Unquestionably, starting and running an online business is easier than opening a store on the high street.

But how do you run a profitable online business?

Considering your own interests and skills, market demand, your budget, and time constraints are all important factors when starting an online business.

Here are a few ideas to get you started with your online business.

1. Become the next blogging sensation

Creating a blog could be one of the most successful online business ideas for the word-savvy.

Ask Nomadic Matt, Nerd Fitness, Lifehacker, or the Huffington Post.

There is a lot of competition in the blogosphere, but for good reasons. Your own website or blog can be monetized in many ways, from displaying Google Ads and selling merch, to leasing ad space and writing sponsored articles.

Remind yourself that earning a real income from blogging requires a lot of effort and dedication. Frequency alone isn't enough, and the quality of your content is also important.

Consistently delivering engaging content in a timely manner demonstrates commitment, but it also improves search engine optimization (SEO).

Your website's posting schedule must be determined, as well as a timeline that you can adhere to.

It's easy to create your dream blog with Prolific Cloud's website builder! There are beautiful templates included, it's easy to use, and it's optimized for search engines.

2. Create an eBook to tell your story and share it with others

Creating eBooks is not only a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field, but you can also make money from it.

The fact that eBooks have no physical limitations means that a wide audience can discover them. Also, you don't have to rely on people visiting a bookstore to read your work.

You can self-publish for free on some platforms. Simply keep an eye out for platforms that charge a fee for their service.

Not sure where to begin?

First, think of an original idea. Write about a central theme or idea. To increase your chances of selling, you may want to keep up with current trends.
Create a plan and a deadline for your project. Make an outline and set a deadline after you've selected the best topic or idea to write about. If you're stuck, keep working on it for at least a few minutes a day.
Proofread, edit, and typeset your document. Finally, polishing your ebook is the last step. Make sure it's up to par before you publish it, and don't rush.

3. Make money with your photos

For photographers, you can sell your photos online by licensing them through third-party picture libraries or by creating your own stock packages for sale on your own website.

Stock photos, commercial photos, food photos, and travel photos are just a few of the many types of photos you can profit from.

Cost-effective selling of photos on the internet. Because of the internet, this venture is relatively inexpensive to start.

Aside from that, it's a good idea. As a result, it's easier for customers to browse and purchase your works of art. As a result, you'll be able to target a wide range of markets.

You'll always find a market for your photos on the internet, which is heavily reliant on visual content.

4. You can earn money by teaching online courses

Online learning is expected to reach a value of $325 billion by the year 2025, according to research firm Research and Markets.

According to Teachable, successful online courses can generate more than $75,000 in revenue. You'll also be pushed towards greater proficiency, while establishing yourself as an authority on the subject.

First, you need to identify common problems that your potential students face and determine how your expertise can assist them.

Conduct a survey to gather information. Have an email list or a social media following? Ask your followers to fill out a survey on the topics they'd like to learn more about by sending them a survey.
Asses the level of public concern. Use analytics tools like Buzzsumo or Ahrefs to gain insight into the topics that people are most interested in searching for.
Check the validity of what you've come up with. Find a niche that you think is worth teaching. Then see how people react.
The study outline should be engaging. You should avoid information dumps and instead plan your courses so that they progress naturally, one step at a time.

Create a website where you can host your online course, make it appealing, and promote your online course to your target audience, and you're done! Afterwards, you can relax and watch the sign-ups pour in.

5. There is a future for 3D printing

Back in the day, 3D printing was the exclusive domain of large corporations and zealous nerds with a surplus of time and money on their hands.

Modern 3D printers are available for less than a thousand dollars, with simplified software available on the market.

If you're interested in a future-proof service niche, 3D printing is a good place to start.

Profit margins in this industry are steadily increasing as startup and production costs decrease.

Online business ideas for the 3D printing niche include:

Your own art designs for sale
Print designs that customers send you
The ability to create specialized parts
People, pets, and objects can be scanned to be printed.

6. Dropshipping and never having to worry about inventory

When it comes to dropshipping, you won't have to worry about spending a lot of money on inventory and storage.

Dropshipping allows you to sell to customers in your online store and ship individual items directly from suppliers to the end-user instead of purchasing and storing goods before you make a sale.

Most of the time, you don't even have to touch the goods.

Any product in any niche can be the basis of your dropshipping business, so if you have a particular interest or have identified a gap in the market you think could be profitable, find a supplier.

To get started with dropshipping, follow these steps:

Making the right choice for your product (s)
Finding a supplier
How to set up your online store?
Your target audience should be marketed to
Sales that will be delivered directly to customers

7. Crafty? Vend your homemade products

This online business idea combines creativity with eCommerce.

Do you have a knack for sewing shirts and gowns? These are some of the coolest mugs I've ever seen. Do people smile when they see your baked goods?

Most online transactions involve mass-produced products, but there's still a huge market for niche, handmade, and handcrafted products.

Selling homemade and handmade products on platforms like Etsy has become increasingly popular, but there's no reason why you can't set up your own online store to sell the same kind of goods.

So, we spoke with Lapsa, an eco-friendly handbag brand that began selling on Etsy before taking matters into its own hands and establishing its own distribution network.

Start selling handmade products like any other product. You simply have to put in the time to create the products before or after customers order them, depending on which comes first.

People who buy handmade over factory-made products will appreciate the extra quality and ethical value that you can convey to them.

Takeaways from the study: As a result, this is one of the best online business ideas for crafty and creative individuals

An example of real-life success: Lapsa

8. Launch a clothing line of your own

Many people sell printed goods and T-shirts online, but there's a good reason for that. Read on to find out why!

If you can come up with a successful design, this can be a great source of income.

T-shirts and other items such as totes or mugs may not be considered premium items, but customers are willing to pay more if they have an attractive or trendy printed design on them.

For personal use, as gifts, or in large quantities for businesses to re-sell, these items can be purchased. With these, the possibilities are virtually endless.

Think of a few design ideas that you can use as a starting point, or you can let your customers send in their own designs that you can print for them. Hiring a freelancer to create designs for you is another option.

Not to worry if you don't have the funds to stock up on t-shirts. As a result, there are many suppliers who will print items on demand for you and ship directly to your customers.

To get started, all you need to do is set up your own online store.

9. Be known as a graphic designer

A business offering graphic design services may be within your reach if you have an eye for design and are comfortable with Photoshop or other image editing software.

Five minutes on the internet and you'll see that it's heavily visual. Creating logos, banners, website elements, and other visual elements is always in demand by companies.

It's clear that graphic design requires a certain amount of education. It's likely that you'll need to know how HTML, Javascript, and CSS work in addition to Photoshop, Illustrator (or Dreamweaver).

Prolific Cloud's UX designer Egl Zaleckien explains that:

"Most important is to be hungry for knowledge, to be a self-learner, to keep pushing forward and to keep up with the latest trends,' she says. Great designers, on the other hand, have their own style and aren't afraid to show their work to more experienced designers – after all, you can only grow and improve your skills by getting honest feedback. "

When it comes to getting new clients, most graphic designers rely heavily on social media, as well as their own portfolio website.

10. Establish yourself as a search engine optimization expert

How well do you understand the difference between SEO and PPC, and what is the secret to doubling your traffic in a matter of days? It turns out that companies and individuals would be delighted if you could help them with their digital marketing requirements.

For most online businesses, search engine optimization (SEO) is essential, and marketing skills in areas such as pay-per-click (PPC), content marketing, and email marketing are always in demand.

It's easy to sell your skills to the highest bidder if you have the right knowledge and experience.

All of the online business ideas on this list can benefit from these skills, and affiliate marketing is a great example.

Whatever small business you decide to start, becoming familiar with them will be beneficial.

11. Assist in the development of social media strategies

Even if they appear to have the best social media marketing strategies, most celebrities and companies don't actually manage their own social media accounts.

A lot of people are willing to hand over their Twitter, Facebook or Instagram login credentials because they don't have the time and skills to make it work.

Food and coffee photos aren't the only way to manage your social media accounts. Strategic thinking, photography and copywriting skills are required.

What do you think? Start an online business as a social media manager and get paid to do what you love.

Set up a professional website, and then start reaching out to people who you think might be interested in your services, starting with your own social media accounts.

Social media traffic and user engagement are crucial to the success of most online businesses, so start networking and let people know you're available to help.

12. Start your own translation company

The ability to fluently converse in two or more languages. You're in luck, my friend.

Translators are in high demand.

Google Translate can only take you so far online, and companies are always on the lookout for people who can help them get their message across in different languages.

Translation skills can be put to use in a variety of ways online:

Translation in real-time: A Zoom call with two or more people who don't speak the same language could be the solution. As a translator, your job would be to translate someone's words into a language that the other party can understand
Copy and paste translations: If you want to translate a text from one language to another, you'll need to translate it first.
Localization: To do this, a company's online presence must be analyzed holistically, with all elements changed to make it more familiar to people who live abroad and/or speak a foreign language.

13. Your copywriting skills will improve if you start charging by the hour

You can make money online by copywriting if you enjoy writing but don't want to deal with the hassle of maintaining a blog.

Advertorial copywriting is what it sounds like: the act of writing for the purpose of advertising. It often overlaps with the main focus of content writing, which is to inform.

Working with written content, regardless of its context, is a requirement of copywriting, which is always in high demand. There will always be a need for copywriters, as long as we need to communicate through writing.

Blog posts, emails, industry reports, white papers, social media captions, and of course, marketing copy can all be used as sources of content.

Copywriting also offers a flexible work schedule, the chance to learn something new, and the opportunity to be creative.

14. Offer services of a virtual personal assistant

It is a freelancer who provides remote services to a company or an individual as a virtual assistant

A virtual assistant, according to OutsourceWorkers, can save companies up to 78 percent on their annual operating costs.

Since they are only paid for the hours they work, virtual assistants are typically less expensive than hiring full-time employees. In addition, because this is a contract job, they are only hired when needed.

Secretarial experience is typical for virtual assistants, but it is possible to work as a virtual assistant without any prior experience.

Apply for the position even if you're not a computer whiz or a whiz at basic administrative tasks such as using word processors.

In 2018, the value of outsourced services was estimated to be $85.6 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 4.4 percent predicted between 2018 and 2022.

15. Create an affiliate marketing business

For sign-ups or sales, affiliate marketing programs reward you with commissions.

On the whole, there are three models to choose from:

Pay-per-sale. You are paid based on how many sales you've generated for the business, and this is the most common affiliate program out there.
Pay-per-lead. Based on how many conversions you can generate from leads, this format pays out. The term "leads" in marketing refers to potential customers.
Pay-per-click. Because of the name of the program, the merchant will pay you when you drive a certain number of visitors to the merchant's site.

Industry spending on affiliate marketing is expected to reach $8.2 billion by 2022. "Affiliate marketing" is also on the rise, according to Google Trends.

Affiliates will appreciate the flexibility and convenience of this online business idea. Anytime, anywhere, and they don't need any special expertise, they can do it themselves. It's also a great way to earn passive income.

Are you interested in becoming a member? As an alternative, you can join one of the popular affiliate programs such as ShareASale or Amazon Associates. Other options include eBay Partners or Rakuten Marketing affiliates.

16. Create an app as a web developer

Interested in developing an app to address a problem no one else has been able to address?

Congratulation on finding one of the best online business ideas that have the potential to make you an enormous sum of money.

As a relatively quick and easy way to turn great online business ideas into reality, mobile apps are ideal.

App development could be the most lucrative of all these ideas. The global mobile app industry is worth over $106 billion per year, so there's plenty of room for you to get started in the business.

App development, despite being one of the most lucrative online businesses, can be expensive if you need to hire developers. If you decide to go it alone, it will take up a lot of your time and resources.

ASO (app store optimization) and other marketing efforts are also necessary if you want to make money from your app. A challenge in such a crowded market.

Nevertheless, if you are passionate about app development and have always admired entrepreneurs, why not give it a shot?

17. Domains devoted to business

Buying and selling domain names for websites is a legitimate way to make money.

If you're looking for a risky online business idea, this is it.

Time and money are required to find domains you believe will be valuable, and there is always the risk of losing money if you can't sell the domains you have purchased.

When it comes to trading domains, there are two main methods:

Invest in domain names that you believe will be popular. One-word domains can be used by a variety of companies and individuals. Because of the competition, they are worth a lot.
Acquire longer or more specific domains that only a few companies or individuals might be interested in. Once the domain has been acquired, you can resell it at a higher price to interested parties.

As long as you have a good sense of intuition and are able to come up with and combine keyword combinations, this can be a lucrative business venture.

On Prolific Cloud, you may search and buy domains if you're interested in purchasing your first domain.

18. Develop a next-generation SaaS

They're some of the most important tools we use every day. SaaS products range from project management software such as Asana and Monday to office suites such as Google Docs and Sheets.

For this online company idea, you must be a programmer or have the means to hire one.

When it comes to SaaS, your customers could be other organizations as well as end-users.

SaaS services include:

Tools for customer relationship management.
Application of e-mail marketing
Services for cloud storage
Tools for managing projects
Office services online

Matas Minelga, an AI engineer at Prolific Cloud, encourages all aspiring web developers to adopt a problem-solving and tenacity mindset:

"We all encounter problems that appear insurmountable, whether they are bugs or complicated features. Even if you think you've exhausted all options, you must be willing to sit down and try to fix the problem no matter what."

19. Take a deep dive into the digital products universe

Some of the best internet company ideas involve digital products, which don't have to be tangible.

Downloading your goods allows you to make far more money than manufacturing them.

Business opportunities with digital items are ideal for those who seek a passive income while yet having a valuable product to sell.

A certain level of creativity and knowledge will be required to create digital items, although this is usually a one-time task.

Some of the most popular digital items are:

Prints of original artwork. These graphics can be printed out by the consumer at home, saving them money.
Themes. Beautiful website layouts.
Templates. Whom customers may utilize to design emails, resumes, and anything else.
Printables. Print-at-home worksheets and calendars are available.
Swipe through the files. There are guides who share your knowledge.
Music from a stock library. You can get money through royalties on certain songs.

20. Become an influencer by marketing your personality

Users of Instagram and YouTube are brand ambassadors, content creators, and much more for a variety of companies.

influencer: a person who is influential in their own area or community (usually on social media). That means their opinions and shopping decisions can influence trends, as well as those of others.

The Invesco infographic demonstrates that 40% of customers buy things from influencers. When it comes to making a purchase, 94 percent of respondents said they trust influencers more than their friends or family members.

Influencers fall into four categories:

Celebrities. These are persons who work in the entertainment industry, such as models, actors, and musicians.
Experts in the field As a result of their degrees and industry experience, this type of influencer is even more important.
Creators of content. In this category are bloggers and social media stars. It's possible that they'll overlap with the last category of influencers if they're more niche-focused.
Influencers who specialize in a particular field. Micro-influencers are a term used to describe this group of people. People with knowledge and competence in a certain specialty on social media wield influence in that niche.

An influencer's main benefit is the potential to interact with your audience in a more honest way than if you were just trying to sell them something.

Companies are investing more in influencer marketing than ever before, so if you can establish an audience, you can start generating money online.

In the words of Kristina Banyte, Prolific Cloud's Head of Influencers:

"Concentrate on building a solid relationship with your audience as your primary goal. - Consider it more of a community than an audience. This is the foundation for everything else — business success, inspirational collaborations, and exponential growth. Keep your cool and stay true to yourself."

21. Become the next big YouTube sensation

Video blogging, while it has the feel of something from 2005, is now a viable business model.

According to Forbes, the biggest YouTube stars can earn up to $22 million each year. If you want to make a respectable income from the platform, you shouldn't expect to be able to attain those numbers.

Your material must be specialized enough so it has a distinct topic, but wide enough that it appeals to a large audience. This is the secret.

Several possibilities exist for you to make money with your YouTube channel:

Advertisements that play before or during your videos generate revenue for you
The ability to subscribe to premium material
Making money by selling merchandise to your followers
Sponsorship partnerships with corporations who have a relationship with you
Making recommendations for other companies in exchange for a percentage of the sales (affiliate marketing)

As an additional cash stream and marketing platform, organizations often maintain a YouTube channel in addition to their usual business.

22. Begin a podcast in a certain specialized industry

A job in podcasting wasn't taken seriously until recently, thanks to shows like Serial and The Joe Rogan Experience.

It's estimated that the entire podcasting sector will be worth $1 billion by 2021.

They're similar to YouTube, except that they're mainly audio files rather than videos.

Because podcasts can be about just about anything, they're incredibly versatile. It doesn't matter what you're talking about, as long as you have a willing audience.

Some of our recent conversations included an author-focused podcast that was operated by two people. It can literally be about anything you want, as we've already stated.

The fact that there are so many podcasts on the market makes it easier to stand out.

23. Sell your artwork on the internet

It's a terrific approach to make people aware of your talent and produce revenue by running an internet business that focuses on your work.

It's easy to set up and operate an art-focused online store, unlike some of the other ideas on our list – all you need is a website and an idea for your next masterpiece.

As an online art gallery, minimalist website designs are perfect for online art retailers.

In order to keep your costs low, you might add many images of each piece under each product description, or create posters, postcards, and t-shirts of your collection.

24. Get into the world of internet consulting

How long have you worked in one industry and do you consider yourself an expert?

Starting an online consulting business, whether it's in accounting, operations management, or social media marketing, could be a great way to become noticed and monetize your knowledge.

If you want to work as a consultant, you'll need both academic knowledge (a degree or certification) and practical expertise (in most cases, a couple of years of work experience).

Look to develop an online presence on the most popular social media sites used by most of your co-workers, potential clients, and business partners.

25. Subscriber-based business

Currently, subscription boxes are one of the most popular online businesses to start because they're both entertaining and lucrative.

It's important to provide outstanding customer service and have a distinct range of products on hand in order to be successful in this industry.

This means that it is best if you can create a personal brand that is tightly related to an overall niche or theme – such as a country, cuisine, or pop culture.

Even if you don't have a lot of money, you can start a subscription box business based on your own hobbies.

26. Tutoring is a great way to put your expertise to use

Is it your passion to share your knowledge and experience with anybody who would listen?

Another possible motivation is to help others achieve in life.

Tutoring or teaching online could be right up your alley.

Because the tutoring and mentoring industry is predicted to grow at a staggering 16.1 percent per year, it is now worth about $5 billion dollars.

It's important to have a solid profile on an online tutoring platform or your own website explaining the fields you can tutor in as a service provider who offers online tuition. To avoid overcharging or undercharging, do your homework on average hourly rates.

27. Are you a fan of cover letters? Become a career advisor

We all know it's difficult to stand out in today's highly competitive employment market.

Start an online career consultancy firm, whether you're a seasoned HR professional or one of those persons who enjoy putting their own expertise and skills into words.

You may work on improving people's cover letters, or you could give mock interviews.

It's possible that you may help aspiring web developers prepare for coding projects and provide them feedback.

With a nice one-page website and a Zoom account, this little internet business can easily take off.

Create a new online business that sells online and get it going

Online company concepts that work all have one thing in common: they're innovative.

Before starting their own online firm, they complete their study and understand their business concept.

Many small business entrepreneurs make the mistake of assuming that selling online requires an eCommerce site and a business license, which is simply not true!

Actually, you must market your business and look for ways to grow it.

You can come up with an almost limitless amount of internet store concepts.

Top Online Business Opportunities