True Ways To Make Money At Home

Tory Johnson's Work-From-Home Tips
Job Opportunities for Everyone

By TORY JOHNSON
April 29, 2007

Driving for Dollars

I'm not talking about becoming a taxi driver or chauffeur -- you can make money by driving your normal route while allowing your car to feature advertisements.

Specially created decals are provided to drivers to affix to the back window. Depending on your location and the amount of driving you do -- usually a minimum of 1,000 miles a month is required -- you can earn $50 to $150 a month by "renting out" this space on your car. You can make even more money -- up to $500 a month -- by allowing your car to be fully wrapped with an advertiser's images and message.

Search online using keywords "car wrap advertising" to locate opportunities nationwide. Don't be shy about calling around to compare rates and advertising opportunities to find the best fit for you. Never settle on the first company you find since there could be a more lucrative option available to you.


Nurses on Call

Registered nurses who don't want to work in traditional hospital settings or doctors' offices -- or who want to supplement their income -- can put their knowledge to work at home.

Several companies, such as Fonemed.com and McKesson.com, hire nurses to provide phone-based triage and advice to callers requesting information on medical conditions and reactions to medication.

Home-based nurses can also provide sound advice to patients on disease management and health care options so they're armed with information to make the best decisions about their care.
Registered nurses who don't want to work in traditional hospital settings or doctors' offices -- or who want to supplement their income -- can put their knowledge to work at home.

Several companies, such as Fonemed.com and McKesson.com, hire nurses to provide phone-based triage and advice to callers requesting information on medical conditions and reactions to medication.

Home-based nurses can also provide sound advice to patients on disease management and health care options so they're armed with information to make the best decisions about their care.

Cook Up Some Cash as a Culinary Consultant


Can you whip up culinary magic in the kitchen? That just might qualify you to become a home-based consultant for Chefsline.com, which provides live, professional advice to anyone who needs help with cooking or baking.

Chef consultants must excel at cooking, teaching and customer service, and must be available to take calls for a minimum of eight hours per week during afternoon and evening hours. A culinary degree is preferred, but not required. A specialty in regional cuisine is desirable, such as African, Latin American, Middle Eastern or French, among others. Compensation ranges from $7.50 to $30 an hour, depending on expertise.

There are also other options in this arena. Local companies hire dietitians and nutritionists to handle customer and client calls from home. Call gyms and diet centers in your area to offer your services if you're
knowledgeable and experienced in this line of work.

If you've got a strong entrepreneurial spirit, you can also offer to plan and execute cooking demonstrations in supermarkets, gourmet shops or private homes. Or find clients who'll allow you to plan their meals, shop for groceries, and prepare dinner. Time-strapped individuals often dream of having an affordable personal chef instead of relying on frozen dinners and takeout.

Become a Blogger

Blogging and media sharing on the Internet are super-hot right now, with no signs of fading any time soon. Web sites with videos, personal content and gossip are raking in advertising dollars with each click of the mouse.

You can become a professional blogger, too. Web sites such as Eefoof.com allow you to post videos and photographs, and then receive a percentage of the site's revenue, which is generated from advertising associated with page views and clicks to the content posted by you. The harder you work to promote your own videos and photos, the more money you'll earn.

Another way to make money is to create your very own blog at Blogger.com. Set up your own page and create captivating content to lure readers to your stuff. Then add the site's AdSense feature, which allows advertisements to be included on the page.

Every time a viewer clicks through on the advertisement on your blog page, cha-ching! Keep in mind this only works if you're committed to creating a blog that others would find fascinating -- and you hustle to attract readers to build a following for yourself.

Verify Sales Calls for Accuracy

Ever change your long-distance service or your cell phone plan? It's likely that you were asked to hold for a verification operator to come on the line to confirm your choices. There's a good chance that the operator was working from home.

To make money in verification, apply online at VoiceLog.com, a leading provider of third-party verification services. The company hires home-based independent contractors to serve as live operators to verify calls for telephone companies and other service industries focused on combating sales fraud.

Those calls are recorded for quality assurance and compliance purposes. Another set of home-based workers listen to Web-based files to review the calls for accuracy.

Carefully read the frequently asked questions page on the career section of the site so you're familiar with the application, training and hiring process before applying.


Direct Your Attention to Direct Sales

It's not just Avon, Mary Kay and Tupperware anymore. There are thousands of exciting opportunities to make extra money through in-person and online direct sales. More than 14 million people now work as independent contractors doing just that.

Select a company that best mirrors your own passion and interest, since there's a greater likelihood that you'll be able to sell products to which you can relate.

Are you into health and wellness? Try TiensNA.com. Like fine wine? Consider becoming a rep for TheTravelingVineyard.com. Is high-end clothing your soft spot? Check out the CarlisleCollection.com.

Want to sell toys to parents in your kid's play group? Perhaps DiscoveryToysInc.com. is ideal for you. The Direct Selling Association offers links to businesses and advice on how to succeed in direct sales.


Become a Virtual Publicist

Technology has made it possible for thousands of virtual public relations firms to exist nationwide, all of which are eager to identify experienced communications and marketing professionals who are diligent in their work habits but also crave the flexibility of a home base.

Among them: Perkett PR, Bisbee and Company, PartnerCentric, Orca Communications, and Wasabi Publicity, just to name a few. If you're a seasoned PR pro, contact them with your capabilities and availability.

You should also consider starting your own virtual PR firm. If you're experienced in promotions, event planning, writing, pitching, media contact management, crisis communications or strategic planning, there's a good chance your services are in demand.

Without expensive office overhead, you can offer competitive prices while making a hefty profit. Create a Web site that promotes your abilities, and start spreading the word. Since you're in PR, you no doubt know how to toot your own horn.


Telemarketing Opportunities

Many companies and organizations outsource their cold-calling campaigns to third parties. Those third parties hire full-time and temporary workers -- many of whom work from home -- to place those calls with specific goals in mind.

You may be required to persuade contacts to book an appointment, commit to making a donation, or agree to try a product or service. Your calls could also be focused on debt collection.

Typically you'll receive an hourly base pay, plus performance-based commission. While some training is provided, applicants are expected to have some high-quality customer-service and/or cold-calling experience.

Among the companies to explore: Telereach.com, Intrep.com, and West.com. You should also search online for home-based telemarketing positions on the big job boards and the major search engines. Do not pay for leads; you should be able to find employers that are hiring without paying a middleman for access to that information.

Guide Users Online

Use your subject-area expertise to make money assisting others who are in need of that knowledge.

Chacha.com is a new search engine that is similar to Yahoo or Google, but users have the ability to request the free help of a live guide. That live guide is sitting at home making money while he or she assists with the online search. Learn how you can make $5 to $10 per hour, which can be paid to you via debit card or direct deposit, at chacha.com.

About.com offers qualified applicants the opportunity to become guides if they have proven expertise in a topic area. As a guide, you're responsible for publishing a full-length article every 14 days and you must update your blog at least three times per week. Anyone can apply, but you must pass a 17-day self-guided online training program to familiarize yourself with About's tools and demonstrate your knowledge of the process.

Successful guides never make less than $500 per month, according to About.com, and some guides can earn upwards of $100,000 a year for popular, high-trafficked sections. Visit the getting started guide on About.com for details.

On JustAnswer.com, users agree to pay for experts to answer their questions. If you have an expertise -- from gardening to genealogy -- you can agree to answer questions for a price. The site then pays you based on accepted answers.

Become an Online Tutor

If you graduated from a college or university in this country or in Canada, or you're a current student at an accredited school, and you have expertise in English, math, science or social studies, you could make money as an online tutor.

You must be able to convey key information to students of all ages -- generally fourth grade through college level -- in an online environment. That means teaching mathematical formulas and chemistry equations to a kid through cyberspace, rather than face-to-face instruction.

Visit www.tutor.com to learn how you can make $10 an hour or more working five hours to 30 hours a week from home. To find other online tutoring opportunities, or to learn how to start your own online tutoring business, do a Google search using the keywords "online tutor" and research dozens of options based on your availability and subject-area expertise.

Get Paid to Write or Edit

A handful of Web sites pay for articles, but unless they're commissioning your original work, you won't make big bucks. Associatedcontent.com pays around $10 per approved/published piece. Helium.com is another option that rewards prolific writers, and both sites are a good way to build an online portfolio of published work while making some money at the same time.

Myessays.com allows essay writers to sell their original work starting at $10 for a short paper, and up to more than $100 for comprehensive work. Writerfind.com lists a range of freelance opportunities for experienced writers to pursue on their own.

Another option is freelance writing for magazines, trade publications, newsletters or local newspapers. If you've developed a specialty or have a particular interest in a single topic -- film, fashion, food, travel -- many Web sites and small publications work only with freelancers and regularly look for writers to do reviews on products or new releases, ranging in topic from electronics to beauty.

Contact the editors of the publications you'd like to work for. (Their names and contact information can typically be found on the masthead or Web site.) Ask for their writers guidelines and be ready to submit samples of your work. (This is also where links to your work from the two sites listed above can come in handy.) We hire freelance writers for our company's magazine, which is published three times a year. All of them have come to us unsolicited with their writing samples and story suggestions.

Compensation varies based on your experience. Novices might have to accept free products or press passes for their work. Experienced writers can expect to make anywhere from fifty cents to $2 per word. For multiple articles, you might settle on a flat rate.

Apply for freelance work on sites such as Cyberedit.com, which hires professional writers for a range of projects including resume writing and document proofing. Editfast.com also hires experienced editors, writers and proofreaders.

Maximize Online Job Boards

The big job boards like HotJobs.com, CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com are filled with thousands of work-from-home opportunities. SimplyHired.com and Indeed.com compile positions from a wide variety of sources. The key is to search all of these Web sites by using the words "virtual" or "home-based" when looking for opportunities advertised online.

TheLadders.com, which focuses on positions paying in more than $100,000 annually and requires a monthly fee to join, features a wide range of senior-level positions from home in sales, technology, finance and marketing. You can also promote your own skills and abilities on Web sites such as Guru.com to enable employers to find you. Craigslist.com and Backpage.com are two sites that post local listings for a wide range of freelance opportunities.

As with any advertised opportunity, you must do your homework to determine if something's right for you. That means talking to a live person and not just relying on an e-mail exchange to learn in-depth about the requirements, challenges and potential earning power. Don't be fooled by postings that promise big bucks for minimal effort. If it were that easy, we'd all be working in those jobs!