There really is only one way to make money on the internet -- sales.

Really it is the truth. Of course there are a lot of different variations in how and what you sell on the internet and another dramatic difference is the lack of the dreaded cold-calling forced on so many traditional sales folks.

At first glance your choices are pretty straightforward:

~ Sell other people's products

~ Sell your own products

~ Sell yourself

~ Sell space on your web site, blog, or publication

Then things start to get complicated.

Even something as simple as selling products created by others takes on some unique twists on the internet and can quickly lead to complicated decisions. This choice falls into four main areas:

~ Selling as an affiliate to earn commission on each sale (you deliver customer to vendor)

~ Selling unlimited electronic products as a reseller to earn 100% profit on each sale (you are directly involved in sale)

~ Selling a limited number of products you bought at wholesale to earn the difference between your cost and the sale price (you are directly involved in sale)

~ Selling as a drop shipper to earn a percentage of each sale (you are the middle man in transaction)

Each method offers its own blend of benefits and drawbacks and you need to decide which suits your experience, time, and interest.

Selling your own products can be complicated as well by the need to organize issues such as payment processors and affiliate programs and advertising as well as customer service.

Selling yourself offers advantages in that you don't need to deal with many of the problems involved in products -- such as payment processors, large numbers of customers and all the complications that entails -- but it can also be limiting (you only have so many hours in the day to accomplish the tasks or jobs that you take on) and requires the need for regular promotion to build and maintain your client base.

Finally selling advertising such as banners or text links or offering contextual or pay-per-click or pixel advertising can be a much simpler method of earning money but in order to earn a decent income from this source you must continually work to build and promote your web site, blog, and/or publication. Web sites and blogs that don't consistently offer new, quality content quickly slip in search engine status and the loss of traffic then income follows even faster than you can say search engine optimization.

That is just a quick overview of the income opportunities available to you on the internet. Good luck with your new internet business whichever choice you make.

About the author:

Deanna Mascle is happy to offer her recommended Internet Business Tools as well as other advice about Doing Business Online. Internet marketers can also subscribe to her internet marketing newsletter Establish Your Epresence.