Freelance Work Online

Quit your job, and make a million dollars a year by working at home!
(Send $19.95 and we'll tell you how)

Sounds great, but is it real? Everyone wants to get rich quick, but in real life it takes work. It is, however, possible to find quality freelance work online that will allow you to support yourself in a reasonable manner.

The first step, as always, is RESEARCH! I know, you got tired of hearing, "Do your Homework" when you were in school, but seriously- it has to be done. What you're looking for is valuable information that will save you time, effort, and probably money. (and since time IS money, and your personal effort is WORTH money, one could argue that this information is even more valuable than the $19.95 you'll save by not buying into any scams) If you start searching around on the web for places to do freelance work online, you'll find lots of telecommuting ads, lots of craigslist ads, etc. How do you know if the job is legitimate?
1. Does the potential employer have a website listed with the job?
-if not, do a Google search for the name of the company and see what comes up.
-if so, look through their website
2. Does the employer's website clearly define their function and purpose?
-If the company is advertising for people to do freelance work online, for example, does their website just talk about how people can work online for them and make lots of money? If so, they're probably a scam. Are they treating potential freelance workers like customers? (While it's nice to be treated well, if the company is devoting too much attention to you, it's possible that you ARE their customer, and they expect to make some money from you if you sign with them) If the company's webpage is about their products and services, but has a section for careers, etc. they may be legit.
3. Does the company require any money to apply for the position, or require you to read an e-book (which you just happen to have to buy) or sign up for a membership (which you just happen to have to pay for)? If so, it is probably a scam.
4. Even if everything else seems perfect, always do a Google search for the company's name along with the word "scam", "fraud", or "cheat".

Identify a Work From Home Scam

Once you have found some good freelance work positions, it'll be time to work on the biggest hurdle for many people. I'll address that hurdle in the next post: Shameless Self Promotion

Writing Online

Writing for profit online requires a combination of skills. It's not enough to just be able to write well, when you're writing online- unless you're doing it as a hobby, and you don't care if you make any money or not. Personally, I enjoy writing- but I also want to make money, so I divide my efforts. Some of my writing is for personal enjoyment. This blog, for instance, makes mere pennies! I do, however, want to be able to consolidate all of the helpful information I have gathered and uncovered during my writing journey, so I keep it up anyway. On the other hand, writing articles online can actually make some real money... There are several ways you can do this:

• Write on requested topics for content companies
• Write on requested topics for private individuals/companies
• Write on your own topics for different article posting sites
• Adsense revenue from blogs
  

Each of these requires its own set of skills. Here I am posting a couple of how-to's that apply to writing topics for article posting sites, such as e-How and Suite101. Search Engine Optimization is the key to this type of online writing. Search engine optimization basically means that you want to find a word or phrase (more often a phrase) that lots of people are searching for, but few people are writing about. Then, if you use your word or phrase correctly throughout the article, your article will show up higher in Google search results, and it will be your article that they click on. If your article is viewed by more people, there is a higher chance that they will click on some of the ads on your page, or your affiliate links (if you have them). The more clicking they do, the more money you make. That is SEO in a nutshell!

Google Adwords Keyword Search

Understanding Keyword Search Results