The online income thread

Thought it was worth starting a thread for peoples experiences with income derived online.

To get the ball rolling:

1. Banner advertising on website (eg Adsense). Produces a few dollars every now and then. Unless your site is really well read it doesn't earn very much.

2. Ads on YouTube. Worthwhile if you've got an active channel - but still only 'pocket money' and not the stuff of huge passive income - unless you hit it with a viral cat video. http://www.eevblog.com/ is an example of an Australian who has done well through highly viewed videos on a niche topic.

3. Kindle ebook. This is by far my favourite. Writers keep 70% of sales. Far better than the old publishing model for specialist interests - but you do need to spend time marketing.

Writing is hard work (may take a year) but good if you have a lot of dead time (eg commuting) that you can do it in. It helps that you are writing for a specialist area (little competition) with international appeal. If you've got a high profile in the area (eg through magazine articles, website, youtube, etc) you can use these to sell your book. If your product is good your customers can become your best salesmen, writing about your book on blogs, forums, etc. I reckon an ebook would be good to support a small business in a related area if you have one.

4. I haven't investigated affiliate marketing sites. Apparently you can double-dip by selling your own product via these channels. If you have a hobby that has some expensive equipment even a small commission on a few sales could be worthwhile. Since you're not contributing real content, this doesn't excite me much and clogs up search engine results.