If youre an average member of the population, youre likely to be overworked in a job you dislike, have credit card debts you can never seem to pay off in full, and find yourself run ragged by friends, family and children. If you want to make your life that bit easier, then it makes sense to earn extra money online.

Youve probably heard of these fantastic stories about teenage punks becoming millionaires online. Ditch the envy for a moment and process this information through your brain - these stories are true! Anyone can earn extra money online these days, and you dont need to be a technical wizard in order to do so. The internet is more accessible than ever before, and there is plenty of software available to make your projects as easy and automated as possible.

The most obvious way to earn extra money online is by selling your unwanted goods on an auction site such as eBay. EBay has millions of members, and thousands more sign up each and every day. The market is absolutely huge, and you can sell anything from a leather couch to a leather thong on there! Last year I had a clearout of all my old clothes and items I didnt use, such as vintage lighters, toys from childhood and books. To my amazement, I raised a quick $2000.

However, eBay will only provide you with sporadic lump sum payments. If you are looking to make a consistent, passive profit month after month, then you need to venture into internet marketing. There are many methods to make cash online, and internet marketing is the umbrella term used to describe them. Lets examine a few of these methods.

Firstly, there is blogging. If you wish to earn extra money online, you wont go too far wrong with blogging. You can set up a website for free, add some affiliate links or some Adsense advertising (again, for free), and then focus on driving visitors to your site. Blogging can be a hugely enjoyable past-time as well as a money-maker, but like everything else in life you will need to spend a little time researching the tips, tricks and methods to make the most of your new site. Try going to internet marketing forums and asking for some advice - most marketers are very helpful to newbies.

Secondly, you could try affiliate marketing. Simply find a product which has an affiliate program over at a website like Paydotcom. Register for an affiliate account (free), and then start making posts in related forums with your affiliate link in your signature. This method is especially easy if you happen to pick a product youre interested in, e.g. Texas Holdem poker, gardening, real estate etc. It makes writing those posts a heck of a lot more enjoyable.

Thirdly, you could give pay-per-click (PPC) advertising a go. If you run a search on Google, you will inevitably see a list of sponsored links in the right hand panel of the page. If you sign up for a Google Adwords account (free), then you too can place adverts. The idea is that you pay a pre-determined amount of money for every click your advert receives from a web surfer. If you can direct the surfer to a site where you stand to make affiliate commissions, then you can make a great deal of money fairly quickly. However, I would recommend that you read a good ebook on Google Adwords before trying this, and also hunt around for a free $50 Adwords voucher to get your feet wet before committing any of your own money.

These three methods really are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to internet marketing. If you want to earn extra money online, then you need to realise there are literally hundreds of different ways to do so. As you get more experienced in the business, youll realise that you will be rewarded greater by being as innovative and as creative as possible. But if you do wish to pursue internet marketing as a long-term option, ensure you master the basic free methods of making money online before anything