As we enter the new year, it seems that more and more of you are turning to the internet in an attempt to earn money online. I don’t know if this is a natural progression of emerging technology, or a sign of the slumping economy, but it seems that working people are looking for something different.

On the flip side, with so many people searching for the best cash jobs online, there are also a hundred new “make money on the internet” websites being created everyday. Some of them are truly offering good information, but sadly, the majority are nothing more than money-sucking scams.

So how does a normal Joe who it new to the internet earn a living online?

Just as in the real world, the internet offers more than a thousand ways, plans and blueprints for earning a living. Being that most of you reading this are beginners, I am going to tell you the quickest and easiest way to get started.

(1) First, choose an online service that pays commission on referrals. The trick is to change your thinking here, however. You are not going to make money by joining a membership site! Instead, you are going to make money referring others who sign up and you make a referral commission.

I like the ‘online paid survey’ companies for this one because they are easy to sign up for, and they don’t charge a membership fee to prospective survey-takers. These companies pay their members to complete all kinds of offers; some of them useful, and others just fluff. But you don’t care because you are sending others there to discover that and getting paid to do it.

(2) Next, you need to actually join the survey company you have chosen so you get a first hand idea of how it works on the inside. The reason for this will come clear in the next step, but just keep in mind that you should take notes on everything from the sign up process, to the actual use of the members area. Be sure to write down your likes and dislikes. You should also attempt to actually make a couple bucks as well so you can report your earnings to your potential referrals. If you made $100 in one day, then you want to talk about that and use it as a selling point.

(3) You now need to get people to the site using your referral code. Most survey companies have an “affiliates” link at the bottom of their site which provides information on how to sign up and generate referrals. If you are unsure how to set up an affiliate link, most sites have a tutorial available to teach you how to code it. It is very simple.

(4) Finally, you need to publish your findings on a website that leads people to sign up for the survey company. The best way to begin experimenting with website building or blogging is to get a free account through Google or Yahoo and just start writing. Tell your prospective readers all about your experience with the survey company and encourage them to “click here” and join as well.

There are many more tips I could give you regarding making money on referrals, but this should be a good enough start to get your mind thinking about it. With a little effort, you can easily make $10-$20 per day by referring people to survey sites.

With the unstable economy and business giants falling every day, it is a great time to have a home based business. This country was built on big business but that seem to be coming to an end. Medium sized and small businesses seem to be faring better than some large, long running businesses. With that in mind, this is a great time to get that home based business you have been dreaming about off the ground.

There are some wonderful things about having a home based business. First and foremost, personal freedom. Everyone that works a regular job has had those days when the clock does not move fast enough or when they just don’t have the juice to make it through the last four hours of their shift. Of course, when you are working for someone else, you have to stick out those last four hours even if you get nothing done. It is time wasted.

With a home base business you are able to tap into your most productive hours and get more work done. Not to mention you will probably be doing something that you like so there may be more enthusiasm to complete projects. A home based business allows you to live up to your full potential.

There is also no dress code or commute when you work from home. You can kick back in your pajamas and put in an eight hour shift at your computer. Or you can sip lattes with other people who work from home in a cafe. Vacations may come more frequently now that you can squeeze in an hour or two of work on your laptop from the Bahamas. The personal freedom is probably one of the best perks of having a home based business.

The money that you earn is yours. You won’t be collecting commission off thousands of dollars or working hard for some major corporation to increase their overall wealth while you don’t even make a fraction of what the CEO does. Instead you will be making money for yourself and getting paid for the hard work that you put in. There is nothing more rewarding that to get paid exactly what you earned.

In addition to getting the money that you earned, you will save money as well. Gas prices are sky high so not driving to work will save you tons of money. You also won’t have to scramble to some overpriced restaurant for low grade food because you forgot to pack your lunch. Breakfast will also be easier to get in now that you are running out the door at the last minute.

Small businesses are seeing increased opportunity. As the large corporations crumble, people are turning to small businesses that offer more personalize service. Outsourcing labor is also cheaper for big corporations so you could find yourself picking up contracts form companies that used to have in house people to do their billing or web design. Keep you eyes open and capitalize on the opportunities that come your way.

Having a business plan is necessary for any business. This is especially true for home based businesses. As technology continues to take the world to new and exciting places home based businesses are becoming even more popular. Many people see how much business is being transacted online and they want to get into the action. However you want to be sure that you have a nice business plan in order before you quit your day job. Having a home based business can be very challenging.

There are a great number of well known successful businesses that start off in someone’s basement. Think about Microsoft, Ford Motor Company and other business giants. They all started off as an idea with nowhere to grow form but someone’s backyard or home. Having a business plan for your home based business is similar to other business plans. There are just a few points that differ.

A few things that need special consideration when dealing with a home based business are the marketing and promotion side of things. You will not have a marketing department behind you to help you get your business off of the ground. That means that it is all up to you to get the word out about your new business. This can be done in a number of different ways.

One great selling point that home based business owners have is the home environment. Great customer service is so incredibly hard to find. If you can place emphasis on quality products sold in a warm environment, you will attract business. Market in your community by getting out and finding out who your neighbors are. Those that live close to you will be some of your best customers.

The type of business that you have will depend on what type of community organizations will be helpful to you. There are small business groups that you ca network with. For example, if you are starting up a business with a trade that you have, you will do well to be in the local trade union. Word of mouth will attract customers to your services.

If you are going to have a business that requires you to have inventory, you should outline what your plans for security, shipping and storage are. You want to make sure you have some place to keep the inventory and budget for shipping costs.

You also need to know what the zoning laws are in your town. Find out what the rules are for having a home based business as well. Do you need a license of some sort? Are you violating any rules? These are good things to know before you begin your home based business.

It may be a good idea to talk to someone that has had a home based business for a while. Advice and tips from someone who knows that ropes can be valuable. If you don’t personally know anyone that has a home based business, consider taking a class or doing some research online.

Earning money online has its benefits. For instance, you might be a stay-at-home mom or dad who wants to be their for your children.

Earning money online will help make your dream to work at home a reality. You can work your schedule around your life rather than your life around your schedule. After all, it is actually perfectly acceptable to not feel guilty that you actually want to have a life outside of work.

Your children and family should be the most important part of your life. Earning money online is one way you can be there for them the way you always wanted to be.

Earning money online can change your life in other important ways as well. It offers you the freedom to be able to do more than you have ever been able to do before. For instance, you may be able to earn an extra income online while sleeping and then still be able to go to work the next day.

Put another way, earning money online is actually one of the ultimate forms of moonlighting, because you will not even loose sleep while doing so. This will be explained a little bit more further on down this page.

For now, you will need to know yet another benefit of earning money online is-being able to work anywhere and to be your own boss. This is related to your desire to arrange your own schedule. However, it is more than that. You can also make your own company decisions without having to worry about whether someone above you approves or not.

Along with that, you are able to arrange your work schedule around vacations you want to take, hobby projects you want to complete, or soccer games you want to attend. You have more freedom with how you spend your time while you work an online business.

Now, you may be wondering what it means to be able to make money while you sleep. So many thoughts may be going through your head when you hear that you can make money while tucked between your sheets in your most comfortable flannel wear.

For one, you may think businesses that claim that you can do this are a scam. Either that or you may at least half believe it is possible but are not sure how it can be done. After all, you are used to being physically present at a job site where you report to duty and that is how you have always made a living.

If you are the type of person who is not sure how it is possible yet you believe it is possible to earn money while sleeping you are a step ahead. You are more advanced in your thinking, which will lead you to higher levels of success than those who do not believe it is true that you can make money while you sleep.

Simply put, this is possible by way of automation. You can provide automated sign-up systems on your websites for just about any online product or service that you offer. This is true whether your customers are ordering tangible goods or are requesting an online service (i.e. premium tutorials, access to video games).

Your online subscription orders can be automated. Similarly, your payments can be set up to be taken even when you are sleeping. Earning money online is a whole new way to make a living these days.

Remember Snoopy sitting atop his doghouse starting to write his novel? He types “It was a dark and stormy night.” And then he stops, because he does not know what comes next. If only he had planned ahead!

When you sit down to tackle the job of writing the copy for your professional coaching website, you might feel Snoopy-like.

Make things simpler for yourself by focusing on what you really need to have on your starter website. You can always expand, change and create more pages later. When you build your site with a content management system, you can start small and go from there.

When you provide a service like coaching, your website needs to reinforce your professional image and encourage prospects to pick the phone up and contact you. It is unlikely that the website itself will close any sales, so why go overboard?

Here are the pages we suggest you start with:

Home page: The first page of your site needs to quickly communicate to your site visitors what you are all about. You only have 8 seconds to get their attention. Use easy-to-read fonts, bullet points, colors and images to convey your message effectively.

Biography page: If you are asking people to hire you, they need to know you. Put up a great photograph of yourself and at least the highlights of your background and qualifications.

Services page: Do not assume everyone knows what coaching is and how it works. Explain it to them.

Contact page: Make it really easy to contact you. A form is good. Provide a phone number.

Legal language: Stay legal. Post an official Terms of Service and Privacy policy on your website.

Site Map: These are usually automatically generated by content management systems. If you use a web designer, make sure they build one in to your site so people can easily find what they are looking for and the search engines can index your site.

When you get rolling with your site, you can go back into your content management system and add pages with more features like Testimonials, Case Studies, Articles, Newsletters, Resources, Links, Upcoming Events.

And do not forget that your site needs to be properly tagged with metatags and your site should be set up with a statistics program so you can track your traffic.

No need to overwhelm yourself with devising the world’s biggest, fanciest website. But do get started with the basics and then add on when you are ready!