Cons: It’s a modern day envelope stuffing scheme. “Pay money to learn how to build this exact website to get people to pay money to learn how to build this exact website!” etc. etc.
Our Recommendation: This isn’t a way to build a business online. Instead, learn how to create a REAL internet marketing business that can build you a sustainable stream of income in the long run. Click here to check out our top recommendation on how to do this. It’s free to get started and won’t have you stuffing envelopes.
Full Review
Some people dream of being able to make money at the press of a button, to be able to have cash pouring into their bank accounts whilst they sip margaritas on a foreign shore.
Let’s be clear, the first bit about making money easily isn’t true and never will be. There will always be hard work and effort required to earn money, whether that be in a brick and mortar business or working from home online.
The second part can be true, but only after you have done the hard work!
Copy Paste Cash at copypastecash.com sells the first part of this dream and they sell it very well. Their sales page is slick and pulls on all the right heart strings to get you thinking that actually, this system, this amazingly simple sounding system could be the one to change my life.
One time. Lifetime! It’s your time!
And it only costs a one off fee of $30 bucks.
How it works
The premise is simple, you copy some predefined adverts supplied to you by Copy Paste Cash and post them on classified advert websites such as Cragslist or Backpage and you earn a commission for each person that registers and pays.
Super easy!
Too easy!
The Problem with Easy
There are definitely some major flaws with this system.
First off, this system has been around a little while now which means that it has been used by thousands of people already. As you will be using the same adverts as the other members of this system, it quickly becomes problematic as you are all spamming, yes spamming the same adverts.
What this means is that the sites you are submitting the adverts too quickly realise what is happening as they are seeing hundreds of the same adverts posted every day.
As such, the adverts will be “ghosted” by the classified site. Ghosting is a way in which the classified companies deal with spam. Instead of blocking the advert and alerting the spammer that there is a problem, it pretends that the advert has gone through ok, but in reality it hasn’t.
Imagine if you will that you have spent hours copying and pasting these adverts, day in day out, and that all that hard work is wasted because they aren’t going anywhere as the adverts have been marked as spam.
That’s a lot of wasted time, and time is money.
Not only that but if you had used your own account to post these, then it is likely you are now marked as a spammer.
A further issue with Copy Paste Cash is that the click through rate and subsequent signups are terrible. I have seen evidence of a user with over 1 million total clicks, and a conversion of around 1600. This is a conversion rate of way less than 1%!
In some situations, I would have thought that perhaps the marketer in question was doing something wrong, that he had made an error somewhere. However, he is using the same adverts provided by the makers of the system. Really then, the only error is an error in judgement at purchasing the system in the first place.
Due to the nature of this system there is no residual income, there is no auto pilot, you have to manually add the adverts, and with that sort of conversion rate you are literally earning pennies per hour.
You can say good bye to the margaritas!
The Training
The system does provide basic training beyond copying and pasting, in internet marketing. The training only becomes available gradually as you earn points for doing actions like posting adverts. It forces you to do the work to get the information which was part of the product you bought.
The training isn’t in itself bad, it is just that the information is very much entry level with nothing to take you further and is already available on the internet freely, or with better support and guidance via other paid for services.
Recycling Rubbish
The worst thing about this system in my mind is that by using it you are perpetuating it, because you are not promoting products or services or even information, you are promoting the system itself.
Think about it, the system only promotes the system. Nothing good ever came of that. This is just a modern day envelope stuffing scheme.
The Bottom Line
Copy Paste Cash is a borderline scam, it offers very little in value and its whole system is flawed to the point of failure, requiring a massive amount of time and energy to be input for very few rewards.
Is this system worth $29.5? Absolutely not! Avoid this one unless you like wasting time and money and perpetuating spam.
Back in my undergrad years, I remember reading a career book called something like “How to Get a Job in 30 Days”. I was about to finish my junior year in college and sit out my summer months with no job and thus no money. The idea of finding work in a month sounded very appealing so I decided I would thoroughly read and follow every piece of advice this book gave me.
As it turned out, most of the book’s advice centered on making cold calls to potential employers. The idea was to make contact with the hiring manager and, before this person could even say no, schedule an appointment with him/her.
The conversation was supposed to go like this:
“Hello, my name is Halina, and I noticed you have a job opening in your forensic sciences department. I’m a perfect candidate because I’ve watched numerous episodes of CSI and have also appeared on COPS. I have the first of April available for a meeting; how does that work for you?”
Figuring that anyone who had actually published a book on how to find a job (in just 30 days!) knew what s/he was talking about, I dutifully started making cold calls. Half the time the employer’s voicemail picked up my call; I gave my shpeel and, with a sigh of relief, never heard from that person again. On occasion, I would actually reach the hiring head; luckily, I had my pitch written down on several crinkly notebook pages and that helped me as I recited my stage lines.
After about two weeks of making cold calls and having no one return my requests for a meeting, I gave up. I guess I’ll never know if, having put in the full 30-day cold calling effort, I would’ve been rewarded with a job. However, I did realize something: I am not cut out for cold calling. And also, after spending the last 15 years of my post-undergrad life receiving cold calls from everyone from insurance salesmen to career coaches to mortgage refi experts, I’ve realized that no one is really cut out for cold calling. There are three reasons why:
1. Cold calls put clients on the spot.
When you cold call someone, you never know just what s/he was doing right up to receiving your call. If that person is having a lousy day, you can bet that your call isn’t going to make things better. Alternately, that person may be having a great day and is about to head out for drinks- just when the phone rings. Out of sheer politeness, that person will pick up the phone (especially if colleagues are watching)- and then try to get rid of you as fast as possible.
Even if the person hears you out , s/he can’t just agree to meet you or hire you without at least first consulting with colleagues. Furthermore, taking on a new person, even on a contract basis, requires careful consideration that cannot be completed in the space of a single phone call. Thus, you often get stuck making an average of five calls to the same person in order to score just one lead.
2. Cold calls waste time.
The consensus amongst professional cold callers is that you’re lucky if you get even 10% of respondents to not instantly say no. Gee, that’s encouraging. In other words, 90% of the time you spend researching potential clients to cold call is wasted. Indeed, you shouldn’t even bother researching potential clients and what they do because, 90% of the time, you won’t even get beyond “Hello, my name is-” before you’re told to #%$! off.
I’m not saying all cold calls won’t work. Admittedly, cold calls, just like door-to-door salesmen, have had their place in history as a way of making customers aware of businesses and products. And sometimes those door-to-door salesmen do get into the customer’s house. But once that point is reached, what then? At least that salesman could quickly look around the house and assess whether the homeowner needed a new vacuum cleaner. What can you really assess from your end of the phone?
As a freelancer, you’re probably dealing with complex businesses with complex needs. Your job is not as simple as just providing content, or writing a software program, or fixing a leaky faucet- at least not if you want to keep your clients and have repeat business. To truly understand your clients and their needs, you must look beyond the “one-and-done” job and find out where the problems really lie and what you can do to decrease losses or raise profits. That includes even something as “simple” as fixing a leaky faucet. And that kind of in-depth analysis is not going to happen instantaneously, such as during a 5-10 minute cold call.
How can you generate sales leads and win clients without making cold calls?
You can generate strong sales leads and have potential clients approach you- yes you- without making a single cold call. There are many strategies involved:
1. Write warm emails.
Do some careful research on your potential company or client and find out what issues and crises are at play. Then, find the hiring manager/client and write him/her regarding your observations and what you can do to improve the business’ bottom line. Give specific suggestions for improvement, then follow up with examples. If posible, back up your suggestions with your personal work experience. I provide an illustration of this technique on my LinkedIn post.
2. Network-strategically.
Traditional networking events where everyone gets too drunk too fast on free booze may not work for you. However, you can achieve a far higher networking success rate by actually joining your prospective client’s network. How does this happen? Use the power of Google and LinkedIn to research your prospects, then get involved in whatever organization or cause they’re involved in.
Yes, this is a back-end strategy and it also takes more effort- but it’s a great excuse to become more involved in your community. Just make sure that you actually like the organization you join because it’s hard to fake long-term sincerity. You’ll also find out that your prospective clients typically share connections with other likely clients who are also involved in the same organization or cause. Coincidence…or not?
3. Work/help/teach for free.
Many freelancers shy away from doing free work, fearing that it will result in never getting paid work. However, in many cases, you can use free work to make prospective clients aware of you and the types of services you offer. In the course of time, when these prospects have a need for your services, they’ll be more likely to hire you than someone whose work they haven’t seen directly and whose personality may clash with theirs.
For example, if you’re hoping to get hired as a staff writer for a magazine and you know that a given organization regularly publishes with this magazine, it would be wise of you to volunteer your writing efforts to this organization. Alternately, you may wish to give a free seminar or class at a school or company you’re trying to crack into. Just make sure that your freebie item relates to the skill set you’re trying to sell; in other words, don’t offer a class on brewing beer -however tempting that might be- if you’re trying to sell your C++ programming skills.
Even offering to help someone out can sometimes land you in that person’s good graces. I honestly suspect I landed one of my clients simply by helping him unsubscribe from Facebook.
4. Conduct interviews.
As a writer, I have a natural excuse for interviewing people; in fact, some of my work demands it. However, it has occurred to me that interviews themselves can be used as another back-end or extended networking method. Let’s face it, people love to talk about themselves and will typically agree to your request for an interview. And once that interview is completed, that hour or two of feel-good face time is bound to be remembered by the interviewee.
Interviews need not always be work-related; maybe you’re considering changing careers and would like some advice. Maybe you’ve always been fascinated by a potential client’s work and just want additional details. My natural curiosity about other people’s work has landed me in some interesting situations including the following: getting a furniture store tour (plus a killer offer on a dining set), having a top-to-bottom tour of the “W” hotel, being treated to a private candy kitchen tasting, running the movie projector at a D.C. theater for an evening, and engaging in melanoma research. If I play my cards right, I might soon be conducting neuronal electrophysiology experiments.
In none of these situations was I actively considering landing the client or business; I was merely curious about the people and their jobs. But I could easily have transformed the information I gathered into an easy job opportunity or three, now that I think about it.
Don’t be a mercenary- don’t make cold calls.
The bottom line with cold calls and why I don’t believe in them is that cold calls place you in a mercenary role; i.e., you must make this sale/land this client/score an interview- or else. The person you call ends up feeling manipulated and used. You fail to establish a personal relationship with the client or business, resulting in you losing out on follow-up business even if you do get the initial sale/job/interview.
Instead of being a mercenary, be an ally.
Approach your clients or businesses by first seeing things from their point of view. Try to help first without thinking about money or making that sale. Taking this approach will require some effort (and a change in mindset) and will not be achieved in the space of a 5-10 minute cold call or even several cold calls. But the end result of your extra effort will be worth it. And should all else fail, you’ll have gained a friend.
The SFI Marketing group is not a straight forward system. It incorporates all the classic signs of an MLM (Multi Level Marketing or Pyramid scheme) and yet tries to mask it.
A Little Background
There is some history to SFI, one that I can only piece bits of and use conjecture to fill in the rest. You see, their website is sfimg.com and according to their site, it stands for Strong Future Internal Marketing Group. However SFI started off at least as Six Figure Income and the sixfigureincome.com site still redirects there.
I can’t find out much about that product but the name itself doesn’t make it sound like it was anything but a “get rich quick scheme”
It appears then that this business has changed tactic.
SFI Marketing Group also gets an A+ on the BBB website, but honestly, don’t put much trust in that, for $800 anyone can get an A+ rating…
Inside SFI
Joining is free, unlike most MLM’s so it is easy to be taken off guard by it. What quickly gives the site away is the SFI Basics:
1. Become an Executive Affiliate (EA) and remain an EA every month.
2. Recruit five affiliates using the methods listed HERE.
3. Teach your five affiliates to do these same three steps.
Any system that strongly suggests from the outset to recruit people under you and get them to recruit people is without a doubt an MLM system.
What complicates the initial view is that SFI uses a sister company and affiliate marketing as well, an effective way for the owners to make more money.
Making Money with SFI
How does this particular system encourage you to make money? There are four ways.
1. Start earning money by accumulating VersaPoints
VersaPoints are SFI’s internal points system. In order to stand a chance of getting a cut of a pot of money each month you need to earn 1500 points as a minimum. No where on the site does it tell you how much the pot of money is currently nor what your slice would be for 1500 points though. It is always worrying when a company isn’t transparent in these things.
The only information available is this:
A huge 40% of the Commission Volume (CV) on EVERY sale at TripleClicks.com goes into the TripleClicks Executive Pool. Share in this big, company wide pool with a minimum of just 1500 VP a month!
Where does this 40% come from? It isn’t clear, from the sales of products it seems, but who foots the bill? I can’t see it being the sellers, they are already losing a lot by selling there.
Not only that but from looking at the ways you can make VersaPoints it looks like your first month will be easy due to large value but simple objectives for example liking SFI on Facebook. After the first month, it looks like it will be much harder to obtain.
In fact one area to be cautious over is that there is some advices from other members to buy Tripleclicks (see below) gift cards, in order to gain 1200 points each month. That’s around $60 a month. Not cheap especially if you cannot make up the extra 300 points and even then there is no guarantee you will get your cash back.
You do get points as well for promoting products on Tripleclicks (per sale).
2. Increase your earnings by generating sales at TripleClicks.com
To obtain some cash you can promote products from Tripleclicks, which is a self proclaimed Ecommerce site. However to me it looks like a poor man’s Ebay. The products are a mixed bag, the sellers even more so, with many of them being from abroad and with poor English skills.
One seller states:
“Find it Here is a online store that sells different stuffs that you need and stuffs that hard to find”
Marketing some of these products will be interesting to say the least, so making money from them may not be that lucrative, however there is of course the possibility.
One thing that upsets me is the Beginner Methods of gaining sales:
Tell your friends and family
Buy gift cards and give them to friends and family
Buy promotional cards and distribute them – “Whenever you take a taxi or ride public transportation, “forget” this TC X-Card on the seat before you exit.”
Post flyers
Etc. etc.
There are some reasonable methods listed as well, including social network sharing, but the fact that a lot of the beginner ones involves harassing friends or family or purchasing products to promote them is not good.
Tripleclicks earns the owners of SFI “a nominal fee” (genuine quote!) of 15% of all sales, so they have a vested interest in getting you to push these products any way you can.
Now add on to that the fact that you as an affiliate can earn 45% of the sales price. That’s 60%. Very few businesses can afford to provide quality service and products with a 60% loss on the product sale price, especially physical goods.
However, earning that amount is unlikely, as for a start your are automatically given a “sponsor” who will earn a percentage of your commission. On top of that, each item has a different commission rate, some with as high as 65% some low 5%.
3. Maximize your income with sponsoring and duplication
Here is the MLM creeping in again, with members recruited below you having a portion of their earnings sent upline towards you. This matrix, as it is called, is 12 levels deep which is very large. MLM systems are not self supporting, and the FTC is in the firm belief that overall the only people who make money from MLM are the ones at the top, and that is always the business owner and not you.
4. Add supplemental income streams (optional)
This is side work, mainly referring sellers to Tripleclicks and allowing adverts on your site.
Training and Support
Most of the training on site is minimal and revolves around selling Tripleclick products or earning more VersaPoints. There is no real meat to any of the training and nothing that can benefit you in the long run.
The Bottom Line
Is SFI a scam? No. While I have reservations about recommending it, it isn’t as simple as they will take your money and run.
I am not a big fan of MLMs, I don’t believe there is any money to be made in them by a regular joe. From what can be gathered of SFI, it is an MLM crossed with affiliate marketing, and as such thought there is a potential to make money here, though I would strongly caution you from spending money in order to do so, as there are lots of areas in SFI where it is easy to start spending cash to make up your VersaPoints or market SFI.
The quality of the products and sellers is also something that concerns me, how can you sell something at such a low mark-up? I highly doubt many, if any, of these sellers have the weight business wise to get mass purchase deals.
I am also quite concerned they put a lot more focus on getting you to promote SFI to your friends and family than actually teaching you anything on marketing in general.
I’ll bet you $50 that you probably have enough material in your head to generate at least one online course. That course could be about a traditional topic like physics or chemistry or it could be something less academic, like how to refinish a hardwood floor or make quality moonshine. The bottom line is that any skill that took you time to learn can be marketable; i.e., your knowledge and experience can make you money. The trick is, how do you make your knowledge and experience marketable?
Using an online academy or online university
Nowadays, you can publish online courses via online academies (or online universities) that offer you an easy platform through which you can showcase your talents. Here are just a few such online academies:
This online academy has recently gotten some good press from NBC Today and Forbes, among other high caliber places. At Udemy, anyone can create, publish and promote an online course, regardless of credentials. About 75% of the offered courses are free; the remaining 25% run anywhere from $9 for an Affiliate Marketing for Noobs course to $500 for Jack Welch’s Welch Way Management training course. Udemy keeps 30% of your revenue; if you directly refer a customer to your course (such as through a coupon), Udemy’s cut drops to 15%.
This site, much like Udemy, runs on an open platform and allows anyone to create and publish a free or paid online course. Even better, Odijoo takes only a 10% cut of your revenue. Odijoo also allows you to create your own “campus” from which your courses are displayed and taught, allowing you to create a veritable online education business. Another Odijoo perk is that you can syndicate your content, allowing other instructors to purchase that content and use it in their classes.
Litmos prides itself on being a learning management system (LMS) geared towards business professionals. In tune with that philosophy, Litmos makes it extremely easy to create and add to your own online course and have it distributed on mobile devices. With Litmos, you get a lot of entrepreneurial perks like your own domain name, branding and landing page. There is no cut taken from your revenue; however, you do pay a minimum monthly charge to the site; the Starter membership runs $49/month. As you grab additional perks and students, your monthly fee can become quite high…so this platform may not be for everyone.
Using your own website
If you have a large enough following online, you can use your website or email newsletter to advertise your online course and get people to sign up privately. This allows you to keep all the profits and make additional money through back-end product sales. Additionally, you can offer your students a premium-priced version of your course by including something extra like one-on-one phone/email support. Alternately, you can send your students extra materials like ebooks or give them access to an online forum.
You don’t need a fancy-shmancy platform or software to generate an effective and informative online course. Your lessons can be sent out as weekly emails to your students followed by an assignment that is emailed back to you. Additional course information could be posted on internal website pages that only your students have access to. I know this because I’ve seen it done on several online courses including Linda Formichelli’s Write for Magazines e-course.
There are a number of free online tools available if you need to record your voice or provide a presentation. If you really want to go all out and give a webinar, AnyMeeting offers free web conferencing (up to 200 attendees).
But I’m not an expert on anything!
You might be wondering how you can teach anything when you’ve never received a qualifying degree or wrote a book about the topic. Well, I have a solution for you:
Tim Ferriss of The 4-Hour Workweek fame wrote the following “back-door” formula on becoming an expert in almost anything in 4 weeks*:
1. Join 2-3 trade organizations [in the field that you intend to teach].
2. Read 3 top-selling books on your topic and summarize each one.
3. Give one free 1-3 hour seminar at your closest university and company branches.
4. Offer to write 1-2 articles for trade magazines related to your topic, using steps 1 and 3 as your credibility points.
5. Join ProfNet, a site that journalists use to find subject matter experts and quote them. Then, get quoted.
Tim also makes the following statement: “”Expert” is nebulous media-speak and so overused as to be indefinable. In modern PR terms, proof of expertise in most fields is shown with group affiliations, client lists, writing credentials and media mentions, not IQ points or Ph.D.s.”
How I became a crowdfunding expert
I somehow became an expert on equity crowdfunding even though I’ve never crowdfunded a thing in my life. It all started when I wrote an article on equity crowdfunding for I’ve Tried That and then another one for a small business site. A few months later, the local SCORE Madison chapter contacted me to find out if I’d give a talk about the subject.
I happily agreed and started compiling my Powerpoint slides, learning a lot about exciting SEC regulations in the process. Fortuitously, my Evansville Area Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club hosted a venture capitalist who gave a talk about equity crowdfunding just days before my own talk. As a result, I got the scoop from a “real” expert on what pertinent issues I should discuss. And voilà! An equity crowdfunding expert was born. I now pitch crowdfunding to my clients.
What if I can’t answer a question?
Another major concern for budding online course instructors is that their students will ask questions that they cannot answer on the spot. There are several ways around this uncomfortable possibility, including telling the student that you will get back to him/her with an answer at a later time, asking the class to answer the question, or simply admitting that you just don’t know- but will return with an answer.
The best preventative measure by far is to initially not do live sessions with your students until you can safely anticipate a majority of their questions. And remember that, according to the Pareto principle, about 80% of your students’ questions will cover only 20% of your material, so make sure you learn that portion well. As for the other 20% of your students’ questions- well, while they will come up, it will be less common.
Also, you don’t have to know everything there is to know about your subject matter- you simply have to be one step ahead of your students. In light of this, try to stay informed about your topic and any news that are relevant to it. Set up a Google Alerts on your topic’s keywords and have those alerts go to your email account. In this way, if any new developments are at play in your field of expertise, you’ll be the first to know- and impress your students.
How much money can you make from your own online course?
A well-known name like Jack Welch, who has now sold his Udemy course to 109 students at $500 per student, has grossed $54.5K. No bad.
However, lesser-known Miguel Hernandez, who sells a $297 Udemy course titled How to Create an Awesome Demo Video for Your Business, has outgrossed Welch by one entire figure and come in at over $483K. Your results will probably differ, but even this one example illustrates how creating a course that offers something relevant to your audience, especially a business/technical audience, can earn you some big bucks. And this can happen even if you don’t have a big name.
Fortunately, Miguel also offers another Udemy course titled How to Create an Awesome Online Course for those who are curious.
Much like with teaching courses in the “real world”, it takes time and persistence to create a highly popular (i.e., lucrative) course. But if you’re passionate about your subject matter and (more importantly) about teaching it, creating an online course is a great way to go.
*excluding neurology, automatic transmissions and school boards.
More and more companies are hiring for customer service jobs from home in 2020 than ever before.
Huge businesses have traditionally outsourced their customer service needs to call centers in foreign cities that have skilled yet inexpensive labor.
However, the explosion of the internet speed at home and communication apps has made hiring freelancers who work from home much more feasible.
If you want to work from home and you think a customer service job fits your experience and skills, there’s no better time to start looking for one.
In this article, we’ll guide you through all you need to know to get a customer service job from home: what you’ll need to have, what positions you can usually apply for, how much they typically pay, and a list of companies that currently have customer service job openings available.
Requirements for Remote Customer Service Jobs
While each company has its own specific job requirements, there are some things you’ll need to do customer service jobs from home.
Quiet work place/office
High-quality laptop
High-speed internet connection
Noise-reducing VoIP headset with microphone
Up-to-date operating system on your computer
Ability to download and use specified software
Aside from equipment, you’ll need to have the soft skills to be successful in your customer service job.
Clear verbal and written communication skills
Active listening skills
Patience and self-restraint
Positive attitude
Composure
Assertiveness
Conflict resolution
Empathy and compassion
Emotional stability
Taking responsibility
Educational requirements may vary as well, depending on the position and the specific company you apply for. At the very least, companies will look for a high school diploma or GED.
Types of Customer Service Jobs You Can Do From Home
Work-at-home customer service jobs can be full-time or part-time, and many companies offer flexible scheduling, including days, nights, and weekends.
Taking in calls from customer service hotlines and answering their queries is usually what comes to mind when one says “customer service job.”
But this is not the only position available out there. Here are some more positions that you can think about applying for.
1. Call center agent
Physical call centers are still very much around, but it’s becoming more commonplace to have agents at home handling phone calls in the comfort of their own home.
You can either receive inbound calls to handle customer service or sales queries, or make outbound calls to ask survey questions or collect debts for a credit card or loan company.
How much can you earn? $10 to $17 per hour; $13 most common
2. Online live chat agent
Live chat agents mostly do the same tasks as call center agents but deal with customers and clients over chat apps instead of over the phone.
This type of customer service job is perfect for those who want to work from home but don’t want to or can’t deal with customers over the phone.
How much can you earn? $8 to $15 per hour; $11 most common
3. Email agent
Another position you can apply for is an email agent. The work is again similar to those of call center and live-chat agents in that they provide assistance to customers but via a different channel; in this case, email.
The difference between an email agent and call center or live chat agents is that email interactions aren’t usually real-time (unless of course, a particular customer happens to be online at the same time you are).
This gives you enough time to compose your replies and give a more detailed, in-depth answer to an inquiry. The flip side is that if you do make a mistake, the documentation is easier to obtain and lasts forever.
How much can you earn? $10 to $16 per hour; $13 most common
4. Travel agent
You might think travel agents are extinct.
They still exist, but mostly to cater to corporate clients, VIPs, or large groups.
Travel agents require some experience as well as additional certification in certain software, as travel agents use proprietary software to arrange these trips.
How much can you earn? $13 to $40 per hour; $28 most common
5. Technical support agent
Tech support agents combine their customer service skills with specialized technical and computer skills.
Most companies will train their employees to provide support for their specific products, but they will expect you to already have advanced computer skills.
You would also need to have excellent communication skills for this job because this usually involves providing instructions to customers who are less computer-savvy than you are.
How much can you earn? $13 to $30 per hour; $23 most common
15 Companies Hiring for Customer Service Jobs from Home
So, what companies can you sign up with to learn more about and become a work-at-home customer service rep? Read on.
ACD Direct focuses on providing call center support for non-profit pledge drives and fundraisers.
You are paid as an independent contractor at the starting rate of 23 cents/minute and can go as high as 35 cents/minute via bonus pay and raises.
However, the minutes are only earned while you are on the phone.
On the positive side of things, you will be taking calls for charities and other do-good organizations; since most of your calls will be from folks wanting to give money rather than complain, the stress level of this type of work is low.
Retail giant Amazon hires people directly and offers remote job opportunities (both full-time and part-time). What’s great about Amazon is that work-at-home employees also receive a 401 (k) plan, health insurance, paid time off and other benefits.
Amazon’s work-from-home jobs aren’t just geared at customer service.
There’s also HR, engineering, game development, retail, and finance positions, among others. The catch, though, is that most entry-level positions are paid only $10 per hour.
Yes, you too can work for Apple- and all from the comfort of your own home.
At Applecare, you can become an At-home Advisor (i.e., Customer Service and Support) and help customers with their iPhones, iPads, iMacs and other iThings.
The company hires its at-home workers as employees and requires 20-hour workweeks via 6-hour shifts. Occasional weekend time may be required.
The pay at Apple seems better than at most other at-home companies; pay scales range from $11-$16/hour.
You also get some great employee benefits including health insurance, 401(k), plus an iMac (for business use only).
Apple’s at-home jobs are listed as city and state-specific and not all cities and states are represented.
However, from what I’ve heard, if you at least live in the same state as the job is offered- even if the exact city is different- you should apply anyway.
Alorica offers work-at-home customer service jobs and pays $10-$12/hour.
A good amount of the work involves making collections calls, which is great if you don’t mind making people sweat- though it’s not a job I would personally favor.
Other jobs include technical support and sales calls.
What is really nice about Alorica is that it hires workers as full-time employees and offers benefits such as health, disability, and life insurance as well as 401(k) retirement plans.
Employees also have access to the company’s employee assistance program or EAP.
Pleio GoodStart hires customer service agents that help people with their medication routines.
In other words, as a Pleio Goodstart agent, you will be calling people and reminding them to take their medication and/or providing information about their prescriptions.
You will also spend some time actively recruiting people to sign up for the GoodStart program.
This company pays from $8-$16/hour depending on how many individuals you call and how many calls you actually complete.
GoodStart sign-ups also earn you extra money. You are hired as an independent contractor and the work is temporary (about 12 weeks) with some chance of obtaining a permanent position.
If you’re handy with computers and other IT items and/or have IT support experience, this company may be for you.
OneSupport offers full-time work-at-home IT technical support jobs that pay $10/hour; there are opportunities to earn $1 raises as you gain seniority.
The company offers plenty of benefits to its employees including health, dental and vision insurance, vacation time, and holiday pay.
You may also earn commissions based on product upselling.
The main disadvantage with OneSupport is that you can work for it only if you live in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah or Texas. Likewise, there seem to be some glitches in OneSupport’s management, as noted on several Glassdoor reports.
Anyone 17 years old and up with a high school diploma or GED can apply as a call center agent with TeleTech.
Managerial positions would require a degree and experience in the industry.
You’ll need to supply your own hardware, such as a PC, VOIP headset, and internet connection.
Pay ranges from $8.50 to $10.50 per hour, depending on the position.
If you’re a second language-speaking agent, expect a higher rate. Because TeleTech@Home’s call center agents are employees (not independent contractors), they also receive a 401 (k), health and dental plans, paid holidays, and other benefits.
Arizona-based cloud call center company LiveOps was founded in 2002.
Today, it offers five types of independent-contractor agent positions (inbound sales, insurance sales, insurance claims, healthcare, customer service) to any United States resident over the age of 18.
A PC, dedicated landline phone, headset, high-speed internet, and a $65 credit/background check via First Advantage are needed before contract signing.
LiveOps agents earn around $15 per hour.
Some receive commissions for sales on top of basic pay, while others only earn through commissions.
Agents are responsible for creating their work schedules in blocks of 30 minutes, so the earning potential as a LiveOps agent depend largely on how much work you put in.
Payments are sent twice a month via check or bank deposit.
Concentrix regularly hires work-from-home customer service representatives from the UK, US, and Canada.
Applicants are required to have their own computer, internet connection, approved headset, and flash drive.
Calls go through the agent’s computer, so you’re not required to have a landline. The downside though is that agents must be available 7 days a week.
As a Concentrix work-from-home agent, you can earn anywhere from $7 to $12 per hour (tech support agents are paid higher).
Agents become Concentrix employees, so they also receive life insurance, tuition reimbursement, 401k, paid time off, and medical, dental, and vision benefits.
Sales reps may also be given commissions and other incentives.
Similar to LiveOps, NexRep is a middleman that connects big companies with work-from-home virtual receptionists, tech support, virtual sales consultants, beauty consultants, and general customer service representatives.
As such, positions available at any given time depend largely on the needs of NexRep’s clients.
Agents can earn somewhere from $10 to $25, depending on the company they work for and the position they perform.
Inbound call agents earn 100% from commissions without cap.
Outbound call agents earn $5 per hour plus commissions.
NexRep prefers people with at least two years of call center experience, or a college degree, but also accepts applicants with basic computer skills and those who pass the job interview.
The best thing about NexRep is the company gives agents freedom to set their own schedules.
Vivint owns and operates a line of home security appliances.
They are regularly looking for reps around the country to receiving inbound calls and help their customers troubleshoot their home security systems over the phone.
Base rate is listed at $11/hr and equipment (computer and accessories) will be provided by Vivint.
Due to the nature of the work, Vivint requires that you are able to pass a background check. Perks include 401ks and paid time off.
The Hartford is looking for customer support agents to help handle inbound calls ranging from questions about policies to assisting customers in auto accidents.
No experience required.
Click on the “Find Jobs” button and search for “Customer Service Relationship Specialist” to see all the open positions.
These are 100% customer service jobs from home and you will be working remotely.
While the salary isn’t listed, the following benefits are:
Medical, Dental, Life and Disability Insurance – EFFECTIVE ON DAY ONE!
19 days paid time off in your first full year
Tuition reimbursement
Paid volunteer opportunities
Employee recognition
Wellness program
These benefits make this company one of the most enticing ones to work for on this list.
You are also given the chance to further your career through The Hardford’s career leadership development program.
Accolade Support provides their clients with a variety of services aiming to help them achieve their business and marketing objectives. Services include marketing consulting, product management consulting, as well as inbound and outbound call center agents.
The current positions open are outbound sales call center agents (pays $100 per sale) and inbound customer service call center agents.
Aspire Lifestyles offers the most comprehensive suite of technology-based, custom concierge, personal assistance services, and loyalty solutions in the industry.
They periodically offer remote travel agent jobs and remote help desk support jobs. There are currently none of these positions open, but you can forward your resume to their email addresses.
Aside from operating numerous call centers globally, Transcom also offers customer care, sales, technical support, and credit management jobs to remote workers in the US and Canada.
They offer health insurance, 401 (k) investment opportunities, as well as advancement opportunities, which may not be available in other companies.
Apply For One of These Customer Service Jobs from Home Today!
Gone are the days that home workers are left to filter only a few legit positions from thousands of scam jobs from shady companies.
These 15 companies are just a handful of legit companies that offer work-from-home customer service jobs.
The availability of telecommute, remote or home-based positions are increasing each year; we publish an annual list of dozens of different work from home jobs you can do.
So if you’re interested in extra cash or a full-time job without leaving the comforts of your home, one of these jobs may be the right fit for you!
