When it comes to starting an internet business, everyone searches for the best internet business ideas. I want to outline some business models, which you could use to start with, since they are some of the best internet business ideas.

I’d like to state, that mentoring is especially important for entrepreneurs, so try to find a mentor and if you want me to help you, just contact me on Twitter.

But before you go on, you should be aware, that it’s not about following these ideas without having a passion for them.

Don’t just start an Internet business based on one of these ideas, when you’re not passionate about it! It’s the passion, that will keep your business running and it’s the passion, that will lead you to success!

List of ideas:

• Freelance Writing
• Niche Sites
• Sell Your Skills Directly
• Starting a Membership Site
• Writing an eBook
• Affiliate Marketing
• Software Development

Freelance Writing

Right at the moment more and more writers are following this internet business idea. They earn money online through different platforms (see the list on the right).

What makes this idea so profitable is the pure mass of employers and projects. If you are a good writer, you can earn money online really easily.

Possible projects would be copywriting for bloggers and entrepreneurs, writing catalogue texts, advertising campaigns, niche sites (see below) or content sharing platforms with Google Adsense or affiliate programs.

I will be using this concept to earn money on niche sites and with affiliate marketing.

On the right side I’ve listed some platforms, where you can find projects or publish your content.

Click here to learn more about making money with freelance writing.

Ways to Earn Money With Writing

• oDesk.com
• elance.com
• Fiverr.com
• Squidoo.com
• Problogger.net
• Demandstudios.com

Niche Sites

Creating a niche site is a famous way of earning money online. It’s a success proven internet business idea and there are lots of tutorials and how-tos out there.

The basic idea is, that you find a keyword with low competition, create a site, rank it high in Google and monetize it through affiliate sales, Adsense or your own products. I’m owning several niche sites right now.

My first niche site is finished and I shared my criteria for successful niche sites  as well as my plans for the future.

Here you can read more about finding your niche, setting up WordPress for your niche site, creating content and the importance of microsite design.

To create a niche site, you can follow the process I’ve outlined on the left. There are three main tools, I recommend you to use when you create a niche site. The first one is the Google Keyword Planner, which is free to use.

I’m using Long Tail Pro, which is a great keyword tool. I’m using Long Tail Pro not only to create my niche sites but also to find keywords for my blog that have a high CPC. With Long Tail Pro I’m evaluating what keywords have a search volume and a CPC that makes them interesting to build niche websites around those keywords.

Finding the right keywords is critical for successful niche sites and most of the niche sites out there aren’t making any money because they’re targeting the wrong keywords. This is why Spencer Haws, niche site specialist owning 200+ niche sites on his own, created Long Tail Pro and I can’t thank him enough for that.

This tool literally earns me money and I strongly recommend it for every blogger or internet marketer.

Click here to learn more about making money with niche websites.

Create a Niche Site

• Find a keyword with low competition and high CPC
• Choose a keyword related domain
• Set up a WordPress site
• Create targeted content for your visitors
• Integrate affiliate sales, Adsense or your own products
• Build some links to the new site
• Give that site some time to rank

Sell Your Skills Directly

One of the easiest and quickest ways to earn money online is to sell your services directly to customers.

There are lots of platforms and networks where you can either get involved in bigger projects or do some small works. Both ways will lead you online income and both ways are not hard to start.

The sites you can offer your skills on are social marketplaces and somewhat ordinary job platforms. The great thing with social marketplaces is that you can offer your less regular skills. The more special a skill is, the less competitors you have.

You can go very creative with your services, like acting as a amateur fotomodel in fun fotos, painting fun logos, be a coach and or any other kind of service. Just think about anything, that you love to do.

Click here to learn more about selling your skills directly.

Examples

• Fiverr
• Gigbucks
• Fivebiz
• Tenbux
• Freelancer
• oDesk
• Elance

Starting a Membership Website

Starting a website with a membership on it means, that you generate monthly income. Your subscriber for being a member and so get monthly payments coming in regurlarly.

But before you can start, you have to create valuable content, that you can sell through your membership site and that people are willing to pay for. Examine the market, define needs and pains in peoples everyday life.

If you can position yourself as an expert for their problems and solve their problems, they will be glad to pay for your membership website.

Important is, that you’re delivering new and valuable content regurlaly. Why should people stay a member and don’t quit after the problem is solved?

Ask yourself, what you can deliver to the people, build a closed community for your members and let them collaborate.
You’ll be surprised how effective this collaboration can be, if you can engage your members to help each other!

Let me show you, how to start your own membership site.

Examples

• Writing Course
• Graphic Design
• Yoga Teaching
• Programming
• Professional Collaboration
• Handicrafting
• Teaching Sports
• Relaxation Methods

Pros

• You generate monthly income
• You benefit directly from your knowledge
• You build a great relationship with your members
• You enridge members everyday lifes
• You bring people together

Cons

• You’ll have to regurlaly update your content
• Membership functionality is not standard in WordPress
• You have to be known as an expert (though you need to consider yourself as an expert)]

Writing an eBook

Writing an eBook is a great internet business idea to generate totally passive income online.

In my actual eBook challenge I’ll proove, that writing an eBook is not as hard as you might think. You just need to know how to write an eBook and then follow the process.

Define your audience, create an outline of the topics you want to cover and focus on the problem, you’re eBook will resolve for your audience. This is key, because every successful eBook provides massive value to it’s readers. That’s all you need to start, everything else will fall into part while you’re writing.

Remember, you’re doing the main work only once. When your eBook is done, you can offer it on your website and sell it to your visitors. Isn’t that a great internet business?

Nobody needs large publishing companies in these days. Just export it to pdf, kindle or .epub format and you’re ready to go.

There are lots of sites, where you can get all necessary information. The most important thing is: to start.

Let me coach you, how to write a successful eBook.

Pros

• You generate 100% passive income
• You have lots of free resources available in the web
• You can sell it on your own website
• You can orient your topics on existings books and add the missing content

Cons

• Writing takes some time and can be frustrating
• If you miss your audience, you won’t make a single dollar

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is an easy way, to earn money online fast.

You promote products, which are produced by others and earn a commission for every sale. The key is to choose the best matching products for your audience and promote them in the right way to your audience.

There are three big methods to promote affiliate products.

Build your own store – Building your own affiliate store is a great way to earn passive income from affiliate marketing.

Using article marketing – You don’t need your own website to start affiliate marketing. On platforms like Squidoo, Mahalo, or Zimbio you can create content and include links to affiliate products in your text.

Promote them on your blog – When you have your own website or blog, you can start with affiliate marketing directly.

Want to learn more about affiliate marketing?

Pros

• You generate 100% passive income
• You can choose from thousands of great products
• Many vendors provide ready-to-use content

Cons

• You may get contacted in regards to product support
• Some vendors have restrictions to their payments
• You fully depend on your vendors and have no control over the affiliate conditions

Software Development

Developing software is a great internet business idea, because you don’t need to be a programmer, nor do you need to have a lot of money. You don’t even need to know, what your software will be doing!

This seems to be weird, so let me explain this to you.

At first, you choose your target market. Every software needs to fulfill one specific purpose, so ask your target market, what function they need for their daily work.

You can do it as a survey per phone, because you’ll want to get in touch with them personally and not per mail.

Make sure, that you understand the problem of your market and present a software, that’s not even existing right now!

You can offer some clients a premium abonnement with a one-time fee instead of a monthly payment. With those payments you can hire programmers, which develop the software your clients need.

If you’re not convinced, listen to this great interview of Dan Maxwell, who uses this model for his business.

Learn more about creating your very own software.

Pros

• You don’t need to worry about clients
• Your clients pay upfront for a non-existing product
• You don’t need any programming skills
• You can outsource nearly everything and just be a manager
• You can build a system for automated customer support

Cons

• You will deal with some special customer support request
• Your clients will put pressure on you
• It will be challenging to manage the development

I hope, you can use this list as an inspiration to find the best idea for your internet business.

Be sure, that your business is build in alignment with your passion and your single motivation purpose.

Internet business is a great way to earn money online, but it will become a pain, when you’re not having fun with your business.

So choose carefully and be inspired by this selection of the best internet business ideas.