Five Ways to Make Some Extra Side Cash (That Won’t Cost You Any Money First)

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We can all use a bit of extra money every now and then. Here are just a few ways to help you earn some side cash for relatively easy work. You won’t make a ton of money, but it’s a great way to pick up some extra work in your downtime.

1. Test Websites

UserTesting.com is hiring regular Internet users, just like you, to test specific websites and record their experiences. You’ll be providing feedback to those website owners and showing them how the average person browses his or her website. You’ll use their software to record a video of what’s happening on your screen and you’ll be able to narrate your experience. The software will track your mouse movements, clicks, and keystrokes and you’ll have to add in spoken comments. It generally takes 15-20 minutes to test a website and you’ll be paid a steady $10 for doing so.

Recommended Website: UserTesting.com

2. Write Articles

Freelance writing is a fairly easy way for anyone to make a few dollars online. There are quite a few websites that will pay you to write about pretty much anything. You’re usually paid per article you write and then paid more depending on how many times the article is viewed and how much revenue is generated from the article’s page. You also don’t have to be a professional writer in order to get started. If you have a passion for a subject and are able to write an article containing anywhere from 300-2000 words, you’re more than eligible to make money through freelance writing.

Recommended Websites: Helium, Constant Content, Textbroker

3. Take a Few Surveys

Yes, there are legitimate survey websites out there. You won’t make $25/hr or $100,000 a year, but you can pick up a few dollars here and there for voicing your opinion. You can usually expect to earn between $2-$5 per survey with a possibility of being invited to take special surveys at a much higher rate. You do have to be invited to take a survey and there’s a chance you won’t qualify, so be sure to join a few different survey sites to maximize your chances at taking a survey. Side not: NEVER pay to join a survey site. They should pay YOU.

Recommended Websites: SurveySavvy, Opinion Outpost, Instant Cash Sweepstakes

4. Become a Virtual Customer Service Agent

There are many opportunities out there for those in the customer service field for answering inbound customer calls. These large companies outsource their customer service calls to companies that hire U.S. based virtual agents. This kind of job, which pays between $8 and $15 an hour, entails setting your own hours, and picking an account that is ideally suited to your knowledge and interests. To be a customer service agent, you must have a pleasant voice and strong customer service skills, as well as high speed Internet access, a computer, a landline phone, and a quiet place to work.

Recommended Websites: WestAtHome, LiveOps

5. Join a Quick Task Site

A quick task site offers to pay you for completing relatively easy tasks like data entry, transcription, website reviews, etc. The work is generally simple, but the pay is often low. It’s great for when you’re just sitting around not doing much. You can log on, do as much or a s little work as you want, then log off with a few extra dollars in your account.

Recommended Websites: Cloud Crowd, Amazon’s Mechanical Turk Program

What have you been doing to make a little extra side cash? Share in the comments!

The Most Common Money Transfer Scams

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Money/wire transfer scams are among the most prevalent work at home scams that people are falling for today. What’s worse is the fact that these types of scams are some of the easiest to prevent. You can protect yourself by following this one simple rule:

Never wire money or send money via Western Union or Money Gram to someone you do not know.

Scammers use money transfer services because you’re essentially just mailing cash quickly across the world. It’s near impossible to trace and you can forget about recovering it. Once you transfer your money away, it’s as good as gone.

But this can all be avoided if you only transfer money to people you know. It’s really that easy. If someone you don’t know or haven’t met in person is telling you to wire them money, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be a scam.

Protect Yourself

Once you send the money and it gets picked up, consider it gone. It’s never coming back, especially if you wired the money overseas. Imagine dropping a $100 bill in Times Square and going back 12 hours later. You’re equally likely to get that money back.

That’s why you need to stick to wiring money to people you personally know. Don’t wire money to someone outside your friends or family. This includes…

  • Potential employers who insist it’s part of your job
  • Sellers on sites like craigslist
  • An online love interest who asks for money or a favor
  • Advertisers who put up vacation rentals

I’ve actually seen scammers take it one step further and try and impersonate a person you might know. I once received an email from my brother’s email address and it said he was in Spain on a business trip and he was mugged and desperately needed me to wire him money. Unfortunately for the scammer, my brother happened to be about 10 feet away from me when I read the email. They’ll go to any lengths to get money out of you.

The Most Common Money Wiring Scam

The most common scam I cover here at I’ve Tried That are fake check cashing jobs. With a check cashing scam, you’re asked to receive a check, deposit it into your bank account, and forward most of the amount overseas while keeping a portion of it for yourself as a “payment.” The checks you receive are either fake or stolen and it’s only a matter of time before they bounce.

Unfortunately, most banks don’t spot the fake checks and will allow you to deposit them. Federal law requires banks to immediately grant you access to the funds even though they haven’t cleared. This allows you to complete your “job” and send the portion required overseas.

The fake check you deposited WILL eventually bounce. It can take weeks, or even months but that check will bounce. Unfortunately for you, you’ve already wired the money overseas and there is no hope of recovering that money. This leaves YOU responsible for repaying the cost of the check.

Follow this one simple rule: NEVER accept a job that requires you to handle someone else’s money. If an “employer” want you to receive a check and forward the money elsewhere, it is 100% guaranteed to be a scam. Every. Single. Time.

Alternative Money Wiring Scams

Scammers in countries like Nigeria do this full-time. It’s like a job to them and they’ll go to great lengths and come up with amazing, emotional stories to get you to send them money. Here are some of the more common scams…

  • Overpayment Scams – This one creeps up on Craigslist a lot. The scammer will agree to purchase an item you posted online, and will send a check, but accidentally make it out for more than you agreed upon. The scammer will then ask you to wire back the difference. The original check will bounce and you’ll be out an item, the money for the item, and the money you wired away.
  • Relationship Scams – Online dating is becoming increasingly popular and naturally scammers are taking advantage of this. They’ll spend MONTHS building up a relationship with a victim and then one day leave on a trip an encounter a problem when away. He or she will desperately plead with you for help and ask you to wire money with promises to pay you back once the scammer is back home. Don’t fall for it.
  • Mystery Shopper Scams – Mystery shopping scammers are following the same formula as check cashing employment scammers. They’ll send you a check for a few thousand dollars, and tell you to cash the check, keep a portion of the money for yourself as “payment,” spend a portion of the money at a store, and then send the rest of the money back along with your evaluations of the bank, the store you shopped at, and the company you used to send the money back. It’s all a scam of course. The original check will bounce and you will have to pay back the thousands of dollars you spent.
  • Online Purchase Scams – Just don’t pay for an item via money transfer. Easy as pie. Stick with credit cards and reputable businesses.
  • Property Rental Scams – Scammers have been putting up fake listings for apartments or vacation rentals at amazing prices. They will promise to hold it for you for a deposit or for rent and will tell you to wire money to owner. Do not do this! There is no rental and you will lose all that money.

If you’ve seen a variation on this scam, leave a comment below! You can help protect others from losing thousands of dollars. So speak up!

Please SHARE this page with anyone who thinks they’ve found a dream job that requires them to wire money. If a job wants you to wire money through Western Union or Money Gram, it is always 100% a scam. Do not accept a position where you handle a company’s money. Only wire money to people you PERSONALLY know and you’ll avoid all of these scams.

Stay safe out there.

I’ve Tried That Investigates: The Online Business

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I started out looking for a J-O-B, and then I found this website. Now, I earn six-figures every year working from home. Oh yes, dear reader, you too can be earning over $100,000 from your home. It’s absolutely true. Wait, what’s that? You want to know what you’ll be doing to make money? Well, you’ll be earning money of course! Not satisfied with my answer? BUT YOU’LL BE MAKING SIX FIGURES FROM HOME. GIVE ME YOUR MONEYYYYYYYYY.

The above is an actual rendition of a conversation you’d have if you were able to contact the people behind The Online Business.

The Claims

Nothing new. For just $50, you’ll make tons of money sitting on your ass. You will collect thousands of checks working for yourself. That’s right. You send them money, they send you an “information kit” and you dance in the money that is literally pouring through your front door.

I couldn’t really find any information on what you would be doing. There was some mention how the business had over a billion dollar in sales back in 2005. Obviously, you’ll have to sell something but they never come outright and tell you that. I already know what you’ll be selling and if you read some of our previous reviews, you should know by now what it is as well.

The Truth

Surprise! Another Herbalife scam.

Click here to learn more about online scams and how to protect yourself.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that Herbalife is a scam. The scam is that the guys behind theonlinebusiness.com, incomeathome.com and Online Business Systems are deliberately hiding the word Herbalife from you. Not only that, they charge you $50 just to tell you about the company! That’s it! You’ll receive a packet stuffed full of fake testimonials on how great it is to work with Herbalife.

This review is short, but I’m sick of talking about Herbalife. Read our Partner with Paul and Crazy Fox reviews if you want more information.

Don’t visit their website.

Don’t give them your email.

Don’t send them your money.

Review of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University

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Dave Ramsey claims to teach people how to manage finances, get out of debt, save money, and make good investments. He is the author of a number of books on personal finances and has a syndicated prime-time radio show in which callers describe their financial situations and get free advice. The first website linked above is the home page of what is surely becoming an empire. I’ve tried just one little fiefdom in the Dave Ramsey financial advice empire: Financial Peace University (FPU).

It’s a 13-week course, complete with textbooks, homework, and class sessions. The class meets one night a week for two hours and teaches the basics of money management. FPU’s main claim is regarding the past success of its 300,000+ students:

On average these families have paid off over $5,300 in debt and saved $2,700 during this 91-day program!

I was skeptical. But my money management skills are those of a 12-yr-old (ooh, something shiny! Me buy now!) and I have the debt and saving rate to prove it. In short, I had little to lose. So if I could just meet the advertised averages of savings and debt reduction, that would help a lot. And I just might learn something. So I paid my $90 and enrolled in what is certainly the cheesiest-sounding university I have ever attended. The first class was last night (check back later for pictures of the materials and my first impressions). I’ll keep you posted.

Update 1 | Update 2

Back from Vegas and My Story

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You may have noticed the lack of updates last week. I decided to take the week off and enjoy my four day stay in beautiful Las Vegas. I’ll tell you everything, but first, I have a little back story for you.

Who is Steve?

Steve I realized that despite having run this blog for almost three years now and talking to a few of you on a regular basis, most of you don’t even know who I am. Yes, I’m Steve from I’ve Tried That, but I haven’t really shared much beyond that point. I suppose it’s time to tell my story.

Let’s start with the basics. My name is Steve (that’s me on the right.) I’m 23 years old. I live in beautiful Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. I graduated with a BA in Information Sciences and Technology from Penn State, and I am a full time Internet Marketer. I play racquetball as often as I can and I love to travel. In the past year, I’ve been all over the US, the Caribbean, Taiwan and I have travel plans to visit Australia in the summer and Vancouver shortly after that.

It was during college when I first started making money for myself. I created a few websites, made a few dollars, and I was hooked. I loved the idea of making money strictly for me, but I never saw it as anything other than a hobby.

During my senior year of college, I spent a lot of time interviewing with companies, sending out resumes, and attending career fairs. I hated every single second of searching for a job. Nothing about finding a conventional job felt right to me. I couldn’t wrap my head around being miserable for 50-60 hours a week for the next 30 years of my life but I kept looking because I was told that I NEED a fancy high-paying job in order to SUCCEED in life.

After one particular day of stressful phone interviews and cover letters, I was ready to relax and enjoy the company of two of my old roommates who had since graduated and started their careers. We ended up talking mostly about their jobs and these people actually started BRAGGING about how much UNPAID overtime they were working, as if it was a good thing and they were doing their company a favor! It was at this was the exact moment that I decided 9-to-5 job would never be for me and that I was going to start my own online career.

I spent a few days lamenting over how I was going to tell my parents that I was stopping my job hunt and going in business for myself. Ultimately, they were not happy. (“You’re throwing away your education FOR THE INTERNET?! You NEED a job with BENEFITS.”) But there was little they could do to stop me from at least trying first. I graduated, jobless, but determined to make an online career work.

At this point in the story, I’ve Tried That was just getting started. The website was making some money, but not nearly enough to live off of. I had to find another way to bring in money and embarked on one of the scariest (and possibly stupidest) decisions of my life. No, I didn’t start selling drugs. I turned to Craigslist and started offering computer repair services. Now, most of my clients were normal, sane folk but there were quite a few times where I found myself alone with a stranger in his or her cold, dark, damp basement, working on an ancient Windows 95 machine, all the while plotting my escape if said stranger tried anything funny. There were honestly a few times where I found myself scanning the room looking for an object to use in case I needed it for self-defense.

I continued to do freelance computer work while trying to make it online for about 6 months. My online efforts were beginning to sink and my computer repair business was quickly taking over my life. This was NOT the direction I wanted to go. I wanted a way to make a living online from home, but my efforts were being diverted elsewhere. I needed to cut back on the computer repair business and focus my efforts on my online business. That’s when I decided to stop trying to figure this out on my own and seek out help.

How Wealthy Affiliate Changed My Life

During this time, we had conducted a review of the Wealthy Affiliate University here at I’ve Tried That. My old partner, Joe, had done most of the work on the review and I had briefly glanced around the site to make sure everything was up to scratch but that was it. I let my account sit dormant for quite awhile. One day, I was talking with a friend who was also a member at Wealthy Affiliate and he linked me to a discussion going on in the Wealthy Affiliate forums and thought I could benefit from the conversation and use some of the practices being discussed on my blog.

I logged in, read through the topic, finished it, and kept on reading. I read post after post and training article after training article until I thought my head would explode. Here I had access to one of the greatest online training programs in the world and I was just letting my account go to waste.

The key thing I took away from my first real in-depth look through Wealthy Affiliate was a scope for my new career. Before I was simply looking to make a money online, but now I had a title and goal: I wanted to become a full-time Internet Marketer and I turned to the training at Wealthy Affiliate to make this possible.

Wealthy Affiliate has a feature called the 8-Week Action Plan and I would have been completely lost without it. They break down the basics of Internet Marketing in a step-by-step system and they show you exactly what you need to do to make money online. I can attribute most of my success to the 8-Week Action Plan as it’s the same system I used to get where I am today. Prior to completing the plan, I only had a vague idea of what Internet Marketing actually was and here I am, less than one year later, and Internet Marketing is my full-time job.

My Trip to Vegas

I started this post talking about spending the past week in Las Vegas and I think it’s time to get back on track.

I was invited to go out to Vegas by Kyle and Carson, the two owners of Wealthy Affiliate, for a four-day all inclusive trip to talk Internet Marketing. I was one of ten people from the entire Wealthy Affiliate community invited out to Vegas. It was easily one of the greatest experiences of my life. Here I am, still a beginner and a Wealthy Affiliate member for only 8 months, and I’m getting flown out to Vegas to discuss Internet Marketing with some of the top marketing minds in the world. It was surreal.

The trip started off with a meet and greet Sunday night. Monday followed up with a full-day group discussion on the topic of Internet Marketing followed by free tickets to the new Viva Elvis Cirque du Soliel show. Tuesday, I got to sit down with Kyle and Carson and discuss MY future in Internet Marketing one-on-one (well, one-on-two.) They personally offered feedback and advice to help me build my online business. Tuesday night we had a farewell party and I left Vegas on Wednesday morning.

Looking back, I still find it hard to believe that I even attended this conference. It was a great honor to be invited and an even better learning experience.

I Need to Make a Few Things Clear

I’m not some sort of Internet Marketing genius and I don’t have millions of dollars. I still live in the same small two bedroom apartment and I drive the same 1997 Honda Civic I bought out-of-pocket in high school. What I do have is a comfortable lifestyle and a growing career in Internet Marketing.

So, how did I go from a complete beginner to being invited to a personal conference in Vegas less than a year later? Proper training and a will to succeed. I knew that if I couldn’t make it, I’d have to go back to either searching for a real full-time job or back to stranger’s basements to fix their computers. I wanted no parts of either.

How Wealthy Affiliate Can Help You

My story is not all that uncommon. Everyday new posts fill the success section of the Wealthy Affiliate forums. You can see people talk about the thrill of making their first commission online and later see the same people talk about quitting their full-time to pursue a full-time Internet Marketing career. The point is that anyone can get started with Internet Marketing. You don’t need prior experience; you just need help and I truly believe Wealthy Affiliate is the answer you’re looking for.

My suggestion to you: click here, read more about what Wealthy Affiliate offers, and join today. If you’re hesitant about joining and want to ask a few questions, then click here and send me an email first. I’ll be more than happy to answer every single question you may have.

I’m very much an active member of Wealthy Affiliate today and you can find me on the site under the username: IveTriedThat. You can add me as a friend once you’ve joined and contact me directly on Wealthy Affiliate.

What You Need to Know

  • There is NO SECRET to making money online. You need three things: a good work ethic, a good training program, and a good support group.
  • You need a good work ethic. Most people who set out to build an online career quit because they expect to use the Internet and get rich quick. This is not possible! Just like any other job, this is hard work and if you stick with it you CAN SUCCEED.
  • You need a good training program. You can’t reasonably expect to sit down at a computer and make a full-time living without some sort of guidance. Now, good training doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars. The cost to join Wealthy Affiliate is only $47/month and they will teach you how to make over 6-figures a year. Good training is such a worthwhile investment.
  • You need support. A good community makes a world of difference. If I didn’t have a group of people I could pitch ideas or ask questions to, I would have never made it this far. The Wealthy Affiliate community if filled with both new and old members and you can even contact the owners Kyle and Carson for support directly.
  • I NEVER make a recommendation just to make a quick buck. I’m recommending you join Wealthy Affiliate because I honestly believe that what they have to offer can HELP YOU better your life.
  • I do want to help you succeed. I’m here to help answer any questions you might have. All you need to do is email me.

My Recommendation

So, ready to get started? Do you want to learn how to actually build an online business from the ground up? Do you want to work alongside me and thousands of other Internet Marketers all working to achieve success online?

Well then click here and come join me at Wealthy Affiliate. The best part about Wealthy Affiliate is that everything is included. There are no upsells or add-on packages or any of that garbage you commonly see with the make money online scams out there. One program. Everything is included. Even personal coaching and help. If you join and decide it’s not for you, no problem. You can easily cancel your account and be done with the whole thing.

Click here and create an account at Wealthy Affiliate. I highly recommend you do so.

I’ll see you on the inside,
Steve

I’ve Tried That Investigates: StoresOnline.com

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I received a few requests to do a review of a program called StoresOnline. Apparently, it’s a company that sells eCommerce websites and training. They advertise seminars that are taking place all over the world and they invite you to come in, have some lunch, receive a free MP3 player, and listen to their pitch on how they’ll set you up with a profitable website.

They are a very intimidating and pushy bunch and try and convince you that you NEED StoresOnline if you want to have any shot at making money online. After the presentation, you’ll be forced to talk to a closer who will try and scare you to signup on the spot with the company. He or she will promise you that the company will build a couple websites for you and help you maintain them. Total cost? $6,000 plus monthly fees for website maintenance.

Yes, I did just say $6,000.

Is StoresOnline.com a Scam?

Unfortunately, this is one program I won’t be able to try personally. I simply don’t have the time to attend a conference, listen to someone spout nonsense, and decline a pushy sales person. So, I’ll be outsourcing the majority of the review.

Let’s start with their BBB report…

BBB Rating for Storesonline Inc

Based on BBB files, Storesonline Inc has a BBB Rating of F.

Factors that lowered this business’ rating include:

  • 807 complaints filed against business
  • Government action(s) against business
  • Business has failed to resolve underlying cause(s) of a pattern of complaints

807 whopping complaints. This is the most I’ve ever seen against a single company. Plus the government is taking action against them and they have a history of not responding to customers. At this point, the review should be done, but I have to continue with a few customer horror stories.

MARJOH at scam.com writes…

I am very upset, it’s been a year that I felt for this…I went to the seminar and at that time I believe that it could be a good opportunity for me! but after a year of trying to make my website with no luck, I know that they are such a lie…I paid for the package $6k a year ago, and now they are calling me saying that if I need to get started my own business, they can help me if I invest from 9k to 10k, can you believe that? A year ago I didn’t have the 6k I used my cc to pay it and now with no business, with this economy they are asking me for more!!!!! I just want my 6k back and I don’t know what to do, I already called them and asked that if they don’t give me my money back I will sue them because they promise things that never happen!! and they didn’t care! I am out of 6k and don’t know what to do…Any advice will be appreciate it, thanks.

After taking $6,000, StoresOnline wanted an additional $10,000. Seriously.

goodpasture writes…

Stores Online is definately a scam everybody. I went to their free lunch and it cost me over $4000. My credit card won’t even allow me to back out. And yea they gave me that 3 day crap as well. Stores Online is the biggest wate of money ever. Plus let me mention that it’s not only $4000 for their ‘software” but they have all other additionals that they try to high-pressure you into buying and if you ever want to go live with your $4000 websites you just purchased did I mention there is a $29 PER MONTH PER WEBSITE fee for hosting it and you have to host it on their server or you lose half the stuff that their software does for you of course.

mmtrem writes…

About a month ago I received a postcard in the mail about attending a seminar to make money online from home. StoresOnline was the company holding this seminar that offered a free lunch. So, I held my spot to go and check it out. Most of the stuff they covered I have already known but they were offering another class for an 8 hour session for $99. They said the class was to learn about SEO so I was very interested in going. It was offered for the $99 for two people. So my friend and I went to this all day class. They never taught much of what they said they would but only to talk about how much money other people have made with the services they offered. I did learn a few things that will be of help to me in the future… however, they were selling two different packages, A Silver package for $3,400 and a Platinum package for $6,000 and then $29.95 a month. Whoa! Hold on a second… For real?

And I could go on and on and on. There are thousands of these reports out there. Don’t fall for the hype of the free MP3 player they offer for attending the seminar either. There are more complaints regarding not receiving the MP3 player than there are against the company itself.

Oh, and everyone says the lunch sucks.

So what do I suggest? It should be fairly obvious but stay as far away from StoresOnline as possible.

If you’ve had any experience with the company or even attended a seminar, let me know what you thought in the comments below.

Miscellaneous Ways to Make Money Online

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Now tracking 8 miscellaneous ways to make money.

Miscellaneous Get Paid to Information

These job sites didn’t really fit into any other category and there weren’t enough of them to be categorized into their own posts. So, sift through them and see if there’s anything that might interest you.

8 Ways to Get Paid

  1. ChaCha – is hiring guides to answer incoming questions. You log in online and research answers for ChaCha users. Work whenever you want.
  2. KGBKGB – similar program to ChaCha, but you have to schedule hours to work. I recommend joining both.
  3. Amazon’s Mechanical Turk Program – Complete short tasks and get paid. Pay is generally pretty low however.
  4. CloudCrowd – Similar to mTurk, but you need to login and do work through a Facebook account.
  5. Shoppers Confidential – Currently seeking new mystery shoppers to evaluate stores and restaurants.
  6. Tutor.com – Provide homework and schoolwork help online to families.
  7. SmartThinking – Hiring online writing tutors. Experience/degree preferred.
  8. TutorABC – Seeking online English tutors for non-native speakers. Experience/degree required.

Freelance Writing Jobs Directory

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Now tracking 20 ways to make money through freelance writing.

Freelance Writing Background Information

One of the easiest ways to earn a few dollars and build a passive, recurring income online is through freelance writing. Many sites will pay you initially per article you write and then will give pay you more depending on impressions on the article and revenue generated from the article’s page.

You also don’t have to be a professional writer in order to apply and make money. If you have a passion for a subject and are able to write an article containing anywhere from 300-2000 words, you’re more than eligible to make money through freelance writing.

Recommended Freelance Writing Programs

  1. Helium is the best website when it comes to getting paid for freelance writing. Initially, your submissions won’t receive that much money, but as you develop your profile and submit more, Helium becomes one of the highest paying websites that freelance writers can join. If you only join one website on this list, make sure it’s Helium.
  2. Constant Content is a bit more for the advanced freelance writer. You submit articles for purchase by those seeking content for their own websites, magazines, etc. There’s the opportunity to make a lot more money at Constant Content, but there are more rules and guidelines here. You are able to set the purchase price of your articles.
  3. About.com Guide isn’t always accepting guides, but if you are selected, you’ll be compensated for your knowledge.
  4. eHow is now paying its members to write how to guides on nearly everything.
  5. CyberEdit
  6. EditFast
  7. Epinions pays its members for reviews on just about anything. No experience is required. If you have an opinion and can type it up, Epinions will pay you.
  8. JustAnswer is hiring experts to give their qualified answers to their member’s questions.
  9. Manuscript Services hires native English speakers for various writing tasks. Great pay, no upfront fees.
  10. Proofread Now
  11. Review Stream operates along the same lines as Epinions: write a review, get paid.
  12. Squidoo is a new Web 2.0 approach to freelance writing. You create a “lens” which is just a name for a page dedicated to the topic of your choosing. You are paid if any revenue is generated from your lens.
  13. SunOasis
  14. TextBroker – Pays for articles. Higher quality articles earns you more stars and increases the amount of money you can make. A definite must-join for article writers.
  15. Wordfirm Inc. sometimes seeks highly qualified freelance writers, editors, copyeditors, proofreaders, and indexers. Submit your application to be considered.
  16. WordGigs
  17. WordsRU – Masters Degree required
  18. Writers Weekly
  19. Writing Assistance Inc is seeking technical writers, copywriters, and web content writers. They act as a broker between writers and businesses.
  20. Yahoo Contributor Network is another great program to join for freelance writing. You usually receive $3-$20 per article that you write with the opportunity to earn a share of revenue generated from more popular articles.

Make Money Blogging Directory

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Now tracking 9 ways to make money blogging.

Blogging Background Information

If you’re serious about making money online, blogging is your answer. Blogging is incredibly easy to do, anyone can become a blogger, and making money with a blog is relatively simple. Will you become rich just by owning a blog? Probably not. But realistically, you could make over four-figures a month with enough dedication and hard-work.

But what exactly is a blog?

Blogs are online software programs, formally known as content management systems, where people can post diary entries about their personal experiences, hobbies, jobs, interests, whatever. Fortunately for you, in order to operate a blog, you need absolutely no prior technical knowledge. As long as you know how to navigate around a web page and you can type into a box, you can easily manage your own blog.

Is running a blog for you? Absolutely it is. I need to reiterate that you need no prior technical knowledge to run a blog. Forget any notions you have linking blogs to coding and advanced degrees of technical comprehension. Those are the days of the past.

How exactly do I make money with a blog?

You can use your blog to make money through showing advertisements, promoting affiliate programs, and creating posts. That’s right. Depending on your popularity, companies will pay you for showing links on your blog or creating sponsored review posts.

I need help setting up a blog.

Well you’re in luck! If you want your own domain name and blog, but don’t want to deal with any of the technical aspects of setting one up, let me do it for you free of charge. All you need to do is follow an instruction set. I’ve laid out a detailed 10-step process (with pictures!) that will show you how to order a domain name and hosting. Once you do that, I’ll handle all of the scary technical stuff and you’ll be left with a fully functional blog. All you have to do is provide content.

Click here to get started now!

Recommended Blogging Programs

Once you get a blog setup, you can use these sites to get paid to write articles on your new blog. Be sure to check them all out!

Beware of TekCollect

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Ah, the old bait-and-switch. This week, it’s a company called TekCollect, or TCI and they operate http://www.tekcollect.com. They’re advertising a Sales Rep job with a “base pay” starting at $75k with a chance of earning more depending on performance. There’s just one problem, there is NO base pay or benefits, and you have to pay $330 upfront for training materials.

Here is the current job ad that’s floating around…

Tek-Collect, Inc. seeks highly motivated Sales Professionals to Fast Track into Sales Management. First year earnings range from $75k to $150k. Second year earnings well into six figures. Senior Sales Managers enjoy mid to upper six-figure income.
TekCollect provides business owners with comprehensive accounts receivable management, collections and customer retention services. Our persistence, professionalism and pricing are unparalleled in the industry. And our service is completely Web-based for the most convenient, real-time account management solution available.
Tek-Collect, Inc. leads the industry in providing businesses with innovative, strategic and economical cash flow management systems
We specialize in collections, accounts receivable management, and customer retention services
More than 30,000 companies nationwide rely on Tek-Collect’s Sales Associates to expertly manage their cash flow
Our diverse client base includes financial institutions, health care professionals, utilities, retailers, universities and service providers
Tek-Collect is endorsed by many state and national associations within the financial industry, medical profession, trade organizations and more.
Requirements
Recent association endorsements have prompted an immediate need for skilled sales and management professionals to call upon and service their membership.
We are currently interviewing sales candidates who are assertive, goal-oriented and proven successful at building, developing and maintaining client relationships. While other sales organizations are down-sizing, we are growing like never before
Commissions, Monthly Residuals, and Monthly Bonus are excellent
Comprehensive training is provided locally, and ongoing sales education and coaching are supplied to ensure your success
This is a full-time executive sales position with flexibility, autonomy, high income potential and rapid career advancement. We are committed to helping the most driven, dedicated sales professionals develop a profitable, long-term sales career.

And here are a few actual experiences with the company…

TekCollect Report #1

Anyway, in addition to what you said I’d like to also mention they are perpetrating this scam by using legitimate on-line job boards such as Career Builder, Indeed, and Monster to seduce candidates with their claim of a “$75,000-$100,000 base pay” Sales Rep job. There is NO base pay, not even a draw. This is a 100% commission Independent Contractor sales position with NO benefits. As for the job itself, be prepared for business owners/CFOs to lie about their finances (which ruins your chances to fit a program around their actual outstanding receivables, thereby killing the sale and/or your potential commission), and to get them to show you their A/R books is like pulling teeth! Then trying to convince them to pay an up-front fee to collect money they’ve already written off as bad debt is the textbook definition of a tough sell.

By the way, I never got my “refundable training & materials fee” back, and my guess is 90% of the frustrated and broke sales reps they sucker into this scheme never do either… they are either terminated (due to sales inactivity) or quit because they’re not making enough money long before they’d meet the accounts sold requirements for the alleged refund. And, as you said, when you’re gone TCI keeps the residual income from YOUR few sales, and you have effectively wasted your time AND paid to bird dog/prospect the market for them.

TekCollect Report #2

This company uses illegal bait & switch tactics to attract help by stating that they hire full time employees and pay a base salary of $75k-$100k. They actually do not hire any full time employees — they only hire 1099 subcontractors and instead of giving any kind of base they insist on a deposit from the candidate of $350 to get started. They also say that they are looking to move people up into management roles and that’s also a 1099 experience. This company cannot earn my trust by lying about their positions available. I use this rip-off report every time I even think about applying to a company, now.

TekCollect Report #3

The contracted agents of TekCollect Daniel Campbell and Peter Klaver fraudulently and purposefully misled our company to believe that they would recover money owed us due to bad checks in a timely fashion and under “any circumstance”. When the above reps were asked direct and specific questions to clarify the contract and money back guarantee they flat out lied to gain contract signature. They Assured us that we would recieve our money back if TekCollect did not collect 400% of our $3600.00 investment. We specifically asked for details of the program with the reps and were assured that we could use any checks up to six years old and we could expect money to be collected within months. With their so called clarification of the contract they then pressured us into signing the contract.No funds have been collected by TekCollect. When I contacted Tom Cie, Dir. of Client Svcs he said and I quote “I don’t care what my rep said to you” when I explained the above issue of misrepresentation and our displeasure with the lack of performance of TekCollect

And there are hundreds of similar complaints posted around the web. This particular thread at Scam.com is well worth the read if you’re still even remotely considering working for these guys.

My advice: stay far, far away.

No Industry is Safe from Fake Check Scams

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Scammers are stepping up their game, yet again. They’re still posting fake job ads, but the ads themselves look legitimate. It’s not until two or three emails in will you know that the job ad is actually fake. At that point, the scammer has already collected your personal information and this can include your full name, address, birthday, phone number or even your social security number.

You have to be insanely cautious these days. If something sounds too good to be true, it ALWAYS is. Read job ads in-depth and double check for grammatical errors and phrases that aren’t regularly used in your area. Don’t give up your personal information until you’re absolutely 100% without a doubt sure the job is real.

Today’s post comes from an anonymous I’ve Tried That reader. They write…

I’ve recently discovered a scam that I found on Craigslist targeting people who want to work or work in the film/tv industry. Here’s how it goes:

They post an ad on Craigslist like this:

Film/Tv job.

Date: 2010-05-20, 2:26PM
A film crew is a group of people hired by a production company for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. Crew are distinguished from cast, the actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for characters in the film. Crew are also separate from producers, those who own a portion of either the film company or the film’s intellectual property rights. A film crew is divided into different sectors, each of which specializes in a specific aspect of the production. And we at Alexis Entertainment are hiring for the following aspect of production:
– Actors/ Actress.
-Director of photography.
-Production (Producer and production assistant).
-Set Director.
-Props Master.
-Models.
-Make-up Artist/Hairdresser.
-Costume designer.
-Camera Operator.
-Production sound mixer.
-Grip.
-Gaffer.
-Best boy.
If you think you have experience in the following aspect of production and You are interested in joining our team as we are hiring for a new Tv series.Pls send in your resume.

Then, when you respond to the ad, you get this response:

Hello,

Thanks for your interest in our job offer. After reviewing your last email message , we are glad to inform you we were impressed. We will be coming to your area for a 6-days shoot (June 14-20) for some scene in a TV Soap (Note that we are not to disclose the script or more details concerning the shoot until when we believe it is safe to do so, this is due to piracy). We will need you to be there in person and be really ready to work.
Here is our offer:

– Salary($250 per day)
– Free Accommodation,
– Transportation allowance.

If you accept this offer,Send in the following information:
Full names:
Full Address(No p.o.Box):
City and state:
Zip code:
Phone number:
Post you are interested in:

We will send your payment for the first day and Transportation allowance to the location immediately you accept the offer. The Location will be disclosed between as soon as we finalize all necessary procedure.

Thanks for your interest,
Alicia.

When you send in the requested information, they send you an email like this:

Hello,

How are you doing today? Good News!!! I email to inform you that the Sponsor for this Job has agreed to send out payment so as to facilitate workers to be versatile and be ready for the job.Shoot starts June 14-20,2010.Time: 12n00n – 8pm.

I am putting to your notice that the payment is ready.This payment will cover your first day of work ($250) and transportation allowance ($50).
The remaining funds will be used for the necessary payment required to make the shoot a success and also costume, and rights which will be paid by the Production supervisor.

we have decided to USE THIS MEANS BECAUSE the Production supervisor travels around a lot and its hard for him to receive payment cause of his unstable location and that was why we have decided to add his fee to your payment so that you can send it to him as soon as you have your own payment (PLEASE TAKE NOTE).

Pls, We need you to CONFIRM that You are still interested in the offer by replying to this email so we can proceed by sending you payment.

Thanks.
Management.

Note: production starts on June 14th,Location will be disclosed by few days to the first day of production.
Also, the sponsor will be sending you an overpayment , which you will deduct your pay from and send to the production supervisor.Hope you understand. [Steve note: The whole conversation has been building up to this point. It’s a fake check scam.]

This email was a red flag for me so I responded and declined to send the funds to another person but said that I was interested in working on the soap opera. I never got another response. Then just the other day, I saw a post on Craigslist:

Cast and crew needed for a Movie scene

Date: 2010-06-27, 1:06PM
This is a Urgent Notice, Nielsen inc. is looking to get together a cast and crew for a soap opera. Job opening is applicable to anybody interested in the movie industry be it a model,actor ,director, or any crew involved in a movie production..
-Must be 18 yrs and above
-Job open to anybody who is interested in Hollywood.

When I responded to this ad, I got an almost identical email to the one above but from a guy named Paul Lugano.

I hope people are paying close attention to these things and not getting caught up in these types of scams which are disguised as actual jobs. People who want to work in film can hit dry spells and really need to work so they may not pay as close attention because they need the money. For the record, many tv/film productions don’t just offer up free accommodations and a transportation allowance to everyone that applies. That’s usually a perk reserved for a Producer or someone much higher up on the food chain in terms of jobs.

I hope this helps someone.

I was featured at WorkAtHomeNoScams!

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Okay, so I wasn’t featured at all. But Eddy from WorkAtHomeNoScams.com wrote a post titled, “Top 5 Reasons I hate Working from Home” and as I was reading it, it felt like Eddy was writing about my life.

I know it’s odd for a work at home blog owner to write about why he hates working from home, but there’s a lot more to this life than most people don’t realize. When you think about working from home full time, you probably picture an easy going life where you get to do whatever you want, whenever you want, while wearing whatever you want.

Yes, there are quite a few perks, but there are other disadvantages you don’t have to deal with when you work in a traditional job. Take this example, a lot of people seem to think what I do is easy and not professional. Someone went as far as to argue that what I do isn’t important because, “it’s just a blog.” The same guy went on to belittle my line of work by saying his 8 year old nephew has a blog and he could do what I do.

So yeah, just like every other job, working from home has its advantages and disadvantages. Eddy’s latest post covers a few of the disadvantages, including assumptions, loneliness, TAXES, juggling, and people talking about his career path. It’s a fantastic read. His take on loneliness really hits home. Here’s a short excerpt.

2. Loneliness.

I don’t mean to get all sensitive on you, but one of the things that I actually miss about working offline is the everyday interaction with my co-workers, “sight seeing” in the park with my boys, after work drinks, etc. I feel like I took a lot of that stuff for granted while being there. The truth is working at home full time makes you feel isolated and you become a hermit. Now for my personality this isn’t such a bad thing. But even so, I do miss that human interaction. I’ve had to resort to Facebook and sites like Mylot to alleviate some of that loneliness. I also visit my ex co-workers from time to time. With that all said, would I trade being at home full time to be back to the rate race? Hell to the nah! I’m not that lonely and why I have a dog! But seriously I do occasionally miss that social interaction.

Loneliness is definitely the biggest drawback regarding working at home for me. There are days where I definitely miss being able to talk to someone face to face regarding problems with my work. Like Eddy, I still wouldn’t trade my current job for a full-time one in an office, but there a few things I do miss.

I highly suggest you click here and read his post entirely. It’s well worth the time. Be sure to leave him a comment too!