As the Western world talks of another double dip recession, it's becoming more important than ever to ensure that you have multiple income streams in order to minimise the impact of financial hardship.
One way to overcome this without incurring huge expense is to find work via the internet. Aside from setting up and developing your own site, there are many things you can do that don't even require you to own a website of your own.
A popular tried and tested method of secondary income is eBay. One of the best methods for success on eBay is to specialise in a particular niche product that is underrepresented - even better if you have an interest and knowledge in the niche. Think about the subjects you know well and try to develop a good niche area that you can become an expert in. If you don't want to hold stock for a site like eBay, you can always do an internet search for dropshippers, companies that hold stock and handle the shipping and returns for you. Don't forget to also add items to classifieds and other sites such as uBid, Amazon or Bonanza.
If you're good at writing then there are numerous sites to put your skills to use, including iWriter and EzineArticles. There are many website owners who are not great at writing and are always in need of fresh, daily content for their sites. Sign up to a few different sites, create a profile and add samples of you work in order to get started.
Selling digital content is also a good stream of passive income. If you have a high quality stills or video camera then you can add pictures and footage to sites such as iStockphoto. If you're musical then there are sites such as MusoZone, where you can post your skills for free and work as an online session musician for artists and labels who are seeking help in getting projects completed.
Although it takes a while to get started, YouTube can prove to be a profitable source of income. The trick is to create regular, appealing content that gets you lots of views. Once you have a steady stream of visitors to your channel, YouTube email you with the option to monetise your videos. Although the sum per stream is small, it's another form of passive income and can soon add up if you are one of the lucky ones whose content goes viral.
Worthy of special mention are sites like oDesk and Freelancer, where you can create a profile and add in your own personal skill set. You can choose what type of jobs you would like to do depending on your field of expertise and also set your own price depending on your skill level. competition is tough but there are may people here making a good secondary income and some that are even working full time.
It may be that you have to try a few of these methods in order to generate enough secondary income to be comfortable and the best way is to try a selection and see what works for you personally.
