handle the products.

Dropshipping is one of the online business ideas worth trying because of:

• A small initial investment
• Less risk
• Low overhead

If you want to jump straight into the dropshipping business, you’ll need a website to display goods from suppliers. Then you’re ready to receive an order.

Oberlo is a great example of how dropshipping can make money. It has helped sell more than 85 million products around the world.

4. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is promoting others’ products.

If people purchase things because of your recommendation, you’ll get a commission. There are many highly popular niches for affiliate marketing, including web hosting, online services, health products or even such basic physical goods as best mattresses.

You will need to join an affiliate marketing program and get a special link. Then, you can use the link on your website and social media posts to drive people to specific products.

You can use your website for affiliate marketing by:

• Displaying ads/banners on your web pages
• Writing a review of a product with links

If you think this idea suits you, learn more from this guide.

5. Become a Freelance Content Writer

Your writing skills could help you achieve the online business success that you’re aiming for.

There are many websites that are willing to pay you for written content. One of them is Cracked. This humor site looks for creative writers to flood them with hilarious articles. You can make $250/article while improving your writing skills.

Or, you can utilize your blog to land writing jobs. Danny Margulies can inspire you on how to achieve such success as a freelance writer.

6. App Development

App Development is one of the best online business ideas to gain a lot of profit. Examples include such big hits as Spotify or Instagram.

There are many ways of making money online from apps, especially mobile ones.

• Freemium (users can pay more for advanced features)
• In-app advertisement
• Subscription
• In-app purchases

7. Starting a Podcast

Podcasts are digital audio or video files produced in a series and distributed to online subscribers. They are becoming more popular each day.

Podcasts offer benefits for broadcasters and subscribers alike. While a broadcaster can podcast to make money online, subscribers can listen to personalized content anywhere.

While the initial phase might be slow when starting a podcast, it could one day become as big as Wondery.

How podcasting can benefit you as the broadcaster? It gives you money from:

• Sponsorship
• Affiliate marketing
• Crowdfunding

8. Graphic Design

If you’re good at graphic design, you can make money online by making good use of those skills.

There are many websites that could help you connect with clients, such as 99designs. As of now, they have more than 97,000,000 designs. Joining 99designs lets you earn money from the projects you choose.

9. Twitch Streaming

If gaming is your life, twitch streaming is worth a try. Not only is it fun, but you can also earn a good deal of money streaming your favorite games.

Twitch is one of the most popular platforms for gamers wanting to stream footage of them playing video games.

10. Cryptocurrency Mining/Trading

Cryptocurrency is a virtual currency that uses cryptography for security.

To get money from Cryptocurrency mining, you need a powerful computer.

Bitcoin mining uses units called blocks. Each block is locked with a series of mathematical problems to secure transactions. If you are the first one who solves them, the reward is for you.

The reward for completing a block is 12.5 Bitcoin. The price of a Bitcoin is about $6,500. So, you’ll earn $81,250 for the reward. However, most frequently, those dealing in cryptocurrency mining choose to trade, convert and deposit their bitcoins long before accumulating a full block.

But there are things you need to consider using this online business:

• Hardware – it will cost up to $4,000 for an aluminum rig frame, 6x GPU, PSU, cooling system (as it produces a lot of heat), etc.
• Electricity – mining will consume around 20 kWh for your daily needs, make sure you know how much your electricity company will charge you.
• Maintenance – extra costs might be a possibility when you need to repair your mining rig once problems occur.
• Time – you need to calculate how much time it will take for your computer to deliver promising results.

11. YouTube Streaming

YouTube streaming is an amazing online business idea for creative people.

While you can be the next Pewdiepie, going with your own unique content is always better.

Ryan’s World is a great example for inspiration – the channel is one of the fastest-growing channels on youtube.

Came up with an idea? Great. Then, start building your channel and get as many subscribers as possible.

After that, monetize your videos. The requirement is 4,000 watch hours and 1000 subscribers to start earning money.

12. Web Development

A web developer can get as much as $3,000 working from home.

If web development is your area of expertise, you can make money working on projects for online clients. There are freelance platforms like Upwork and Guru that offer such opportunities for web developers.

Or, you can showcase your skills on your portfolio website to let potential clients offer a project to work on.

Whether you work as a freelancer or a full-time developer, making money from web development is very promising.

13. Ebook Publishing

The book publishing industry has changed. Now, self-publishing is a trend that promises a lot of profit.

Therefore, you can choose this online business if writing books is your talent. There are many places you can sell your ebooks online. Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing is one of them.

Here are the tips: if you want to get 70% of your original price from Amazon, set the price range of your ebooks somewhere from $2.99 to $9.99.

14. Managing Social Media

While many business owners believe in the power of social media, they often find it hard to manage it effectively.

Social media managing is a fascinating job to make money and a great online business idea. If you find the perfect client, you can charge an hourly rate. According to PayScale, the average salary for this position is up to $78,000 depending on your location.

15. Coaching

You can make money online by selling your knowledge to people.

While it depends on your area of expertise, you can earn $25,000/year by offering life coaching. And, if you are good enough, you can be like Michael Serwa who earns more than $600,000/year.

There are many coaching platforms you can join to start your coaching online career like Coach.me and Coaching Cloud.

However, creating your own website for your online coaching business is even better.

16. Translations

While Google Translate works well, there is still a gap between the given and the expected translation results. This is why online translation is another great idea for an online business.

There are many websites that offer translation jobs, such as Conyac.

The process is relatively simple, you just need to be qualified before translating and getting paid.

17. SEO Consulting

If search engine optimization is your area of expertise, you can make money from SEO consulting.

An SEO consultant reviews a website and gives recommendations on how to make it better and get more traffic.

Many people need an SEO consultant to make the website perform great and rank even better on search engine page results.

With this service, you can charge somewhere around the average hourly rate of $150. Or, as Michael Cottam does, make a website to offer professional SEO consultancy, charging upwards to $350/hour.

18. Tutoring

Online tutoring is another interesting online business idea. You just need a computer and a reliable internet connection to earn a good sum of money.

Having your own website to get potential clients is always suggested. But, there are many platforms that offer you the same great opportunities, such as Wyzant. With Wyzant, you can earn up to $60 per hour depending on your level of expertise. However, it charges you a 40% service fee for the first 20 hours of tutoring.

19. Online Fitness Courses

Zoe Rodriquez is the founder of ZBody Fitness Inc.

Zoe started her career as a personal trainer. She has fitness programs that let people get in shape without going to expensive gyms. After building up her brand, she now earns up to $30,000 from online courses, coaching, and merchandise.

So, if you’re into fitness, this might be a great online business idea.

20. Domain Selling

Domain selling is a promising online business idea. You can buy a domain at the cheapest price and put it on sale at a higher price.

Depending on your situation, it’s possible to earn a lot. For example, lasvegas.com sold for $90 million dollars.

This happens because a domain name is crucial for online businesses. Most businesses would pay a lot of money to get the perfect name for their online presence.

You can either sell a domain yourself or join a domain marketplace like Sedo.

21. Stock Exchange

The last on our list is Stock exchange. Do you want to make money by investing money? The stock exchange might be one of the best business ideas for you. However, it requires you to acquire skills and set aside some time for research.

You can start by getting abundant information from The Economist or any market analysis sites like Calculated Risk. This will help you understand the latest trends. After that, you can choose a trading site like Ally.

It’s very important that you use all of the resources you can so you could make the right investments. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the markets daily.

Conclusion

Having great online business ideas is a crucial part of making money online. Some ideas, however, take more time and effort as well as require you to have specific skills.

Among the ideas presented above, these two ideas are what we find to be the easiest to get started with:

• Writing a blog offers you ample opportunities to make money online easily. You can write paid reviews, sell ebooks and display ads on your site
• Setting up an ecommerce website offers vast options to break into any market. You just need to set up your own online store and start selling products

By now, you should be teeming with a vast array of possible ideas to get your online business started – why not do it right now?