Figuring out how to make money from a website can feel mysterious—even to finance pros. But it doesn’t have to be complicated.
There are always fresh ways to start a profitable side hustle online—some more practical than others. And since time is money, let’s dive right in.
1. Affiliate Marketing
- Advantages: low startup cost, easy to get started, flexible, scalable, performance-based income, be your own boss
- Disadvantages: high competition, algorithm changes, low commissions in some niches, no guaranteed revenue
Affiliate marketing is a business model where individuals promote other companies’ products or services and earn a commission when someone makes a purchase through their unique affiliate link.
You’ll only earn when a user takes a qualifying action—like making a purchase—after clicking your affiliate link. These links are provided by affiliate programs run by major retailers like Amazon or Chewy.
This type of monetization is often called performance marketing since you only earn based on the performance of your content. Commission rates vary widely by industry—from 1% on consumer electronics to 30% on travel bookings or digital courses.
The key to affiliate success? Promote products in a niche you understand and genuinely enjoy. Offer honest, helpful reviews and resources that actually serve your audience.
You also control how you market products—via blog posts, social media, email, or paid ads—as long as you follow the affiliate program’s rules. That means you decide your own strategy and budget.
Affiliate marketing is one of the most affordable ways to start an online business, with costs typically ranging from $500 to $2,000, depending on your setup and content needs.
Common startup expenses include:
- Domain name: basic domains start at $5, while premium ones can go over $1,000
- Hosting: shared plans start around $50/year; high-performance hosting can exceed $500/year
- Security tools: essential SSL certificates and site protection tools can cost $20–$500+
- Content creation: pay $50+ per article or invest in a bundle from freelance writers or AI tools
- Extra tools: includes SEO plugins, analytics software, and legal fees as your site grows
Many beginners use affiliate marketing as a launchpad into full-time online business. Some even evolve into personal brands with their own products and services.
2. Online Advertising
- Advantages: precise targeting, real-time performance data, flexible formats, cost-effective reach
- Disadvantages: declining click-through rates, limited space, learning curve for beginners, increasing ad fatigue
Online advertising involves placing targeted ads on your website, social feeds, or email newsletters to generate income. Unlike traditional newspaper or print ads, digital ads let you target hyper-specific groups and optimize results in real-time.
The five main types of online ads include:
- Display ads: banners on your website or on third-party platforms
- PPC (Pay-Per-Click): promoted listings in Google Search results
- Social ads: sponsored posts in Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok feeds
- Video ads: skippable or non-skippable clips on YouTube, Twitch, and more
- Native ads: promotional content that blends into blog posts or web pages
Getting started with ads may sound simple—just sign up and drop in some code—but success depends on several key decisions:
- Choose the right ad network: options include Google AdSense, Adsterra, Adroll, and Taboola
- Define your niche and ad preferences—some platforms use dynamic ad selection that may not fully align with your brand
- Design ad layouts—optimize format, size, colors, and placement for performance and user experience
Once you’re approved by an ad network, you’ll receive code snippets to embed on your site. These trigger display or dynamic ads that pay you either by the click (CPC) or by impression (CPM).
CPC pays only when users click, while CPM pays a set rate per thousand views—useful for high-traffic pages even if CTRs are low.
However, online ad performance has declined due to banner blindness, ad blockers, and user fatigue. Add in complex ad policies and frequent updates, and it’s clear that success requires more effort than ever before.
Still, if you can deliver ads that feel helpful and non-intrusive, online advertising can grow from a side stream to a substantial income source.
3. Dropshipping
- Advantages: minimal upfront costs, location flexibility, no inventory to manage, payment only on successful sales
- Disadvantages: limited product control, difficult returns, low profit margins, reliance on third-party logistics
Dropshipping is an ecommerce model where you act as a middleman between the customer and the product supplier. You don’t keep inventory—you take orders on your site and forward them to a third-party vendor who fulfills and ships the product.
Unlike traditional ecommerce, dropshippers don’t manage stock, warehouses, or fulfillment. Sites like AliExpress or private-label vendors handle logistics while you focus on marketing and customer service.
You’ll need a basic setup to start: a computer, stable internet, and $100 to $500 for startup costs—domain registration, web hosting, and store-building tools like Shopify or WooCommerce.
Expect to invest 3–12 months before your store becomes consistently profitable. Your early tasks will include:
- Managing orders and fulfillment flow
- Handling customer support and returns
- Tracking finances and platform fees
As you scale, add CRO (conversion rate optimization) tools, use analytics to improve product performance, and test pricing and copy to stay ahead of competition.
It’s not as easy as it seems. Many new dropshippers fail due to poor supplier reliability or customer service breakdowns. It also demands emotional resilience, as angry customers, chargebacks, or delayed shipments can tank your brand overnight.
Still, if you can endure the early volatility and refine your fulfillment workflow, dropshipping can evolve into a strong source of recurring income.
4. Sponsored Blog Posts
- Advantages: more authentic than ads, good for SEO, flexible formats, low time investment once traffic exists
- Disadvantages: limited to sites with solid traffic and authority, must disclose sponsorships, can harm trust if not managed well
Sponsored posts are paid articles published on your website in collaboration with a brand. They typically match the tone and format of your existing content and include a disclaimer that it’s a paid partnership.
To land sponsorships, your website needs steady traffic, a clear niche, and an audience advertisers want to reach. You’ll also need a media kit or pricing page to attract inbound interest from brands or PR firms.
Once you agree to terms with a sponsor, the content can be written by you or provided by the advertiser’s content team. Just make sure it’s up to the same standard as your regular posts—and disclose that it’s sponsored, either above or below the headline.
Never try to mask sponsored content as editorial. Google’s spam policies are stricter than ever in 2025, and hiding sponsored material can result in severe SEO penalties.
If your blog gets good traffic, sponsored posts can generate solid recurring revenue without requiring much extra work. Newer sites, however, should focus on growing traffic and authority before pursuing this monetization strategy.
It may take 3 to 12 months to reach that level, depending on your industry, content strategy, and outreach skills. Once you’re there, sponsored posts are low-hanging fruit that can help diversify your income streams.
Just know that while this model is cost-efficient, it’s not infinitely scalable unless paired with other strategies like product sales or affiliate marketing.
5. Premium Content
- Advantages: consistent revenue, boosts brand authority, more stable than ads, appeals to loyal readers
- Disadvantages: can slow audience growth, paywalls may turn off casual visitors, high-quality content is a must, risk of piracy
Premium content is gated material that readers must pay to access. This can be in the form of one-off payments, monthly subscriptions, or access passes to exclusive content.
It’s an effective strategy if your site already has traction and a loyal audience. You can also experiment with freemium models—offering most content for free and charging for in-depth guides, templates, or reports.
To implement this model, you’ll need a CMS or plugin capable of managing subscriptions and access tiers (like MemberPress or Restrict Content Pro). Expect to spend an additional $200–$1,000+ depending on setup complexity and whether you need developer help.
This monetization method works best if you create standout, evergreen content that justifies the paywall—think advanced industry insights, niche reports, or professional tutorials. But poorly executed paywalls can alienate visitors and harm trust.
If done well, it’s one of the most reliable, long-term income methods—especially when paired with email marketing and SEO to drive traffic to your top-performing premium pieces.
6. Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
- Advantages: fast results, measurable ROI, narrow targeting, real-time analytics, budget control
- Disadvantages: expensive in competitive niches, ad fatigue, potential for low trust if poorly implemented
PPC advertising allows you to either spend money to drive traffic or host ads on your site and earn revenue from clicks and impressions. Google Ads and AdSense are two common platforms.
With AdSense, you embed a code snippet on your site, which displays ads relevant to your niche. When a user clicks, you get paid a set rate based on your traffic quality and the advertiser’s bid.
The ad ecosystem uses keyword bidding—advertisers compete to appear for specific search terms. If you have traffic and a clean website, AdSense auto-optimizes the ad types to show to your visitors.
As of 2025, PPC is growing across non-Google platforms too, like Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Brave Ads. However, due to AI search experiences, display formats must evolve to stay effective.
Why PPC works:
- Lets you target specific demographics with relevant, high-intent ads
- Gives full control over creative, copy, A/B tests, and ad scheduling
- Offers detailed guidance from platforms on how to improve click-throughs and revenue
Start with a site that gets at least 1,000+ monthly organic visits. Your first few weeks will involve setup, testing, and refining your layouts to avoid disrupting user experience.
Advertisers pay an average of $2.59 per click. To estimate your earning potential as a publisher, use the AdSense revenue calculator.
Ultimately, PPC remains one of the most customizable and data-driven models out there—but competition and costs are rising. Focus on long-term growth, not overnight success.
7. Selling Courses
- Advantages: high-profit margins, passive income potential, scalable, broad topic selection, enhances brand credibility
- Disadvantages: requires significant upfront effort, slow initial traction, needs existing audience or strong marketing
If you’re knowledgeable in a topic and enjoy teaching, selling online courses is one of the best high-value monetization models. You can offer your course through your own website or use third-party platforms like Udemy or Coursera.
Hosting courses on your own site gives you control over pricing, branding, and audience. But third-party platforms are great for beginners who don’t yet have traffic—just beware of revenue splits (some platforms take up to 50%).
To launch your first course:
- Pick a subject you know well—like marketing, AI tools, personal finance, or web design
- Use quality gear: webcam, microphone, screen recording software, and optionally a teleprompter
- Edit with tools like DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut Pro
- Set a price—courses often range from $5 to $2,500 depending on depth and value
- Host it yourself or upload it to a trusted learning platform
After publishing, promote your course through email marketing, social media, podcasts, and content partnerships. Livestreams and webinars also work great to drive interest.
It may take several launches to gain momentum, but once it hits, a single successful course can generate revenue for years with minor updates.
8. Building an Email List
- Advantages: fully owned channel, direct and personalized communication, low startup cost, sky-high ROI
- Disadvantages: spam concerns, legal compliance (GDPR, CAN-SPAM), opt-in reluctance from cold traffic
An email list is a collection of users who voluntarily subscribe to receive updates from you. It’s one of the most reliable long-term marketing tools because you’re not at the mercy of algorithms or platform shutdowns.
Use tools like Klaviyo, HubSpot, or OptinMonster to capture and manage contacts. For budget-friendly options, see our guide to the best email marketing services.
Once you grow your list, you can monetize it through:
- Dedicated emails: single-sponsor emails sent to your list
- Classifieds: embedded ad blocks inside your newsletter
- Sponsored content: full sections of your newsletter reserved for a brand partner
- Tripwire offers: discounted products/services with high perceived value
- Promoting your own products: ebooks, coaching, software, and memberships
In extreme cases, you could sell your list—but this is risky, often illegal without proper permissions, and almost always damages your brand. Treat your list with care and respect.
Bottom line: email lists remain one of the best beginner-friendly, high-ROI monetization tools available today. The tech is simple—it’s building trust that takes time.
9. Selling Your Site
- Advantages: quick cash-out, frees up your time, avoids future risk, cash lump sum based on future potential
- Disadvantages: gives up future income, potential loss of community, non-compete clauses, emotional detachment
Selling your site is a legitimate exit strategy—especially if it has traffic, steady revenue, and brand authority. You’ll want to value the site properly and list it on reputable marketplaces.
Ballpark valuation: The standard rule of thumb is 25–35x your site’s monthly net profit. So a site earning $2,000/month might sell for $50,000 to $70,000, depending on its niche and growth potential.
Valuation factors: Traffic volume and quality, backlink profile, monetization methods, domain authority, niche volatility, and platform (Shopify, WordPress, etc.).
Where to list: Trusted marketplaces include Flippa, Empire Flippers, and FE International. Many of these platforms offer free or paid valuation services with in-depth traffic and revenue audits.
Think of it like selling real estate. You need to gather data, prepare your pitch, and deal with potential time-wasters or tire kickers. With scams on the rise, only work with verified buyers and protect your assets during escrow.
To make your listing more credible and attractive:
- Use up-to-date and accurate analytics—tools like GA4, Ahrefs, or Semrush help track traffic and keyword performance
- Make your data clear—include charts, spreadsheets, or summaries that are easy to understand
- Be transparent—disclose all monetization methods, costs, and potential growth opportunities
Recap
There are more ways than ever to make money with a website, but success depends on a few foundational principles:
- Treat your website like a real business
- Create content that helps, inspires, or solves problems
- Focus on long-term traffic growth—especially through SEO and email
- Keep your audience engaged and build trust
Choose a monetization method that fits your goals, skills, and timeline—and consider combining a few over time for diversification. There’s no one-size-fits-all model, but there’s definitely a path that works for you.
To dive deeper into selling websites as a business model, check out our full website flipping guide. It walks you through the process from launch to sale step-by-step.