Online Business

To make money online, you generally need 3 things:

A website (don’t worry, they’re not that hard to make)
An audience
Something to sell

There will always be exceptions to this rule, like the YouTube celebrities who don’t have their own site, but most of the successful entrepreneurs online (myself included) have figured out those 3 things.

An online business is a great asset; you can work from anywhere and serve people worldwide. Depending on how you have it set up, you can even earn money while you sleep. Ahh that elusive “passive income!”

The location-independent business models you’ll find here include blogging, podcasting, self-publishing, teaching online courses, and more.

If you’re not sure where to start, let me recommend this “Greatest Hits” collection:

Permafree on Amazon: How and Why to Give Your Book Away, Plus My Results

December 4, 2020June 29, 2015

In January, I had a chance to sit down with Nick Stephenson, a top-selling Kindle author in both fiction and nonfiction. We recorded a podcast session on building an email list from Amazon.

The “hook” was Nick built a massive list of 15,000 email subscribers in just a few short months, using one pillar strategy: giving his books away for free.

The first was with his fiction work, a crime thriller series where he decided to make the first title in the series “permafree.” Later, he pulled the same trick in non-fiction with a giveaway (very meta) called Reader Magnets.

How a Part-Time Blogger Earns $4k a Month

August 28, 2023June 22, 2015

Which is why I was nervous about publishing this post. Would my readers be confused or turned off by this sort of content?

To my surprise and delight, my first-ever income report was well received. Even readers who have zero interest in the business of blogging liked the post.

They enjoyed the opportunity to look “behind the curtain” and appreciated my transparency.

117: The Fastest Path to Side Hustle Cash Flow?

January 21, 2025June 18, 2015

One podcast I’ve been following for a really long time is the Empire Flippers show with Justin Cooke and Joe Magnotti. It’s been fun to watch their evolution from building tiny Adsense sites, running an outsourcing company in the Philippines, selling WordPress themes, and now really focusing in on their website brokerage business.

Consider this: it’s MUCH easier to buy an existing cash flow than to create one entirely from scratch.

In this episode we get into the business model of investing in sites, where to look for these “digital real estate” opportunities, some pitfalls to avoid, and even some creative financing options.

115: Monetize What You Know: Proven Course Creation Best Practices

November 6, 2021June 4, 2015

Ankur Nagpal is the founder of Fedora, an online course-hosting platform with more than 4000 instructors. From his unique vantage-point, he’s got some insight into what separates top-selling courses from the rest of the pack.

Ankur gives some innovative ideas on how to use free distribution platforms like YouTube and even Udemy to build an interested audience and drive them to your premium course. We get into how to come up with your course topic, the tools to create your course quickly, and some pricing strategies as well.

113: Earning $3000-$4000 per Month on Kindle in Just 6 Months as a “Professional” Author, with Lise Cartwright

April 29, 2024May 21, 2015

Last year, Lise “came out of nowhere” as they say, and published 13 books in 6 months, and now earns between $3000 and $4000 a month in author royalties.

Of course the truth is she didn’t come out of nowhere at all; she came out of New Zealand and had already built a successful freelance writing business. However, the hustle of delivering work for clients all day had her seeking a more time-leveraged use of her skills.

Since she already knew how to write well and write quickly, she figured book publishing was a natural next step.

110: Monetizing Your Art and the Path to 1000 True Fans

November 6, 2021May 7, 2015

On this week’s show, I’m joined by Steph Halligan, who runs ArtToSelf.com. She’s a talented cartoonist who began a daily blog and email newsletter with inspirational and affirmational art — all created by her.

The site is 100% supported by donations from her followers, and even though it’s very early in the journey, I think there’s enough validation to say she’s on the path her 1000 true fans doing work she loves.

Udemy Launch Strategy and Results – $3525 in 60 Days

May 16, 2020April 27, 2015

In November I released my Udemy course, Kindle Launch Plan: $1400 in 30 Days & an Amazon Bestseller.

It’s about time I break down what I did to create the course, launch it, and ultimately earn $3525 in the first 60 days.

Have you published a course on Udemy? How did it go?

Would you use their platform again?

106: Stand Out: Build Your Unique Authority and Get Paid

November 6, 2021April 23, 2015

Dorie’s latest book is called Stand Out: How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It, and it is the perfect companion to anyone trying to build a personal brand, an authority website, or an audience-based business.

This episode is a little different from other Side Hustle Show episodes because we actually don’t talk much about Dorie’s personal story or experience at all, but rather dive into the research and examples that went into Stand Out.

Listen in to learn how you can generate your next killer idea, get people to pay attention to you, and find a way to monetize it.

102: Zero to $50k a Month: Email Marketing Hacks for Entrepreneurs and Audience Builders

November 6, 2021April 2, 2015

Dan Faggella sent me an email last month that essentially said, “Hey Nick, I’m a fan of the show. I have some expertise in email marketing, and I know many of your listeners are working to build their online presence and their email lists. Would it make sense to do an episode on some list building and email best practices?”
And then he added the kicker: “I’m making $50k/mo selling martial arts training videos right now, and I have other businesses as well…”

OK, I’m listening!

98: From $100 to $30,000 in Nine Months

July 15, 2024March 12, 2015

John Corcoran is well-known in online business circles for being “the connections guy,” but I was more curious in how he’s built his own online business than networking tips.

Today he sells his own premium course on Connecting with Influencers, plus earns money as an affiliate for other high-dollar, high-value online products.

In January, he earned $30,000 in one month, through sales of his own product and as an affiliate for others. In this call we get into building and selling a course of your own, the best ways to get it done, and maybe a little bit about building the partnerships to make a powerful impact.

Usually Hustling, Occasionally Social