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.

Website Flipping...earn smart cash

We all know how people invest in properties and real estate. They buy properties, hold on to them for a while, renovate and spruce it up a little and put it up at the market. Ultimately they make a neat profit out of the whole deal. Website flipping applies a similar concept, albeit in the virtual world.

I was in a bit of a dilemma whether or not to include this concept of website flipping here since this is for people who are already aware of how the internet works, how webpages are built, domains bought and hosted with a service provider. And not just that, website flipping in itself is a very vast topic requiring hours of study and there’s so much of information available out there that one will get buried under all this data. But then I thought that Onlineaamdani isn't just about basics. Ideally I would like to believe that everyone, regardless of his/her proficiency with the internet and, more specifically, knowledge of money earning opportunities on the www, should be able to find something of use in the blog and take away something worthwhile. This prompted me to include the concept of Website Flipping in our discussions, though I will keep it to basics for now. So lets jump right in.

Website Flipping as a concept, refers to buying a website, updating and improving it, and then selling it. In other words, buy at a low price, enhance website and sell at a higher price.

Now, some of us will confuse Website Flipping with Website Selling. But there’s a slight difference. Website Flipping doesn’t include buying (a new domain name, hosting services from a service provider), creating (content) from scratch, and selling a website. So website flipping ideally means working on existing websites and not on Greenfield/turnkey projects.

Also, website flipping isn't the same as domain flipping which involves buying key domain names with potential and sell at a profit. There is no work done with the domain, not even proper hosting.

Website flipping involves the following steps:

1.    Buying: First of all you have to find a website to buy. This is the most difficult part though some might not realize it. Some might think, “I have the money to pay for it so let me purchase it”. But that's not how it should be done. This is business, and any investment needs to make business sense and scope to make money. To be ideal for flipping, the site you buy has to have some potential to generate some income for you. There are a lot of considerations to be made before buying and bidding for a website, like, how much is the current average traffic to the site, which niche of the market it is catering to, what is the cash inflow it is generating, what is the competition. Ideally it should cater to a niche which isn't yet fully tapped, which people are interested in but the competition is still low. Its difficult but we have to try and find the right balance of these factors and the price that is to be paid. To purchase websites, SitePoint, Warriorforum and Flippa are some websites which you can explore. I will share some free resources for you to learn more about buying websites.
2.    Optimization: Now that you have bought a website, you have to choices – do nothing or work on it to make it better. Sometimes doing nothing is okay, but there is always some scope to enhance the website, optimize it and make it better. Intention is to give it a boost of traffic and to increase the revenue it is generating. Higher the traffic your site is attracting, higher is its value. More the revenue your site is generating, more is the value of your site. So traffic and revenue are the two most important factors that will determine how much money you can make from a website. If you don’t attend to a website it will start losing traffic and the revenue will start decreasing. Trick is to make the sale profitably before this phase starts. Or otherwise work on improving your website with things like search engine optimization, PPC (pay per click) ads and article marketing where you post articles relating to your website’s niche in article directories like Hubpages, squidoo, ezinearticles.com, articledashboard.com, goarticles.com, etc. Do some social marketing using facebook, twitter, orkut, etc. and bookmarking in sites like dig, del.icio.us, etc. You can also create a blog to support the website. These are just some of the ways to increase a websites popularity and visibility. Read up on ‘Google page rank’, SEO, backlinking and ‘Article Marketing’. I will soon put up free resources and ebooks on these concepts here so you need not pay for such resources.
3.    Selling: The final step is to sell the website. How much time you hold onto the website depends upon your strategy. Whether its short term, medium term or long term investment you are targeting. Normally, if you don’t want to work too much on the website that you have bought, then use it as a short term investment and sell as soon as you get a good price. Otherwise if you can tinker with the website here and there and can increase the traffic and/or income it is generating then use medium term strategy. And if you think that you can really add value to the website and take it much beyond what it is today then it makes sense to hold on to the website for the long term. Once you decide that the time is right to sell it, go back again to Flippa, warriorforum, sitepoint etc. and put it up for sale. Keep your fingers crossed...God willing (and with some smart work) you will be able to make a neat profit out of your investment and effort. Of course, like any other art, ‘Practice makes man perfect’.

Advantages of website flipping are manifold:

One, financial entry threshold to this market is very low. With a relatively low investment you too can be part of the market (but first get your basics right).

Two, in most cases as soon as you make the investment you will be able to start making money. Once you buy a website which is already generating revenue, you have the luxury to earn money even while you are working on it to improve your asset, the website(s).

Three, you have the flexibility to choose your investment strategy, short, medium or long.

Four, even an average internet investor can be a part of the website flipping bazaar.

This concept has immense scope in the coming years. To the readers this is my suggestion, learn the ropes of website flipping slowly. Take 6 months, 1 year even, and get your basics in place. And by the time this concept gathers momentum you will be well equipped and well entrenched in the market. The marketplace is going to heat up. 

All the best! I will bring to you more free resources shortly and if you become interested in website flipping you will find them quite helpful.

Articles, Discussions and Freelancing

Did you know that you can earn money by writing articles on internet? Can you write in correct English with proper grammar, punctuations and spellings (though spell-checks can help you here)? Are you good at something? Do you have a special interest that others too would like to know more about? If you answered yes to all the questions (leave out 1st question), then you will find this post handy.

If you have knowledge about a particular subject, topic, field, etc. that others might be interested in, then you can write articles and submit to websites which are looking at freelance writers like you to provide them with content. Your interest/knowledge can be in Photography, Pottery, Paper cutting, Internet security, Networking, Search Engine Optimization, Yoga, Pilates, Management Topics, Personality Development, Time Management, etc. These are just a few things that came to my mind offhand.

How this works? Multiple ways. For one, websites need content...good and quality content. For them to hire content writers full-time can be costly. And one content writer can write on a limited number of topics. So to put up content on a variety of topics, these websites/portals will have to hire a huge content writing work-force. Why go there when there are millions of internet users out there with expertise on thousands of topics? If they tap into this huge work-force, they will never have to worry about content, leave alone cost-saving. There will be an endless supply of content at a fraction of a cost of hiring full time employees. They only have to select and edit relevant and good submissions. Thus, they pay these submitters whose submissions are selected.

And there are websites which offer freelancing jobs where you can offer your writing services. These sites, of course, have many other freelancing job opportunities.

Payment can be either fixed or variable. Fixed payment can vary from $.50 to $15 per article or sometimes more depending on the content. Variable payment works on a different model. This kind of model is dependent upon the popularity of the submitted article. The more popular it becomes, the more you will earn. Revenues come from the ads that are displayed on the page where your article is put up. So the more traffic your article generates more is your chance to earn money from the article. Website will pay you a part of the revenues generated from your article. Its as simple as that
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There’s a third way of earning money with articles. Its called Article marketing. Its an indirect way to earn money where the primary intention is to draw traffic to another web destination like a blog or a website. For example, if I write an article and submit it to such a website and include backlinks to this blog, it will not only help draw traffic to this blog, but also help in google rankings of the blog. Payment for the article itself is a bonus. We will discuss about Article Marketing again later.

Advantages? Many. For starters, you can work as per your convenience, when you want, from wherever you want. Secondly, you can write about what you know and passionate about. Thirdly, no previous experience is required. And then there’s the money.

Also, there’s another related way to make money online. Discussions. There are websites which pay you to participate in discussions, to respond to other’s discussions, to start a discussion topic, etc. There are hundreds of topics and interests that you can choose from and then start participation. Essentially, you get paid to have fun sharing your thoughts and opinions, putting up your questions, helping others with their queries, etc.

I will be reviewing a few of these websites and post some of the best ones to help you too earn money online at your own convenience. So keep reading to find more online money making opportunities.