It is no longer in doubt that it is possible to make money online in Kenya. You only need a computer, internet and well…a brain.But from our perspective there is more to these online jobs than just the quick money and instant gratification that most people expect.
If done with the right mind-set, these jobs can actually provide you with a cheaper and stable source of capital which you can then use to set up your dream business venture.
So forget about taking that loan for a moment. Think about how you can establish yourself as an online freelancer first, grow your savings and get into serious entrepreneurship later.
Here is part 1 of 2 discussing how you can start working online to raise money to fund your entrepreneurial ventures.
Online Work 1: Become an Amazon Kindle eBooks Writer and Seller
Amazon.com is the world’s largest online marketplace. Every minute millions of people visit this mega-outlet to buy and sell commodities. You can be part of this frenzy by creating your own products and hosting them on the site too.
Our example in this case is about writing small eBooks of about 2500 words on popular topics such as health and fitness, business, internet and online business etc.
You can spend your free time to write such books and then publish them in line with Amazon’s copyright laws.
As your book collection grows, and as people download your kindle eBooks, Amazon will pay you royalties. In most cases you will get 35% royalty for every book downloaded. So assuming you price each eBook at $2.5 then Amazon will give you $0.9 per download.
The secret to succeeding in the kindle world lies in writing many eBooks. If you have like 100 eBooks and each copy is downloaded 5 times per month then you can make $450 (Equivalent to Ksh45,000).
This amount may increase if you get more downloads and if you keep adding more books to your virtual bookshelf.
The best thing about Amazon Kindle’s royalties is that they last a lifetime, for as long the eBooks you’ve written and submitted to the website are being downloaded.
You can then use the royalties to start your dream business, without having to borrow an expensive loan.
Online Work 2: Blog in a Profitable Niche
If Amazon Kindle sounds like too much work, then blogging could just be your next best bet. The science behind making money blogging is quite simple.
Step 1
Start a free or paid blog. If you are unsure about your blogging skills, then we would advise you to go for the free blogs. Visit blogger.com or wordpress.com and register your first blogging platform for free. However, as you get into serious blogging business, you will notice the need to invest a small amount for a paid blog. Typically this involves hosting, web-design, purchasing a domain etc.
Step 2
Pick a profitable niche. A niche is a topic area that you are comfortable talking about. It could be politics, tourism, farming, law, business etc. Our advise is you should pick a niche that attracts either a huge number of readers or a small number of buyer-intent traffic.
Step 3
Start blogging, keep improving your blog design and learn a few tactics for driving constant traffic to your blog. Keep writing, keep updating to build a solid following.
How to Make Money Blogging
Bloggers make money either by (1)Advertising/recommending other people’s products (2)Selling their own products or (3)Google Adsense.
In option 1 you build a good website, high quality content, decent traffic and then approach companies and urge them book your advertising space. In option 2, if you have your own product e.g. mix tape, deejaying services, maize, eBook etc, you simply advertise it on the blog and get buyers.
In option 3 you simply apply for Google Adsense and wait for them to approve your request, once successful Google Ads will start appearing on your blog and you will be paid for clicks made on those Ads.
An average (small) blog can make you about $15 (Ksh1,500) per day or Ksh45,000 per month which you can then use to pursue your dream business career.
Online Work 3: Write Content for Others
Blogging and Amazon Kindles may be good ways of making money online in Kenya but then they take months to pay back. If you’re looking for a quicker method, then perhaps you should give article writing a try.
In this example, you simply need a computer and internet. Then you can register at one of the many content mills available on the web. Sometimes you will be required to do a bit of bidding to land your first job, but once you get it, your dreams will start to expand.
Alternatively, you can take to sites like OLX and advertise your freelance services (or you can still take to OLX to find for people looking to hire content writers for short gigs); this will help you get work from locals as well.
In order to succeed in this industry you need to be in a position to produce high quality articles on various topics. The more you keep writing and delivering good works, the more customers you will get and the more money you can make. It is as simple as that.
Some well-known content mills that you can register and start working for in a matter of minutes include:
(1)Freelancer – A great site where you can get gigs starting from as low as $1 per 500words.
(2)Elance – A professional freelance site where beginners are paid up to $5 per 500 words written.
(3)iWriter – Although this site is not accessible through some local ISPs, it still remains one of the easiest platforms for beginners. You can start your first gig immediately after finishing a simple grammar test and earn a low of $2 for every 500 words written.
On average junior freelance content writers make Ksh30,000 per month. Surely, if you join this bandwagon you certainly can’t lack some savings to inject into your dream business.
Online Work 4: Be an Academic Research Writing Guru
If content writing sounds like too much work and too little pay, then academic writing might just be the right thing for you. Here you are paid by scholars and think-tanks that want finer bits of their research work done independently and professionally.
Here, clients will be sending topics and research guidelines. If you are able to meet those guidelines and deliver the paper back in good time, the client will pay you.
A bit of training and mentorship is however necessary in this field. In addition, your chances for success are bolstered if you were sharp in class. University graduates and college goers are best placed to take on this career.
There is however a lot of controversy surrounding the field of online academic writing. For instance, questions have been raised in cases where some students misuse these platforms to have their classroom assignments done by ghost researchers for a small fee.
As the debate rages on, there are still new opportunities being discovered on these platforms ever day particularly as new research questions emerge in the world.
You can get started as an academic research writer by signing up (or getting an account) from:
(1)Uvocorp.com – A site that has a decent average pay and supportive editors.
(2)Essaywriters.net – Known for its relatively stable workflow throughout the year.
(3)4writers.com – Has been described as being similar to essaywriters but with a smaller workflow.
(4)Writerbay.com – A huge research site that, though quite strict in standards, has a decent workflow throughout the year.
Academic writers are paid a low of $3 per page of research content submitted to the client. This can translate to an average of $500 per month (equivalent to Ksh50,000). You can save some of these monies and use them to set up a local business.
Online Work 5: Explore the Affiliate Marketing Expanse
Freelance or home based affiliate businesses are slowly coming to prominence here in Kenya and there are several people who are opting for them to generate income. But what is affiliate marketing in the first place?
Let’s say your friend John has a company where he sells many products, including mobile phones, shoes, clothes, travel packages, air tickets etc. John would like to reach a wider audience and so he approaches you and tells you “You know what, I am going to give you 10% commission for every customer you bring to me.”
So you set out to find customers on your social media platforms, blogs and friend networks and mint out more commission as you sell John’s products.
In Kenya currently, there are two well known companies which are giving such affiliate opportunities. Such that, when you sell their products you get paid a commission. The first one is Jumia, a popular eCommerce shop that deals with a wide variety of products. The second one is Travel-Start which sells airtickets, hotel spaces etc.
At an international level you will find programs such as Amazon Affiliate, Clickbank, Hostgator and Payoneer-Refer-A-Friend. All these are potential opportunities for you to make an honest living, passively, particularly if you have a good blog or an email list.
Earnings for affiliate marketers vary widely, due to obvious reasons, but on average with a good strategy you can raise between $500 (Ksh50,000) and $1000 (Ksh100,000) per month in commissions. You can make some savings and start your own enterprise from such earnings.
Final Word
The purpose of this article is NOT to show you some shortcut methods for getting rich. Rather, we are here to show you more on how you can use one opportunity to take on another bigger one.
Part two of this article will be posted in a few days from today and we will explore 5 little-known ways to make money online. Until then, keep your questions about business and online opportunities coming via our comments section below.
Click Here To Read Part II Of This Article >> 6 Online Non-Writing Earning Opportunities That You Can Use To Raise Start-Up Capital
Photos Courtesy: Wikihow, Telegraph, Getty, SEOreseller, UTexas, Telegraf
