There are many different methods of making an income online. In reality, they are all very similar to the business models you see in the offline world. You can sell goods and services, you can produce products for wholesale distribution, you can sell information, you can sell tools to help people in their own business model, you can sell advertising, or you can provide consulting services.

Do you see a common theme in all these models? That’s right: to have a viable business, you literally have to provide some kind of good or service that adds value to someone or something, whether online or offline.

I think when people think of doing business offline, they look for a need in their community and try to fill it. Online, they tend to think, OK, what can I do to make a lot of money? There is a big difference between the two. Online, I think people really believe that if they open a website and sell something, the money will just roll in. It’s just not an accurate thought, but I think just about everyone has thought about it at one point or another.

So to generate income online, you need to fulfill a need, just as you would in the offline world. Satisfy that need by producing, developing, distributing, or trading a product or service. That is all. You will never earn viable long-term income from schemes and scams, any more than a bank robber will earn viable long-term income robbing banks.

Here are some of the basic business models you can find on the web:

1) Production model. This is a company that produces value by transforming one good into another for online consumption. An offline equivalent would be a cobbler or gold mining company. The online equivalent could be the development of new software or search technology, or the development of online technology that assists in the execution of some of the other online business models.

2) Merchant model. This is a company that specializes in sales and organizes the delivery of goods and services to an online marketplace. This can be compared to the offline equivalent of a trader. Some online examples are bookstores, grocery stores, catalog websites, and other organizations that sell goods and services.

3) Advertising model. This is a company that specializes in providing the service of advertising or promotion to other online companies, for example, those companies that operate under the production or commercial model. This model charges these companies a fee to advertise the goods and services provided by the other online business models.

4) Affiliate model. This is a model that resembles the advertising model, but is different in that it focuses on recruiting many individual companies or individuals to advertise in a systematic and piecemeal manner. While in the advertising model, the advertiser is paid based on the amount of advertising distributed, the affiliate model pays the affiliate marketer when a sale or step in a sales process is completed. This step can be an online visit, a request for more information, or the actual sale.

5) Brokerage model. This model is one that compensates the broker for bringing the buyer and seller together, usually in the form of a personal, one-on-one introduction. An example of this could be an online auction or online payment processor.

6) Information model. The information business model is one in which the company provides information to a specific field or market niche. This information would generally instruct another company or individual on an easier or more efficient method of performing a task, or actually teach the task or the implementation of the task.

7) Subscription model. This is an overlay model, which is usually built into one of the other models. This model would provide a good or service over an extended period of time and would provide a guaranteed and generally constant level of that good or service over a period of time, for example, over the course of several months. Two products that fit this subscription model might be monthly online video rentals or services like food or medicine that are delivered regularly by commitment.

8) Utility model. This model works much like an offline utility would, offering a product that, through use, has become a necessity and is often tightly controlled. An example of an online utility model would be Internet access or telephone service through an online network.

9) Community model. This is a business model that focuses on bringing people or companies of similar interests together in order to develop relationships and share information. Two examples of the community web phenomenon are the recently created Myspace and the old online forum.

When deciding to start an online business, it is important to determine which of these business models interests you the most. Which of these models suits you best? Which of these models are you most likely to be considered an expert on, or would you be willing to become an expert on?