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Looking for ways to make more money online? Check out these 24 online business ideas, from starting your own profitable blog to launching a dropshipping business — and everything in between.

Note: Reliable Blogger is a top-notch blog dedicated to blogging and affiliate marketing. We provide easy to follow step by step guides, tutorials and software adviceto help you jump-start and grow your blogging business, learn how to make money blogging, and be a successful blogger. We are 100% supported by our readers (YOU).

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What is an Online Business?

A business that operates online, called an e-business or e-commerce business uses digital platforms and tools to provide products or services to a worldwide audience. This could range from selling physical goods on an e-commerce website, offering digital products or services, providing online coaching services or even running a profitable blog that generates ad revenue. The primary characteristic that sets online business apart from traditional business is that all transactions, from customer acquisition to sales, are performed online.

While the products or services offered can vary widely, all online businesses share the core element of leveraging internet technologies to reach their target audience, manage operations and generate revenue. Some online businesses operate exclusively online, while others may have both an online presence and a physical storefront.

Benefits of Starting an Online Business

The appeal of building your online business is vast and varied. Here are some compelling reasons to consider launching an online business:

• Lower Cost: Online business require less startup costs than traditional brick-and-mortar business. Physical store rent, utilities and even inventory costs can be eliminated.
• Scalability: Online business is inherently scalable. As your business grows, you can adapt and expand your online presence with significantly less effort and resources compared to scaling a physical business location.
• Global Market Access: An online business isn’t limited to a specific geographic location. You can expand your market reach significantly by targeting customers worldwide.
• Environmentally Friendly: Operating an online business reduces the need for physical materials and commuting, thus having a lower carbon footprint than a traditional business.
• Flexibility: Operating an online business allows for a flexible work schedule, as you’re not confined to traditional business hours. It’s best for those who don’t like to keep regular work hours.
• Data Accessibility: The digital nature of an online business allows for easy access to valuable customer data and analytics. This will allow you to optimize your digital marketing efforts and make better online business decisions.

As we mentioned above, starting an online business offers many benefits. It’s flexible and has a massive potential reach, with over 2.14 billion people turning to online shopping.

Experts project that eCommerce revenues will continue to grow, reaching $8.1 trillion by 2026. If you’re considering starting a small online business, now is a perfect time.

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Starting a successful online business requires plenty of effort and time. Like all forms of entrepreneurship, it requires dedication and sweat equity. Therefore, picking a profitable business idea that suits your skills and interests will increase your chances of success and make the journey worthwhile.Click here to start selling online now with Shopify

In this guide, we will explore 24 profitable online business ideas that you can start right away, as well as tips on how to start an online business without quitting your day job, allowing you to make money from the convenience of your home.

24 Best Online Business Ideas For 2024

1. Start an Online Store
2. Launch a Dropshipping Business
3. Become a Freelance Writer, Designer, or Developer
4. Create an Online Course
5. Self-Publish an ebook
6. Launch a Subscription Box
7. Tutor Students Online
8. Launch a YouTube Channel
9. Start a Blog
10. Write Guest Posts
11. Become an Influencer
12. Website Flipping
13. Domain Flipping
14. Design Website Themes
15. Sell Stock Photos
16. Build Apps and Websites
17. Launch a Podcast
18. Start Affiliate Marketing Business
19. Develop a Niche Product
20. Become a Social Media Manager
21. Become an Online Fitness Trainer
22. Sell Music
23. Start an Online Coaching Business
24. Become an Ad Consultant

1.    Start an Online Store

Creating an eCommerce store to sell clothes or other items is one of the best online business ideas to pursue.

Make sure you understand what eCommerce is and choose the best eCommerce website builders to set yourself up for success.

Find online store ideas by tapping into a micro niche or researching trending products. Segmenting your niche may initially attract low traffic volumes, but it helps reduce competition and provide substantial growth potential.

Before starting your online store, calculate the startup costs carefully. Website development cost depends on many factors, including its features and platform.

A simple small business website may cost around $100-$500. But if the eCommerce website is huge and complex, the cost may amount to $10,000 or more.

Besides displaying products on your eCommerce website, consider selling on social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok or Instagram. Diversifying sales channels can widen your audience reach and increase revenue.

• Launch a Dropshipping Business

Dropshipping is one of the simplest businesses to start for beginners because it’s low-risk yet profitable. You can hit the ground running by sourcing a pre-existing product from a supplier and having them take care of things like packaging and fulfillment.

This business model involves partnering with suppliers to sell their products on your website and social media platforms. The vendor handles storing and shipping, while the seller focuses on marketing the goods to prospective customers.

There’s no need to manage inventory, so the startup costs are relatively low. The average cost of setting up a dropshipping business website is $150. This figure includes a web hosting service, a domain name, and a membership at a supplier directory membership like Spocket.

Since customers can’t inspect the products in person, the success of this small business model relies on customers’ trust. Evaluate suppliers before collaborating to avoid issues and provide excellent customer service to ensure their satisfaction.

Pro Tip: With Shopify, it’s easy to start a dropshipping business and begin selling without the hassle of managing inventory, packaging, or shipping. Orders are sent directly from your wholesaler to your customers, so you can focus on what matters.

Why choose dropshipping?

• No warehouse means you can run your business from anywhere. Whether it’s your living room or the café down the street, you decide where you want to work from.
• You don’t need to stock products in a physical location, meaning your cash flow won’t get tied up in inventory. There’s less of an upfront cash risk.
• Whenever a purchase is made, you place an order with a third party that handles the rest of the process for you. Since you don’t have to deal with things like tracking inventory or mailing packages, dropshipping eliminates a lot of headaches for budding entrepreneurs.
• Become a freelance writer, designer, or developer

The rise of the gig economy makes freelancing a viable alternative to regular nine-to-five jobs. In fact,75% of freelancers reported increased income compared to their previous full-time job.

You can work freelance in nearly any industry. However, graphic designers, web developers, and writers are some of the most in-demand jobs online.

As a freelancer, you’ll get to hop between different companies, taking on different projects at different scales. Some writing or design gigs might require only an afternoon’s work. Other projects can last for months. Freelancers can create their own schedules and accept only the projects they want, at a pace that fits their schedule.

To start this free online business idea, decide on a niche and a unique selling point to set yourself apart in the competitive market.

To find people that need your skills, try freelancing marketplaces like Fiverr or Upwork.

It’s worth noting that Fiverr is a little different from a traditional job board. A lot of the posted jobs pay $5. The key to making big money on Fiverr is carefully setting up your offers so you can easily upsell the customer.

For instance, you could offer to write a 150-word introduction for a blog post as your initial $5 service. As an upsell, you could charge another $10 for every additional 150 words. You can tweak your services until you’ve found a combo that makes it worth your while.

Why freelance?

• Getting paid to do something you’re good at is a rewarding feeling, whether you’re looking to strike out on your own or just want to make some extra cash on the weekend.
• When you freelance, you choose which projects you want to work on and set your own schedule and workplace.
• If you’re new to designing, writing, or developing, freelancing is an excellent way to build your portfolio and get some real experience in a wide range of industries. You might discover that you have a passion for something you never expected.
• Create an Online Course

This is one of the best profitable online business ideas for anyone interested in sharing their knowledge online. Many people look for online courses to boost their job market value and gain new experiences.

Since the online learning market has become saturated, consider picking a unique topic that others haven’t covered. Then, conduct market research on whether the topic has a potential target audience.

Your online course can be as simple as a video walkthrough that you host on your website. From there, you can go much deeper, creating multi-level courses with a combination of pre-recorded video and live class interactions.

Although it requires effort upfront, a popular, high-value video tutorial series can make passive income as people continue to enroll in your course.

To start creating your first online course, brainstorm a topic you know well enough to teach someone how to do from scratch. This can be anything —affiliate marketing, email marketing, blogging, web development, social media marketing, you name it.

Next, you’ll want to grab a screencasting app, such as ScreenFlow, to record your screen and voice while you walk your students through your tutorial. ScreenFlow also comes with a built-in video editing suite, so you can shoot and cut your videos all on the same platform.

Why teach an online course?

• Your initial efforts will go a long way. Once you’ve created your online course, you can monetize it for years, drawing in new students and passive income. 
• You already have the knowledge; you just need to share it. Focus on teaching something you’re already an expert at and the rest will come naturally, whether it’s building iOS apps, creating monthly budgets, or running social media ad campaigns.
• Teaching someone a new skill is its own reward. While there’s definitely money to be made teaching online courses, helping other people is always a satisfying experience in itself.
• Self-Publish an eBook

Thanks to the internet, you don’t have to send a manuscript to a publisher to become an author. Anyone can sell eBooks through self-publishing websites like Apple Books and Amazon KDP or your personal website

If you’re a blogger, eBooks are great for compiling existing content into a comprehensive guide.

Self-publishing websites offer the benefit of an existing audience, saving you the hassle of starting from scratch. However, you can’t claim the eBook’s gross earnings. As such, many writers create a website to maximize their revenue.

If you decide to build one too, read our tutorial explaining how to build your own website from scratch.

Keep in mind that self-publishing a book costs between $150-$2,000. So to pursue this online venture, make sure to allocate a budget to cover the initial costs.

• Launch a Subscription Box

A subscription box service is a business model that periodically delivers a product package to customers.

This business type has gained more traction in recent years. Over 50% of online shoppers subscribe to at least one subscription service to receive a convenient, personalized experience.

The main benefits of running a subscription box service are generating recurring income and fostering a long-term relationship with customers. That said, to succeed in this online business, you must sell a product that people are willing to pay for repeatedly.

• Tutor Students Online

Starting an online tutoring business is suitable for people with teaching experience. With distance learning becoming the new normal, many parents and guardians need help with their kids’ education.

Websites like Skooli are excellent for finding tutoring jobs aligned with your teaching specialties. They make connecting with students who need assistance easier. To help you build the prospective students’ trust, consider creating a teacher website.

After collecting a sizable pool of clients, create a full-fledged tutoring business on your website.

• Launch a YouTube Channel

The rising popularity of content creators has made video creation a compelling business idea. With over 120 million daily active users, YouTube is the most popular platform for publishing video content.

You can create video content from home, from reaction commentaries to software tutorials and cooking demos.

If you launch a YouTube channel, focus on attracting 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours during the first few months. Surpassing those metrics will make you eligible for the YouTube Partner Program, allowing you to monetize the channel.

Other monetization methods include affiliate marketing, and sponsored content.

• Start a Blog

Starting a blog is one of the most profitable online business ideas. Many six-figure digital marketers like Pat Flynn began by blogging about their skills and knowledge to a small audience.

Blogging has come a long way since its inception. What was once a virtual journal has now turned into a marketing and monetization tool. Content writers can now host a blog on their website.

Whether you make money blogging from sponsored posts, subscriptions, hosting third-party ads, or selling your own products, a blog is an online business idea you can operate from home.

The key to starting a successful blog is to focus on building an engaged, loyal audience. When you start with an audience-centric approach, you’ll cultivate a community that trusts you. And when you can earn trust, you can start to drive revenue.

That said, a successful blogging business is more than just sharing your thoughts on a topic. Remember to focus on the following elements before you start a blog:

Blogging Niche: A website focusing on a specific blogging niche is more effective than one that covers a wide range of topics. Explore our profitable affiliate niches for inspiration.

Content quality: Producing unique and high-quality content can turn visitors into loyal readers and rank your blog higher on search engine results pages.

Traffic size: Bloggers with high visitor volumes usually have better chances of attracting potential business partners and selling their products or services.

Monetization options: Popular methods to make money with a blog include Google Ads, affiliate marketing, and sponsored content. Consider combining them to maximize profits.

Why start a blog?

• Blogs have immense growth potential. You can expand into affiliate marketing, courses, ecommerce, and essentially any other online business venture. You can send email newsletters on a paid subscription model to drive revenue.
• A blog is a long-term play. While you’re unlikely to see overnight results, you may be able to cultivate a loyal readership base.
• It lets you practice your writing—an essential skill to have in business and communication. Use tools like Grammarly or Hemingway to improve your writing.
•  Write Guest Posts

This online business idea is excellent for people who want to make money writing online without creating their own blogging website.

A guest post writer will earn money by submitting articles to other people’s blogs. The blog posts are often ghostwritten, meaning they’ll be under someone else’s name.

Many digital publishing platforms like Business2Community and Writer’s Digest are open to guest post submissions. Pick websites within a familiar niche to make the writing process more enjoyable.

1. Become an influencer

Influencer marketing is a $21 billion industry according to Statista, with plenty of online business opportunities to be had.

You may associate influencing with celebrities, but there’s a robust market for micro-influencers—those with smaller but nonetheless engaged followings. This means you don’t need millions of followers to earn money on Instagram.

Why be an influencer?

• You’ll learn about new and interesting brands. You might discover products and companies you love that you never would have found had they not solicited your services. In many cases, you’ll receive products that you can keep for free after profiling them.
• It’s an opportunity to get an introduction to marketing—particularly valuable if you’re interested in pursuing it as a career or additional business venture.
• You can grow your own brand as an influencer. Perhaps you weren’t particularly famous before you debuted as a micro-influencer. If you’re a natural on camera and actively engage with your audience, you may find fame for profiling products online.
•  Website Flipping

Website flipping (buying and selling websites) takes longer to generate a profit than other online business ideas on this list. However, many business owners like Yaro Starak make significant money flipping websites.

This online selling business starts with purchasing underperforming websites with growth potential. Marketplaces like Flippa may sell or auction them at relatively low prices.

Once the deal goes through, the work to increase the website’s value begins. You must ensure the website functions correctly and is optimized for search engines. Then, conduct market research on the most effective monetization methods for the website’s niche.

The website should generate significant traffic and revenue before being put up for sale. Buyers will be inclined to purchase if it’s profitable.

Website flippers usually price websites at two to three times their annual income. For instance, an online store making $1,200/year may be available for $2,400-$3,600.

1. Domain Flipping

Domain Flipping (buying and selling domains) can be a successful business when executed right. In fact, high-demand domain names can sell for up to millions of dollars. As such, the most popular domain names are often unavailable.

Many domain flippers choose names with local keywords, like jobsinlondon.com. Besides being more affordable, these domains also have less competition.

Start by looking for prospective and affordable domain names on domain checkers or auction websites like Sedo. Consider purchasing multiple domain names at once to increase the sales prospects.

Then, create a landing page for the domain names you want to sell or send email pitches to potential customers. Keep in mind that persistent marketing is necessary to find the right domain buyer.

1. Design Website Themes

Selling website themes is an excellent online business idea for web designers looking to earn extra money. As many people launch their own websites, the demand for beautiful and easy-to-use pre-made designs is increasing.

Test your theme using free web hosting like Hostinger. Then, sell its license on your website or list it on a theme marketplace like TemplateMonster. Although the latter promises more exposure, most marketplaces charge a commission for each sale.

Consider including regular updates and priority support to boost the theme’s value and longevity. Alternatively, provide a custom theme service with plenty of customization and color palette options. Many businesses are willing to pay more for a one-of-a-kind web design.

1. Sell Stock Photos

Stock photographers produce licensed images for various reasons. For example, businesses often incorporate stock images in their digital marketing campaigns to make them more appealing.

To begin, invest in a decent camera and lighting equipment. Research various markets to see what’s currently in demand and optimize your images with relevant keywords.

We recommend focusing on a specific niche to strengthen your branding.

Stock photography websites like Shutterstock and Getty Images are excellent places for new stock photographers to build a portfolio. Alternatively, create a photography website to independently manage your online business and marketing strategy.

1. Build Apps and Websites

If you’re interested and skilled in app or website development, this idea is the perfect online business to start.

78% of digital buyers prefer mobile apps over websites to access online stores. As such, many eCommerce businesses apply a multi-channel strategy, and the demand for mobile developers has dramatically increased.

If you don’t have experience in app development, join relevant online courses on eLearning platforms like Treehouse. Alternatively, use code-free web development software like AppyPie to jumpstart your online business venture as an app developer.

Whether it’s mobile apps, or websites, you can create digital products for purchase or as a service provider.

Making money as an app developer comes from ads and in-app purchases. Alternatively, sell apps on marketplaces like Flippa. We recommend building a solid portfolio to find customers easier.

Why build apps and websites?

• As more people embrace ecommerce and online entertainment, there will be expanding demand for the technical skills necessary to build apps and websites.
• Website building and coding can be quite lucrative. A skilled freelance web designer can work for an hourly rate ranging from about $50 to $100. Depending on the scope of the project, you can expect to earn a few thousand dollars for a completed website.
• Start a Podcast

Every day, millions of listeners tune into podcasts using platforms like Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts, and Stitcher.

The podcast has become a popular type of content marketing. There are over 464 million podcast listeners worldwide, which is projected to reach 504.9 million by 2024. This is an excellent time to start a podcast.

Here’s what you need to start your podcast:

• A high-quality microphone
• Audio recording software
• Call recording software

We recommend adopting a micro-niche concept to make your podcast stand out.

Create a website to host your podcasts and upload them on Spotify and Apple Music to expand your reach. Consider establishing a social media presence to bring more potential listeners.

Many of these podcasts contain paid advertising, which helps pay the people who write, record, and produce the episodes.

First-time podcasters usually earn money via affiliate marketing. Once their audience has grown, they can get sponsors, set up a Patreon page for crowdfunding, or join an advertising network like Midroll. Podcasts are a great home business idea with multiple monetization options, similar to starting a blog.

To promote your podcast, consider collaborating with prominent figures as guests on your show. Encourage listeners to leave reviews and share your podcast with their friends and family. 

Anyone can start a podcast. However, having proper recording equipment will improve the podcast’s quality. Make sure to allocate a production budget to upgrade your tools and software

Why start a podcast?

• Podcasts continue to grow in popularity. According to Statista, 79% of Americans have heard of podcasts and 38% have listened to one in the past three months.
• Many podcasters simulcast on YouTube. You can film yourself taping episodes and post the content on YouTube. This opens up another revenue stream and a broader audience for your work.
• A successful podcast can lead to endless possibilities: Turn your episodes into a blog, gain sponsors and advertisers, and immerse yourself in a community you feel passionate about.
•  Start Affiliate Marketing Business

Affiliate marketing is one of the most affordable online business ideas. It’s a type of digital marketing where you recommend a product or service by sharing it on your website, blog, social media, email list, or other channel. You earn a commission each time someone converts through your unique referral link or code.

To begin this web business, sign up for affiliate program that suits your interests, personal brand, and target audience. Affiliate Future, ShareASale, and FlexOffers are a few examples. Amazon has its own affiliate program called Amazon Associates, and you can also check out the Shopify Affiliate Program.

Once you’ve signed up, start sharing. Create content, such as blog posts, social media posts, emails, and other content that contain information relevant to the products you’re linking. The key is to create original content that resonates with the readers’ interests. Don’t oversaturate your audience with ads, otherwise you risk coming across as spammy or inauthentic.

Why start affiliate marketing?

• Affiliate marketing is a great source of passive income. You continue to make money when your affiliate links lead to sales, even if it’s long after you posted those links.
• You’re tapping into a natural instinct to help people. You probably already tell your friends about products and services you use. Now you can get paid for it! 
•  Develop a Niche Product

If you recognize an opportunity in a certain niche, you can create a bespoke product to fill a market need. Niche products cater to a unique audience—one that may not be served by mass-market offerings.

A product niche could be based on industry, demographic, geography, price point, values, product attributes, and more. For example:

• Pet owners: Pet owners represent a broad niche. You can tap into a smaller niche by targeting the owners of uncommon pets, like chinchillas or bearded dragons.
• Conscious consumers: There’s a market of consumers who want vegan, sustainable, and eco-friendly products.
• Blind or deaf customers: Mass manufacturers often overlook those with compromised vision or hearing. You can cater to the needs of these communities with products and gain significant market share in the process.

Why develop a niche product?

• Niche products are unique and potentially business worthy. Early success can be all you need to drive press coverage with zero budgets.
• Choosing a specific target customer makes it easier to create marketing and messaging that resonates. Rather than trying to speak to a broad, diverse group, you’re talking to a group of individuals with lots of shared characteristics.
• Become a Social Media Manager

Effectively managing and growing social media accounts is a skill. If you have the chops, consider becoming a social media manager for brands.

You’ll be responsible for maintaining a company’s social presence online, developing its social marketing strategy, managing campaigns, and related tasks like sending emails. It’s a solid online business idea with plenty of demand, with jobs in social media expected to grow by 10% through 2031, and it doesn’t take that much startup capital to begin.

Start your process by building up followers on your own social media channels. This functions as social proof that will help you win clients. Next, you’ll want to set up a business website and a payment processing system. As you gain more experience, you can start catering to a wider array of social media needs, like profile growth, outreach, or brand sponsorship management.

Why start a social media management business? 

• If you’re a regular social media user, you can turn something you’re already doing into a money-making activity.
• Service-based business has few barriers to entry, and it’s relatively easy to get started.
• You can be your own boss and decide your earning potential. The more experience and results you can show, the higher your service fees can be.
•  Become an Online Fitness Trainer

Like many other service-based industries, fitness training has migrated online. Popular trainers like Kayla Itsines are making a lot of money online through memberships, fitness apps, and ebooks.

If you have fitness training experience, offering such services online might be a no-brainer.

Much of online fitness training involves video lessons—either live or pre-recorded. Other elements of a digital fitness business include workout guides, recipe books, and forums where class members can connect and share tips. All of these can live on your fitness training website.

As you get started, don’t forget to leverage social media—fitness is a visual industry. Being present on platforms like Instagram and TikTok can be a perfect way to build an audience and win clients.

Why start an online fitness trainer business?

• There is steady demand for fitness training. Americans spent more than $30 billion at gyms and health clubs in 2022.
• You can create evergreen content like courses, cookbooks, or fitness plans that can continue to bring in passive income long after you’ve finished making them.
• The public is open to online training. Video workouts have been around for decades, as fans of Richard Simmons and Sally Struthers know. The internet allows for a more interactive form of video training, and many customers are happy to embrace that model.
• Sell music

If you’re able to write and produce music at home, you can sell it via licensing websites that connect composers to clients in search of musical cues.

Just take a look at The Drum Broker, the largest online drum sample business in the world. Its founder created a successful and sustainable small business model with the help of apps like FetchApp. Other online music marketplaces include PremiumBeat, Epidemic Sound, and CD Baby.

Why create and sell music?

• Commercial clients actively seek musical compositions to place in their ads.
• Selling tracks online can bolster your résumé and make you a stronger candidate for more lucrative work, like scoring an entire movie.
• Unlike other sectors of the music industry, you don’t need personal connections to break into selling music online.
• Start an Online Coaching Business

Life coaches help steer their clients through important events involving work, relationships, and lifecycle milestones. It has some overlap with therapy, but coaches don’t need a license or a master’s degree to practice their craft. To succeed as an online coach, it helps to carve out a niche. Clearly communicate what specialties you offer and what results clients can expect from your coaching sessions.

One way to break into coaching is to market yourself on social media. As you build up your client base, you can get more work from word-of-mouth referrals—both from patients and fellow coaches.

Why start an online coaching business? 

• Online coaching has high income potential if you have solid interpersonal skills and can help clients achieve their goals.
• Happy clients can stay loyal to you and give you valuable word-of-mouth referrals.
• You don’t need a license or a degree to work as a coach. You can start coaching in any subject you’re knowledgeable enough in to charge for. 
• Become an ad consultant

Ads are everywhere, and behind many of them are consultants who help businesses optimizing their outreach. Much of this work can now be done online.

To get started, pick the types of ads you want to specialize in—whether that’s PPC ads on Google, Instagram ads, TikTok ads, Facebook ads, or even display ads—and then start marketing your services with a professional website. You can also advertise your services on professional networking websites like LinkedIn.

To succeed in ad consulting, it helps to have a background in the field with test cases you can present to interested clients. If you’re brand new to ad strategy, it can be helpful to work under a seasoned ad consultant until you gain expertise. Later, you can hang a shingle for an ad consulting business of your own.

Why start an ad consulting business? 

• You can work with multiple clients simultaneously, building out your network as you do.
• Ad consultants will have work as long as there is advertising—which is to say, forever.
• It’s a great online business idea if you’re savvy with people and understand the basics of advertising strategy.

What to Consider When Starting an Online Business

Starting an online business is an exciting endeavor, but it also involves careful planning and decision-making. It’s not just about choosing a profitable online business idea—you also need to consider several factors that could determine the success of your enterprise. These factors will help ensure that your online business is well-suited to your skills, interests and financial capacity, as well as to market demand.

1. Market Demand

Evaluate if there is a sufficient demand for your product or service. You can do this by conducting detailed market research, examining trends and assessing your potential competition.

• Skills and Interests

Consider if you have the necessary skills to run the online business and if it aligns with your interests. Running an online business you’re passionate about will make the hard work more enjoyable and rewarding.

• Startup Costs

Assess your financial capacity to handle the startup costs of the online business. These may include expenses for building your website, marketing, inventory or equipment.

• Legal Considerations

Ensure that your online business complies with all relevant laws and regulations. This could involve obtaining necessary licenses or permits, understanding tax obligations or dealing with data privacy issues.

• Business Model

Decide on a business model that suits your product or service. This could be offering services, selling products, running a subscription model or making money through advertising revenue.

• Marketing Strategy

Consider how you will promote your online business. This may involve strategies for search engine optimization, social media marketing, content marketing or paid advertising.

• Scalability

Consider the potential for business growth. Can your online business scale up as demand increases? This might involve expanding your product range, reaching new markets or hiring additional staff.

• Work-Life Balance

Evaluate how the business will fit into your life. Running an online business offers flexibility, but it can also require a lot of time and effort, especially during the startup process. Consider how you will balance business demands with your personal life and other commitments.

How to Start an Online Business: 6 Simple Steps

1. Find a profitable niche
2. Conduct keyword research
3. Know how you’ll monetize your online business
4. Learn online business laws
5. Develop your product or service
6. Set up your business finances
7. Find vendors and suppliers
8. Build your business website
9. Market your new small business

Once you’ve decided on your perfect online business idea, you’ll want to do your due diligence and, eventually, give it life. Here’s how to start a business online, step by step:

1. Find a profitable niche

The first step to building a successful and profitable online business is figuring out what you want to blog about. There are numberless profitable blog topics out there, but a crucial step is narrowing down what your online business is going to be about and finding a profitable niche.

The highest-grossing profitable online business topics are as follows:

• Food (avg. monthly income $9,100)
• Personal Finance (avg. monthly income $9,200)
• Lifestyle/Mommy (avg. monthly income $5,200)
• Travel (avg. monthly income $5,000)

Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to pick one of these topics to build a website and make money blogging. 

However, if your expertise and passion align with one of these online business topics, you’ll have your work cut out for you.

Other online business topics are a bit more niche, meaning they aren’t as mainstream, but that doesn’t mean you can’t build a robust audience and start making money with them. 

To do so, you’ll need to evaluate your online business topic of choice by conducting SEO keyword research, which brings us to the next step of creating a profitable online business.

• Conduct keyword research

The next step to creating a profitable online business is to check the profitability of your chosen blog topic. 

How do you do that?

By conducting SEO keyword research! 

A keyword is a phrase or search term that a user enters into a search engine like Google to find information. 

By using keyword planner tools like Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, Semrush, Kwfinder, Moz Keyword Explorer or free Google keyword planner tool, you can check the keyword difficulty, search volume, and search trends for your blog topic.

Try entering a few variations of your blog topic of choice to get a better overview of the interest surrounding it. 

If you want to blog about beauty, try searching for keywords like ‘face makeup,’ ‘hairstyles,’ and ‘eyes makeup’ to see what’s out there. 

Look for keyword that has high search volume (in the thousands), a relatively low keyword difficulty score (lower than 60%), and a search trend that’s rising (meaning it’s still gaining popularity). 

If your blog topic idea has these metrics, it’s a strong sign that people want to read what you’re going to blog about. 

Pro Tip: Keyword research can also help you refine the main focus of your blog. Going with the beauty example, face makeup is a keyword with great metrics, which could inspire you to provide the latest face makeup updates to your readers. 

• Know how you’ll monetize your website or blog

How do you plan to make money from your WordPress blog?

You’ll have quite a few blog monetization options, including:

• Affiliate marketing: Becoming an affiliate marketer and promoting products from another company
• Advertising: Displaying digital ads such as Google AdSense
• Selling eBooks
• Online courses
• Offering coaching/counselling services and more.

These are all legit ways to make money blogging; you just need to decide which you’ll use before setting up your blog website.

• Learn online business laws

Legal stuff may seem to be the most tedious part of launching an online business. However, knowing online business laws not only keeps your firm from failing, but also helps you get additional benefits.

Start getting an idea about the legal side of eCommerce by reading online business regulations. Whatever country you’re in, most of the rules are available online on government or local business associations’ websites.

Learn about tax obligations for your online business. Carefully examine different tax regimes and options; some of them may be milder than others. Last but not least, get information about the tax deductions available to you.

• Develop your product or service

Now it’s time to turn it into a reality. Whether you’re selling a product or service, you need to create it. Find a manufacturer to bring your product to life, create packages of your service offerings, or write your book and identify a self-publishing option to bring it to fruition.

If you go the dropshipping route, the product has already been developed for you. It’s up to you to choose the products you’re passionate about or that you’ve identified a hot market for.

To find the perfect platform for your online business, consider your niche, your business needs, and the places your target audience prefer.

Sometimes you don’t even need a website. For instance, if you’re a small handmade store, you can market your goods through Instagram, Facebook, or WhatsApp. All three of these platforms have tools for helping users shop without leaving an existing platform.

Another option is joining a marketplace, such as Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Aliexpress, or others. The main advantage of this variant is the lower competition.

If you decide to go for a stand-alone website, you can still reduce the cost of launching it – just use a website creator. Follow our guide on website builders to learn more about different options, essential features, and pricing.

• Set up your business finances

“How do I open a business bank account?” is a common question for many new entrepreneurs. After you’ve officially registered your online business with your local government, you should have the tax identification numbers and other information required to open a business bank account.

As you grow, you might need funding for future endeavors, be it a new product launch or marketing and advertising spend. Having business bank accounts makes it easier for you to manage that capital, as well as track your revenue and expenses.

Having a bank account is also helpful when it comes to tax preparation, since your business-related transactions will be in a single place. As your business finances get more complicated, hiring a professional accountant or tax professional could be a viable option.

• Find vendors and suppliers

Product-based online businesses in particular may require lots of business relationships. For example: a manufacturer, a dropshipper, or a third-party logistics coordinator. When identifying which partnerships you want to move forward with, it’s best to shop around and compare your options to make sure you’re getting the best solution for your needs.

Other online business ideas may require different relationships or contractors. If you’re writing a book, for example, you may want to hire a professional editor and book designer.

• Build your business website

If you want to start an online business, you need to have a website. And to generate money online, you’ll need to incorporate payment processing functionality.

First, come up with a business name. You can use a business name generator to help you if you’re stuck. You’ll need one to start building your website.

Then choose a domain name and verify that it’s available. You can purchase a domain name for less than $20 a year in some cases. From there, you can build your own store on a platform like Shopify and start accepting payments from customers right away.

• Market your new small business

Getting your first paying customer is a huge milestone for a new small business owner. Now that you’ve got your store set up, you’ll want to start getting your business out there. But finding new customers and creating convincing promotions takes time and energy.

What Kind of Online Business Is the Most Profitable?

When done right, blogging is the most profitable online business. Reputable bloggers can diversify their income streams with other online business ideas, from affiliate marketing and selling ad space to consulting and launching an online course.

Best Online Business Ideas: Conclusion

There you have it ‒ the 24 best online business ideas to pursue in 2024. Since each is profitable in its own way, consider your skill set, experience, and income expectations when building your own business.

For example, those with writing experience can try blogging, freelancing, or publishing an eBook.

Becoming a successful digital entrepreneur requires hard work and dedication. Picking a perfect online business idea that aligns with your interests and passion will make the journey less arduous and more rewarding.

We hope this article has helped you with starting a profitable business online. Best of luck!

Best Online Business Ideas: FAQ

In this section, we’ll answer some common questions about online businesses.

Why Start An Online Business

If you still have doubts about becoming a digital entrepreneur, here are some common reasons to start an online business:

• Low startup costs. Unlike a brick-and-mortar store, growing an online business doesn’t require a physical storefront. You can often make money online with a laptop and a good internet connection.
• Passive income streams. There are many monetization methods, including affiliate marketing and online ad displays. These make an online business a compelling side hustle.
• Flexible business hours and location. An online business owner can set their own schedule and working environment, leaving more time for personal activities.
• Wide audience reach. Online businesses’ scope isn’t limited to the local market. The internet lets companies sell products or services online to customers worldwide.

I Have My Online Business Idea, What’s Next

Finding an online business idea is only the beginning of a long journey as a digital entrepreneur. Here are the next steps:

• Conduct market research to identify your target audience and the market’s demands.
• Decide on the niche you want to explore.
• Check if you need business licenses or seller’s permits to operate.
• Write a business plan to secure funding, if necessary.
• Get a domain name and web hosting.
• Build a website that represents your brand.
• Promote your product or service on various online platforms.

How Long Does It Take To Begin Making Money Online?

An online business generally takes two to three years to become profitable. However, the exact estimate varies depending on the type of online business. Each online business has different capital costs, operating expenses, and time investments.

How Much Money Can I Make Online?

A business’s revenue depends on various factors, including its type, marketing strategy, and scope of operations. For example, bloggers monetizing their website by selling ad spaces generate around $200-$2,500/month, whereas affiliate marketers average about $12,000/month.

How Much Time A Day Should I Dedicate To My Online Business?

Working on your online business part-time may take 3-4 hours daily. Full-time entrepreneurs can expect to work up to 60 hours/week or more. Establishing a a profitable online business takes plenty of time and work, so be prepared to invest more time during the first year.

Will I Need To Hire Employees?

Hiring employees will reduce your workload and improve the workflow’s efficiency, but it comes with extra costs. So, ensure the company can afford the expenses first. Additionally, evaluate the return on investment of each candidate.

How Do You Brainstorm Online Business Ideas?

• Create a brainstorming board and put all your online business ideas on it.
• Revisit with fresh online business ideas and refine your list.
• Get help from friends and family.
• Survey existing customers to find new online business ideas.
• Check search trends on Google Trends.

What Is The Best Online Business Idea To Start?

• Start an Online Store
• Launch a Dropshipping Business
• Become a Freelance Writer, Designer, or Developer
• Create an Online Course
• Website Flipping
• Domain Flipping
• Design Website Themes
• Build Apps and Websites
• Launch a Podcast
• Start Affiliate Marketing Business
• Become a Social Media Manager
• Start an Online Coaching Business
• Become an Ad Consultant

What Is The Best Online Business Idea To Start From Home?

• An ecommerce store
• Create an Online Course
• Website Flipping
• Domain Flipping
• Start Affiliate Marketing Business
• Online services
• Starting a YouTube channel
• Becoming a blogger

What Are Some Online Service Business Ideas?

• Graphic design
• Freelance writing
• WordPress development
• Website theme building
• App development
• Web design
• Copywriting
• SEO consulting

How Do I Start A Small Online Business?

• Find a gap in a niche market and fill it.
• Learn how to write copy that sells.
• Build and design your own website.
• Get on social media websites like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
• Optimize your website for SEO.
• Become an expert in your industry.
• Provide excellent customer service.
• Create multiple sources of income.

Do I Need An LLC To Sell Online?

You don’t need an LLC to sell online, but it’s recommended that you file for one. As an online business owner, this helps mitigate risk and protects your personal assets in case you end up in a lawsuit or need to file bankruptcy.

What Are The Easiest Online Businesses To Start?

Some of the easiest online businesses to start depend on your individual skills. What are you good at, and can you monetize it? What may be easy to you—such as coding or graphic design—may be really difficult for someone whose skills lie elsewhere (such as a content writer).

Can I Start A Business With No Money?

Many online businesses can be started with a minimal budget. For instance, offering services such as content writing or coaching often requires little more than a good computer and stable internet connection. However, some ventures, such as starting an e-commerce store, might require more significant upfront investment.

Can One Balance A Full-Time Job And An Online Business At The Same Time?

Yes, many online businesses can be run part-time or on a flexible schedule. This makes them an excellent option for people looking to earn extra income alongside a full-time job. However, balancing the demands of a job and a business can be challenging and requires good time management.

What Are Examples Of e-Commerce Businesses?

E-commerce businesses can be between businesses and their customers or two businesses. It can also be an exchange between individual customers. Amazon, Alibaba, Walmart, eBay, Wayfair and OLX are all examples of e-commerce businesses.

How can I Promote my Business Online

• SEO marketing
• Web push marketing
• Email marketing
• Chatbot marketing
• Instagram marketing
• WhatsApp marketing

Thankfully, you can go loads of different ways when it comes to promoting your online business. Here we’ll look at some effective channels and best practices to help you drive desirable results.

SEO marketing

Search engine optimization, or SEO, allows your website to appear in higher on the search engine results page. Your rank in search results is crucial for your online business’s success – the first page gets 71.33% of all clicks. 70% of marketers say SEO is more effective for driving web traffic, clicks, and sales than PPC ads.

Best practices to adopt:

• Become mobile-friendly. Mobile device users generate more than half of internet traffic worldwide. To connect with this audience, make your website suitable for mobile screens and optimize your loading speed.
• Optimize for voice search. Roughly 30% of people use voice search, and this number is soaring. To keep your SEO on point, adapt your blog content to users’ complete questions.
• Employ SMM. Social media is efficient as a stand-alone marketing channel. Better yet, SMM affects your SEO positively as it drives quality traffic to your website and improves ranking factors, such as on-page time, bounce rate, and so on.

Web push marketing

Web push marketing is another term for advertising through short notifications in a browser or mobile app. This tool is perfect for keeping your audience engaged with a brand and moving them down the sales funnel. According to SendPulse’s statistics, users subscribe to notifications in 44.32% of cases. The average reaction rate to web push notifications is 7.8%.

Best practices to adopt:

• Play around with frequency and timing. Non-stop untimely messaging is the main reason web push marketing falls flat. Such notifications irk recipients instead of engaging them. Try to send notifications less than five times a day and consider each user’s time zone and lifestyle.
• Segment your subscribers. Segmentation works wonders with the efficiency of your marketing – it can raise your CTR by up to 218%. While dividing your subscribers into groups, take into account their browser language, subscription preferences, region, and type of browser.
• Add multimedia. Pictures can be a game-changer for your web push marketing – big images drives more attention. You can use multimedia to hook the reader, affect their emotions, and add some extra text.

Email marketing

Good old email marketing it’s still one of the most effective ways to promote a business. It helps brands nurture leads, increase sales, improve customer experience, and build strong relationships with their audience. This channel is ROI-effective – companies earn $42 for each $1 spent on email marketing.

Best practices to adopt:

• Personalize your emails. Personalization is king – by personalizing your subject line, you can get a 50% higher open rate. For better results, consider going further and personalizing your email body.
• Employ new formats. Simple text is way too old-school – people prefer interactive emails. You can add a bit of interactivity with different multimedia formats, such as sliders or videos. The latter boost your click-through rate by 300%.
• Automate your email flows. Email automation is a time saver for busy online business owners. Better yet, it lets you maintain regular connections with customers and boost conversions.

Chatbot marketing

Chatbot marketing lets businesses acquire, nurture, engage, and support customers at relatively no cost. This software, based on predetermined scenarios or AI, can cut operational costs by 30%.

Best practices to adopt:

• Create a chatbot persona. People are willing to interact with other people, so your chatbot should resemble a human. To leverage it, give your chatbot a name, create an image, and think up the tone of voice and specific phrases.
• Couple your chatbot with email marketing. Together, these channels reinforce each other and drive exceptional results. For instance, you can use a chatbot to collect emails or segment subscribers.
• Make your bot proactive. A chatbot can do more than simply answer users’ questions. Use your bot to provoke conversations and send promotional campaigns. In this case, you can keep a customer engaged with your brand longer.

Instagram marketing

With over 1 billion active users, Instagram is the second most popular social network. This channel is perfect for business-to-customer interactions, as 90% of users follow one or more companies.

Best practices to adopt:

• Use stories and highlights. With these options, you can market your products effectively. 62% of users said Stories provoked their interest in a product or brand.
• Use interactive elements. Instagram Stories have polls, challenges, quizzes, questions, countdowns, and other tools to deepen your interactions with followers. By using them, you can make your content more memorable.
• Launch an Instagram shop. With this tool, you can increase sales without paying a dime.

WhatsApp marketing

WhatsApp is the most popular messaging platform in the world, with 2 billion active users monthly. This channel is perfect for small businesses thanks to its specific options, such as product catalogs, statuses, and so on.

Best practices to adopt:

• Create broadcast lists. This feature lets you segment your contacts and send relevant offers to each group of subscribers.
• Use group chats. This tool is perfect for communications with groups of prospects when they need to make a decision altogether.
• Craft a product catalog. Catalogs in WhatsApp resemble Instagram shops.

Ready to Start a Profitable Blog Today?

Learning how to to starting blogging using Bluehost and WordPress is very easy, just follow these simple steps:

Step #1: The first step is simple. Just click here to go to Bluehost homepage and click “Get Started Now” button. (We also use Bluehost)

Step #2: From here, scan the menu and select “Hosting” at the top of the screen. 

The hosting menu will expand and present you with three different website hosting options:

• Shared Hosting
• Dedicated Hosting
• VPS Hosting

Shared hosting is the perfect choice for people building a new website. So go ahead and select that from the expanded drop-down menu. 

Since you’re setting up a new blog, the Basic plan starting at $2.95 per month should be fine for you. The extra features that come with this hosting plan will cover all of the fundamental needs of your site’s functioning.

Once your blog takes off and starts receiving heavier traffic, you can easily upgrade to a Plus or Choice Plus plan, which offers advanced features better suited to handle a greater inflow of traffic.

To continue, just click the “Select” button under the pricing plan that suits you best.

Step #3: Enter the domain name you want to use.

Step #4: Enter your account information.

Step #5: Under package information, choose an account based on how long you want to pay. (Note: There’s a 30 day money back guarantee with all plans, so there’s no risk)

Step #6: Uncheck the package extras.

Step #7: Complete your purchase, choose your strong password and log in to your Bluehost account.

Step #8: Answer the onboarding questions or skip them, but choose “business” when prompted.

Step #9: Click “skip” when it comes to choosing your theme.

Step #10: From the Bluehost dashboard, click the WordPress button on the right, and you’ll end on WordPress.

Congratulations! You now have a self-hosted WordPress blog.

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