There are many ways to start making money online. Some are more glamorous than others, but as long as you are earning something you are ahead of the game. Believe it or not, many online freelance writers are pulling in a nice monthly income. If you are familiar with the English language, enjoy writing, and have a knack for marketing, you may be able to take full advantage of this career path.

Before you get started, you probably have one question on your mind: how much do online freelance writers earn? While there is an “income range” that you want to become familiar with, there is no one answer to this question.

On the low end, there are people in many parts of the world charging as little as $1/500 words. This is not a reasonable wage for somebody living in the United States, for example. But just because there are people working at a low rate doesn’t mean you have to follow in their footsteps.

At the high end of the market, I know many freelance writers earning in excess of $1/word. While it takes some time to reach this level, it is more than possible if you stay the course and continue to work your way up the income ladder. A bit of quick math shows that a 500 word piece (blog post, sales letter, keyword article, etc.) would result in a payment of $500.

In the past, high paying freelance writing gigs could only be found in large national magazines. This is no longer the case, thanks to the internet. More and more webmasters and companies are forking out big bucks for online content. The internet is how they connect with the majority of their customers and clients. For this reason, they want the “best words” representing them at all times.

There are thousands of freelance writers earning somewhere between the low end and the high end. It is good to know that the opportunity to earn a lot of money exists.

What is holding you back from making money online? There are many reasons why you may be sitting back and watching everybody else clean-up. One of the most common is the belief that it “takes money to make money.”

Believe it or not, you don’t need thousands of dollars to make money online. There are many people who have started with nothing, but quickly rose through the ranks and are now earning a solid income.

Let’s take a closer look at what you need to get started, as well as how much it will cost.

Generally speaking, you will have to spend roughly $10/year for a domain name and $5/month for hosting. Of course, this greatly varies based on how you are trying to make money online. But guess what? You can get your feet wet with a free website if you don’t have a single dollar to your name.

Once you have your site up and running you are in position to chase after some money. Many beginners go the easy route and attempt to make money with AdSense. Others focus more on content, and hope that this will eventually bring them enough traffic to sell private advertisements.

What about affiliate marketing? Don’t you need a lot of money to get started? Even though a big budget will help, it is not necessary. If you have money, there is no denying that you can speed things up by purchasing traffic. But on the other hand, don’t overlook the fact that you can drive free traffic through link exchanges and article directory submissions among other methods.

So, what do you think? Does it take money to make money online? In short, the answer is yes and no. You will probably need some money, but to get started a few dollars is more than enough. Don’t miss out on your chance to make money online because you think you need a huge investment to get started.

Are you interested in creating your very own blog? Although you may think this is impossible, it is actually quite simple if you know what you are doing. The first thing you must do is choose a niche. Until you do this you are going to be stuck in the mud!

There is no easy way of putting this: you must choose the right niche if your blog is going to be successful. Below are three details that will point you in the right direction.

1. Select a niche that is of great interest to you. This can be anything from your career to your favorite breed of dog to a sports team that you follow (and that is just a small sampling). Don’t make the mistake of jumping into the first niche that comes to mind. Instead, consider all your options, research the competition, and get a better idea of what makes the most sense for somebody in your position.

2. Don’t follow the crowd. If you make this mistake you will probably find yourself jumping ship sooner rather than later. Take for example the “make money online” niche. Once John Chow began to share his blog income numbers ($40k+/month) many people thought they could jump into the same niche and have similar success. Of course, the majority of them failed. John is so successful because he knows what he is talking about, and is willing to share his knowledge. If you don’t know anything about making money online why would you want to blog about it?

3. What niche are you willing to stick with over the long haul? This is an important question to address. While a particular subject may be of interest to you right now, can you see yourself writing about it next year at this time? For a blog to be successful you need to have a great interest in the subject, with the ability to share information on a regular basis.

If you are in the process of choosing a niche for your next blog, consider the three tips above.