What
about getting paid to shop or fill in surveys?
Taking surveys or acting as a 'mystery shopper' is a work at
home job opportunity which can ask for a registration or joining
fee. You'll see the headline figures showing the thousands that
can be made by people 'just like you' but you'll be lucky to make
the registration fee back in a year - if ever.
Some are free and do offer limited earning opportunities but
treat them with caution and don't hand over any money.
Companies can gather huge amounts of information on their products
and customers without paying the end user directly for it. They
will ask for it when you register your purchase for the warranty,
when you give your email address, when you subscribe to their
newsletter and in many other ways.
They may offer a prize draw to complete a survey, but they are
unlikely to offer any meaningful amount to complete one. Maybe
you'll earn a money-off or discount coupon but hey, you're trying
to make money not being encouraged to spend it!
Although you can earn to an extent in both 'paid to surf' and
'paid to take survey' jobs, the amounts involved can usually be
measured in pennies and it's difficult to make a living doing
this. They may be worth considering if you are stuck at home anyway
and can't think of anything better to do!
Running your own website
If
you can surf the web, then you can design a website! Put together
a site on something that you think people might be interested
in - the list is endless - as is the potential for profit if you
hit the right market.
Can you turn your interest, hobby or specialist knowledge into
something that people will visit to be informed or entertained?
If you can, then you have the potential for earning online in
a huge number of ways including selling advertising space on the
site, selling e books or offering a specialised service such as
advice or information in your area of expertise or interest.
If you can create an interesting or useful site, you'll be surprised
how quickly the visitor numbers build up and how easy it is to
start earning money from them even it's simply by the placement
of adverts or banners.
There are loads of programs around which make it easy to set
up your own website. Some are available as shareware or freeware
or can be purchased for anything from a few pounds upwards. There
is also a huge range of web templates available which make setting
up much easier and quicker. You simply download the template and
drop your own text and pictures in with an editing program.
You'll also need a hosting service costing from a few pounds
a year - avoid the free hosting services if you want people to
take you seriously. You'll also need to buy a domain name - something
which should reflect the nature of the site and what it does.
Designing websites for other people
If you have (or can acquire) the necessary skills, you could
also consider designing websites for other people. Are there small
businesses, shops, local groups and organisations that could use
an affordably priced designer?
Like any new business, you'll probably have to pitch cheap to
get started but once you have created a few websites that you
can show to potential customers, you'll find it gets easier and
more lucrative to find new business.
Buying and Selling
A combination of online and offline work that can make you a
useful income if you buy and sell at the right price. Ebay are
the market leaders and offer a full range of facilities to the
buyer and seller as well as a secure payment option via Paypal.
There is also a great series of tutorials so that novice users
can get started quickly and easily set up their own auctions.
Ideas for things to sell
If you aren't sure what you could sell, take a look at what's
already on sale on the various auction sites and work from there.
Is there a gap or niche in the market or do you have specialist
knowledge of a particular area? Could you make things such as
craft items, paintings, pots or clothes? Are you good at spotting
a bargain in a car boot sale, charity shop or jumble sale?
Don't forget that there are also 'offline' auctions in the real
world where you can try and sniff out a bargain. These can also
be great fun, just don't get carried away with the bidding - remember,
you're not buying to keep.You're buying to sell on at a profit!
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