Make money by finding creative solutions to people’s problems

The secret to making money isn’t working at a high-paying job, it’s finding creative solutions to people’s problems, and it doesn’t take a fancy degree to do that. To get your creative juices flowing, check out these common and not-so-common ways of lining your pockets. Below that, you’ll also find more general financial advice as well as some money-making ideas for kids.

1.Buy underpriced used books. Outfit a phone or PDA (personal data assistant) with a scanner, scan the ISBN numbers of books at used bookstores and thrift shops, and compare the asking prices with what

the books are selling for on a site like Amazon. Whenever you get a good hit (which won’t be often but, since the process is fast, won’t take long, either), buy the book and resell it online. Be discreet

about this, as the store managers probably won’t like what you’re doing.

2. Sell photos. If you have a decent camera and a good sense of light, color, and composition, you can take and sell stock photos – i.e. nondescript images that lend themselves to many applications and are

commonly used to illustrate online articles or products – with minimal effort. Stock photos of locations (a fire hydrant, a bare wall near an interesting tree, or anything you might find as a default background

image on your computer) are easier to take, but stock photos of people (i.e. people arguing, people kissing, people laughing) usually sell for more, as they have more uses and require the written legal consent of your subjects. Hunt for a reputable stock photo dealer or database that will pay you fairly before signing on with anyone.

3. Make and sell crafts. If you are even a little bit crafty, consider selling your goods on a site like Etsy. Though you can make more money on intricate projects (ex. an exquisitely woodburned gourd), even

labor-light projects can bring in good money if you’re willing to produce them in high quantities. Who knows – if you do well, you might even be inspired to start a crafts business.

4. Start a small business. Being passionate usually translates to a superior product and better service, which is especially sought after in the age of the anonymous, 1-minute online review. Worried that

there isn’t a market for your interests? The fact is that though you may not personally know many people who want what you have to offer, thanks to the internet, there’s a huge market for niche-products (pigeon diapers, chainmail wedding dresses, you name it)… and you might just end up being a trend-setter. To create an online store, you can either make your own website or, if don’t want to self-host, you can sell on eBay or a similar site. •Copywriting. Bloggers and business owners are out there looking for freelance writers to help them with their internet marketing campaigns. If you can write a good video marketing script, sales copy, press release, product reviews, website content and advertising copy, you can make money doing exactly that. You may need basic SEO skills since most of these copywriting jobs require some knowledge on how search engines work. These people are looking for traffic, and they will only hire you if you can deliver that.

5. Try affiliate marketing. This means promoting someone else’s products or services for pay without actually carrying an inventory.

There are many ways of incorporating affiliate marketing into your website/blog/page including banner ads (which are generally ineffective, as people tend to avoid these), linked articles (which

are quite successful when the article content is thoughtful and doesn’t appear spammy), and product-placement videos (which can be very successful when done by people with charisma or a good sense of

humor). You can even become an affiliate marketer without a website.

Basic ways of making money through of affiliate marketing include:

•Cost-per-click: you get paid a very small amount every time someone clicks from your content onto the advertiser’s site; good for high-traffic content

•Cost-per-lead: you get paid a bit more every time someone signs up or fills a form with the advertiser thanks to your content

•Cost-per-acquisition: you get paid a (fixed or percent) commission every time someone makes a purchase with the advertiser because of your content; good for focused, high-quality content.

(www.wikihow.com)