5 solid revenue streams to easily add to your business

Top tips for making more money online and boosting revenue

There’s no doubt that 2020 rocked the world. Our once ‘normal’ life seemed to fade as the effects of a super virus took over. At first, it all seemed a little surreal. But it quickly became a harsh reality, especially for business owners.

Many businesses were forced to shut, and others had to get smart and adjust their way of working to survive. And it’s been tough. It’s sad to see so many businesses closing as a result.

Now it seems that 2021 is throwing us more of what 2020 did, with multiple States now facing lockdowns.

Business owners once again need to rejig their thinking with business grants and assistance hard to come by. What can we do to survive uncertain times and keep a solid revenue stream for our business?

Here are 5 proven money-making streams you can add to your business

1. Online Courses

You know we love our online courses and think they’re the best way for just about any business to make additional income. The amount of time you need to invest is totally up to you, and you can make it as interactive as you like.

Most business owners already have content that they can convert into an online course. If you’ve got an established coaching business, or you’ve run a service-based business for many years, there’s no doubt you’ve written multiple blogs or eBooks and have a tonne of resources already available.

It’s a matter of thinking about your audience, knowing what they need and then pulling together your content into the form of an online course.

Platforms like Thinkific make it super easy for business owners to set up an online course. And of course, there are experts (like us!) who are here to help you too.

2. Online Workshops or Webinars

If you’re not ready to commit to creating an entire online course, you can always test the waters of interest by running online workshops or webinars. Many people are looking at upskilling (or reskilling), so creating one-off workshops is a brilliant way to see its popularity.

Again, think about your audience and see if you can pinpoint one question that always pops up. Start by using this as the base for your online workshop.

Use your email marketing (your database) and your social channels to promote your workshop. You can even run a series of workshops that you can turn into an online course!

Handy hint – make sure the content you’re using is ‘evergreen’ – content that you can use for years without the need to rejig it constantly. So, if you’re creating things like slide decks, avoid using dates and so on.

3. Digital Products

If you’re running a business, you’ll already have a website, so it doesn’t take too much effort to add in a shop! For example, on WordPress, you can add in WooCommerce.

If tech scares you, don’t fret, there are tech nerds like us who can help.

As with your online courses or workshops, you’ll likely find that you’ve already got products that you can pull together to create a sellable item.

Digital products can include:

● Templates (like my Canva ones)
● Resources (like my social media content planner)
● Meditations
● Videos
● Your workshops
● And so on

4. Affiliate Income

When you refer clients through to another business, they may offer you a ‘referral fee’. This is also commonly known as affiliate marketing.

Many larger companies use it as a reward for their loyal customers referring their clients to them. For example, we love Thinkific and recommend that our clients use their platform (because it truly is amazing). The links we use to send our clients through to Thinkific are our affiliate links.

If you sign up to use the Thinkific platform, the link lets them know that you’ve been referred through from us. As a result, we get a referral fee.

We recommend you only use this method if you legit love a product or service. You don’t want to get lost in the endless circle of affiliate marketing if you’re only in it for the kickbacks. Ultimately, you only want to be referring your network to other companies you love and work with.

If you’re not sure if your fav products or services have an affiliate program, check their website or send them an email. Some businesses (especially service providers) may not have it listed but are happy to pay you a once-off referral fee or similar.

5. Pick My Brain Sessions

As a business owner, you’ve probably experienced those moments where someone has messaged you (either via email or your social DMs) and said, ‘Can I ask you a quick question?’.

And as you know, quick questions often turn into another one, and another one, and another one.

A great way to prevent this ongoing cycle of questioning is to offer a ‘Pick My Brain’ session. You’d start by answering their first question (if you want to). But if they constantly come back with more, that’s where you can step in and politely tell them that you’re happy to answer questions but need your time covered.

These sessions are a great way to help people with multiple questions or problems that you know you can solve within a short timeframe.

The beauty of a virtual world is that you can set up a Zoom (or similar) call with anyone around the world. You can see the person, which makes having a conversation easier, and you can share your screen to help visualise what you’re explaining.

I’ve found that clients who start with a pick my brain session often come back to us to get the work done – it’s the know, like and trust factor.

Disclosure: Some of the links provided in this blog are affiliate links. I only promote services that I personally use and love. I will be paid a small commission if you use this link to make a purchase.

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