If a Web developer, particularly those that work from home and are constantly competing against the cutthroat bargain offers out there, needs to optimise his/her business edge, I usually point them to the fact that increasing their income lies in their own lap.
Affiliate marketing does not have to mean selling cheap trashy e-books or clicking links to some supermarket special that will earn you ten cents per conversion.
Those professionals that already have a website have a goldmine in their web assets and often don't realise it.
Always have a blog and where possible, write once a week at least. A good example is those that are WordPress specialists. WordPress is a platform of preference in the small to medium enterprise world and if you're any good at working with WordPress you can almost surely automate your income. Here's how:
First of all - become an affiliate, There are many WordPress theme stores out there that offer affiliate programmes. I have had countless visitors to our website and blog, who have followed the links, bought a theme and then discovered they are somewhat out of their depth, only to contact me for help.
In South Africa in particular there are so many that believe they can approach their web presence in a DIY manner. As they do and then realise that it will be much quicker to appoint a professional, they will turn to the professional website they started with. Voila - you have a client!
This approach applies to Wordpress themes, plugins and marketing software.
Secondly - Diversify your product range. If you're already building websites then you can build mobile apps. Note that I mentioned apps - NOT websites. Websites should be built responsively now anyway, but we all know the web is rapidly going mobile. Use your coding knowledge to grow your professional development opens new doors all the time. And the affiliate thing comes in here too. Review some of the WYSIWYG mobile app products provide the link and wait for the greenhorns to get in touch.
It also isn't a bad idea to use some of these apps yourself and develop your product base and portfolio.Its always advisable to sell products that you are familiar with.
Thirdly - Teach. Yes thats what I said teach. Offer a class twice a month at R150 per two hour session and by getting the word out locally the ten to twenty regulars that start to come will cover those overheads before you've even started to build on the web. Teaching also sets you aside as an expert in your field!
To find out more on how to make more money with somewhat less effort and bring more business through the door, sign up to the Homegrown event in Cape Town here.
