If you want to make money on the internet and have the freedom of working from home, get creative and build a website that offers: either quality content and/or a product or service people actually want. I know that's not what you wanted to hear at this point, but it's the only honest and genuine way of making a living on the internet. It might sound impossible, but many others have done it. Here is some ideas I've picked up over the years, but don't be afraid to try something new:

Create a blog. Some bloggers have been able to make a living from the advertising that appears on their websites. To be successful, you have to blog about subjects that can capture and maintain a large audience on the web. Although there are a lot of blogs out there about technology, computing and the internet, I saw a gap that I believed I could fill (only time will tell if I was right). I'm sure if you give it some thought, you can come up with a subject or two that you know a lot about, but is not being adequately covered somewhere else in the bloggers-sphere.

Create a website with quality content. If you can create a website full of quality content that people will want to read, you can make a living wage from affiliate marketing campaigns, click through advertising such as Google Adsense, and inviting businesses to advertise directly on your website. As previously mentioned, my first website offered information and advice to Australian parents. I was amazed at how popular my little website became in a very short period of time without any costly promotion. I always earned enough each month from advertising on the site to cover the costs of running it and then some. Unfortunately, I didn't continue with this website (I wish I had because I'd be rich by now) and others moved in to take my place on the web.

Build an online store. I knew a couple in Victoria who built a very successful online baby store which is still operating after many years. There are lots of baby stores online now, but Baby Express was one of the first. Like all retail stores, a business venture like this one has some risks and just like any other store, you need to invest quite a bit of money before you can expect to see any profits. Remember to do your research and sell items that no-one else does in your neck of the woods before you invest too much time and money building an online store in an over-crowded market. For every successful online store, I've seen thousands fail over the years.

Offer an online service. We live in a consumer driven society in the west and we are prepared to pay people to do tasks for us. Furthermore, because most of us live busy lives, we are always looking for ways to save time. I knew a woman in Perth who built a website that enabled users to create a virtual shopping list. She also offered give-aways, competitions, and information and advice for consumers. Internet users couldn't sign up for the free membership of her website fast enough because it took the drudgery out of a common task and made it fun (she has some great tools on her website). In less than a year she had built a subscriber list of thousands and advertisers were falling all over each other to advertise their products on her website. Although a lot of the big grocery retail chains have now created something similiar on their websites, this lady was one of the first and My Shopping List is still operating if you want to take a look.

As the internet continues to grow (it's hard to believe now that it hasn't always been with us) I'm sure we will see many more new ideas for earning a living online. Who knows, maybe you will be the inventor of a new idea that will make you lots of money and inspire others to do the same.