Generally, there are two types of work at home agents: those who are earning money online and everyone else. Now while there are numerous methods to earn money on the internet those who are making real money online have employed these two tactics.
1. Market research
I’m still surprised at the number of work at home enthusiasts who jump on the boat without doing any sort of preparation. All business, big or small, online or off, should have a business plan. Statistics show that most online businesses fail within three years. This may be due to the fact that 80 percent of online businesses do not know their target market is and what their needs are. This is the result of not doing market research and creating a realistic plan to reach their goal.
Market research entails hanging out in forums, participating in discussion groups, and networking on sites that are related to your business idea. Your target market is comprised of a group of people who make up a certain age group, race and gender who share similar interests and needs. This need is what you want to tap into because this is how you’re going to earn money.
Let’s say for instance, that you wanted to create a home decor business. During your market research you realized that just-out-of-college students were finding it difficult to keep their new homes trendy with their small budget. Instead of building a website all about general home decor information you would want to focus on targeting young adults and first home buyers.
Your business plan should include your competition-who are your top competitors and what are they doing-potential profit margin, the cost of advertising, methods of generating free traffic, highly searched keywords for your niche, as well as knowing whether your target market is growing or decreasing.
All this information is necessary because it helps to reassure that this is in fact a viable business plan. It also allows you to discover problems those in your target market have and how to solve them.
Once you’ve gathered this information you can then begin to create a product that serves a need. All target markets have a need and in order to earn money online you have to meet it.
2. Create an information product
There are many ways to generate an income online. However, the method that most successful work at home gurus use is by creating their own information product. For starters it’s fast. If you write well, you can have your own information product in less than a day. If not, you can hire someone to write it for you. Another reason is because it’s cost effective. “No shipping fees” has a lot of appeal online. And because you don’t have to worry about shipping and postage it a hands free method of earning money online.
Going back to the home decor example, your research proved that there are a lot of new home owners that want a nice home with very little to spend. Your e-book could then be about interior design tips for those on a budget. Write your e-book, set up a payment system and then promote your e-book to your target market.
Creating a business plan is the first and most important step. It arms you with the information to earn money online. With this information you can then find out what problems need to be solved within your target market and create an information product to solve it.

Jeff Casmer is an internet marketing consultant and work at home business owner. For more information on work at home jobs for moms please visit his “Top Ranked” Earn Money Online Directory which gives you all the information you need to Work at Home in the 21st century.