There’s not much that’s more appealing than the thought of being able to earn a living working at home, especially if you can earn an income entirely online. Yet finding legitimate work from home business opportunities can be a challenge, as you’re often bombarded with work at home job scams.  Here are five examples of legitimate online business opportunities, including some online employers and potential clients, to help point you in the right direction:

Freelance Content Writing
Becoming a freelance writer can be a simple, and low-cost, way to go into business for yourself, working from home on the Web.  Web writers are in high demand, from large content networks to small niche sites. The key is to understand that Web writing is different than writing for a print medium.  Freelance Web writers need to make all of their work easily “scanned” (meaning you should use bold subheadings and numbered or bulleted lists so readers can browse your articles easily to find exactly what they’re looking for). The most successful Web writers will be experts in a specific niche or field, rather than general writers who will write on any subject. Major content networks are probably the best means for breaking into Web writing and making a name for yourself.  Some networks pay based on a page view rate scale, some offer monthly pay guarantees, and some don’t pay but allow writers to place their own advertising or otherwise earn from ad revenues. Some examples of large content networks worth looking into are www.About.com, www.Suite101.com, www.AllInfoAbout.com, and www.BellaOnline.com.

Blogging
With the boom of blogs, and readers’ interest in them as an alternative and independent media source, large blog networks have emerged and grown.  While some blog networks are unpaid, others actively seek experts who can write to target a specific niche market (similar to what content networks look for), and will pay in various ways, from monthly stipends to revenue sharing models.  Some examples of blog networks that currently pay bloggers are www.Creative-Weblogging.com and www.b5media.com.

Online Auctions
The continual growth of eBay is enough evidence that there’s definitely money to be made in online auctions.  Setting up an eBay business can be an easy way to reach a large audience without too much overhead.  When setting up an online auction business, there are a few things to keep in mind.  First of all, do everything you can to keep your overhead low (such as selling downloadable products that don’t need to be manufactured).  You should also plan out your eBay business thoroughly, and account for the amount of space you’ll need to inventory products, or find a drop shipper to serve as a supplier. With an online auction business, quite possibly the most important thing to think about is choosing your niche. Two easy ways to think about it are “Do I know a lot about this type of product, or at least feel passionately about it?” and “Is there a continual need in the market for this product?”

Affiliate Sites
Some people have a lot of success by running affiliate websites as an online work at home business.  However, for most people an affiliate site isn’t going to pay the bills.  That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a try if you’re looking for some extra part-time income though.  There are various affiliate programs and ad networks available (two of the most popular being Google Adsense and www.Amazon.com), including many in very specialized niches.  The key to a successful affiliate website is to choose your niche carefully, and make it something you have a genuine interest in.  This is because you’ll need to spend a good amount of time working on your affiliate site if you want to continually draw and increase traffic.  The best way to do that is to provide unique quality content on a regularly updating basis.  You should also be certain to have a website with a design that’s simple for readers to navigate, and you can look at tools such as Google’s Heat Map to learn about the best ad placements on a site.

Traditional Businesses
Working at home on the Web doesn’t mean you need to choose a common online-only business model.  Why not adapt a more traditional business to the online world, like many entrepreneurs have done before you?  Just as a few examples, you could start an e-consulting firm offering advice and other services, you could design and sell jewelry or other products, or you can do online-only Web design or other creative work.

Working at home online doesn’t have to seem impossible, and it doesn’t even have to be hard. You can work as a freelance professional or even start your own business entirely online.  Just remember that starting an online business still involves the same legal and tax issues, as well as record-keeping, as an offline business, and you still need to spend time marketing your products or services. Just because you’re on the Web doesn’t mean clients or customers will be able to find you on their own.