5 Business Models of Internet Marketing

Written By Tan Hai Liang

Anybody can make money online because the Internet is almost available to everyone and in most parts of the world as long as you have telecommunication links.

With the Internet being easily accessible, studies have shown the growing trend of people purchasing online because of lower prices, more variety in product and services offerings and ease of comparison. However, the most compelling reason people buy online is, purchases can be made at the comfort of their home at any time of the day or night. Because of the increasing number of people looking for solutions on the Internet, many Internet Marketers are providing easier and more convenient ways for customers to buy almost everything.

The increasing number of online buyers is making Internet Marketing a lucrative profession.

There are many ways of making money online, many Internet-based business models that you can follow. Which model is suitable for you depends on your own working habits, interests, and marketing style that you are comfortable with.

Here are 5 common forms of Internet marketing:-

1. Brick and Mortar Online Store

These are physical retails shops, companies or multinational companies creating an online version of their store. They may run the brick and mortar store in parallel with the online store. More sophisticate systems would integrate the functions of both online and offline forming a symbiotic relationship.

2. Online-based Services

These are service providers that have moved online, eg banking, travel agent and dating. Distance learning is also being replaced with online education too. Seminar and talks by experts can be heard live online via webinars.

3. Internet-based products by Internet Experts

There are many successful Internet Marketers who had developed their own system to help people start up their own home based internet business. More often than not, these experts started their online business empire from home. So, they would understand the difficulties faced by newbies who would like to start their own Internet business.

4. Online promotion and advertising

These include pay-per-click advertising programs, eg Google AdWords.

5. Affiliate marketing

These are affiliate programs which you can join, usually for free. Joining an affiliate program gives you the right to promote the affiliate’s products and earn a commission on each successful sale. A good affiliate will provide you with all the necessary marketing resources to help you market the product. All you need to do is drive traffic to your affiliate’s site using your affiliate link or hoplink (to identify the sale is done through your efforts). Depending on the terms and condition of each program, the commission earned ranges from 2% to 60%.

Among the 5 forms of Internet Marketing models, Affiliate Marketing is one of the most popular model for people who would like to start their home based business. Many successful Internet Marketers just concentrate on being an affiliate and made millions by selling their affiliate’s products.

They usually create their own websites on the subject matter which they have interest in and have a fair bit of expertise in it. Once they have established their website, they’ll drive lots of sustained targeted traffic to their site. By placing their affiliate links on their web pages as well as some pay-per-click ads on their web pages, the Internet Marketer can earn commissions from the affiliate and pay-per-click advertisers.

So, which model is suitable for you?

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