How to Start Your Online Business for $0

Start small, grow big, and invest in proper tools on the go.

Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA from Pexels // This post contains affiliate links.

Contrary to what most “online gurus” preach, building a profitable and reliable online business is no child’s play. It takes time, effort, and more sacrifices than you might think.

And that’s partly because the online business industry has become so confusing.

There are so many tools, different opinions, and contradictory approaches that taking the first few steps can feel like a huge challenge.

Yet, at the same time, this is one of the greatest opportunities of our time.

Running an online business allows me to live life to the fullest. It allows me to support my loved ones whenever they need me. It allows me to travel for several months per year.

And it allows me to connect with the most exciting and interesting people across the globe.

That’s why I’m so passionate about supporting (aspiring) creators to take the leap and grow online income sources too.

I genuinely wish more people would make use of it instead of wasting their lives on jobs they hate.

But you know what the best news is?

You can start with an investment of $0.

So many people reach out to me and say, “Sinem, I’d love to start my own business, but I can’t because I’m not able to pay for all those costly tools.”

And I totally get it because I’ve been there too.

I’m the child of an immigrant family and have two younger siblings. I worked at my first job when I was 15 years old. I know where you might be coming from when you say you don’t have the financial resources to invest in costly tools and courses.

When I decided to start my own online business, I had to improvise and find ways to make my dreams work despite a lack of financial resources.

The good news is, it works.

You can build your online business without investing in expensive tools upfront. Here’s how:

You start by attracting your audience

The kind of online business I’m talking about in this post is an online education business.

In a nutshell, this means you’re making money by educating your audience on a specific topic.

I, for instance, help beginners to start writing online and grow their audience plus income.

I do so through articles like this one, through videos, through my Mastermind Group for writers, and through paid coaching programs.

I’m monetizing my knowledge and experiences, so my audience members can achieve specific results with ease and confidence.

For all of this to work, I need attention. I need to reach people.

If we’re talking about building your online business with an investment of $0, you obviously can’t run paid advertising campaigns.

We can’t do Facebook ads, hire PR agents, or pay for sponsored content that features our work and expertise.

Instead, we need to show up and create valuable content that’s so good people want more.

Luckily, we can pick from various content formats like text, audio, or video.

I’m a writer, so the majority of my content is text.

The best part about starting your online business in 2022 is that you can choose from various content creation platforms which you can all use for free.

I’m talking about platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, Pinterest, or Medium.

These places allow you to attract your audience by showing up and sharing content. And they charge you $0 to join as a creator and get started.

Next, you give your best to stay in touch with your audience

To monetize your audience, you need to be able to send them information whenever you want.

The simplest and most effective way to do that is through email marketing.

Email is an inevitable and powerful tool if you want to sell online. It’s much more effective than any social network, and most importantly, it’s yours.

Your social profiles could be banned or hacked even if you don’t do anything wrong. This can’t happen to your email list. At least not if you regularly create backups.

So yes, you need an email marketing tool.

My email tool of choice is Convertkit. I’m paying several thousand dollars per year to use it, but you can use a free plan until you have your first 1,000 subscribers:

Compare Converkit’s Pricing Plans, Screenshot by Author

There are dozens of email marketing tools you can use for free, and I’ve tried many of them, but Convertkit is the best choice if you’re serious about monetizing your audience in the long run.

On top of all the great features and the user-friendly interface, they also have great training videos to help you get started.

Last but not least, you need a tool that helps you sell

Let’s say you’ve got the first two points figured out: You found a platform that allows you to share your knowledge and attract an audience.

People see and enjoy your content. They enjoy it so much that they sign up for your newsletter, which you occasionally promote.

They also enjoy your emails and get excited whenever your name pops up in their inbox.

That’s great, and you already came a lot further than most people will ever do, but… what’s next?

A newsletter is nice, but it doesn’t translate into cash, right?

Well, actually, it does.

If you know how to do it, a healthy email list can be highly profitable because you can use it to sell products and services.

As an online educator, you have a few different options to monetize your audience:

You can collaborate with other creators and promote their products or services in exchange for an affiliate commission.
You can promote tools or products you personally enjoy (e.g., books you’ve read).
You can team up with brands and feature them or promote their products to your audience.
And most importantly, you can create and sell your own products. This is usually the most profitable option. It’s also the one that gives you the most freedom because you’re not dependent on others. Plus, it’s also great because you can be 100% confident about what you promote to your audience because you created it and know it’s worth paying for.

Luckily, you can create and sell your own products or services for free if you’re not ready to pay for advanced features yet.

My tool of choice for creating and selling digital products and coaching programs is Teachable.

I’ve been a heavy Teachable user since 2018 and have generated multiple six-figure profits through the platform. I now use the Pro version for $99/month, but you can start for $0:

Start to Monetize Your Audience for $0 With Teachable, Screenshot by Author

Teachable is perfect for selling online courses and coaching.

If you mostly want to sell low-priced products like a short ebook, you can also use a platform like Gumroad.

You can try both platforms for free, and they’ll only charge you if you make sales, which is totally fair because they process the payments.

Final thoughts

Let’s wrap it up. You now have:

A platform to build your audience, which allows you to attract potential customers who enjoy your message and want to learn more from you.
An email marketing tool, which enables you to stay in touch with your audience and monetize by promoting products and services.
A product delivery tool through which you can easily deliver your digital products.

And all of those cost $0 but allow you to make money by sharing your knowledge and experiences with the world. You’ll only pay a tiny fee for the delivery tool (e.g., Teachable or Gumroad) if you actually make money using the platform.

Once you make a significant income using these tools, you can upgrade to the paid options, so you have access to more advanced features.

So the only question left is… what’s holding you back from getting started?

Let me know by leaving a comment, and I’ll give my best to help out!

If you’d like to dive deeper, sign up for my free video training about the four elements of a successful online education business. 🎬

💻 Wanna build an online business but don’t know where to start? Download my FREE Framework.