Like many people, I had been looking for a way to earn money working from home.  I didn’t want to put my daughter in after school care or summer programs, and I had always wanted to own my own business- I just wasn’t sure what that business was going to be.  I have several novels that I’ve been looking to get published, but hadn’t found the right publisher yet – so I didn’t think I could make money as a writer.  Then I came across a job posting on Craigslist.org looking for writers to work as subcontractors.

I admit – I am cynical about most of the work-for-hire situations. I automatically assume they are scams and all they want is my money. However, I replied to the ad and so became the start of my new career. I decided to post this piece because it is a legitimate business that nearly anyone can start. Due to the unsteady economy, coupled with lost jobs, and the rising cost of everything, people who need a second income are not always able to make that other job work. MakeMoneyFromWriting.com is a coaching program that takes you step by step through the process of starting your own online freelance writing business.  It’s not about multi-level marketing. It is literally a mentoring/coaching program that helps you get your first paid writing job and then teaches you how to build up your client list so that you always have paid work coming in.  You become a writer who actually earns a living from writing; instead of what many of us start out as – writers who work other jobs to pay the bills.

I checked out what must have been hundreds of work at home “opportunities” but the fact was I didn’t want to do home parties, I wasn’t interested in recruiting other people to start home based businesses.  I just wanted to work for myself, and I think anyone who is able to write simple sentences can do this for a living.

Online freelance writers are in constant demand, and for anyone who’s looking to make extra money or want to start a new career, I think this could be the work at home solution you’ve been looking for, too, especially during times of such economic distress.

WEBSITE REVIEW – MakeMoneyFromWriting.com was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Whenever people tell me they’re thinking about getting a second job, or that they are having trouble making ends meet with their existing job- I tell them they just need to turn their computer into a way to earn money. Honestly, if you are using your computer to send and receive emails and play games, read profiles on myspace or watch videos on you tube- you have enough knowledge to make money with your computer.

Often the money you earn from working on your home computer (or from your work computer on your lunch hour?) is more than what you would earn if you got a part time job serving coffee or waiting tables after work. You don’t have as many (if any) expenses, no travel requirements, and you can almost always make more per hour than you would at a second job.

Here are 5 ways you can use your computer to make money:

1) Do “odd jobs” on freelance auction sites including:

• rentacoder.com
• getafreelancer.com
• getacoder.com

Despite their names- these sites have opportunities for people to complete all types of work for hire- not just programming or web design related work. So if you don’t have programming knowledge, you could look under categories for data entry, article writing, and other miscellaneous job postings to find projects you could complete in your spare time. You get to name your price, and if you win the job, you’ll be paid from the buyer. You might want to stick to the freelance sites that offer escrow services (they hold the money from the buyer and release it when the work is complete) so that you know you will get paid for your work. Otherwise- a good rule is to require 50% of the fee up front and the remainder upon successful completion of the work.

2) Check bloggerjobs.biz for paid blogging opportunities. If you can write about a page on a specific topic, you can get paid to write articles by blog owners looking for help maintaining the content on their blogs. Pay may range from $5 an article to $25 or more per article.

3) Craigslist.org is the ultimate resource for all job listings of all types! You can select a city and browse the job listings that most interest you. Once you’ve selected the job category, you can narrow down the search results to only jobs that are “telecommute”; which means you can do them from home. These are not home based business opportunities, but rather, jobs and employment opportunities from businesses needing additional help from freelancers and people like you.

4) Promote other people’s stuff. You can become an affiliate of just about any product and service these days, and it doesn’t cost anything to sign up for 99% of the affiliate opportunities. As an affiliate, you can promote another company’s products and services and in exchange, earn a commission on any sales your efforts have generated. This is a good opportunity for people who have some internet marketing experience or who are looking to experiment and learn. Try www.linkshare.com or www.clickbank.com for opportunities to become affiliates of products.

5) Provide virtual assistance to small business owners and internet marketers. There are thousands of small business owners out there who are pressed for time. They’re spending time doing routine and mundane tasks when they should be concentrating on working their business. If you can type, make or take phone calls, set up travel arrangements, format or edit documents, keep track of finances, or any number of secretarial or administration work- you might be a good candidate to become a work-at-home personal assistant or administrative assistant. You can bill per hour based on the skill level required for the task.

5 Ways to Make Money Online was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

That being said, there are numerous ways to earn a few dollars with your computer.  In fact, I like to think of my computer as my personal, mini-ATM.  While I can’t swipe a card on the side and withdraw cash- I earn my living entirely on my computer and over the internet.  If you’re looking to supplement your income with your computer, here are some ideas of what you can do to get started:

Blog: starting a blog isn’t very difficult.  There are hundreds of programs that let you create a blog in just a few seconds, and you don’t need to have html knowledge for the majority of them.  You can monetize the blog using something like adsense, or you could write product reviews and have affiliate links to the products that earn you a commission whenever anyone shops from your links.

Freelance Auction Sites: if you have time and are willing to “bid” for work, you could use one of the many freelance auction sites like getafreelancer.com, rentacoder.com, or guru.com.  On these sites, people list work they have available, and then anyone who is interested in doing the work can place their “bid” (how much they would expect to be paid to complete the work).  The buyers select someone to complete the work from all of the bids they receive.

Become a Writer: online, words rule!  Just about all websites require text of some kind.  While it is very difficult to break into the world of book publishing and become an author- it is not all that difficult to become an online writer.  Visit craigslist.com and search listings for writers- you’ll be amazed at how many websites are in need of writers to create their website content, newsletters,  and articles. 

Join Affiliate Programs: many companies- both large and small- offer affiliate programs.  When you become an affiliate of someone else’s products or services, you refer people to the sites and if the people you refer purchase something, you get a commission. 

These are just a few ways you can turn your computer into a Mini-ATM- do some research and you will uncover many other ways that you can do part time work for some extra cash. 

Turn Your Computer into a Mini-ATM was created by and is property of American Consumer News.