I’m so happy to featured this week in Woman’s World Magazine! They asked me to be a part of the weekly feature called “America’s Ultimate Expert.” This week their article included some great work from home advice. The topics covered in the article are important to anyone considering working form home. I discuss the money I made on Fiverr and where to get hired as a virtual assistant.

There are some great tips from the other experts as well on customer service jobs and avoiding scams.

The path to creating a work from home job is different for everyone. Some will want to use their skills as an employee online and others will want to start an online business. As they say in the Caribbean, “It’s all good, Mon.”

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You can download the Woman’s World article to read here.

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If you are ready to leave your commuter 9-5 job for something that allows you the utmost freedom to make money from home, let this book be your first step on that path. 

Make Money From Home Or Abroad Like A Rockstar explains what you need to know to pursue an online career either as an employee or an entrepreneur.

Virtual Assistant

Do you want to make money from home working for a company that will pay you for your assisting skills or would you rather start your own VA business? This section covers all of the VA specialties, the pro tips you need to succeed in your own business including interviews with  successful VAs. If you’d like to work for a virtual assistant company the chapter contains five companies that will train and hire you to work with their clients.

Social Media Specialist

Social media is a hot, fast growing industry. This section teaches how your to find social media jobs and how to acquire the skills you need to get hired and make money from home. The chapters contain expert interviews with two successful social media specialists that tell you what is hot and growing in the field of social media.

Ghostwriting

It’s no secret that the web thrives on content. Writers get paid every day to ghostwrite blog posts, articles, emails, books, reports and much more. There has never been a better time to make money from home as a ghostwriter and this section teaches you how to do it. If you’re new, the resources are here to get you started and if you are experienced there are companies listed that will hire you to ghostwrite. Interviews and advice from seasoned ghostwriters are included in the chapter.

Proofreading/Editing

Changes in the publishing industry and the rise of independent authors have created a higher need for online proofreaders, beta readers and editors. This job can be done as a freelancer or you can use your editing skills to work for a company. Three editors in this chapter impart their pro knowledge on how to break into this business and build your own. There are also seven companies that hire proofreaders/editors on a freelance and employee basis listed in this section.

Each one of these jobs can be a work from home job or a work abroad job. If you have a laptop and a high-speed internet connection you have the potential to create a career that lets you travel while you work. The chapter, Have Computer – Will Travel or Why Wouldn’t You Want to Operate Your Business From The Caribbean?, teaches you the basics of combining work and travel and supplies you with the pro tools, tips and resources you need to make it happen.

If you’re entrepreneurial, the Online Business Quick-Start Guide shows you what you need to do to start your own online business and increase your income all the way to rockstar level.

You’ve already got offline skills that will help you in your online career. Let Make Money From Home Like A Rockstar be the catalyst for you start living the life of your dreams.

Chapters include:

 •    Virtual Assistants-Get Paid To Do Just About Anything Online

    •    Specialties for Virtual Assistants

    •    Five Companies That Pay You Right Now to Work Virtually

    •    How to Find Your Clients

    •    Get Paid to be Social – This is Only Going to Get Bigger

    •    How to Search for Social Media Jobs

    •    Nine Great Resources That Teach You About Social Media

    •    Eleven Social Media Companies That Will Pay You Right Now
    •    
    •    How to Get Started if You’re New to Ghostwriting

    •    Five Companies That Pay You to Ghostwrite

    •    Get Paid to Proofread, Edit and Critique Manuscripts

    •    How to Find Freelance Proofreading/Editing/Critiquing Jobs
    •    And much more…

See it at Amazon.

Share this post: Make Money From Home Or Abroad Like A Rockstar – The Best Companies, Pro Tools And Insider Tips To Live The Life Of Your Dreams

I’m delighted to present to you Make Money Online – 97 Real Companies That Pay you To Work In Your Pajamas. I’ve made my living online as a wordsmith for years now and I’ve often been asked about other ways to make money online that don’t involve starting your own business. I started doing research on the subject and I was delighted to find so many established companies that will pay you to work online. I have included some writing companies for those of you that would like to try freelance writing but the majority of the companies in the book don’t involve writing at all. In fact, a lot of the companies pay you to do the same type of work you’re already doing at the office. Why not do this type of work at home instead?

I wrote this book to help people who are unemployed, underemployed and sick of the 9-5 commute. There really are options out there for you. There are real ways to stay at home and make money online without starting your own business or doing direct sales. Many of the companies will hire you on a part-time basis in the beginning so you don’t have to quit your day job right away.

Each of the job categories in the book is explained so you know the basics of what the job requires before you apply with any of the companies. Some of the companies have extensive benefit packages and hire you on as a part-time or full-time employee. Other companies contract with you as a private contractor for a specific type of work over a specific length of time. Either way, you’re working from home, in your pajamas if you wish and taking control of your own schedule and your own life.

Live on YOUR Schedule

Wouldn’t it be nice to set your own schedule? Do you work better in the evenings or after your kids go to bed? There are many companies listed in the book that will accommodate that schedule because their customers are international. The work-from-home workforce is global and can accommodate your lifestyle and family life far better than any 9-5 job.

There is a fun section at the end of the book that includes short-term and micro-work jobs. These jobs only take a few minutes to do and require almost no qualifications to start. They are a way for you to earn a bit of extra money and see how you like working online.

After working online for several years now I can honestly say I would never go back to a 9-5 job. The ability to work online has allowed me to not only work from home but work from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. I’ve circled the globe several times now and experienced life very differently than I would have with the constraints of a traditional job.

Statistics show that over 40% of today’s jobs could be telecommute jobs. Each year more companies are hiring workers from home. You can be on the leading edge of this trend by starting your work-from home journey now!

Make Money Online – 97 Real Companies That Pay you To Work In Your Pajamas is available in the the Kindle Store on Amazon. Click here to buy the book for only $2.99.

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Here is a new company that is serving the needs of people who wish to outsource various tasks on a daily basis. Want an article written? Want some research done for your next project? How about those of us that work in the virtual world who write articles and do research? It’s a great symbiosis that has worked well for sites like Guru and Elance.

Taskrabbit originally started out in Boston but changed their location to San Francisco where they have thrived and expanded. They now have operations several US cities like Los Angeles, Austin, Seattle and Chicago. Their first international city to come online later this year will be London.

Those of us that work online can instantly see the value and gig potential in a service like Taskrabbit. At this point the company doesn’t vet virtual only taskrabbits. The majority of the services offered are delivery/pick-up and errand running. You have to apply and go through their hiring process as if you were going to be a local person in one of their current cities, although, it is your choice to only bid on virtual jobs.

Work for freelancers

If you’re looking to work from home as a virtual taskrabbit here are some of the areas where you may find paying gigs from Taskrabbit’s category list.

Accounting

Administrative

Computer help

Craigslist & Ebay help

Graphic Design

HTML Coding

Photography

Tutor

Usability Testing

Vacation Planning

Videography

Virtual Assistance

Website Design

Writing

What does a Taskrabbit look like?

Here is a profile of a typical taskrabbit. Emmanuel gets rated by taskposters on the tasks he completes.

The application process

Apply here

The application process to be a taskrabbit can take several weeks to complete. You need to be in a city where they are offering services and you must sign up with your real name as you will have to undergo a successful background check to be considered a taskrabbit. You also need to have access to a webcam for a required video interview.

Here are the cities where Taskrabbit is currently accepting applications. Check back at a later date if your city isn’t on the list.

• Atlanta
• Austin
• Boston
• Chicago
• Dallas
• Houston
• LA & OC
• London
• New York City
• Portland
• San Antonio
• Seattle
• SF Bay Area

Show me the money

The website states that some taskrabbits are earning up to $5,000 per month. This is probably from a combination of virtual and physical tasks. But it’s nice to know that their system is developed enough that some are earning a full-time income.

Once you are a verified taskrabbit you are allowed to bid on tasks that you like. The lowest bidder automatically gets the job unless the user picks a specific person. Taskrabbit holds the money paid by the taskposter until the service is completed and then pays the taskrabbit.

At this point Taskrabbit is developing their services slowly because there is a set-up time for each new city but this company holds great potential for freelancers and people who just don’t want an office job. Keep your eye on them. Maybe we’ll all be taskrabbits someday.

Share this post: Taskrabbit, Another Egg In The Basket For Freelancers

If you are undecided about how you would like to start your work-from-home journey, The Make Money From Home Library is the helpful resource you need with over two hundred, real, work-at-home opportunities, tips explanations and tutorials. The jobs span a variety of occupations including writing, call center work, consulting, customer service work, virtual assistant work and more! There is a full or part time job for you in this book if you are ready to make the transition from a commuting job to a telecommute job. Even if you just want to earn some extra income there are many companies that will accommodate a variety of part-time schedules.

This library is full of ideas, real jobs and real companies you’ve heard of that hire you to work from home. If you are unemployed, underemployed or a stay at home mom who wants to contribute to the family income this three-book volume is for you.

Many of the companies listed in the library offer the opportunity to be hired on as an employee with an extensive benefit package and others contract with you as an independent contractor for a specific period of time. There are freelance opportunities and entrepreneurial ones as well.

There is a transition period when you are switching from a 9-5 job to working from home. This is the book that can help you make your first decision in that transition. You can make this work! You will find a job in this book that suits your lifestyle. In fact, most work-from-home employees find their job satisfaction skyrockets when they work from home. Even if they are doing the same type of work that they did in their traditional job.

The three books included in the library have all become bestsellers in the home-based jobs category in the Amazon Kindle store and are discounted to $5.99 for the whole library. Buy here.

Make Money Online- 97 Real Companies That Pay You To Work In Your Pajamas

• Teaches you the categories of the most common type of online work
• Gives you an overview of the job requirements
• Gives you the company name and hyperlink page to apply for the job
• Lists 97 real companies that pay you to work from home
• Lists even more companies that pay you for short-time or micro-job work

How I Made An Extra $1200 Per Month At Home Using One Free Website

• Gives you the overview of the Fiverr.com website
• Shows you step-by-step how to set up your account and make money on Fiverr
• Gives you gig tutorials so you can put up your gigs and start earning right away
• Shows you advanced techniques to increase your income from Fiverr.com

The Moonlighter’s Guide To Online Writing For Immediate Income

• Gives you an overview of online content writing
• Includes a tutorial on how to write short articles for pay
• Shows you where and how to apply to the companies that will pay you to write
• Lists over 100 companies that pay you to write content for their blogs or websites

Share this post: The Make Money From Home Library – 200+ Work From Home Opportunities

The busiest section of the Fiverr categories is Social Marketing. If you click on that category and sort them by rating you see most of the first few gigs have Top Rated Seller status and the sellers have sold thousands upon thousands of gigs. This category also has more gigs than any other Fiverr category. So what can you do to make your new social marketing gig stand out?

Specialize!

The best thing you can do when creating your social marketing gig is specialize. Across the top of the Social Marketing category are sections to help you do just that. What is going to be the focus of your gig?

See the categories?:  blog/review/twitter/facebook/followers/traffic/backlinks/friends/seo/website

Do you have thousands of Twitter followers? If so, you’ve got a gig renting out your Twitter updates for $5.

There are two things you can do to specialize your Twitter gig even further.

1) In your gig description mention that the majority of your followers are cooking enthusiasts, car buffs or book readers. Of course this only works if you have a specialized group of Twitter followers. Make sure you put those specialized key words in your gig description and add them to your picture/video tags when you set up your gig. That’s how the buyers looking for a targeted audience will find you.

2) Offer to tweet your buyers message or link several times over a period one week. This is something that most of the top sellers aren’t willing to do. They are looking to minimize their time spent on a gig, but with a new gig you need to go the extra mile to get noticed. Use a service like Social Oomph to schedule your tweets so your time is minimized as well.

Once you’ve completed several gigs and you have a 100% feedback rating, you can change your gig description to offer less tweets in a shorter period of time. At that point your good feedback will be getting you more gig sales.

 Share this Post: Fiverr: Rising to the Top with Your New Gig

I have a lot of questions for you today. They’re all about you.

Have you Googled yourself lately?

Go ahead and do it. Put your name in quotes at Google and see what comes up. If you have a distinctive name, the entire first page might be about you!

Here’s my name on Google. There are links to many social media profiles for my name. I frequently post comments on The Huffington Post so that shows up as well. My website, The Moonlighter’s Guide, shows up near the bottom of the page.

Your Name Is Your Online Reputation

Are you pleased with what shows up under your name? When you click on “images only”, are the pictures consistent and professional looking? Will they hinder or help you get a job? Are those college drinking photos from your friend’s Facebook page resurfacing yet again? You can’t control what other people say or write about you, but at least on Facebook you can “untag” yourself so the photo won’t appear when people are searching for you.

Oh! That party.

Social Media

Choose your words carefully when using social media. Everything you do or say on the web is tracked. You know that, right? That snarky comment you made about that other writer on that “members only” board that you thought was private, is there for all to see if they dig.

Those tweets never completely go away. That’s the truth. You need to act as though everything you write from a tweet to a comment to a book is accessible by everyone. A bad comment on a blog may come back to haunt you. Your wild weekend on your “private” Facebook page may not be in line with your online writing persona. All it takes is one wrong click and you can make everything available to the masses.

Keeping Your Good Name

Buy your name as a domain if it’s available. (www.YourName.com) Even if you don’t intend to put up a website using your name, at least it will be unavailable for others to do so. Later on, when you’re a rock star, you’ll be glad you did.

If you do choose to put up a website, please remember your website is a reflection of you. Not all of us have webmaster skills, but if you have silly moving GIF files on your site from 1997. Take them off. Have a clean, professional looking website.

I visited an author website once that was so fantastic it made me buy her book. The book was mediocre. I wasn’t a repeat customer, but she got the first sale by having a great looking website.

Your Bio and Photo

Update your bio, photo and professional experience across the web as your writing experience changes. Try to have some personal information in your bio too.  What is your favorite city on the planet? Does someone or something inspire you? Who and why?

Take a few minutes to read the professional bios of other writers you admire. What makes you like them? Incorporate those concepts and ideas into your own bio.

Professional Portrait

Photos Of You

When someone reads your bio, they look at your photo first. They try to imagine you doing all of the the things you stated in your bio.  If you are a travel writer it’s a great idea to have a photo of you standing in front of the Eiffel Tower or some other recognizable background. If you write comedy by all means have a funny picture. If you write brooding mystery and noir, black and white photos are all the rage. If you are a freelance writing professional, look like one. You may write in a robe and bunny slippers but clients don’t need to see them.

Your name is associated with your writing. One of the easiest ways to keep tabs on your name is to set up a Google Alert. Google will notify you by email when your name or any other search term you choose shows up on a new webpage.

Take the time to protect your online reputation and your good name.

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Filling in the freelance gap with Fiverr.

When you’re between freelance gigs and you want to keep the funds coming in, try listing some gigs with Fiverr.com. There are quite a few ways to make money on Fiverr.com if you are a writer. While some people actually make a living as a micro-entrepreneur, many writers use websites like Fiverr to bring in extra income between other writing projects. I did some research and an experiment of my own with Fiverr.com to see which gigs were the best for writers on Fiverr.

The Top Four Writing Gigs On Fiverr.com.

1. 500 word (or less) articles

Experienced content writers WILL find work on Fiverr.  And the good writers stand out, even in their ads. If you are a native English speaker you definitely have an advantage here. If not, and your location puts you outside an English speaking country you will have to rely on your reviews to garner you more Fiverr work.  As an experiment I put up a new Fiverr ad stating I was a freelance writer and would write articles on any subject. I had 4 orders in less than an hour. That was with a gig and an ID that had absolutely no ratings. Here is  an example of one of the more popular Fiverr content writing gigs.

2. Press Release

This is a great gig if you are an experienced press release writer. If you’re not, you’ll probably be too slow to make this Fiverr gig worth your while. Remember, you only get paid $4 per gig. Fiverr keeps that extra buck. Publicity Insider has a great tutorial on how to write press releases if you need a refresher course.

3. Research

All freelance writers are well versed on how to research. Some people don’t want to take the time to do research and will pay you via Fiverr to do it. Keep in mind that the range of research could be simple subject research to extremely difficult research work. Most of the people who offer this gig on Fiverr state they will  do research for a certain amount of time thus limiting the research no matter the subject.

 4. Scriptwriting And Testimonials

This is another great Fiverr gig if you have experience writing short scripts or testimonials. Many businesses use YouTube for video testimonials. You can get paid on Fiverr to write the script for those videos. They’re usually short and should only take a few minutes to write. Other website owners are looking for product testimonials for their site. These product testimonials are usually written in the first person and conform to the 500 words or less rule.

Microjobs like the ones on Fiverr are just that, small, short jobs. They should take you 15-20 minutes to accomplish. So assess your own skills before you put up a writing gig. Take a few minutes to check out the competition before you place your gig on Fiverr. See which writing gigs are selling well and why. Is their ad copy compelling? Are their qualifications stated? Do they have continued, positive feed back?  Mimic their style and you’ll be off to a great start.

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