Money is the subject most people who want to earn an income online talk about most often. How do I earn it? How do I earn more of it? Regardless of your niche or success level, cash flow is an important topic to anyone who is self-employed.
Because no one is going to just hand you a paycheque alternating Tuesdays, you have to work as hard as you can to keep the cash flowing.
Here are some helpful tips to improve cash flow for experienced and budding online marketing professionals:
Make A Budget
Even though the internet marketing lifestyle can afford you some freedom, yes, you still need an internet marketing budget. Even if you’re just starting to make money online, it’s important to plan ahead. Things can change quickly with internet marketing so you should never become complacent with your earnings.
People who “go without” for a while have a tendency to splurge when they get paid because they feel deserving and deprived. While it’s important to reward yourself, don’t go out and blow your affiliate cheque on a steak & lobster dinner when you don’t know when your next pay is coming.
A budget is vital and portioning each cheque or PayPal notification you receive is important so that you can live, pay bills, and keep investing in your online business to help it grow. It’s a sad truth that more than one internet marketer has had a 5 figure month and then not had the funds to pay for their web hosting a month or two later.
When you have a great month, tuck some of those earnings into a rainy day fund and wherever possible, pay for memberships and essential services well in advance and plan ahead in terms of setting money aside when you know a bill will be due soon.
Diversify Your Income Sources
Once you find a great internet marketing program that’s working well for you, bring in another source of income. And then another. If possible, choose programs with low payment thresholds and a variety of payment methods.
If possible, have some fast or instant paying sources of income so you’ve got a constant trickle of cash coming in. When shopping around for affiliate programs to participate in, keep diversification in mind.
Have A Plan B
If you have a lousy month once in a while and you don’t have several months of cash reserves, you’ll want a plan B. If you have a fast way to make cash, a quick income source will be helpful. There are a lot of different online freelance things you can do such as design, virtual assistant or data entry work, paid SEO work, and other things that can help you make some fast PayPal money. Look for a source of alternate work online and maybe even offline, just in case you need some help with cash flow problems.
About Sean Rasmussen
thanks sean- for the budgeting advice on making money online and for the sensible advice to work one strategy until you’re succeeding with it then integrate other SEO techniques- it is all about taking it in bite-sized chunks that make this helpful information not overwhelming! Improving the cash flow is always the goal and without proper and well-watched budgets, it is easy to go astray fast! Excellent advice!
I really enjoyed this post, especially the “examples in this post” portion which made it really easy for me to SEE what you were talking about without even having to leave the article. Thanks
I can see how important keeping an eye on your cash flow is if you are an internet marketer, as opposed to receiving a regular pay cheque.
Your mention of online freelance work is interesting and something I hadn’t thought about.
Very sound advice Sean. Cash flow in any business is critical to the survival of that business and internet marketing is a business even if some view it as a hobby, sideline or whatever. The tips you give in this article on ways to improve cash flow can apply to many areas.
Sean are you sure you’re not related to Confucius – so many wise gems!
Hi Sean,
Thats excellent advice for an up and coming Internet Marketer.
The transition for going from an employee to a self-employeed Internet Marketer is something that wouldn’t go without its challenges, I’m sure, and some planning up front would save cash flow headaches down the track.
Thanks for the tips, I can see how they would make a difference to any business.
Budgeting is extremely important – even if, like mine, it’s all outgoing LOL. What was that quote – its better have money at the end of your month than month at the end of your money – or something like that. It doesn’t occur without budgeting – and btw, sticking to it
Being in a tourist destination with big seasonal fluctuations I can only confirm that having a budget plan and keeping savings from the good times is vital.
And I can imagine that it is easy to forget this when doing business online, as most of us start without having their own physical product. But training to keep your cash flow in order is a must.
Having a Plan B is very important as trends can have a huge impact. As with real life I am sure that there are affiliates who go ‘broke’ and don’t pay the final cheque and usually you don’t find out about that intil it is too late and you may have invested another month of income.
Diversifying your income I think is important and re-investing your earnings helps you grow your business quicker.
Hi Sean,
Thanks for the cash flow tips, it is always a good idea to tuck a bit of cash away for a rainy day when you get the chance & diversifying your income streams helps to balance things out as well.
Hi Sean,
I have been a selfemployed painter for 35 years,
I know how important a budget is!
I like your idea of a plan B.
Thanks for the advice!