When you go out to work at a traditional job, your job could be at risk for a number of reasons including redundancy. Many of these reasons also transfer when you are earning an income online. I would much rather have 100 different ways to earn £20 per month than one way to earn £2,000 per month. If that one thing disappeared overnight then I would be back to square one, whereas if one of those £20 income streams disappeared then I would still be earning £1,980 elsewhere. That’s why I focus on having multiple income streams. Plus it is pretty easy to make up £20, but trying to make £2,000 from scratch can be much harder.
You have heard the saying “don’t put all your eggs into the same basket” and the same is true when it comes to earning an income online. Whether you are just looking to boost your income by earning an extra £100 a month or whether you are working online full time, it is important to diversify your income by having multiple income streams. Of course, you don’t need to have 100 different things bringing you an income every month, but spreading your income out over a few avenues protects you. I have learned the importance of having multiple income streams, which is how I managed to make almost £3,200 online last month.
When it comes to investments then it seems obvious to diversify your portfolio, but less obvious when it comes to earning money online. There are plenty of reasons why it is important to have different revenue streams when you are earning an income online.
Boredom
If you pour your heart and soul into a project, perhaps a blog, then you might find yourself bored after some time. If you can continue to motivate yourself then this shouldn’t be a problem, but if you find it difficult to motivate yourself when you have lost your passion then spreading out your income over several avenues will help you. Being able to move between different projects – perhaps you want to do matched betting, have a blog and complete online surveys – is great for those of you who crave variety. No two days are the same for me and I love having the ability to work on any number of projects.
Hacking or website outages
If you receive a large portion of your income from a website, whether is through affiliate marketing, adverts or sponsored posts then a website outage or a hacking attack could potentially wipe out your entire income overnight. It is a great idea to not rely too heavily on one website or blog for your income. I am working on this myself and I am adding new websites to my portfolio on a monthly basis. To spread out the risk I am also hosting websites with different providers.
Another great thing about building up new blogs and websites is that I can explore content outside of the money making and money saving niches. Meaning that I can write about a whole new niche without anyone associating it with MakeMoneyWithoutAJob.com. It also opens up a whole new world of income streams.
Going out of business
Over the years I have seen money making websites open and close with many people losing all the income they hadn’t cashed out. With so many websites appearing on a daily basis, there are still plenty closing on a regular basis. No matter how successful a website has been in the past, you never know when it is as risk of closing. If that earning opportunity, whether it be a smart phone app, a mystery shopping company, a survey website or something entirely was responsible for your entire income then its closure could get you back to square one. Cashing out from these websites on a regular basis will help to protect any income you have already earned, but it is important not to rely too heavily on one website.
Client cut backs
If you are carrying out freelance work for a client then not only is your contract sometimes at risk, you could be asked to reduce the number of hours that you work. It is a good idea to not rely too heavily on one client – they could need to reduce their outgoings at short notice or stop working on a project entirely, meaning that your services are no longer required.
Suggestions for diversifying your income
I am currently looking to increase my passive income and diversify my income. Here are some suggestions for diversifying your income.
- Blogging – making money from adverts, affiliate marketing and accepting sponsored posts.
- Matched betting – making use of bookmaker’s free bets to get a guaranteed profit, tax free.
- Complete online surveys – Prolific Academic is my favourite survey website along with MintVine.
- Mystery shopping – you can check out my guide to mystery shopping in the UK.
- Website testing with WhatUsersDo.
- Earn from smart phone apps – my e-book, 50 iPhone Apps To Earn Cash is just 99p at Amazon.
- Write an e-book for sale at Amazon.
- Investment – this is a great way to diversify your income, and you can get an extra £100 bonus when you deposit £1,000 into RateSetter for 12 months.
For a quick start guide to matched betting, sign up to my mailing list below and receive a FREE monthly matched betting calendar to help you keep track of important sporting events. You will also receive tips and tricks on how to make the most of your new income stream.
If you earn extra money then do you have multiple income streams?
2 responses
Great points!
I have a blog that has affiliate ads on, but it is still very small. I do swagbucks for some amazon spending money, but have not really tried anything else. I am definitely going to look into some of these, thank you.