What I notice is that the majority of strategies for starting an online business has gathered dust and is not necessarily adapted to a changing world. In addition, they are most often offered by dream merchants.
If you are one of those people who hope to find in this article the idea of the century that will make you rich in 2-3 months to become a “free entrepreneur”, go your way.
This article aims to guide you in creating a realistic project that can lead to long-term entrepreneurial success.
Start from your passion, to avoid weariness: music, computers, video games, cooking, reading, management, finance. Here is an excellent starting point for getting started online.
Once your positioning has been defined, deploy your digital marketing strategy thanks to regular personal investment, and you can quickly start the “online” adventure.
Don’t forget to work on your business plan to a minimum to start your little empire on the right foot.
Here are concrete online business ideas for successful entrepreneurship in 2021.
Get started in strategic blogging
Thousands of bloggers today make their living writing about their passions or area of expertise. The recipe: choose an audience, a niche and create epic content to gain traffic to monetize.
Why is blogging a good idea for an online business?
If you provide real value to your blog reader, it’s because:
- You inform him about his research by giving him the right information
- You direct him to additional subjects that interest him.
- And that he has a good time on your blog
- This time spent can generate 3 main sources of income such as:
- Advertising (Google AdSense, or a partner of Google ads, BidVertiser, etc.)
- Selling your own products/services
- Commission on other people’s products or services
Think about it: Anytime you covet information about a product or service, you’re going to be using Google. If your article ranks well on the search engine, you are going to be able to gain readers.
In addition, you learn to write better, which will help you… always.
How to get started in blogging?
The lucrative niches are many and varied, from automotive, job hunting, gardening, there are many topics you can cover in blogging. It’s up to you to choose the one that you are passionate about and that has the potential for monetization.
Successful, financially independent bloggers are those who focus on an identified target. They see their blog as both a passion and a profitable business.
As a blogger, I believe the 7 steps to get started are to:
- Choose the niche you are going to address
- Define your goals and create a plan
- Buy a domain name
- Subscribe to a hosting service
- Install WordPress and basic plugins
- Create content periodically
- Develop your network with other bloggers
By investing yourself regularly in producing on your site and promoting on social media, after a few months you can start to gain traffic and set up monetization strategies.
Freelance content writing
With millions of sites out there on the net, online written content creators are in huge demand right now. If you are good at storytelling and enjoy writing, you can use these skills to build a freelance copywriting online business.
Why is web copywriting a good idea for an online business?
If the articles you produce start to appeal and traffic increases, you can take the next step: recruiting to outsource editorial staff and devote more time to entrepreneurship.
Do not hesitate to register on freelancer platforms like Fiverr.
You can find clients there and start writing for them by billing by word count.
Depending on the subjects and the level of technicality required, you can reach amounts of $10 per 1000 words and more.
In addition, web writing is an activity that arms you with skills useful in other online business niches, particularly presented in this article.
How to get started in web writing?
The best way to become a great web copywriter is to develop the habit of reading regularly… Read a lot. Identify the topics that interest you the most. You will naturally be a very good candidate to write on it.
- What are your current skills?
- What do you like to do?
Also, write a list of your passions and interests and then develop your writing skills by committing to writing every day. At first you will experience some difficulty, but with practice you will certainly improve.
To successfully start this online business idea, you must:
- Learn or take training in blogging, copywriting, writing in general.
- Pick a topic you are going to write about (a niche) and study it.
- Target the right companies to prospect
- Create a blog (bonus step)
- Contact marketing and content creation agencies to promote your offer
- Create your profiles on freelance platforms like fiverr, upwork, editor.com
Become an Affiliate Marketing Pro
Affiliate Marketing is all about earning a commission by selling business products or services through YouTube, social media, your podcast, email list, or blog (or even all 3 at the same time)
Why get into affiliate marketing?
The advantage is that you don’t have to create the product.
You can simply join an affiliate program and recommend the product that can serve your audience.
However, you must learn to create a real bond with the audience that follows you AND ESPECIALLY not to try to sell them everything at all costs.
Try to help people by recommending a product that you would use yourself that would be helpful to them.
How to do affiliate marketing?
- Find a product you want to promote
- Do a search with the product name “affiliate program”
- Create the partnership when it exists
- Promote the link communicated by advising it to people who need it (your blog, social networks, YouTube, by telephone prospecting, etc.)
- If they buy and you made a good recommendation, you earn a commission
The golden rule: Recommend the best products for each context, otherwise your affiliate marketing project will not survive in the long run.
Getting into e-retail
The e-commerce industry is measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars in 2021 and the current context means that its growth will continue to accelerate.
Why is e-commerce a good idea for an online business?
You can now resell your creations on Amazon, Shopify or by creating your own website.
Starting an e-commerce business can also be very profitable. In particular, if you can identify a market segment that does not receive a dedicated offer.
Even if starting up in e-commerce may require starting capital (to build up a stock and set up its platform). This business model is sustainable, because there is always demand for mass consumer goods.
How to get started in e-commerce?
The most important thing is once again to target a niche, especially at start-up. This one can be the child, the big sizes, the businessman… the construction companies, the lawyers, liberal professions…
To implement this online business idea, the following steps are recommended:
- Choose your business model (dropshipping, own stock, etc.)
- Create your site or work with an existing delivery platform
- Target first then choose the product
- Source your supplier
- Create your brand
- Market your products and attract customers
The profitability between wholesale and retail buying is very interesting. In addition, by developing yourself, you will be able to increase the profitability of your business.
Platforms like Shopify have made it possible to create your online business. If you are interested in this adventure, invite you to consult their guide to creating e-commerce businesses.
Start an online training business
E-learning is one of the hottest profitable businesses of our time. Whether in the kitchen, entrepreneurship, marketing, and so on and the best, you will always find a specialist (more or less qualified) to help you develop your skills.
Why create an e-learning business?
Forbes estimates that the e-learning market is expected to reach over $270 billion in 2022.
Online training is a real revolution in our education and pedagogy system.
Today, we no longer consider so much to register or take vocational training at a university when we want to improve skills, most often, we are moving towards e-learning. The return on investment is at present 9 times out of 10.
If you doubt it, I invite you to discover the success of platforms like LinkedIn Learning or Udemy.
Indeed, e-learning trainers are often people passionate about their field and who have invested a colossal time in mastering a skill.
How to create an e-learning business?
I recommend that you start by finding the subject that you master the most and that you are passionate about. Make a list: do you play a musical instrument? Are you a good copywriter? Graphic designer? What are we complimenting you on?
To implement this online business idea, I recommend the following steps:
- Choose your industry, and the training content adapted to your target
- Look for their need and their difficulties on the subject
- Check the viability of your project (are there training courses, similar books)
- Test the title of your training with your audience
- Create your online training on an e-learning platform or via your own means (I prefer the second option and the guides are numerous)
- Set up a sales funnel
- Market and promote your product
If your training brings real added value to your students, you will see that they will recommend you.
Start an e-book publishing business
The internet has changed a lot of things in our life… so much so that most of the content we read has become digital. An e-book is a book that can be downloaded online and can be written by either you or a web editor.
Why Start Your e-book Publishing Business
No matter what the niche, there is always a topic that needs to be covered in depth and may require writing an e-book. If we take each of the online business ideas I’ve presented to you… I’m sure I can write an e-book and manual on each of these projects.
The problem is, I and a lot of other bloggers don’t have the time to do this. The business model of the e-book publishing house is simple: you contact bloggers or other companies in need of this type of digital booklet to offer them your services.
You can also create booklets yourself to help people and resell them directly through an e-commerce site. The opportunities to be seized are real, it is up to you to seize them.
How to get started in e-book publishing
A good technique is to go see what are the best sellers in your country in the book category on Amazon and write e-books on these topics.
You will then have a catalog to offer and can use these examples as a brochure of your services. What I recommend, once again, is to focus on a niche: personal development, productivity, technology…
These e-books can also be resold via Amazon Kindle or on your own website/blog. If you are already blogging, the information is already there and you just need to organize it to create more digestible mini-guides.
Getting started in online translation/interpreting
If you speak more than one language and want to contribute to international cooperation, this online business idea is for you.
Why start a freelance translation business?
The globalization of the economy in recent years has created links of interdependence between economic agents who communicate in different languages.
Even if the reduction in the volume of transactions has given a hard blow to recognized interpretation agencies. The covid-19 crisis has not set back written and digital communication, which continues to thrive. Today, whether it’s creating video captions, writing a contract, or simply translating blog posts, the opportunities are plentiful.
How to get started in online translation?
The first thing to do is to build a network of translators with whom you could collaborate. In this way, you broaden your value proposition and can suggest translation into languages additional to those you are proficient in.
Make sure you focus on a sector that is on the rise and has many international activities. The targeting you need to achieve in times of crisis should be all the more careful.
You can once again use one of these freelancing platforms like Fiverr, upWork, Freelancer to create your GIG and offer your services.
Start a YouTube channel
Is creating videos and distributing them to help and grow an audience a secret dream? Here is a business model that has proven itself in the last few years. What is certain is that the creation of video content is booming.
Why launch your YouTube channel? The real question is why not?
Indeed, we observe that video content has completely taken precedence over other content formats. We use YouTube for everything and even though there is competition in all niches, everyone has the chance to mark an audience that looks like them.
The advantage is that unlike other online business ideas, the barriers to starting up are low.
You can theoretically get started with your phone and the app. The hardest part is therefore to take the plunge and take action.
How to get started on YouTube?
If you want to consider a content creation business model, it is important to have a strategy. It is fundamental to be passionate and to want to share your experience, but to generate income, you have to have a project.
To implement this online business idea, I recommend the following steps:
- Plan your content and take an inventory of possible affiliate products
- Start with your smartphone, but as soon as possible buy basic equipment
- Take inspiration from competing channels to produce epic content
- Edit your videos to keep the essentials
- Choose a title optimized for search engines
- Promote your channel on social networks
Creation of Websites
A website design agency has the ability to help entrepreneurs get started and grow their business online. Today, a company that has no virtual presence, has no image and will have fewer development opportunities than its competition.
Why is creating a web design agency a good idea for an online business?
Imagine all the businesses that had not taken the digital turn before the coronavirus crisis. Some of them will go bankrupt, but others will reinvent themselves. And to be successful, they will have to do it online.
Showcase sites, e-commerce sites, landing page, sales funnel are just as many services that you can offer. Developing a specialty in web design is like creating a company of the future in a world undergoing profound digital change.
How to get started in web design?
Before tackling everything to launch your adventure, it may therefore be interesting to try to prospect the market segment you want to attack and check the potential.
To implement this online business idea, I recommend the following steps:
- Targeting, you will understand, is fundamental
- Create a professional site
- Develop site models for your target
- Define your pricing policy and create your contracts
- Prospect and learn to negotiate
- Market and repeat
Start your social media marketing agency
Today companies no longer have a choice. They will have to market their offer via social networks, because our context will push us to be more and more connected.
Why launch your social media marketing agency?
Those who considered social media to be a waste of time now face a new reality. 2.8 billion people use these platforms.
The market is booming and any serious business that wants to thrive will face a huge shortfall if it doesn’t expand its online presence. As a social media specialist, you can help businesses grow through these media.
How to get started in social media marketing?
Whether you are alone or able to hire professionals, you will need to train yourself and become an expert. For this, nothing better than to establish a daily reading routine in order to gain skills on the subject of entrepreneurship.
You won’t be able to sell your service if you don’t understand your value proposition.
To implement this online business idea, I recommend the following steps:
- Identify a niche that is in demand and which is expanding
- Study the market and assess the need
- Create a list of the services you offer (community management, content creation, info graphics, etc.)
- Develop your website and blog
- Market your brand image on social networks
- Create your own social media strategy to reach your target
- Equip yourself with the right tools
- Prospect new customers and make referrals
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