If you want to know how to make money online, there are three easy steps that you can follow that, if done right, will take you to your dreams.

1) The first step to follow if you want to make money online is to understand why you desire to work online. You have to be passionate about what you are going to do, for only your passion can make it happen. You will be working for yourself, at the very least to a great extent. If you want success and money, you will have to rely completely on yourself. You have to be motivated and you have to be committed to and believe in whatever business you are getting yourself into online.

You should not be working online if you think you'll be getting a free ride. You will enjoy a lot of freedom, yes, but with great freedom comes great responsibility. You can't have something for nothing, and freedom isn't free. If you don't show up for work, in truth nobody does. No work means no money. Working online is not collecting "sick pay".

2) Now that you are sure you have the work ethic and motivation to work online, your next step to make money online is to set up a website. It's impossible to make money online without a website. But, you don't have to be a computer programmer or even know HTML to set up a great website. There are plenty of quality website templates and providers of website building templates like Square Space that you can use to build a great looking website with excellent content. You will also want to have a quality host--one that has a reputation for no or very little drop time (when your website goes down temporarily due to problems on their end).

You will need to fill your website with great content. It has to be attractive to the eye and have lots of excellent stuff to read. You should also consider videos, podcasts, music, and a lot of quality links. Above all your website must be kept fresh. Tend it every day, even if you don't necessarily add to it every day. You need to have a place online where people get to know you.

3) Now you have to put an online marketing strategy into play if you want to make money online. You have your vision and your website--but now, who knows that it's there out of the millions on the Internet? And you have competitors who are pushing to get the same people that you are targeting to THEIR website. You need to use your marketing wiles to make yourself be the one that gets the attention, not them.

You will want to get your name and links back to your website all over the Internet for this to happen. Use methods such as article publishing, social networking, putting up free videos, podcasting, blogging, and using opt-in email lists to generate targeted traffic to your website.

Follow these three easy steps and you will make money online.