Adam Taylor writes:

The mobile phone industry is an attractive proposition. Over 90% of the UK population has a mobile, and the seemingly non-stop developments in mobile technology are doing a great job in satisfying the UK’s thirst for anything that provides a quicker, more efficient (or in some cases, more fun) way of doing things. With such a demand, naturally supply tends to follow.

I’m just one example of how everyday people (with a bit of know-how) are tapping into this market and making a penny or two while they’re at it. I recently launched WhatContract, a comparison site for mobile phone contracts that lets visitors see every contract deal available from high street retailers that match up to a plethora of tariff options. Visitors click through to the retailer’s website and, if they purchase the contract, a commission is paid. Whilst developing a website with kind of this capability certainly isn’t cheap, if you think about the running costs of a physical shop (staff, insurance, premises, etc.), this certainly is a great way of getting your foot in the door without spending the kids’ inheritance.

The reason people go to my site is because it offers a service that ultimately saves people time and money and helps them find the best contract deals without having to scour the web. Not everyone will have the skills, time or interest to develop a comparison site, but there are other ways to get your foot on the commission ladder that don’t mean employing a team of geeks to build you an all-singing all-dancing website.

If you have a hobby, chances are there will be online shops that sell products or offer services that relate directly to it. The majority of these shops will have some form of affiliate scheme whereby they will pay a commission for any sales referred from your website to theirs.

Let’s take an example. Say your hobby is mobile phones. Whilst you could, like me, go out and build a comparison site, a simple blog may suffice. If you sign up to an affiliate network such as Buy.at or Affiliates4U, you can generate personalised links to retailers. These links contain a tracking code that applies any sales made via various mobile phone retailers directly to you, earning you a handsome commission. Providing your website has interesting and informative content, you can simply place these links within it. If your blog gets popular, people may click on these links, purchase a new mobile phone, case, insurance (or anything else that those retailers sell) and - depending on the value of the product purchased - you could earn anything from around £3 (mobile phone cover) to £30 (mobile phone contract).

Ever wondered why there is so much free information about practically everything on the web? You may be surprised to know that nearly every time you surf the web, chances are money has exchanged hands as a direct result of your clicks (even if you don’t actually buy anything!)

So if you have a hobby or a business and like talking about it, I’d recommend that you start a blog, sign up to an affiliate network and begin reaping the rewards that your knowledge and interesting articles could provide.

Adam Taylor is the owner of whatcontract.co.uk