The web industry is growing massively, and it’s creating more jobs and making more money than ever before. With web and technology companies continuing to have a significant impact on ‘real life’, it’s getting to the stage where the physical world needs to catch up! Here are three ways the web industry is spilling over into real life and how you can take advantage to grow your business and get more clients.

1. Virtual Offices and Tenancies

There are increasing numbers of ‘virtual’ rental spaces cropping up across the country, and we can only see this industry getting bigger. Many companies and even universities are renting out space in their buildings extremely cheaply, often at just £30 to £40 per person per month. If you’re a freelancer or a small agency, such set ups are well worth looking into as you can benefit from your own business address and office space without expensive rents or lock-in contracts. They are also great environments to talk to other freelancers and find clients.

Many virtual tenancy options also have added bonuses such as coffee mornings, industry talks, social events and access to accountants if required, along with the usual bonuses of computer access, and cheap or free phone calls, photocopying and printing. Some are restricted to office hours, whilst others are open later in the evening or even offer 24/7 card access.

Plenty of virtual tenancy hubs are focused around the web and web companies, so they can be a fantastic way to get that social aspect to your job if you’re a freelancer. Simply search online to see what’s available in your area. You’ll be able to explore the space for yourself before committing to membership.

2. Conferences

The UK conference scene is still growing, and you no longer have to venture abroad for great speakers and talks…but if you want the excuse to go abroad there are plenty of events all over the world throughout the year.

Conferences are fantastic for getting inspiration and meeting other creatives. They’re also a great way to turn online connections into offline friends and partners. The only disadvantage is the cost, but you can take advantage of earlybird tickets and competitions, and even consider speaking at one for a free pass. Using conferences to connect with both speakers and other attendees is a huge opportunity to get your name and your work out there – and free goody bags don’t hurt either!

Take a look at Smashing Mag’s list of upcoming webdesign and development conferences in the UK and beyond for 2012.

3. Advertising

There are plenty of reports that TV and newspaper advertising spend is declining year on year, and many companies are looking towards the cheaper, more controllable and measurable ads that can be found online. With so many different advertising opportunities available across various forms of media, and more people opting to fast forward their TV ads and read their news on computers, tablets and smartphones, online ad opportunities are only increasing.

Even large companies are starting to increase their partnerships with bloggers and small site owners through product giveaways, reviews and samples, guest posting, banner advertising, affiliate programmes and much more. It’s a great way to add an another income stream and earn money passively from your websites. There are several communities around, such as SocialSpark, which welcome more members, or you could even try directly contacting companies related to your niche.

If you have the time, experimenting with smartphone apps offers additional potential, both in terms of in-app advertising or credit systems and charging for downloads. Tools such as Buzztouch help you create an app without even touching code, or if you’re keen to learn the process inside out, there are plenty of good tutorials available on the web.