ALT-1 Make Money Online
For anybody who has struggled financially during tough economic times (or any other time), the idea of making money online while sitting in the comfort of your own home has been an enticing thought. But with so much information on the web and so many options out there, many of which being scams, how does someone begin? Where are the good websites and where are the bad sites? I began my search several years ago in an attempt to “get rich quick” after buying a new house and wanting some supplemental income.
The first useful site I found was at Money Making Mommy (www.moneymakingmommy.com). The site is run by a woman who works from home and has created a website to help others find ways to make money from home. She also makes money from the website, supplementing the income she earns from the various other sources she uses.
I began researching and I signed up for A LOT of different websites claiming that I would earn a lot of money for various duties. Most of them were free to join but others required a membership fee. I was naive about the process and I was stupid enough to pay a few of these websites. I’ve had the most success with sites that were free to join.
SURVEYS – The way I began making money from home was to fill out surveys online. When I started a few years ago, there weren’t a lot of people looking to fill out surveys, so the websites were paying pretty well. A 15 minute survey was usually worth $3-$4. Now, with more and more people looking to earn money online, these sites no longer have to pay as much. Most of them are now only paying $1.50-$2 per completed survey.
I use several survey sites. My favorite is Global Test Market (www.globaltestmarket.com). I receive the most survey invitations and earn the most money from them. I also use Opinion Outpost (www.opinionoutpost.com). I don’t get as many survey invitations, but when I do they generally pay a bit better than Global Test Market. I also use Survey Spot (www.surveyspot.com). Most of their survey rewards are sweepstakes entries. I usually only respond to the survey invitations that offer points (that turn into cash). I’ll get one or two of them per week.
WRITE – Writing online is a great source of income. Helium is my favorite writing website. As opposed to survey sites, where you want to sign up for several, I believe it is important to put all of your writing energy into one website. Helium is my favorite, and other people might enjoy other websites. But the more articles you write on Helium, the more money you’ll make.
Writing is not the quickest way to earn money. When you complete a survey, you might earn $2 or $3 up front. But when you write an article for Helium, you’ll probably only make $0.10 or $0.20 in the first week or two after you’ve written the article. But if you strive to create well-written articles, you’ll earn more money. And the income stream will last a long time. For example, I went more than six months without writing an article for Helium, but I continued to earn royalties on the articles I’d written. I left for six months and came back with $100 more in my account!
SELL UNWANTED ITEMS – Everyone knows about eBay. But few people understand how easy it is to sell the items you no longer want. It’s like a virtual garage sale without having to sit in your driveway for a whole weekend. Simply take a picture of the item, write a quick description, then let people outbid each other for the item. The buyer even pays for the shipping!
No matter how you earn your money online, you’re bound to make a few extra bucks. Good luck!
