Hi, and welcome as I take a look towards a new year.
There are many ways to produce good profits online. These 5 digital business ideas for beginners to get earning in 2023, are for people looking to get away from the soul destroying 9-5 rat race.
Retirees, stay at home moms and others looking for a way to get started earning online.
If you have been trying to earn online and not having much success.
These 5 digital business ideas will help you, by showing you where the money will be made in 2023.
With all the Black Friday, Cyber Monday sales, now is the time to be looking at online opportunities
Some people do well with local business marketing, others with mobile phone apps, games, and others with click ‘arbitrage’. (pay per click).
However these are all hyper competitive, and it can be hard to get enough of a foothold, to the point where you are making decent money.
My Top 5 digital business ideas for beginners in 2023.


- Trading Digital Currencies
- Affiliate Marketing
- Dropshipping physical products
- Selling Digital Products.
1. Trading Digital Currencies.
This is an exciting area to be involved in. Over the past few years the value of digital coins have Risen and fallen in a see-sawing ride that makes many people wary of becoming involved with them.
However their overall trend has been up and many in Bitcoin have seen its value increase massively in just a few years.
In 2016 Bitcoin was priced at $400:00. At 22nd.Nov’21 Bitcoin was trading at $59,927:00.
Earlier in November it was trading at an all time high of $68,990:00.
But, REMBER, what goes up comes down.
According to Investopedia, Bitcoin is primarily used as a store of value. ie a hedge against inflation.
How to Invest in Digital Currencies
Looking at the numbers above, and you are probably thinking you wouldn’t touch Bitcoin with a 40ft. pole.
As I am sure you are aware, Bitcoin is not the only digital coin, Ethereum, which is also popular with some saying it is Bitcoins main competitor.
Plus there are a lot of other lesser known crypto coins, which are making profits for the people who hold them.
Ethereum though, display’s the similar volatility to Bitcoin, only at lesser values. (currently it is around $4,000:00 US
This might leave you wondering if there is a way to invest in these, without taking a second mortgage on the house.
You can! and it is not going to break the bank. You can see how in this article.
What a lot of people don’t realize is, that there are a LOT of different ways to profit from Crypto Currencies.
It is not simply a matter of holding on for dear life when the price turns against you.
In the IcoinPro article (link above), it shows how people can learn a simple trading system, using software and tools to find potential trade opportunities.
Then with the knowledge learnt, and applying the system, execute your own trades with entry and exit prices based on what you have learnt.
With Government printing presses working overtime, it’s not surprising the explosive growth continues in the crypto space.
Particularly, when the government is telling you that higher prices is all in your imagination ! After you have just returned from the supermarket, and spending $50 or $60 more than usual, with less items in the grocery bags.
I say that Bitcoin is not money, but rather a state of mind – free from government and Central Banks manipulations. It’s not tied to interest rates. If interest rates go up, bitcoin still does its own thing, meaning that it doesn’t rise and fall according to some government decision – unlike Bonds or the Dollar!
Barefootaffiliate
Note:- I am not affiliated with, or part of any MLM associated with Crypto.
Pros and Cons of Digital Currencies.
The trading platforms require personal details, financial details and identity verification to set up a trading account. Normally people open an account with between $5,000 – $10,000 from which to trade with.
PROS
Suitable for people with some experience in trading, knowledge of stop loss positions and knowing when to take profits.
CONS
Volatility in markets can whip saw from one extreme to the other. If a trade goes against you, expect to see any profits disappear and expect margin calls on your account, if you have not set a stop loss price limit.
2. Affiliate Marketing
Things are heating up in the world of affiliate marketing, because there are more good products than ever before.
Advertisers are competing for the attention of affiliates, offering increased commission rates, special bonuses, and all sorts of other compensation tactics, to encourage as much attention as possible in getting their products promoted online.
Affiliates who have built up loyal base of readers are earning six figure incomes.
The ability to use AI (artificial intelligence), enhanced marketing is helping a lot. Now, video ads are way faster to make, and places where you can advertise, using advanced technology to find buyers, simplifies the process even more.
There are more traffic opportunities than ever, across a wider number of sources. Think, YouTube, organic, YouTube paid, Google organic, Google paid, TikTok, Facebook groups, Facebook ads, Native Ads, Bing Ads, and lots more.
Still, none of that is of any use to you, if you don’t know how to get started.
Affiliate marketing is the best business to start with little money. Given a little time and some effort the profits can be astronomical.
It’s an exciting time in the world of Affiliate marketing, and 2022 should be even bigger, as this next wave is only just beginning.
Affiliate Marketing and Students
Teens have been some of the worst affected by covid lockdowns. There are numerous reports of teen depression, self harm, feelings of anxiety about their future.


Student debt and lack of good employment opportunities, or in many cases loss of jobs (due to covid), is making life more unstable the younger generation, helped in part by their parents own instabilities.
It is not unknown for teens to make money online and there are quite a few success stories are online.
Gamers across demographics are hungry for the latest systems, the hottest games, and all the frills that will make them play better.
Selling $25 games and $4,000 – $5,000 gaming PCs from the same site—even the same page of content, is not unheard of.
Who can talk about games the best? Those who play them.
If your teen is into them, having an affiliate site will monetarize his passion.
There are numerous articles here on affiliate marketing, but if your done with “thinking about it” and actually want to do something, review your options HERE.
PROS | CONS |
Limited cost to start | Knowledge of the process takes time |
Ability to earn ongoing passive income | Developing a website that ranks on Google |
Suited to teens and retirees alike. | It takes time to build a website and add content, before you see some return. |


3. Dropshipping
Dropshipping opportunities have exploded, and those at the forefront of this selling online model, have seen their profits skyrocket.
Government shut-downs and other restrictive measures over covid, although not as bad as they were, still have people setting up online models to earn an income.
One reason is, many countries with forced vaccine compliances (no jab, no job), mask mandates and closed borders, are continuing to help businesses selling products online.
People Now Have More Confidence Shopping Online.
Since the 2020 shutdown, online shopping boomed as a consequence of people being forced to stay at home.
Now that people know, that the things they order online will arrive, they are quite comfortable buying online, and this trend is likely to continue into the foreseeable future.
The “normalcy index” compiled by correspondents from the Economist, predict that falls in office occupancy and cinema attendance are here to stay.
As well, they predict international travel will be easier later in 2022, but restrictions will remain, and they may not recover to pre-covid levels until around 2024!.
This site has a few articles on dropshipping, which may be of help to you. However…
Shopify, one of the best known online platforms for dropshipping, and selling products on line.
It has an impressive library of business ideas for beginners.
The number of unique tips for businesses contained in their blog, has helped Shopify build a sustainable and loyal following, by supporting people in their entrepreneurship journey and helping them achieve economic independence.
Unlike say, Amazon and E-Bay
Talking about Teen Entrepreneurs
Dropshipping is a teen entrepreneur’s dream introduction to earning online, with some using it to pay their way through college.
This started years ago on E-Bay, with teens selling stuff, then setting up their own websites and selling on other sites, like the book of faces, as well as selling on E-Bay.
These days it still happens. Shopify welcomes the younger generation and devotes a lot of effort to helping them get started.
With Shopify you can…
- Create and customize an online store
- Sell in multiple places, including web, mobile, social media, online marketplaces, brick-and-mortar locations, and pop-up shops
- Manage products, inventory, payments, and shipping
You can see more on Shopify FAQ’s Here


4. Digital Products
Getting away from business ideas for beginners for a minute, this online niche does need some experience before you can jump into it.
A digital product can be software, or an online membership (videos, audio, ebooks, starting a podcast etc).
If you are a beginner don’t be deterred, as there is room for you in this niche.
Again, software is ideal for the younger generation and those up with the latest IT skills.
I mentioned Gamers above.
If you think being an affiliate is not going to work for you, then developing games could be the ticket for you to earn online.
Like courses, software does not need to be expensive.
Selling these can be a one off payment or a subscription.
Where to sell your Digital Products.
Shopify can become a little expensive, because to sell digital products on Shopify you need a 3rd party app. which are generally an additional cost.
A better and less expensive option is Sellfy. It was created for digital creators and is designed specifically for digital products.
You can see more on Sellfy by clicking here.
The downside with most software, is they need constant updating, With most techies that can be as simple as spending 5 minutes tweaking something.
Creating courses:
If you have some knowledge of a profession, or a skill, then making a course is a good way to monetarize that skill.


Anyone can create something as simple as a book, that goes up on Amazon kindle, or as complex as a software program, that customers can use to learn a foreign language.
Usually I’d recommend people start as an affiliate first, before creating their own product (video, e-book etc.).
Though some people get more motivated by creating their own products, so they are not worried that if it takes them longer to get up and running.
Creating Apps.
This is a more advanced field, but if you have IT skills, creating apps does lead on to bigger and better things.
One of the best places for App builders to list their product(s) is (again), Shopify.
This link should take you to their App page where you can read Shopify’s guidelines for submitting apps.
Fiverr is also a place where App builders can create products, including animation and infographics on demand.
Building Themes.
Another for those with IT skills. (It is highly competitive however), but some of the best webpage themes are developed by people who weren’t happy with a WordPress theme (usually), they were using, so they created their own.
This site uses a theme created by bloggers, not happy with the slow time it took WordPress themes to load in the Google searches.
So they worked on developing a theme that was Ultra responsive. They now have about 710,000 downloads for their themes. You can see them here.
Obviously you need coding skills, but if you tech savvy, then creating digital products can be lucrative.
5. Freelancing and Online Work.
This is becoming more common, as would be expected after the lockdowns, and closure of businesses due to the pandemic.
Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer and others, are sites where people with differing skillsets can offer their services.
Often you will see bloggers throwing rocks at them, but there are people making good money as virtual assistants, social media managers, creating apps, writing blog articles, white papers and technical manuals etc.
Fiverr is quite open, and you can see how a lot of people are making money, what their asking prices are, level of experience etc. To take a look click the link below.
Link for Fiverr.
Other Online Work Options.
Are in Customer service for companies such as Sitel or Alorica. This is often the domain of stay at home moms or single moms. However over the last 12 months I have seen a marked shift in their hiring, with many students and bi-lingual people being hired.
Their pay rates are not to shabby either.
Thanks for reading,
As always you can leave any questions or comments below.
Michael.
Thanks for these ideas. I think affiliate marketing would be the best bet for people looking to make money online. Let’s face it. The internet is here to stay. The pandemic has proven that. It has forced people to buy online. It’s really easy to be an affiliate marketer with the right training. I think Wealthy Affiliate is the perfect place to learn affiliate marketing. Thanks for your post.
Hi Michael, Thank you for your excellent advice! You have detailed the points, and I have learned something new from them.
I have started an affiliate marketing business to earn money from home, watching more traffic coming to my site. Still, there is so much to do, and finding the right affiliate programs is not easy, at least for me.
Cryptocurrency is something that I do besides my affiliate business, and the ups and downs are not that problematic.
Anyway, I think it is always better to have more options. I would love to try out dropshipping and check out Shopify to sell my products, mainly because Shopify is very supportive.
AI gives a lot of great opportunities. Asian countries are already advanced and developing, but digital products are not my favorite because I am not very good at creating software or apps. Luckily there is enough for everyone. 🙂