Models for generating income online

There are just about as many ways to generate income online as their are people on the planet, maybe more. Most fall into the following categories:
• Online POPs (Point of Purchase) - These are websites set up to market specific goods and/or services provided by a single person or company. Examples: Blockbuster.co.uk and www.sproutpeople.com
• Market Aggregation sites - These sites that collect the goods and services provided by others and markets them to a target market. Examples: eBay! Stores and Alibris.com
• Advertising programs - These are sites that sell, buy and place advertising online and come in many flavors. Examples: Yahoo!. and MIVA: targeted, cost effective Pay-Per-Click advertising solutions.
• Affiliate marketing sites - These are more diverse than regular advertisers because anyone, through affiliate marketing can sell anyone else's stuff on their page and get paid a commission. Examples: this blog and my Spiderweb Marketing System page.

POPs, Market Aggregaters and Advertising programs often use affiliate marketing to help sell their stuff through the word of mouth/viral marketing that affiliate marketing provides.

There are many other models used that are successful and worth giving consideration to such as Multi-Level Marketing or referral marketing programs. In these you get paid as a result of inviting someone to join a program who subsequently buys a product, and usually you also earn a commission on the sales and subscriptions generated by the people you invited, often down through several levels of connection. Examples: Vitamark and Global Domains Inc.

I will expand on these more in coming blogs and share with you the one I have chosen to use and why, as well as those I have opted out of or avoided altogether. Affiliate marketing blended with referral marketing is my choice of online business model for the average individual to go online and start generating income quickly and for building my favorite type of income: residual income.

Residual income, by my definition, is income received for months or years after the work done to earn it has been completed. An easy to understand example is writing a book (or blog) and being paid a commission on the sale of each book. You write it, perhaps do a promotional tour to boost sales, and then collect royalties for a long while. You will find some form of affiliate marketing link or income generating link on almost every page I post online, including this one. I try to always capture the greatest return on my time and efforts invested.

Next up
- Online income generation basics - dealing with money online, fulfillment, presence
In coming days
- Short cuts to generating income online
- SEO, page optimization, and greasing the wheels of commerce
- Social Networks, hot bed of wealth or waste of time?