How To Make Money Online: Using Nigeria as A Case Study

Making money online has always been most people wish yet only a few really do. The truth of the matter is that almost anyone can make money online as long as you follow basics principles in regardless of whoever you are or the country you are in. Follow me as we use Nigeria a case study in making money online as the various ways rolled out here can be applied anywhere.

Let’s begins

There are various and diverse ways of making money online in Nigeria; in fact, it can be said that there are more than 100 ways to make money online in Nigeria. In this article, I will be highlighting the fastest ways to make money online, which is also the same strategies online experts use to get internet wealth.

These strategies are strategies that are correctly working in Nigeria today. You can go ahead and pick any of the business strategies to maximize your income online.

Before we dive into the strategies, it is essential to know how the Nigerian Internet Marketplace works.

HOW IS THE INTERNET USED IN NIGERIA?

Globally, Nigeria is the 6^th largest user of the internet, according to Internet world Live Stat. This statistic shows a lot about the potential of internet business in Nigeria.

The Nigerian population consists of over 180 million people, and it is still growing! Every day, more than 50 million Nigerians use the internet through search engines to find information.

The availability of mobile devices makes internet accessibility to be so easy. Anybody can access the internet anywhere in the country. That’s the reason why eCommerce thrives so well in Nigeria.

Anything and everything can be done on the internet. There are a hundred and one internet business ideas you can pick from and implement. Mostly, you can do anything and everything on the internet, be it an online store, tools, software, apps, blogs, and more.

In this article, I will explain many ways you can make money online in Nigeria and elsewhere.

5 REASONS TO BEGIN AN ONLINE BUSINESS

1.  Low Startup Capital: An online business is very much, unlike a traditional business that needs money to rent a physical shop. Your online store does not require a physical shop or inventory, thereby saving you your rent, which equals saving you money and the stress of choosing the ideal site for your physical shop.
2. Always Open for Business:  Your online store is always ready to accept payment at any time of the day. Your customers can go to your website, get what they want, and pay, whether it is day or night.
3. Work Anywhere you want: Online business gives you the luxury of working from home, a café, an office, a field, or wherever you feel comfortable.
4. Access to Global Market: Instead of just providing for your local market as you would have running a traditional business, an online business allows you access to the global market. Your customers can come from all over the world because you have an online store.
5. Cost Saving: As I pointed out before, Online businesses are cost-saving. You save money on the rent, on transportation cost, on the hassle of going to an office, when you can work from home. Online businesses save both stress, money and time.

5 TYPES OF ONLINE BUSINESS

In this section, I am going to share with you five kinds of online businesses you can decide to start.

1. Selling Physical Products: The most common kind of online business is selling physical products. You can open a website (a shopping or eCommerce website), to showcase your products, which can be anything from items you manufacture to pieces you designed, or your handcraft. When your customers choose what they want, they pay, then you receive the payments, then you send their products. The disadvantage of selling a physical product is that the product has to be ready beforehand so that you can ship it to your customers without delay.
2. Selling Digital Products: By digital products, I mean eBooks, online videos and audios, and software. You are technically selling the link to download it. Thus, you don’t need the packaging, and you don’t need to ship it to your customers. They pay, then they receive the link to download. Another advantage of this kind of business is that apart from the fact that you do not need a physical product to ship to your customers, it also requires low maintenance.
3. Selling Services Online: In this kind of online business, you offer your services for a small fee. For instance, there is a company called Fiverr.com, where many people offer their services to their customers. Services here include; logo design, writing, and proof-reading articles, drawing of graphics, online marketing, video animation, and programming.
4. Selling Other People’s Products or Services: In this type of online business, you sell other people’s products for a set commission. It is known as affiliate marketing. This is how it works; as an affiliate, you don’t need to have your products or services, all you need to do is go online and search for other people’s products and services and promote them. Usually, you are given a link, and this is what you promote. For instance, if you get an affiliate link from Konga, you can promote any Konga product, and send your affiliate link to your customers. Once your customers click on your affiliate links and go to Konga and purchase any product from Konga, you earn a commission of the sales. That’s how it works. The great advantage of affiliate marketing is that you do not need to have any of your own products or services. You have to ensure that the company has lots of goods and services you can promote.
5. Selling Advertising Space: This type of online business is for people who have a popular website, a blog or newsletter. Your popular blog or website will attract companies who want to buy advertisement space to create awareness for their companies and promote their services. This business, however, works only for popular blogs and websites. Upcoming blogs would have to build their following to get here.

HOW MUCH CAPITAL IS REQUIRED FOR AN ONLINE BUSINESS?

Let’s breakdown the financial requirements

1. Domain Name and Website Hosting:

The first thing you need for an online business is a website or a blog. To create a website, you need two things; a domain and a hosting.

A domain is essentially the URL people have to put in to find your website. For example, my domain name is oladejoelisha.com, and that is the URL I have registered. It cost about $10 to register a domain name for a year. You can register your domain at NameCheap.

Hosting is an online server that stores your information. Hosting gives you access to the server’s space. Web hosting costs about $100 per year or less. For web hosting, I recommend SiteGround.

I also recommend BlueHost for hosting because it is quite cheaper and they offer you a free domain for a year on any hosting package you buy. it cost about $70 or less get 1 year hosting with them.

2. Web Development:

After the domain name and hosting, the next thing is Web Design.

There are two ways to create your website.

• Do it yourself: You can learn to create and design your website. This has been made easy due to the introduction of WordPress. With WordPress, you don’t need to learn programming before you can create your website.
•  Get a professional to do it:  The cost of this will depend on what you want, and your preference. It may cost from $500 to $5,000, depending on your requirements.
• Product Development: For a physical product, you need to calculate the actual cost of the product; that is, if you’re buying the product. Or the manufacturing cost if you are producing the product yourself. If you are into affiliate marketing, you don’t need a product development budget.
• Email Service Provider: The budget for the email service provider is very necessary, even though many people do not include this in their startup cost. An email service provider is a software that helps you communicate and helps you maintain communication with your customers and subscribers, no matter how many they are. Autoresponder enables you to retain contact through emails with your customers. I use GetResponse autoresponder. I use this because it allows me to send bulk messages at once. I use it to send mass emails to my subscribers when I have offers, promotions all for  $20-$30. This is way preferable to using your Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail, which won’t allow you send many emails at a time.

TOP 27 WAYS TO EARN MONEY ONLINE IN NIGERIA

I’ve listed the top best 20 ways to make money online, and I have added 7 more points as bonus points.

1. Create a Search Engine:

A search engine is very crucial, as this is a software used by users to search for information on the World Wide Web. Prominent examples of search engines include Google, Yahoo!, Bing, Aks.com. Examples of Nigerian owned search engines are fast.ng, Vconnect.com, zapmeta.ng.

People make money from owning search engines through advertising and sales of ad spaces. At every level, the search engine earns money if you promote it well and get more users.

It isn’t difficult to build a search engine of your own. In fact, there is something called a search engine crawler script that you can help you build a fully optimized search engine website. You can start right now, and at a low price at BlueHost or SiteGround.  

2. Start a Social Media Forum

Social media forums like Facebook, Twitter, etc., are fantastic, right? They help you interact with lost friends, acquaintances, distant family members, and even to make new friends. But guess what, you can start your own social media forum in Nigeria.

It doesn’t have to be as huge and popular as Facebook is before it makes you money. Your little social media forum can also make you a lot of money here in Nigeria. Your users will help you generate topics that will drive traffic to your site.

There are several social media forums in Nigeria. Some of them include; Nairaland, Jacobian, Guruslodge. And they make a lot of money every day from advertisement, Google Adsense and email marketing.

Starting a social media forum is not hard at all. You just need a good niche,social media scripts to install, and a cheap WordPress Hosting from BlueHost or SiteGround.

The other part left to do is marketing. Marketing is vital because it is what will promote your forum and attract more users. Once your site starts receiving many users, it will attract people to start advertising on your blog, and then you can start making money from Google AdSense or affiliate marketing.

3. Begin A Video Streaming Website

Many Nigerians are turning to watch videos for fun or to gather information now more than ever. A video streaming website is now a hot cake in the market. It is therefore not surprising to learn that YouTube is the 2^nd largest search engine following Google.

Every single day, Nigerians go online to either search for movies, or funny video skits. A way to make money would be to collaborate with movie marketers and stream high quality HD movies (either Nigerian films or not) for your viewers.

After uploading your videos/movies online, you make money from subscriptions, paid download,   Google AdSense, Affiliate marketing, and direct ads space sales.

You can also create a YouTube channel that will allow your YouTube subscribers access to the movies or videos they want. SomeNigerian video streaming site includes; Notjustok.com, IrokoTV, IbakaTV.

Creating a video streaming site is quite cheap and easy. First, you get the already made video streaming script, and then secondly, you get a cheap WordPress Hosting from BlueHost or SiteGround and install on your site. Though the cost may seem a little high, I consider them very reasonable when compared to the amount you’ll be earning when your website goes live.

4. Create A Job Site or A Job Search Engine

Considering the high and ever-rising rate of unemployment in Nigeria, creating a job site or job search engine will earn you millions. Over 20 million Nigerians, search for jobs online every month, so creating a job site will meet not only people’s needs but also yours.

Creating a job website can work in two ways. First, you’ll be alerting subscribers of vacancies, and you can also take it a step further by establishing a recruitment firm where you work directly with job owners/recruiters.

You earn money from Google AdSense, sponsored job listing, direct ads space sales as well as personalized services such as CV making, headhunting, consulting, and more. More may include conducting interview training and selling interview questions. There are many Nigerian job sites. A few of them are  Jobberman, Hotnigerianjobs, NGCareers, JoblistNigeria.

To start a job site in Nigeria, you need an already made job theme, a cheap WordPress Hosting, which you can get  from BlueHost or SiteGround

5. Open an Online Store

People always go for what will alleviate their stress, and online stores are gaining popularity among Nigerians. I mean, what is more, stress-free than ordering items/groceries/clothing from the comfort of your home, and getting it delivered to your doorstep! Online stores are gaining more popularity because the buyers are protected from scams and all since they can pay on delivery. These factors contribute to the success of online stores. In fact, in just three years, Konga, a Nigerian online store, was valued as a multi-billion dollar business.

You can decide to sell anything on your online store, from electrical appliances to gadgets, from foodstuffs to provisions, clothing, decorations, cooked food, and many more.

You can start your online store on a small scale level or a large scale level. For a large scale, I recommend the services of  Magento or Bigcommerce. With Bigcommerce, it is effortless to sell online. Here, you get a website, shopping cart, SEO, design, hosting, and more. Their customers include Konga and Jumia, who are known as big online stores.

However, if you are going small scale, I recommend a cheap WordPress Hosting from BlueHost or SiteGround. Install the install WordPress, then choose the premium shopping cart theme with WooCommerce plugin and voila, you have an online store.

6. Become an Affiliate – Open Your Affiliate Store:

You can build an online store, and you can also build an affiliate store. Although it is rare to see, the affiliate store is very much like the online store, except that as an affiliate, you are not fully involved in product sales and delivery.

On your affiliate store, once the buyer clicks on the ‘Buy Button,’ they would be redirected to the merchant’s store. However, you’ll be paid a sales commission as soon as the customer buys an item. Thus, you earn your money from the affiliate sales commission.

This idea is not so common in Nigeria. A popular affiliate store is ShopDirect.NG (which is currently for sale). All the links from the ‘Buy Now’ button go to other online stores such as Konga and Jumia.

Opening an online affiliate store is not at all difficult. All you need is a cheap WordPress Hosting from BlueHost or SiteGround a premium shopping theme and a Woocommerce plugin

7. Begin an Entertainment Blog:

Entertainment blogs get the most massive flow of traffic. 60% of Nigerians visit the internet daily to check on entertainment blogs to get the latest juicy gist about celebrities.

Although this is the easiest online business to do, starting an entertainment blog requires passion. This is because there is much competition in this field, but you can get your subscribers and make it big. You can never get tired of uploading the latest gists to satisfy your viewers. Notable Nigerian entertainment blogs include Linda Ikeji’s Blog, TheNet.ng, Bellanaija, Pulse.Ng, Jamb result, and many more. They earn thousands of dollars from Google AdSense and big advertising contracts.

To open an entertainment blog, get a very cheap WordPress Hosting from BlueHost or SiteGround and install a captivating entertainment website template.

You can then begin promoting your blog through advertisement and attract readers and subscribers from all over.

8. Create An Information Resource Blog

The main reason why most people go on the internet is to get information concerning a particular subject. Most DIY (do it yourself) guides or self-help guides have come in handy for the millions of people looking to learn ‘how to, how much, what is, why is’…and other several questions they might have.

An Information Resource blog is an answer to these questions. And like these information blogs, Wikihow, and lifehack, you too can create an informative blog that can answer many questions Nigerians have. Nigerian information blogs include InfoGuideNigeria.com, Ogbongeblog.com, BuzzNigeria.com, HowNg.com, etc.

An Information blog always has a high number of page-views. Thus, owners of information blogs make money from Google AdSense, Paid services, Advertising contracts, eBook Sales, Errand Services, and more.

It is quite easy to do, as all you need to do is guess what people’s needs are, and write resource-based articles on them. It, however, needs extensive researches and a BlueHost or SiteGround and Entertainment web theme.

9. Begin a News Website

A news website is undoubtedly the website that will get the highest traffic. Be it about politics, entertainment, economics; you’ll surely have readers, so far, your news is authentic. Big Nigerian News Website includes; Punchng.com, Vanguard, Thisday, The Nation, Sunnewsonline, Saharareporters.

Although there are over 200 top-rated news websites, there is still room for new ones to thrive. With a massive population like that of Nigeria’s, you just need good online marketing to find your viewers and subscribers.

Owning a news website will guarantee you an income from many sources. Few of them are Google AdSense, advertising contracts,  subscriptions, sponsored contents, and sales of newspapers in hard copies.

To start a news website, you have to determine if you’ll be writing your articles yourself, or giving it to other people to write. You also need BlueHost/SiteGround and a premium news magazine theme.

10. Begin A Football Analysis Blog

Many Nigerians, particularly Nigerian males, are crazy about the game of football. If you are one of the millions of Nigerians that love the game and can talk about the game and predict the future of the game, then you can open your football analysis blog like  Goal.com, and create real-time football result like Livescore.com

Opening a football analysis blog can help you earn from football analysis, football predictions and betting tips, publishing football player transfer news, injury updates, live scores, as well as betting affiliate programs, Google AdSense, Direct Ads space sales, advertising contacts and sales of hard copies of their papers.

This is an understated niche of making money online that there is only one major football analysis blog in Nigeria; completesportsnigeria.com. You can and start a football analysis website, and you will be glad you did because you might just become a major competitor.

To create a football analysis site, all you need is a BlueHost or SiteGround, install WordPress on it, and use a premium sports theme.

11. Start a Free Classified Website

A free classified website is like a directory or storefront that allows its users to list their products or services with their contact details. This is a new eCommerce strategy, and it is gaining popularity with time. It allows you as the user to contact directly the person who listed the product or service. Notable ones in Nigeria include; Ady.ng, OLX, JiJi.ng, mobofree, Locanto.ng, Ojabuy.com, Efritin.com

A free classified website does not need articles unless you have a blog section, and contents are generated by users to make up their list. Owners of free classified websites enjoy unlimited sources of income. They make money from direct sales of ads space, sponsored listing, affiliate listings, Google AdSense, and more.

To get a free classified website, you need a BlueHost or SiteGround and an already made free classified template. You can do this using WordPress or direct PHP script.

12. Start a Business Directory Website

A business directory website consists of all business locations (of a particular area), sites, and contacts listed for easy accessibility. A business directory involves a lot of work and concentration.

The amount of money you make depends on the amount of effort you put into the list of available businesses. If you are hardworking and diligent, you stand to earn money from premium listing, affiliate links, sales of Ads spaces, and Google AdSense. Popular Nigerian business directories include Vconnect, Hotels.ng, Jovago.com.

To start a business directory, you’ll need a domain name, SiteGround, and a business directory script (which you’ll install on your server). After this, you’ll need to invest time and money to compile the list of businesses, their contact info, and their websites.

13. Create A Tech Blog

A Tech blog is a huge genre of making money online, it covers a whole lot, from recent technology trends to news updates, to tips and tricks that would be valued in the tech department.  A tech blog attracts a massive amount of web traffic every day.

You may decide to write about anything. Whatever tech product you decide to write on and promote, will sell, because they are physical and digital products. What to write on cannot constitute a problem in this niche. Also, you can also make money from affiliate sales, subscription, eBook sales, Google AdSense, direct sales space ads and more.

Notable Nigerian Tech blogs include Techcabal.com, Naijatechguide.com, Techpoint.ng, Geek.ng, Techloy.com.

You can begin a tech blog with a minimal budget. All you require is a domain name (ensure the name is tech-related), a BlueHost or SiteGround hosting account, and a premium tech theme.

14. Create A Music Download Site

Everywhere in the world and at every time, people listen to music, and Nigeria is no different. At every point in time, people are trying to download Nigerian music, both at home and abroad.

Having a music download website will ensure that you have a steady flow of income, as over two hundred thousand people search for keywords related to Nigerian music download! Popular Nigerian music download websites include Tooxclusive.com, NotjustOk.com, MP3Naija.com, Naijabambam.com

Getting a music download website also means making money online via paid download, Paid music listings, direct ads space sales, Google AdSense, membership subscription and more.

Opening a music download website doesn’t need many articles. But you need music files, domain name, BlueHostor SiteGround hosting, and a premium music pro theme. All these, consistency and a list of both new and old music on your site, and also the appropriate categorization of music and its genre, is what you need to open a music website.

15. Open a Photo Stock Website/ Start Photoblogging:

In Nigeria, a photo stock website is an oil well waiting to be tapped into. A photo stock website is a very lucrative business in photography. Photo stock is an online library of pictures. Some pictures can be used freely,  while others are paid for before use.

As a photographer, opening a Photo stock website will give you exposure and more popularity. It can as well bring the life-changing contract your way. In Nigeria, the most popular photo stock website is called onnigeria.com. So, there is plenty of room for competition and plenty of room for growth.

Opening a Photo Stock Website will earn you money from premium shots, shooting contracts, advertising, and Google AdSense.

It is quite easy to open a photo stock website. First, you’ll need a high pixel DSLR camera, a domain name, a SiteGround,  a photography template, and develop your photo stock website.

Your consistency and the uniqueness of your pictures will draw traffic to your site

16. Begin Food blogging/ Start a Food Blog:

There are many people, both at home and abroad, who are continually searching for recipes of Nigerian dishes on the internet. Opening a food blog will attract readers all over the world because a lot of people want to try out Nigerian dishes but don’t know how to prepare them. If you begin to food-blog, a lot of your readers will come from the US and Europe.

There’s always room for growth in this type of online business because cooking tips cannot be exhausted, and you can post your traditional delicacy that a whole other Nigerians don’t know about. Nigerian food bloggers like 9jafoodie.com, Nigerianfoodtv.com, Allnigerianfoods.com, kscuisine.com, make money from sales of new recipes, affiliate marketing, Sales of Cookbooks, Google AdSense, Direct Ads space sales.

Starting a food blog is so easy with few requirements. You need to know how to prepare Nigerian delicacies, a domain name, SiteGround. Depending on your budget, you may decide to go for either the free theme or the premium food theme.

17. Open A Real Estate Property Website:

In a still-developing economy such as Nigeria’s, the emergence of new cities, the rise of new companies, and the constant influx of people from one part of the country to another, begs for the increase of real estate property website.

A real estate website is where you can find properties for sale, lease or rent, online. Properties may include; rooms, flats, warehouses, houses, offices, etc. Opening a real estate business is a smart move because it is an ageless business that will never grow old.

There is no limit to the number of properties you can list, even if it means a whole state- so far, you can manage it. More property lists equal more money.

Nigerians have dived into this business, and as a result, we have sites like lamudi.com.ng, hutbay.com, privateproperty.com.ng, property24.com.ng, propertysearch.com.ng, www.nigerianpropertymarket.com. These sites make money from private premium listings, direct sales agency commission, sales of ads space, subscription services as well as AdSense.

Opening a real estate website will require a lot of work. You need to do a lot of walking and gathering a lot of contacts, to discover unlisted places that are available for rent or sale or lease

To open the main website, get a property domain name, SiteGround, buy a premium real estate theme, and start your real estate website.

18. Create an Online Booking Website

An online booking website is a place where people book for hotel reservations, flight tickets, cinemas, events, holiday bookings, car rentals, etc. it is currently one of the fastest ways to make money online in Nigeria.

For your site to become successful, you need to collaborate with several companies, which include hotels, airlines, cinemas, and sometimes managers, to get clients into the reservation lists. This business ensures that you get premium contacts and high sales commission.

As the owner of an online booking website, your work is not just booking and reservation. You have to keep working with managers, also acts as travel agents, and also helps with data processing. This might seem quite tedious, but you may think of it as avenues to get paid from.

First, as the owner of an online booking site, you earn from your websites. Also, you get processing fees from your clients, and also make sales commissions from managers or merchants you do business with. You can also make money from your booking site through premium services like visa processing, tour guide as well as premium listings, sales of ads spaces, affiliate marketing, and Google AdSense.

Notable online booking websites in Nigeria also double as travel agents. Some of them are; wakanow.com, Hotels.ng. Jovago.com, travelstart.com.ng, nigeria.to

To start an online booking site, you need a domain name and hosting with BlueHost or SiteGround and a premium booking theme.

19. Become A Freelancer:

People search for countless things online every day. If you can give them answers or what they are looking for, for a fee, then why not. You can decide to write articles, design websites, logos, etc., the list is endless. The key point is that you are providing a service for someone online, and you are getting paid for it.

There are a number of freelance websites which many people use, including Nigerians. Examples are; Fiverr.com and Freelancer.com, and both of them pay via Payoneer. You can make as much as you’re willing to work for in a day.

Instead of registering your services with other freelance websites, you can decide to start your freelance site. To do that, what you need is a domain name and hosting with BlueHost or SiteGround and get a premium freelance themes.

Once your site is up and running, you can decide to offer direct services to people who need them. What you offer will, of course, be what you know.

20. Open A YouTube Channel/ Become A Vlogger:

Uploading videos on YouTube, and monetizing them, is one of the fastest ways to make money online. Video Blogging or Vlogging, doesn’t require you to be a model. All you need to have is content that will interest your viewers and will persuade them to subscribe to your channel.

As a YouTube Vlogger, you can make money through Google AdSense, the affiliate product review blog. You can also use your channel to lead traffic to your blog, thereby leading to AdSense earnings on your blog, more sales, more direct services, and more money.

However, for you to begin to earn from your YouTube channel, you have to upload only original videos that will interest your viewers, and don’t forget to monetize it. You also need an excellent camera to get high-quality videos.

BONUS POINTS

I call these the bonus points because you need to have a following (either through a blog or video channel) before you can benefit from them.

21. Data/Info Marketing:

Info Marketing is selling information directly to a customer or client who requires them. The data/info may be in the form of eBooks, software, videos, or podcasts. No matter the type the information takes, its main aim is to solve or help the buyer and bring money to the seller.

You can sell information about specific products on your blog, but I would advise you to buy and use SSL certification to promote trust.

22. Affiliate marketing:

Affiliate marketing is a commission-based recommendation marketing system. You refer someone to buy what they need, and you make money from the sales commission. You, however, need a blog to achieve this.

23. Website and Domain Flipping Business:

Here, you develop a site or domain name and sell it to other people for a mouth-watering

24. Bulk SMS Websites:

In a bulk SMS website,  users come from all over to signup, make payment online, and send bulk SMS to as many numbers of recipients as they wish. It is one of the lucrative ways to make money online.

You would, however, need a fast web hosting, install Joomla, and buy an SMS delivery system. After this, your bulk SMS website is good to go

25. Online Surveys:

An online survey is a genre of online business that is yet to be crowded because it has yet to be mastered. However, if learned, it is a sure way to make money quickly.

26. Google AdSense:

This does not precisely generate mouth-watering profits, but it does help. However, you need to have a whole lot of traffic flowing to your website before you can make much.

27. Commission Junction:

This is what I think is best when it comes to internet income streams. It is quite easy to start a commission junction. To make money from a commission junction, you have to get well-targeted traffic and an email list.

HOW TO EARN YOUR MONEY FROM THE INTERNET.

Working online can turn up so much mouth-watering profits. However, it doesn’t happen over-night. So, if you are looking for quick money, this might not be the business for you. As to other businesses, online business has certain principles to make money.

•  Create a buying audience
•  Sell products online, or recommend products to others
• Provide a service

These principles point to the fact that you have to work before you earn, and this is the legitimate way to make money online.

ITEMS NEEDED FOR AN ONLINE BUSINESS

• Access to the Internet:

Access to the internet is a must, as all the work you’ll be doing will be online. You can either use a computer or a smartphone. I always recommend using a laptop and a modem.

• Internet Data:

Data does not come free or cheap for that matter. You need to invest in your business by buying data so that you can connect to the internet. Remember, to make money online; you have to be online most of the time.

• A Work Plan:

Here, you have to state the kind of business you want to do clearly. A business plan has to be in place, which will say the type of business you are going into, what the goals and achievements of the business will be, how to go about achieving your goals. You need a plan before going into this online business. Remember failing to plan is planning to fail!

• Bank Account:

I always recommend a business account separate from a personal account. It is into this account that your clients will pay.

• Payoneer Accounts:

If you are going into Freelancing or Affiliate marketing, chances are you’ll need a Payoneer account. However, you can get a Payoneer account if you don’t want to be paid into your Nigerian bank account.

• Patience:

Like I’ve pointed out previously, online business is not for you if you have a ‘get-rich-quickly’ mentality. You have to wait before you can start to make profits. This is because you might have to keep investing and reinvesting into the business before you can begin to make profits. However, once you start to make profits, it continues unless you relent on your efforts.

• Honesty and Transparency: 

Do not enter online business with the intention to scam your customers!! Even if this was done by mistake, or through a misunderstanding, one bad review from a client could make your business come tumbling down like a house of cards. This bad review will drive away prospective clients and even your customers. You might also get arrested!!

Be honest and transparent at every point in time with your clients and customers.

• Focus on your niche:

Choose a niche and focus on it. Don’t be everywhere. Do not open to many websites or blogs as a ploy to make fast wealth. Do your research and focus entirely on it and stick to your niche.

• Be Unique:

Uniqueness is what will differentiate you from all others in your field. Be yourself, create your blog posts, do not copy another person’s strategy. Having a mentor is a great idea, and following a pattern that works is an even more excellent idea. However, try to stand out in the crowd.

If you begin to ‘copy and paste’ other people’s blog posts, Google might refuse to rank your blog or disapprove your Adsense application. Either way, you lose.

3 STEPS TO EARNING MONEY ONLINE IN NIGERIA

• Find out What People Need:

Finding what people need is the first step to gathering your online wealth. It is only when you know the demand that you can meet the supply. Find out what your targeted audience needs, and provide a solution.

• Choose What You Are Passionate About:

Choose a niche that you love and are passionate about. Whatever niche you choose, you’ll always find clients so far you are consistent, and you do a good job.

• Choose and Create an Audience:

You can either choose a ready-made audience, or you can build your audience. You can get a ready-made audience in niches like freelancing (either way, you still have to prove to the client that you are the best man for the job). You can build your audience in niches like marketing and blogging. Sometimes, depending on what you are ‘supplying,’ your audience can move on to be your customer.

• Earn Your Money Via the Internet:

After executing all these points, the next thing is to sit back and earn money. You can make money online in 3 ways:

• Sell a product, or provide a service, and keep all the profits.
• Become an affiliate marketer and recommend products or services to customers, and enjoy a sales commission
• You can sell direct space sales or pay per click ads like Google Adsense. Either way, you’ll be making money from advertising.

• Be Consistent:

Be consistent in your work. Don’t take huge leaves of absence. This will affect your customer base and your cash inflow.

To make the most of your online business, it is best to implement these ideas. I always recommend that beginners start with writing a blog; this way, you have a head start in building your audience.

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR WHEN STARTING YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS

1. Do Not spend So Much On Your Website:

If you spend too much money on building your website, you might not have enough to market your website. Have a budget for every single thing, and the budget for marketing should be higher than the one for building the website.

2. Do Not Spend So Much On Inventory:

It is very wise to take in orders first, before you, in turn, buy the products from the manufacturer (if you are not producing it yourself). However, ensure that you do this within the set timeline so that you do not delay the delivery of the product to the customer.

3. Watch your Marketing Technique:

Whatever way you decide to market your goods and services, always ensure that you get returns- and not just a trickle of arrivals. You can use either Facebook or YouTube marketing. Just ensure that your returns surpass your budget for marketing.

4. Avoid Doing Incomplete Research:

Do a complete research on your desired niche before starting. Ensure you know what it entails, and the demands that must be met before you can become a success in this niche. Also, do full research on the products you want to sell, or on services you want to render.

HOW TO GET SUBSCRIBERS AND CUSTOMERS.

In this section, I’ll be pinpointing the essential things that would help you become successful in your online business.

In eCommerce, there is a law called the least nurturing process. Essentially, this law states that most visitors to your blog or website will not become customers on their first visit.

This law is something that should be on your mind at all times. It is okay for visitors to sight see or ‘window-shop.’ However, what would not be okay, is if you don’t accept this. Most people coming to your website won’t buy anything for the first time.

The issue you want to tackle is how to keep your visitor to become a subscriber. You can do this by encouraging your visitors to drop their names and email address. To do this, you might have to entice them. For example, if you own an online store, you can decide to give a 10% discount off prices for your subscribers. This will help your subscribers grow, and ensure that the visitor comes back again.

Even after enticing them to become subscribers, they still might not buy anything from you. You can go a step further by sending them tips about your products or services, the latest discount rate, educational emails, monthly newsletters, when you have a ‘hot’ product, etc. (you can pick the one that goes with your niche). Soon, you’ll discover that these visitors/subscribers are now your customers. Remember to send these incentives to them consistently. The day they see whatever they need, at a discounted price, is the day they become your customers. This process is called a ‘conversion funnel.’

At all times, drop catchy incentives that would persuade your visitors to drop their names and email addresses. This is essential, regardless of the kind of online business you run.

Get a SiteGround or Bluehost domain and hosting, install WordPress, and a Free or Premium WordPress theme, and start posting what you know best, and what you are passionate about. Do this consistently and watch your online business start making you money.