Technology

Easy ways to cash in on the internet

online

A woman working online. FILE PHOTO | NMG

It is now common knowledge that the internet has revolutionised how business is conducted. In as much as there are a myriad of challenges attributed to digital disruption, many advantages can be derived from the advances in technology. Turning the internet into a money-minting space is one such advantage. There are diverse ways in which you can sit at the comfort of your sitting room and go to work and earn a decent living right there. These methods particularly resonate with youth who are the most affected by lack of jobs:

Content Marketing

A relatively new concept in the Kenyan digital marketing arena, content marketing is one way that will guarantee you a few coins. This is because many companies lack capacity to generate meaningful content for their blogs and websites which necessitate the need for smart content creator.

Therefore, if you have a flair for writing, coupled with a sound understanding of Search Engine Optimisation, this is the perfect venture for you.

You could also get paid to manage the Facebook page of a prominent personality— be it a businessman, researcher, leader, artiste etc. — by coming up with content that engages their target audience or fan base.

Kindle Publishing

Kindle by Amazon offers Kindle Direct Publishing. How does it work? Simple. Come up with a compelling story, and if it meets the standards, the book is published on the Kindle Direct Publishing platform. It just takes about five minutes to publish the book after which it is uploaded within 48 hours. Once online, you now get the chance to sell your e-book to readers spread out across the globe. The greatest advantage with Kindle publishing is that your e-book generates passive income for you for life. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get to the typing.

Domain Flipping

This is simply buying and selling domains online. An example of a domain is www.nationmedia.com. How this works is pretty simple. Just create domain names with eye-catching words, keep them with the hope that someone will need them and hence buy them from you. Then, when the opportune time comes, simply sell the domain. Such a simple business!

“Fact is, you need names people are attracted to. The other thing is that you have to identify some domains which you think will be easy to sell, such as ‘freelancer’s paradise’ since a lot of people are trying to get into freelance work,” says Dennis Omolo, a freelance domain flipper.

You-tube The YouTube frenzy is currently sweeping the nation as people continue clamouring to be content creators. You can easily join the party too! However, you need at least 1,000 subscribers as well as a minimum 4,000 hours watch time before adverts, which generate income for you, can be activated on your channel.

“Once you grow your subscribership and viewership, you get paid for every 30 seconds watched and every advert ran on your channel…popular Kenyan vlogger, Joanna Kinuthia in a video posted on Youtube revealed how she made over Sh1 million in little over a year strictly from YouTube,” said Nick Chacha who runs the Just Kidding podcast available on Youtube.

Dropshipping

Majority of people who dropship use e-bay or Aliexpress. As a drop-shipper, you act as an indirect marketer for e-bay, for example, where you pick some items which you can afford to pay for and market them to a third party.

This is how it is done: - “You scout for and find a phone retailing at Sh20,000 on Aliexpress. The first step in drop-shipping is placing the order. Once you’ve done this, you go ahead and market the phone to a third party client whom you charge say Sh28,000,” says Joyce Wanja who has been drop-shipping since her campus days in 2017.

“Once the customer pays for the order, you complete the transaction by checking out your cart, pay for the phone then have the supplier deliver it to the client and bingo! The Sh8,000 made after the sale is your profit.”

The key advantage in drop-shipping is the fact that you do not require start-up capital or a physical store.

Forex Trading

Forex trading has been around for decades, but it is only now that it is gaining popularity thanks mainly to technology that has simplified the trade.

Forex as the word suggests involves the exchange of currencies.

“Forex traders buy some currencies such as the dollar and predict the rate at which it will increase in the next one hour, one day, one week and so forth. If your predictions are accurate, the money you have invested will grow exponentially until the day you decide to stop trading,” explains Carol Wanjau, who is a forex trader herself.

Conversely, if you predict wrongly, you stand to make some losses. As they say, there is no gain without pain!

Create and run courses What are you very good at? Or what is your talent? Is it a skill people would be interested in learning? If so, starting a master class is just the thing for you.

Your forte could be anything from say cooking, tailoring, painting or writing. If you have invested enough time and resources in perfecting any particular set of such unique skills, then the next step is creating online courses and marketing them. This way you attract people who are willing to pay you to acquire a piece of your skills.

You can easily use platforms such Udemy to sell your course and quench people’s thirst for knowledge.

Swagbucks, Fiverr, Freelance and Upwork

Swagbucks is one of the most preferred sites for making money online. It is particularly popular among students as they can earn rewards through various ways such as an exclusive signup bonus or surveys.

“Users get rewards after watching videos or playing games. The minimum reward threshold is usually one SB. So long as you conduct your surveys every day, your earnings on Swagbucks will keep increasing. Additionally, there is the option to complete a broad range of tasks which boosts your earnings,” says Anthony Kiplimo, lead developer at Africa’s Talking.

For Fiverr, Freelance and Upwork, you can write original articles, academic theses or even record yourself singing a certain song or reciting a poem after which you get paid roughly Sh 500.

Transcribe Me All you have to do here is sign up and transcribe audio files as directed by clients. Before getting started, you are first required to successfully complete tests that gauge your skills level. Once the website administrator is convinced that you have what it takes to join their websites, you will be notified by mail.

Transcribe Me has a minimum payout of Sh100. You can withdraw any amount so long as your account has more than one dollar in it.