There is no doubt that the younger generations easily embrace new technology and this is what is happening with eBooks. You couldn’t get my Dad to read an eBook if you paid him to do it but people in their 40′s and below are quick to adapt.

Last week Apple came out with iTunes U and iBooks 2 which is no doubt going to revolutionize the world of high school and college text books. Yes, soon your kids will have all their textbooks on their computers and iPads and they will think that is the way its always been! I do think there will come a day pretty soon where all books will be published online first and this will become the norm. The days of reading real books that have real pages to flip are numbered.

Apple has also just released the iBooks Author app which will allow regular people like you and me to write anything we want (fiction or non fiction) and get it published in iTunes. Similarly, you can also self publish in Amazon and get your books listed for the Kindle. There are a couple other places where you can list your ebooks for sale and one of those is a site called SmashWords.com.

No longer do writers or anyone hoping to become a writer have to go through the long process of having their work accepted by a mainstream publisher. In the past, this has been the #1 hurdle prospective writers have had to deal with. Once rejected, writers who still wanted to be published had to fund things themselves which can be quite costly and impossible for most. Now though, with all these recent developments in the eBooks arena, anyone can write and get their works published at almost no cost! And if what you write sells, you will make money. It is truly a new day and we are just at the beginning.

Whether you decide to write and publish your eBook(s) on Apple’s platform or Amazon’s, you can choose to either sell your books or distribute them for free. They can be as short or as long as you want and no one is going reject them because you are in control. Each platform will take a cut of the sales price (of course) but that is to be expected because everyone has to make money. Since your costs are zero (other than the time and effort you put into writing the book), I can’t imagine too many people being upset with giving up a percentage.

Pricing your ebook is something you also control and depending on its length and quality, you might price it anywhere between 99 cents and $9.99 or even higher. If you want to make money selling eBooks, experimenting with the price would be smart because you might actually be able to make more money by lowering the price. The nice thing is that you can change the price of your eBooks anytime you want until you find the right price point. Again, you are in control which has never been the case in years past.

To get started with writing and publishing your own eBooks you might find the two following links helpful:

1) Amazon Self Publishing

2) Apple Book Publishing

It turned out that one of the best ways to make money in a gold rush was NOT to look for gold (as few found any) but instead to sell the equipment needed to look for the stuff. Everyone who looks for gold needs to buy shovels, pans, buckets, scales, knives, food, tents, clothes, etc. and THAT was where the real money was made. At least the guaranteed money.

It isn’t much different in the game of making money online even though the Internet has been around for 15 years and the big rush is over. Today, as in years past, a lot of people make money online by selling software, instructions, programs, systems, eBooks, and other things that are the tools to help you make the money. Just like in the gold rush days, it seems the best way to make money on the Internet is to supply the tools to do it and not actually go out and do it yourself.

The problem is, just like with hunting for gold, it is really hard to “find” money online. It takes time, hard work, and a lot of knowledge before you can actually start a successful online business. For many, it is just easier to sell some crappy blueprint or system that they rehashed from someone else doing the same thing. That is why you find so much instructional material for sale online and why it seems like there is a never ending line of people wanting to sell you things.

So, if you want to make money on the Internet, one of the best ways is to figure out what other marketers need and try to sell it to them. To figure out what is in demand a good plan is to go and hang out in different marketing forums and read all the posts. This is exactly what Shawn at TheContentAuthority.com did. He was never successful at making money the way that others were doing it but he realized everyone needed writers at affordable rates. He then started his website that now employs hundreds of writers and it has become a successful business. In effect, he is supplying all the gold diggers (people looking for money online) with the tools (articles) they need and are willing to buy.

Of course not everyone sells a legitimate service like Shawn’s Content Authority and there are lots of scammers out there. Sometimes it is hard to tell the real ones from the ones that are just trying to take your money. But if you can set up a service that genuinely caters to the needs of others, you can make money online.

Making money online is possible but it requires work. If you aren’t willing to do work then stop reading and don’t even try because you are wasting your time. However, if you are willing to get busy learning how to do it, read on.

Are You For Hire?

The fact is that you can make money by offering services to other people and you don’t even need a website to be successful. Having a website is useful but not necessary when you set up shop in one of the many forums that cater to Internet marketers.

Internet marketers have money to spend on writing jobs, graphic design jobs, and all sorts of other tasks that they need done. Fiverr.com is a good place to go to see what services people are offering and buying. But at Fiverr.com you don’t make very much per gig so that may not be the best place to offer your skills. Forums are a much better place.

Which Internet Marketing Forums?

Forums are where like minded people hang out and exchange ideas. It is also where they exchange services. Some Internet marketing forums are free and some require a monthly fee to join so it is a good idea to sign up to a few of the free ones first and take a pulse of each place. Some are more receptive than others to having people sell services and some you have to pay to be listed. Then there are forums that won’t let you sell anything on them at all so you have to search for ones that will.

Digital Point and the Warrior forum are the two biggest that cater to Internet marketers. Because they are so big they can be overwhelming and it will take time to figure things out. The fact is that there are people who make lots of money on those two forums so they are worth checking out. Wicked Fire and IM4Newbies are two that are a bit smaller. There are dozens of similar forums where you can start your own thread advertising your writing service or whatever else you have to offer.

Paid Forums Can Be Best

Some forums cost $10 or so per month to join and because they cost, they are usually a bit smaller. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing as they are comprised of a tighter community and you can become known much more easily. The more people who know who you are (because of your participation etc.) the easier it is to get people to pay for your outstanding skills. Getting known and participating is key because you need to get those initial orders which will hopefully turn around and give you good reviews.

Getting business/clients on forums is often through word of mouth and if you provide a great service at a competitive price, people will go out of their way to recommend you. I am familiar with many people who make money writing articles and they get all their business from forums. They don’t even have a website!

Forums are great because they are communities of people who all talk to each other and if you have something valuable to offer that people need, word will get around. Usually I always recommend having your own website but if this type of scenario sounds appealing to you, it is one way that you can make money online without having one.