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24 Places You Can Submit Poems for Money

Last Updated:December 9, 2022

Poets—well, writers in general—have a reputation for having a hard time making a living. So if you’re a poet, you might not believe that you can get paid to write poems.

But believe me, people and businesses do pay for poems.

Here are 24 places and websites for you to submit your poems, make some money, and maybe become the next Lang Leav.

24 Sites That Pay You To Write Poems

Just as a heads up, a lot of places charge a small “reading fee” just to be considered. Not all, but most do.

Paying this fee also doesn’t guarantee that your submitted poem will be published either.

I just want to make sure you’re aware that you may have to spend a few bucks to get some eyes on your poems.

1. AGNI

This magazine accepts online and print magazine poetry submissions only from September 1st through May 31st.

Published pieces earn $20 per page, up to a $150 maximum, as well as a year’s subscription to the magazine.

This Canadian magazine accepts submissions from April 1st to July 31st for the Winter issue and September 1st to December 31st for the Summer issue. They will not entertain or read submissions any other time.

Up to three poems or 360 lines may be sent in a submission, and only one submission per year is allowed.

Arc Poetry pays $50 per published poem.

3. The Sun

The Sun accepts submissions all year round. You can either mail in your poems or submit them online.

If you do mail them in, make sure you include a return envelope and postage if you want to get the original copy back.

You can get paid $100 to $250 for your poems.

Samples are provided to show you exactly what they are looking for.

4. Iron Horse Review

IHR accepts poetry at specified times of the year and based on select themes. Purchase a sample issue to know what they’re looking for, and send 3 to 5 poems for consideration.

Published submissions are paid $50.

5. Chicken Soup for the Soul

This well-known publication awards $200 for published poems that meet its (easily readable) guidelines.

They prefer poems that read more like a story and less like a greeting card.

Poets also receive 10 free copies of the book that their poems are published in.

6. Poetry Magazine

Not to be confused with Poetry.com which mysteriously disappeared off the web one day.

This publication has existed for over 100 years and accepts submissions of poems and prose all year, and their response time is around 8 months.

Published pieces are paid at a rate of $10 per line or $300 minimum.

Published prose is paid out at $150 per page.

7. The Threepenny Review

This quarterly journal only accepts poetry submissions during the first half of the year.

Submissions must be either mailed in or provided via the publication’s online submission form. Published entries are paid $200.

8. Rattle

This online and print journal accepts submissions all year. You can submit up to four poems at a time.

Print contributors get paid $200 per poem and a complimentary one-year subscription to the magazine, while online contributors get paid $100 per poem.

Your submissions will also be considered for the annual Neil Postman Award for Metaphor, a $2,000 prize judged by the editors.

9. Boulevard Magazine

This literary publication, which has been around since 1985, accepts submissions of poetry from November 1st to May 1st.

You can submit your work either through its online Submittable site or by postal mail; online submissions cost $3 but postal ones are free (minus the cost of a stamp, of course).

Payment for published poems ranges from $50 to $250.

10. Ploughshares

This publication is operated by Emerson College and accepts submissions from June 1st through January 15th.

Online submissions cost $3 unless you are a publication subscriber. Mailed submissions are free.

Up to five pages of poetry may be submitted at one time.

If the poetry is published, you earn $45 per printed page, two copies of the issue you are published in, and a year’s subscription to the publication.

11. Grain Magazine

This quarterly literary journal accepts poetry submissions from September 15th to May 15th. You can submit individual poems, sequences, or suites, up to a maximum of six pages.

You can get paid for your poems from $50 per page, up to a $250 maximum, plus two copies of the issue in which your work appears.

12. The Iowa Review

This publication is operated by the University of Iowa and only accepts submissions from September to November via Submittable ($4 per submission) and paper submissions through the post.

You can submit up to 8 pages of poetry, and published poetry is paid at $1.50 per line ($40 minimum).

13. Slice Magazine

This literary journal accepts submissions from April 1st – June 1st and October 1st – December 1st.

You can submit up to 5 poems per submission and only one submission per reading period.

Submissions must align with the chosen themes of the journal, which change for each issue. Accepted poems are paid $100.

14. Black Warrior Review

The University of Alabama operates this publication, which accepts poetry submissions from December 1st to March 1st and from June 1st to September 1st.

The submission site doesn’t specify the exact sum of the “nominal fee” you receive for accepted submissions; however, because it is noted as ‘nominal,’ it’s probably under $50.

15. The Capilano Review

TCR is a Canadian literary journal that accepts some unsolicited poetry; submissions can be as long as eight pages.

Check back on their page to check if they currently have an open submission.

If accepted and published, your poems could get you $50 per page, with a maximum of $200.

16. The Colorado Review

This journal is operated by Colorado State University and accepts poetry submissions from August 1st to April 30th. You can submit up to five poems, with a maximum of 15 pages.

Online submissions cost $3, but there is no fee to submit poems via mail.

Published poems are compensated with a minimum of $30 or at $10 per page.

17. Orion Magazine

Orion Magazine is an environmentally-focused publication that periodically accepts poems that focus on the “intersection of nature, culture, and place.”

Check back on their site to see if they’re currently accepting submissions.

Up to three poems can be submitted at a time and published poetry is paid $100.

18. VQR Online

The Virginia Quarterly Review accepts poetry only from July 1st to 31st and only via Submittable (no email or post submissions allowed).

Published poems earn $200 (up to 4 poems maximum); for a set of 5+ poems, poets receive $1,000.

19. The Pedestal Magazine

This online magazine has periodic calls for poetry along an established theme. Check back on their submissions page to find out when there’s an open submission period.

Up to five poems per submission are allowed for review, and they only accept submissions via Submittable.

Payment is $50 per accepted poem.

20. Crazyhorse

Crazyhorse is a publication from the College of Charleston, which accepts poetry submissions that reflect multiple poetries of the 21st century, especially those written by poets from underrepresented communities.

They welcome submissions from September 1st to May 31st. You can also submit your entry for their Crazyhorse Prizes from January 1st to January 31st.

Payment is at $20 per page, with a maximum of $200 payment.

21. EPOCH Magazine

EPOCH Magazine is edited by the Department of English of Cornell University and comes out on September, January, and May.

They only accept unsolicited submissions between September 15th and April 15th of each academic year.

Payments vary from year to year depending on their funding. Currently, you can get paid $50 per poem.

22. U.S. Kids

Why not get paid to write poems for children?

U.S. Kids Magazines publishes Humpty Dumpty and Jack and Jill magazines.

They accept submissions of 4 to 12 lines of poems for Humpty Dumpty, which is targeted to children aged 2 to 6 years old, and pay $40 and up per poem.

23. Willow Springs

Willow Springs is produced within the Master of Fine Arts program of Eastern Washington University.

They publish every spring and fall, and accept poetry submissions between September 1st to and May 31st.

You can submit up to 5 poems through their Submittable site, with a $3 fee. Each published poem gets you $20.

24. 50 Haikus

Short-form poetry doesn’t pay much but if you’re constantly jotting them down, know that you can get paid for them.

50 Haikus is a literary journal featuring only Haiku poetry in open form, with each issue containing exactly 50 Haiku poems.

They are open for submissions all year round, but you can only submit up to 5 times each month, 1 poem per submission. They accept submissions through their Submissions Manager or through the post.

Token payments are $1.50 normally, with Editor’s Choice submissions paid $10. After publication, a one-year online subscription to 50 Haikus is awarded as well.

How Much Can You Get Paid to Write Poems?

You can get paid anywhere from $2 to $250 to write poems, depending on whether they are published. Every site above has a different payout schedule and various requirements you need to meet before you get paid.

A lot of these sites only accept submissions a few times per year.

How to Get Your Poems Accepted

You can’t get paid to write poems if your poems don’t get published. Here are some tips to increase the chances of your poetry getting published.

1. Read and follow the submission guidelines carefully.

For every poet who doesn’t know how to follow instructions, there are hundreds out there who do.

Why risk getting ignored when you can simply follow their submission guidelines?

2. Familiarize yourself with previously published works on the websites you’re submitting to.

Knowing the styles of poets who have already been published on those websites will help you know what the publisher expects.

Publishers would much rather pay those who can provide what they’re looking for.

Some publications require you to buy back issues for a discount, while others have their digital issues available online for free.

Weigh the investment of buying back issues or even subscribing against the potential earnings to know if it’s worth it.

3. Submit as often as you can, to as many websites as you can.

The more poems you have out there, the greater the chances that someone will be interested in your work.

As you have probably read above, not all of them accept submissions year-round. It’s useful to have a calendar marked with submission schedules of the websites you’re interested in.

Ready to Get Paid for Your Writing?

Getting paid to write poems all day long may seem like a dream to some, but the reality is it’s often challenging and submission fees can quickly add up.

You might have a better chance with writing for greeting card companies.

Or feel free to explore this list of 153 ways to get paid to write to further your chances of making it as a published author.

Have you ever been successfully published and been paid for your poetry somewhere? Tell us your story in the comments below!

Secure Job Position: Another Link Posting Scam. Avoid!

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Last Updated:February 7, 2018

If you’re new to making money online, you might have an incorrect perception that it’s easy and incredibly quick to generate cash. Sadly, that’s not true but many systems state things like this in the hope it will make you buy them.

For example, take Secure Job Position which states “within 5 minutes you could be making real money”.

Not only that but they suggest you’ll start earning immediately even with no skills or experience. That’s quite a claim to make but the reality is they are targeting desperate people who need extra money and fast.

Long story short, this Secure Job Position program exists for two reasons:

To get you to pull out your credit card and make a purchase without thinking twice about it.
To label you a sucker and to sell you more products in the future.

Don’t fall victim to this crap.

Secure Job Position by Kelly Simmons

One of the first things you encounter on the Secure Job Position website is a form to get your email and phone number. In theory this is to check for availability in your area, but the reality is more sinister.

If the system available where you live? If you live anywhere in America then yes, it’s available. The form is what I call an email harvester in that they are just trying to get your details so they can send email after email and make call after call to you to sell you stuff.

(January 2018 Update: I first reviewed this system in June 2017 and Kelly was quick to notify me that “There is Currently 7 Positions Left In Your Area.” It’s now 7 months later, the glaring grammatical error hasn’t been fixed and those positions somehow still haven’t been filled.)

If you pass this so called check, you’ll end up on the main sales page.

Cookie Cutter Sales Pitch

I’ve seen this sales page numerous times, and it’s virtually the same each time. The only differences are the name of the product and occasionally a different name than Kelly Simmons.

If this system was legit, why would they need to add it under dozens or more different domain names?

Do you see any other business having a duplicate of their site under a different name? No, of course not!

This sort of tactic is to steel themselves against the inevitable burning of one of their domain names due to bad press or worse.

Unethical Tactics

The tactics used in this sales pitch are common, but not something any upstanding marketer would use.

For example, there are several well-known news agency logos on the site most likely used without permission. It states that work from home opportunities have been featured on them, and this is likely true, but the real aim is to suggest that this product has been featured on them, which it has not.

“But it was featured on the news!”

Wrong!

This program wasn’t actually featured anywhere. The news logos you see are not endorsements.

Kelly Simmons is banking on the fact that you will see the logos and skip right past what it says above them:

“Work From Home Opportunities Have Been Featured On:”

And I’m sure they have been, but Secure Job Position has absolutely not. The people behind this want you to see the logos, associate legitimacy with the program, and continue on down the page.

As well as that, there are several scarcity tactics used. This method is common place in marketing, but where most marketers will actually follow through and remove the product, that’s not the case here. This sales page will always say there are only a few spots left, regardless of how many they sell!

A Repeat Performance

Further down the sales pitch is a legitimate news clip about work from home opportunities. This video seems to appear on every single underhand system out there and is used to bolster the idea that this system is legitimate, when in fact the video is old and only talks about home from home opportunities in general terms.

Fake Testimonials

Testimonials can be hard to verify but when they use stock photography for the people and general untraceable names, it should concern you.

In this day and age social proof is an important way for people to tell if a product is good or not, so these fake testimonials are really just trying to abuse that.

Is Secure Job Position a Scam?

Well, yes. But keep reading to find out why.

If you were to buy this $77 program (the price continues to drop as you try and navigate away from the page), what would it teach you?

Well, the general idea behind it is link posting. This is where you add a link to somewhere on the internet and people click the link and you magically make money!

The sales letter pitches it to you as if there are multinational companies begging people to post links for them.

Apparently these companies, big names such as Apple and Netflix, will pay you between $5 and $30 per link you post!

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

First of all, if a company wanted links posting in this manner, they would either a) pay someone in a foreign country pennies on the dollar to do it or b) use their in house coders to make an automated system to do it.

No company out there will pay you that kind of money for “posting” a link. As well as that any sensible company would know that randomly posting links on the internet is not only ineffective without context, but also a type of spam!

The reality is that this system is based on affiliate marketing: you post your affiliate link, if someone clicks it and then (and this is important) buys something, you get a commission on the sale.

Affiliate marketing as a whole is a legitimate business opportunity and a very effective way of making money online, but it takes much longer than 5 minutes to make money with it!

Internet users are savvy people for the most part so they will not just click some random link, which is why affiliate marketers spend hours, weeks, months and years providing value and building a following of people.

Just because you post a link in a forum/blog comment/on social media doesn’t mean people will click it. At best the site in question will simply remove the link, at worst you’ll be labelled as a spammer and/or banned from the site.

Secure Job Position is preying on your vulnerabilities. They are using hype and non-sense to get you to buy into their system without thinking rationally.

“But they offer a 30 day money back guarantee!”

Their terms state:

6. Refunds: Secure Job Position offers a 60-day refund policy from the date of purchase on the initial enrollment purchase price only. All we ask is that you examine everything and put forth an honest effort for the first 30-days and you may make money – it’s that simple!

I have seen these exact terms used in the past and similar scams use the “honest effort” line to prevent you from getting your refund.

If you have paid them already and are looking to get your money back, their listed customer service line is 1-877-843-6846. Be prepared to put up a fight. It might be better off to just dispute the charges with your bank or credit card company.

Finally…

All you need to do is ask yourself one simple question: if anyone could be making over $1,000 per day by doing something that requires no experience, skill, or expertise, why isn’t everyone doing it?

That tells you all you really need to know about this opportunity.

The Bottom Line

Can you make money with Secure Job Position?

No, absolutely not.

You are going to be sold dodgy, outdated training and when you fail to make any money, they will come along with another program to buy that will guarantee you success again beyond your wildest dreams.

You are simply handing over your credit card information to scammers and telling them “Hey! I’ll buy anything you have to sell me!”

Avoid programs like these, and any ones out there that claim you can make millions overnight with no experience, skills, or effort required. You are setting yourself up for heartache and lost money.

Should You Join Melaleuca, An MLM Company that’s ‘Not an MLM?’

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Published On: June 7, 2017

If you’ve purchased vitamins, protein shakes or other wellness products online, then you may have heard of Melaleuca. This company, which was founded in 1985, offers many (400+) different health and wellness products, including the following:

Vitamins, minerals and supplements
Cosmetics
Essential oils
Household cleansers
Energy drinks
Bath and shower products
Weight loss products

Melaleuca’s unique value proposition is that all their products are organic. So, even though the products do cost more, they are better for you and the environment. It also appears that the company attempts to work with local farmers and suppliers whenever possible.

When you reach the Melaleuca website, you can shop for products and even place them into your shopping cart. Prices are not advertised on the storefronts, nor are they displayed when your items are in your shopping cart. Once you attempt to checkout, the site forces you to create an online account, which involves providing your phone number and email.

Why would you need to provide your phone number in order to create a shopping account?

Because this information is eventually used by other Melaleuca members to contact you and encourage you to sign up with the company as a member.

I know this because I had to call the company in order to set up my account. On top of my phone number and email, I was asked for my full name, state of residence and zip code. I was then told that my account would be set up in 48-72 hours once a marketing executive had gotten in touch with me. Alternately, I could work with a current Melaleuca rep in my geographic area to create my account.

When I responded that I was only interested in purchasing some products from the Melaleuca website and seeing their prices, I was provided with the following guest access site address: melaleuca.com/usguest

What’s good about this guest site is that, while you still can’t purchase your products from it, you can at least see their actual prices. To complete your purchase, you are again forced to sign up as a member.

So, why is Melaleuca so interested in having you become a member?

Because the company operates as a multilevel marketing or MLM business. Except that, in the case Melaleuca, it is always called a “referral-based” business.

What is the Melaleuca referral-based business about?

Melaleuca operates as both a health and wellness product e-tailer and a referral-based business. Company members, who are non-employees, sign up with the company in order to purchase its products online and have them shipped to their homes/businesses. The price of signup is not openly advertised on the website, much like its product prices. However, the current cost of signup is $35.

In order to complete signup, the prospective member must work with a current member and sign up under him/her. As a result, that current member, who is now referred to as a Product Advocate, earns a commission every time his/her new downline member makes a product purchase. The standard commission is 7%, which adds up quickly if the Product Advocate recruits a few more members under him/her.

Whether you are a member or Product Advocate, however, you must accumulate a set number of product points each month in order to remain in active status and collect commissions. Currently, the point level is 50, which translates to about $80 of product. So, for every month you wish to remain with Melaleuca, you must place a product order of around $80.

Interestingly, Melaleuca never uses the word MLM to describe its recruitment emphasis. Instead, it always states that it is a “referral-based company.” However, if a business offers incentives to its contractors/members to recruit others into the business, and pays them a commission for doing so, then that is the essence of network and multi-level marketing.

As with any MLM or other business opportunity, there are pros and cons.

Pros:

Eco-friendly, organic products– Many of Melaleuca’s products are on par with what you would locate at stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. The company emphasizes that its products are better for the environment, and it employs fair trade practices with farmers and suppliers.

Cons:

Expensive products– It can be argued that organic and ecologically friendly products are going to cost more than mass produced items found at regular grocery stores and discount chains. However, that’s sometimes hard to justify when purchasing $10 toilet bowl cleaner or $8 glass cleaner.

Automated purchases– As a member or a Product Advocate, you are enrolled in a product auto-ship program. You can opt out of receiving certain products, but you must make a purchase each month or be deactivated.

Warm market emphasis– The company encourages its members and Product Advocates to reach out to their warm market (i.e., friends and family) as a method of recruitment. This is fine at first, but warm markets eventually dry up once everyone has either been sold to, recruited or attempted to be recruited. Steady sales and promotion in the MLM ranks is usually accomplished by those members to reach beyond their warm market. Unfortunately, Melaleuca provides very little training in this arena.

Low average earnings– Melaleuca discloses how much its Product Advocates earn as they recruit other members and move up the ranks. It’s not that much, as shown in this table:

The average yearly income for a Product Advocate 3, who has around 6 personal customers and 20 active customers, is only $550. That’s not a side income, or even enough money for a vacation.

Is Melaleuca a good business to enter?

While Melaleuca offers organic and good quality products to consumers, its commissions are too low to warrant this company being a good business opportunity. The Product Advocate would need to recruit dozens of personal customers and hundreds of active customers in order to make a decent part-time to full-time income. While this is possible, it also requires reaching out to a wider audience, not just one’s warm market.

A final drawback to this business is its emphasis on buying products each month for personal or demo use. This leads to Product Advocates having product stockpiles at their homes. Even months after quitting Melaleuca, many reps still reports having product backups and stockpiles in their closets and basements.

Overall, there are better and higher-paying business opportunities out there, and which don’t require monthly product purchases.

Have you worked with Melaleuca as a Product Advocate? Please leave a comment below about your experiences.

Should You Become a Stella & Dot Stylist?

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Published On: June 5, 2017

If you take an interest in jewelry, purses and accessories such as sunglasses, you may have heard about a company called Stella & Dot. This company offers several different lines of chic jewelry designed mostly by New York designers, as well as purses, belts, tunics, scarves, etc. The company was founded in 2003 by Jessica Herrin and has even been featured in Vogue and Cosmopolitan.

You won’t find S&D items in stores because the company operates via a direct sales model, working with so-called “Independent Stylists,” who are actually private individuals (like you and me), to sell its goods. The company does offer its goods via its website, however.

Stella & Dot is also an multilevel marketing (MLM) company. So, independent stylists that recruit other individuals to also become stylists receive commissions from their sales.

How do you become a Stella & Dot stylist?

To sign up, you must first purchase a starter kit from the company. There are three kit choices:

Once you receive your kit, you are encouraged to showcase your wares by hosting a “Trunk Show,” which is essentially an in-home party/demonstration. You can also feature and sell your goods online, via your own dedicated Stella & Dot website. However, the company strongly emphasizes that trunks shows are the way to go:

You start off earning a 25% commission on your sold goods, which jumps up to 30% if you sell over $2,500, 32% if you sell over $5,000, and 35% if you sell over $10,000 in a single month.

If you start recruiting others to become stylists, you earn a percentage from their sales. Stella & Dot advertises that up to an extra 18% commission can be earned from sales generated by your downline; unfortunately, this information is not broken down or otherwise elaborated on through the website.

As with all direct sales MLMs, there are pros and cons to working for Stella & Dot:

Pros:

Transparency– The company seems to lay out its compensation plan rather openly and, except for the missing breakdown of downline commissions, most information is shown online. For example, here is the company’s average stylist income disclosure table:

Fashionable jewelry and accessories– Stella & Dot jewelry is chic, trendy and imaginative. The clothes are unique and many pieces are embroidered. Purses are sturdy and several are made from genuine leather.

No sales quota– An independent stylist with no downline has no set quote to meet when she sells Stella & Dot products. She can sell even a single piece per year- and still earn a 25% commission.

Responsive company– There will be customer complaints with any company or business. Where customers have complained about Stella & Dot products, the company has been quick to respond and rectify the issues involved. This also goes back to the “Delight Guarantee” that the company offers to its customers, including 24/7 customer service and free product returns.

Cons:

Expensive products– Stylists who host trunk shows at their homes and assume they’ll make an easy $500 in revenues per show are in for a surprise: Guests will be hard-pressed to pay up to $228 for a stylish purse or $39 for a pair of bead earrings. It will take some convincing to get people to pay hundreds of dollars for jewelry that, at least in their minds, carries no brand recognition and/or is not made with precious metals/gems.

As an example, check out what two tunics would cost for the average customer:

Sales quota with downline– If you end up recruiting new stylists, you will be required to “lead by example” and sell at least $500 of merchandise per quarter or your commissions from their sales will be reassigned to another lead stylist. So, if you are good at convincing others to join but only so-so at selling Stella & Dot jewelry, too bad for you.

Low average earnings– If you look at the earnings disclosure posted above, you’ll find that 72.7% of stylists don’t even average $2K in earnings for their work, and almost 90% don’t make an average of $5K/year. Those odds are quite sobering when you account for the fact that these stylists are probably out there, working hard, and trying to recruit others as they go.

“Warm market” emphasis– Stella & Dot’s website assumes that its salespeople are going to consist of women, mostly stay-at-home moms and housewives, who somehow have plenty of relatives and friends to sell their wares to. Granted, every person has a certain number of people that she knows and can gather together for a party or two…but that market is quickly used up within a few months. To be truly successful, that person must eventually reach out to and attract a wider (outside) audience of potential customers.

Unfortunately, Stella & Dot says little about this larger market and how to sell to it. In fact, the company almost seems to de-emphasize online selling and advertising in favor of trunk shows- in spite of the fact that online selling and advertising have immense potential for reaching a wide target audience.

Is Stella & Dot worth it?

While Stella & Dot does offer fashionable products and impressive customer support, it may prove too great of a challenge for independent stylists to make a steady income from, or even a side income. Also, the products are expensive and require a certain demographic of customers with sufficient disposable income to afford many of the offered pieces. In my opinion, there are less challenging business opportunities out there.

Have you sold or do you sell Stella & Dot products? Please leave a comment about your experiences below.

Is Nu Skin a Worthwhile Business Opportunity?

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Published On: June 2, 2017

If you have looked into any skincare and/or nutritional supplement MLMs lately, then you may have heard of Nu Skin. This company offers a direct sales MLM sales model to its independent contractors, who are called distributors. Anyone can sign up and become a distributor by filling out an online application on the Nu Skin website.

What is Nu Skin about?

Nu Skin is a Utah-based direct sales MLM company that was founded in 1984. It offers several lines of skin lotions, spa products, nutritional supplements and even select foods. Nu Skin’s 200+ products are strongly based on the premise that their use will delay and/or mitigate the process of aging. This claim is promoted quite strongly in the company’s ageLOC lines of skin care and nutritional supplement products.

Over time, Nu Skin has worked with and acquired scientific and health related companies to expand its product lines.

In 1996, Pharmanex, which is a nutritional supplements company, was added to the Nu Skin portfolio. This addition brought about the launch of the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner, a device purported to measure carotenoid levels in skin and report them back to the user via a Skin Carotenoid Score. In 2011, Nu Skin bought out LifeGen Technologies, a genomics company based in Madison, Wisconsin. This enabled Nu Skin to launch its ageLOC line of products.

How do you start a Nu Skin business?

Nu Skin does not sell its products in stores. Products can be purchased online, on the Nu Skin website, provided that the customer already knows his/her distributor’s ID. Alternately, one can purchase and/or sell Nu Skin products by applying to become a distributor. To do this, one also needs to know a distributor’s ID.

The price of enrollment is low at just $25. A new distributor is also not obligated to sell any minimal volume of product. However, in order to start earning commissions and bonuses, he will need to purchase inventory at wholesale price and sell it to new customers. He will also need to recruit current customers and non-customers into becoming Nu Skin distributors.

Wholesale inventory is reduced by 25%. So, for example, if you wish to purchase and sell 3 units of ageLOC Future Serum, you’d first need to spend $492.75 on the wholesale order. Then, you would pocket $164.25 for yourself once the customer purchased those units from you.

Nu Skin products are not cheap. Luckily, the company now offers a 30-day 100% money-back guarantee on returns. It also offers 90% monetary compensation on returned products that are over 30 days old.

Nu Skin distributors also earn additional commissions from their downline- provided that their downline meets a given amount of sales. So, as a new distributor with a few recruits, you must ensure that your downline makes $200 in sales before you get that additional $10 commission.

As with any business opportunity, there are pros and cons to signing up with Nu Skin.

Pros:

Study-based products– While the company has been criticized and even sued for outlandish claims about the benefits of its products, Nu Skin does publish user-based studies of its skincare and other products. These studies are based on the observations of the users after using Nu Skin products for a period of time. Overall, user perceptions of product benefits are positive.

Cons:

Minimum sales requirements– Nu Skin claims that its distributors aren’t obligated to sell a given amount of product. However, if they wish to earn any kind of commission and bonuses, they must actually purchase and (hopefully) sell a given volume of product. They must also ensure that their downline purchases/sells a set volume of product.

Expensive products– Nu Skin products are expensive. Expensive products mean that potential and even current Nu Skin customers will need extensive proof that these products are good and actually work as claimed. The sales cycle will be longer. Finally, some customers will simply be out-of-reach because they will not have the budget for such expensive purchases.

False product claims– Nu Skin has been sued by five states for overstating the income earned by its distributors and has been called an illegal pyramid scheme by the Attorney General for Connecticut. It’s also gotten in trouble with the FTC and has had to pay out $1 million in 1994 and then another $1.5 million in 1997. More recently, the company was fined $540,000 in 2014 by the Chinese State Administration for Industry & Commerce for illegal sales and deception of consumers.

Exaggerated science claims– When a company publishes “scientific proof” slides like these, even non-scientists like the FTC) raise their eyebrows:

A statement, such as the one provided above, is so vague as to be completely useless. Anti-aging research has, to date, identified a few aging-related genes. It has yet to cause them “to express themselves more youthfully” – except perhaps by caloric restriction. Furthermore, the work was performed on mice and rhesus monkeys, not humans. If such an event has in fact occurred any other way, the data (i.e., journal citations) are not provided here.

And then there is this slide:

Aging research scientists still can’t agree on what is/are the actual cause/s of aging, much less how to target them. Unless LifeGen Technologies stumbled upon a massive breakthrough in aging research, such claims are unsubstantiated and misleading.

Unsavory personal and legal issues– The founders of Nu Skin have attempted to portray the business as wholesome and family-oriented. However, the founders’ personal and professional lives have been anything but. Sandie Tillotson, one of the company’s founders, has had her ex-husbands publish tell-all books that have damaged Nu Skin’s image. Nedra Roney, another Nu Skin founder, was charged with prescription and insurance fraud. Robert Clark McKell, her husband, was accused of committing other (even worse) crimes.

Is a Nu Skin business worth it?

Given the ongoing legal issues with Nu Skin and its products, I cannot recommend this company as a business opportunity. Also, because the company’s products have been overhyped by both its executives and distributors, it’s hard to believe any of the product benefits touted by the company and its published collateral. With so many other (and less scandalized) business opportunities out there, you are better off passing on Nu Skin.

Have you bought or sold Nu Skin products? Please leave a comment about your experiences below.

Should You Sign Up to Sell Mary Kay Products?

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Published On: May 31, 2017

If you’ve ever purchased cosmetics for yourself or someone else, you’re probably well aware of Mary Kay, a privately-owned cosmetics company founded in 1963 by Mary Kay Ash. This company has yearly revenues now totaling over $3 billion and focuses on six major product lines: skin care, cosmetics, sunscreens, fragrances, men’s personal care (colognes, face soap, shaving cream), and gifts.

You can buy Mary Kay products by going online to its website; however, what’s more strongly encouraged is that you work with your local Mary Kay “Independent Beauty Consultant” and purchase through her or him. Why?

Because Mary Kay is a direct sales and multilevel marketing (MLM) company.

What is Mary Kay all about?

Companies that wish to reach different marketplaces and sell their products by the gross usually make deals with area distributors, who purchase their items in bulk and at wholesale prices. Those distributors then sell their products to retailers at a set markup. Finally, the retailer sells those products to consumers, and also at a set markup.

With direct sales companies like Mary Kay, there are no distributors or retailers. Individuals purchase directly from the company, paying wholesale prices for the products. These individuals then mark up their goods as they see fit in order to make a profit from their customers.

To sell their products, individuals will host product parties at their homes or list items via special company-hosted websites. Other consultants might even go door-to-door, with samples in hand, to sell.

Such individuals, who are often called consultants, can also recruit others to sell product (this is the MLM side of the company). Through this recruitment, the original consultants earn referral commissions. When their recruits, in turn, recruit others, the commissions to the original recruiter increase. With some MLMs, commissions can trickle up through four or even more levels of recruits.

How do you start a Mary Kay business?

You can sign up to become a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant by purchasing the $100 Starter Kit. Within this Starter Kit, you get a few products, brochures and access to a personal website.

You can then start taking orders for customers and buying their products for them at 50% off retail value. So, if a customer orders a $10 lipstick from you from an MK catalog, you make $5 in profit when you purchase that item and deliver it to her.

Keep in mind that, to remain an active consultant in Mary Kay, you must purchase at least $225 of wholesale-priced (or $450 retail-priced) product every three months.

You can also earn additional income from consultant recruitment. In fact, recruitment is the surest way to leverage your selling efforts and to rise up in the Mary Kay sales ranks. There are 15 total levels for MK consultants, with each level paying out higher commissions, bigger bonuses, and major incentives like the use of a pink Cadillac “career car.” Keep in mind, though, that the car perks require high personal and team wholesale product sales, sometimes to the tune of roughly $200,000/year.

Should you become a Mary Kay consultant?

Like every direct sales MLM reviewed so far, Mary Kay has its pros and cons:

Pros:

Quality products– Mary Kay sells medium-end personal care products that are on par with those of Avon and Nu Skin. There are many products to choose from, including a line of products directed towards men.
Market reach– Mary Kay products are applicable to a wide audience, including women, men and kids. The company sells much more than just makeup.
High commissions– Being able to pocket 50% of the product price means that consultants can run promotions and discounts and still make a profit.

Cons:

Market saturation– When I looked up Mary Kay reps for my geographic area, I found not one or two, or even three, but six local beauty consultants. That’s a fairly high number for a geographic radius spanning about 15 miles.
Peer pressure– If you thought buying $225 worth of wholesale product every 3 months was bad, be prepared to undergo some major sales pressure by your local sales director to purchase “inventory packages” that run $600 to as much as $4,800. This is because the higher up you go at Mary Kay, the more you are pressed to have your underlings purchase wholesale packages and thousands of dollars of inventory each month.
Storage– Unlike Avon, where you take orders from customers and then purchase the inventory, here you are first purchasing massive amounts of wholesale inventory to (hopefully) sell later on. But until that inventory is sold, you need to store it. The question is where, of course. If you rent out a storage unit, you’ll be paying a monthly fee for your extra space. Unless you have some spare basement or closet space, you’ll be surrounded by inventory.
Restrictions– Mary Kay emphasizes that you sell to your “warm market,” which consists of your family members and friends. However, such a market is easily and quickly tapped out, so you must soon look for new customers. Many people use third-party platforms like eBay, Facebook or Craigslist to sell their goods. With Mary Kay, however, you are not allowed to take advantage of these opportunities. Additional information about where you can advertise your products is provided here (spoiler alert: it’s only the company website).

Is starting a Mary Kay business a good idea?

Despite the fact that Mary Kay offers high commissions and good products, I’d be hesitant to sign up with this company because of the high pressure to buy loads of company inventory and to then try to sell it only via the approved company website. This limits you to doing mostly house parties and/or fairs in order to sell your massive amounts of stock. And speaking of which, that stock does come with expiration dates, so you must either move it or be stuck with stuff that you never wanted in the first place.

Have you sold Mary Kay products or are you a current consultant with this company? Please leave a comment about your experiences below.

Is It Worth Becoming a Stampin Up Demonstrator?

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Published On: May 24, 2017

If you like completing crafts and/or do crafts as your job, then you might already know about Stampin’ Up!. This company, which has been around for over 25 years, offers a direct sales MLM business opportunity to individuals wherein they can make stationary items and earn money from their efforts. So, what is Stampin’ Up! all about and how can you get started?

What is Stampin’ Up?

The Stampin’ Up! company offers craft and hobby supplies for making custom stationary, greeting cards and scrapbooks.

You can go to the Stampin’ Up! website and purchase all kinds of items to help you in this venture, including rubber stamps, paper, envelopes, ribbon, twine, etc. You can also join Stampin’ Up! as an “Independent Demonstrator,” which enables you to not only engage in your hobby, but to make money by selling Stampin’ Up! products to others via home parties, demonstrations and through the online catalog.

Getting Started with Stampin’ Up

If you want to start earning money with Stampin’ Up!, you need to first purchase a $99 starter kit. This starter kit is advertised to contain $125 worth of product. You get to pick the products you want in your starter kit, with the idea being that you can create one to two crafts from your selected products when you use them in your first at-home party. There are many items to choose from when you build that starter kit, as this online selection table shows:

Fortunately, Stampin’ Up! provides you with advice on which stationary, stamps, ribbons, twine, etc. you should select in order to have a full kit for creating a birthday card, for example. Or a vacation scrapbook page. In the starter kit outlined below, you’ll have sufficient materials to create both a birthday and congratulatory card if you select all the recommended products.

Once you receive your customized kit, it’s time to start generating some money. This can occur in one or more of the following ways:

Stamp Camp– With this approach, you invite guests over for a session of crafting and collect a set ‘camp fee’ from each participant. Depending on how much material you ordered beforehand, you might charge anywhere from $25-$100 for such a camp. Your guests will end up creating several cards, scrapbook pages, etc. and take these crafts home with them for their own personal use. This approach can be very successful because you make money by offering camps and don’t necessarily have to sell any product.

Open House– With this approach, you invite guests over and introduce the Stampin’ Up! products to them. Some products might be tested out by the guests or demonstrated by you. The end goal is to collect product orders and submit those orders to the company. Each product purchase earns the Stampin’ Up! demonstrator a set commission.

Opportunity Night– Here, you attempt to recruit other individuals into joining Stampin’ Up! as demonstrators via your referral. By recruiting others, you earn a percentage from their eventual product purchases and/or sales.

Catalog Workshop– If you can’t host a lot of camps or other home events, you can supply a hostess with catalogs and order forms and she can distribute these items through various channels (e.g., work, door-to-door, coffee shops). Once a few orders have been submitted to the hostess, that hostess submits those order forms to you for placement.

How much can you earn with Stampin’ Up?

Demonstrators earn different commissions based on their sales volume and on how many new demonstrators they recruit into their downline. The commission structures based on personal sales and downlines are outlined below:

Demonstrators must sell a minimum of $300 every 3 months in order to remain active in the Stampin’ Up! program and make at least the 20% commission from product sales. To earn commissions from their downline, demonstrators must meet personal sales quotas every month.

Should you sign up with Stampin’ Up?

Like all direct sales MLM opportunities, there are pros and cons to being part of the Stampin’ Up! business.

Pros:

Great products– Stampin’ Up! offers quality stationary products that are beautiful to look at and receive. The company has even won awards for its unique designs.

Flexible sales model– Demonstrators can choose to sell Stampin’ Up! products several different ways. You don’t have to peddle any products, at least overtly, by holding Stamp Camps. In this way, your customers pay their fee up-front and get to participate in an event with no sales pressure to buy.

Cons:

Low commissions– MLMs offer commissions that range from 20%-40% to start. So, with Stampin’ Up! offering a 20% commission to start, that’s on the low end of the scale. As noted on other reviews, having a lower than average commission makes it harder to run promos and other offers and undercuts your potential profits.

Ex-demonstrator competition– Many Stampin’ Up demonstrators sell their inventory and supplies at cut-throat prices once they decide to shut down their businesses. This is bad news for active demonstrators who still want to sell products at a reasonable profit.

Parties– Stampin’ Up still relies on the in-home party model as a way to make the majority of product sales. Call them Stamp Camps if you will, but hosting customers and having these camps will still require a lot of your time and attention, plus other expenses such as food and drinks.

Sales minimums– To collect regular commissions, you must meet monthly sales minimums. This can become a big issue if you need to take time off for health or leisure reasons.

Stampin’ Up! may not be profitable enough for you

Given the pros and cons inherent in running a Stampin’ Up! business, it may not be profitable enough to be worth your time and effort. Additionally, you will need to purchase and keep company inventory at your house if you wish to offer Stamp Camps to your customers. Unless you really enjoy the hobby of making beautiful stationary and don’t much care about making lots of money with it, you are better off seeking out other business opportunities.

Have you had experience with Stampin’ Up? Please let us know in the comments below.

Should You Invest in and Sell PartyLite Products?

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Published On: May 19, 2017

If you’ve been to a craft fair or neighborhood festival, you’ve probably seen PartyLite products being sold. The company has been around since 1973 and sells a variety of candles, candle holders, flameless fragrance and wax warmers. The company sells these products via a direct sales MLM model through its independent contractors, who are called consultants. Anyone can sign up and become a consultant for PartyLite. The question is, should you?

How to get started with PartyLite

Individuals who wish to start a PartyLite business of their own must order a starter kit from the company. The cheapest kit costs $30 and includes product fragrance samples, a candle, and a candle holder. The larger starter kit costs $99 and includes fragrance samples, candle holders, two candles, a dozen tea lights, six votives and wax warmers. Both kits also contain catalogs and business supplies (e.g., sales receipts).

These kits are all intended to be used as “party starters.” In other words, they are a way to get people involved in finding out what their preferred scents are, after which they place orders for corresponding products. So, the PartyLite sales model relies quite heavily on having parties (sometimes up to four/week).

The paid-for starter kits enable the new consultant to instantly earn 25% commissions on her sales. She can also earn an additional 7% bonus if her product sales exceed $2,300 in a month.

If the potential consultant cannot afford to invest in a starter kit, she can still receive one, and for free- provided she earns at least $350 at her next next in-home party. The consultant does not earn a commission on her sales during this party (unless sales exceed $350).

Consultants earn bonuses on top of their 25% commissions if they also recruit others into becoming consultants. However, this is where the issues start with being a PartyLite consultant.

Sales minimums, sponsored members and quotas- oh my!

The chart below shows potential commissions that a consultant can earn as she moves up the ranks. Initially, a 25% commission is earned on personal sales- the caveat, however, is that a minimum amount of $1K/month is required. A Team Builder earns a 32% commission, but only if she moves a minimum of $2,000 worth of product in that month and has two active consultants under her. Then, to reach 38% in commissions, the Unit Leader must reach a minimum of $2,000 in sales and have 4 active consultants under her and ensure the team makes a minimum of $5,000 in the same month.

This is a lot of work to earn the minimum combined commissions and bonuses of $250, $640 or $1,110, respectively.

All these requirements are noted in the following PartyLite graphic:

Should your host a party instead?

PartyLite also offers non-consultants the option of simply hosting a party in exchange for product credits and discounts. The idea is that if you book a party and host it, sales generated from that party will earn you credit towards free and/or reduced price product.

However, if you again read the fine print provided here, you are not only required to have a set minimum for product sales, you must also have one of your guests book a party of his own. Without a booking, you earn only 15% product credit.

That sounds like a lot of work for a free candle (maybe).

And speaking of candles and other PartyLite products…

PartyLite products ain’t cheap

Some people really love PartyLite products- their unique smells, their quality, etc. Personally, I have used PartyLite products as well as similar products from Yankee Candle and Bath & Body Works, and I have found all these products to be of similar variety and quality.

However, what I have also discovered is that, in comparison to PartyLite products, Yankee and Bath& Body Works items are priced much more affordably.

Looking at just one PartyLite item, the signature 3-wick jar candle, you’ll find the following prices posted:

In comparison, large Yankee candles are priced at $27.99, which is almost the same price for a lot more candle.

On the Bath & Body Works website, these 3-wick candles were priced at $22.50- and select 3-wick candles were only $15. Plus, the site was offering a promo code for $10 off a $30 purchase.

In fairness, the PartyLite website does feature an outlet area which showcases discounted products. However, that option poses an issue all its own: How will you, the consultant, be able to compete with a parent company that undercuts your own profit margin?

Should you pass on PartyLite?

PartyLite features unique scents and quality candle products and accessories. However, so do other companies like Yankee or Bath & Body Works- and for less money. PartyLite consultants are required to meet personal and team sales quotas before they get their cut of the profits. Finally, the company competes with its own consultants on price. With so many negatives around PartyLite, you’re better off passing on this business opportunity altogether.

Have you sold PartyLite products? Tell us about your experiences in the comments below.

12 Companies Offering Work From Home Call Center Jobs

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Last Updated:February 22, 2022

The demand for remote jobs has steadily been increasing in recent years, and customer service jobs are no exception. If you’re in the market for work from home call center jobs, you’ve come to the right place.

Call center representatives may either work directly for the company they represent or work for a third-party provider that deals with calls on behalf of a company or multiple companies.

In the past, when someone says “call center,” one automatically thought of rows and rows of cubicles of call center agents hunched over computers. Now, you can answer calls right in the comfort of your own home.

If you have excellent listening and communication skills, above-average typing skills, and the patience to talk and build rapport with all types of people, working for a call center may just be the perfect work-from-home job for you.

In this article, you’ll learn about what types of call center jobs you can expect, what you need to start, and where to find work from home call center jobs.

Types of Call Center Jobs

Call center representatives may work as inbound agents, outbound agents, or both. Inbound agents answer calls from clients or other agents, while outbound agents make calls to clients, businesses, or other agents.

The most common position for inbound call center agents is customer service representatives, but inbound agents can also work as technical support agents or virtual receptionists.

On the other hand, outbound call center agents are usually in telesales making cold calls, but they may also work as collection agents, survey takers, and appointment setters.

Travel agents, dispatchers, and help desk service agents are examples of jobs where you take both inbound and outbound calls.

In general, outbound call center agents make more than their inbound counterparts. Those who take both can make even more.

However, your skills and experience are also important factors in your expected salary.

Requirements to Work Call Center Jobs From Home

Now that you know the different types of call center jobs you can do, read on to know what you need to apply and start working.

Education — Most companies don’t require a college degree, though this is certainly an advantage, especially if you have aspirations for higher positions, such as supervising a team of agents.

Experience — Call center jobs are beginner-friendly; you don’t need a lot of experience to be considered for a position. Of course, any service-oriented job is a great leg up over other applicants.

Background check — Some companies will ask that you pay for a background check before you get hired. These usually cost $20 to $50 depending on the information they require.

Skills and Qualities

Anybody can train to receive and make calls, but not everyone can be a successful call center agent. Here are the skills and qualities you’ll need.

Strong communication skills — Your communication skills are what makes or breaks an interaction with a customer or a client. Whether you’re helping someone with a complaint or convincing someone to buy a product or service, how well you explain and express yourself is key to de-escalating or clinching that sale.

Technical skills — At the very least, you should be able to use dialer software and be able to talk to someone while doing basic actions on your computer, like typing call notes or looking over training materials.

Average or better typing speed — Most call center staffing agencies would expect their reps to type at least 25 words per minute (WPM) or better. Luckily, getting up to this speed isn’t too difficult. There are also plenty of free online typing courses that can help.

Active listening skills — The ability to pay attention to details and unspoken cues is valuable in a call center job. Often, what a customer or client says is just the surface of an underlying problem, such as a complaint or an objection to a sales pitch.

Patience — This is especially important when you tend to talk to upset or confused customers who may take time to explain their concerns, not to mention take out their frustration on you. Dealing with such customers can be a real test of emotional strength, so you need to be able to have healthy coping mechanisms.

Empathy — Yes, you’ll have stock phrases to go by, but it just doesn’t cut it. Customers can tell, even over the phone, who really cares and who’s just pretending.

Problem-solving skills — All the empathy and patience won’t matter if you’re not in a problem-solving mindset. You’d need to be able to look beyond stock phrases and set procedures to find a solution that will satisfy the customer while looking out for the best interests of the company.

Equipment

Aside from these skills and qualities, you’ll need to have the following technical hardware and devices to be able to serve your customers and clients better.

Computer — This is essential if you want to work from home. If you’re lucky, your company will provide a computer for you, but it’s better to be prepared with your own computer. It doesn’t even need to be top-of-the-line. As long as it can run the specific call center software you’re using, it should be fine.

Call center software — The software you’d be using will vary depending on your role and will usually be provided by your company. For instance, if you’re going to make outbound cold calls, you’d need software with an autodialer.

Wired internet — You’d need to have not only a fast but also a reliable internet connection, and that means investing in cable or fiber internet, if available in your area.

High-quality headset — It’s not enough that you can hear and you have a built-in microphone (so, no, you can’t use your AirPods). Your headset needs to be compatible with the call or dialer software you’re using, plus have noise-canceling capabilities and enhanced volume control.

Quiet space — Find a space in your home to work out of that has low foot traffic and has few ambient sounds. If you can soundproof the area, even with materials as simple as egg cartons, that would be even better.

Where To Find Work From Home Call Center Jobs

Now that you know what it takes to be a call center agent, you’re ready to zhuzh up your résumé and turn in your applications. Below are companies that offer remote call center positions.

1. FlexJobs

We highly recommend starting your job search on FlexJobs.

This job marketplace lists remote and flexible jobs only from companies they have vetted. You can rest assured that the job opportunities you get from this site are legitimate.

Pro tip: Use the right keywords and search filters to get results that would fit your skill set and the type of call center job you want to work.

Here are some examples of keywords you can use:

(Inbound/Outbound) Call Center (Agent/Representative/Associate)
Remote/Home-Based (Agent/Representative/Associate)
Customer (Service/Support) (Agent/Representative/Associate)
Remote Contact Center Specialist
Remote Telemarketer/Telesales Agent
Remote Appointment Setter
Remote Survey Research Interviewer
Remote Insurance Sales/Support Agent
Remote Talent Acquisition Agent

Website: FlexJobs

2. Adecco

Adecco is the second-largest staffing agency in the world (as of 2019), offering thousands of jobs of various work hours (full-time or part-time) and various work locations (home-based or office-based) across different industries.

There are currently more than 1,000 work from home call center jobs listed on their job site, with hourly rates ranging from $12 to $20 per hour.

Benefits vary depending on the employer and whether you’re going to work a permanent or temporary position.

Bear in mind that some of the listed positions ask that you travel to the work site for check-in at the start of your training. Once you complete that requirement, you can do the rest of your work at home.

They currently use Certree to provide background checks with information on proof of employment and proof of income.

Website: Adecco

3. Alorica

Alorica is a global third-party provider of customer support and technical solutions to companies in various industries.

Some of the industries that Alorica works with include gaming, online shopping, fintech, and health and lifestyle.

When searching their job database, select Job Category: Call Center, Country: United States (or your country if not the US), and select “Virtual” for your location to get remote call center jobs.

The pay ranges from $14 to $22 per hour, with bilingual agents earning more.

Usual benefits include paid training with a flexible schedule, paid time off, paid holidays and sick days, medical and dental benefits, and a 401(k) plan.

Website: Alorica

4. Concentrix

Concentrix is a BPO provider that works with companies to formulate customer service solutions and technology.

Some of the industries they’re currently working on include automotive, electronics, financial and insurance, eCommerce, and travel and tourism.

They pride themselves on offering work from home call center jobs since 2004, lowering costs for their business clients, as well as providing opportunities to remote workers to earn a livable wage while remaining flexible.

Most of the positions available now are inbound customer service positions. There’s no specific information on hourly salary and benefits available on the listings on their website, although from online forums it seems that they provide health insurance (with vision and dental) as well as paid time off.

Website: Concentrix

5. Cruise.com

Cruise.com has been around since 1998, offering cruise vacations to various exotic destinations to savvy travelers.

They continually hire home-based cruise sales agents to offer cruise vacations and other leisure travel options, as well as insurance, through inbound and outbound calls. You’ll also be offering package deals and upgrades, plus resolving booking issues.

Aside from your base pay, you’ll also be paid commissions on your sales.

They do require cruise industry experience for home-based opportunities.

Website: Cruise.com

6. Kelly Services

This is likely the oldest company on this list.

It doesn’t mean they’re behind on the times, though.

Kelly Services has been operating for 75 years and has provided staffing solutions to various companies throughout the decades.

Search “call center” on their job marketplace and plenty of work from home call center jobs will show. Hourly pay is from $17 to $22, depending on the client and the responsibilities of the role.

Kelly supports their talents with a host of benefits and perks, including health plans (medical, dental, vision), a free employee wellness program, student loan programs, retirement plans, and product discounts.

Website: Kelly Services

7. Liveops

Liveops prides itself on transforming the remote contact center model by introducing the virtual flex model, where their call center agents work as independent contractors paid by the minute on a flexible schedule.

Instead of opening daily nine-hour schedules, paying hourly even if the agent isn’t taking in any calls, they open half-hour- or hour-long schedules during periods when high call volumes are expected.

Customers don’t have to wait long, clients get their money’s worth, and agents get more freedom to choose their own schedules and work as much or as little as they want in a day.

Some of the industries that Liveops works with include healthcare, insurance, travel & tourism, and retail industries.

Since Liveops will hire you as an independent contractor, they don’t provide the usual benefits. You would also need to pay a $25 fee for your background check.

Their estimate on hourly pay is around $12 to $17 per hour depending on call volumes, how much time you can commit weekly, and other factors.

Website: Liveops

8. Sitel

Sitel is a global leader in customer management solutions and data security.

Sitel work from home virtual associates can do a variety of duties, such as help with billing inquiries, product support, filling out and deploying service orders, schedule installations and repairs, and many more.

There are both full-time and part-time opportunities, with hourly rates ranging from $10 to $18.

They are particular when it comes to your computer’s specifications, your internet connection, and even the headset you need to use.

But Sitel does offer standard benefits such as sick days, vacation days, health insurance, paid overtime, maternity leave, 401(k) with company matching, among others.

Other perks include paid training, not only at the start of your career but all throughout and plenty of growth opportunities.

Website: Sitel

9. Teleperformance

Teleperformance is a global BPO that has over 380,000 employees worldwide, 70% of which work remotely. So if you want to work with them, you’re in good company.

Some of the work from home call center jobs they currently offer include healthcare customer service representatives, technical support representatives, automotive inbound sales and service representatives, and talent acquisition recruiters.

They don’t post hourly rates on their job listings, but they do offer benefits such as paid training, medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) plans, employee wellness programs, paid time off, and other perks.

Website: Teleperformance

10. Transcom

Transcom prides itself on being a remote working pioneer, offering work from home call center jobs for 16 years and counting, so they know how to keep both their clients and employees satisfied.

They even provide the computer equipment so you don’t have to worry about getting a computer that meets their specifications.

The usual positions they open include technical support advisors, customer service advisors, and remote franchise relations managers.

Their job listings don’t indicate hourly salary, but benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) plan, and vacation time. What makes Transcom stand out is that you’re eligible for these benefits within your first 30 days at work.

Website: Transcom

11. TTEC

Formerly known as TeleTech, TTEC is a global BPO provider based in Colorado.

The most common work from home job you can apply for is customer service representative, but they’re also currently looking for helpdesk/service desk analysts, talent acquisition specialists, and remote pricing analysts.

TTEC at Home offers full-time, part-time, and seasonal roles, with hourly wages from $11.50 to $15 per hour, depending on the role and local minimum wage guidelines. They also offer the usual benefits you’d expect, like paid time off, 401(k) plans, health insurance, and wellness programs.

Website: TTEC

12. VIPDesk

VIPDesk has been around since the late 90s but has only emerged recently as a top provider of BPO services to industries such as luxury retail, fashion, consumer electronics, medical equipment, home, and ecommerce.

The most common remote position open on VIPDesk is work from home customer service representative for a luxury brand, which pays $20 per hour plus benefits including paid time off, paid holidays, medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, and performance incentives.

Website: VIPDesk

Start Your Call Center Job From Home Today!

Being a call center agent is not for everyone, but if you have the patience and the technical skills, this may very well be a great remote job for you.

If you’re interested in remote jobs but don’t want to limit yourself to call center jobs, take a look at our huge list of work from home jobs and find something that’s a great fit for your skills and your lifestyle.

Should You Start Selling Tupperware Products from Home?

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Published On: May 15, 2017

Tupperware has been a household name for over 65 years and is arguably one of the founders of the direct marketing/MLM model business. Back in the 1950’s the company, via its VP of marketing, Brownie Wise, refined the “Party Plan” aspect of product selling, enabling Tupperware to achieve impressive yearly revenues. Successful Tupperware consultants were rewarded with lavish ‘jubilee’ events and sales awards, a tradition that continues to this day.

What is Tupperware all about?

Tupperware currently offers a line of kitchen accessories and food storage products that are not only functional and durable but even pretty to look at. The following photo showcases a representative group of Tupperware products:

Regular individuals can sign up to sell Tupperware from their home, office or even online. Such Tupperware consultants, as they are called, join the company by first purchasing a starter pack for $99.

If a potential consultant doesn’t have the $99, there is the Confident Start Program, wherein one puts down only a $35 down payment. If that consultant then makes $1,000 or more in personal sales in his first 90 days, the remaining $64 is compensated for by the company.

Consultants make 25% commissions from product sales up to $1,500. After that amount, an additional 5% bonus is received from the company. At $10,000, the company bonus becomes 10%. So, a truly successful consultant can earn up to 35% in commissions even with no downline.

However, the downline, called a unit by Tupperware, enables consultants to earn even more money. Beginner consultants who recruit others are called managers and earn a percentage of sales from their unit up to three levels down. In addition, managers who achieve a team sales volume of at least $2,500 start earning an additional bonus, called the Vanguard Bonus. The Vanguard Bonus applies until managers exit their rank and become directors.

Once at director level, which actually consists of eight total levels, a different commission structure comes into play. Directors still earn 25% on their personal sales and up to 35% depending on sales volume. However, directors also earn a 6-8% bonus in commissionable team sales. This commissionable amount is calculated as 75% of team total sales. So, if a director’s team sells $20,000 of product, its commissionable sales will be $15,000, which will result in a personal bonus of $1,050/month.

Obviously, using this bonus and incentives structure, higher level consultants are encouraged to motivate others to sell, and to sell more.

Tupperware’s MLM model

In the Tupperware MLM structure, each consultant, whether a beginner consultant, manager or director, is encouraged to complete three tasks on a regular basis:

Welcome and/or promote 1-2 consultants each week. This means that you are either recruiting 8 new consultants each month or, if you are a director, promoting consultants from within your team to higher level positions. At the top-level director positions, you are actually encouraging your already promoted consultants (i.e., managers and directors) to promote other consultants. Promotion means that these consultants are qualifying for those advanced positions via their selling and recruitment activities.

Host 2 personal parties each week. No matter what their level, all Tupperware consultants are expected to host parties per week in order to sell their expected volume.

Tupperware pros and cons

As with any business, there are positives and negatives to entering and working at Tupperware.

Pros:

Quality brand– Tupperware has decades of brand name recognition and there are very few complaints about its products.

Large market– Anyone who eats can use Tupperware products. Also, Tupperware items are often used for non-food storage purposes such as holding sewing kits, bait, office supplies, screws and nails, etc.

Generous recruitment commissions– If a consultant is talented at recruiting others to sell Tupperware, she can earn sizable bonuses on her team’s sales. Once sales reach the 100K to million dollar ranges, the bonuses include trips to exotic locales and even sports cars.

Cons:

Required quarterly volume– Consultants must sell at least $250 of product every 4 months or they are deactivated. While $250 in product sales doesn’t sound like a lot, it can become a pivotal factor if you need to take a break from selling because of a vacation, sickness, new baby or other disruption in your schedule.

Warm market emphasis– I’m not sure what information is presented at the events that Tupperware throws for its consultants; however, the content on its website is all about selling to one’s “warm” market (i.e., family and friends). Unfortunately, a warm market won’t sustain repeated and large volume sales. To truly become successful in an MLM, one must learn how to reach out to cold markets and have them buy- and buy repeatedly. It’s uncertain if Tupperware provides any sales training to this end.

High wholesale cost– Consultants purchase Tupperware products at only 25% off their suggested retail price. This is not a huge discount and creates a problem for consultants who may want to sell their products through a promotion or product discount. It also leads to the nagging question of who exactly is the real customer here, the consultant or their ‘customer?’

Discounted products– eBay, Amazon and even yard sales all offer lots of discounted Tupperware product. When one can purchase an entire box of pre-owned Tupperware for $25, why should he pay a consultant ten times that amount for brand new items?

Tupperware is a great product but a so-so business

Tupperware is sold in almost 100 countries and its quality is known the world over. Supposedly, 9/10 households in the U.S. own at least one Tupperware product. Frankly, the bright colors and unique designs of Tupperware containers make them fun to use.

However, selling Tupperware as a personal business is fraught with risk. To begin with, the wholesale inventory isn’t cheap- and if it doesn’t sell, one is stuck with some rather expensive product. Also, selling successfully requires a large customer base, not just one’s network of friends and relatives. Finally, it doesn’t appear that Tupperware teaches its consultants how to vary their selling strategies to include online advertisement, brick-and-mortar stores, kiosks, fairs and trade shows, etc.

Do you currently sell or have you sold Tupperware as a consultant? Please leave a comment about your experiences below.

Should You Become a Pampered Chef Consultant?

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Published On: May 10, 2017

If you like to cook or bake, then you may have heard of Pampered Chef.

This company was started in 1980 by Doris Christopher and offers several lines of cookware, bakeware, food products, cookbooks and kitchen accessories. Here is a sampling of just a few products that Pampered Chef offers:

One of the notable facts about this company is that, in 2002, it was purchased by Berkshire Hathaway. So, Pampered Chef is actually owned by Warren Buffett.

Another notable fact about Pampered Chef is that it’s an MLM (multi-level marketing) company. In other words, the company contracts with private individuals, who are called consultants, to sell its products. These consultants sell the company’s products at house parties, craft fairs, or online. Consultants’ customers can range from complete strangers to family members and friends.

Pampered Chef consultants can be just about anyone- your neighbor, boss, or colleague at work. Even you. So…should you consider Pampered Chef as your side or full-time work gig?

Getting started with Pampered Chef

Enrolling with Pampered Chef requires a purchase of a starter kit. There are three kit sizes ranging in price from $109 to $249. Within each kit, you receive an assortment of kitchen bakeware, cookware and accessories. You also receive marketing collateral such as brochures, catalogs, sales receipts, invitations, thank you cards, etc.

Incidentally, if you don’t want to, or simply can’t shell out $100-$200 for a starter kit, Pampered Chef offers host credits to consultants who host a party. These credits can be used to knock off up to $50 from your starter kit.

Pampered Chef consultants also have the option of creating a company-supported website; the charge for this service is $10/month. Unless you have a lot of current customers who are just dying to buy a bundt pan, your best bet is to snag new customers by advertising products online.

Depending on their volume, Pampered Chef consultants earn 20-25% commissions from the sales of their products to others. The following table outlines how the sales volumes, expected work hours and commissions work:

Consultants can also earn 3% bonus commissions from any individuals whom they recruit and who then go on to also sell Pampered Chef products.

Pampered Chef offers a good line of products which are backed by a 30-day return policy. The company also offers discounts to its consultants for selling products and for hosting parties- even virtual (i.e., social media) parties. So, are these incentives and the overall compensation plan worth becoming involved with this company?

The good:

Broad market base– Pampered Chef offers several lines of kitchen products that can be used by just anyone in the world. Whether you choose to sell online or in person, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone who can’t use a spatula or a cake pan.

Quality products- This company prides itself on offering great products, some of which come with lifetime guarantees. Additionally, the company has a 30-day “no questions asked” return policy.

Consultant discounts– When you host virtual/in-home parties, you can score product discounts with the following party sales:

So, if you like Pampered Chef products, hosting parties is one way to get them (more) cheaply.

Stability– Pampered Chef has been around for decades and, much like Tupperware, is a viable household name. It’s also part of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies. Unlike some MLMs, this company is not about to go bankrupt or close down anytime soon, leaving you with a bunch of inventory you can’t sell.

No inventory– Speaking of inventory, Pampered Chef consultants don’t have to store it in their homes. Aside from the starter kit components, all orders placed by consultants are delivered directly to the consumers through the company.

The not-so-good:

Expensive products– Pampered Chef products are not cheap by any measure. For example, this stainless steel steamer costs $17.50. Is it really any better than a similar stainless steel steamer that I can purchase at Wal-Mart for $11.56?

Your “warm market”– Pampered Chef strongly encourages consultants to sell to their “warm market;” in other words, their relatives and friends. This approach might work initially, such as during the first virtual/house party, but then what? Consultants need to cast a much wider net than their “warm market” or their “warm market” will soon become the “oh no, not another Pampered Chef party” market.

Low commissions– As mentioned on other MLM review posts, commissions that are 30% or below make it more challenging for the consultant to earn a viable full-time or even part-time income because it is difficult to launch effective promos or product discounts. As such, one has no real advantage against the glut of other Pampered Chef consultants, or even other third-party kitchenware companies.

Market saturation– Pampered Chef products are offered on Amazon, on eBay, and on many other websites set up by consultants- so why is anyone going to pick you out of this crowd of established sellers? Furthermore, consultants who have leftover inventory and just want to leave the business often post their wares online. These can be found at a significant discount, compared to the actual retail cost of those items.

Party costs- Eating and cooking are sensory experiences that cannot be fully enjoyed just by going to a computer and landing on a social media page. To truly make the bucks in this business, you will need to host actual home parties and, preferably, cooking demonstrations. Such events will not be cheap, and they will certainly not take up the few hours per week that are advertised on the Pampered Chef website.

Is Pampered Chef worthwhile?

Overall, Pampered Chef does not offer the benefits that come with the efforts involved in selling its products. You may want to try hosting a party just to score some product discounts for yourself. But doing this line of work as a business will test your patience and your personal finances. Furthermore, the market is already glutted with kitchen products and accessories, which makes your late entry even more of a challenge. Overall, you are better off seeking other business opportunities elsewhere.

Have you had any experiences with Pampered Chef as either a buyer or seller? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

Should You Start a Paparazzi Accessories Jewelry Business from Home?

Written By:Steve Wrzeszczynski

Published On: May 8, 2017

There are many direct sales MLM jewelry businesses like Paparazzi Accessories to choose from, including Park Lane, KEEP Collective, etc.

All of these businesses offer their representative contractors the opportunity to make a profit by selling jewelry directly to their friends, relatives, neighbors, etc.

The profits are made when reps purchase wholesale jewelry from the business and then sell it to others at a marked up price. In some cases, the business may already have a suggested selling price that all the reps adhere to; in other cases, reps have more personal discretion at marking up their merchandise.

Most jewelry MLMs require that their reps first purchase starter packages that enable them to enroll in the business and give them some product to sell. Starter package prices vary depending on what amount and type of merchandise is included, as well as add-ons such as software, website(s), order forms, business cards, etc.

With all these jewelry businesses to choose from, it pays to shop around and compare MLM businesses on their starter packages, profit margins, commissions, and terms.

One MLM jewelry business you may have heard of is Paparazzi Accessories.

What is Paparazzi Accessories?

Paparazzi Accessories is a direct sales jewelry business that was started by sisters Misty and Chani and prides itself on offering the majority of its jewelry items for the retail price of just $5. The jewelry items range from necklaces to bracelets to rings to earrings- and more. Here are a few example pieces available on the Paparazzi website:

Paparazzi consultants who join the business and sell their products earn an impressive 45% commission, which is hard to find in direct sales MLMs. The norm for most MLMs is 25%.

Furthermore, Paparazzi consultants earn even higher commissions if they recruit other consultants under them.

Consultants can earn percent commissions from recruits that are up to three levels below them. So, first level recruits would be those individuals that were personally recruited, second level recruits would be consultants that the first level recruits recruited, and third level recruits would be consultants that second level consultants recruited.

How do you start a Paparazzi business?

Anyone who is interested in becoming a consultant must purchase a start kit from the company. There are three starter kit sizes to choose from, including preview, small and large.

This all sounds good in theory…but is it?

The good:

High commissions- Paparazzi definitely offers a higher than average commission to its consultants. This enables them to take a more liberal approach to pricing and promotion strategies. On Facebook, you can find quite a few Paparazzi online parties, with consultants advertising all kinds of discounts and freebies (e.g., buy 4 get 1 free).

High bonuses- Other MLMs pay out 2-5% on recruit sales. With Paparazzi, you instantly earn 5% on the sales generated by your direct recruits. Once you surpass three recruits, your bonus is bumped up to 10%. This makes having a downline very profitable for the consultant.

Cheap products- Jewelry is, arguably, one of the most evergreen products out there. People buy jewelry regardless of need or personal financial situation. And because Paparazzi jewelry is priced at just $5, it becomes an easy impulse purchase for just about anyone.

The not-so-good:

Required bulk purchases– Paparazzi consultants must buy their jewelry packages in bulk, after which they sell their inventory at fairs, at home parties, or online. When a consultant orders a bulk jewelry package, this is what she might receive:

Because individual pieces cannot be purchased, this leads to some inventory not getting sold due to low popularity, inability to match/accessorize, etc. For example, if a consultant had a customer who wanted 10 sets of a certain earring, necklace and bracelet, she would be hard-pressed to have that much inventory on hand to make a sale.

Update: I have been corrected. As pointed out in the comments below, you no longer have to make bulk purchases.

Levels are sales-driven– Paparazzi consultants who wish to ascend the ranks and earn bonuses from their recruits need to not only fulfill a given amount of personal sales (or PV for personal volume), they also must eventually have a set amount of sales from their team (or OV for organizational volume). This is a monthly requirement, by the way- in other words, if in a given month you do not meet your PV and/or OV requirements, you slide down the ranks and lose out on potential bonuses.

Minimum monthly cost– According to Paparazzi, each $5 in sales provides 2 PV. So, to even ascend to the Star Consultant level, you need to sell 25 pieces of jewelry in that month. Now, if the total amount of revenue for 50 PV is $125 ($5 x 25 pieces), and the basic commission is 45%, that means you’ll need to pay $56.25 each month for a jewelry package that you can mark up.

So, while the company bonus is a ‘nice’ thing to have, it will cost you a monthly fee to obtain and maintain.

Is Paparazzi a worthwhile business to start?

Many MLMs are operated by stay-at-home parents and spouses who have some extra time on their hands. The money that is earned via the MLM is side income that is not the primary income of the household.

At least, that’s the theory.

In many cases, MLM contractors and reps end up investing significantly more money into the business than they end up earning through their sales. Also, it takes a lot of work to keep hitting people up for purchases of non-essential items like jewelry. A good majority of MLM reps are burned out and done after putting in about two years into their business. Many of these reps have extra inventory they can’t sell, or that they sell at a loss. The only sure winner in all this is the MLM itself, which has managed to clear out its own inventory to its main buyers, the distributors (i.e., reps).

Have you had experiences with Paparazzi as either a buyer or a seller? Please let us know in the comments below!

24 Sites That Pay You To Write Poems

1. AGNI

2. Arc Poetry Magazine

3. The Sun

4. Iron Horse Review

5. Chicken Soup for the Soul

6. Poetry Magazine

7. The Threepenny Review

8. Rattle

9. Boulevard Magazine

10. Ploughshares

11. Grain Magazine

12. The Iowa Review

13. Slice Magazine

14. Black Warrior Review

15. The Capilano Review

16. The Colorado Review

17. Orion Magazine

18. VQR Online

19. The Pedestal Magazine

20. Crazyhorse

21. EPOCH Magazine

22. U.S. Kids

23. Willow Springs

24. 50 Haikus

How Much Can You Get Paid to Write Poems?

How to Get Your Poems Accepted

1. Read and follow the submission guidelines carefully.

2. Familiarize yourself with previously published works on the websites you’re submitting to.

3. Submit as often as you can, to as many websites as you can.

Ready to Get Paid for Your Writing?

Secure Job Position by Kelly Simmons

Cookie Cutter Sales Pitch

Unethical Tactics

“But it was featured on the news!”

A Repeat Performance

Fake Testimonials

Is Secure Job Position a Scam?

“But they offer a 30 day money back guarantee!”

The Bottom Line

What is the Melaleuca referral-based business about?

Pros:

Cons:

Is Melaleuca a good business to enter?

How do you become a Stella & Dot stylist?

Pros:

Cons:

Is Stella & Dot worth it?

What is Nu Skin about?

How do you start a Nu Skin business?

Pros:

Cons:

Is a Nu Skin business worth it?

What is Mary Kay all about?

How do you start a Mary Kay business?

Should you become a Mary Kay consultant?

Pros:

Cons:

Is starting a Mary Kay business a good idea?

What is Stampin’ Up?

Getting Started with Stampin’ Up

How much can you earn with Stampin’ Up?

Should you sign up with Stampin’ Up?

Pros:

Cons:

Stampin’ Up! may not be profitable enough for you

How to get started with PartyLite

Sales minimums, sponsored members and quotas- oh my!

Should your host a party instead?

PartyLite products ain’t cheap

Should you pass on PartyLite?

Types of Call Center Jobs

Requirements to Work Call Center Jobs From Home

Skills and Qualities

Equipment

Where To Find Work From Home Call Center Jobs

1. FlexJobs

2. Adecco

3. Alorica

4. Concentrix