There is a proper approach and a wrong approach to carry out each task, just as there is for everything else in life.
In his Medium article titled “The 7 Worst Ways I’ve Discovered to Make Money Online,” Tim Denning discusses the worst methods he’s seen people use to earn money or start a secondary business.
Denning is a writer for CNBC and Business Insider, so he has witnessed and written about a variety of excellent and poor ideas.
“I read a lot of content about all the ways you can make money online. What is rarely spoken about is all the ways that don’t work. Thankfully, I’ve done the experimenting for you. I’ve spent seven years playing around with what works and what doesn’t.”
Tim Denning
Denning shares his thoughts on the clever and ridiculous ways to make money online. First, consider the wise decisions to be made.
How To Make Money Online
1. Build An Audience or Group
Denning suggests the following methods for developing an audience, the first of which is to form a group.
“An online community you operate through Facebook Groups, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, etc. is level two. Email feels lonely and doesn’t have social proof. Online communities are social.
Make 99% of what you do for your community free. Occasionally give the community options for products or services they can purchase from you related to the theme of the group.
Think online summits, coaching, courses, real-world meetups, etc.”
In order to do this, he suggested to collect email addresses.
2. Collect Email Addresses
At one point in time, the practice of gathering email addresses was regarded as a “old way” of acquiring new consumers or clients. So, it seems that the familiar has a fresh appeal.
“An email address enables a future conversation. Place a quiet, one-sentence call to action somewhere in your content. Give people a way to level up if they choose. If they don’t, then don’t overdo it and chase them down the street with a fishnet.”
3. Don’t Sell, Teach
“Teach, don’t sell,” concludes Denning’s list of proven online methods to develop an audience and make money.
“The majority of businesses operate through sales,” he explains. Businesses that comprehend the power of content sell through instruction. There is a subtle distinction. Selling is unscrupulous. Trusted teachers make learning feel intuitive.
Now that we’ve covered the tried-and-true methods for building an audience and client base that can lead to income, we’ll discuss some outdated strategies for earning money online.
Side Hustle Ideas To Avoid
1. Creating Content That Appears to Be An Ad
Nobody wants to be persuaded to buy something. If a person encounters your content on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter and the content reads like an advertisement, then they have encountered your content. They are going to ignore it and continue scrolling.
According to Denning:
“Creating content is now at the heart of every business or individual looking to make money online. You have to create video, audio, micro-content, writing, imagery, or illustrations to make money. You’re smart. You know that by now.
What’s misunderstood is that most people accidentally create content that looks like an ad.
When you scroll your LinkedIn feed (or any social media feed) quickly, you’ll pay less attention to the person’s name or when the content is posted, and more attention to what the content looks like at speed.
Deciphering ads versus organic, natural content has become a subconscious sport for the human mind. Your brain switches off when it sees a cliche stock image it’s seen hundreds of times, or a smiling face in a business suit with perfect filters applied, or a duuude leaning against the side of a Lambo.”
It’s tempting to label this the “TikTok method” of video production. Many videos on TikTok recycle old audio files in order to give the impression of being original.
Though it has never been seen before, the material is remarkably similar to the millions of other videos that have used the same music, effects, and voiceovers.
Make sure all the content you publish is 100% you, your company, and your voice. Don’t waste your time trying to imitate the achievements of others.
2. Trying To Win The SEO Game
Unless your website receives millions of visitors every month or your business and product are extremely specific and competitive, you will never be able to win the SEO game.
Spending work on search engine optimization (SEO) keywords and writing in a way that will suit the search engine rarely pays off.
By writing material that is optimized for search engines, you risk coming off as robotic, as Denning points out in his article demonstrating why SEO is pointless. When you engage in SEO on the same level as everyone else, you risk seeming generic. SEO writing sounds like an advertisement while posing as informational content.
Instead of writing material that you hope will be found through a search, focus on creating information that people will actually want to read.
3. Banking On Affiliate Marketing
“Amazon affiliate marketing has been promoted as the holy grail for those who seek to earn money online,” says Denning. The pandemic hit, and Amazon discreetly stopped paying affiliates. Your chances of making money through affiliate marketing are poor unless you got into the business at least five years ago. To make any real money from promoting Amazon links, you need a substantial amount of site visitors.
Instead, Denning recommends promoting one’s own products using affiliate connections.
It has never been simpler to make things specifically for internet sales. It’s possible to make your own data products. Using Alibaba and updated versions of their original concept, you can have just about anything made that your imagination can conjure up.
You can continue reading “The 7 Worst Ways I’ve Discovered to Make Money Online” by Tim Denning here.
