Month: June 2018

23 Companies with Work from Home Jobs for the Disabled

Steve Razinski
Written By:
Last Updated:

For many disabled people, meeting the demands of traditional jobs can be close to impossible. Luckily, the internet is opening up all kinds of opportunities for the disabled to work from home.

I’ve put together a list of companies that are currently hiring for work from home jobs, plus resources on how to find and apply for these jobs, and other opportunities that are available.

The disabled make up a large portion of those not in the labor force.

Disabled Work from Home

Source: MarketWatch.com

People with disabilities used to have difficulties in finding employment. When they do find companies hiring disabled people, the positions available do not match their work experience, or the job location isn’t accessible.

Fortunately, this isn’t the case anymore.

The internet, globalization, and the advancement of computers and smart devices have made legitimate work from home jobs available for disabled persons.

Companies have embraced the fact that even people with disabilities have valuable experiences and skills that could make them the best candidates for a job, despite physical limitations or other medical conditions that make it hard for them to perform in traditional work environments.

If you or someone you know is having a hard time looking for legitimate work from home jobs for disabled people, this comprehensive guide will help you build a successful home-based career.

Stop! Are you on SSI or SSDI? We can find a job for you!

My Employment Options (MEO) works directly with job seekers with disabilities to place them into work at home positions, free of charge.

If you’re currently receiving SSI or SSDI benefits, are between the ages of 18 and 64, and you’re ready to return to work, click here and fill out the Work at Home application under Option 1.

MEO Disabled Work From Home Jobs

MEO will contact you within 48 hours and work with you directly to place you in a legitimate work from home job.

Types of Legitimate Work from Home Jobs for Disabled People

When searching work from home jobs, you’ll be faced with several terms like “remote,” “flexible,” “telecommute,” “work at home,” etc. that mostly mean the same thing.

General requirements for working from the comforts of your home include a fully functional computer, high-speed internet, and excellent written and verbal English communication skills.

Here are some examples of jobs people with disabilities can do:

  • Data entry and transcription – Medical transcription is the most in-demand in this field, so if you have a bit of medical background and are able to type or use a headset, there are unlimited work-at-home transcription jobs for you.
  • Writing – You can write as a service for other people, or write to earn passive income for yourself. Either way, writing online is a lucrative business that will never run out of fashion.
  • Customer service representative – Whether you are able to provide voice calls, or prefer chat-based or email-based customer support, as long as you love solving problems of other people, you can start finding CSR jobs here.
  • Translation – If you can speak or write fluently in another language besides English, there are tons of translation jobs online. But you’ll have an edge over your competition if you have another specialty such as law, medicine, finance, and so on.
  • Teaching – You can tutor school kids online, teach English to a person from a non-ESL country, or dedicate your time sharing your knowledge about finance, IT, or other advanced subjects to other students who need your help.
  • Any job that can be done from home – If applicable, you can submit a work-at-home proposal to your present boss. There’s a huge chance this will work if you have an irreplaceable skill and that your tasks can be done completely from home.

People with physical challenges could work from home, as long as their abilities to type or voice out their thoughts remain.

Modern gadgets developed to help people with vision loss and hearing loss also allow them to perform day-to-day computer tasks.

However, people with intellectual challenges (brain injuries, memory loss, etc.) may find online businesses a better alternative for earning income. I’ll talk about more of this later.

If you’re interested in trying out every online job first, before you commit to something full time, I recommend checking out our list of Ways to Earn Side Cash Online.

23 Companies Hiring Disabled People

If you wish to explore what kinds of legitimate work from home jobs for disabled people some well-known companies are offering, here are some real examples:

1. Salesforce

Finance, engineering, sales, and management positions available. Jobs come with medical benefits and 26 weeks of paid parental leave.

Click “US remote” filter under location options to see available jobs.

2. Amazon

The world’s biggest ecommerce platform has a continuous need for customer service representatives (pays $10/hour), but also opens managerial positions.

All employees have medical benefits, insurance, and other benefits. Also, they provide accommodations for their applicants who are disabled.

3. American Express

Named one of the top 20 companies for remote jobs, the positions American Express offers mostly cover Customer Service, Travel and Lifestyle, Sales, Human Resources, and more.

Paid time off, benefits and other perks make working for American Express an attractive option.

4. Aetna

While the company has over 40 offices across US, about 40% of its employees telecommute.

The minimum wage here starts at $16/hour with enhanced medical benefits and health insurance.

5. Enterprise Holdings

The company has around 100 customer service work-from-home jobs available at any time. While this job only pays $12.85/hour, CSRs here are paid bonuses based on both individual and team performance, which can add up to over $600/month.

6. Humana

Named DiversityInc’s 2015 Top 25 Noteworthy Company, this insurance company is known for hiring veterans with disabilities.

There are positions in sales, customer care, and financial services – all of which pay with health benefits including vision and dental, paid overtime, and other bonuses.

7. GitHub

Almost all job categories at GitHub offer a work-from-home position.

Be sure to check all the openings since over half of “Hubbers” work remotely across 18 countries.

Pay and benefits vary by country.

8. Apple

Apple’s At-Home Advisors, team managers, and area managers give Apple fans a chance to serve their favorite brand by providing customer support.

In return, both part-time and full-time employees are paid competitive salaries, benefits package, and product discounts.

Apple prides itself on inclusion and “explores new ways to support employees with disabilities.”

9. Mozilla

Those with programming and tech-related careers, this company offers remote positions around the world. Search for the “Remote US” location to look at work from home jobs.

Aside from competitive pay and top-notch medical benefits, Mozilla also shoulders conference and travel budgets, your copy of the latest Mozilla software/hardware, and tons of learning opportunities.

10. Kaplan

Kaplan’s education-focused company opens up to work-from-home employees across its international branches.

Positions are varied, from writing to sales, but most offer flexible schedules, paid time off, and competitive compensation.

11. Hilton

You can find virtual or remote positions by sifting through over a dozen of Hilton’s brand of hotels, inn, or resorts.

Many part-time positions can be performed completely from home, but full-time positions may involve a bit of travel.

12. Nielsen

This global data collection company has a continuous need for remote employees in a wide range of professions from IT to sales, research to engineering, and so on.

All employees receive health care, long-term/short-term disability coverage, dependent life insurance, and employee assistance program.

13. Allegis Transcription

If you’re looking for a reliable transcription job, go for Allegis.

It welcomes beginner transcriptionists from anywhere in the US and has jobs available 24/7. The work-from-home transcriptionists are free to choose which files to work on.

14. Xerox

Not only does Xerox employ over 8,000 remote employees; they also hire veterans as part of their Heroes@Home program.

Enjoy health care, paid holidays, life insurance, retirement plans, employee assistance programs, as well as other benefits when you land a job as a virtual customer care rep, tech support, programmer, QA, or other positions.

15. United Healthcare

Health insurance company United Healthcare has a history of partnering up with government and other non-profit organizations in launching programs like Lifeworks and Welfare to Work.

Both of these programs aim to support people with disabilities by prioritizing them for various job openings.

16. Capital One

Capital One offers a number of remote-based positions although most of them require that you live within 100 miles of one of their main hubs.

I found a lot of customer support positions that start out at $16/hour and include full benefits, paid time off, family support, and 401k plans.

17. CVS

At the time of this posting, there was a list of remote job options that was as long as one CVS receipt.

Consultant, sales, customer support, and administrative assistant positions were all included in the full list of open jobs.

18. HubSpot

Select ‘Remote’ under location on HubSpot’s career services page to find a list of current positions.

HubSpot makes a point to say that you should apply even if you don’t feel confident you would get the job. They state, “So however you identify and whatever background you bring with you, please apply if this is a role that would make you excited to come into work every day.”

19. IBM

IBM almost needs no introduction; they’re a global technology and consulting company that’s been around for more than a century.

They’re currently offering flexible, remote positions that are related to IT, software programming, documentation, digital security, and human resources.

Benefits include health insurance, income protection, and vacation days.

20. Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is a financial services company based in London, UK and has offices in multiple cities across the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Positions in consultancy, technology, security, and other remote jobs are currently being offered.

Hired full-time workers get benefits such as career development programs, a high degree of flexibility, paid vacation, emotional and mental health support, and a retirement plan.

21. KPMG

If taxes, auditing, and related technologies are your strengths, KPMG may be a good fit for you.

Open positions include financial management, data security, risk management, and help desk jobs.

Working here full time entitles you to medical insurance, 25 PTO days a year, 401(k) and pension plans, and a lot more.

22. Accenture

Accenture is a management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company with offices across 120 countries.

Remote positions open include proposal management, content moderation, workforce management, and consultancy.

23. Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin is an international security company that has clients in air traffic and transportation, energy and climate, information technology, and space exploration (yep).

Currently, the open work-at-home positions are related to software engineering and operations, but many more jobs pop up from time to time.

Work-from-Home Resources for the Disabled

  • My Employment Options – Provides free assistance to individuals receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits in the U.S.
  • National Telecommuting Institute– The NTI is a non-profit org that has been helping disabled Americans find work-at-home jobs since 1995. NTI has two job resources – NTI@HOME and LandAjob , both of which provide extensive guides about Social Security insurance and rehab services with a job database of active open positions across the country.
  • Cancer and Careers – Anyone diagnosed with cancer who needs career advice, tools and tips about working online even with cancer
  • Project Starfish – Helps blind individuals begin a career in virtual assistance, social media, marketing, sales, and so on.
  • LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired – US-based organization with local chapters that help blind individuals find work-from-home jobs
  • CareerConnect –  This program from the American Federation of the Blind helps people with a former vision-dependent career learn how to restart their profession after vision loss.
  • National Multiple Sclerosis Society – Receive work-from-home employment advice from other people with limited mobility
  • Communication Services for the Deaf– This deaf-owned company has updated their remote job listings. You’ll need to know American Sign Language to apply to any jobs here.

Passive Income from an Online Business

If the jobs available online do not interest you, maybe starting an online business will.

The best thing about most online businesses is that they can be operated 100% from home. You have several options if you wish to go this route:

  • Blogging – As long as you love writing and telling stories, you can have a future in blogging. Check out these ways to turn a blog into a full-fledged online business.
  • Affiliate marketing – You don’t need to stock and organize an inventory of products in your home. Today, you can promote other people’s products and receive a commission every time someone you referred to a store completes a sale. This process is called affiliate marketing.
  • ecommerce – If an online store is something you’re interested in, check out these in-demand ecommerce ideas to try this year.
  • Teaching – As a teacher, you can write a book, sell your knowledge (via podcast, eBook, one-on-one consultation, and so on), or sell your lesson plans. You can also blog about everything you know.

Here are 25 more passive income ideas that generate money while you sleep.

Start Working From Home Today!

The unemployment rate for disabled persons is almost double that of the unemployment rate for those with no disability. Clearly, the government and the business community, in general, have a long way to go in terms of providing more jobs for the disabled.

But since we are increasingly becoming connected over the internet, there are more and more opportunities for disabled persons to work from home.

Do note that there are plenty of scams online, so be wary about red flags like paying to access a list of jobs, or providing sensitive information before sending a job application.

Make sure you fully research any opportunity and if something sounds too good to be true, it always is.

If you have any companies or methods of making money that you would like me to investigate, just drop me a comment below.

40 Legitimate Online Proofreading Jobs You Can Start Today

Steve Razinski
Written By:
Last Updated:

Ever wondered if you can get paid to point out people’s spelling and grammar mistakes and correct them? An online proofreading job may just be the right fit for you.

I’ve compiled a list of companies that are currently hiring this year.

Keep reading because you could land a position that pays $65/hour.

Jump straight to the list or keep reading to learn how to maximize your earnings.

Proofreading used to be the responsibility of the writer who created the content.

However, once the internet became a never-ending resource of information that requires non-stop content creation, the demand for proofreading jobs as a standalone profession began.

Today, you won’t be able to navigate the freelance world without finding online proofreading jobs from home.

So, if you’re new to freelancing and wondering if this job is something you can get into, look no further.

I’ll outline everything you’ll need to know so you can decide for yourself if an online proofreading job is a good idea for you.

What skills do you need to be a proofreader?

Contrary to popular belief, proofreading isn’t the same as copy editing and it’s quite different from freelance writing.

Both editing and proofreading involve reviewing written material for errors. However, editing focuses on things such as factual information, consistency, continuity, and thus editors make major revisions on an article. Of course, they need to correct spelling and grammar errors, too, when they encounter them.

By contrast, proofreading mostly focuses on minor errors in format, syntax, punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Proofreaders rarely concern themselves with the overall consistency and accuracy of the statements in the article. As far as the proofreader is concerned, when they’re done correcting errors, the document is good to be published.

Simply put, to proofread a document, article, or book is the final step of any publication process.

You don’t need an English degree to bag online proofreading jobs, but there are non-negotiable requirements that you should have, including:

  • Strong command of the English language – You need to master proper grammar, spelling, and syntax and be up-to-date with modern slang.
  • Love of reading – Because the majority of a proofreader’s work involves reading chunks of text, it’s important that you read fast and efficiently.
  • Ability to work with a variety of documents – You need to be able to tackle academic papers, transcripts, résumés, contracts, press releases, white papers, e-books, blog posts, marketing materials, and other content.
  • Detail-oriented – Your job as a proofreader is to meticulously find and correct errors that regular people wouldn’t notice.
  • Knowledge of proofreading marks – Proofreading/proofreader marks are standardized notations or symbols used for correcting documents.

As with every other job, practice makes perfect.

Other companies may include other requirements, but these 5 must-have skills and characteristics of a proofreader are mostly enough to get you a long way into your proofreading career.

How much do proofreaders make?

Entry-level proofreaders can earn around $10 per hour, with an expected turnover of 500 to 1000 proofed words. As you prove the quality of work you produce, you’ll be able to ask for higher fees ranging in the $20-25 per hour range.

Proofreader Salary

Source: Glassdoor

Work-from-home proofreaders are mostly paid on a per-project basis, which you can reject, accept or negotiate before starting work.

And since you’re a freelancer, you get to decide your own wage or choose projects that you want to work on.

As such, it’s hard to determine standard proofreading income of freelancers (in comparison: real-world proofreaders earn an average $50,000/year).

How to Make More Money as Proofreader

Caitlin Pyle of Proofread Anywhere has put together a workshop to show you how to turn your ability to find typos into a full-time job you can do from anywhere in the world.

If you’re just getting started or are a seasoned proofreader trying to maximize your income, I highly recommend checking out Caitlin’s workshop to make the most of your proofreading career.

40 Companies with Online Proofreading Jobs

Now that we’ve gotten the two most important considerations out of the way – job requirements and income – here’s a verified list of companies hiring proofreaders for anyone trying to find out how to find proofreading jobs online:

1. Flexjobs

Flexjobs Proofreading

You should be checking Flexjobs daily.

The staff at Flexjobs scours the Internet for you to find the most accurate, up-to-date job postings. On the date this article was published, Flexjobs currently had 314 open proofreading jobs (plus thousands of other legitimate work from home jobs too) with some paying up to $55 per hour.

Start your search here.

2. Babbletype

This website has openings for transcribers, translators, writers, and proofreaders in English and other languages.

Join Babbletype

Proofreaders earn $0.13 to $0.18 per audio minute transcribed.

New work is posted on a given time each day, and once you accept a job, it will be due 22 hours later.

Online proofreading jobs from Babbletype are only available for native English speakers based in countries like the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

They open online proofreading jobs every so often, so check back on their jobs page often so you can apply as soon as a position opens.

3. Purecontent

Purecontent provides copy and digital content about various industries, such as travel and vacations, ecommerce, sports betting, health and beauty, and financial services.

They accept writers and editors to create and tweak this online content.

Jobs are assigned to you directly via e-mail, contact jobs@purecontent.com to apply. Payments are made monthly via PayPal.

4. Kibin

This website provides editing and proofreading services to students in need of a second pair of eyes for their school essays, papers, thesis, personal statements, and admission essays.

Proofreaders and editors are available 24/7, which means work is available for freelancers on demand.

Bookmark their careers page and check back often.

5. Scribe Media

Scribe Media jobs

 

Scribe Media helps aspiring writers who want to self-publish their books but have no idea how to do it. They take care of everything, from evaluating the manuscript, copy editing, proofreading, designing the book cover, finalizing the layout, creating the ebook and physical book, copyrighting, distribution, and marketing consultation.

It’s a team effort for Scribe Writing authors, proofreaders, and editors, so if you’re accepted to join the team, you will be in constant contact with authors throughout the editing process.

Scribe offers both full-time (with benefits) and freelance positions, check back here often because Scribe pays up to $3,000 per project or $50 to $65 an hour.

6. ProofreadingServices.com

ProofreadingServices.com offers editing, proofreading, and translation services, supporting more than 10,000 clients in over a hundred countries.

They also offer specialized services for jobhunters, business owners, students, professors, and authors.

Online proofreading jobs are available for everyone who passes the 20-minute screening test.

Proofreading Services Application

Once you pass, you can choose your own work hours and earn from $19 to $46 per hour depending on the turnaround time; the sooner the deadline, the higher the pay.

The hours are flexible, so you can work when you want, right in your own home.

7. ProofreadNOW

ProofreadNOW does proofreading and copyediting for various documents in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

They open employment occasionally, so bookmark this site.

They prefer those with over 5 years of proofreading experience. Also, keep in mind that every proofreader employed here works closely alongside another proofreader since all projects undergo a two-part editing process.

8. Jobs For Editors

Jobs For Editors provides writing and proofreading services to individuals and businesses who need high-quality content for their websites, training materials, and many more.

They’re constantly looking for freelance editors who have experience in copyediting, proofreading, and even translating. Simply upload your CV to their site to be considered.

9. Cactus Communications

The editing position offered here is highly specific for those with a background in medicine, healthcare, cancer, or surgery. At least a Bachelors degree is required, but they prefer Masters or PhD degree holders.

If you’re qualified, don’t miss your chance to earn up to $4,000 extra income since you can set your own work schedule and accept projects only when you’re available.

10. Kirkus Media

Kirkus Media publishes Kirkus Reviews, a magazine that gives industry professionals a sneak peek into the most notable books weeks before they’are published.

When these books are released, they send their independent book reviews to readers via newsletters and publish them on Kirkus.com, giving their unbiased opinions and recommendations.

They offer book editing and proofreading, so they might occasionally hire online editors and proofreaders on a per-project basis.

The best thing about Kirkus Media is that they are heavily involved in book publishing, so those with extensive knowledge of the Chicago Manual of Style would have an advantage over other applicants.

11. Scribendi

Unlike other proofreading jobs, this company makes an effort to pair you with projects that you’re passionate about.

Requirements are a bit higher (you’ll need a degree and at least 3 years of writing or editing experience).

Scribendi is known for offering incentives and free training to its roster of proofreaders. Payment is sent via PayPal.

12. Managed Editing (formerly Word Firm Inc.)

Managed Editing provides editing and proofreading services

Online proofreaders are hired as independent contractors and paid hourly.

Experience in proofreading is required, and experience proofreading technical content with topics such as medicine, science, law, engineering, or computers gives you an advantage over other applicants.

13. EditFast

Proofreaders with experience editing novels, medical documents, patents, legal papers, and other technical topics are in demand on EditFast, but the company has a variety of niches.

Proofreaders earn 60% of the total project price and receive their salary via PayPal.

14. Wordy

This is an online proofreading and copy-editing service provider, founded in 2009 by a trio of proofreaders who believe in human, real-time revisions.

Editor and proofreader registrations open up in waves. Bookmark the page and check often.

Be prepared, since registration and the online test take over an hour to finish. Once you get in, projects are claimed on a first-come, first-served basis.

15. Gramlee

Gramlee provides copy editing, grammar check, and proofreading services, and they’re unique in that clients submit the projects onto the Gramlee dashboard directly and proofreaders can work on them.

Gramlee is constantly looking for proofreaders who can edit documents quickly since Gramlee has a 24-hour guarantee for documents with 3,000 words or less.

You would also need to be at least familiar with APA-style guidelines.

16. IXL Learning

This platform is known mostly by students looking for assistance in writing an essay or academic paper, or to find an online tutor.

IXL Learning occasionally hires writers, editors, and proofreaders to work on their educational materials. Familiarity with the Chicago Manual of Style is a must.

Experience in proofreading educational or academic subjects is an advantage.

IXL Learning Application

17. Polished Paper

Polished Paper offers world-class editing and proofreading services to a variety of clients. They accept documents such as essays, dissertations, business documents, journal articles, blog posts, and even novels and screenplays.

As they have plenty of academic clients, you’ll have to have knowledge of various academic styles, from APA to Chicago.

They have a number of stable projects, so you can expect online proofreader jobs here if you’re qualified.

You need to create an account, upload your résumé, and pass a 35-question test before you can work on uploaded papers.

Pay rates will depend on turnaround time and number of words per project.

18. Scribbr

Scribbr helps students improve their academic papers, such as their essays, theses, and dissertations by providing editing and proofreading services, APA and MLA citation generators, plagiarism checking software, and a knowledge base so students can learn research and writing skills and tips.

They regularly offer freelance online editor and proofreading jobs that are open to anyone around the world who speaks and writes English fluently.

Scribbr proofreaders should be intimately familiar with academic research and writing styles, as well as citations and plagiarism guidelines.

The company pays a fixed rate based on the deadline, word count, and other services requested by the clients. On average, Scribbr editors edit 1,700 words an hour and earn €20-€25 per hour.

19. Editor World

This Virginia-based editing company offers professional editing and proofreading services for a variety of clients, such as business, academic, personal, ESL, and fiction articles and documents.

Editor World requires at least a bachelor’s degree and experience in editing and proofreading.

If you pass the editing test, you join the Editors Panel. Clients will then be able to access your profile and choose you to work on their projects.

20. ProofreadingPal

ProofreadingPal offers business, résumé, and academic proofreading services.

Accepts online proofreaders with over 5 years of experience and a graduate degree.

Every project requires two proofreaders, so there’s a ton of work to go around.

According to the site, their long-time proofreaders earn somewhere between $500 and $3000 a month.

21. WordsRU

WordsRU provides proofreading and editing services to businesses, academics, and writers.

Aside from having 2+ years of professional editing, proofreading, or copyediting experience, you must also have a Master’s degree or equivalent.

The hiring process is tough, but proofreading manuscripts, web content, academic papers, and business documents at WordsRU let you earn a stable (and above-average) income.

22. English Trackers

English Trackers has been working for many years with some of the top scholars around the world, helping them submit their theses, dissertations, research papers, and books by providing a professional editing and proofreading service that gets the English language in these documents up to publishing standards.

Similar to other academic editing companies in this list, they use a 2-person editing team to edit academic documents.

The online proofreading jobs at this platform is currently closed, but make sure to bookmark this and submit your application once slots open up.

If you do get hired, bear in mind that you’ll be working on most documents written by non-native English speakers.

They require proofreaders to be native English speakers with 2+ years of editing experience and a PhD holder.

23. Wordvice.com

Wordvice works with academics, researchers, students, and business professionals to improve their writing through editing and proofreading.

They have freelance proofreading job openings all the time and projects are available 24/7.

You’ll need to be enrolled or have completed a graduate degree program and a minimum of 2 years of professional editing experience.

When you submit your application, include your expected pay rate.

24. Book-Editing.com

Book Editing Associates is a highly recommended book editing company, working with self-publishers to review, copyedit, and proofread their manuscripts that are needed to get it up to publishing standards.

While this is only open to US-based freelancers, this site is good for those with over 5 years of experience and is willing to commit to a one-year employment with the company.

25. American Journal Experts

AJE’s team of experts provides various manuscript preparation services, such as English language editing and academic translation.

You have to be currently taking or have gotten a Masters, PhD, or MD degree from a top US-based research institution to be considered for a proofreader position.

Pay for content 3000 words and below is at $30, while 3000-6000 words go for about $40.

26. Enago

Enago provides English editing and proofreading services for students, academics, and researchers who want to get their papers published in high-impact international journals.

They require editors and proofreaders who are highly proficient and competent in English, as well as experienced and patient enough to work on articles written by non-native English speakers.

Enago also requires at least five years of academic or scientific proofreading experience and extensive knowledge of various subjects.

27. Reedsy

Reedsy works with self-publishing authors to streamline the process of making a book come to life, from the author’s imagination to the ebook on Amazon, or the physical book on the shelf.

Proofreaders with a portfolio of experience should be able to join Reedsy’s publishing marketplace, where they are free to bid on projects posted by self-published authors.

According to the data Reedsy makes public, the average freelancer can make just over $1,000 for a 60,000-word copy edit/proofread.

28. Sibia Proofreading

Sibia Proofreading focuses on academic, scientific, and medical journals and reports. They also accept ESL, book, and business editing.

There aren’t currently online proofreading jobs available on their site, but this is another company to add to your bookmark folder.

29. Edit 911

Edit 911 prides itself on being a premium editing service for books, dissertations, and other documents.

Their requirements include a PhD in English or any other writing-intensive course, a body of published works, experience as a teacher or book editor, and knowledge of various citation styles.

The qualifications are high with Edit 911, but so is the pay, which is reported to be higher than average. If you meet the requirements, this one can’t be passed over.

30. Edit 24/7

Edit 24/7 offers speedy editing and proofreading services to students, academics, professionals, and writers.

They pride themselves on offering the fastest turn around time on proofreading services possible, so you will need to be available for jobs as they pop up.

To apply, you’ll need to send a writing sample and your résumé.

31. Dotdash

Dotdash manages multiple websites and regularly hires editors to fact check and proofread their articles.

Check the Editorial/Content and the Contract/Freelance tabs on their Careers page to see their openings for online proofreading jobs.

32. Writer’s Relief

Writer’s Relief helps out authors of short stories, poetry, books, and other works to be published by offering various services, including proofreading, guidance on how to submit works to literary journals or self-publishing, and marketing tutorials and materials.

There isn’t a ton of information out there on their hiring process or salary, but keep this one open as a potential option if all else fails.

33. GoProofReading.com

GoProofReading.com offers a simple proofreading service open to anyone, working on any kind of paper.

Their editors and proofreaders are all professionals with graduate degrees in a variety of subjects, ensuring the best work possible for their clients.

Send them your résumé on their contact page.

34. Cambridge Proofreading & Editing Services

Cambridge Proofreading & Editing Services employs experienced US and UK editors, both on-site and remote.

A bachelor’s degree is needed to apply for an online proofreading job, as well as a commitment to editing a minimum of 10,000 words a week. The average pay is around $20 to $30 per hour.

35. EditorLive

EditorLive offers opportunities to graduate students, professionals, writers, and other aspiring editors and proofreaders who want to be independent contractors with the freedom and flexibility to work whenever and wherever they want.

They’re looking for proofreaders and editors that have experience in writing or editing academic papers. A college degree is preferred but not required. You’ll also need to score 95% on their editing assessment.

Editors typically earn $750 to $1800 every two weeks.

36. EditMyEnglish

This Seattle-based company offers editing and proofreading services to clients worldwide.

Compensation is based on the number of pages edited, and it’s 60% of the customer payment. The rate varies depending on the number of pages and the turnaround time.

37. ServiceScape

ServiceScape works like a marketplace for freelancers, particularly writers, editors, graphic designers, and translators. You’ll get a 50% commission for all completed work, and you’ll need to declare your tax status.

To apply as an editor, simply fill out their online application form.

38. FirstEditing

FirstEditing offers a wide variety of services and caters to a wide variety of clients, from writers of fiction to non-fiction to academic documents.

They require editors and proofreaders that have English as their primary language for education, know how to use the Track Changes feature on Microsoft Word, and have at least 25 hours a week to edit.

39. Net Transcripts

Net Transcripts is a web-based transcription company specializing in law enforcement and criminal justice transcription.

They periodically have job positions open for transcript proofreaders. Because of the type of material you handle, you need to be ready to undergo a criminal background check.

40. Writing Jobz

Don’t let the name fool you; they offer legit online proofreading jobs.

Writing Jobz works with authors, students, freelance writers, and more to produce high-quality written content.

Register on their website to be considered for proofreading job opportunities.

Job Boards That List Online Proofreading Jobs

If these companies don’t do it for you, or if you want to work more than one proofreading job at a time, you can also look for proofreading job openings in the following job boards:

Share Your Proofreading Experience!

To succeed as a freelance proofreader, you’d have to find a job that provides you with a stable income. You may have to join two or more proofreading companies listed above.

The good news is that once you’ve had a year of experience, landing proofreading jobs online would be a piece of cake: you won’t run out of places to go for work.

Have you worked as an online proofreader before? Do you have any experience with one of the companies listed above? Please let us know in the comments below!

7 Online Video Interview Tips To Help You Get Hired

Steve Razinski
Written By:
Published On:

Is there anything more intimidating than a job interview? Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to improve your chances of getting hired?

There are. I’ve come up with 7 video interview tips that will help you ace your online interview and show your prospective employer that you are the ideal candadiate.

With the rapid growth of outsourcing and freelancing individuals on the internet, more and more people continue to ask the question— How do I land myself an online job? Most of the time, companies, agencies, and individuals who are looking to hire a virtual assistant will screen their applicants through a series of examinations.

Video Interview Stats

Source: RIVS.com

Once the right amount of applicants have been shortlisted, the final step is to usually have a face-to-face interview with a video chat.

This is usually the point where most applicants get uneasy and nervous.

However, it still isn’t too late to become a master at online interviews.

7 Video Interview Tips to Help You Secure That Job

In this list, you will find different ways to gain an advantage over applicants who will be interviewed alongside you.

By taking to heart these tips, you are guaranteed to have a higher success rate at landing a job after a face-to-face interview.

1. Prepare Your Attire and Background

No matter if your video interview is happening in a few days or hours, you should always have enough time to prepare what you’ll be wearing and be sitting behind once the meeting begins.

Even if some applicants may take advantage of the remote setting and dress up very casually, take that extra step of dressing up with class and showing the interviewer that you’re all about your business.

Video Interview Attire

Once your attire is all set up, jump straight into turning on the camera you’ll be using for the interview. Observe your surroundings and notice every little detail that might steal the attention of your interviewer.

Do your best to get rid of all possible distractions to come across as a highly professional applicant.

Being diligent with these kinds of things aren’t guaranteed to have an effect on the outcome at all times but the right people will give notice to such details and take it to consideration when choosing which applicant to hire.

2. Perform Background Research on the Company

Before you jump into having a face-to-face conversation with someone online, it is only right to do your research on the background of the person or whatever company he/she is representing.

Chances are, top-tier human resource departments also do their background research on shortlisted applicants to make sure they’re not missing out on anything.

Simply search the name of the person or company on Google.

What is Google?

Most of the time, you will already come up with the most relevant stuff related to that individual by doing this. To add to this, you can also try searching the name of the person or company on Facebook. Both of these search engines are big enough to cover anything you need to know about who will be interviewing you.

If you want to go the extra mile, give their competitor’s website a look too before the interview. By doing this, you will have something good to ask the interviewer later on such as— “Are you somewhat similar with (competitor’s name)?”.

Asking questions like that will make you stand out and come across as a highly interested applicant who knows exactly what he/she is applying for.

3. Do a Quick Dry-Run of Everything

Another difference of taking interviews online compared to having it in person is that you’re held responsible for technical problems that occur on your end.

This is why it’s a smart thing to do a mock call with yourself or a friend before taking the actual online interview.

By doing this, you will detect all errors that could have occurred during the interview and troubleshoot them before they get in your way of landing the job.

If you’re going to have the call on Skype, do a free test call to be able to hear how you will come across to the interviewer.

If you wish to go the extra mile, simply do a quick summary of what you’ll be saying to the interviewer— From the way you’ll be greeting the person to the first icebreaker you have in mind, feel free to practice it in front of the camera with facial expression while there is only you to criticize anything wrong that happens.

4. Be Early and Delightful

Never underestimate what being punctual can do. Make sure everything is up and working at least 15 minutes before the meeting.

If a few minutes before the actual time and you still haven’t heard from the interviewer, take the initiative of pinging him/her to remind that you are supposed to meet each other in a few moments.

If it ever occurs that the client still doesn’t respond, let him/her know that you were there during the time of the interview and you would love to reschedule at the earliest convenience of both sides. Always show utmost patience as an applicant— Some clients may have messed up schedules; hence why they need someone who can understand such scenarios and work their way around it.

5. Always Respond with Clarity

Now we assume the interview has already started, always remember to keep your composure and talk at an ideally slow rate.

Doing this will minimize the occurrence where you would have to repeat yourself because the interviewer didn’t catch you.

Another thing to note is the 5-second pause— If you’re not sure why the person speaking has stopped talking, wait for at least 5 seconds before butting in,

Overall, just be clear and direct with your answers to show your interviewer that you are indeed a person with conviction.

6. Listen Carefully

Being able to pick up small details is a skill that few people possess.

If you really want to stand out among the other applicants, always take note of what the interviewer is saying and confirm with him/her that you’re on the same page. One thing you can do is rephrase what they’re saying and ask if you understood them correctly.

Before the interview ends, always look out when will the interviewer ask if you have any questions for the company.

Though this can be considered an unwritten rule, asking questions after the interview has been summarized shows that you are indeed interested in working for them.

7. Send a Quick Thank You Note

Once the interview has commenced, take a quick break and proceed to send a note of appreciation to the interviewer for taking the time to know more about you.

Again, you don’t have to be redundant and annoying to show that you have an outgoing personality. Thanking the person who interviewed you also shows your work ethic and how you deal with people.

If days have past and you still have not heard from the company you’re applying for online, give them a follow-up email and just kindly ask them for an update on the job position.

Even if it’s bad news, you’d still want to find out about it and hear the reason. By having the guts to do this, you’ll be able to get priceless advice on how to be even better at your next online interview.

Got any more tips?

At the end of the day, never take any result of an online interview too heavily. The success of an online interview isn’t determined by being accepted or not. Rather, being able to leave a positive impression in the mind of your interviewer, no matter what the result after, is what it’s really all about.

After all, every online interview you participate in that doesn’t turn into an employment should be a lesson to make you a better applicant in the long haul.

If you’ve taken a video interview before and can share some tips on what did or did not impress the interviewer, please help us out and share them below!

Make More Money with These Etsy Best Sellers in 2021

Steve Razinski
Written By:
Last Updated:

Etsy is the go-to online marketplace for people who want to buy and sell handmade, vintage, or unique factory-manufactured items from around the world and with the right pick from the Etsy Best Sellers list, it can be a lucrative online venture.

Launched in 2005, this platform has reached massive success with over 50 million members and almost $2 billion total sales in 2014.

Imagine how much bigger it is today.

If you’re a maker of crafts, art, jewelry, handmade beauty products, knick-knacks, toys and other quirky items you won’t find anywhere else, Etsy should be your first e-commerce platform option.

Here’s why:

  • Cheap startup costs – You need to pay 20 cents for each item you list. If it sells, you’ll pay Etsy a small fee (3.5% of the selling price).
  • Well-built system – From its search feature to inventory management, logistics, and so on, Etsy makes the hard stuff look easy. The site is also updated regularly and prioritizes working on ease-of-use both for its buyers and sellers.
  • Free traffic and marketing – You can always sell your stuff on your own website, but listing them on Etsy means you won’t have to work on building traffic, marketing your site, and making sure people find your products online.
  • Friendly community and support – Etsy has a tight-knit community of creators who support each other online. Not only do they advertise items from fellow Etsy sellers, they also help out with common buy-and-sell questions. The in-house Etsy support isn’t that bad either.
  • Etsy events – Building an online store doesn’t have to mean you’ll be stuck in cyberspace forever. At Etsy, you get to participate at various localized events created by various Etsy teams.

Etsy Top Seller

Ready to join the exciting world of Etsy? First, you need to figure out what is currently popular and selling well on Etsy… and if your product fits the demand.

The Most Popular Etsy Shops

One way to determine if your product has a shot is to check out the most popular Etsy shops in the platform.

But first things first, don’t go to Etsy.

It may seem like a good idea to visit the most popular shops at Etsy, but I think you should start your product search elsewhere.

Specifically, Amazon Handmade’s Featured Artists list.

Why? Because you can take what is selling well at Amazon and then replicate that success at Etsy.

The following shops don’t necessarily house items that are Etsy best sellers, but checking out the top 20 gives you an idea of what the buying market at Etsy wants.

Etsy Stores With The Most Sales

Note: The ranking and sales data are updated as of July 2020.

Here are the 20 Top Etsy shops and the items (category of products) that have earned these stores these coveted spots:

 

1. PlannerKate1 (1,321,357 sales) — Kate Antesberger and her daily planners currently hold the crown of the Etsy shop with the most number of sales.

PlannerKate1

2. Beadboat1 (826,242 sales) — Bead Boat is a jewelry supply shop with almost 7,000 products to help any jewelry maker create whatever they can imagine.

3. ModParty (761,875 sales) — This shop has bridesmaids gifts, as well as favors for weddings, birthday parties, baby showers, and pretty much any celebration or party you’re planning.

4. yakutum (722,265 sales) — This fourth best selling Etsy shop hails from Turkey, Istanbul, and has been selling jewelry supplies on the platform since 2008.

5. CaitlynMinimalist (689,043 sales) — If minimalist jewelry is what you’re looking for, CaitlynMinimalist does not disappoint.

6. nicoledebruin (641,773 sales) — Coming in sixth place, we have Nicole and her Charm Collection with over 14,000 listed items selling over half a million orders since 2009.

7. ThinkPinkBows (570,468 sales) — This Utah-based store sells bows for babies, toddlers, and girls. They’ve branched out into selling face masks as well.

8. clbeads (562,321 sales) — This store operates from Canada and has been selling beads, Swarovski, seed beads, etc. since 2008.

9. yadanabeads (557,292 sales) — As its name suggests, this store (launched 2007) of beads also has gemstones, glass, and a ton of 2-dollar-or-less items.

10. jewelersparadise (556,278 sales) — This is one of the most popular US-based stores, even if it only began selling pretty pendants and jewelry supplies in 2011.

11. PeggySueAlso (553,258 sales) — One of the more unique shops on this list, Peggy Sue sells leather and crafting supplies.

12. KJewelryMetal (547,199 sales) — King Jewelry Supplies is based in Turkey and has been selling metal jewelry supplies since 2014.

13. CreatingUnkamen (495,658 sales) — Another jewelry seller selling supplies and handmade gifts.

14. yummytreasures (487,377 sales) — Known for its wide range of beads, this Etsy store has been up since 2008 and has been popular for its set stones even today.

15. GLDNxLayeredAndLong (483,909 sales) — Operating out of Washington, Chrissy mainly sells personalized necklaces, rings, and gifts.

16. Prettygrafikdesign (476,946 sales) — This Canada-based store is only 6 years old, but averages $180/day with its vectors and graphic design items. It’s one of the few non-craft supply stores on this list.

17. DesignInYourHeart (470,240 sales) — Based in Korea, DesignInYourHeart has been on Etsy for seven years, selling pendants, charms, and other jewelry supplies.

18. goldswan (464,781 sales) — Jewelry supplies are all the rage in Etsy, so there’s no wonder why a store like this would average $130/day sales even if it has been selling at the platform since 2009.

19. happysupplies (462,483 sales) — Hong Kong-based crafting supply store is preferred by customers in the Asian region for cheaper shipping fees.

20. PrettyInPinkSupply (438,136 sales) — Operating since 2012, they mainly sell craft supplies. One of the few sellers not selling jewelry.

What to Sell on Etsy

By looking at the top 20 Etsy stores, it’s easy to see the most sought-after items by the Etsy community.

Competition isn’t so fierce, since many of the items are priced below $2.

If you don’t know what to sell on Etsy yet, but wants to turn it into a business, here are 5  in-demand product categories that you should explore:

  • Planner/journal — Any fan of planners and journals can attest to how huge this market is. Whether you focus on bullet journals, printables, or handmade accessories, there’s a space for you on Etsy.
  • Digital products — For those with Photoshop and graphic design skills, you can put your talent to good use and earn extra income by selling digital products on Etsy. You can specialize in various kinds of items, too; from t-shirt designs to stock photography and printables. You don’t have shipment and inventory to take care of either.
    • Party decor — Because Etsy is home to thousands of creative people, the party decorations offered here aren’t just basic and mass-produced. Here, you can offer even the craziest party themes and people will pay for your effort.
  • Specialty deserts — Etsy probably wouldn’t be your first choice to check out when you’re looking for candies, specialty desserts, and other sweets. Heck, Etsy doesn’t even have a food category there, but you’d be able to find (or sell) drool-worthy desserts like this Vermont maple syrup leaf candies or these rose wine lollipop wedding favors.
  • Personalized clothing for babies or pets – Clothing is a basic need, so personalized clothes made for loved ones (human or fur babies) will always be in demand.

Of course, you can always get into the craft or jewelry supply category, but you should be armed with something unique to sell that would give you an edge over your competition.

Following trends, for example, adds more value to your jewelry store instead of just offering jewelry supplies that other stores are also selling.

Etsy Trends

What’s great about the Etsy community is that word spreads quickly if a store is selling amazing stuff, so wow your market and you won’t have a problem introducing your Etsy store.

What are the best selling categories on Etsy?

If you’re not quite sold about the ideas above, you can continue to get inspiration from the first five Etsy Best Sellers leading the pack of every product category:

Note that the Etsy best sellers featured here could change in the future. These should give you an idea if you’re launching an Etsy store anytime in 2019.

In addition to the ones I’ve listed above, you can also check out Etsy’s best-selling items list.

The Bottom Line: Etsy Best Sellers in 2020

Etsy is an amazing marketplace not only because it gives creative people an outlet to sell their art, crafts and other masterpieces in their handmade glory. Etsy has also built an impressive community that supports each other even in the real world (check local Etsy market events) and on their respective blogs.

The above list is fairly comprehensive as to what really sells on Etsy. If you can’t find something up there that fits your interests, Etsy likely isn’t the platform for you.

It’s an extremely valuable ecommerce platform though. PlannerKate is receiving over a thousand orders per day.

That’s nuts!

If you are trying to get started, make sure you follow our how to sell on Etsy guide to help find your footing.

Do you have a favorite store? Or one of your own that you’d like us to link to? Leave me a comment below with the details.

Get Paid to Write: 153+ Freelance Writing Jobs You Can Do from Home

Steve Razinski
Written By:
Last Updated:

If your dream is to get paid to write, you’re in luck.

This dream is easier to turn into reality these days because every type of online writing job you can do from home is available with a quick Google search.

This wasn’t the case several years ago. From 2000 to 2010, it was common for online jobs to turn out into scams and freelancers had to learn to protect themselves the hard way.

Today, job boards, marketplaces and other platforms operate with a fee or use feedback systems to keep scammers at bay and encourage people that online jobs can really become a legitimate way to earn stable income from the comforts of your own home.

So why don’t everyone with some writing skill just quit their day jobs and focus on providing writing services online?

The Perfect Online Writing Job from Home

The problem isn’t the lack of writing opportunities available, but finding the perfect ones for your skills, circumstances, or expected fees.

In some cases, the job is only available if you’re based from the U.S., Canada and other English-as-first-language countries. In other cases, the fees paid are so low that only those from developing countries can survive from their earnings.

If you want to make it as a freelance writer, here are several things you should decide before checking out what writing jobs are in store for you:

  • Tone of writing – Whether you’ve got experience writing legal letters and corporate memo, or prefer the conversational tone of blogs, social media, and other much modern platforms, deciding the tone early on will allow you to filter the writing jobs you’re interested in.
  • Fiction vs. Non-fiction – You don’t have to worry about choosing which has better opportunities, since there are plenty of fiction and non-fiction writing jobs available. But since newswriting, academic writing, web copy, resume writing, and other copy that require technical writing is totally different to blogging, writing short stories or poetry, and so on, knowing where your writing skills fit perfectly would increase your productivity and income in the long run.
  • Side cash vs. Full time – Will you be able to commit working on a full-time basis? Or are you planning to write for cash on the side? This is an important consideration, especially since it correlates the amount of income you’ll be taking home each month.
  • The Boss – Freelancers still work for other people, whether this means you’re taking in a client directly, or working for a content mill, marketing firm, or any other company. Freelance writers who work for companies are usually teamed with other writers and editors, as well as content managers to help with work calendars.

Other factors, such as payment currency and software requirements, may also affect your decision on a case-to-case basis. But answering these four considerations could help trim down your results when searching for freelance writing jobs.

150+ Ways You Can Get Paid to Write

I tried to categorize this list as organized as possible with payment information and other important info. Have fun hunting your preferred freelance writing jobs from home!

Share Poetry, Greeting Cards, Short Stories and Fiction Writing

Those who have a knack for words and enjoy creating greeting cards, poetry, short stories, and other literature can make a killing with these resources.

Note that many of these sites only accept unpublished work.

1) Grain Magazine – Earn $50 from every poem accepted

2) The Sun Magazine – Known for paying $100 to $250 per poem. This publication loves personal, cultural, or political writing.

3) Poetry Foundation – $10 per line or $150 per page of prose

4) Blue Mountain Arts – This greeting card company pays $300 for submissions perfect for greeting cards.

5) American Greetings – Submit poems, quotes or other content for greeting cards. Pay varies.

6) Goblin Fruit – This site accepts short stories with a mythical theme, and pays $15 per poem

7) Chicken Soup for the Soul – Pays $200 for inspirational, true-to-life personal stories or poems.

8) Orion Magazine – Pays $100 for poetry that focuses on nature, culture, and place.

9) Boulevard Magazine – Requires $3 payment for online submissions. If accepted, you can earn  $100 to $300 for prose, or $25 to $250 for poetry.

10) Clubhouse Jr – This kid-friendly site is continuously looking for age-appropriate stories and poetry with a Christian angle. They pay around 15 and 25 cents (USD) per word.

11) Crazy Horse – Accepts fiction and non-fiction stories, poetry and other types of publications with a pay of $20 to $200 per submission.

12) VQR Online – This site doesn’t just accept poetry, they also allow nonfiction, opinion pieces, personal essays and so on. They pay $200 per poem or around 25 cents per word for short fiction, prose, literary criticism, and other types of content.

13) The Three Penny Review – Pays $400 per story or $200 per poem. Doesn’t read submissions sent from July through December.

14) Ploughshares – Ploughshares have several kinds of content submissions available with prizes ranging from $25 to $1,000. Some contests here have entry fees, so make sure to double-check guidelines.

15) Rattle – While online submissions only get $50 (print submissions are paid $100), all free submissions are automatically considered for the annual Neil Postman Award for Metaphor, which has a $1,000 prize.

16) Arc Poetry Magazine – Contemporary poetry are accepted at $50 per page.

17) New Myths: NewMyths.com currently pays 1.5 cents/word with a minimum payment of $30 for all submissions, fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction and poetry. The content must have a hint of fantasy or science fiction element to the story.

18) Agni – Pays $20 per page for accepted prose and $40 per page for poetry, with a $300 maximum.

19) The Pedestal Magazine – Pays $40 per accepted poem.

20) WritingCareer.com – This is a great resource for those interested in submitting poetry across the web. Amount per poem varies. So does the due dates. So check regularly.

21) Comstock – This adult humor greeting card company accepts submissions for $50 per accepted idea.

22) Crafty Morning – If you love food, experiment on dozens of recipes and don’t mind sharing, you can get paid $10 to $20 per recipe contributed to the blog.

Get Paid to Write for other People’s Blogs

Some blog owners are willing to pay for your time, expertise and shared knowledge, if you’re interested in a paid guest post that would bring value to that blogger’s readers.

Some websites have in-house writers working for the publication day in and day out, but these websites also accept submissions occasionally if the idea you pitch them are worth it. Aside from the list below, you can always check for the “write for us” section on any website if it is accepting submissions from their readers.

Most of the time, you have to submit a pitch before you’re given a chance to write for the blog. Always read the guidelines they’ve posted before any submission.

Bonus: Bankforeclosuressale.com – Pays $100 (can negotiate more for stellar content) for real estate, foreclosure, flipping houses, investing or properties related articles.

23) A Fine Parent – Parenting niche. Pays $75 via PayPal for an article around 1,500 to 3,000 words.

24) A List Apart – Web design industry, pays between $50 and $200 for articles up to 2500 words.

25) American College of Healthcare Sciences – This site encourages industry experts to write blog posts of 600-1000 words about homeopathy, herbal medicine, holistic nutrition, aromatherapy and general wellness. If your post is accepted, you earn $50 and keep your byline.

26) AutoShopper – Accepting US-based authors who are auto enthusiasts. Pays $10 to $20 per car-related article.

27) Back to College – Focused on older people going “back to college.” Pays $55 for approved posts.

28) BlogPaws – If you are equally passionate about pets and social media, you can write advice and tips for fellow pet lovers and earn $75 if your work is accepted.

29) ChangeAgent – This education-focused site changes themes per issue, but if your submission gets accepted, you get $50 for a 200-1000 post.

30) Cracked – Those with great sense of humor and are up-to-date with pop culture, entertainment and politics should check out Cracked. Every accepted post gets you $100.

31) College Humor – The biggest comedy site online, College Humor continues to accept articles about anything under the sun and pays its contributors between $35 and $50 per article.

32) Cooking Detective – Foodies with culinary knowledge can earn $120 to $160 for longform (up to 4000 words) guides, or just $75 for 2000-word articles.

33) Cultures and Cuisines – Food and culture niche. Pays $200+ per article.

34) DesertUSA – Content about desert ecosystems gets paid $50 for every approved article.

35) DollarStretcher – Love finance? Or simply good with money? This site accepts article submissions in the personal finance category and pays $0.10 per word for an 800-word article.

36) DropZone  – If you’re a fan of skydiving and has tons of tips and valuable info to share, DropZone is open to discussing writing fees. Pitch something good that their readers will love, and your article or review might get accepted.

 37) Doctor of Credit – Personal finance blog; Pays $50 per blog post via PayPal as soon as the post goes live.

 38) Dorkly – This high-traffic comedy/entertainment site pays $35 to $75 per article. Perfect for those who write viral-material pieces.

39) Down East Magazine – This magazine features Maine and its food, culture and history. If you’re from Maine and have off-the-beaten path destinations to share, send your pitch for a chance to get paid up to 70 cents per word upon publication.

40) Eating Well – Great exposure for food bloggers. Pays $1 per word, but only upon publication.

41) Edible Seattle – Awesome exposure and writing gig for Seattle-based writers. Pays 30 cents per word (made upon publication) for articles about cooking and eating around the Seattle area.

42) Elite Personal Finance – Personal finance category; Pays $100 per article.

43) Freelance Moms – Accepting articles from freelance moms. Receive $75 to $100 via PayPal for every accepted post.

44) Fund Your Life Overseas and Incomes Abroad – Want to share your secret to traveling or living overseas while still keeping a stable income? International Living pays $75 for a story published on their e-newsletter and $400 if published on the mag.

45) Funds for Writers – Write guides on how to earn a living as a writer and be paid $50 for every accepted, unpublished original article.

46) Great Escape Publishing – Ideal for writers with vast travel experience and has something to share about making travel efficient. Pay is around $50 to $200, depending on the type of article accepted.

47) Go Nomad – Pays $25 for personal travel posts (800 to 2000 words)

48) Horse Network – Got passion for equestrian sport, horse health, and other related topics? Not only will you get paid for the article itself, Horse Network also adds $100 for every 1000 shares on social media.

49) How Stuff Works – Pay is $100+ per article, but it’s hard to pitch stuff here since they are extremely selective.

50) Income Diary – Content marketing, content for websites, making money with websites, and other similar articles are paid for $200 a pop. Submit your pitch before writing.

50) iWorkWell – Human Resources topics; pays $200+ for an article.

52) JustParents – Accepts articles related to parenting and pregnancy (and caters to the UK audience).

53) Knitty – Knitting topics. Pay is $150 to $200 per published submission.

54) LadyQ’s – Focused on women-related topics like dating, relationships, fashion, beauty, etc. Pays $50 per article.

55) Listverse – Love reading listicles? This site pays $100 via PayPal for every list-based 1000-word article that gets accepted.

56) Loaded Landscapes – Writers passionate about nature photography, image processing, and related topics can earn $20-$150 per accepted piece.

57) Make a Living Writing – Get paid $75-$150 for accepted blog posts about earning with your writing skills.

58) Matador – Get paid $25 for travel-related articles.

59-90) Here are more blogs that pay you to write: Narratively (various topics), Online Writing Jobs and Rank Pay (online business), ScheduGram (social media), Technopedia (tech), The Partially Examined Life (culture), Yoga International (health), The Penny Hoarder (personal finance).

Travel writing is in demand and many blogs and sites pay for content. Check out Theme Park Tourist, The Expeditioner, Oyster, Travelicious, Ireland Before You Die, Wanderful or Viator Travel Blog.

There’s also plenty of blogs that pay you to write about writing, such as The Write Life and Writer’s Weekly. Parenting is also a  common niche, so if you’re a parent with superb writing skills, check out details for ParentCo, Red Tricycle, and Storkguide, among others.

You’d be surprised at the niche available for writing. You have very specific categories like New Scientist (for physicists) or Modern Farmer (modern farming) to pop culture and entertainment sites like Screen Rant and Paste. Of course, location based publications like Radish Magazine (that serve Western Illinois and Eastern Iowa) may also be an interesting route.

Web design and programming sites also have a continuous need for content. If you’re on the techy side, check out SitePoint, Smashing Magazine, UX Booth, Write Stuff (databases), RankPay (social media), and more. Technical writing like these gives higher rates. So does medical-focused content such as PsychCentral or The Anxiety Foundation.

Long-term Writing Jobs

This category includes both part-time and full-time writing jobs, which goes beyond the per-article gigs.  You’d have to send your CV and writing portfolio to land any of these online writing jobs from home, but they’re worth it.

91) Beacon Fire – For US-based copywriters who are interested in part-time work.

92) BootsnAll – Travel lovers with real-world experience with itineraries and tips, on top of modern writing skills fit nicely with this travel website. They don’t open writer positions regularly, but you should check them often if you’re interested in travel writing.

93) Book Browse – Become a book reviewer and get paid to write a review or two of books from their library every month.

94) Distance Web – Hires copywriters with experience crafting copy for ads, web sites, and email marketing.

95-100) IAC – If you’re not aware of what IAC means, that’s OK. It’s the parent company of many of today’s popular websites that accepts article submissions. This includes College Humor, DailyBurn, HomeAdvisor, OKCupid, Investopedia, TheDailyBeast, DotDash, and many more.

101) IndieMade – Accepts writers from anywhere around the world. Focuses on topics about marketing creative businesses. Pay is sent monthly, depending on how many content you submitted and got approved.

102) Kinzer Projects – This company regularly needs freelance writers to complete various writing projects. Pay is negotiable based on experience.

103) Kirkus Media – Book lovers are paid to review books from self-published authors.

104) Lifehack – It’s not easy to become a paid contributor for this life hacking blog, but once you get in, you need to submit at least 2 800-word articles per week (each pays $20 to $30).

105) Life Tips – This company regularly needs SEO Specialists, copywriters, and editors; accepts freelancers from all over the world.

106) Metro Parent – Michigan-based writers and parents are given a voice about local issues. Pay is between 40 to over $200. You can serve as contributor, or work on a full-time basis.

Tutorials

Teaching people how to do something requires not only exceptional writing (to be able to explain anything in layman terms) and knowledge of that particular niche. As such, tutorials often have higher fees than regular blog posts.

107) AppStorm – iOs or apps for Macs in-depth tutorials gets you $60 a pop

108) Brew Your Own – Dedicated for beer brewers. Pays content 1,500 and 3,000 words in length for $200.

109) CrazyLeaf Design – Accepts design tutorials (web design, photography, graphic design)

110) Digital Ocean – Tutorials are focused on creating a real-world project in Python or JavaScript, or advanced systems topics such as Docker, Kubernetes, Ansible, Terraform, and CI/CD. They pay contributors $300, then matches the amount with a charitable donation.

111) eCommerceInsiders – For experienced ecommerce business owners who wish to share their insider secrets; Pays from $75 to $150 for articles (400 to 600 words)

112) Family Handyman – $100 per post

113) KnowledgeNut – Accepts various tutorials for $10

114) TutsPlus – This high-traffic website focuses on coding, web design, IT, and other techy topics.

Academic Writing and Adult Writing

Academic writing is on the greyscale of content writing, since some people may find it unethical. However, some websites like A Pass Education and Academic Experts are legit and pays college-level writers higher rates than your average blogger.

Another niche to consider if you’re looking for higher-paid writing jobs is to check out adult writing jobs. The topics will depend on your expertise, but it can be as monotonous as writing product descriptions of sexy costumes, or writing novel-length R-rated stories. Either way, expect  3x higher rates than average copywriting fees.

Revenue Sharing

You won’t be paid upon submission or publication, but if your published article gets a ton of traffic, you’ll earn continuously as long as the website is up and your written article remains on the site.

117) Hubpages – Earn passive income. Uses Adsense, Kontera, and Amazon for ads

118) News for Shoppers – Product-based content. You earn 70% Adsense revenue share.

119) Best Reviewer – Write top ten lists; Earn AdSense revenues

120) InfoBarrel – Similar to Hubpages. One of the earliest revenue-sharing sites  around.

121) Liberal America – This political revenue share site gives you 75% of Adsense revenue share for your articles.

122) Wise Bread – This popular personal finance blog pays 100% of the ad revenue your content generates.

123) Snipsly – Accepts all kinds of content. Gives you 100% revenues of adclicks your articles generate.

124) Unanchor – Get 75% of revenue share from your published travel itineraries.

Get Paid to Write Full-time: Article Writing Services

If your goal is to work full-time, your best bet would be to apply for freelance writing jobs from home. You have to be OK working as a ghostwriter selling your rights to the content once you’ve submitted your work.

Note that some of these companies may be considered as a content mill (with lower pay but a ton of work available), so proceed with caution on sites like those. However, all of the sites below are legit and have paid freelancers for years.

131) Constant-Content – Open to US writers only

132) BlogMutt – Write blog posts for BlogMutt’s clients, who has to approve your post before you get paid.

133) Buy Keyword Articles – US only. Pays one to five cents per word. Receive income every two weeks via Paypal.

134) ClearVoice – Higher pay writing (starts at 10 cents per word), but work availability may not be consistent.

135) Content Divas – US writers  only. You earn around $18 for every 1,000 words.

136) Content Remarketing – Always open for senior-level content writers.

137) Content Runner – US only (pays with bank account). Also serves as article marketplace where you can write articles and post them for sale.

138) iWriter – Low-paying, but has plenty of writing projects available. Accepts writers from around the world.

139) Textbroker – US only. No bidding required. Projects are assigned based on your rating. Pays weekly via PayPal.

140) Textbroker UK – The UK version of the Textbroker website. Only available for writers from the UK, Australia, Canada, and Britain.

141)  WriterAccess – Accepts US-based writers only. Writers are assessed during application and given a rating (the higher this rating, the more money per word a writer can earn).

142) WritersLabs – Accepts both native and non-native English speakers (but with a bachelor’s degree).

143) The Content Authority – Hires writers from Canada & US. Pays weekly with Paypal.

144) Compose.ly – For senior-level writers (only accept 1% of writers who apply).

145) EditFast – Hires editors, pays $10 per edited content.

146) Ezdia – Accepts content writers and editors worldwide. Pays $1 to $150 per piece

147) Word Gigs – US-based writers earn from $1-4 for blurbs and short articles.

148) Crowd Content – Get paid 2 to 6.6 cents per word; Accepts writers from US, CA, UK, AU, and other countries.

149) WL Marketing – This SEO company has an ongoing need for article writers.

150) Writer’s Domain – Accepts English, French, and Spanish speaking writers. Pays with Paypal.

151) Newscastic – Perfect for US-based journalists looking for side gigs.

152) Get a Copywriter – Accepts copywriters from around the world. Pays $5 to $9 for every 100 words of content

153) RiseSmart – US and Canada. Got skills for resume writing? You can get paid to write resumes on an hourly basis.

Freelance Writing Job Boards

If the resources above you aren’t enough, you can always check out online job marketplaces like UpWork (formerly oDesk), Freelancer, Guru, Hubstaff Talent, iFreelance, PeoplePerHour, BloggingPro, FlexJobs, Indeed, LinkedIn Jobs, MediaBistro, LinkedIn ProFinder, and many more.

There are job boards and marketplaces that are geared specifically for online writing jobs from home. Be on the lookout for jobs on ProBlogger, FreelanceWritingGigs, Writers Weekly, and FreelanceWriting.

Note that some of these marketplaces charge a monthly fee for freelancers to be listed on their sites.

Others require you to bid projects posted by the client, which can be discouraging once you see the amount of competition you have.

How to Succeed as a Freelance Writer

Get Paid to Write: 153+ Freelance Writing Jobs You Can Do from Home

Scams still exist online, so be careful whenever you start a project, apply to any job, or even just providing your resume to the wrong person or company.

You can get paid to write from anywhere you are in the world.

Imagine spending a few months in Bali, working as a freelance writer in daytime and enjoying the beach once sun goes down.

However, to succeed in this field, you need to know what you want to write, how much writing you can do, and if you consider writing as a career or just a side gig.

Manifestation Millionaire Review: Go Back to Sleep

Steve Razinski
Written By:
Published On:

Today I came across a make money online product that goes beyond the normal ideas of making a website, providing value and marketing to people.

The question I have of it is whether it actually a valid way to make money or just another scam trying to take your hard earned cash.

The Manifestation Millionaire by Darren Regan

The idea behind the Manifestation Millionaire is that through a change of thinking you can change your life dramatically, and create wealth.

The ebook is designed to help you change your way of thinking, so if you’re looking for a product to help you build a successful business or learning marketing then this is most definitely not the product for you.

The method that Darren has apparently perfected is what he calls “Portal Jumping”. I was sad to find out he didn’t mean this literally so my childhood dream of teleportation went out the window.

Instead, it’s a mindset thing, as Darren explains:

It’s like a backdoor built into the fabric of the Universe opens up. You just “jump” through to an entire new world.

People, places, things, and events begin to change around you…

Lack and limitation disappear. Abundance and opportunity shows up everywhere you turn.

The idea is very close to a much debated system called the Law of Attraction.

What I found interesting was that the sales video for the product clearly states that the Manifestation Millionaire has nothing to do with the Law of Attraction:

Manifestation Millionaire not law of attraction

However, I found an older written sales page that is virtually word for word for the video sales page which states that actually it was envisioned as part of the Law of Attraction:

Manifestation Millionaire law of attraction

Obviously Darren is trying to shy away from that method, yet his process which is apparently based on “cutting-edge neuroscience” is really very close to it.

The science is based on things called “mirror neurons” which are real but we have clear idea on what they do:

To date, no widely accepted neural or computational models have been put forward to describe how mirror neuron activity supports cognitive functions.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_neuron

This of course opens them up to wild speculation and tinfoil hat ideas.

Bold, Exaggerated Claims

While I’m all up for some self-improvement, after all our biggest enemy is ourselves, the claims that Darren is making here are hard to swallow.

The belief that you can do something is great, but the way it’s worded is that you literally just think about it and it will happen.

Manifestation Millionaire minutes

This is a terrible thing to say to people because it’s simply not true. There’s nothing out there that will materialise a new car or wealth or the love of your life because you think about it.

Now, you might be thinking that I’m taking this too literally and that the process is much slower etc. That’s perhaps true but I’m echoing the sales pitch here, and this is what you and others are being told, but it’s a lie.

Manifestation Millionaire a leap away

Simply jumping through an imaginary portal will not result in you getting a new car. Now, jumping through the portal, believing in yourself, working hard and waiting while you earn the money to buy a new car? Yeah that’s believable, but sadly that won’t sell an overpriced ebook to people.

Let’s See Some Evidence

The Manifest Millionaire has a lot to say, the video is over 40 minutes long, but does it prove anything?

Well, no. The thing is the whole idea behind this system is that you need to believe, so apparently the sales pitch is hoping you’ll just believe it too.

There are some testimonials added to the site. Normally these are stock photos and unprovable words, but here there is a catch. Some of the people giving testimonials are actually real (as far as I can tell).

It’s not beyond some people to scrape image and names off the internet and attribute a fake quote to them, knowing you’ll Google them and hoping they won’t find the site.

Whether this is the case with the Manifest Millionaire is currently an unknown, though I have reached out to some of the people who I could track down, only time will tell if they respond or not.

Either way, you have some potentially faked testimonials and the word of the ebook creator as proof this works, which is not a lot to go on.

There is also little to say about Darren Regan – who is he and why should you believe him? I’ve no idea to be honest. I could not trace any information about him or his prior activities. Personally I’m not entirely sure he’s real.

Take this from the products affiliate page:

Manifestation Millionaire John

Who’s John? Is that the real person behind this? It’s hard to say but it certainly puts doubt on the legitimacy of this product.

Another thing that’s noteworthy is the number of upsells you will be hit with after buying the product:

Manifestation Millionaire Upsells

Upsells by themselves aren’t inherently bad, but you should know what you are getting yourself into after you purchase the product.

The Bottom Line

Is the Manifestation Millionaire and outright scam?

No, definitely not. You do after all get a lengthy ebook about self-improvement.

However, that does not mean I recommend this product. The sales pitch is incredibly hyped up, making you feel like the moment you finish reading the book you’ll become a millionaire.

Don’t get me wrong, a good mindset is critical to making money online, especially with all the failures that will inevitably occur, but mindset is not everything.

To make money online, and good money at that, you’ll need skills and experience, as well as time, patience and probably a little seed money.

The Manifestation Millionaire is also quite overpriced for an ebook, especially as there are lots of existing resources online for self-improvement that are free.

If you’re looking to make money online and want actual targeted teaching to help you achieve it, then I’d suggest avoiding the Manifestation Millionaire and look to get proper training.

8 Steps to Finding Freelance Writing Jobs for Beginners

Steve Razinski
Written By:
Last Updated:

Freelance writing jobs for beginners are everywhere online, if you know where to look, if you understand realistic pricing, and if you knew how to begin a career in freelance writing.

Like any work-from-home jobs, getting started is the hardest part.

Because jumping into a new career is a massive life-changing decision, your brain is probably all over the place thinking about your future income, how on earth you’re going to hustle, competing with other veteran freelance writers, and if this decision will be worth it, among other concerns.

As a future freelance writer, you can choose between two routes:

  • Find a home-based writing job with a stable income – Most work-from-home opportunities don’t have contracts, so even if you land a full-time job, you’re still technically considered as a freelancer. The upside to sticking to one client at a time is the financial stability and some benefits the “employment” brings to the table.
  • Find numerous clients who require content regularly – A client may be a website owner, online marketer, SEO company, content firm, or any person/company that will send work your way. Depending on client needs, writing gigs can be sent to you weekly, monthly, or just occasionally. Payment terms vary as well (paid-per-word, or  by project).

Those with years of freelance writing experience have probably been in both situations repeatedly… and that’s OK.

How much money can you make freelance writing?

Is it worth the stress and anxiety to jump from an office-based job to writing freelance full-time?

Will the income potential be at par with a traditional writing job at a PR firm, marketing company or publishing house?

The money you earn as a beginner freelance writer depends on several factors, including:

  • Your writing skill and how much you value your talent – You can be a newbie content provider, but your writing skill can still dictate if you’re going to be considered a beginner or not. If your work can easily pass as something written by a veteran writer, and you have the confidence to ask for higher pay, then you could negotiate for better pay.
  • The time you’re willing to commit – Of course, those who start working freelance part-time would earn less than those who begin working full-time.
  • The type of writing you decide to offer – Copywriters specializing in sales copy or corporate website earn higher than those who write for social media or blogs. eBook writers can sometimes offer a complete package (including cover design and formatting) can charge higher than those who just work on the eBook text.
  • Experience and specialization – Veteran bloggers and writers always have the edge over beginner freelance writers. However, if you specialize in topics like pharmacy, IT, finance, and so on, you’re likely to be hired (and paid more) just because of the credibility your work brings to the project.
  • Company you’re working with – The company, industry that company is in, and size of the company will most likely affect the fee they’re willing to pay you. For example, old school publications like Time Magazine and Forbes are known to be the best and worst payers in the industry.
  • Your location – Writers from third-world countries are able to lower their fees because the exchange rate from USD to local currencies are often still higher than salaries they would have earned from a local office-based job.

In general, most freelance writers earn less than $0.25 per word. Some land freelance writing jobs for beginners with a per-project fee, or per-article…while others are paid on a bi-monthly basis.

The exact amount is variable, depending on the factors listed above.

8 Steps to Finding Freelance Writing Jobs for Beginners

Start freelance writing

Contrary to popular belief that you need a degree to land freelance writing jobs, even beginners from a totally different profession can easily transition into this profession. If you need help getting started with either route, here’s a complete guide to get started as a freelance writer from home:

1. Scout the Industry

You’ll soon find out that many work-from-home freelancers earn money from writing and maintain their own blogs. Whether they get a chunk of their earnings from their blogs, or by providing writing services to clients, you can read all about their experiences with a quick search on Google.

There’s no better way to see if you’re interested in this line of work than to check out your competition. Read their blogs. Learn as much as you can about their mistakes, tips, and other advice. For example, copywriter Susan Green shared 15 useful tips when crafting killer copy.

If you’re lucky enough to find a helpful freelancer, you can contact him/her and get a direct response about their rates or answer to your question. There’s no harm in trying to reach out. You might even make friends.

2. Find a Niche

There are different kinds of writing. Blogs have a conversational tone, while landing pages need to be persuasive. Web content of corporate sites usually requires writing with a more formal tone, while writing for social media can include slang.

Technical and sports writing doesn’t just require you to pair beautiful words together – you need to know what you’re talking about on a deeper level. Newswriting has to answer the whats, whys, wheres, whens, whos, and hows of a story every time.

Knowing what kind of writing you enjoy doing is important to find the niche you’ll be focusing on. This way, you wouldn’t feel so lost searching through thousands of freelance writing jobs for beginners, only to discover later that you lack the skills or the passion for that particular job you just applied to.

3. Master Your Skills

There is no formal training required to begin this career, but you do need to work on several skills easily turn freelance writing into a full-time business. These must-have skills include:

  • Research – Freelance writing always begins with research. To spend as little time learning a new topic and to write content backed with facts, you have to practice how to research effectively.
  • Organizational skills – As a freelancer, you are the boss, star employee, secretary and intern in one. You have to organize your schedule (especially if you’re working with two or more clients), send billing, e-mail regularly for promotions, and so on.
  • Editing – Unless you’re part of a content development company, proofreading and editing is also a part of your job as a freelance writer. This only improves through practice, so make sure to master your editing skills as you go.
  • Communication skills – There’s no way you can land writing gigs without pitching your services to potential clients. You need to have a balance of confidence, proven track record, and published portfolio to qualify for many freelance writing jobs.
  • Blogging – If you can’t decide on the writing style, the safest choice is to learn how to blog. The conversational tone is the most used web content style clients prefer, so you’re pretty much covered when you go with blogging. Do note that you also have to learn about white space, formatting, and crafting attention-grabbing titles.

4. Showcase Your Work

The easiest way to get a hold of writing jobs for beginners is to prove you can hang with the pros even if you’re a beginner. Unfortunately, the problem of newbies is always about the lack of published work, since technically, they just entered this industry.

Luckily, it’s easy to solve this problem – by building your own blog, writing for it, and showing off this online space as your portfolio. You can also volunteer to write a guest post on a third-party blog.

If you have the talent, building a portfolio with links is easy. Plus, maintaining your own blog doesn’t just help with writing practice, it also gives you a way to earn passive income. How cool is that?

5. Apply to Work-from-Home Jobs

You don’t really have to look exactly for “writing jobs for beginners,” particularly once you’ve decided on a writing style. There are many job titles you can use to find the perfect freelance writing job for you.

These include: blogger, social media writer, content writer, freelance writer, article writer, essay writer, fiction writer, eBook writer and a whole lot more.

When applying to these jobs, make sure you find information about the work status, such as full-time home-based, freelance project-based, etc. so you know exactly what you’re signing up for.

6. Build an army of Clients

The best thing about finding writing jobs for beginners is that you can create a plan how to actively search for clients. Here are a few guidelines when building a network of clients:

  • Avoid freelance marketplaces – Upwork and other similar websites never run out of work-from-home jobs, but it’s hard to land work there as a beginner. Plus, clients here mostly go for writers with the lowest fee, so it’s almost guaranteed you’ll be writing for very low wages here.
  • Don’t quit sending applications – Scout writing jobs on popular job boards like Problogger and Freelance Writing Jobs. Work on your pitch religiously, and send applications on every writing job that piques your interest.
  • Join internet marketing forums – Warriorforum, Wickedfire, and other similar forums have a special thread for freelance writing jobs. These forums are great because you get to talk to clients directly and see their feedback history (as either buyer or seller).

Once you build an army of clients, make sure you do the best written work you can produce. Maintain the business relationship even after the project ends, so you can offer your writing services again in the future.

7. Continue polishing your skills

There’s nothing worse than workers who don’t grow. As a freelance writer, it’s your responsibility to keep up-to-date with writing trends, rules of web content, marketing techniques, and so on.

Honing your skills is easy too, since the internet is filled with free courses about writing.

8. Become a marketing expert

There’s no marketing department to advertise your services for you. Freelance writing jobs for beginners won’t land on your doorstep magically as well. So you have to be proactive in getting your name out into the world. This means you have to learn marketing, master networking, and take advantage of free tools like social media.

The Secret to Consistent Writing Jobs

The concern of many people new to any freelance or work-from-home job is how to maintain a consistent job and income.

It’s a perfectly normal problem.

The uncertainty of this industry can be unsettling to those new to freelancing. Fortunately, as you search for clients and writing jobs, this concern will fade as quickly as it began since there are thousands of freelance writing jobs available at any given time.

The secret to having a continuous writing job boils down to your writing skill, attitude towards the people you work with/for, and the quality of work you deliver.

How to Start an Amazon to eBay Arbitrage Business

Steve Razinski
Written By:
Published On:

Retail arbitrage is the act of buying a product from one retailer and selling that same item on another platform to be able to profit.

In this case, if you plan to build a business based on an Amazon to eBay arbitrage model, this simply means that you buy the product on Amazon, and sell it on eBay. 

When you let the second marketplace handle your item’s shipping/handling/post-sale customer support for you, the business has a dropshipping element included as well.

The concept of Amazon to eBay arbitrage is simple.

You buy a 10-dollar item at Amazon, and then sell it for $20 on eBay.

Taking into consideration shipping fees, seller fees, and other expenses from these two transactions, you end up with a small profit.

Multiply this technique numerous times, and the “change” you earn will add up over time.

Is Amazon to eBay Arbitrage Legal?

Technically, eBay welcomes all kinds of sellers, whether you’re a wholesaler or not.

However, when you’re dropshipping from one marketplace to eBay, that’s when eBay begins to notice your activities. Here’s why:

1. Buyers feel duped

If you buy an item from Amazon and “dropship” this item to your eBay customer, the product doesn’t actually reach you anymore. It goes straight from Amazon’s inventory to your buyer’s home address.

Your buyers will know this, especially since the receipt and item packaging clearly shows the item comes from Amazon (and another seller to boot). And when this happens, your customers will feel duped and leave a negative feedback.

2. Amazon sellers feel cheated

Because Amazon to eBay arbitrageurs earn some profit with this technique, Amazon sellers will feel cheated when they find out.

eBay is taking measures to reduce Amazon-to-eBay dropshippers because eBay believes their reputation is at risk when buyers find out the items are cheaper at Amazon. As such, various eBay policies are updated to address these dropshipping issues.

When you skip the dropshipping element completely and follow a different business model, you won’t have problems with your source of products, eBay, and your customers.

Do You Need Software to begin Amazon to eBay Arbitrage?

One of the most-asked questions of people new to Amazon-to-eBay arbitrage is whether they need to purchase software to get started with the business. While it does sound appealing to have an all-in-one solution for sourcing arbitrage opportunities with programs like Aura Profit Hunter, Sale Freaks, Profit Scraper, and similar tools, you can still begin this business even without them.

If you must use arbitrage tools to help you with this business, here’s a list of free or low-cost tools:

For those with limited capital, our top most-recommended expense you should consider is to buy a subscription for wholesaler directory.

Check out SaleHoo (for $67 per year) to access over 8000 verified wholesalers from around the world, or Worldwide Brands (with a one-time fee of $299).

Step-by-Step Guide on How to Do Amazon to eBay Arbitrage

1. Visit eBay and look around

Make sure to check trending items on eBay to have an idea of what buyers are currently looking for. If you have more time to source for in-demand products, take note of items with the most bids.

Trending on eBay

2. Go to third-party sources

Start with our list of 20 products you can buy cheap and sell high.

Compare products featured on best-selling lists from CrazyLister, Repricer Express, and other similar sources.

eBay high sell rate

3. Determine product value

Once you’ve decided on the product to buy-and-sell, you need to decide on the item’s value as well. To do this, compute the average price you see on eBay and Amazon, then reduce 10% of the amount.

4. Compare eBay and Amazon sellers

Now that you’ve decided on a price point, it’s time to find a source to get the products from. Make sure you are on top of the prices available on top eBay and Amazon throughout this step. If you find a potential Amazon seller for the item you’re searching, check if the listed price will allow you to make a profit.

Let’s use the OLIKEME Women’s Shaperwear as an example.

If you buy the smallest-sized shaperwear for $11.99 on Amazon and sold it for $24.34 on eBay like this seller here, you’ll be able to earn a profit of $5 to $12, depending on how much seller fees are due your store (such as PayPal fees, eBay fees, and so on).

5. Buy the item and flip on eBay

If the item will earn you a profit even after fees, buy the item. If you are positive this product would sell like hotcakes, buy multiple quantities from the same Amazon seller. Once you have the items on hand, price your products with your profit included and sell on eBay.

Now that you know how other people earn from this business model, here are some tried-and-tested tips used by arbitrageurs, regardless of using the Amazon to eBay arbitrage route, or vice versa:

  • Avoid the extremes – Skip products that are ridiculously expensive, and extremely cheap. FYI, average margins sought after by resellers range from 8% to 20%.
  • Buy bulk for dirt-cheap prices – If your niche calls for super low prices, then make sure you buy and sell in bulk. While buying wholesale will lead to profits of cents or a few dollars a pop, selling a ton of the same low-priced products could add up profits quickly.
  • If you can, don’t dropship – Dropshipping in itself isn’t bad, especially if you have your own storefront, you are open about dropshipping, and your customers are aware of your business model. But if you’re following an Amazon to eBay arbitrage business model, dropshipping is a risky route to take.
  • Take advantage of other seller’s mistakes – In many cases, Amazon sellers are unable to sell products due to unintended mistakes such as:
    • Wrong spelling – Spelling names or keywords of items can be catastrophic to online sellers because every marketplace around rely on search and keywords to filter and, categorize products, as well as help buyers find things they want to buy.
    • Bad product images – Buyers are attracted to products with clear photos. If you find a product on Amazon that doesn’t seem to sell because of blurry item pictures, you can buy these items, produce better product images and sell them over at eBay with a higher chance of selling.
    • No product description – What’s worse than misspelled product names? A product for sale without a product description! Product descriptions give sellers the opportunity to include keywords, which buyers use to find your products.

The steps above may follow the Amazon to eBay arbitrage model, but they’re the same with every marketplace you choose. So if you decide to buy from eBay and sell on Amazon, the steps are basically identical. You can copy this technique whichever platform you decide to use.

The Problem with Amazon to eBay arbitrage

Aside from the dropshipping issue I mentioned above and how it could affect your store, Amazon to eBay arbitrage can work as a business. However, the problem lies with the perception being spread about this business model.

There are tons of people trying to get rich “selling information” or recruiting people MLM-style (multi-level marketing)  with the premise of helping others get rich with retail arbitrage. 

Unfortunately, many people have been victimized and enter this business with unrealistic expectations.

Once you accept that this business model won’t make you rich overnight and that it requires hard work, you’re on the right path.

The secret for a successful Amazon to eBay arbitrage is to arm yourself with knowledge about your chosen niche (don’t pay for information – everything you need to learn is online for free). Become a master of spotting undervalued items in a marketplace of your choice. And learn the techniques of online marketing, rebranding, reselling, and so on.

You can keep your listings a small number (below 200) and learn about search engine optimization while working on product titles, description and photos. You can also provide value by maintaining a blog with a buying guide, then featuring your products within the guide.

If you can get past eBay’s selling limits, you can list as much items as you can. Automation is a must if you’re listing over 1,000 items. In these cases, margins are smaller, but the number of items sold is much higher.

The Bottom Line

Amazon-to-eBay arbitrage isn’t the most popular arbitrage model out there, but many people find success this way.

It’s an interesting business model that works for buyers who can’t find the products they’re looking for locally, or have no access to Amazon.

What’s great about retail arbitrage is that the marketplace is variable. You may buy the products at Amazon, and then sell them on various platforms, such as New Zealand’s Trade Me, or Philippines Shoppee, should you decide to expand your reach.

Translating product descriptions in a seller’s local language, for instance, could bring new audience to a product you’re selling.

Retail arbitrage won’t die anytime soon, so keep hunting for low-priced items and deals. Success this way is possible for people willing to do the work. 

When done right, Amazon to eBay arbitrage is a practice that could be the backbone to your legitimate online business.

My Home Job Search Review: Something’s Not Adding Up

Steve Razinski
Written By:
Published On:

Online scam sites come in a wide variety of flavors, with one of the most popular right now being online job searches.

I recently came across one of these potentially scammy sites and thought it best to warn you about it: My Home Job Search.

Beware of “Advetorial” Feeder Sites

Before I get to the meat of this review I want to tell you about the way I discovered My Home Job Search.

You see, this site has a variety of “feeder” sites linking to the main site itself. These do a variety of jobs but the main one is to warm you up to the main event, a kind of pre-sales.

In fact it was this feeder site that made me suspicious in the first place as it is a fake news site.

My Home Job Search feeder site

This “article” by Amanda Winston talks about a fictitious Melissa Johnson from New Jersey and how she made tons of money online.

How do I know she’s fictitious?

Well aside from having seen this scammy sales page a hundred times before, there’s a disclaimer at the bottom of the site which in normal English states that the entire feeder site is an advertorial and the details are fake.

It insinuates that the data behind the information provided is real, but how can you trust something that uses stock photography, fake names, fake social likes and fake comments?

The bottom line is you can’t and you shouldn’t!

Dealing with My Home Job Search

Clicking any links on the feeder site will take you to the main sales page for My Home Job Search.

The page on first glance looks really professional and modern and really not scam like at all. That is until you scratch the surface.

The Social Signals are Faked

According to the sales page 485,529 people have liked this page on Facebook. With this number of likes you’d think they’d be shouting it from the rooftops and happy to see that number increase.

Why then is this figure shown as an image rather than a live embed from Facebook? Is it perhaps because the Facebook page for this system actually only has a single like?

My Home Job Search real FB likes

Whoops.

Time to Do a Job Search

At the top of the site is a search field where you can add in your ZIP code and find work.

Sort of.

After adding in your ZIP code you’re taken through a few steps where you’re asked questions that supposedly filter the jobs for you, such as how much you want to earn a week, how many hours and whether you have basic typing skills.

My Home Job Search search

It really doesn’t matter what you select here, you end up at the same page that asks for more information such as your email and phone number.

This is nominally so that potential employers can contact you but really it’s so your personal information can be harvested.

After watching a video ,you’ll be asked if you want to save $60 and upgrade your account. Please don’t!

My Home Job Search upgrade

If you ignore this and gain access to the members’ area you’ll see that this program isn’t all it’s made out to be.

First, you’ll be offered to join some survey sites, which while they can make you money they often only make you a small amount and sporadically.

My Home Job Search shows you these as they make money from the survey company if you sign up.

The job listings for the site are not tailored to any of the questions you answered previously and cover all the options. In fact, these job listing are not even provided by My Home Job Search. Instead they have listed jobs from a free service called Zip Recruiter.

The rest of the freely accessible parts of the site provide links to other services as well such as things like SwagBucks and CashCrate.

These services are genuine but overall do not provide a regular income.

The Stock Photography Members

This slideshow area showcases some existing members of the services all of which say how great it is.

It’s a shame then that all of the photos are from stock photo sites.

This in turn puts doubt on the reality of these being real testimonials, especially when you consider the fabrication of information already mentioned.

My Home Job Search member

My Home Job Search stock photos

That “News” Video

This video is added to the site is a legitimate news report that has been hijacked and used on numerous scam sites in the past and is likely to be seen in the future.

It really doesn’t have anything to do with My Home Job Search; its sole job is to try to add some legitimacy to the site.

The News Networks

Below the video is another trick used by unethical marketers: a list of legitimate news network logos. Again the sole purpose of these is to add a sense of legitimacy to an otherwise dodgy looking system.

The juxtaposition of the news logos makes it seem like they endorse the website, or have even mentioned it at some point.

We both know they haven’t.

The Company

It’s always nice to know who you’re dealing with and it this age of identity theft, it’s really important to know who you’re giving your information to.

Sadly, My Home Job Search gives you very little information. There’s an email and a phone number but there’s no information on what company is behind this site, an address or anything.

You could be dealing with someone in Kentucky or Kandahar, who knows!

With a lack of details you’ll not only be handing over your data to persons unknown but you’ll also have nowhere to go should you run into problems.

The Bottom Line

The question that needs answering is whether My Home Job Search is a scam or not. The answer is a yes and no.

The system lists genuine companies that can provide work in one form or another such as Zip Recruiter, so in that way it’s not a scam.

However, the way My Home Job Search goes about it is dubious at best, a scam at worst.

Blatant lies and falsehoods, not actually providing a service of their own but wanting to charge you for it, and not providing any information about the people or person behind it has all the hallmarks of a scam system.

While I cannot say that this is an outright scam, there are enough warning signs to say that this is a system to avoid. Don’t give them your information and definitely don’t give them your money!

You can access legitimate job sites without the need to hand over money.

Retail Arbitrage in 2021: 25 Products You Can Buy Cheap and Sell High

Steve Razinski
Written By:
Last Updated:

Retail arbitrage may seem like such a big word, but the concept of products you can buy cheap and sell high should be easy to understand.

Quite simply, you purchase a product, either online or at a physical store. You can then sell it at a higher price and keep the profit.

The best thing about retail arbitrage is that there are millions of products you can buy and sell at any given time. Competing with another individual seller or company trading in the exact set of products as you are is highly unlikely unless you intentionally copy their inventory, or they copy yours.

Thus, there’s a huge potential to succeed in a business model where you buy cheap and sell high. Of course, your success depends largely on the products you choose, the stores where you source your products, and the method you follow.

In today’s article, you’re going to learn about how to get started with retail arbitrage, the best stores to buy your products, and the best products to buy cheap and sell high.

How to Get Started in Retail Arbitrage

Retail arbitrage in 2020 is just as alive as it was when it first became huge on eBay more than a decade ago.

People have been using this technique to build a real, profitable home-based business, thanks to buying wholesale-priced items then flipping them with retail pricing. It’s totally legit and effective, so what’s stopping you from getting started in retail arbitrage?

The problem boils down to two things:

  • Where do I find low-priced products and where do I sell them?
  • What products can I buy for cheap and resell for a higher price?

 

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The key to retail arbitrage is finding items that people want, at a lower price point, so you could sell those items at a higher price without customers complaining. Here are the types of stores you could find items to sell:

  • Wholesale chain stores like Target, Walmart, Home Depot, etc.

Every online merchant goes to these stores to find many low-priced items. You might think that the competition is fierce if you’re sourcing from these stores, but choosing which clearance items to buy and which branch to buy them from matters a lot. Some people even have insider info about sale dates of each local branch.

  • Mom-and-pop stores

These little gems in the community still hold value, even if they’re trapped in between multi-million dollar wholesale stores. You’d be surprised at the high-profit, low competition items you can find at mom-and-pop stores since the lack of inventory often means you can up the price because no one else is selling them.

  • Specialty stores

Here’s where an eye for good finds would help your retail arbitrage business prosper. Visit specialty stores and look for items that don’t belong. For example, check out the toy section at your local grocery store, hardware tools at the bookstore, electronics at drug stores like Walgreens, general merchandise at your local home improvement store, or DVDs at hardware stores like Ace.

  • DIY stores like Etsy

Etsy is home to thousands of artists, crafters, and artisans making DIY items for a living. Here you’ll find custom-made jewelry, crystals, and everything random in between (from refashioned clothes to home décor). You won’t be able to buy a ton of items so quickly, but once you do find items that you think would sell like hotcakes, you can talk to the Etsy seller directly for future orders.

  • Local and international wholesalers

If you don’t live close to any wholesale chain stores, your next best bet would be to find wholesalers online and go the dropshipping route.

To save time, check out the subscription-based wholesaler directory SaleHoo (for $67 per year or $127 one-time subscription) and get access to over 8,000 manufacturers, wholesalers, and dropshippers that have been verified and categorized by product or whether they offer dropshipping or not.

A similar service is Worldwide Brands, which has been certifying wholesalers since 1999 and can be accessed for a one-time, lifetime fee of $299.

The 25 Best Products You Can Buy Cheap and Sell High

Before we begin, head to Amazon’s Movers & Shakers page.

You’ll find what’s currently trending to help give you an idea of the areas you need to focus on.

To succeed in retail arbitrage, your goal is to find low-cost products with high-profit margins.

As of 2020, the best product categories are fashion, electronics, kids and pets, home and living, as well as current trends. These categories below are where you’re going to want to focus your efforts.

Fashion Minded

1. Jewelry – Whether you go for a wholesale lot of jewelry, or specific branded jewelry, this category is highly diverse. There are many different types (e.g., earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, anklets, belly rings, cufflinks, pins, etc.) made with many different mediums (e.g., gold, silver, rhinestones, gemstones, shells, beads, etc.) to cater to many different customers.

2. Sunglasses – eBay store intouchwithstyle sells 10 pairs of sunglasses for only $20. You get to save more as you buy more pairs. Similar to jewelry, the diversity of sunglasses can be astounding: the styles, materials, mediums, and customers.

3. Shoes and socks – For shoe collectors and enthusiasts, there can be no such thing as having too many shoes. You can sell anything from casual shoes to sports or hiking shoes and still make bank with the products. While you’re at it, you can also sell socks and earn even more from upselling.

4. Sleepwear and underwear – Silk pajamas are the cream-of-the-crop of sleepwear, but they’re always super expensive. Go straight to manufacturers like Golden Eagle Home Textile and sell your customers’ sleepwear that are still cheaper than buying locally.

5. Lingerie and shapewear – Shapewear remains one of the most sought-after products of in the past few years and this industry will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. Find a Spanx copycat, or the manufacturers of these best-selling shapewear and sell them for profit.

6. Activewear – This niche is booming significantly, so there’s no reason not to get into the athleisure or activewear industry. If you have to pick just one type of clothing, go with women’s leggings; they’re super popular and easy to sell.

Another type of activewear that you can sell is sports bras. Sports bras are no longer just workout attire nowadays; thanks to celebrities like the Kardashians and Bella Hadid, showing off your sports bra outside of the gym is now trendy.

For the Tech Savvy

7. Smart watches – Wearable technology has been on the rise in recent years, with plenty of new features and new manufacturers. Smart watches are now a billion-dollar market, and finding the right supplier is the key to getting the maximum profits from your product sales.

8. Video games – Gamers are some of the most sale-hunting, window-shopping buyers out there. They spend a lot on video games, but are smart with choices, so if you’re interested in selling video games, be smart with the niche you want to enter because although video games offer high profit margins, there’s plenty of competition in this field.

9. Phone accessories – The demand for phone accessories will never wane, as long as new phone models get launched every year. As a reseller, you’d go crazy with low-priced items at wholesalers like Reiko Wireless Inc.

10. USB charging dock – When you have various gadgets at home that you need to charge, having a charging dock that can charge multiple devices at the same time. Sink your teeth into a billion-dollar market.

11. Security cameras – DIY home security, including security cameras, surveillance equipment, motion detectors, and sirens, is a steadily growing field.

Don’t Ignore Your Family

12. Kids’ toys – In between Christmas and birthdays, toys for kids are always in demand. As an e-commerce store, you can either sell by age, by interest, or by product price (for example, you can market your online store as a $10-dollar toy store). Check out Aquarius Entertainment Merchandising, Inc. for inspiration.

13. Kids’ formal wear – The best thing about selling babies’ and kids’ clothes is that they can be bought in bulk for pretty cheap. Formal wear for kids often have higher quality, so you can easily sell these items at a higher price point without customers feeling ripped off.

14. Pet clothes and toys – Selling pet clothes and toys are specialty niches that you should explore. People with fur babies buy almost as much merchandise as parents of actual babies.

15. Pet Care Supplies – If you decide to sell pet clothes, toys, and accessories, why not go further and add care supplies as well? Grooming tools, clippers, blades, shampoo, and a whole lot more. You can get plenty of discounts from wholesale suppliers like Pet Edge or Inspirer Pet.

Around the House

16. Beauty products – Exploring this niche can be overwhelming – there are tons of pampering product categories from hair care to skincare, vitamins and health supplements, and a whole lot more. Go all out with a beauty product general store or find a sub-niche where you can sell specialty products, such as organic hair care products.

17. Men’s grooming and skincare products – In recent years, skincare and men’s grooming have grown in popularity. Skincare is traditionally a female-dominated category, but beauty brands have now tapped into the male market and started creating products especially formulated and marketed to men.

Products like body washes, shaving kits, beard-trimming kits, cologne, and other grooming products for men are also gaining in popularity, not just during peak gift-giving holidays like Father’s Day and Christmas, but all year round.

18. Candles and essential oils – While candles are the go-to exchange gift for Christmas office parties, essential oils are the holy grail of gift-giving. Check out what’s instore at Gem Candles or in-demand aromatherapy oils.

Stay Fit

19. Fitness trackers – These smart devices you wear measure such biological data as the number of steps, heart rate, distance traveled, and elevation gained. Whether you’re a fitness enthusiast or a professional athlete, you’ll want one of these.

20. Indoor fitness equipment – Yoga mats, resistance bands, jump rope, kettlebells, etc. are great tools for those only starting on their fitness journey or those who can’t afford gym memberships.

21. Shaker bottles and personal blenders –  The same fitness enthusiasts are usually the same ones who make healthy smoothies and shakes to couple their physical activity with just the right nutrition. If you plan to sell fitness equipment in your e-commerce store, these are great products to upsell.

Stay Trendy

22. Halloween – This niche may be a once-a-year industry, but it is always a profitable product category. Buy in bulk early, so you can sell Halloween items at a higher price when Halloween is near.

Apply this strategy to every occasion or season people spend money, so you’ll be buying and selling items throughout the year.

23. Specialty watches – Whether you’re checking out bamboo wooden watches, or super-minimalist timepieces, the income potential of trending products like these is amazing. You can buy these watches at dirt-cheap prices and flip them for huge profits.

24. Keto products – The ketogenic diet has gone from a fad diet into a lifestyle, so don’t expect keto-themed items to fade out anytime soon. You can build a keto-focused store, or any health-conscious e-commerce business, then offer products like virgin coconut oil or matcha powder.

25. Vaporizers and E-Cigarettes – You don’t need to get into the “are e-cigarettes healthier than cigarettes or not?” debate, but this industry is exploding and converting people from classic cigarettes to electronic ones. Take advantage of the influx of potential customers and check out what you can sell in the e-cig industry. Start with E-cigarette Direct.

A note about choosing products – once you’ve chosen a product or product category to focus on, make sure you read up on marketplace rules. For example: is it allowed to sell e-cigarettes on Amazon? Finding these things out early on would avoid heartbreaks or wasted funds in the future.

The “Making Money” Part of Retail Arbitrage

Finding products you can buy cheap and sell high by sourcing through multiple stores is just the first phase of this business. The final phase involves the actual selling, processing, and shipping products to your customers.

Choosing where to sell your products should be a calculated decision since your choice will affect how well you’ll reach your target market. It’s important that the majority of your selling platforms are online, as about 78% of Americans prefer to shop online and this is a chunk of the market you don’t want to neglect.

And you can do this in multiple ways, such as:

  • Become an Amazon Seller – Amazon FBA is the marketplace of choice for most resellers because of Amazon’s FBA service. Simply put, Amazon FBA involves only a few steps: you ship the product to Amazon, Amazon lists your product, and you receive payment when someone buys that product. Amazon takes care of shipping, handling, and post-sale customer support for a fee.
  • Selling via eBay – Before Amazon became the number 1 online marketplace, eBay was the go-to marketplace. As such, there are still millions of loyal users (both buyers and sellers) who prefer eBay than any other platform. Take advantage of this market.
  • Selling via other marketplaces – If Amazon FBA or eBay isn’t working, you can try other platforms like Etsy, Craigslist, or other similar stores. The best thing about online retail arbitrage is that there are virtually no fees involved to register with most of these platforms, so joining as many as you can handle won’t really affect your business funds.

Depending on which platform you choose to sell in, some tools can be useful in calculating profit, list items from Amazon to eBay (DSM tool), Amazon seller app, compare prices across the board (Camel Camel Camel’s the Camelizer plugin), determine out-of-stock products, gather rebates and coupons (like Rakuten) and many more. These tools (mobile phone apps, browser extension, directory listings, and so on) all help resellers create a business model for their retail arbitrage business.

Retail Arbitrage: The Bottom Line

Ask around what they think about retail arbitrage and you’ll find out that many people think this business model is a get-rich-quick scam.

It’s mostly because of the two Massachusetts-based brothers Adam and Christopher Bowser who charged people up to $35,000 for coaching on how to sell products on Amazon.

Unfortunately for those who got scammed out of thousands of dollars, the victims didn’t know that everything they must learn about reselling, dropshipping, Amazon FBA, and retail arbitrage in general can be freely found online.

This isn’t a get-rich scheme, since retail arbitrage requires a ton of work from sourcing products to comparing prices, and then to selling items for profit. If you get started in retail arbitrage fully understanding what’s involved, you won’t be scammed out of your hard-earned money.

Now with the right mindset, the right product sources, the right products to sell, and the right marketplace to sell your products, your chances of succeeding in retail arbitrage improves as you put more hard work into your business.

Are you planning to start your own retail arbitrage business? Which products are you planning to sell? Tell us in the comments!

Top 4 Best Ecommerce Platforms for Your Business

Steve Razinski
Written By:
Published On:

Gone are the days when building an online store means custom-making one from scratch.

Today, even beginners can put up an online store, sell products online, and actually make a profit – all within a few hours.

However, for an ecommerce business to succeed, one must address a few major decisions such as selecting the best ecommerce platform.

What is an ecommerce platform, exactly?

An ecommerce platform is a software technology solution that allows you to build a storefront (a client-facing online business that sells products or services), manage sales, and handle operations in a single platform.

These platforms contain various tools for an individual or company to run a business from scratch, expand from a traditional brick-and-mortar store with an online version, or replace an ecommerce solution that isn’t working.

Types of Ecommerce Platforms

Comparing ecommerce software can be downright confusing, especially since minor differences in features (such as load time, SEO, speed, etc.) could impact the success of your store.

Imagine uploading all product images and descriptions, plus designing your site’s theme or layout only to find out later that the backbone of your store cannot handle the load. Or you’d need to pay an extra $100 or more every time traffic to your site increases.

To choose the best ecommerce platform for your business, you should first learn about the two major types of platforms available:

1. Open Source

If you’re familiar with open source software, you know that these tools are freely available for anyone to use as is, or edited for further coding. It was built for the developers to play with, so programming skills is a major requirement for those planning to use an open source ecommerce platform.

Open source ecommerce is built with an original source code, which was then modified or redistributed to fit a company’s business model, ecommerce requirement, and other factors.

Examples of open source ecommerce platforms: Magento, OpenCart, WordPress with Woocommerce (or another similar plugin)

Pros of Open Source ecommerce Platforms

  • Mostly Free – The biggest benefit of going the open source route is the upfront savings you get. Most of the time, you only need to download the software and install it in your system. (Don’t skip the cons part though, since there’s a catch with its “free” price)
  • Highly Customizable and Scalable – Magento is the choice of many enterprise-level companies because of how customizable and scalable the platform is. Note that bigger companies have the funds to hire programmers who could turn an open source project into a fully-customized, branded online store and maintain the security of the site day in, day out.

Cons of Open Source ecommerce Platforms

  • Hidden costs – Unless you are a highly-skilled programmer who can tweak code as you please, you may need to hire someone to customize an existing code, edit a paid theme, or add more features manually. Hosting is another expense that would eat up your monthly budget, since it could go as little as $20/month to a whopping $200/month.
  • Continuous maintenance – Because an ecommerce site involves monetary transactions, the site should be free from bugs, hackers, and other threats. And since the code was created by someone else, it’s important to check the code and install updates regularly for your ecommerce site to be secured at all times.
  • No customer support – If you plan to build the online store on your own, going this route won’t give you any technical support aside from user advice on forums and other similar resources.

Open source ecommerce platforms are best for companies with plenty of time before launch and a lot of resources (budget and talent), which may include an in-house team of programmers or tech support.

2. SaaS (software-as-a-service) or hosted ecommerce platform

SaaS ecommerce platforms are hosted, maintained, upgraded within a single company. Users pay a monthly fee for the software, hosting and continuous service (add-ons, themes, upgrades, and so on). Depending on the SaaS company and plan you choose, monthly fees may range from as low as $5/month to over $200/month.

The biggest advantage of open source ecommerce platforms versus its SaaS counterpart involves the level of customization. However, more and more SaaS companies are offering in-house customization services for users who want a one-of-a-kind ecommerce site.

Examples of SaaS ecommerce platforms: Zoey, Shopify, BigCommerce and Volusion

Pros of SaaS ecommerce Platforms

  • Fully-managed – Non-techies would rejoice for SaaS ecommerce platforms because many of the features are managed from within the platform. From setting up the online store, to hosting issues, day-to-day operation, technical support, and a whole lot more. You don’t have to look for answers to problems as you go along, since you can either ask an in-house tech to work on your problem, or ask them to assist you through it.
  • No need to outsource or hire people – Because part of the monthly fee that you pay a SaaS ecommerce provider includes ongoing maintenance or upgrades to the software, there’s no surprise expenses or retainer contracts you’d have to worry about. Shopify and other SaaS stores provide drag-and-drop site builders perfect for anyone to use even without programming knowledge.
  • SEO and marketing – SaaS platforms have modern technology and up-to-date marketing trends built into the system for all merchants to use. This is important; since building the online store is just one part… encouraging people to visit (and hopefully buy your product or service) is the other side of the coin.
  • Secured – SaaS platforms are always on top of bugs, security patches, and other threats that could be left unnoticed on open source platforms. Giving your customers a secured site at all times is important to gain (and keep) their trust.

Cons of SaaS ecommerce Platforms

  • Custom Services are Expensive – SaaS ecommerce platforms have slowly been offering customization services to users who would want more features that aren’t included in the chosen theme. Unfortunately, this service isn’t affordable yet.
  • Extra Cost as Store Succeeds – Because this kind of ecommerce platform includes hosting, fees would increase whenever your traffic (the amount of people visiting your store) improves.

SaaS platforms are best for small to enterprise-level merchants, but be aware that the bigger and more resource-heavy your ecommerce project is, the higher monthly fees your online business would incur.

Top Ecommerce Platforms

You’d likely discover over 20 ecommerce platforms and tools (like shopping cart plugins, etc.) during your initial research. But if you want to find out the most used ecommerce platforms that merchants from all over the world use, here are the top 4 (in no particular order):

1. Shopify

Shopify Logo

Shopify is a Canadian-based company that has been around since 2004. It’s the most popular SaaS ecommerce provider today, and there’s no stopping this solution from being the go-to solution for small-scale to enterprise-level merchants.

Pros of Shopify:

  • Comes with a full CMS built-in
  • PCI compliant
  • Tons of free themes, extensions and plugins included in the monthly fee
  • Abandoned cart recovery
  • Mobile-friendly apps and features (to encourage mobile-based users to shop)
  • In-house tech support
  • Allows users to manage their stores from their phones

Cons of Shopify:

Shopify’s coding language (known as Liquid) is a challenging language for developers and not many programmers specialize on it so far. As such, customizing Shopify themes can be costly.

Reasons to go with Shopify:

  • If you want to turn your Facebook page into an ecommerce store, link Shopify for $9.
  • If you’re not planning to make a highly customized storefront
  • If you’re OK with a monthly fee in exchange for site security, in-house tech support, and overall peace of mind

2. Woocommerce

WooCommerce Logo

Woocommerce is very different to other platforms on this list because Woocommerce is a plugin created in 2011 by Mike Jolley and Jay Koster to turn any WordPress-based website into a functional online store. While the WordPress plugin itself is free, extensions and premium themes come at an extra cost.

Pros of Woocommerce

  • Secured – Although WordPress is open source, Woocommerce was built to provide a secure payment gateway – a must for any ecommerce site.
  • Newbie-friendly admin panel
  • Add as many product categories as you want
  • Tons of extensions and plugins

Cons of Woocommerce

The main problem with Woocommerce isn’t about the lack of features. However, as your store grows and requires additional functions, you’d be able to find extensions on Woocommerce for a fee, but the more you add a feature on top of the plugin, the slower your ecommerce site becomes.

Reasons to go with Woocommerce

  • If you want to add a store to an existing WordPress site
  • If you don’t require feature-packed ecommerce store (or if you’re willing to pay extra for one)
  • If you have basic coding skills
  • If you only sell a few products and don’t plan on adding to your inventory in the future

3. Magento

Magneto Logo

Launched in 2008, Magento is an open source ecommerce platform known for its massive community, reliability and scalability. It is the platform used by big brands like Huawei and Burger King.

Pros of Magento

  • Free to use
  • Over 9000 free and premium extensions and plugins, including social media extensions
  • Highly customizable and scalable
  • Huge community of programmers with plenty of resources (videos, tutorials, etc.)

Cons of Magento

The major problem of using Magento and other open source platforms is that a higher level of programming skills are required to handle the platform. There would be additional costs, such as:

  • $20,000/year if you buy the Magento Enterprise version
  • In-house programmer salary
  • Expenses for outsourced skilled talent
  • Fees for third-party plugins

Reasons to go with Magento

If your store will have massive amounts of products and the potential to bring in a ton of traffic, Magento is the way to go. That’s the reason many enterprise-level stores stick to this ecommerce solution.

4. BigCommerce

BigCommerce Logo

BigCommerce is home to Toyota, Martha Stewart and other SMEs. It boasts launching over 55,000 online stores since its launch, giving merchants without coding skills a quick and user-friendly method of building an ecommerce store from scratch. BigCommerce has in-house experts of Google Analytics and AdWords.

Pros of BigCommerce

  • Integrates with Facebook stores, eBay, and Google shopping, among others
  • Built-in analytics, newsletters, coupons and so on
  • Integrated marketing and SEO tools
  • No transaction fees
  • Mobile-friendly and responsive themes available (free or premium)
  • Quick wizard set-up

Cons of BigCommerce

  • Limited free themes
  • Limited third-party integration

Reasons to go with BigCommerce

The most attractive thing about BigCommerce is the access to experts in web design, Google Analytics and AdWords. If your business plan mostly relies on online advertising, BigCommerce and its team will be able to help you launch your store and boost its traffic and sales as well.

The Best ecommerce Platform for Your Business

If you have the people and funds to custom-make an ecommerce site, then the possibilities are endless with open source platforms like Magento.

However, if you need to launch a site within the day or require only a basic-featured online store, go for SaaS solutions like Shopify or BigCommerce.

For merchants who want to link an existing WordPress site with a new online store, adding a plug-in like WooCommerce can work effortlessly.

At the end of the day, there’s no one-size-fits-all ecommerce solution. The best ecommerce platform for you doesn’t have to have dozens of features, especially if all you need is to build a secure and functional store to sell just a product or two.

If you’re weighing costs of operating an ecommerce store, think about the domain, hosting, SSL certificate, UX, maintenance, documentation, third-party fees for payment solutions like PayPal, and so on.

Of course, these costs will be on top of the fees involved in your chosen ecommerce platform.

Factors such as budget, business plan, resources available, CMS used and ecommerce requirements (storage space, safety protocols, and site design) would determine which ecommerce platform is best for your needs.

Just remember that your decision would affect your store’s traffic, revenues, and future success (or failure), so choose wisely.

8 Skills You Need to Master to Become a Data Scientist

Steve Razinski
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Companies have been collecting data online for many years and the demand for data scientist positions, people who can interpret data, are at an all-time high.

As of mid-2018, businesses are always on the lookout for the best data scientist who can mine and analyze collected data, turning these into actionable insights.

The interesting thing about this job is that most universities do not have a program made for “data science.” Meaning, data scientists can come from various academic backgrounds and still be able to solve complex problems.

Great examples of popular data scientists today are U.S. Chief Data Scientist DJ Patil (took up Mathematics), Kirk Borne (studied astrophysics), and Facebook AI Director Yann LeCun (finished electrical engineering and computer science).

What is a Data Scientist?

A Data Scientist is someone who uses their knowledge in statistics, programming, mathematics, machine learning and business to “clean up” the data, discover possible solutions, and make sense of the information at hand.

At first, it can be daunting to use so much insider-knowledge for just one job, but as you perform the job itself, you’d understand that every data scientist has very-specific responsibilities depending on the needs of the company.

Data scientists work in the IT and business industries. Some specific job titles for data scientists include data mining engineer (examines in-house and third-party data), business intelligence analyst (uses data to come up with market trends), or data architect (create blueprints for data management systems).

The key to finding the perfect data scientist job is to read the fine print and dig deeper into the job description, since companies may assign a different job title than just using the general job title “data scientist.”

Data Scientist Salary: How much do Data Scientists make?

Entry-level data scientists generally earn around $60,000 to $100,000 per year. Senior-level data scientists can earn up to $200,000 annually.

Data Scientist Salary

Source: Indeed.com

The salary offers would depend largely on your skillset, experience level, and specialization. And since a data scientist can mean different things for different companies, here’s a quick guide of the most common job titles used (and their average salary):

  • Business analyst – $50,000 to $65,000
  • Business intelligence (BI) analyst – $45,000 to $65,000
  • Analytics manager – $90,000 to $120,000
  • Data analyst – $40,000 to $65,000
  • Data scientist – $80,000 to $120,000
  • Research analyst/scientist – $45,000 to $85,000
  • Statistician – $60,000 to $90,000
  • Director of Analytics – $110,000 or more

The job outlook of data scientists continues to be appealing. With millions of job openings (over 200,000 in the U.S. alone), those with the right qualifications won’t find it hard to apply to big-named companies like Walmart, Apple, Oracle and Microsoft, or go the work-from-home route and work freelance.

Companies know that hiring the right data scientist can be their secret to staying ahead of competition.

As demand for skilled data scientists to fill positions increase and as more companies discover the need to use insights from gathered data, salaries would likely increase as well.

If you’re wondering how to start a career as a data scientist, you’d need a good mix of non-tech and technical skills, several programming languages, critical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and strong communication skills (since you’ll likely be presenting your report to higher-ups who are not able to understand what these chunks of data mean).

How to Become a Data Scientist: 8 Skills You Need to Master

Ask any data scientist who landed jobs at popular firms and they’d tell you to focus on two main subjects – computer science and statistics. This is because any specialization you decide to take in the future would still include some form of data analysis.

Other studies that would be useful in this field include:

1. Mathematics

Remember when you were in high school and you question if calculus or algebra will ever have use in the real world?

Well, if you’re interested in a career as a data scientist, mastering the concepts of probability, multivariable calculus and linear algebra will get you a long way.

For companies with products that rely on data, a data scientist’s role is to continuously optimize algorithms or predict performance in order to increase revenues or reach other business goals.

Many interviewers will test your math skills by asking about past instances where you’ve implemented these techniques on the job, so it will only do your career good to brush up on these concepts.

2. Statistics

Most undergrad courses include an intro to statistics class – don’t skip it.

This class could potentially help you decide if you want to commit to a data scientist career. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to jump right into a data-based job without some statistics training.

Data scientists should be familiar with hypothesis testing, summary statistics, applied time series analysis, statistical distributions and maximum likelihood estimators, Bayesian Statistical Inference, Statistical Computing, Analysis of Categorical Data, and fundamentals of statistical data science, among others.

One of the most important statistics concepts you’ll use as a data scientist is to evaluate data and pinpoint which techniques or processes remain a valid approach and which ones aren’t.

3. Machine learning

Big companies with data-driven products, such as Uber or Google Maps, contain millions and millions of data that is impossible to evaluate manually.

Machine learning (as part of artificial intelligence) solves this problem by giving systems the “ability to learn” and improve through experience.

Understanding the tools and techniques of machine learning, such as ensemble methods, k-nearest neighbors, random forests, and so on, will help data scientists figure out exactly how algorithms work and decide which technique is the most appropriate for a specific scenario.

4. Data science

Data science is an inter-disciplinary field of scientific methods, systems, algorithms and processes that extract insights or knowledge from various structured or unstructured data.

Data scientists may use only one or all of the following techniques in their day-to-day jobs:

  • Data cleaning/wrangling – Cleaning up, or dealing with data imperfections are inevitable. From timestamps vs. unix time, date formatting, inconsistent string formats (such as NY/New York/ny). This job is often performed by data science generalists or entry-level data scientists since it involves a lot of repetitive, but easy, organizing and cleanup tasks.
  • Data visualization and planning – Start-ups often hire data scientists to help make data-driven decisions that would become a part of their overall long-term plan. Data scientists join the company, assess existing data and use data visualization tools like ggplot, matplotlib, and d3.js. Aside from the presentation part, communicating data must also be a skill you’re willing to learn since you’ll be interacting with fellow data scientists, clients, managers, engineers and so on.
  • Data intuition – Data-driven problem solving is the main task of any data scientist. If you don’t have data intuition, you’d find it hard to move past many of your responsibilities. It’s essential to have the instincts to know when/why/where to use specific data and when/why/where not to.
  • Big data platforms – Get acquainted with big data platforms (Hadoop, Hive & Pig, etc.) and software suites such as Dundas BI, Sisense, Domo, ClicData, Yellowfin and so on.

5. Programming

After a course in computer science, you can choose to master either statistical programming language such as Python or R, followed by C/C++, Java, Perl, SAS languages, and database querying language (like SQL).

You should also be familiar with cloud tools like Amazon S3.

Generally, you don’t need to code five or more languages if you can’t do all of them properly.

It’s better to specialize in one language to fit your data science profession. Python (used primarily by computer programmers) can be used in both data analysis and website development), while R (used by academics/researchers without IT background) in evaluating data.

If you don’t have formal training and would like to learn how to code on your own, start with intro to programming, machine-dependent programming, problem-solving programming, and data structures, among others.

6. Software Engineering

Software engineering isn’t a requirement for all data scientist jobs, but if you do have this training, you’ll have an advantage over your competition.

You’ll be able to handle data-driven product development, which is often reserved for senior positions.

Algorithm design and analysis, data structures, distributed computing, database systems, scientific computation, as well as image processing and analysis are ideal knowledge to have as a software engineer.

7. Industry Knowledge

No amount of technical skills will be enough, if you are not familiar with industry terms and concepts.

This is important regardless of which industry you land on, since you need to have a deeper understanding of how your industry functions and how data in this industry are collected, evaluated, and utilized.

You have to read everything you can about your company’s market, target audience, and trends.

Attend conferences, workshops and other industry events, whenever possible. If your job allows it, you should also embrace intellectual curiosity and explore new methodologies, techniques and territories to solve future problems.

8. Non-technical Skills

When it comes to non-technical skills, the two most important skills to have in this field are analytical problem solving skills and communication skills.

As a data scientist, you should be able to handle real data with real scenarios and real workflow, employing the most appropriate method to solve these real-world problems every time.

You then have to explain or communicate data gathered, techniques you used and other information to an audience without IT or data science knowledge.

The Bottom Line on Data Scientist Jobs

In 2012, Harvard Business Review dubbed “data scientist” as the sexiest job of the 21st century.  As the economy continues to be driven by data (even now in 2018), the future of this profession looks bright.

However, this isn’t the case when it comes to work-from-home data scientists. Although many companies have slowly been opening up to flexible working hours and remote setups, not all types of data scientists can take advantage of this.

If your job involves data analysis, crunching numbers and coding…and your company has the right tech to accommodate employees working remotely, then you’re lucky to have the option to work from home.

Unfortunately, senior positions or any data scientist who are required to present data to clients or higher-ups have no choice but to work office-based (unless of course your managers are open to video conferences).

Companies with sensitive data may also not allow its employees to access data outside their secured networks.

With this in mind, working from home as a data scientist can be a good option only on a case-to-case basis.

Sometimes, even if the company gives you the freedom to work from home, report via Skype (or other video conferences), and access data in the comfort of your own home, you may find logging into two secured networks frustrating whenever one of the networks fail to give you access.

If you’re lucky to find a data scientist job that encourages you to work from home, stick with it. It’s one of the legit work from home jobs with higher-than-standard salary in the IT industry.

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