If you’re a consultant, programmer, graphic or web designer, translator, lawyer, etc., your online business may be as simple as that. You can offer your services online in many forms, but usually, you can make money in three ways:

1. Determining a fixed price for your main product (e.g., for a basic web page)
2. Determining a price for your services on a case-by-case basis
3. Determining your hourly rate

What I’ve stated above isn’t rocket science. If you’re an expert in any field, and you’ve searched for ways to make money online, then you’ve probably explored those opportunities.

Offering your services online is indeed a great way to monetize your skills and knowledge, especially if you sell them on the international market. Nevertheless, this approach has one major drawback: your time is limited, and you can only have so many clients. And when you don’t dedicate your time to your tasks, you don’t earn money. Even if your rates are incredibly high (or, especially if they are), you may fall into the trap of being constantly busy. Therefore, selling services online works particularly well for those who are good at time management.

Some services can be sold in quite a different package: as scalable digital products mentioned later in this post. This would give you the opportunity to boost your income with a limited amount of available resources (money and time).

Scalability makes your products less personal, but it’s a big friend of your business. That’s why all the products mentioned below will meet the criteria of scalability.

The internet can be a curse for writers because it’s flooded with a lot of free, low-quality content. But, at the same time, it’s a blessing for many independent writers who can reach their potential readers without jumping through the hoops set by traditional publishers.

Contrary to popular belief, people still search for quality and are willing to pay for it. Those who write well can get noticed and sell their products all over the world.

Ebooks have become one of the most popular digital products—and for a good reason. The great thing about creating ebooks is that they give you lots of opportunities to share your ideas with other people:

• If you’re an expert, you can write an ebook to share your knowledge and become well known in your field.
• If you’re an artist, you can publish a novel, your poems or your sketches in the form of an ebook.

What’s more, you really don’t need to spend much money on this venture. Many online tools support independent writers. Apps such as Grammarly and Scrivener help you organize your thoughts and sculpt them into polished sentences, while free graphic design tools like Canva are useful when choosing fonts and a cover design.

However, don’t be overconfident about your skills, and aim for good quality—without it, it might be tough to stand out from the crowd. Use the help of a professional proofreader or graphic designer if you think it’s necessary.

If you dream of writing and publishing your own ebook, read this blog post, which describes my experiences when creating my first book. I share some advice that may come in handy 😉 You may also like my free ebook on this topic. You can download it here:

Swipe files are another example of scalable products that may be of great value to your customers. A swipe file is basically a concise, easy-to-read document or template that contains an effective formula for something. The term derives from the world of copywriters and marketers, who define a swipe file as a collection of proven advertising and sales letters.

In an online business, this definition is wider. Swipe files are formulas for success in any field. Do you have a template for an effective landing page that helped you build your email list? Or, maybe you’ve made a sales webinar that brought you a lot of customers? If so, you’ve got a swipe file to sell!

Some other ideas on ebooks and swipe files as products include:

1. If you live in Paris, you could publish an insider’s guidebook to the city, showing some great, under-the-radar places: scenic spots to take truly Parisian photos, cozy cafés and restaurants, trendy galleries and hidden gems that no one else writes about.
2. If you’re a copywriter, publish your tips and tricks for creating attention-grabbing article titles in the form of an ebook. Everyone needs those!
3. If you’re on a dairy-free diet, prepare a cookbook with recipes for this kind of food that you find delicious.

Online courses are an incredible way to share your knowledge and expertise and, of course, make money online. Although the initial amount of work may be significant, you’ll end up with a product that is fully scalable and ready to work for you. Finding a topic for your first course may be a challenge, but there are a few possibilities:

• If you achieved success in your field, you could describe exactly how you made it.
• If you solved a problem than many people have, there’s your topic.
• If you’re repeatedly asked for advice on a certain subject, this idea could be perfect for an online course!

The form or structure of your online course is limited only by your imagination:

• You could create a course in the form of ebooks or PowerPoint presentations.
• You could go with a podcast.
• Video content is favored by most people, and it builds a personal connection between you and your audience.

If you want to stand out, be imaginative and enhance your customers’ experience by providing additional materials. Workbooks, extra lessons, Facebook groups—these things show that you care about your community. Go the extra mile, and your audience will appreciate it.

If you need some practical advice from a master in online courses, I recommend listening to Amy Porterfield’s podcast episode on the types of profitable digital courses that you can create, as well as this episode on choosing the perfect topic for your first digital course.

(I’m not an affiliate, but I’m a big fan of Amy, and I think she publishes amazing content. If you’re just starting out with an online business, her podcast is gold.)

Some ideas for online courses include:

1. If you created your own WordPress site, you could prepare a step-by-step guide to building a website. Create easy-to-access video materials showing exactly how you did it, and sell the course to bloggers or people who want to become WordPress experts.
2. Share your weight-loss story as an online course. Lots of people want to lose weight, and although it’s a crowded market, you may win customers with your honesty and specific approach.
3. If you’ve already created a community on social media, you can show others how you did it. Display examples of your most engaging posts.

Subscriptions are a business model based on a commitment to provide customers with a specific product at regular intervals—daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.—at a fixed price, paid in advance. You could offer physical products (cosmetics, healthy food, etc.) as well as digital products (meal plans, recipes, analyses, ebooks, etc.). In this post, we’ll focus on the latter.

A subscription business is a no-brainer for those of you who aren’t afraid of the consistency that it requires. Being consistent is extremely important in every business, but especially for this one. Skipping a release date even once may create some trust issues and lead to subscription cancellations.

However, the upfront payments are a huge advantage because your revenue becomes predictable, sometimes even from a long-term perspective. Once you have the money, you can sit back, relax and just concentrate on creating great products for your customers.

As an analyst and investor with 10+ years of market experience, I’ve seen lots of successful businesses based on subscriptions in my industry. Market analyses are a perfectly scalable product—if you write just one report, you can sell it to anywhere from 10 to 10,000 people!

The price and number of subscribers depend on your topic. If you’re operating within a niche, you may have fewer subscribers, but the price of your product may be higher because of the scarcity of well-presented knowledge on this subject.

Some ideas for subscription products include:

• If you work in financial markets, you could sell your regular analyses of a specific market (pharmaceutical companies, foreign exchange, oil, etc.). If you’ve already worked in the industry, and people know you, then monetizing this business would be easier. But if you’re a newbie, it’s the perfect way for people to get to know your name.
• You could create a business model based on email subscriptions. For example, create a valuable newsletter with practical DYI ideas.
• If you’ve already built a community, you could create a mastermind group and organize regular meetings, as well as send some exclusive content to its members.

The starving artist cliché is gone!

In the digital era, there is plenty of space online to promote your artistic talents. (If you have them. I don’t!) It’s a competitive market, but good products stand out and find their enthusiasts.

There are online marketplaces in which you can sell high-quality photos, videos, templates and digital art. Not only could your products be featured on websites, etc., but they could also adorn the walls of modern apartments and houses. The crucial thing, though, is to get really creative and make something that would draw customers’ attention.

Of course, there are vast resources of free photos or templates on the internet. Still, they probably won’t be enough to create a high-quality magazine or website. I know this from experience; I bought numerous photos when I was running my publishing business, and all the websites I use in my entrepreneurial life are based on paid templates to some extent.

Some ideas on art and graphic design products include:

1. Prepare a portfolio of stunning photos of a single topic/theme. Make it your signature. Have you seen humzadeas photos on Instagram? I love aerial views of New York, so I could buy them all for my apartment! (Not enough walls though 😉 )
2. Create a series of educational animations on a specific topic that’s quite popular (healthy lifestyle, money management, etc.). Many businesses may be interested in using them in their marketing materials.
3. Create a coloring book for adults. Coloring helps reduce stress, and many grown-ups find it calming. Prepare black-and-white pages that allow your customers to print them at their homes.

This idea may seem a bit far-fetched for many of you. I get it.

But seriously, I couldn’t skip the industry that has been growing rapidly in the last few decades and that created numerous millionaires or even billionaires. (Does the name Bill Gates ring a bell?)

One thing is for certain: digital products like mobile apps, games or business software aren’t going anywhere. This industry will be thriving for many years to come.

Creating a piece of software might require some programming skills, but sometimes all you need is a vision of a product that could become a bestseller and a business partner who would take care of turning this idea into code. Even if you’re not a programmer, don’t be skeptical; instead, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I have an idea for an app or computer program that would scratch my (or someone else’s) itch?

Maybe you’ve always had a business in mind that requires creating some sort of software; you may have noticed an issue that could be solved by a certain technology, but you don’t know where to start.

Don’t hesitate to tell a few (trusted) people about this idea. Find out if the problem that your potential app solves is real for a bigger group of people.

If you need a business partner, search for them among your acquaintances, on dedicated websites and in meetings.

2. Do I want to become a programmer myself?

It’s not a silly question. These days, even young children are taught how to code.

Programming languages are like foreign languages; they aren’t rocket science, and you can learn them if you commit to doing so.

Programming skills are sought after on the job market, so even if you don’t create your own product, acquiring those skills might lead to a breakthrough in your career.