India is another country that has fastest growing Internet users. As at 2012, more than 346 million Indian had subscribed to data packages. Unlike us, you can see the evidence of the Indian online population growth from the quality of businesses they are creating. From Blogging to eCommerce and anything you can think of, Online Indian are there creating wealth for themselves.
Apart from creating businesses, India are really adding value to the Internet. As a Blogger, I know how many times I needed help on how to improve my blog and each time I searched for help, I always get quality tutorial from Indian blogs - 90% of the time. That goes to tell you the quality Indians online are made of, and the value they are creating. But that can not be said of online Nigerians.
So my question is: What are we really doing online? All I can see are people full of name calling and abuses. Go to popular Nigerian forums like Nairaland.com and try to interact with the community, the first thing you will receive is insult and abuse! You begin to wonder what manner of people are in here? People who can not express themselves without insulting one and other?
Life is about opportunities and when you have one you try and make good use of it. There is huge internet business opportunities in the hands of Nigerians online but so sad we aren't making good use of it instead, chose to pass it over to foreigners.
Most of the Nigerian based eCommerce companies who are making million online are not Nigerian companies. Jumia.com.ng isn't indigenous company. Likewise others like them, these are the people taking advantage of the over 60 million internet users in Nigeria to make money while we are there insulting, arguing and browsing ladies pictures on Facebook, posing as all sort of things looking for who to scam.
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| Online Nigerians are sleeping on duty |
Where are the Entrepreneurs? Where are the Tech savvy Nigerians? Where are the Inventors? Does it mean we have none? Some online Nigerians who have the opportunity to grow usually end up becoming mediocre with no improvement and no innovation.
The few fortunate ones who have been able to set up something substantial on the internet have come to have the believe that as long as they are making some bucks there is no need to improve or innovate. That is very wrong! Facebook was making billions of dollars when they created the current timeline and I can tell you they are still working everyday round the clock to improve and to be better.
E.g: Why would Linda Ikeji be busy buying stuffs and celebrating birthday in London when her blog site is in such sorry state (Wacky Domain Name, Poor SEO, Zero Branding, etc)? The answer is: Lack of innovative spirit.
Nairaland.com is still parading the same very poor interface, devoid of character and branding, despite having been around on the internet since eight years now? Ask Twitter that was founded five years ago how many times they have changed their system and interface. That is what innovation is all about and innovation is what drives growth.
These two I just mentioned are even big businesses, there are thousands of other websites own by Nigerians that may never see the light of the day in terms of profitability despite being in a multi billion dollar niche, due to mediocrity.
Compare the way Nigerians do their businesses online to the way others from USA and India do theirs, you will find out there is huge disparity. That is why many are not profitable in their online business because profitability is a direct result of proficiency.
What are Nigerians doing online that only very few (less than 100) have been able to create something that can be called internet business? Maybe its because of ignorance. In that case, I have taken time out to come up with the list of some of the businesses you can do online and make money and some that may never make you a silk pulse.
Read through these and decide which one to engage in. If there is any other one you know that is not mentioned, drop it in the comment box and lets expand the subject and don't forget to add your comment
Online Businesses that can make you profit
1. eCommerce - Selling goods online is one of the latest trend in Nigeria Internet community. Sadly, no Online Nigerian is currently doing this well. Some foreign companies have since discovered the huge potential in the Nigerian market and moved in.
The good thing is you can still invest in this sector and make your money. Nigeria online community are growing by days and soon people may no longer shop from the malls due the convenience that online shopping offers. If you plant your feed now and do it right, you will make it in eCommerce business.
2. Blogging - You may not know that Blogging is a billion dollar business but you need to blog right if you desire to make profit. Most Nigerian Bloggers are blogging the wrong way. Online Nigerians way of blogging is writing entertainment news. Blogging in the real sense is far far from writing entertainment news let alone just copying and pasting it.
If you want to blog and make money, you need to get professional. Chose a niche and write quality content - that is the only way to make it in blogging. Quit doing entertainment follow follow!
3. Social Network - This is the best way to leverage other peoples effort. If you can get it right, people will just be working for you while you almost relax and only manages and maintain the site and the servers.
The desire to belong in a community will always be there. Create quality community portal like Forum or Social Network, promote it until people gets used to it. It is a sure money maker.
4. Creating useful Applications - If you have coding and software development skills, put it into good use and create useful applications. Think outside the box - the secret of making it is creating something unique.
5. Service Rendering - Take whatever service you can render to the internet and expand your horizon. Create a website for it and market it using content marketing techniques. You will be making 100% more money than you are making before.
6. Graphic Design - This is one creative art that you can take online and make a kill but you must be very very good at what you do. You must be creative, thorough and imaginative, people don't patronize mediocre designers. But if you are good, you will have people queuing for your service.
7. Article Writing - Article writing is another creative endeavor. Writing isn't easy, it takes hard work and plenty of guts to be a writer. It is much more than just being educated, few people can write. If you can write article as lengthy as this post you are reading within four hours on any subject, then you are a born writer. Writers and content creators are the soul of the internet; without us, there will be no result when you search Google!
If you have the skill of writing, you can be paid for it. So many websites and blogs are actively looking for writers and you can work on contract basis, and get paid according to your effort.
8. Web Design and Hosting - Millions of websites are coming up every year and the number wouldn't go down in recent time. Be among the one to design those websites, learn web development and coding skills. Web design is a brisk business but just like Graphic design, you must be good at what you do to get a look in your direction.
9. Domain Business - This is one tricky but profitable internet business. The journey of every successful website or blog starts from the quality of its domain name. Quality domain name can turn your online business around for good.
Professional Domainers specialize in registering quality domains and putting them up for sale or developing and selling it later. To make it in this business, you need to have deep knowledge about domain name, it is not something you just get off and do because you know how to register a domain.
10. Job Listing - Create a job listing website like Jobberman.com and put it out there for companies to list their job vacancies. You may charge companies to list their job or give it out for free and make money from the traffic.
Online Businesses that May Never Make you a Dime
1. Taking Survey - Stop allowing internet Marketers to use your head. There is no dime to be made in survey taking. When you are lazy, people take advantage of it, tell you what you want to hear and gain what they want to gain.
2. Paid to Read Email - No one pays you to read his email, company or not. It is another cheap scam designed to catch lazy ones.
3. High Yield Investment - If you ever make money or get paid from this, you are being used as a bet to get others. This business is the design of outright Fraudsters.
4. Clicking on Links - I kept seeing this on Facebook everyday. Have you been paid clicking on those links? How can you click on a link and get paid without taking any action? Then everyone would go clicking on links! I have seen one that says $0.00001 per click on a banner???
5. Pay to Signup - Signing up to any website is just the beginning of a process of getting involved with the site and whatever business that goes on there. It is the actual involvement that brings value, so how can someone pay you for just sign ups?
Can the taxi Diver pay you some money for standing by the roadside? You suppose to be the one to pay the taxi Driver and not the other way round. That is how web sign up works.
6. Make Money Ebooks - This used to be a huge money maker but no longer now. Many internet Marketers who started it has since moved on to another Internet businesses. Some are still scrapping it but may not worth the effort.
The reason this no longer make money is because all the information that used to be contained in those eBooks are now available everywhere on the internet for free.
7. Affiliate Programs - This also used to be the mega money maker for internet Marketers but too many fraudulent Affiliate Merchants have highjacked the system with Fraudulent practices that makes it difficult for you to earn.
If you go into this, you will just waste your effort making sells for someone without getting anything for your effort in return.
8. Sports Betting - It is gambling - that is what it is, responsible or not! In gambling, you loose more money than you make while the company smiles to the bank.
9. Forex Trading - Forex is better traded by the banks not individuals. The business of Forex is too risky to be considered profitable. Just like Sports betting, you can make money today and loose everything tomorrow.
I would love to see Nigerian creating real value on the internet. Creating something that touches the life of people. Help solve peoples problems. Be of help to others.
When you create such values, you will be rewarded with wealth. Thank you!
3 gbosas!!! for you joor. i dey always feel ur input on the internet. Kudos
ReplyDeleteAppreciated. Thank you for feeling what we do here
DeleteYour article is on point. You hear Nigerians youths blaming Ebay, Paypal for their woes. But the truth is when we start creating quality products and opportunities, top players on the internet like these giants will come to us. Thanks for the insightful analysis.
ReplyDeleteSir. I have speaking skills. But am not that good in writting. I want to blog on Motivational words and quotes. Can I blog?.
ReplyDeleteSir. I have speaking skills. But am not that good in writting. I want to blog on Motivational words and quotes. Can I blog?.
ReplyDeleteA very good morning...I believe this is my first time on your blog. It was this article that brought me here. I blogged between 2008 and 2012 before I decided to call it quits. One thing that continually annoys me is the way the present "bloggers" parade themselves and celebrate mediocrity. It annoys me. There are opportunities everywhere. I've said it over and over again, if I was told to make a choice again and again, I will choose Nigeria. The facts stare us in the face.
ReplyDeleteWe have no one to blame but ourselves. If foreigners come and take over the eCommerce landscape and we fold our arms, blame PayPal and the likes then I have just one word to say to us (myself included) - shameful.
Thanks for this post Darlinton.
Emmanuel Olonade
Emmanuel why did you quit? What happened to the blog, did you just abandon it or what?
DeleteA great eye-opener this is
ReplyDeletewell said
ReplyDeleteThe Riot Act! Loved it.
ReplyDelete