This is a new section of the site that I am devoting to different ideas you can use to make some additional money. I can't guarantee that all the ideas will be for everyone, or that they will guarantee any level of success, but hopefully they will get you thinking and looking at different ways you can bring additional monthly income into your life. Most people I know could use some extra money on a consistent basis, and I'll bet you could too. My aim then, is to help spark ideas that can bring about this extra income.

So I hope that my first idea in this section does not seem like a cop-out or no-brainer. The first idea is to write articles and sell them online. There are several reasons I like this idea and would suggest it to anyone looking to earn some extra cash, but the main reason is that this is something that can be done once, yet provide a continual stream of income for years to come. But first, let's look at what I'm talking about here and how you can do it.

Anyone can write articles and sell them online. This is another reason why I like this idea – anybody can do it. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or exclusive training to write articles, and we are all an expert on something which means we should be able to come up with ideas on topics to write about.
So, the simple explanation on how to do this is to “just do it”. Pick a topic, write an article, and then submit it to an online site that either buys the article outright, or puts it up for sale on your behalf (and takes a commission on each sale). But this wouldn't be a very good article if we just left it at that, so we will look into the process further.

I think the first thing to determine is what type of “articles” you want to write, and what sort of compensation you expect for your efforts. The pay for new, unproven authors is generally low at first, but if you keep at it, you can eventually build up a large portfolio of articles that consistently generate income for years down the road. The type of articles you write and the topics are totally up to you, but how you intend to profit from the articles will have an effect on the type of content written and how it is structured. So it is important to know what you want the end result to be before ever writing an article in order to determine which style and methods are right for you.

There are a couple different ways you can earn money from the articles you write. Some online companies will buy your articles outright, providing you with immediate payment and the satisfaction and convenience of quickly selling your work. One such site is www.AssociatedContent.com, which buys articles on current events, news, culture, and more.
The advantage of selling your articles to a place such as this is that they buy the articles immediately, so it is ideal if you need to quickly generate some income. The dis-advantages are that the pay is often low (around $5 per article), and you give up the rights to each article you sell. For many, this is a huge problem, and the minor payouts simply aren't worth the effort. On the other hand, it does provide immediate income and is a reliable stepping stone for aspiring authors looking to earn some extra money.

Another method for earning money from your articles might be a little bit slower, but usually results in much higher earnings over the long run. This method is to submit your articles for sale on a content delivery website. There are many of these sites around (check Google), but one I have used in the past is www.Constant-Content.com. You submit your articles for sale on their site, and they take a commission each time an article is sold.
The advantage of using a system such as this is enormous. They offer full control over the licenses offered with the articles you sell, so you only sell the rights that you are comfortable with, and at a price you set. This means that with the right licenses, you can sell the same article many times over, reaping potentially huge rewards for a one-time effort. Plus they have already built up a stable base of paying customers who are looking to buy the content you write so your articles have a much better chance of selling than if, for instance, you were to setup your own website and try to sell them there.

One last method I'll briefly mention is to write articles for your own blog or website. The obvious advantages here are that you keep 100% of the profits earned while maintaining full control over your creative works. The problem then, is that it is tough to create a website with consistent traffic and earnings. So if you are just starting out or your website has little traffic, the immediate rewards for pursuing this method will be little to nothing. Of course, the potential payout of a wildly popular website is virtually unlimited which means that building up a content-rich website could pay off nicely over time.

Whatever method you choose, the main idea here is that it is possible to earn extra income writing articles and selling them online. It doesn't take much to get started, and if you are reading this then you already have the tools needed to get going. And if writing articles to sell isn't your thing, maybe there are other writing opportunities that you would be better suited for. The possibilities are endless, and the level to entry is low. So why not get started today, or at least start thinking about possibilities for yourself that may not have been explored before?