Start a website, pay someone to point thousands of links towards that website, place display advertising & affiliate links, and dollars start coming in; good old times. However, online money making has evolved and it isn’t the same as it used to be 6-7 years ago.

A lot has changed during the years. Millions of those who were earning passive income online through non-legit methods have gone out of business.

Here are some of the things that have changed when it comes to making money online:

1.  Search engine algorithms

Google released Panda and Penguin updates to find out low quality sites and penalize them. Low quality sites were those who were ranking based on unethical link-building practices, low-quality content in high volume and other similar techniques.

A lot of sites were penalized, and some were even removed completely from search engines. However, sites that were creating quality content and were authoritative based on mentions on the web and social media moved higher in the index.

What to do today: If you’re looking to make money online through a website. Make sure to create quality content and get links from reputable sources. For example, if you’re in the energy niche, you can create authoritative, informative and in-depth pieces on different topics.

You’ll find several different websites that offer quality information on topics like commerce energy. You can click here to access the information, and due to the availability of mobile browsers, you can also browse information for content ideas through your mobile.

2. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is another popular way of making online. What people used to do is create short 50-100 pieces of content and place 3-5 affiliate links in those pieces. This doesn’t work anymore, as search engines now have strict guidelines when it comes to affiliate links.

Several affiliate marketers were penalized for placing affiliate links while offering no value in terms of content. On the other hand, those who adapted managed to survive and they still continue to make good figures without making a lot of effort.

What to do today: If you’re planning to make money online through affiliate marketing, you’ll need to be careful. You also need to focus on the content you create. Search engines would be fine if you place 1 or 2 links in a 500 word article.

You also need to stay relevant to your niche. Don’t try to place links redirecting to an iPhone page if your website is about fashion. Staying relevant with affiliate links and creative quality, in-depth content is the way to go.

3. Social media

There were times when those trying to earn through social media would add millions of fans and followers through automated softwares and charge a good amount of money for their services. It’s still happening at the moment, but this form of earning has seen a decline.

Businesses and individuals demanding social media following are now more ‘aware’. They need real people on their accounts rather than thousands of inactive profiles.

What to do today: If you’re going to start social media marketing, make sure to only go for real, active social media followers on your client pages.

You can do this through networking on social media, leaving comments and following others. You can also invest some percentage of the client’s fee in official advertisement like Facebook ads or sponsored tweets.

It’s still possible to earn good passive income online if you act smart and don’t have the ‘get rich overnight’ mentality. What are some tips you can offer to earn passive income?

An interesting Infographic I found. It seems that the rich give less as a percentage of their income, however they give more in absolute dollar figures.

Source: http://www.onlinepsychologydegree.net

 By Betsy Falwell

You’ve already got a full-time job, which meets your basic financial needs… but is it really enough? If you’re like most people, the answer is “probably not.” But you probably don’t have the time or energy to go out there and get another job – that’s where passive income streams come in. Once you put in the work with a passive income business, you’ll be able to sit back and watch the money roll in: without lifting a finger.

Passive Income Streams: How Do They Work?

Unlike active income, which is earned on an hour-to-hour, day-to-day, or even week-to-week basis, passive income streams are generated from work you’ve already done. Creating passive income frees up your single greatest commodity: work. When you have access to passive income streams, you have more time to actively work on other ventures, without taking a financial hit. This is a key pathway to wealth creation, both for you as well as for future generations of your family.

Finding Passive Income Business Opportunities

Entertainers are legendary for finding passive income streams. Whether you’re talking about an actor, who films a movie and then collects royalties from it, or a musician, who records a song and watches the money come in, entertainers know how to make the money work for them. But not everybody has this type of talent; the key to creating passive income streams is finding ideas and industries that suit your tastes and talents.

For example, I like to write. Writing a book – whether on paper or an eBook – and getting it published is a way I could create passive income streams. The act of writing would take some time up front, but no added work on my part after publication.

Working in real estate is another passive income business. Mortgage brokers help connect borrowers to lenders initially, but can also collect trailing commissions – passive income streams – for years after the loan’s completion. Those commissions are usually 0.15 to 0.20 percent of the loan’s total value, but collecting over a series of years – sometimes as long as the loan’s term – can result in thousands of dollars of passive income for the broker.

Direct sales is both an active and a passive income business. You can either sell the products – that’s the active part – or you can set up a sales team to work underneath you; they’ll do the selling, and you’ll collect a percentage on each transaction without going door to door or hosting product parties. It may involve minimal management supervision, but if you surround yourself with a group of motivated sellers, the interaction will be minimal and the reward will be maximal.

Even operating websites can create passive income streams. Buying a website that already has a strong reputation and Google Page Rank can make it a likely target for advertisers; you won’t have to build the site’s following – someone else has already done that – you’ll just be able to collect money from sponsors.

Do you have any creative means of creating a passive income stream?

If you are looking for a guaranteed rate of return, locking your savings away in a fixed rate savings account is a great option.  With some banks offering high rates of interest, as much as 4% AER for four to five year terms, it may certainly be wise to consider this type of investment.

For example, a competitive fixed rate savings account offers rates of interest such as 3.25% for locking away your savings for just one or two years.  It sounds great.

Is a fixed rate savings account really worth it?  Well here’s all you need to know.

What is a fixed rate savings account?

A fixed rate savings account – or fixed rate savings bonds – takes the form of an agreement to tie your money up for a specific period of time; usually in exchange for a high rate of interest. The fixed period can be anything from one to five years, with the longer the period, the higher the rate of interest.

How will the interest be paid?

Once you have the money invested, you can usually choose how you receive the interest which in most instances will either be monthly or yearly.  Receiving it on a monthly basis can provide you with an additional income or if you opt for annual interest, clearly you will receive a large lump sum on a yearly basis.

Can I pay into my savings throughout the term?

A few fixed rate savings bonds will allow you to deposit money throughout the term, whereas most will only allow you to put money in when you open the account.  If you have money to put away when you open the account, this represents a viable option.  However, if you want to build up your savings over a few years gradually, it may not be the best savings vehicle for you.

What are the benefits?

One of the biggest advantages of opening a fixed rate savings account is the high rate of interest. This gives you the peace of mind that if interest rates drop this won’t affect your savings.

The fact your savings are locked away, could be viewed as a disadvantage as if you need them in an emergency, you will have to give notice to access the monies and if the funds are need immediately you will incur a rate penalty.   However, many of us don’t want to access to our savings as, if you can’t trust yourself not to spend them, locking them away without access enables you to really build your savings for the future, especially considering the high rates.

Will it be right for me?

If you fall into one of the following categories, fixed rate savings could be perfect for you:

• You need some stability to your savings and have some money you don’t need to touch for at least a year
• You aren’t the most disciplined and you are unable to get hold of your savings for a set period of time
• You want to understand exactly how much your money will be making over the fixed term

A self-invested personal pension can be the perfect tool to build a significant nest egg for your savings future, as they offer the flexibility to make all the decisions on where your pension fund is invested. For the financially savvy, they can be extremely worthwhile. So should you choose this as the vehicle for your retirement future?

Here are the important questions you should be asking yourself before making any big decisions.

How much control over your investments do you want?

Self-invested personal pensions (sipps) are often called “do-it-yourself” pension schemes, as they are exactly that. It’s up to you to make the decisions on the types of investments you wish to hold. But it doesn’t stop there, you need to monitor them and be able to make decisions on whether or not to continue with the same investments or to change them. For many of us this can be the perfect way to really build for your retirement. If that sounds like you, a sipp is the perfect option. However, if you don’t have any interest in doing any of that yourself, you may be better off choosing a personal pension whereby the investments are made on your behalf.

What kind of fee structure are you prepared to pay for?

The more potential investments available through a sipp the higher the levels of fees. You need to ask yourself whether you’re going to use the full range of investments available to you. If you are, it’s really worth it. If you’re not, however, this could result in an unnecessary expense. It’s important to think this through before you make any decisions.

But it’s not just the questions you should be asking yourself. Once you make the decision to invest in a sipp, you’ll need to decide on the right provider for your needs. Here are a few questions you need answering before you make any final decisions.

How profitable is your sipp provider?

It’s important to gauge an understanding of how profitable your sipp provider is. Do they have a history of profitability and cash flow?

What functionality do they offer?

When you’re investing online, you’ll need specifically functionality from the provider of your sipp. The vast majority will offer an online platform where you can choose and monitor your investments. The more investments you plan to make, the more important a wider scope of functionality becomes.

Are they adaptable to change?

The market changes, as can your desire to change your investments. Even if you choose a provider with a wide range of potential investments, there may come a time when you want to invest in something new which they don’t necessarily offer. It’s vital to understand whether your provider is adaptable to this kind of change, as if they aren’t it could necessitate an expensive transfer.

By Betsy Falwell

You’ve probably heard of passive income – money that you make without lifting a finger – but do you know about residual income streams? In many cases, a residual income business can turn into a passive income stream as time goes on. It all starts with some time, energy, and good old hard work.

What Are Residual Income Streams?

Residual income opportunities begin with an initial investment – of money and time. You start with a good idea – maybe you want to become a landlord – but need the capital to make it grow. That investment into your residual income business may begin with spending money on a block of apartments, or putting in some sweat equity to turn your walk-out basement into an income property. Once you’ve put in the work, you’re ready to collect the cash, without minimal involvement down the road.

Because you’re doing the work to set up these residual income opportunities, unlike with passive income, it takes more time to pay off that initial investment.

Exploring Residual Income Opportunities

Building a franchise is the epitome of a residual income business. Your initial investment includes coming up with the idea – a product or service – then taking the steps to make it grow. Once you’ve established a strong reputation for your company, you can start selling it to franchisees, who will pay both a start-up fee as well as sales-based royalties to you simply for letting them use your business’s name and model. You’ll see as many residual income streams as you have franchisees under this model.

But not everyone has the time, creativity, or even the liquid assets to build residual income opportunities through a franchise. Here are some simpler models of creating a residual income business:

• Invest in the stock market or peer-to-peer lending. These residual income opportunities involve a little up-front research, an influx of money, and a little attention now and then to make sure the investment is on the right track. Since you’re investing in someone else’s company or idea, there’s minimal work on your part.
• Have you seen those ubiquitous Red Box machines around your town? Those are examples of residual income opportunities. You contract with the parent company to purchase a Red Box – other residual income business models in this family include vending machines and coin-counting machines, for example – and select a location for it. The machines basically run themselves; your biggest job from here on out is routinely collecting money from them.
• Returning to the landlord example – if you use a property management firm to watch over your rentals, you’ll make it a passive income stream. Turn it back into a residual income business by managing the property on your own.
• Bloggers and website managers are excellent examples of people who have taken advantage of residual income opportunities. Building a website from scratch – and providing the content for it – produces residual income streams; buying an already popular site and paying someone else to provide content while you collect advertising revenue makes it a passive income opportunity.

(Guest Post)

So you have your own business and you want to move to a new area? Maybe you have just started looking at offices to let or perhaps you’ve been at it for a while now. Either way, it goes without saying that; first of all, you need to know exactly how much space you’re going to need both in the immediate term and in the years ahead. Do you want to expand and grow? Will your new space offer this? The last thing you want to do is to relocate sooner than is comfortable or financially viable. Not only is this expensive but it can also cause confusion for you and your clients.

Unlike house hunting, you’ll probably want to look for an office space during office hours so it doesn’t eat into your personal time. And if you’re super busy it might be a good idea to use an agent. They charge commission but they do know the lay of the land and it gives you more time to get on with more other, perhaps, more demanding aspects of your work.

When you have found a place you like and you feel confident will work for you and your clientele it’s time to get to the nitty-gritty. You will really need to consider the term of the lease and discuss this with the landlord. You may need a long lease to justify fittings and fixtures you have invested in for that specific space and your landlord must be made aware of this. Rent is an important conversation to have, especially if you plan on being there for longer than a few years. Inflation should be taken into consideration from the offset in order to avoid regular rent reviews and lack of control on your part. If you work out a solid basis for your future relationship at the beginning you are less likely to hit walls in the future.

For most businesses, choosing a suitable location for your business is crucial.You’ll need to consider parking and/or parking restrictions, deliveries and extra charges (council). And by taking these costs into account you can figure out what is best for you – a city or somewhere not so central. Do you absolutely need to be in a city where offices to let are more expensive or would somewhere more suburban be a better use of your finances?

There is plenty of free office space to let at the moment so you will probably have plenty of options but remember to think with your business head and your long term plan.

(Guest Post)

Greater Manchester is the site of one of the UK Government’s 24 Enterprise Zones and many believe it is already feeling the benefit of the excitement which is building.

Whether your business is logistics, manufacturing or retail, one can’t help but feel the buzz that the many investment opportunities at Manchester Airport are generating as a result of their new designation as an Enterprise Zone. Consider the benefits as well as the buzz and it’s easy to see why so many businesses are considering Airport City ahead of anywhere else in the UK.

Additional Jobs

Despite the fact that we’re being constantly told about a lack of jobs and wealth in the nation, the beauty of Enterprise Zones is that they are geared toward bringing new jobs into an area. As more businesses choose to either locate or build additional satellite premises in these investment zones they create jobs. Furthermore, whilst the development of the entire site and the surrounding areas is taking place then job hunters have more prospects in construction and logistics.

Additional Investment

Investment into an area often has a “knock-on effect” whereby the investment which one company or the Government contributes has an inspirational effect on other businesses in the area. Once one area has been modernised and appears not only better looking but more prosperous then it’s likely that this will stimulate others around the area to do likewise.

More visitors to the area

Although many people visit Manchester Airport, it is not a tourist attraction. Aside from aeroplane enthusiasts, the most obvious reason for anyone to visit the area currently is because they have a flight booked. However, with the huge retail and leisure opportunities at Airport City, it’s likely that more visitors will be attracted to the area and with them comes the money they are likely to spend. It goes without saying that any business which invests into the area now is likely to reap rewards as the visitors start to arrive.

Government support

One of the promises made by the Government to those businesses that do choose to invest here and other enterprise zones is the assistance they can look forward to receiving as a result of their faith in the area. In addition to giving business the tools they need to invest and expand, enterprise zones will offer business rates discounts, simplified planning restrictions and Super-Fast Broadband connectivity – ensuring these new enterprise zones will be trailblazers for growth, jobs and prosperity throughout the country.

Just four decades ago, before establishing itself as the premier commercial hub of the Middle East, Dubai was home to a modest fishing and trading populace. The city now boasts outstanding transport facilities and innovative communication features, and along with its capacity to adapt with changing markets, makes it the ideal place to set up a business.

Dubai’s gross domestic product reached a record high of Dh198 billion a few years ago and is anticipated to maintain a growth rate of 11% over the next decade. While traditionally the oil market helped to form the UAE’s international reputation, it’s the non-oil sector that is the driving force responsible for the economy developing at such a phenomenal rate. The biggest contributors are trade (31%), construction and real estate (22%) and financial services (11%), with the hospitality industry at an 85% capacity as Dubai attracts seven million visitors a year. This influx is seamlessly accommodated for by the Dubai International Airport, which has seen a ten percent growth in the past five years, managing over 700 flights daily from 200 locations.

There are no taxes on profits or incomes in Dubai, allowing for total control over capital movement. The cost structure for carrying out business is extremely competitive and is strengthened by an advanced financial sector. Since 1980, the regulatory establishment has been the United Arab Emirates Central Bank. Over 47 commercial banks operate in the region, with 27 of them being under foreign management. As few of them are merchant or investment banks, it’s suggested that local companies contact the Emirates Industrial Bank for medium to long-term financial queries, as their primary intentions are to assist in the development of private business.

Most banks offer savings and deposit accounts in addition to loans and credit cards. Online banking is also available, allowing you to easily and conveniently check balances, transfer money, and pay bills. International banks in UAE usually insist upon margins but luckily there is solid financial support for import and export operations through commercial banks. Import tariffs have consistently been regulated at five percent, while business transactions involving any food, building materials or medical products are relieved of any additional fees.

Depending on your company’s relationship with the bank your margin rates may vary. These rates, along with any additional resources that may be available, can be monitored through online banking from HSBC and other financial institutions. International banks also allow businesses to organize bill discounting and to arrange handling of any corporate related equipment investments. Bear in mind that the United Arab Emirates forbids any factoring.

Banks in UAE require that you obtain a residence permit to open a bank account or that you establish an offshore account. The region’s official legal tender is the dirham; which is freely exchangeable and is directly linked with the US dollar, the currency that has been used to measure oil prices. The UAE has maintained a steady exchange rate since 1977 at US $1 = Dh 3.675 and the government bears no restriction on the movement of currency for any personal or business transactions.

How much should you be charging for your rental property on a monthly basis?

Before you put up your ad for your rental property, it usually helps to have a final price in mind. For some reason, I still haven’t covered this topic on here while covering passive income and rental properties.

Let’s get into the best topic (in my opinion of course), pricing!

What’s the formula for charging rent for your rental property?

Well there’s no set formula. There are a few things to keep in mind, such as:

• What are similar properties charging? I wasn’t too creative here. I found what a similar unit in my building was charging and I matched it. Brilliant, eh? There are many local real estate hubs that you can use on top of Kijiji and the usual. That’s where you should get started to see what you’re dealing with.
• What’s your break-even-point? When you calculate all of your expenses, how much do you need to be charging for renting on a monthly basis to break-even or turn a profit? This is an important calculation. You need to factor in mortgage payment, maintenance fees, utilities, and property taxes. Oh and if your break-even-point is HUGE, well that’s your fault. You shouldn’t try to charge some insane amount for rent because your place is too expensive.

Should you negotiate the price of monthly rent?

Not when you have a ton of viewings.

Last year I charged $1,400 plus utilities. This year I decided to include the utilities and I increased the rate to $1,450. Who knows what’s going to happen next year?

I’m not sure why I did this, but I put up the worst ad possible. I was flooded with responses. That same Sunday I had 8 viewings. I over-booked and double-booked worse than an airline. It was a lighting round of viewings. I had many candidates that wanted to move forward. Then one dude has the nerve to text me:

“I’ll take the place for $1,375.”

Um screw off! I laughed. I was in a position of control. I didn’t have to budge. I laughed at his offer. I didn’t have to negotiate the price.

On the flip side, if you get no viewings and nobody wants the place, then you might have to lower the price or work out a deal. I’ll leave that to your discretion.

What will you be charging for your rental property?