A few years ago when I started the ‘making money online in Zimbabwe’ journey, a friend of mine dared me. I will follow you only when I see the cheque in your hands. Whatever you make should buy me lunch from the proceeds. I must confess, one of the reasons I feel I have been successful online is I wanted to win the dare. I wanted to win the challenge and I did.

The breakthrough

I have been blogging for more than three years now and have been making money online but not through affiliate marketing. When I received my affiliate cheques this year I couldn’t wait but give my friend a ring. I told him that I had won the challenge and we were going to have dinner. I was on cloud 9. But before he came, I took myself for a treat to reward myself of the hard work I had put in the blog. It was refreshing.

The sad news

After the treat, I received a call from my sister. My mother was very ill. My spirit was dampened. I drove to Mutare with my Uncle the next day. We returned the very day. The next morning, we took her to specialists. Most of the tests she needed weren’t going to be covered by medical aid. I had invested most of my savings in a new venture which would start paying back in 6 months. I had killed all my other income streams on purpose as a business strategy. I was grounded.

The miracle

I remembered the affiliate cheques I had received. They were going to be more than enough to cover all the tests. I took her to the best specialists I knew in town. In a weeks’ time, her doctor confirmed she was now well and could go back home. I still had my affiliate money with me. I gave her the remainder.

The disappointment

My mother was saved by a fairy tale. Making money online in Zimbabwe has been a fairy tale for a long time. For me it is now a reality. I had never spent money like I did that weekend but I had disappointed my friend. I didn’t honour the dare. However, I knew this was the start of a new era. The cheques would keep on coming. If you want the proof, I will show you. Making money online in Zimbabwe is no longer a fairy tale, at least to me. While I promise it’s not easy, I can confirm that it is a reality. I have managed to put a team of 5 top bloggers in Zimbabwe and we are carrying out training in March 2015 called the click and earn seminar. We are going to have two sessions. The online version as well as the offline equivalent at our usual conference centre.

How to make money online in Zimbabwe

I have dedicated a one month series of articles on the proven techniques to make money online in Zimbabwe. I know you may be wondering the motive behind companies like 263Chat, iharare.com amongst others. What is the motive behind someone coming with a news sight when they aren’t selling any copies? I will try to answer that and others questions you haven’t thought of asking in 6 bullet points. These are some of the proven ways you can make money online in Zimbabwe.

· Retail digital products e.g. names.co.zw

· Affiliate marketing e.g. amazon affiliate links on your site

· Advertising e.g. mailing lists, Google AdSense and Kontera on most news sites like iharare.com and mafaro.co.uk

· Membership e.g. SME Association of Zimbabwe, smeaz.org.zw

· Sponsorship e.g. techzim’s ZOL Startup Challenge

· Investors e.g. ziminvestors.com

· Mobile Applications e.g. ZimMobiNews developed by Zimbabwean young tech developers

If you are interested in the click and earn training, email me at invest and join the click and earn lifestyle.