Welcome to Frugal Fridays where we share money saving tips, discuss living frugally and generally talk about personal finance issues. Sarahnity is taking a break and I’m filling in.
Sarahnity asked me to do a revised (and much updated and expanded!) version of a diary I wrote in September on finding online income sources. While that diary didn't get much readership, it did get enthusiastic responses.
Given the dramatic increase in heartbreaking diaries about job loss, layoffs, furloughs, cut hours, and so forth, I hope this diary helps folks trying to fill gaps in their financial lives.
More below the jump...
What I want to introduce you to today is a series of very real ways to make small income streams on the Internet. YOU DON'T PAY A PENNY for making money with these programs, nor should you EVER pay for information or access to income stream information online. You can earn hundreds, or more, per month doing these programs. Plenty of home-based workers build careers out of these programs and, devoting themselves full-time, make $1,000-$2,000 per month.
If you are reading this, then you have access to a computer, an Internet connection, and you can read. Assuming you also comment in diaries here and there and can write a cohesive sentence, you likely can try ALL of the ideas listed here, and might be able to generate some money for yourself, to get through a rough patch.
This isn’t a diary about finding a full-time job, or even a part-time job. It’s about ways that anyone in the U.S. (yes, anyone, and sometimes non-U.S. citizens) 18 and over can make a little money using certain websites. You don’t have to spend a penny—just some time—and these are real programs and companies that pay real money (usually via PayPal, so you’ll need a PayPal account in most cases).
Small income streams like these can make a big difference for those struggling with job loss or financial problems of any kind. Most important--these are programs that provide payment within 1-5 weeks, depending on the program.
Please know that I do not benefit in any way from the links posted here, and I am not an employee for any of the companies I discuss.
I have also actually DONE these programs as a user—so I’ve made money (in some cases, still am making money) working from home, on my own schedule, and earning whatever I earn depending on the time invested.
So here are some ideas to help anyone struggling to earn some dollars and stretch a tight budget:
Associated ContentLink to join
Now this is an interesting business model.
You, as a writer, write an article on a topic of your choosing. It must contain 400 words or more. Preferably, it has 3% to 5% keyword density, which means that 3% to 5% of the total number of words in the piece is the keyword--or target word or term--for your article topic. For instance, if you're writing about surviving breast cancer, then "breast cancer" is your keyword and needs to appear 12 to 20 times in your 400 word article.
You then go through an article upload process, and submit the article for review. The company offers you an upfront fee of anywhere from $3 to $12—or they reject your article (my acceptance rate is around 90%, and I get around $5-6 per article). You accept their offer or reject it. Within days, the article is published on their site, and you receive a PayPal payment for the agreed-upon amount. Associated Content generally pays via PayPal 2-3 times each week, and you then transfer the PayPal money into your checking or savings account.
If one were to write 1 article per day, at an average of $5 each, that's $150 per month, plus page view bonuses. I've written articles about my hybrid car, about my kids, or reviewed products. You don't have to be a professional writer to get your start at Associated Content.
You also receive pageview bonuses--around $1.50 per 1,000 page views. That means that you continue to earn money LONG after you wrote the article. Here is an article of mine on gifted children: http://www.associatedcontent.com/...
I earned $6 for this, but in the year and a half since it's been published, 12,000 people have viewed it--bringing in a "passive income" of nearly $20 additional dollars for that article.
I made over $1,000 during a 3 month period in 2007, when I was more focused on Associated Content, and I still earn around $20 per month in passive income from them.
LetterRep
LetterRep.com is a site where buyers buy, well, letters. Need to write a job reference letter for someone? Buy one for a fee. Need a letter explaining your poor credit? Buy one. Need a letter requesting an import/export agreement between your company and one owned by the Sultan of Brunei? You got it--for a fee.
As odd as it sounds, in this day and age of the Internet, you can hire just about anyone to do just about anything--even write a break up letter for you. I'm not joking. Pay for someone to write a "Dear John" letter. Check it out at LetterRep.com.
So what's in it for freelancers and people who want to earn money from home? LetterRep.com needs writers. Letter writers. And they pay you $10 every time someone buys your letter.
Writers can earn money in two different ways. First, you can upload your own, existing professional letters. Of course, the letters need to be modified. For instance, using substitution brackets in key places, such as "Dear [hiring manager]," is important. If you already write professional letters, or have a handful sitting around, it might be worth going over them and uploading the documents to LetterRep.com. Every time a buyer purchases one, you make $10.
The second way to earn money with LetterRep.com is to write on request. Buyers can list specific requests, such as "letter declining a job" or "letter explaining my derogatory credit history" or "letter to my ex-husband's girlfriend asking her to do a police background check." The writer then looks at the request and either suggests existing letters on LetterRep.com, or writes a new letter tailored for the client.
Most of the LetterRep.com specific requests are seemingly ordinary. For anyone who has worked in a secretarial or administrative position, writing such letters may be second nature. But what takes one person ten minutes to write may take another person hours. If you write a lot of letters on political issues, then writing for LetterRep may be a great opportunity for you. Hence the birth of this service. If you, as a writer, are skilled with letter writing, this may be a great opportunity to earn some money using your skills.
In addition, many of the requests have a legal slant to them. Paralegals, lawyers, of business consultants have an edge with this service. Many of the more technical or legal requests go unanswered. A niche is waiting for the right person.
Signing up for a free account with LetterRep is easy. The process takes two to three minutes. Writing on request is exceptionally simple as well; you click on the request and a text box appears. Type your professional letter in the box, fill in the additional requested info (i.e. bullet points explaining the letter), and hit submit.
I've written 2 letters for this site and 1 has sold 8 times, so I've earned $80 for one letter. All payment is done by PayPal, and paid 30 days after the sale is made.
Amazon Mechanical Turk
So imagine a freelance site where you can make anywhere from $.01 (yes, one penny) to $8 for anywhere from 3 seconds of work to about an hour.
Amazon Mechanical Turk does this. Register using an existing Amazon.com account (or create a new one). Sign up for Amazon Payments (they walk you through it). And then go to Amazon Mechanical Turk and find, oh, 15,000 possible "freelance" jobs. Labeled "Human Intelligence Tasks" or HITs, these are bite-sized jobs that you do, and you earn real money doing them. In one case, I was paid $.04 to look at a website store’s item and write a question related to the item—I got into a groove and did 200 of these per hour, for an hourly pay of $8. In another instance, a series of 30+ pictures were shown and I had to click on every picture associated with a certain word—earning $.10 per series of pictures.
You can choose to take payment as an Amazon.com gift certificate or as a cash payment via Amazon Payments.
You won't get rich doing this. Really. But $3 a day of HITs gives you $90 at the end of the month. I goof around on Mturk and earn around $25 per month just for fun.
BrightHub
I started writing for BrightHub in November. They pay $10 upfront for a 350+ word article. You have to apply for this program and be accepted, so it's a good idea to have a few writing credits under your belt (yes, Associated Content articles do count!). If you don't have prior writing experience, consider selling a few articles on Associated Content and then go to BrightHub (and other programs about to be discussed).
You apply for 3 "channels" on BrightHub (I currently write for Green Living and Personal Finance). The site is great for IT folks and gamers--they publish lots of game cheats, walk-throughs, and IT articles.
This month, BrightHub changed their policies and limited the number of articles published per channel, so you need to have articles preapproved by editors. You might be able to publish 8+ articles/month, though, which brings in a little cash. You're paid within 5 weeks of publication, and earn ongoing pageview revenue (80% of ad revenue).
I earned $90 in December and plan to continue to write for them.
Demand Studios
Like BrightHub, you need to apply and be accepted as a writer or editor for Demand Studios. Assignments pay between $5 and $15 for 400 word articles. Once you're accepted, you have access to a Content Management System (CMS). Every writing site online has a CMS of some sort. Demand Studios' CMS is very specific. You view titles for articles that are available, such as "How to Install a Low Flow Shower Head" and you claim the title. You then have 7 days to write the article. Oonce you submit the article, and editor reviews it. The editor either approves it, rejects it, or returns it to you for further editing.
Demand Studios pays via PayPal once a week for all APPROVED articles. If there is a delay in the system, or editors are overwhelmed, processing times can be slowed down by a week or two.
From May to September 2008 I earned nearly $3,000 writing for Demand Studios, but we moved and I had to pull back on my writing for them.
Most articles you write for Demand Studios are published on eHow. More on eHow....
eHow
Like Associated Content and LetterRep, you don't have to apply to join eHow--you just join and start writing.
With eHow, there is NO UPFRONT PAYMENT. You only earn pageview revenue. However, unlike other programs, your articles are never rejected, are published immediately, and you begin earning pageview revenue right away.
It's an interesting program, and I've earned around $10 since December writing articles like this: http://www.ehow.com/...
Fun, lighthearted, but informative. Some at-home writers swear by eHow, as you own the copyright, your articles continue to earn forever, and you build a portfolio. I, personally, use eHow as a last resort, generally for fun or for articles I can't place somewhere else.
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In addition to these Internet programs that you can start using—right now!—to generate cash while working from home, there are websites and forums where you can learn about these opportunities. WAHM.com has some of the best message boards for learning about opportunities, while FatWallet.com is another great resource. The Volition.com boards have loads of tips for finding small income streams while working online as well.
I realize this diary is long, but it's also important to understand how each program works, and when you're unemployed and struggling, ANY income is better than NO income. Good luck to those who try these ideas, and may your financial life improve.