Make Money Online Legally

There are plenty of legal ways to make money online; the problem is that there are also plenty of illegal or at least shady ways to do it as well. If you want to stay on the right side of the law, turn these common illegal methods into completely legal and sometimes highly profitable ways to make money online. It may take you longer to make tons of money, but at least you’ll know that you have done it honestly.

Hacking

Hacking or using scripts to hack into other peoples’ email accounts or social networking accounts is relatively common and it’s illegal. The idea behind hacking in this case is to grab contact lists which you can then spam with your newsletters and advertisements or sometimes viruses intended to steal information.

What to do instead: If you’re going to try to shortcut by getting email lists, at least have the decency to buy those email lists from providers. It’s still a bit scuzzy, but only in terms of irritating people and you ending up in the junk folder more often than not, but at least it’s not illegal.

Scams

Scams abound and they cost internet users across the world tens of millions a year. The wide variety of scams is astounding, as are the people who fall for them. Sure you’ll make money ripping people’s credit cards, bank cards, and other personal information off of them, but as soon as anyone catches you at it, you’ll lose it all and spend some hard time in prison. Most governments are now cracking down hard on internet scammers and it’s far better to get your money honestly and get to keep it rather than get filthy rich fast, lose it all and then go to jail. Plus, of course it’s completely immoral to take other peoples’ money no matter how susceptible they are.

What to do instead: Turn the tables! Instead of being the scammer, write e-books and articles about how to avoid being scammed. Those with knowledge about how to scam others can make a nice living teaching people how to avoid them. Not only is this a completely legal way to make money online, but you’ll be doing everyone a public service as well.

Ghostwriting Doctorate Papers

It’s sad, but true: the power of the internet has made it far easier for students in a Master’s or pHD program to cheat. Whether it’s by cutting/pasting large parts of their paper or hiring someone to write their paper for them, these cheats abound. If you are a freelance writer with any integrity, avoid these projects like the plague. You will spend a couple of months doing someone else’s homework and all of your work will let them carry off the honors and get a better job! Not only is it degrading, but it is immoral and against school policies to have someone else write your papers and employers who have been hoodwinked by a degree that wasn’t really earned are going to be furious.

What to do instead: Do yourself a favour and simply steer clear of this mess. There are plenty of legit writing jobs out there. Opt for working with small internet entrepreneurs, or businesses; these writing jobs are going to be 100% legit and you’ll build businesses relations that aren’t founded on lies. And always check the reviews/credentials of a potential client to make sure they are truly on the up and up.

Non Deliverance of Goods

One of the most common ways to make money illegally across the board? Promise the world and never deliver it. This problem may start as simple poor work ethic and quickly evolves into fraud. You may demand half up front for a piece of art or an article and then vanish. You may demand a credit card number for payment of a product and then the product never shows up. It’s completely illegal, not to mention a horrible business practice.

What to do instead: Always deliver on your promises. Not only will you stay on the right side of the law, but you’ll also stay on the right side of word of mouth-and word of mouth is the best form of free advertising around.

Sadly, there are plenty of immoral people and crooks online and they take advantage of everyone else by ripping them off and stealing things. Don’t be one of them: stick to the legal ways to make money online and you’ll soon be making money online and be doing it in such a way that you won’t land in jail or end up with a poor reputation!

How to Make Money Online Legally

Avoiding the obvious pitfalls of making money online is one thing, but what are ways to legally make money online?  There are an amazing range of options to choose from and as long as you are sensible and treat your online business just like you would an offline business, it’s easy to stay on the right side of the law.  Each major kind of online business has its common sense rules so that you make money online legally-though when the cash starts rolling in, you may think you’re doing something illegal!

Product Selling

There are tons of perfectly legal ways to sell your products online, but what it basically boils down to is treating your online store like you would your offline store.  Make sure you have credentials such as reviews of your products, forums, comments allowed on products and of course advertising and free articles for people to peruse.  Make sure you are upfront about your costs and don’t try to stick your customers with hidden fees after the sale.  Just like an offline store, it’s important to have a presence in the online communities related to your business, newsletters, coupons/specials, worthwhile products to sell and buy, and information articles related to your site so that people will want to buy your things.  Finally, remember the more legitimate and trustworthy you are, the more likely it is that people will buy from you, so stay on the straight and narrow!

Freelance Art/Writing

Freelancing is hard work; it takes skill, networking, a bit of luck and a ton of dedication.  However, there are plenty of freelancers out there who think that they can cut out all of the hard work by cheating: stealing art and reposting it as their own (maybe slightly reworked), copy/pasting chunks of other articles and works in their own articles, and stealing templates and web designs.  Instead of doing these things, stay on the good side of the law by doing your own work, research, and art.  It takes more effort, but you will build better and more profitable relationships, and you won’t annoy people!

Affiliate Marketing/Text Ads

Affiliate marketing is where you sell products on behalf of other companies or advertise on behalf of other companies.  Although staying on the legal side may seem like a no-brainer, there are some things to be careful of.  Make sure that you ask for permission to email people with your deals and newsletters and always include an unsubscribe button (So, don’t buy email lists; you’ll at best be ignored).  Always be completely upfront about how much are you charging for your products-no hidden fees-and make sure your site is completely secure so people can use their credit cards safely.  Finally, avoid ‘black hat’ techniques like link spamming and stuffing the search engines with your stuff.  These things may work in the extremely short term, but in the long run, you’ll make less money and annoy the search engines into blacklisting you.

Consultant

Being an online consultant is a good way to share your knowledge with others-if you have any to share!  Although perfectly legal, it becomes illegal if you claim credentials you don’t actually have.  For example, if you claim you are a doctor specializing in herbal medicines and in truth you are a plumber and found out, you could be sued.  Make sure that the information you’re selling is information you actually know inside and out and don’t claim titles that you don’t actually have.

Legal ways to make money are all over the internet, but there are many ways to accidentally slip into the dark side of business.  Generally speaking, using common sense and treating your online business as you would any business will help you to steer clear of the possible legal damage you could otherwise bring on yourself.

How You Can Make Extra Money Working Online

Times are tough today across the world. It is getting harder to buy groceries, pay for gas, pay off the bills, save up any money and still have something left over to enjoy. Many economists are lamenting the death of the middle class; there is a sharper than ever divide between the working class who scrape by on credit and the rich class who are in the top few percent but seem to control most of a country’s spending power. The traditional 9-5 job that made enough money for a mortgage, car, savings and a yearly vacation is pretty much gone by the wayside, leaving many people in debt and struggling just to stay afloat. If this sounds at all familiar, it may be time to start making extra money working online.

How? Well, it all depends on how much time you have and what you enjoy doing. If you have only an hour or two a day to spare, you may want to consider doing things such as paid surveys (just make sure they will pay cash, not things like coupons or vouchers), freelance writing or blogging with ads or text link ads. These things can make you an extra couple hundred dollars a month which can really help a tight budget.

If you have more time to commit to online endeavours, you can try to do things like dropshipping, affiliate marketing, selling your own products or services, and flipping websites. If you find that you’ve developed a liking for these jobs and an aptitude for them, you may even find that your little part time job to make a bit more money and free up your budget has become a more profitable full time job which you can then do from home and further save money on things like gas, work uniforms, and food to eat at work.

Another thing to keep in mind is that when you work at home, even just part of the time, you are not only making a bit more money, but you are saving a ton of money. Savings can range from some money saved on gas to a pile of money saved on work clothing, lunches and gas, to even more money saved if you can work from home with your child-no daycare costs! With the prices of just about everything rising, making money is not only a matter of what you are paid on the job, but also what you are saving by not leaving the house as much. Companies are beginning to appreciate the value of this and allowing for more telecommunication as it saves them money on office space and equipment.

Times are tight and seeming as though they are only going to grow tighter with rising gas prices leading to rising food prices and rising prices of other goods while for many people, salaries and wages are simply too small to keep up with it all anymore. Working at least part time online can really help ease the burden on your budget while at the same time allowing you to explore your passions and new ways to work without having a supervisor hovering over your shoulder. You can save money by not having to buy as much gas, food and work clothing and you can make more money online doing what you enjoy. All in all, it’s no wonder working online is fast becoming a popular way for people to make money!