College Student Looking for Work From Home Ideas

Hey everyone! I'm Alex, just joined the community. I'm a 20-year-old online college student in need of some extra cash, but my schedule tends to be a bit too dynamic to hold a part-time job. I'm really hoping to find some method of working from home on my own time. I'm an excellent writer and I'd really like to take advantage of that, but I'm completely open-minded at the moment. I've been doing some research and I seem to keep coming back to these online survey sites or maintaining a blog and profiting from advertisements.

As for the survey sites, they seem extremely sketchy to me. I see a lot of testimonials from people making legitimate money from them, but giving out my information makes me uncomfortable. I don't want to start getting added to random mailing or emailing address lists or have any of my accounts compromised. Does anyone have any experience in this area that may be able to assure me of some sites that will not do this?

As for the blogging idea, I'm having trouble seeing how this would work. I can't think of anything in particular that I'm knowledgeable enough to blog about, and even if I was, I'm unaware of how I would attract enough traffic to my blog for the ads to really make me a profit.

Like I said, these are just two examples of what I've come across, I'm VERY open to new ideas. If you have anything that seems ideal for my situation, it would be great to hear from you! Thanks so much!

-Alex

Alex,

Welcome to the forum.

It is possible to make money online but just know that if you want to succeed, there will be an investment required whether it is TIME or MONEY.

Tal

Hey welcome to the forum.. Yeah if you are going to pursue this you are either going to invest in time or money. If you are going to blog you will have to come up with a topic that you are knowledgeable about. If you don't keep writing your blog dies out.

Stay away from survey sites. I would look into affiliate marketing to get started. Look into affiliate networks like Clickbank or Shareasale. Its going to take work but making money online can be done.

Affiliate marketing is a great way to start to make money. But as addressed it does take some work and consistency.

As you get your feet wet, I suggest doing some research on other at home business models. They do require fees to get started but are worth the 'Big Picture'. You can truly make a wonderful income in network marketing you just have to find something that drives you.

Blogging is always great but you have to maintain content and interest with new ideas and dialogue with your readers.

Good luck!

I agree about Affiliate Marketing. As for writing, you could start a blog or site about something you are interested in, such as a hobby. There are many ways to monetize a site/blog, but it does take work to get traffic to it. The flexibility is fantastic because you can work at it as you have time and as it fits into your schedule.

Hi Alex,

The problem with the survey sites is that although most are legitimate and offer real survey opportunities that pay real money, the amount you can earn per survey is very limited so it can take a very long time to build up any sort of meaningful income. I'm in England so I can only really comment on the British survey sites, but the most I've seen offered per survey is £3 and many offer much less. The going rate isn't really going to change no matter what country you live in.

In addition many surveys offer vouchers redeemable in major stores rather than cash, so if you don't have one of those stores near you or you don't want to shop there then this reduces the number of relevant surveys available to you.

Add to this the fact that each survey tends to be very time-consuming and you soon find yourself in a situation in which you're expending huge amounts of your time for very little return. But it's all relative. If you have the time to invest and an inclination to answer questions and give opinions on products and services then you can earn genuine money. It's just not going to be a lot.

Regarding the possibility of suddenly finding yourself on random mailing lists or finding your accounts compromised I'd be surprised if this happened. The survey sites earn good money from the legitimate companies that route their surveys through them and would be disinclined to engage in any practices that might bring disrepute either to themselves or to the companies that engage them.

Looking at alternative ways to earn money online I note that you regard yourself as an excellent writer. If so why not consider signing up to iWriter, or eLance or Odesk?

http://www.iwriter.com/

https://www.elance.com/

https://www.odesk.com/

I don't know a huge amount about eLance or Odesk other than that they're well-respected freelance sites that offer many opportunities to writers (among other disciplines) so they may be good places to investigate. However there's been talk of the two sites merging so I don't know how this might impact upon writing opportunities in the future. I do however have a lot more knowledge of iWriter, having used it many times to commission content for my sites, and I think this might be a very good place to translate your writing skills into cash.

With iWriter you have a site that acts as an interface between freelance writers and those who need content written. As a writer you would start on the "Basic" level until you'd built up a good track record, after which you'd find yourself elevated to the "Premium" level and then eventually to "Elite". Obviously the rates you can command for your writing will increase at the higher levels, but also you'll find yourself being bookmarked by the users of the site who'll often specifically request you over all the other freelancers if you've done good work for them in the past.

Those seeking to have content written come from all walks of life but there tends to be a high preponderance of website owners looking to commission original articles, or to have reports, ebooks or even Kindle books written for them. They submit comprehensive details of their requirements to iWriter, and basically the first writer to grab the project gets to write it.

Once you submit your work the commissioning user will either accept it (in which case you instantly get paid), return it to you to be rewritten, or reject it...so make sure it's good! Also if the user really likes your work you often get a tip on top of the agreed rate

I hope some of this helps or gives you some more ideas about what direction to take. But good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Alex,

Hey! I remember when I was in the same situation as you. A Full-Time college student with little to no income. And just like you, It was the lack of money and the extra time that eventually lead me into this industry. And It wasn't long until I was making more money online than my friends who were working long hours at their part-time job!

But simply put, there are a million different ways to make money online. But I would recommend the simplest and the fastest way since you are currently in the beginning stage of learning.

Surveys:
- don't waste your time on these. Usually they sucker you into completing 10 50-question surveys just to to earn $1.99
PLUS, they ask for all of your information only so they can Spam you with offers later. This is something that Newcomers constantly search for online and therefore Advanced marketers like to "Prey" on the opportunity.

Blogging:
- Although I have a blog, I would not recommend it for anyone who is just learning how to market online. This is simply because it takes much more technical knowledge than they usually have which usually decreases the likelihood of your success online.
- You have to learn advanced Tactics such as SEO, Content Marketing, SMM, etc.

But with that said, there is a method of marketing that basically excludes your inexperience and this is called Direct Marketing or Affiliate Marketing.

This is the best for of Marketing for a beginner in my opinion!

This way you can simply help drive traffic to a proven system and just rake in the commissions from each and every sale that you help the product owner generate. Therefore you are required to do nothing but help generate targeted traffic!

Hello Alex! Aside from what talfighel said about time and money as investment, you can also invest on the skills you have. Have a self-check of what you can do and what you can offer online. Who knows, someone out there may be looking for a task done with the skills that you currently have (like graphic design, writing, and others). I believe microjob sites can help you start an online career. Just be patient and cautious all the time!

Best of luck!

If you are good at writing I would sign up at Fiverr. You are paid 5.00 for a service. If you can write a short article in 15 minutes you can make 20.00 per hour. I know this is how a lot of people started online who are good writers. It doesn't sound like much but if you get a good reputation then you can have the clients paying you more after they get to know you and want you to do work for them and it will be more than 5.00. Just a thought.

If your good at writing you can use Fiverr.com. I would suggest, instead you should write an ebook and publish it on Amazon. You can do both too. I know some people who have made bank with Amazon Publishing. If your not into that. You can also try CPA. For every email you get someone to fill out you get like $1.50. Your a college student right? If I were you I would sign up for a CPA network and find an offer you would like to promote, then once you have it all set up I would put flyers all around campus with your website on it. There are probably a lot of people looking for jobs just like you, so this will work great for you!

Well That's my 2 Cents.

Indeed, these are the types of microjobs I was talking about On my part, I have tried Fourerr and I am still earning a good amount of money accomplishing microjobs from them.

Alex,

First of all I would like to say great writers are always in need in fact if I hadn't hire 3 full time writers I would hire you right now because I have a terrible writing history. I do agree with Stone Harding as for things you should look at doing.

Where I don't agree with people is about surveys, if you know where to go and how to do things you can make up to $500 (not likely) by the end of the day. This could be in your account within 2 to 24 hours. Most people look at companies like Cashcrate as a survey source well that is one option but it is in my mind a joke once you know where to go.

I don't know if it is appropriate to post a link here now since I'm a new member but I will try to guide you the best I can. There are a few very strict survey websites that now only pay you instantly to do trials or whatever but they encourage you to help them eager people who only want to do surveys through through their site. It is in a sense your own survey site within a survey site. Now it won't make you instantly rich but it will keep the bills at bay if done the right way.

But the one thing that I think is the best is to stick to doing what you do best which is writing. Write a short eBook on different topics like how to and if you need help researching a topic just mention it here and I will give you all the info on how to go about doing so. You also could ghost write for others if you are desperate at any point I know of people who pay writers also. Anyhow I hope this helps.

One of the biggest most important things you need do online, that will dramatically affect the amount of money you will or can make, is to make sure that no matter what avenue you choose, whether it is blogging, seo-website creation, affiliate marketing, 5iverr, etc..

Is to create a newsletter, your opt-in list, this is the most important thing that you can do for long term and short term success..You do this through utilizing a tool, called an autoresponder..To make money online you need to leverage the power of email. It’s one of the best ways to stay in touch with prospects, leads and customers, save time and increase your income. And in almost every marketing strategy, whether it is to market your blog, website, your self, your skills, there is no better way to do it, then having an autoresponder and building your own email list.

My first two years online I made very little money, when I started using an autoresponder with my make money activities, I made more money in the next 30 days then I did in the prior two years combined. Every website or blog you own, should have an opt-in form on it, so you can stay in touch with your readers, customers, and leads. Even if you are going to market your skills, you should have a website or blog to showcase your skills and what you are looking to get hired for, and have an opt-in form on it, thats connected to your autoresponder, you can then email your potential buyers when you have specials, or when you have completed a project, and send them an email and show them your work. This is why an autoresponder is so powerful, you can follow up anytime with your potential customers.

Any marketing avenue you choose, an autoresponder will help increase your income, you just have to be creative and learn how to apply it to what you are doing to make money. Its the one tool I can not be without.

Hey Alex,
What is it that you enjoy writing about? Is there a certain genre? What drives you each day?

Hello Alex,
My name is Cody S. I have been an entrepreneur for 4 years now.
Although I was not in college at my starting point, I had a child and lots of debt.
Which was what pushed me into finding something other than the 9-5 rat race that did nothing but put me further in the whole anyway. So I started researching and just like you all I could find were surveys, blogging, scams, and nothing that either interested me or made me feel like it was just another rip off.
So I put my head down went back into the work force, with a new ambition.
I don't care what it takes or how much further into debt I go, I will start my own company and pull my way out of this.
Well, Alex we are still on that road to success and it wasn't easy, but well worth it. I am now in charge of my life, and help others find a career path that will lead them to their success stories and I couldn't ask for a better feeling considering I was on that same path only a short time ago.

I would say the best thing for you to do at this point is know what you do well whether you like it or not and then take those skills and start something for yourself. Once your business is flowing you will be able to promote someone to manage the company while you move on to something you truly love doing.
As others have mentioned no matter how you look at it...
It will cost you lots of time and/ or money!
Or you can join a team of people that already have all the systems in play, and you work for them from home until you can start your own thing.

1. What do you enjoy doing?

2. What do you absolutely hate?

Those are the two most important things to answer.

Then...

3. Are you looking for a business?

4. Are you looking for a job?

5. Are you looking to freelance?

If you really want an opportunity wherein you can control your time, try affiliate marketing or MLM. With these careers, not only will you have the opportunity to earn limitless, you can also earn money while you are studying or while you are away from home and you can help other people as well. These careers are definitely worth investing to.

Anything offering flexibility is great for a college student as your course schedule can change from semester to semester too.

If you have a good ear, I would also suggest checking into general transcription. There are several sites that hire people with no transcription experience such as Mturk, Scribie and Transcribme, plus you may be able to find transcription projects on sites like Elance and Odesk.

Selling on Amazon is a way to earn money in as little as two weeks with little investment.