xenmaster's online business platforms

Category: Blogs

If you have something interesting to say and people want to hear about it, this is the best way to go. Blogging is one of the least difficult to enter since it doesn't require expensive setups like audio/visual equipment, lighting, etc or a crew. The only bad news is that it's probably the most challenging to get noticed and make money since people don't really go searching for blogs they way they do for other entertainment content - you will need to do a lot of outside marketing.

How do I get paid: There really are no native options for blog monetization, you will have to make deals with outside companies that wordpress supports. For example, you can sign up for a Patreon so you are paid by your supporters per post, sign up for an advertising network to display ads on your blog, post affiliate links from an affiliate network, get sponsorships for your posts, or use cryptomining tools to have your visitors support you by mining for coin while they view your site. All of these are covered in great detail in Category 6 below. Finally, you can use your blog as a springboard for other sites, including a youtube channel, merchandising, or a podcast.

Category: Videos

If you have good stage presence and want to make videos and are good at editing as well, this is a great place to develop an audience. As long as you follow the rules, you can post anything here from cat videos, music channels (with your own music, of course), short films, sketch comedy, game play, tutorials, advice, stupid unboxing videos, educational material/tutorials, and commentary and analysis. All your content is immediately available to the audience unless you have exclusive content available only to subscribers.

How you get paid: Built in monetization tools allow you to be eligible for monetizing - you have to be a regular creator and not just posting on an occasional basis. Also you will need to have to meet subscription minimums to be eligbible. 1). advertising revenue is available, you get a portion of what youtube earns off the ads 2). channel membership subscriptions, you get a portion of the payment 3). superchats, viewers can pay to have their comments highlighted during steaming sessions 4). premium revshare, when youtube premium subscribers watch your content, you get a cut of their subscription paid to Youtube. You can also tack on affilate links to your descriptions, get sponsorships from various companies to announce in your videos, or sign up for patreon. More on these options are listed in Category 6 below.

Category: Streaming

Similar to youtube, but with a focus on livestreaming as opposed to straight video. Twitch is primarily gaming focused, but some people 'just chat' and can still get donations. Similar to Youtube, your content is immediately available (except for subscriber-only material), the platform takes care of all the hosting and streaming requirements so you don't have to.

How you get paid: You need to make 'affiliate level' on Twitch before you start getting paid, similar to youtube, there are requirements involved. The following payment methods are supported. 1). paid subscriptions for exclusive content (you get half the paid fee) 2). twitch bits, which are prepaid tokens a customer gets from twitch and can donate to you on the platform. It's like a giftcard that you get from the customer. 3). tips or donations are either done on the channel or through a third party 4). advertisements can be monetized if you are part of the partner program. This involves additional requirements as well, including regular broadcasts and having a concurrent viewer minimum during the shows. You can also tack on affilate links to your descriptions, get sponsorships from various companies to announce in your streams, or sign up for patreon. More on these options are listed in Category 6 below.

Category: Newsletter

If you have interesting things to say in either newsletter or podcast form that people would be willing to pay for to hear. The content can be diverse, anything from DIY, analysis, to fiction, similar to Youtube but in a written format. It is particularly growing for journalists so if that is something you are good at, it will fit in here nicely. Your subscriber-only content will be released to subscribers upon subscription, everything else is hosted and served by the platform.

How you get paid: You get the value of subscriptions paid for your content, less a commission to the site per month. You can also sign up for a patreon if you want, more on that in Category 6.

Category: Spicy videos.

If you are more content is more on the risque side, you should consider using this platform. It doesn't exclusively require you to post NSFW content, but that is the reason people show up to this platform. Your content is released to customers once they subscribe. Hosting and streaming bandwidth is handled by the platform. The only major downside is to your reputation if you end up getting recognized in your day job.

How you get paid: You get the subscription price less a commission for the platform. It's a pretty heavy commission, but if you are on this platform, you will probably make up for it in volume. You can also sign up for a Patreon if you want (they do allow for risque content), more on that in Category 6.

Category: podcasts

Anchor, a company owned by Spotify, is one of the easiest ways to get started in podcasting. It is set up so that even just having a phone with a mic is good enough to start recording content.

• How you get paid: Anchor.fm has 'listener support' which allows supporters to provide you with periodic monthly donations when they support your channel as a subscription service. This service is only available in the US though, and you will need a SSN or Tax ID to collect your donations. The fee charged by Anchor is also relatively high as well at 30%. Aside from this option, you can also go to Patreon to set up an account with them so you are paid per post and/or get outside sponsorships who will pay you for sponsored posts. More on that in Category 6.

Category: Digital Goods

If you are good at creating digital products, this is a great platform to host and sell them. eBooks (books and graphic novels/comics), visual art, videos, music, software, and games can be sold via Gumroad. Gumroad has a shopping cart function and releases your digital assets upon payment by the customer.

How you get paid: You make a profit on what you sell less a monthly hosting fee and a transaction fee for each sale.

The only downside for this platform is that people will need to come here to buy your product and it's not that well known. The good news is that you can offer pretty much anything here.

Category: Games

This is one of the best platforms for indie games to be listed and sold for the budding creator. The platform takes care of hosting and releases the software upon purchase so no need to worry about complicated eCommerce setups.

How you get paid: The company takes a percentage of sales fee for each sale you make.

Alternative Payment Options: advertisements and in-app purchases are also available for payment, but you have to set these up yourself. Freemium isn't free.

Category: Music, Concert-Tickets

If you are good at creating digital music, you should be using Bandcamp to promote and sell your work. As of 2020, they also do ticketed livestreams for musical performance as well. Merchandise can also be offered for sale on their platform. The platform takes care of hosting and releases the music/performance upon purchase, including single plays, unlimited play, and downloadable content. They will also do vinyl/CD pressing for you as well and ship that to customers without you having to worry about manufacture or fulfillment, so not just digital goods can be sold here!

How you get paid: You keep the value of your sale, less a payment processing fee and commission due to the business.

Category: Tutorials

If you want to teach other people how to do something cool and get paid for it, this is the platform for you. Check out Skillshare to see what other people are teaching and come up with a course that is both well done and adds value to your customer - make sure it is something you are good at and can present well! Skillshare handles order fulfillment, once the customer pays, they view the course on their platform!

How you get paid: Skillshare has a built in shopping cart that will allow customers to purchase your course. The platform takes a cut of your pay as a commission.

Category: Mobile apps

If you have the next killer app and can write/program apps, this is the market place to put out your finest works. The appstore takes care of hosting and delivery of your app upon purchase to the customer

• How you get paid: You keep the purchase price for each sale, less a huge fee (up to 30%) and an annual developer fee due each year. In addition to one time purchases, subscriptions are also available for recurring revenue (popular with news apps) as well as in-app purchases and advertising. All of these require the remittance to the AppStore before you can claim what is left.

One major drawback here is that the appmarket is pretty mature. Flappybird not withstanding, it is rare for people who are working on their own to make serious money when the biggest apps are from big companies.

• Alternative Payment Options: advertisements and in-app purchases are also available for payment options.

Category: print-on-demand

This company creates apparel, posters, and other print goods based on your design. Unlike other companies, you set the price, but you also have to pay the underlying cost of goods sold. Any discounts you offer will come out of your profit margin, so price wisely!

Category: printshop

This outfit primarily creates print books, photo books, comic books, calendars, magazines, and yearbooks. The cost per book depends on the materials and format and you pay for that before collecting any profits from what you get in sales.

Category: Craft Goods

The platform will take care of your storefront and will allow you to sell there, but you do have to pay for listings and for a percentage of the sales you make as commisions to the site. Also, you will be responsible for creating the actual goods. Unique handcrafted goods are preferred, but some people have designed good and outsourced to their list of official manufacturers, although this process is somewhat discouraged in the community.

Category: Resell / Retail Arbitrage

This is a good platform for small-time resales, but also for retail arbitrage, where you buy something for a small dollar value and mark it up and resell on the platform. People acquire everything from vintage goods, to LEGO toys to unique products and put them at auction or sell them outright for a fixed price. A good way to make quick cash on items you already own. Only downside is you will have to acquire and warehouse your own wares, pay a fee for the listing and for any sales. The good news is that there is a lot of money to be made when you buy product at a time/place with weak demand and sell it somewhere else where demand is strong (especially around the holidays, limited edition/collectors items or for discontinued products still in demand).

Category: freelancing

Despite the name, a person can make more than five dollars a task here now. Similar to Gumroad for digital products, Fiverr is a good place to basically do anything and get paid for it in small gigs. The downside is similar to Gumroad - not everyone knows about this site and people looking specifically for a grocery deliverer will be more likely to go to Instacart than here.

Category: translation

This site specializes in translation works. If you know more than one language, working as a translator for this site is a great way to earn money with a skill you already have.

Category: Ridesharing

If you have a car and some spare time, you can make money driving people around. The rates, fares, and customers are handled by the platform, all you have to do is drive from place to place.

Caveat: the only major concern I would have with this service is that during the age of CORONAVIRUS, it is a lot more risky than it used to be. You may not be happy to be getting the relatively low amount of pay as a driver. And this is even after considering how passengers can be pretty rude.

Category: handyman, moving, and delivery

Currently owned by Ikea, they still operate independently and their rabbit primarily deliveries, moving and Ikea furniture assembly. If you can do any of these things, you may have what it takes to be a rabbit.

Category: Reviews

Usertesting allows regular people to test sites, games, and other user experiences and get paid to do so after offering feedback to the authors of the tested work. You won't get rich doing this, but it's a good sidegig.

Category: Tutoring

More hands on than the tutorials noted earlier, this is more one-on-one interactions with people who need tutoring services. If you have experience in a particular area, this is a good way to get paid to explain it to other people.

Category: Stocks and Securities

Robinhood is a mobile application that allows investors to buy stocks without going through complex middlemen to do so. It is one of the most local forms of retail investing, offering solutions to the common person. Useful for people both highly educated in the importance of market share, cashflow and long-term sustainability and people who get their investment advice from reddit meme boards.

Category: Cryptocoins

Coinbase is similar to Robinhood, but for cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Etherium, and Monero. You can use this software to buy and sell and it keeps a record of your transactions to ensure you are paying the proper taxes and following the required regulations. This is not a good solution if you are buying crypto for anonymous purchases, but if you are looking to flip digital currenices for cash, this is a great option.

Category: Domains Name Services

Domain names are a hot commodity and this platform allows you the opportunity to register the next hot name and list it for sale on their Namesilo Marketplace for more than the annual registration cost. This isn't quite as regulated as securities and cryptocurrencies so be sure you keep a record of what you are earning for tax reasons. This is one of the easiest ways to get into investments since the cost of registering a dot.com address is relatively small.

Category: Tips

How do I get paid: Basically whenever your user sends you a tip for your hard work. This method is common for non-profit enterprises. The main barrier to this process is that the customer has to put in a lot of work to both sign in to the service and to send you a tip via payment method. This may discourage people from using this method to support your work.

Category: Donations

How do I get paid: Similar to above, but rather than have a badge on your page, this is an entire page dedicated to you as a creator. It is essentially a hub that showcases what you do and also allows people to pay you based on whatever method they want, whether it is cryptocurrencies or traditional payments.

Category: Patronage

How do I get paid: Your audience signs into Patreon and subscribes to your profile, allowing you to get paid every time you create more content. This is the easiest way as a blogger, streamer, or video creator to have payments come in directly as a result of the output you produce. As a creator, you are expected to provide perks in accordance with how much they pay out in a tiering system, so you may want to have merchandise or behind-the-scenes VIP content for them. There are other sites that offer this, but the fact that most people already have Patreon accounts makes it less effort for them to support you on this platform if you are well known. The downside is that Patreon has a very strict code of conduct that extends beyond the site and even your created content - they've banned people from their network for things they've done in real life or on other platforms.

Category: Advertising

How do I get paid: Payments can be either per impression (every viewer who sees your ad) or per click (every time someone clicks on your advertisement) for each ad that is posted on your page. The bad news for this is if someone is using adblockers, you may not get paid at all, but the cost is low since the campaign is being bankrolled by the advertiser. Also, if you are creating controversial content, the ads network may ban you since advertisers may not want to be associated with your content or message.

Category: Cryptomining

How do I get paid: Unlike traditional advertising, this site allows you to make money by having your visitors mine Monero (XMR) cryptocoins for you. This is done by Javascript code embedded in your site that users the visitor's CPU power to mine for coins while they are on your site. It is advantageous because it allows you to monetize the site without intrusive advertising but it also could be offputting for users to know that you have scripts taking their CPU power to mine for coins. You definitely want to disclose that your site is monetized this way if you want to be ethical about the set up.

Category: Affiliates

How do I get paid: Affiliates are programs where you direct traffic to a seller who gives you a commission based on the sales made. This is a good way for you to monetize your site if you, for example, have a blog or site around redecorating or computer gaming setups - by posting links to where people can buy products with affiliate links, you can get a cut of the sales. An ethical advertiser always discloses this relationship so people can be aware of the fact that you're getting compensated for your recommendations.

Category: Storefront

Shopify is an eCommerce storefront that allows you to build an ecommerce store, create product listings, optimise SEO, set up a shopping card and manage payment options, including automatic sales tax collection, cart and fulfillment management, and allows you to perform analytics, offer discounts/sales/giftcards, and to build for mobile as well as the computer browser all in one package. But you need to decide what you want to sell (physical goods / digital goods / dropshipping / print-on-demand, and then contract with various parties to manage things like manufacturing and fulfillment (although the platform has tools to help with that second part).

Category: Dropshipping

A great way to make money is to take wholesale products that are manufactured elsewhere and open up a storefront so that you can pay for that effort to take place. A dropship is essentially when a customer places orders through you and then company that manufactures the product sends it to a fulfillment house which 'dropships' the product directly to the customer without you have to worry about warehousing, fulfillment, etc. They can also help with returns and with customer service calls.

Category: Payment Gateway

This is a payment gateway that allows you to accept payments for products or services rendered. They can be plugged into online store-fronts like Shopify and allow for payments to be processed in multiple currencies, in different parts of the world, support PCI compliance and invoicing, anti-fraud tools, and card network integration so you don't have to think about those things. You will have to pay a transaction fee, typically a percentage of sales plus a flat rate. Also, you don't need to set up a merchant account with a bank to use Stripe, which is advantageous if you don't have the best credit and/or don't want to have to deal with the hassle.