How To Make Easy Money

There are ways to generate income outside the 9-5 grind - get busy in your free time and you could see the pounds rolling in. Moneywise shows you how to make money with our top money making tips.

Austerity measures from the coalition government has meant many people have had to tighten their belts. While sticking to a budget and finding ways to cut back are advisable, with a little imagination and effort you could find there are ways you can actually make money.

Moneywise has come up with 20 ways to make money during austere times - some are easier than others but all of them could see you make some extra cash.

Here are some ideas for you to consider:

1. Website Building

If the internet is a country, then websites are like real estates. I’m hoping by now you have a general understanding that real estates are valuable in the physical world – digital real estates work the same way. By building a website, you’re creating your own plot of online “land.”

You can fill this land with whatever you want, but you have to promote it through social media (and anywhere else you can think of) for this to be successful. When you build traffic to your land, you can sell people whatever you have to offer. In order to build a website, you need a host (i.e GoDaddy), a template (i.e WordPress), and content.

The first two parts are easy to find, and content is only as difficult as you make it. You can post blogs, items for sale, pictures, videos, or whatever you want. Opening up your own website gives you the potential to make money from the avenues I’m going to mention.

2. B2B Marketing

An online business model I love is utilized by GetVoiP, an affiliate marketer based in New York. GetVoiP acts as an agent for business communication providers. They maintain updated listings of VoiP providers, including ratings, comparisons, consumer reviews, in-depth knowledge of market and end-user trends, and expert opinions from business professionals on a variety of topics related to business consumers. By not only keeping abreast of news, but providing detailed analysis of products being offered, GetVoiP is able to generate traffic to their site and increase their clout with businesses.

The more online clout you have as a business, the more money you’ll make. If you’re known for making lasting connections (as is the case with GetVoiP above), then you’ll have no issues building your online brand. You’ll be recognized in your community and begin to build a buzz in your industry. Tracking your numbers (how many people view your site, click each ad, and make a purchase from that click) gives you the leverage to expand this part of your business, enabling you to continue building your online rep.

3. Google Adsense

If that sounds like too much technical information for you, there is an easy button – Google’s advertising platform is as simple as signing up, enabling (on Blogger) or pasting a small code on your website, and allowing the advertisements to automatically roll in. The problem with this program is that you don’t get any commissions – and you don’t get to control the ad content. This is useful for some, but powerful users will want something a little more robust.

4. Be an Agent for a Direct Selling Company

Before the get-rich-quick hype of eBay, there was the get-rich-quick hype of direct selling programs like Avon and Amway. But like selling on eBay, it's hard to become a millionaire selling makeup and cleaning supplies to your neighbors. According to Amway, the average salesperson earns $115 a month selling Amway products [source: Amway]. Of course, like any other kind of selling, the amount of time and energy you put in is going to affect your sales.

Direct sellers use individual salespeople to sell their products instead of using traditional retail. To join Amway, you sign up with one of the company's salespeople (or "independent business owners"). That person then provides you with catalogs and samples. As you make sales, you purchase products atwholesale from your sponsor, and keep the difference between the wholesale and the resale price as profit. You can also earn bonuses and higher sales commissions as you sell more.

Direct selling may sound like a pyramid scheme, an illegal sales operation that makes more money from the wholesale purchases of its so-called "sellers" than it does from actually selling products to customers.

But in 1979, the Federal Trade Commission decided that Amway's business model is legitimate because it doesn't require recruits to pay large up-front membership fees or make large wholesale purchases before being admitted into the program. So if you decide to become a direct seller, only sign up with programs that don't require exorbitant startup fees.