Online Paid Survey - Global Test Market

Globaltestmarket is one of the older paid surveys sites. You will receive a regular stream of survey invites. For Indians, they have some surveys in chaste hindi too. I have not seen this with many other paid surveys sites. They reward points for completing surveys, typically from 5-100 ‘Market Points’ for surveys taking 5-30 minutes. And the best thing is, even if you get screened out, you still earn at least 5 points for attempthing the survey. Thats really excellent. You can redeem your market points for cash when you reach 1000 marketpoints, which is equivalent to 50 US dollars. A cheque will be sent to you which you can encash in your bank. And remember the basics of online paid surveys that I wrote about in the post.

Go to paid survey site Global Test Market...

oDesk Freelance jobsite

oDesk is one of the best freelance sites and helps small time employers hire, manage, and pay freelance workers as if they were working for them as office employees. There are lots of employers and business seeking skilled workers, and a global work force of service providers, oDesk is changing how the world works. oDesk is free to join. Providers are looking for looking for web developers, writers, graphic designers, call-center staff, data entry professionals, marketing experts, business consultants and more. You can set your pay rates. The first job is always the hardest. It takes patience and persistence to build an impressive profile and acquire your first job.

Fixed payment projects: Fixed payment projects are those which pay you a fixed sum for completing a project or a part of a project. If an employer has posted a job and wants a website built for say $200 or an article written for $20 ,this is called Fixed price projects. You have to make a bid with your price and when you get the project ,you will get either get paid something upfront (rare) or on completion. During negotiation you can ask for an upfront sum like say 20% to protect yourself from getting scammed like not getting paid for the work, or being made to do more work to get paid, etc. This is my suggestion which you can try out.

Hourly basis projects: These type of projects are helpful if you have a fixed working schedule that you would like to stick to. This payment mode enables you to charge Employers/Buyers on Hourly basis like 10$/hr, 20$/hr and depends on your skills, qualifications and experience.

Tips:

- Install the oDesk software on your PC. This software is used by oDesk to track and record your work and hours while working on client assignments.
- Create your profile and give as much details as possible. Be honest about the information you provide. Don’t give false information.
- Compulsorily take the oDesk readiness test. It can be retaken.
- Take as many tests as possible related to your interest area. But carefully read through the test details. Some tests are one time, some allow re-test but after a period of time. Take such tests if you are confident you will do well.
- Go through the job descriptions carefully
- If you decide to apply for a job posting, make a good cover letter and contact employer.
- Look at the Employer activity details and bid accordingly. Check the rates that other applicants asked for. Look at the average rate and the employer's preference rate. Check out what is the average bid price of those applicants whom the employer has interviewed. Set your bid a little more or less than the average rate. Also see if employer has already set an hourly maximum rate for the job.
- Check whether the employer has a verified payment method and offers an hourly payment. Fixed payment aren’t guaranteed by oDesk only hourly payments are. So, it's up to you if you want to do hourly job or fixed price job.

- Be professional and deliver quality work within agreed timelines

- Begin with small jobs, build your profile, get good feedback, and then move on to bigger jobs.

Go to oDesk:

Mylot : Fun way to earn money

Mylot is a social website which pays users for having fun. You can make friends, have your queries answered, search for information, discuss on topics of interest to you, answer others’ questions, add images and videos and get paid based on their unique algorithm to calculate value of your contributions. You can also refer your friends and get a portion of their earnings.

Joining Mylot is free and instant. You can start participating, posting and earning from day one. There are loads of content there so you don’t have to worry about whether you will find something of your interest. There’s something for everyone.

More on how to earn from Mylot:

1. Start a discussion
Pick an interest group and start an interesting discussion. Every time somebody posts an answer to your questions you will earn money. After starting a discussion don’t forget about it. Keep replying to what others post and keep participate in the discussion that you have started.


2. Participate in a discussion
Participate in discussions started by others. Be as descriptive as possible. Your posts should not be lesser than 4-5 lines.

3. Refer other people
Referrals is a very good way of multiplying your earnings on Mylot. E.g. if you have 100 friends you have referred and each earns $1 in a day, you will earn $25 per day, in a month $750. Even a third of it is $250 plus your own $30.
Make sure to review and rate your friends’ and referrals’ discussions and postings, and some of them will do the same for you (I do the same). That way you will help each other earn more.

4. Post images and videos
Post images and videos, include them in your discussions and you will not only make your discussions more interesting for others to participate, you will also earn more.

5. Post links to your other websites
If you already have a website, affiliate link, blog, posted articles, etc. then post links wherever appropriate to drive traffic, presell and sell. You can include links in your profile too. Your friends and other mylotters may check out your profile and follow your links.

You can even ask other mylotters how to earn more in mylot!

Join by clicking on the banner below:

Points to be kept in mind...

To make money online can be an arduous task since there is little guidance and an overload of fake and legitimate opportunities, with websites screaming money making techniques. Most are aimed at hoodwinking innocent people and gleaning a few quick bucks. At the end of the day you might end up empty handed and disillusioned if you don’t go about earning money online with a definitive plan. Having said that, there are genuine and legitimate ways through which you can earn extra money working from home. I have already discussed in earlier posts under the Label ‘Basics’ about the most common online money making ideas and concepts.


Here I write about some broad tips to help you in your quest of making money online from your home!

- Look for free opportunities – Always be wary when you are required to pay up to join some money making program. Serious companies that offer online jobs shouldn't be asking for money before they recruit you. Neither should you be spending your hard-earned money to buy e-books with titles like "get rich quick", "becoming rich online", "make money", "free money" or any other similar topics. You can get all the information you need for free on sites like this and thousands of others. Also, forget pyramid schemes and programs which claim that you can invest a dollar and get five thousand back; they are scams and they just don't work. Finally remember that there is no such thing as free money. Be realistic, nobody is going to give away money but you can still earn some decent amounts online!- Use Electronic Payment Systems – Keep your personal money separate from the money you make on the internet. There are many safe online payment systems like Pay-pal, Alert-pay and E-Gold. Open an account with one. I have already posted about Pay-pal earlier.

- Launch Google - Before joining any program that is offering you an income, research the program well. Check with our good friend Mr. Google. Type the program name and scam and see what results you get. Check whois details of the owner, put in the domain name (eg yahoo.com, amazon.com, etc, without 'www.') in the text box on SpamHelp and choose Whois (Domain).

- Gone in 60 seconds - Many sites make a quick buck and disappear. Don't be surprised if you invest or join something and the owners vanish off the face of Earth. Always be cautious. Always weigh the pros and cons wisely before investing. Decide whether it will be okay if you lose the amount you are putting. Don’t bite more than you can chew. See whether you can afford it. Don’t gamble. I don’t recommend paying money upfront to join some program or for some benefit. And don’t be taken in by promises of big money. As a rule, “the bigger the promise, the bigger the scam”.

- Spread the word about scams - If unfortunately you do get duped, don't be afraid to report it. Remember that reporting a scam site will help a lot of innocent people from getting ‘scammed’. And your action might just help shut it down. Don't let scammers get a single red penny of your hard earned money. I will put up a post later on this topic. Get back to me if you need more information on scams.

- Keep away from adult websites - Adult and pornographic sites are hotbeds of spyware, advertisments and popups. Stay away from them.

- Safeguard your Identity – Be very careful while transacting money online, or providing passwords, card details etc for ID verifications. Think before you do. There are many sharks out there to get a bite of your hard earned money. If you do have to make a transaction, look for SSL certificate of the site.

- Safeguard your computer – There are truckloads of malwares out there on the internet...viruses, botnets, worms, keyloggers, rootkits, trojans and what not. A lot of them might creep in to your computer without your knowledge. Install a firewall, antivirus and popup blocker and keep them updated with the latest patches. Use your browser’s pop-up blocker or that of the Google toolbar.

- Safeguard your email - Never post your email address in public forums or websites. There are softwares which are sent to crawl websites and register anything that includes @. The addresses found then become prime spam targets. Also there are some who make a living out of selling these email addresses as lists.

- Get separate email addresses – I had mentioned this earlier in one of my posts. For your money making endeavours get separate email id’s. It will not only help you get organized, but will also protect your privacy. Never use your personal email address. It is very likely that you might give away your email address somewhere and you start getting spam mails. Best to keep them getting mixed with your personal mails. Never respond to spam or better still, don’t even open a mail if you think it is spam. Use the unsubscribe option that comes with many unwanted or unnecessary mails. These links are placed in small font at the bottom of the mail. It might just help you get a few mails less.

- Don’t hurry with subscriptions - Whenever you opt to use an online service, you are asked for your email address. And just before the submit button there will be a set of checkboxes regarding subscriptions to newsletters and the like. Most of the times by default these boxes are already checked, and many people fail to read and unselect these options. I expect you to be more careful unless you have the patience of cleaning out your mailbox every few hours!

Freelancing - use your expertise to earn extra cash

Do you have a skill? Are you professionally trained at something? Have you developed a hobby like graphic designing, website development, writing, search engine optimization, etc. that you want to use to make money? Making money online is not exactly easy but if you are sincere and have the quality then this category of earning can provide an actual salary, and enough live on. I was discussing with a friend the other day when he was complaining that his salaried job is too stressful and he feels the salary at the end of the month hardly justifies the hard work that is required to be put in. That started me thinking that actually what he is earning today, he could earn as much working from home at his own comfort and utilizing his professional skills (he is a software programmer by the way) by freelancing. But though he doesn’t have to literally go to office to attend work, he will still have to work almost full time while freelancing. So, as they say, there is no replacement for hard work.


There is a vast range of real-world skills that finds takers on the internet, ranging from technical skills like software designing and hardware and networking to sales and marketing, accounting, writing, administration, project management, etc.

Let’s discuss a few of them:

-       Virtual assistant
I like this term Virtual assistant and it reminds me of a typical Hollywood sci-fi flick with AI, super computers, robots, etc. But the actual job is not as fancy. A freelancing VA’s job includes typing documents, taking calls, helping boss by providing information, documents and work he needs to help him in his job and make it easier and efficient.
-       Data entry
The most popular work on the internet (or at least in people’s perception). Its more of form-filling: entering data from a spreadsheet to a database through online forms and filling application forms from raw text data.
-       Transcription
Transcription means to listening to an audio and putting it down on paper (or computer). As a freelance recruit you will be given an audio file which you have to type and send it to your employer.
-       Translation
Next is translation which in the freelancing world is a very broad term. It might be actually translating a document from one language to another. Or it can be a complete website to be translated for an MNC to a different language to cater to different viewer in another country. If you know two languages well then you might just find it happy luck.
-       Project Management
Project Management jobs would require you to take up entire projects or sub-projects (which are part of a bigger project) and deliver results. As a freelancing project manager you will have to manage the projects from start to finish and will take up the responsibility of everything from requirement gathering and team management to meeting deadlines and final deliverables. It’s difficult but also pays well.
-       Technical (IT related) Jobs
I will bunch a few categories under this one because those who can get these jobs already know better than me regarding their field(s) of work. Technical jobs in IT domain covers a wide array of opportunities like designing, graphics and animation, software development, website designing, etc. There are lots of these freelancing opportunities out there waiting to be grabbed with both hands...provided you have the necessary skills and know-how to deliver the goods.
-       Sales and Marketing
This category of jobs include simple jobs like calling prospects and fixing appointments for sales teams to very high-end skill/knowledge based work like designing marketing and business strategies, and in between, covering Telemarketing, Sales, PR, Media relations, Copywriting, Social Media Marketing, Market Research and stuff. So if you are a marketing buff...well...good for you.
-       Writing jobs
Finally I come to the most sought after and my personal favourite. I have already written a post on how to make money by writing articles and put in a few lines about freelancing too. Here I explain more. There are plenty of writing jobs available out there for freelancers. It could be content development for websites and blogs, promotional articles for products/services/business, creative writing, technical writing, etc. There are even jobs available for screenplays and ad scripts. You need to be proficient in English. You have to churn out pieces of work at a steady pace. Good vocab, grammar and punctuation are must-haves.

Tips for future freelancers:
-       First of all, to enter in the freelancing world, create an online resume highlighting your skills, experience and previous projects if any.
-       Create a small free one/two pager blog where you put up your profile with credentials, name, contact details, photograph and basic details. Needless to say that as and when you take up and complete freelancing jobs, you should update the blog.
-       Do a little research on the job role and prospective employer before applying.
-       Deliver quality and on-time so that you have employers hooked. This ensures repeat income and reference.
-       Learn time management.
-       Apply to jobs as early as possible (many jobs are first listed on Monday mornings)
-       Keep updating your skills and try to be at the top of your game.
-       Social media (twitter, facebook, etc.) presence is important.
-       Be completely professional.

Payment
Payments for freelancing jobs can be up-front (very seldom), bid-based, on completion of job or on per hour basis, depending upon the nature of the job. You will have to decide on a rate for your service. You might have to get involved in negotiations. So be prepared.

If this post has ignited the interest in you to explore freelancing opportunities and make money, you can go to the Freelancing page of this blog. Or you can go to the Detailed Project Board. The best jobs available on the web from various websites are compiled in these job boards.

Also, I will be putting up more free resources for you to download which you surely would find helpful.