Yes, these days, you can earn a living online from the comfort of your own home. Not only has the Internet made this a possibility, but it has also helped create new employment opportunities for people who are willing to embrace technology and its great potential to create new income sources. As we speak, there are plenty of great opportunities to earn a living over the web; and here is a look at some of them.

1. Selling eBooks

People are thirsty for knowledge; and today, they don't go to libraries to get it. Instead, they choose to seek the information they need online. That is why selling eBooks has such great potential as an income generating business. After you create an eBook, you can sell it on sites like Amazon. Alternatively, you can create your own website and sell your digital books there. You don't even have to sell your own books, you could get into an arrangement with the book owner and sell his/her eBook for a commission. This applies to other digital products as well.

2. Network Marketing

Affiliate marketing as a way to make money online has had a lot of critics and supporters. There are even people who think it a scam after falling into the greedy hands of "gurus" who demand money from them in exchange for an opportunity to earn money as affiliate marketers. But making money through affiliate marketing is very possible, and a lot of people are doing it successfully and earning quite a bit of cash. So, affiliate marketing is an online business field you should give serious consideration even as you learn more about this industry here. In fact, some successful affiliate marketers had to quit their regular jobs and even turn into employers themselves.

This business essentially involves getting into a partnership with another business with the goal of promoting its products in order to get affiliate commissions. For instance, by affiliating yourself with a site like Amazon, you can make a living off the products people buy from this giant online retailer through your website. With more and more people doing their shopping online, this industry actually has a lot of potential.

3. Online Coaching/Consultancy

If you consider yourself an authority in a certain field, then there is a high likelihood that someone would be willing to pay you for an opportunity to learn something from you. You could be a relationship coach, a business coach, and pretty much any other kind of expert. You just need to set up your website, or even join a website that welcomes such professionals and you can start using your knowledge and skills to earn a living over the web. You do not necessarily need a certificate to make it in this industry, but it does help if you want to have more credibility. Some of the tools you can use here include video conferencing and VoIP calls.

4. Social Media Management

Social media has gotten so huge that not even businesses can ignore its impact. Today, businesses need to market their services online in order to have a better edge against their rivals. However, social media promotions need to be engaging as the goal is to create an online community around the brand and its products. This, obviously, needs specialized attention in order to work, which is where social media management comes in. As a social media manager, you can work online to make brands more popular and earn a lot of money in the process.

5. Web Design

Think about it, every online business needs a website. And not just any website, but a website that is tailored to its vision. To create this resource, an expert is needed, which is where web design skills come in. So, you can get into the business of helping online businesses create websites that help them achieve their dreams. For instance, retail industry websites need different features from news websites and so forth. So, if you are in a position to offer these important skills, then you can make a lot of money in the process.

6. Virtual Assistance

Virtual assistants are helping businesses reduce their operation costs. Therefore, people who are willing to work as virtual assistants are in pretty high demand. Some of the things you can do as a virtual assistant include bookkeeping and website management. You can use freelancing sites to find gigs in this niche, although you can also work with clients directly.

While earning a living online from the comfort of your own home might sound like a brilliant idea, which it is, you will still need to make careful choices to be successful. Ideally, you should get into an industry that you are passionate about and know plenty about. Sure, you can dabble in more than one niche, but it's important to give each line of business all the attention it deserves in order to make a decent amount of money off your online business efforts.