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33 Places to Find Customer Service Jobs From Home

Last Updated:January 22, 2024

More and more companies are hiring for customer service jobs from home 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 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 workspace/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 homes.

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

33 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.

1. FlexJobs

I highly recommend starting your job search at FlexJobs.

Potential employers that list jobs here are checked to make sure they’re all legitimate companies offering actual jobs.

This means that any opportunity you find in FlexJobs is definitely not a scam.

Click here to go over the customer service job openings available today!

2. Amazon

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.

3. OneSupport

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 $12 per hour base pay; 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 they only offer work-from-home positions to residents of 20 states; check first if you live in one of these states before you apply.

4. Apple

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 you live in a different city, you should apply anyway.

5. TTEC

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 $10 to $15 per hour, depending on the position.

If you’re a second language-speaking agent, expect a higher rate. Because TTEC@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.

6. Alorica

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.

7. LiveOps

Arizona-based cloud call center company Liveops was founded in 2002.

Today, it offers 10 types of independent-contractor agent positions to any United States resident over the age of 18, including work-from-home Customer Service Agents.

A PC, dedicated landline phone, headset, high-speed internet, and a one-time background and credit check via a third party 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 depends largely on how much work you put in.

8. Vivint Smart Home

Vivint owns and operates a line of home security appliances.

They are regularly looking for reps around the country to receive inbound calls and help their customers troubleshoot their home security systems over the phone.

Their base rate is listed at $13 per hour plus performance bonuses.

Due to the nature of the work, Vivint requires that you are able to pass a background check. Perks include health insurance, 401(k)s, and paid time off.

9. NexRep

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 $15 to $25 hourly, depending on the company they work for and the position they perform.

Inbound call agents earn 100% from commissions without caps.

Outbound call agents earn $10 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 the freedom to set their own schedules.

10. The Hartford

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 of 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 Hartford’s career leadership development program.

11. Aspire Lifestyles

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 check back on their Careers page to see if any positions are open.

12. Humana

Humana is a health insurance company providing various healthcare solutions and innovations.

Aside from customer service jobs, Humana also offers work-from-home clinical, technical support, cyber security, information management, data analysis, sales, marketing, financial, legal, and even corporate strategy positions.

The exact salary varies depending on your experience and the particular job position. You’ll also get a number of benefits such as healthcare, overtime, paid time off, and opportunities for growth, including cross-training for other skills.

13. Transcom

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.

14. Sutherland

Sutherland is a global business process outsourcing company that provides customer service, back-office, and technology-enhanced solutions to companies all over the world.

They frequently have openings for work-from-home customer service jobs, which provide benefits such as paid training, health insurance, paid time off, and flexible schedules.

15. Working Solutions

Working Solutions is a business process outsourcing company providing customer service, sales, and business support through their network of independent contractors.

As an independent contractor, you’re not eligible for the usual employee benefits, such as paid time off or health insurance. However, the perks are that you can schedule your own hours and work whenever is convenient for you.

The average agent pay is $15 but can go up or down depending on the program and your experience.

16. VIPdesk

VIPdesk delivers back-office, customer service, and custom solutions to various brands and companies in different industries.

They pride themselves on offering competitive pay, flexible work schedules, and benefits such as paid time off, holiday pay, and health and life insurance.

17. Aston Carter

Aston Carter is a recruiting and staffing agency covering four continents providing financial, clerical, healthcare, and customer service careers to various clients.

Salary per hour varies depending on the position and your experience.

Check out their job search page for remote positions, and if nothing appeals to you, you can sign up to get job alerts from them so you know about new positions that might fit your skills better.

18. Asurion

Asurion is a technology solutions company aiming to improve their customers’ lives by helping them connect and protect their technology.

Aside from remote customer service jobs, Asurion has openings for work-from-home technical support and supply chain jobs.

Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) plans, paid time off, and programs for physical and emotional wellbeing for all their employees.

19. Pink Callers

Small field business owners may not have the capability to implement an efficient customer service and appointment scheduling system, and this is where Pink Callers comes in.

This company connects small business owners with virtual Customer Service Rockstars that receive business calls, organize and schedule appointments and work orders, maintain a business’s customer database, and many more.

Pay starts at $11 per hour and can move up to $13 to $15 per hour.

20. Allstate

Allstate offers several different types of insurance products for individuals.

They continually offer remote customer resolution associate jobs to handle customer questions and problems immediately, investigate complaints, and escalate more complex issues.

21. Remote.co

Remote.co helps businesses who work with virtual teams to connect with remote employees. There are plenty of remote customer service jobs listed on their job board. Salary varies depending on the company.

22. GovAssist

Contrary to the name, GovAssist is NOT a government agency, nor is it affiliated with any government agencies or departments.

GovAssist is a consultancy company that helps foreigners get documents to stay in the US, whether it’s a temporary stay or a long-term one.

They continually have openings for customer service jobs from home whose duty is to be the “face” of the company; be an empathetic voice on the phone and connect them to the right consultant or lawyer that can help them with their specific query.

23. Omni Interactions

Omni Interactions connect Gig Brand Ambassadors (GBAs) to clients in need of customer service agents to represent them via email, phone, text, chat, or social media.

Make sure you fulfill all the computer and equipment requirements before you submit your application.

24. Support.com

Other companies only recently embraced the work-from-home option, but Support.com has been 100% work-from-home employer for 20+ years.

Support.com offers part-time and full-time positions. Note that they don’t have contractor positions though.

If you are accepted for the job, you receive insurance (life, medical and dental), paid vacation, floating holidays, and bonus opportunities (for referrals or performance-based).

25. Hilton

The world of hospitality has so many career opportunities across different professions, but if you’re interested customer service jobs from home, check out Hilton’s WFH options.

What I like about Hilton’s work-from-home roles is that they offer the same benefits as corporate and hotel-based employees.

WFH employees receive Hilton’s 401k retirement plan, paid time off, leadership opportunities, insurance (medical, dental, vision), and Exclusive Team Member Travel Discount Program.

26. KellyConnect

KellyConnect has intermediate to supervisory positions in the support/customer service and sales departments.

Many of the roles are office-based, but KellyConnect offers fully remote options if you prefer it. Plus medical and dental benefits, too!

27. Arise

Arise is always offering remote customer service jobs.

Arise accepts experienced and entry-level employees. They connect their in-house support with reputable clients, enabling employees to work from the comfort of their homes.

Entry-level virtual customer service professionals at Arise earn up to $16 per hour.

28. Groupon

Groupon has flexible hybrid and remote opportunities.

The company offers medical, dental, and vision benefits, mental health and wellness benefits, as well as competitive compensation policies, savings plans with company matching, and an employee stock purchase plan.

Groupon gets creative with its employee benefits, from their Groupon “Bucks” and exclusive in-app discounts, to digital detox days and discounted fitness partnerships.

29. BCD Travel

Whether you’re from Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America or North America, you can become a travel agent at BCD Travel.

Visit the BCD Travel supports the nomad lifestyle, so if you want to explore the world, you can do so while working at this company. Yes, you’ll remain on your home country’s payroll and continue tax contributions, but you’d still get a stable paycheck.

Make sure to search for “remote” when sorting through the job listings.

30. ModSquad

ModSquad is always open for talented customer support, content moderation, community management, or social media expert to join the squad.

The best thing about ModSquad? You can pick your own projects, set your own schedules, and work with amazing companies — all in the comfort of your own homes.

31. Enterprise Holdings (Enterprise Rent-A-Car)

Enterprise Holdings, the company behind the famous Enterprise Rent-A-Car, has its in-house customer support for its clients.

While there are office-based jobs available at this company, you can work remotely for Enterprise Holdings if you’re interested in joining the customer service team.

If you get accepted to the WFH team, you’ll receive paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, discounts on vehicle rental rates (even for your family and friends), as well as 401k, profit sharing and Flexible Spending Accounts.

32. World Travel Holdings

Here’s another CSR gig for travel agents – World Travel Holdings has been operating with work-at-home teams for a long time.

Those who are accepted into the company gets paid training, computer and equipment provided, competitive benefits, paid time off, and travel deals.

33. Support Ninja

There are always customer service representative roles available at Support Ninja.

If you’re bilingual and can speak Japanese, German, Spanish, or other languages fluently, you’re in luck and will be compensated handsomely if you join Support Ninja.

Other jobs like data analysts, finance analysts, marketing, sales and a bunch of IT roles are also available.

Apply to One of These Customer Service Jobs from Home Today!

Gone are the days when home workers are left to filter only a few legit positions from thousands of scam jobs from shady companies.

These 26 companies are just a handful of legit companies that offer work-from-home customer service jobs.

The number of available telecommute, remote, or home-based positions is 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!

Why Giving Away Free Stuff Actually Helps Your Business

Written By:Halina Zakowicz

Last Updated:March 3, 2013

Perhaps you’ve noticed the following online trend: Many websites offer a lot of good stuff completely free to their readers. To begin with, there’s I’ve Tried That and its 7-Day Intro to Success email course. Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income currently offers an ebook on how to publish and market your own ebook. And to poor graduate students trying to make some extra money on the side, UW-Madison’s own Ryan Raver offers a free second income ebook.

How can these online entrepreneurs afford to give away so much of their stuff for free, and especially when many of their readers would gladly pay for this material?

A tale of two social experiments

To answer this question, let me tell you a little story about some behavioral research scientists who had a little (too much) time on their hands and decided to run some human experiments (incidentally, human experimentation can be quite lucrative). These researchers offered their subjects two types of chocolate for purchase: Hershey’s Kisses and Lindt truffles. While both items are made of chocolate and are certainly a treat, Lindt truffles are hands-down a better quality chocolate and far more expensive than Kisses.

The Kisses and truffles were priced at 1 cent and 15 cents, respectively. Normally, Lindt truffles cost about 30 cents per piece, so the 15 cent price tag of these truffles was a good value for the money. Naturally, about 75% of the subjects chose to buy the truffles over the Kisses.

Then, these researchers altered the pricing structure of the chocolates by a single penny; the Hershey’s Kisses were reduced from 1 cent to free and the Lindt truffles from 15 cents to 14 cents per piece. Again, both chocolates were offered to the test subjects. What happened?

In this situation, 69% of the subjects chose the free Kiss over the value-priced truffle.

The results and analysis of this intriguing human experiment are discussed by one of the researchers, Dan Ariely, in his book “Predictably Irrational”. Suffice it to say, people go nuts when something free is offered, even if that free item isn’t that great.

However, people will still go nuts over a free item even if that entails buying more. When Amazon ran a global “Buy a Second Book, Get Free Shipping” promotion, every country jumped on the offer…every country except France, that is. When Amazon marketing execs examined why France wasn’t taking the bait, they found out that the promotion had been slightly altered in that country: Instead of being offered free shipping, the French were being offered shipping for only 5 francs (our equivalent of 20 cents).

It was still a fantastic deal…but it wasn’t free.

Once Amazon execs restored the free shipping promotion to France, the French also jumped on the bandwagon and started buying books galore.

What the emerging field of neuromarketing is showing us is the following: Consumer psychology is messed up. Furthermore, it’s not just messed up- it’s predictably messed up.

This means that you can use the concept of free to your advantage.

People like love go krazy for free stuff

It’s no secret that people will spend an inordinate amount of time- a resource that, like money, is limited- to obtain something for free. Just look at The Krazy Coupon Lady, a super-couponing website that often advertises small items that can be obtained for free if the correct alignment of coupons is used. These coupons take time and effort to acquire. Some super-couponers spend 20+ hours or more per week obtaining and matching coupons to store sales. Such time would be better spent at a part-time job. However, no “sane” super-couponer will listen to you if you try to point out that fact.

Because people are innately attracted to free stuff, you can offer free ebooks, software, courses, etc. as a way to build traffic to and interest in your business. However, you might be wondering how these interested parties won’t just leave your business page as soon as they collect their freebies. After all, once the free item has been obtained, what’s there to keep your audience interested and loyal?

Give away the store- for a price

Savvy Internet marketers know that there’s no such thing as free and even items advertised as free come with a price. In many cases, that price is the consumer’s name and email. Thus, the actual price of “free” stuff is usually information.

Once a potential customer’s information is known, he or she can be placed on an email newsletter and contacted directly with promotional materials, programs and offers. The email list is where most business is done and where the real sales are made. In fact, there’s even a saying: “The money’s in the list”.

Additionally, an email list is forever. If you lost your business website or blog or were otherwise forced to close up shop, you could still take your email list with you and use it.

Give away the store- but make sure your customers return

There are several ways you can help ensure that your audience takes your free items, uses these items, and then comes back for more.

1. Give away the highest quality. The first way to ensure audience return is by giving away only your highest quality items for free. Yes, this tactic may seem odd, but hear me out: If your audience downloads an ebook or other item from you that is filled with blatantly obvious or general information, it will assume that you have nothing of value to offer. That audience will never return to you.

However, let’s say your audience downloads something from you that is just packed with useful and even unexpected information. Not only will your audience be impressed with what it received for free, it will automatically assume that what you are selling must be even better. After all, if even your most useful advice is free, imagine how good your paid stuff must be. In this case, your freebie has served as a great promotional item by establishing your credibility and expertise in the field. But wait- there’s more…

2. Go viral. A quality freebie is invariably shared with others. Your audience members may find your free content so useful that they end up passing it on to other people that they know. These people are also wowed by your freebie, visit your website and even sign up for your email newsletter.

You can help initiate and perpetuate a viral share trend by announcing your free content on social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook, or making social media syndication a requirement of content download.

3. Provide payback opportunities. If you consistently impress people with your high quality freebies, many will look for ways to pay you back for your gesture(s) of goodwill. Don’t pass up on these opportunities! Create areas in your free content where readers/users can actually buy a product that relates to your freebie item and helps them become more adept at whatever they’re learning or doing. Likewise, be sure to mention that you have more in-depth versions of the same content, software, etc….for a price. Don’t be shy about tooting your own horn and discussing all the benefits of the paid-for item. If possible, give your audience the best sample of the touted item so they understand why you’re charging for it.

The Bottom Line

The concept of free, especially in the hot and emerging field of neuromarketing, works best with consumers because it is an emotional trigger. Roger Dooley, the primary blogger at Neuromarketing, aptly explains how free works to not only make us buy, but buy even more than we originally intended. Thus, if you’re worried about putting out high quality, free stuff on your website or blog, don’t be. By offering “something for nothing”, you’ll not only be establishing a sense of goodwill and credibility with your audience, but you’ll also be helping your business grow and generate revenue.

10 Totally Free Educational (and Other) Resources for Freelancers

Written By:Halina Zakowicz

Last Updated:January 16, 2013

The world is full of freebies- if you know where to look. And that also includes the online world; nowadays, there is more free stuff online and on the Web than ever before. Part of the reason has to do with simple supply-and-demand economics- having more people online also means more competition for traffic and page views.

Internet marketers and subscription sites are more willing to give away educational and other resources for free. Likewise, by giving away some free stuff, these businesses hope to entice you into eventually purchasing the full package deal. For freelancers just starting out in the freelance world, having access to free online courses, ebooks, magazines, etc. can be a real help. Here is a list of 10 totally free resources for freelance workers:

1. Online courses from top universities

If you think you can’t afford a Stanford or Harvard education, think again. Sites like Coursera and Udacity offer various courses from different state and private schools as well as through leading industrial experts. Khan Academy is well known for offering free online educational courses to some of the most remote geographic locations around the globe.

MIT offers a huge selection of courses on its MITOpenCourseWare website, where you can learn about topics as diverse as cognitive robotics and game theory. Of course, as a freelancer, you might just be looking to enhance your web design or editing skills or pick up some medical terminology for a white paper you’re writing. Not to worry- these websites offer basic undergraduate-level classes as well.

2. Legal documents

Whether you’re a freelance business consultant, web designer, writer or something else entirely, you are well advised to create and sign certain legal documents before undertaking or paying for any work. With Docracy, you can access a wide selection of free legal documents such as contracts, work agreements, employment offers, etc.

Docracy also allows you to e-sign the document and then generate a .pdf version to send to your client or employee. For freelancers and business start-ups, having documented proof of a business transaction is imperative if you wish to ever take legal action against client non-payment, intellectual property theft, etc.

3. Magazine editor information

For freelance writers trying to write for or even become employed by magazines, finding editor information can be tricky. At Mastheads, you can quickly browse through a plethora of magazines such as Seventeen, Good Housekeeping and Guns and Ammo to find out who is editing what. Mediabistro offers informational posts on how to pitch writing ideas, which magazine is looking for new blood, and how much certain publications pay per word.

The site also has a job board; however, most of the jobs, even those listed as freelance, are location-specific (i.e., not work-at-home). Finally, if you want to know the scoop on which editor has been hired or fired, what jobs may soon be opening up at XYZ magazine (via the trademarked WhisperJobs site), and the probable contact email formats of major magazines, check out Ed2010.

4. Photos and images

You can obtain completely free photos and other images at Pexels. When using this free content, be sure to comply with the originating site’s rules and regulations.

5. Work timers

There are many work timers out there, helping you keep track of your billable hours and better stay away from time sucks such as Facebook and Angry Birds. One of the simplest and free time trackers out there is SlimTimer, which allows you and other members of your project team to input tasks and maintain timers on all of them.

All work data can be backed up and imported into an invoice. Another free time tracker is Tick; the no-cost subscription option comes with one project tracking, project reporting and exporting (including RSS). Tick projects can logged into and used by an unlimited number of users.

6. Audio recording and editing software

At Audacity, you can create, convert and edit audio files from the comfort of your own home office without needing to purchase any software (although you may wish to invest in a microphone if you’re creating podcasts). This is because Audacity offers open source audio software that is completely free to download and use.

7. Photo and image editing software

Love PhotoShop but can’t afford its price tag? GIMP is an open source PhotoShop-like software program that you can download and use for free.

Just like PhotoShop, GIMP allows users to upload and edit images, changing such features as exposure, contrast and color saturation. Users can also utilize the advanced scripting functions (via Basic Scheme) of GIMP to add in images or create new effects.

8. Web development tools

While you can view the source code of almost any web page by simply going to its “View” tab and clicking on “Source”, you cannot perform very much editing or debugging work unless you really know the code. Plus, most web pages are such a mess, script-wise, that it’s a headache trying to get anything done with them.

With Firebug, you can more easily see and edit a site’s code, whether that code be in CSS, HTML or Java. Furthermore, Firebug will even point out certain scripting errors to you, streamlining your editing. The free open source software will also monitor your network, reporting where sluggishness is occurring and why.

9. Keyword tools

Sure, there’s always the free Google keywords tool to help you figure out which keywords are the most commonly searched. However, the Google keywords tool was developed with PPC advertisers in mind, not folks trying to create searchable content for blogs or business websites. Likewise, the tool doesn’t report on keywords that your competitors are using to become #1 on the SERP (search engine results page).

To this end, sites like KeywordSpy are much more apropos. Although accessing all the site’s features requires a paid subscription, you can gain many of the tool’s benefits by signing up for a free subscription and plugging in some candidate keywords. WordTracker is another useful keyword tool that you can use for free (although for a very limited time) to check on your competition.

10. Magazines

For several years now I’ve been receiving an absolutely free subscription of Website Magazine. This publication offers timely e-commerce news and advice that has served me well with my online (and even offline) clients.

I also receive a bunch of other free (or really cheap) magazines like Money, Forbes, The Economist, Martha Stewart Living, etc. through ValueMags and Mercury Magazines, both of which periodically offer free trial subscriptions of 6 months to a year to some very well-known publications. These free magazines are a veritable font of writing inspiration as well as information for me. And they sure give my mail carrier a workout!

Bonus freebies!

Go to any well-known website and you will invariably be “encouraged” to sign up for its email newsletter by being offered a rather chunky educational product (e.g., e-course, e-book). These products were likely sold at-profit some time in the past but are now available for free.

Sites that offer some rather hefty sign-up products include Marketo, Smart Passive Income, Make A Living Writing, The Extra Money Blog, etc. They are great instructional products and packed with useful information.

How to Build Your Own Revenue Share Site

Written By:Halina Zakowicz

Last Updated:January 8, 2013

Do you currently generate content for revenue share sites such as HubPages, Examiner, Infobarrel, Helium or Yahoo! Voices? Do you envy the money that these sites make and how little of that cash goes to you (via page views)? If you’ve dreamed about collecting all the revenue that a site like Yahoo! Voices makes or even selling such a site one day (Yahoo! paid $100 million for Associated Content), then read on. Here are the steps that you will need to take to build your own revenue share site:

1. Buy a domain name and web hosting.

Obviously, you need to have your own website before you can generate any income from it. Fortunately, the cost of doing this is rather minimal with sites like HostGator and GoDaddy charging you roughly $10/year for a domain name and another 10-$15/month for web hosting expenses.

2. Create a Google AdSense account.

Google AdSense is probably the most ubiquitous adshare program around, offering instant platforms through which publishers can generate income via posted content including articles, blog posts, photos, videos, etc. Google AdSense also offers a range of useful tools to track page views and ad clicks and generate ad campaigns. For the purposes of a revenue share site, Google AdSense offers a software tool called the AdSense Host API; this tool offers the opportunity for a pool of publishers to each earn his/her own separate income from one publishing site.

3. Install Google AdSense on your website.

Before you can install the AdSense Host API, you should first install Google AdSense on your website. AdSense will report how many visitors your website is getting, where these visitors are coming from (both geographically and online), what keywords are being used to locate your site, etc. Having such information is critical for increasing your site traffic and recruiting other publishers. It’s also imperative because, as step 3 notes, you won’t be able to implement the AdSense Host API without a certain level of traffic.

4. Install or build your revenue share infrastructure.

Google releases the AdSense Host API only to those websites that generate at least 100,000 page views a day. Yes, Google’s page view requirement does make things difficult for publishers who are just starting out with a revenue share site. If your site is hovering a just a few 100 page views/day, you may want to take these alternative approaches to AdSense revenue share:

a. Create your own revenue share infrastructure. If you have any programming knowledge, you can generate code that will allow you to incorporate different Adsense codes and payment percentages into a single revenue share site.

b. Hire a programmer. With sites like oDesk and eLance, your outsourced programming costs could be rather minimal; i.e., a few hundred dollars should have you set up with your own personalized AdSense revenue share site.

c. Find and install a clone script. Sites like HotScripts offer scripts that can be used to implement a revenue share model onto your website. Likewise, you can look up and copy the coding of revenue share sites like HubPages, then make some edits to that code and use it on your own site. However, unless you’re familiar with coding programs and what they are capable of, your best bet is to go with option b and work with a programmer.

5. Decide how you will pay your publishers.

Now that you have your revenue share model up and running, decide how you will compensate your fellow publishers via Google AdSense earnings. Some sites initially give publishers 100% of their generated earnings in order to inspire more and better content. However, if you are concerned about covering your investment costs, you could set up a 60/40 earning model where publishers receive 60% of all earnings and you receive the remaining 40%. You might even wish to pay certain publishers up-front for selected pieces of content that you request. Such up-front payment could go a long way towards promoting your site and attracting a higher caliber of publishers.

6. Promote your site.

The hardest part of owning a revenue share site is driving traffic to it. Traffic is the lifeblood of your business because it generates AdSense income, thus keeping you and your publishers happy. Traffic can also lead to lucrative ad offers from outside advertisers, lessening your reliance on just Google for your income. Finally, traffic works through a positive feedback loop: more traffic equals more publishers signing up to your site, which equals more content, which equals more traffic and more publishers producing more content, ad infinitum. Of course, once your traffic levels reach 100,000 page views/day, you can implement the AdSense Host API and receive account help and information from Google itself. How can you best promote your site? Here are some time-tested methods:

a. Create a referral program. Provide your current publishers with a strong incentive for bringing other publishers on board. Those incentives can include a share of the new publisher’s earnings, a referral bonus or a prize.

b. Use social media. Use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to talk about your revenue share site and what it offers to publishers. Encourage content submission by posting a contest or some other buzzworthy event.

c. Go local. Consider setting up a booth at your city’s or town’s next career fair and advertising your website. Place an ad in your local paper. Put up flyers on college campuses and in town (with permission, of course). Don’t forget to talk about your revenue share site with everyone you meet; oftentimes, you might recruit publishers simply by the fact that they know you.

7. Create incentives for star publishers.

How do you motivate your current publishers to stay with your revenue share site and keep publishing good content? By providing them with various incentives. For example, you could create publisher levels based on a certain number of page views; with each page view level surpassed, that publisher earns a higher AdSense income. Alternately, you could target certain assignments and payments to a select group of “emeritus” publishers.

What else can you do with your revenue share site once it’s generating page views and money? In some cases, you may receive a buyout offer from a major online player such as Yahoo! or even Google itself and thus ensure a very comfortable retirement for yourself. You might also team up with another revenue share website or two and create an online network such as Demand Media has done. In short, the sky is the limit and you will definitely be surprised by where your revenue share experiment takes you.