Five Digital Businesses You Can Start In Nigeria
In this digital age where roaming-the-street campaigns and brick-and-mortar stores are seemingly gradually becoming a thing of “the past,” the digital entrepreneur is no doubt the one who holds the key to economic change. Of course, though, we still need touchable, seeable items in the market for basic needs and to sustain life. But based on recent developments and the emergence of whole new types of problems, there are ideas one can harness and turn into steady vocations. Nigeria, as evident in initiatives, is set to becoming a tech-inclined nation, so that means a lot of opportunities will abound for the skilled. From cost-effective to on-demand, highly-lucrative and naira-earning, these are the likeliest startup business ideas Nigerians can tap into and make a living from.
Local SEO Business
This business is becoming a lucrative one in Nigeria, and it can make you count the naira with little or no startup capital. The road to becoming a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expert is one of learning a variety of enhanced techniques that will help businesses improve their website search engine ranking. There are free and paid online courses on SEO you can take to become savvy in the field, including Udemy and Lynda. Thousands of enhanced eBooks on SEO are scattered all over the internet just as there are blogs devoted to the vocation. You can harness such vastness of information from the comfort of your home and start to give businesses voice on search engines, of which Google is the most prominent. You can start by volunteering to form a good reputation, after which you can freelance and then take the bold step to start your own SEO company. It doesn’t happen overnight, though. It takes time to practice, grow and draw close to perfection. People are making good money from the business, having gone through training on digital marketing. You need to extensively know how the search engine works and how to satisfy clients to the maximum. You need to be defined by your core requirements and have a process that works. For you to one day call yourself one of the best SEO companies in Nigeria, your business must be top on Google engine when prospects search for the highlighted keyword. Get some beginner guides and start winning today.
Copywriting
The old saying, “Writers are born, not made” has become somewhat insufficient. Writing is a choice; a skill one garners to be able to reach out to different people, affect their emotions and inform their decisions. I think writers are neither born nor made but are the ones who chose to and be good at it. This business has a low-cost startup capital, and you can do it from anywhere. There are successful copywriters today who haven’t met 90 percent of their clients face-to-face. As far as you have a good laptop and excellent internet connection, you are one step closer to becoming a writer. The added advantages come when you have your way with words and business nous. But, it’s not all about putting typing up words on a Microsoft Office document, because this business takes understanding client’s needs, target audience and customer satisfaction into perspective. Whether it is the form of an eBook, sales copy, email, web page, brand story or even a jingle, the task of a copywriter is to use persuasive diction to sell a business or raise awareness about a product, idea or service. Copywriters often work in the background but are yet in demand by the biggest brands in Nigeria and beyond. A carefully created, original and powerful copy can convince consumers to switch brand allegiance, generate leads and super-charge sales. Everything has to do with quality. As you will see on the list of online business in Nigeria, copywriting is a very affordable startup opportunity for someone with a good grasp of grammar and encompassing knowledge. You also need to get the hang of email marketing, decide on what kind of writing you would be doing and pick a good business name. So, do these, get a business card, go out there (online) and find your prospects.
Social Media Marketing/Management
With on the advent of social media platforms and the high degree of activity on each of them every day, businesses now have a platform to market their product and services. With this essence comes the need for a social media manager/marketer who will act as the person behind social media handles and talk with bases of fans and customers. Entering the digital world can be overwhelming for businesses that are looking to expand their tentacles. So they would be in need of a person with the knowledge of how social media works and the right skills to drive leads and generate sales. By outsourcing this job which they are perhaps not experienced in, they would have the time to handle other aspects of their business. If you have the time, knowledge and skill, and have thought about starting your social media business, you can look up the existing ones in Nigeria and grab a cue or two. You will specialize in maintaining the Twitter, Facebook LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and maybe blogging presence of your clients, and at intervals develop marketing strategies for them. Just define your core requirements, learn online and stick to a process that works. Social media managers can work from the comfort of their homes, with a laptop and stable internet connection.
Blogging
Blogging is fast taking over the internet in ways we probably did not expect. Nowadays, there are blogs devoted to virtually everything, even the mundane. If you are in Nigeria and looking for the quickest, lucrative and most interesting way to make money online, head to WordPress or Blogger and start sharing original content about in a niche you love and know will bring readers your way. Blogging seems to be turning into an addictive part-time job for a lot of people around the world, and it isn’t so for mere reasons. Blogging is working because people love it – it is the new vehicle of the future. Apart from entertaining and informing people, sharing your expertise and day-to-day experiences, blogs can also be a naira-earner for you if you do it correctly. It may take some time before you start making money from it, and that’s why it requires consistency and the right strategy. In less than six months, if you play your cards right, you can start earning. The top bloggers in Nigeria today started from somewhere and look where they are now. With the much-talked about recession, presumed intermittent layoffs and speculated salary cuts, blogging can be a sure-fire kickoff for your entrepreneurial journey. There are no cannot-be-acquired skills required to start a blog. If it’s new territory for you, a few weeks of consistency will see you though. Just pick a topic that you love, create the blog, build up traffic, built trust and monetize, in that order.
Web and Graphics Design
Website and graphic design are two cool businesses that require technical-know-how to start making money online legitimately. Web design and development isn’t an easy task. If you want to excel at making websites sophisticated and user-friendly for money, it could task years of practice and undoubtedly high degree of intelligence, tenacity, and ambition. Graphics design may be more straightforward than planning for a web structure but doesn’t require any less consistency. Hard decisions may as well come along the way, but you can put your back into developing digital resilience which will impact the success and growth of your design career. You may have to volunteer for a start, but in time you would have had the skill and experience required for taking on multi-thousand projects for different companies. There are various software you need to download on your PC, free and paid online courses you need to take and principles to learn in order to make your design more captivating and all-around effective. Web and graphic designers from different parts of the world excel because of their skill, not education or certification. Knowledge of coding and programming is a huge plus, as it can increase opportunities and income. It doesn’t require high capital, and you don’t need to report to an office daily. Usually, it is your competence that will speak for you once your brand is established. Just figure out a way you can charge, develop a sales cycle, get clients, take on projects and outsource when necessary.
There are other digital jobs you can take on, such as email marketing, content marketing, digital marketing and affiliate marketing. These businesses are interesting, skill-intensive, cost-effective and can be done from your home’s comfort.
Feature image courtesy: iafrica.com
