Episode Summary: 11 real ways a one-man band or podcaster can make money online — from teaching and sponsorships to affiliate marketing, e-commerce, and freelancing.
What You'll Learn
- 11 real ways a one-man band or podcaster can generate online income
- The real pros and cons of teaching on a platform vs. self-hosting courses
- How podcast sponsorships actually work, with real numbers from John Lee Dumas
- Why affiliate marketing costs the buyer nothing extra
10 Ways to Make Money Online
1. Tutorial Sites
Make classes and tutorials, then sell them through online education platforms. Pros: these sites handle technology, hosting, some promotion, and financial transactions — payment comes as a percentage of sales. Cons: Skillshare means splitting profits, and Udemy often discounts a class heavily.
Popular sites: Skillshare, Udemy, Teachable (formerly Fedora).
Classes taught on Skillshare/Udemy (the first internet dollar ever earned!): Photoshop: The Art of the Headswap and WordPress Cheatsheet for Entrepreneurs.
2. Self-Hosted Courses
Classes and courses sold directly through your own platform or website.
Pros: 100% of the profit. Cons: 100% of the responsibility — launch, creation, technology, promotion, all on you.
Platforms for self-hosted courses: LearnDash, Teachery, Thinkific, Zippy Courses, WP Courseware.
3. Podcast Sponsorships
Advertisers have recognized podcasting's popularity and want in. Sponsorships take time to land — like everything else, more downloads means more sponsor interest, and having a clear niche helps attract them. John Lee Dumas of EOFire has reportedly made around $100K/month in sponsorships by guaranteeing over 1 million listens per month, publishing 7 days a week — not too shabby. See his Ultimate Guide to Podcast Sponsorships for the full breakdown.
4. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing for products and gear is a great revenue generator, and the plan for covering monthly costs of running this site and podcast. It's simply advertising products with a small kickback on any resulting sale — the buyer pays nothing extra compared to purchasing directly from Amazon or elsewhere.
Affiliate links in action can be seen on the resources page, and there's also a dedicated Amazon st…
Read the complete show notes and resources on mikemurphy.ai.
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