If you’re new to the concept of making money via the Internet then I’ve listed below the 4 steps to get you started. Otherwise, please checkout my other posts in the right sidebar for other legitimate tips on making money online. There are many ways to make money online but for this article, I’ll focus on the one that I think is the most profitable.

Here are the 4 steps to making money online:

1. Create a blog; it’s easy to create a blog with today’s technology. I recommend either Blogger (owned by Google) or Wordpress. If you choose Wordpress then you will need to find a reliable Wordpress web hosting provider. I recommend BlueHost because they are very reliable and highly reviewed. Blogger is free. However, if you decide to go with Wordpress then there will be a small monthly fee for the hosting service.
2. Write good content; Give your readers a reason to comeback to your blog. Write about your passions, hobbies, or your work. Write about controversial issues or juicy topics. Topics on politics, sports, humor, or sexuality are the best. Fresh content is very important so post an article at least every other day.
3. Get Traffic to your blog; what’s the point if no one visits your blog. You can be the greatest writer and have the best content in the world but it doesn’t matter if people don’t visit your blog. Here are three ways to get traffic to your blog:
• Sign-up for Google AdWords; this will cost you some money but it may be worth it if you’re new to blogging and you want to get immediate traffic.
• Sign-up for Digg and StumbleUpon; after you sign-up then Digg and Stumble your own posts. This will send a little traffic to your blog. A little traffic is better than no traffic. All you want to do is get the word out about your blog. Digg and StumbleUpon are social networks that allow you to do just that. I also recommend that you include your blog link on your MySpace and Facebook profile.
  
• Comment on other blogs; find other blogs that are similar to your blog, find an article that you like then provide a meaningful comment. When you leave a comment, ensure that you also leave your blog URL. This will provide a link-in to your blog. Links to your blog will increase your Google Page Rank over time. Traffic will increase to your blog as your Page Rank increases.
4. Monetize your blog; if you’re new to making money online then the best way to monetize your blog is by signing up for Google AdSense. Google AdSense is a fast and easy way for publishers of all sizes to display relevant Google ads on their blog’s content pages and earn money. All you do is copy and paste some provided HTML code into your pages and the ads will show up. Every time an ad is clicked on your site, you will receive a certain percentage of what Google receives from the advertiser. Once your account reaches $100, you'll receive a check in the mail.

In summary, blogging is one of the best ways to make money online. Remember, you need to have juicy content that’s always fresh.

Another way to make money online is with Chitika. Chitika is a leading blog advertising company with a network of thousands of blogs/websites and hundreds of name brand advertisers and merchants. Chitika provides bloggers the opportunity to monetize their blog or website with Chitika ads.

Chitika offers many ways to monetize your blog. However, I will only focus on eMiniMalls as that is the most popular ad unit. eMiniMalls provides your visitors with relevant content and comparative shopping information without leaving your blog or website. Every time a visitor clicks on an eMiniMalls ad, you make money.

Here’s an example of an eMiniMalls ad unit:


The ad unit above is 468x180 when viewed in its natural form. However, you can choose other sizes that are more appropriate for your blog or site. The ad sizes range from 180x150 all the way up to 728x90. You’ll be able to easily configure the right size for your site.

Here are some additional features and benefits of eMiniMalls:

1. Choose from millions of products, offers, promotions and deals, ranging from iPods to baby strollers, from thousands of name brand merchants and advertisers.
2. A convenient, non-intrusive and interactive shopping experience for your audience.
3. Geo-targeting in U.S., Canada, Europe, New Zealand and Australia allows you to display localized merchants, products and prices.
4. Intelligent coding learns and adapts to emphasize products your viewers are interested in buying.
5. As users interact with eMiniMalls you earn PPC revenue.

You can also use eMiniMalls on the same page as AdSense as long as you switch off the contextual part in the setup of your eMiniMalls ad units. By default, the contextual parameter is set to off.

Payments are sent out monthly via PayPal when your balance crosses $10. However, if you choose the check option, you will not get paid until your balance reaches $50.

Chitika also offers a referral program. You'll earn 10% of what your referrals earn - the more friends you refer, the more money you’ll make. You're eligible to earn commissions for each referral for 15 months following each referral's approval date.

In summary, the Chitika eMiniMalls is a great way to monetize your site. However, I would recommend only using Chitika ads on product based blogs or websites. This will make you the most money.

Click on the banner below to sign up for Chitika and begin making money.

What is WidgetBucks? WidgetBucks is an advertising network that displays shopping ads on your blog or site via a widget. You get paid for each click made on your ad by a legitimate website visitor. WidgetBucks is an alternative to Google AdSense. However, you can include both WidgetBucks and AdSense on your site.

The difference between WidgetBucks and AdSense is that WidgetBucks dynamically cycles through a list of products, rather than showing a static ad that only changes with a page refresh. WidgetBucks ad code uses JavaScript, which is provided to you once you sign-up.

You get paid via a check or PayPal. However, your account balance has to be at least $50 to trigger payment.

Here’s an example of a WidgetBucks ad:

You can choose from various ad format sizes, including Skyscraper 160×600, Rectangle 300×250, Leaderboard 728×90, Full Banner 468×60, or Custom 660×330.

Here are the three ways to make money online with WidgetBucks:

1. PPC, or Pay-Per-Click ads. Each time a user from the U.S. or Canada clicks on a WidgetBucks ad widget on your site, you get paid.
2. CPM, or Cost-Per-Thousand Impressions. When a user from outside the U.S. and Canada views one of your pages that contains a CPM ad from one of WidgetBucks' ad partners, you earn revenue.
3. Referrals. When you refer a new WidgetBucks user, you will receive a 5 percent referral fee based on the commissions earned by the people you refer. You'll receive this 5 percent for the full 12 months after the new member joins.

In summary, the WidgetBucks advertising network offers another great way to monetize your blog or website. Please keep in mind that WidgetBucks works best on blogs or websites that are product related.

Click here to sign up for WidgetBucks and begin making money.

InboxDollars reward you for your online activities. InboxDollars.com allows you to make money online by reading emails and completing surveys, to just name a few. You get $5 just for signing up. InboxDollars is FREE to join!

Once your account balance reaches $30, you can make a request for payment. All payments will be in US dollars and made via a check.

Here are the TOP 4 ways to make money online with InboxDollars:

1. Paid Emails - About 3 - 5 times a week, you will receive a Paid Email from InboxDollars. When you open that email, click the link inside. That will automatically send you to a page on InboxDollars' site that displays an advertiser's message. By viewing the advertiser’s message, you will have earned your money for that Paid Email. It's that easy. You’ll earn 1 to 10 cents per email.
2. Cash Surveys - You can be rewarded from $0.35 to $4 for every survey you complete. New surveys are available almost very day.
3. Cash Offers - A CASH Offer can be a Free Trial, a Product Sale or even Free Information. When you click on a Cash Offer, you will be taken to the Advertiser's site. You will then have the opportunity to earn CASH for completing their offer! This may be a membership you were thinking of joining anyway, or it may be a totally free trial, where they are willing to pay you just for trying their product. Cash offers are always available.
4. Refer Friends - Refer your Friends to InboxDollars and you’ll automatically be credited 10% of the qualified earnings received by your referrals. Every time they receive credit for trying a new product, taking a survey, playing a game or shopping online, you’ll earn cash.

In summary, InboxDollars allows you to earn money for being active online.

Click here to sign-up for an InboxDollars account and begin making money.

What is myLot? myLot.com is another social networking site that pays its members for socializing on the site. myLot’s goal is to provide internet users a place to earn money online on a daily basis, for FREE!

Get paid monthly with a minimum account balance of $10. The balance is carried forward if unpaid. You have the option to increase your minimum payment to $25, $50 or $100. All payments will be in US dollars and made via PayPal or Moneybookers.

Once you’ve signed up for a myLot account, you can customize your profile, upload pictures, start discussions, post responses or comments to current discussions, news or blogs. You can also refer friends, which allows you to earn passive income.

Here's how to make money online with myLot:

1. Select your interests. When you setup your profile, select your interests too. There are a lot of interests to select from so take some time to select all that apply. This will become important when you start discussions.
2. Start discussions. When you start a discussion and someone responds to your discussion, you get paid. You get paid more if someone responds to your question posted via one of your interests. I suggest you pick popular categories then ask controversial questions within those categories. You will generate a lot of responses if you do this. Start at least 5 discussions each day. It's easier than you think. If someone responds to your discussion, provide a comment to their response. This will keep things going.
3. Contribute to discussions. When you respond to other member's discussions, you get paid. Your response should include at least two full sentences. Only respond to discussions you're truly interested in. Respond to as many discussions as possible.
4. Include images. If relevant, always attach images to your discussions and responses. You get paid more when someone comments on your images.
5. Refer friends. Earn passive income by referring your friends and others to myLot. For each person you send to myLot, you will receive a bonus equal to 25% of their discussion and image earnings.

In summary, myLot is another free social networking site that can be used to make some extra money online. Again, it’s not going to make you rich, but it’s a great way to earn a little extra money by doing the things you already do on the internet.

Click here to sign up for a myLot account and begin making money.