by Jerry Mooney

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The term “make money online” is one that’s thrown around constantly these days.

About 10 years ago it was assumed that everything containing these words was simply a scam - but, then when you look at these types of ads (remember these?) then it’s hardly surprising that people were skeptical.

The thing is, though: we’re now in 2019 and the world is changing rapidly. Having an online business is pretty much as common as having a 9-5 now, and this is not going to change anytime soon, but although making money through an online business or freelancing is so common, it doesn’t mean it’s easy to do.

It’s not as difficult as you may think, though.

Here’s what I mean by that in case I’ve confused you: anyone can start a business and list a product or service for sale, but that doesn’t mean anyone will buy it.

If you’ve ever had a Facebook ad show up on your feed from some self-titled business coach you’ve never heard of  telling you how they were flat broke, but then they started making 6-figures in their business within just a few months all by following a 5-part system that now they’re going to teach you then you know what I’m talking about it.

These ads work because people are always looking for the magic bullet solution, and while some of these coaches do have amazing success stories - most of them are just really good at marketing a story without much substance to back it up, and are simply making money through showing others how to make money by doing what they’re doing.

This isn’t a business model.

So many get suckered into these pretty ads and believe that there’s a simple, 5-part formula for success, but there isn’t, so it just leads to wasted time and far more frustration than is necessary.

Please don’t fall for it, because it’s absolutely possible to make money online and build a successful business - you have to put in the work, but if you do, then there’s no reason why you can’t succeed.

So, “how exactly?” I hear you ask:

You show up DAILY and build real relationships with real people, engage in conversations and show people the real you - not some online persona that you’ve created. Using social media is a great way to build yourself a loyal audience who want to read your content and really get to know you - this is how you build trust.

When it comes to building your audience online, it really doesn’t matter if you use paid or organic strategies.

Of course, doing it organically will take a bit longer, but it’s definitely going to work. On the other hand, if you have some money to invest in your marketing, then you could reach out to some Cost Per Lead Advertising Experts and ask for quotes for their services, or you could even try and give something like Facebook ads a try.

The main thing to remember is that people buy from people, so don’t build a wall between yourself and your community - as long as you’re showing up authentically and sharing value, it doesn’t matter if you’re paying for ads or doing it organically.

Once you’ve decided what platforms you’re going to use, you give amazing value - both in your free offers and your paid ones. The thing is, once you start to build trust through your free content, such as blog posts, webinars, emails and videos, people will start buying from you if what you share is valuable to them and actually helps them, but you must make sure that what they’re buying is even more helpful to them so they know they invested wisely - that’s how you create repeat buyers and a loyal community.