Making a living online – Getting Started

Let's start at the beginning, what do you need to make money online?

We’ll take for the granted the obvious that you have a computer and an internet connection and look at some of the basic, free things that you will find useful to have set up from day one. Many people will already have some or all of these things, but, bear with me, not everybody will.

1. Creating an on online identity

The first thing to ask yourself is do you want to do this under your real name or an assumed pseudonym?

I’m not suggesting anything dodgy or illegal here, but here are some good reasons to consider a new identity for you in your money making capacity:

1. You might still be working and you don’t want your employer to know what you are doing.

2. You might want to simply keep your personal profiles on sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and so on completely separate from your online business ones.

3. Unfortunately, You most certainly will attract some spam by virtue of your online money making activities and you don’t want that cluttering up your personal emails.

4. It looks more professional if your online business life and personal life are kept separate.

5. Remember, what goes on the internet, stays on the internet. Just type your own name into Google and you will probably be surprised at what you find!

It’s easy to create an online identity and then can use that in all the websites that you visit and sign up to, for money making purposes and you can use it for Google Authorship purposes. (More on Google Authorship later).

2. Sign up for Google email

A Google account will be needed anyway for lots of things. You will be probably be signing up for Goggle Adsense, Google+, Blogger, Feeburner and Google Webmaster services, all of which are now owned by Google. If you have a Google account, you have only one login to access all these services which will make life a lot easier.

You don’t have to use Google Mail, but I have found it both efficient and easy to use and have found no reason not to use it. Just follow this link https://accounts.google.com/signup?service=mail to set up your Google Account.

3. Open a PayPal Account

For those who don't know, PayPal is a secure online banking service that allows you to both make payments and receive payments online. An account is free to open and it allows you to buy goods and services online, without having to disclose your bank account details to a website, and it is the preferred method for most online money making sites when they pay you. PayPal will use your email address, as the equivalent of a bank account number.

Signing up is very straight forward and, on Signup, they will ask you to verify your conventional bank account details by confirming a small deposit that they will make. PayPal does charge fees on your receipts, but don't charge fees on transfers from PayPal to your own bank account.

You can begin with a personal PayPal account, but they will ask you to upgrade to a business account, once your income reaches a certain level. It’s an easy process; they just ask you more detailed questions, for anti-money laundering purposes.

You can open your PayPal account here: https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/merchant

4. Open a separate bank account

This one is entirely optional but we are starting a business here, right? At some stage, you are going to have think about declaring this new found income of yours and even paying the dreaded taxes on it so a separate bank account, from the start, is a good idea. Then you can track all your business income and expenditure more easily.

5. Will you have to pay tax?

Sorry guys, but that’s not a topic for this blog. I retired from accountancy years ago, so tax rules and regulations in your own particular locale are for you to enquire elsewhere about. Just don’t get bitten on the backside by it though!

So, there you have your basics to get you started. Remember to sign up to my email subscription service to get regular updates and the latest tips and advice and please do share this page on social networking sites too.

Subscribe to: FREE NEWSLETTER

Thanks

Artois52