Let’s face it – we all want to multiply our income and create more impact. It’s our motives that differ. More money means more options. It gives us the latitude to do the things that matter to us, the kind of things that we cannot do when we are busy slaving our lives out to make ends meet. We all have lofty dreams. We want to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless and rehabilitate the destitute. We want to live prosperously to affect others positively. We want to publish books, build businesses and create products that will solve people’s problems and perhaps change the world.

We all want to multiply our income and create more impact; it’s our motives that differ. If you're looking for ways to make money online, these five ideas will get you started. Click To Tweet

So, why are we not doing these things? What is the most obvious challenge that is holding us back? Well, the answer for most people is money. Little wonder the Good Book says that “Money answers all things.” Now, money is certainly not the first or most important thing. The real issue for most people is capacity to handle the new level of responsibility that comes with their desired level of income.

If you were given N10million right now, would you know what to do with it? The truth is most of us would keep this money in the bank while we think of what to do with it. Some others will squander it and be back to zero in no time. This is because most people don’t take the time to think through their situation. Now, the question is: why are people in such state of mind? Well, we can adduce reasons like indiscipline, poor resolve, lack of ambition and a host of others. While the foregoing factors are certainly relevant, a closer examination of the situation will point us to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

In a 1943 paper, A Theory of Human Motivation, Abraham Maslow pointed out that all of us have a desire to do great things, maximise our potentials and be all that we can be. However, to achieve these ultimate goals, we must meet some basic needs first – needs like food, good shelter, financial security, physical safety, healthy lifestyle, love and self esteem. It is only after meeting the basic needs – also called deprivation needs – that we can go on to meet the higher needs also known as the being needs.

However, most people are so trapped at the lower levels that they don’t have the margin to even think about or effectively pursue the higher goals. In other words, most of us are living as ‘human doings‘ rather than human beings. Most people would love to engage in more profitable activities but they are stuck with their current jobs because they have bills to pay right now, and a job is the only thing that offers the promise of providing money right now.

What do you really need; job or income?

Against this backdrop, the first goal – or the most basic reason – for desiring to make more money is to put us in a position where we can trade less time for money so that we have more time and energy to pursue our higher aspirations. What if you could make more money while still working at your job? That will give you more latitude to not only sufficiently take care of your basic needs but also to explore more options to make your life count even more.

[mks_pullquote align=”right”] Most people would love to engage in more profitable activities but they are stuck with their current jobs because they have bills to pay right now, and a job is the only thing that offers the promise of providing money right now.[/mks_pullquote]

My goal in this post is to acquaint you with five channels through which I am making more money so I can sufficiently meet my basic needs and have the presence of mind to clarify and pursue my dreams. You might be familiar and comfortable with some of them. You might be sceptical and wary about others but I assure you that I have personally explored and I’m still exploring all these avenues with good success and modest results.

Over time, I am confident that the results will go from modest to over-the-top. That is why I’m inviting you to come along and let’s enjoy the journey together. Please note that you need a self-hosted website to take full advantage of the strategies I’ll be talking about. However, that should not deter you. You can still implement some of them without having a website. And when you decide that you need you need a website, just talk to me and I’ll be glad to help you set it up. Alternatively, you may take my website design course and get it done easily. So, if you want to make extra money while working on your business or job, what are your options?

Affiliate Marketing

This is perhaps the simplest way to make money online. You recommend a product or service and get a commission when someone purchases through you. The key here is to recommend products and services that you use and honestly believe will offer tremendous value to your audience or clients. Don’t recommend a product simply because of how much you can make from it. I stopped recommending a web host because I could no longer vouch for the quality and integrity of their services. I moved over to another host that pays half of what the other host used to pay as affiliate commission.

Do I like to make more money? Certainly! But it is more important to me that I provide value for my people, keep their trust and preserve the confidence they have reposed in me. What I love most about affiliate marketing is the fact that it enables me to help people get what they need at a great bargain while I also make money at no extra cost to them. In most cases, they would still have bought the product anyway, maybe even at a higher price. So if I can help them get it at a cheaper rate and get paid for that, why not?

With affiliate marketing, you can help people get what they need at a great bargain while you also make money at no extra cost to them. Click To Tweet

Selling e-books

You are not open for business until you have something to sell. One of the low hanging fruits in this regard is e-books. Everyone has knowledge that can be packaged into an e-book. The key is to make the information you’re sharing valuable and of practical use to your audience. Seek first to add value before making money. Your primary goal should be to solve a problem or ease a burden. But you need to make money so you can continue to offer value. You can be so focused on adding value that you get to a point where you cannot even cover your basic costs, thus taking you back to square one.

One good thing about selling your own products is that unlike affiliate marketing where you build customers for another company, you are building customers for yourself when you sell your own products. And you can make recurring income for many years from a single product, with occasional tweaks. My preferred platforms for selling eBooks are my personal website, Smashwords, Amazon and Gumroad.

Offering Products and Services

Another way to make some good extra income is by offering products and services that meet the need of your audience. For example, a good proportion of my readers are speakers, writers and upwardly mobile professionals. They want to create a professional profile, build a decent web presence and look good online. Some of them also want to become published authors. And since those needs are within my areas of expertise, I offer to meet them with a bouquet of relevant services.

Network Marketing

Yes, networking marketing is on the list. Of course, I know that many network marketing businesses are little more than pyramid schemes that only benefit those at the top. However, there are a few good ones that have refined their business models such that everyone gets rewarded handsomely for their efforts, and that within a relatively short period of time.

The beauty of network marketing is the synergy it affords, especially when you have a good team. You realise the truth in the saying that “Together, Everyone Achieves More”. We also know that your network determines your net worth. Network marketing provides a platform to leverage on this knowledge.

The first challenge I have experienced with network marketing has to do with selling products that are not within the purchasing power of people within my personal network. The second challenge is creating time for frequent one-one-one physical meetings with prospects. However, improved models have been developed to address these bottlenecks.

Currently, I am no longer involved in network marketing because I prefer to invest my time and energy in building my business full time. But this does not detract from the fact that network marketing is a realistic business model. It might be especially suitable for you if you want to create extra streams of income without necessarily starting your own business. It also provides opportunities to develop entrepreneurial skills.

Coaching

If you have been using information products and e-books for any considerable length of time, you would find that as good as many of them are, they do not afford the same kind of help that you have when you have someone to literally hold you by the hand and show you exactly what to do. Even when you have training videos, you can learn more from a good teacher than you can from a video.

Coaching goes beyond providing information to offering the help and support that you need to achieve your goals. There are many ways to do this. One of the most popular and scalable options is to have a membership website or some other platform where people can subscribe to access in-depth training and the benefits of a supportive community. That’s what Michael Hyatt does at Platform University and it is what I do with Online Business Launchpad. Many successful bloggers and consultants have similar programs.

Conclusion

Now, those are my top five recommended channels for making extra income and massive impact right now. You’ll certainly need to invest a measure of effort to have the kind of results you desire. Truth is: there is no such thing as passive income; effort is always part of the equation.

The key is to find a system that allows you to leverage your efforts such that with little time and effort, you can achieve massive results. Do you remember the concept of load and effort in elementary physics? With a small lever correctly deployed, you can lift a load that you would ordinarily not be able to lift. That’s what the five strategies we have discussed will do for you.

Your Turn

Now that you have read this, what do you think and what are you going to do about it? Which of these five channels are you using already and which ones do you intend to start using?

If you have any question or need help, let me know in the comments section. Alternatively, you can send in your question directly and I’ll be happy to help.