Busy Month

This has been a relatively busy month for me. I had lots of transcription work assignments in addition to my usual forum posting and occasional 'virtual assistant' tasks. My sister gifted me with a noise-cancelling headphone which I use when transcribing audio files and it has been a big help to me. However, I can only transcribe one hour of audio per day as my head starts to pound after that, not to mention my fingers getting tired. Add to that my responsibility to prepare food for my family and take care of my kids.

I'm not complaining. I'm happy to do whatever work God has blessed me with but I did turn down one assignment which required for me to work during weekend. I would have gotten a good pay for it but spending time with my family was more important. I do not regret my decision at all.

I believe I'm improving in my transcription work. I now type faster and more accurately. Here's hoping I'll get more good projects coming my way.

Virtual Assistant

I learned new things as a virtual assistant. This is one type of work that could really exhaust your skills and talents. You are expected to do lots of things -- article writing, copywriting, data entry, transcribe audio files, forum posting and more.

I had a crash course in how to write titles and description tags for web pages for SEO. I did a pretty good work with what was assigned to me, if I may say so myself. Generally, it was not a hard task but keeping the title or description to a desired number of characters could be challenging more so if you are expected to include certain keywords.

One thing I'd like to learn is how to effectively do postings at Craigslist. Most of the virtual assistant work I've come across with seem to require this skill. I really don't know if there's any special technique or whatever that I need to learn for this type of thing. I prefer doing "real" work but I guess to some this is real enough.

New Monitor

I got myself a relatively new (new to me) 17" CRT monitor from a surplus shop. I would have preferred an lcd monitor but I don't have the budget for it right now. It's more fun to view sites with a bigger screen. My kids enjoy the better the graphics in the games they are playing online.

Now, if my 15" monitor will be fixed, as well as my husband's 17" CRT monitor, there will be 2 extra monitors here at home. What are we supposed to do with the extra monitors? They are more likely to end up as dust collectors so we're planning to either sell or give them away to our church.

I'm in a sort of vacation mode right now after acting as a surrogate mother for my niece for a week. I still do some odd jobs here and there but I have more free time now to do some household chores and play Scrabble on the computer. Hopefully by next week I'll land myself a new online job. I don't want to get too lazy.

"A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man." Proverbs 6:10-11

Out Of Whack

I'm trying to make this post in a rush. My computer monitor is flickering again and I don't know if I'll be able to whack it to obedience (again) or it will completely do what it wants to do (compress my view to about a third of the screen). Without my precious monitor, I won't be able to accept online work, write posts to my blogs, surf the web, play games or simply chat or read emails. Waahh...

I already called a computer repair shop and I was told if I'll bring my monitor right away, I could have it back in a week's time. A week of forced online absence? A week of no work and earning? Waahh...

The other alternative is for me to buy a new monitor but I'm hesitant to shell out the money because I know that the problem with my monitor is someting that could be fixed. How do I know it's curable? Well, it still responds to my whacks, doesn't it? It just needs to be whacked more times than before and my hands end up hurting. Waahh...

My husband tells me it could simply be a problem of a coil getting loose. Yeah... simple, but nobody at home can fix it. Sigh...

What's the use of a computer if you have no monitor? What's the use of having an Internet connection if you don't have a monitor?

I'm using a 15" CRT monitor right now, maybe I can get myself a bigger one. Hmm... now that's something I could look forward to.

Earning From Blogging

This is something I'm very interested in. I enjoy blogging anyway so why not earn from it?

The upside in this is, I could write anything I like in my blog. The downside is, my joy in writing and the therapeutic effect I derive from it could be overshadowed by my desire to make it more profitable. The way things are now, I'm not compelled to do massive promotion of my blogs but once I decide to really earn from my blogs, promoting them will become one of the top priorities.

In so many ways, I'm still an infant in blogging. I have been part of the blogosphere for less than 2 months. In human terms, I still crave for my mother's milk and not yet ready for solids. But I'm ready to learn more about earning from blogging so that if ever I do decide to monetize my blogs I will have the basics in place.

I have to admit, I'm just not good in promotion. And if I will not promote my blogs, how would I expect to earn from them? I guess I'm not as shameless or as bold as some people are. I have no problem promoting my sites to people I know. It's doing the promotion to virtual strangers that I'm not yet comfortable with.

Article Writing Again

I found myself pondering the possibility of writing articles for website content again. This time, I'm doing it without the pressure of deadlines. I have been presented with pretty limited topics though, none of which is really of interest to me. But I will still give it a try, not for monetary reasons but simply to assess myself better as a writer.

These past weeks I've enjoyed writing in my blogs and I figured, why not start earning from writing once more? I have been blog surfing for a week and I have been exposed to different writing styles as well as to different topics. I believe I can be very good at it. I will continue to improve myself until I reach that "very good" status.

It's fun to write about things I'm really interested in but I have to mentally prepare myself to write about topics I know nothing about. I aim to write at least one article (minimum of 400 words)weekly to pump up my creative juices until I can do more.

If you are interested in getting me for writing projects, just give me a shout. I'm going to give it my very best shot.

Looking For Online Job

Some readers of this blog have been asking me where I got all my paying jobs from. With the World Wide Web at your disposal, there are many sources for jobs online but the real question is, how can you differentiate a scam from the real thing? Well, you can't really tell but there are ways you can employ to lessen the risk of falling prey to scammers.

Check out the web site. If a web site is mentioned in a job ad, make sure you give it a visit and check its contact information. A single different number, letter or symbol is already a big difference so be attentive to details. You can also do a "who is" query about the site.

Google it. Search the company and add the word scam, complaints or whatever other word you can think of, to know more about the experiences, especially negative ones, of other people with regards to the company. You can use whatever search engine you like, I just prefer to use google.

Trust your gut feel. In case of doubt, don't. If you smell something fishy, then it's more likely there's a stinking fish in there. Move on to the next opportunity.

Don't give out too much details about yourself. Unless you are very sure about the legitimacy of a company, it's advisable to be prudent. You can certainly enumerate your skills and previous work experiences but be very careful in giving out your personal details. Identity theft is something you should be wary of.

Now, where can you start looking for online jobs? Ad jobs are everywhere. If you are interested in bidding for work, you can try sites like Getafreelancer or Elance. I personally haven't won any bid yet as I don't like bidding too low. My time is precious and I believe I'm making a fair bid. There are just other jobseekers who are willing to work for almost nothing just to get a rating. Some people complained of not receiving their promised pay after winning and accomplishing the work so you have to take note of this risk.

Craigslist is also a good source of work but it's also littered with scammers. You just have to take extra precautions and carefully screen the work offers. Another site I visit is Genuinejobs.

While it might not help you find jobs directly, joining online forums can be worthwhile. You can get involved in discussions with like-minded people and get tips on how or where they get their work. There could be times when someone will post a wanted ad or get to know you in the forum and offer you a job.

HTML Tweaking

Feeling envious of other bloggers, I also installed a widget here on my site. Now I can see people and pictures. Being on the low tech side, I had a hard time trying to create the right colors for the widget. Good thing, my husband is more knowledgeable. He helped me tweak the html code to suit my site.

Now, I am eager to know basic programming so I'll be able to do things with my site. I know, I know. In tweaking html codes, one does not need to be a programmer. But I have greater things in mind. Well, actually my brain doesn't know about the greater things yet, but they'll come in time. I just hope I won't find it too hard or I'll probably mess up everything. Come to think of it, learning to be a programmer is a mighty great idea. There are lots of earning opportunities out there for programmers. But if I do decide to learn programming, what is the best way to do it? Think, think, think. Hmmm... my mind is on weekend mode so I'll just think about it another time.

Transcription Work (Part 2)

Transcribing audio files is really tough if you don't have any transcribing tool in place. One tool I can do without is a transcription playback software. In my case, I discovered and made use of Express Scribe, a free transcription helper software. I haven't tried any other software yet. I'm quite satisfied with Express Scribe and it has really helped me in my work.

I don't have a foot pedal and I don't have any plans of getting one since I'm not exactly a full time transcriber. I don't know if it will make a big difference in the amount of work I can get done, but at this point it's not really practical for me to buy a foot pedal.

With Express Scribe installed on my computer, I am able to adjust the playback speed from slow to fast. I can also rewind, play, stop and do other things with the recording using my keyboard. I just haven't figured out yet how to completely do away with the mouse while transcribing.

I've noticed that sometimes I am able to comprehend the recording better when I'm listening from a distance (I don't like using headphones at all), sometimes it's clearer when you are nearer. Getting another person's opinion is also necessary to clear out some incomprehensible speaker (maybe I'm just the one who can't seem to get it, ha ha). But sometimes, it's just simply an impossible task for anybody to figure out what was said in the recording (imagine a person talking with a stuffed nose and his head stuck in a pail).

My typing and listening skills are improving and I'm also earning. Pretty soon I'll be able to transcribe faster and earn better. Hmmm... it doesn't sound bad at all.

Transcription Work

I am always ready to try any work, as long as it is legitimate. I am also willing to learn new skills. The latest work that I've been doing is transcribing audio files.

I don't have any transcription experience but I got myself hired as a transcriber. I have been transcribing conferences and interviews on different topics. I am still learning the ropes but I think I'm getting better in every assignment.

I am getting a minimum of $15 per audio hour transcribed. At the start, I thought I could easily transcribe 3 audio hours daily, but I was greatly mistaken. Truth is, it took me about 4 hours to transcribe a 10 minute audio file the first time. Ha ha... so much for going into transcription work full time. But I was never a quitter and although I felt like I had to accept the fact that I'm no good at it, I still persevered and improved slowly.

What I find irritating is when the person in the recording is talking like he's got a stuffed nose and with his head inside a pail. You'd think people will talk clearly when they're doing an interview. Some people have a habit of mumbling and not completing sentences. I will not talk about their grammar anymore as it will just make my head ache.

Another thing that slows me down in my work as a transcriber, is the need to research proper names and some terms mentioned in the audio, not to mention that I'm not really a pretty fast typist. But I do enjoy transcribing when the voices are clear and the topics are not too technical. I also learn about some stuff, while working, and that's a good thing.

SEO Writing

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is about improving the amount as well as the quality of traffic driven by search engines to your website. The better the page ranking, the better the probability of searchers visiting your site.

What then is SEO writing? One strategy for improving the relevance of your site is by placing interesting content which the search engines' crawlers can easily index. Certain keywords within a page are often repeated to increase the keyword count and density.

The SEO writer's responsibility is to write an interesting article while incorporating the minimum number of certain keywords. If you are asked to use a keyword at least 15 times in an article, then you have to make sure your article is still cohesive, interesting and not redundant. Although not totally immune, search engines are better now in combatting spamdexing or keyword spamming so writing an article specifically for SEO really entails a lot of creativity.

Most of the articles I've written, although meant as website content, did not pressure me to use certain keywords often. I was allowed to write whatever is related to the topic as long as I make sure the article is within a specific word count. After all, a site could be banned by search engines if they are caught keyword spamming.

Data Entry Work 2

Out of curiosity, I responded to an online ad for data entry workers. I asked for more information about the advertised work and within an hour, I got an email.

The email I received talked about what the work is all about (processing emails) and all the financial benefits I could gain. Near the end of the email, a fee was mentioned. It was meant as payment for the training materials. I chuckled while reading this part. Why do you need to pay a supposedly established company to train you? I don't want to find out more so I just deleted the mail.

Writing Essays

Writing essays could be more lucrative than simply writing articles for web site content. However, I am not comfortable doing this kind of work. Personally, I feel like I'm encouraging students to be lazy.

I think there are those who have valid reasons for paying somebody to write essays or other school paperwork for them. Maybe they are swamped with too much school work, got sick or whatever. But the things is, you have no way of knowing who is worthy of getting your assistance and who is merely capable of paying the fees for your services. Having been a student myself, I do believe there's a reason why teachers require students to do such paperwork.

Being a parent, I am not going to encourage my children to let somebody do their essays for them. I would prefer them to do their assigned work responsibly and expect them to give their best in everything they have to do.

Article Writer

Article writers are in demand nowadays. There are so many wanted ads for all kinds of writers online.

Writing articles could be lucrative if you are creative and fast. It could also be fun and educational. On the dark side, it could be stressful and mentally exhausting.

I've had my share of writing articles for web site content. I had no prior experience as a writer but I felt like I had the knack for it. In my opinion, I was able to write some pretty good articles, considering I was assigned topics I absolutely knew nothing about. My only problem is, I hate deadlines. I'd like to take my time and really get myself immersed into the subject matter. After all, it's not just simply writing but it also requires sufficient research.

Simply put, writing articles was not a good earning opportunity for me because I can only do at most 2 articles in a day. I was paid a little over $2 per article but there are others who write for only a dollar per article. However, I'll probably take up writing again if I run out of other earning opportunities.

Online Researcher

Being an online researcher is not easy and at times frustrating but it can also be fun and rewarding. With a computer and a fast Internet connection, the World Wide Web is yours to explore.

My quest to be an effective researcher has led me to new knowledge about search engines, "who is" queries as well as the use of reverse IPs. I'm stingy so I make use of free online tools to help me in my online searches.

Because I was forced to think out of the box in order to get good search results, I spent time knowing more about the major search engines. Being used to simple Google searching, it was a delight for me to know about Google's advanced operators which I can use to narrow down my search results.

There are lots of online sites where you can "who is" a domain for free, but there are only a handful of sites which offer free reverse IP services. Check out Webhosting.info, Domainsdb.net and Domaintools.com. You can also do reverse IP, sort of, using MSN search engine.

Data Entry Work

I nearly got myself involved in supposedly, data entry work being offered by an online company. I got turned off because I learned that I have to pay a fee in order to become a member. What? I have to pay in order to work for them and be paid?

After researching more about this online company, I found out that there are lots of disgruntled members although there are those who claimed to have been paid. What's so funny is that many who became members only aim to recover what they paid the company.

However, legitimate data entry jobs do exist. They just get buried under scams and deceiving ads. If you dig dipper, you can find for yourself of a good data entry work. Just don't fall for companies with promises of good earning and yet are asking for a fee.

Paid to Post in Forums

I had also experienced being a paid poster in forums. The least amount that I got for a post was $0.03 (3 cents) but you can also get paid from 10 to 20 cents, or even more, depending on how you got hired for the job.

If you get your job as a paid forum poster through an agency, you're likely to be paid cheap, although there are agencies who do pay well. You have a good chance of geting a better pay if you are directly hired by forum owners.

Forum posting is fun if you are well-versed with the topics, but some guidelines to follow, like posting at least 40 words per post or posting at least 5 new topics everyday can take away the fun from it. Strict rules (for the paid posters) also take away the smoooth flow of conversations. Imagine having a forum with lots of new topics but no responses.

However, there are still forum owners (and agencies) who have the good sense to allow the paid forum poster to blend in naturally with real members. It is in this situation where being a paid forum poster is less about work but more about having fun and being a positive contributor to the growth of a forum.

If you are the type of person who enjoys posting in forums, why not start earning from what you delight in doing?

Mail Decoy Agent

Working as a mail decoy agent, you get to receive catalogs, magazines, product samples and the like through the post. The mails you will receive are addressed to different persons and not in your name. Only your home address will be used.

I had tried applying as a mail decoy agent at Hausernet but I did not push through with my application. The main reason why I backed out was because I was not sure if the mails will reach me, considering the name on each mail is that of a different person. I did not really trust our postman at that time to deliver the strange mails to me.

I have read from different forums of people who were quite satisfied with their work as mail decoy agents. This is not a big earning opportunity though, but it could help pay the bills.

Online Survey Taker

Online survey taking is another thing I got myself into early on in my online adventure. I signed up with different survey outfits, having read from various websites that it is a good income generating opportunity.

I had actively participated in a handful of online surveys and most of them were unpaid projects. As compensation, my name was supposedly entered into raffles where certain cash prizes could be won. I never won any.

After some time I grew weary of waiting for surveys in my email and decided to just have my name removed from some survey sites. I don't get selected to be a participant anyway and I had started to read of many complaints from other persons who were not paid for taking part in purportedly paid surveys. Some survey sites turned out to be scams and I could attest to this:

One ordinary, boring day, I thought of googling my name out of curiosity. Lo and behold, I saw my full name online. I clicked on the url where my name was found and got into an "online survey" website. I then found out that I was a winner of $1000 in one of their monthly draws. I was pretty excited but confused as the month where I was supposedly a winner was 3 months ago at that time. It stated on the website that all winners were informed and a winner has 60 days to claim his or her prize before it is forfeited. I readily contacted the site and asked about it. After some time, I got an email stating that they made a mistake, that I was not really a winner and somebody else won the prize. Duh!

Paid to Click and Read

While I was into autosurfing and manual surfing, I also got myself involved in paid to click and paid to read programs.

As the name suggests, you earn from paid to click and paid to read programs by clicking on banners or links and by receiving emails with links from advertisers. If you have nothing else to be busy with then this could be fun but it's not really rewarding. It could take months or even years before you can reach minimum payout if you are just a free member without a hefty downline.

I have been paid by some of the paid to click and paid to read programs that I have joined but what I earned was not even enough to pay for my Internet connection. How can you really earn if you are paid one tenth of a cent for every ad you click? You would need to click 1000 links in order to make a dollar.

Most of the sites I joined are no longer in existence but there are still paying sites that I am currently active in. Finding a paying, reputable site is not that easy but there are still good programs out there.

Do I consider the time I spent clicking on countless ads wasted? Not really. The programs I joined did not make any promises at all and I became part of them partly because of boredom.

Earning from Surfing

The first time I searched for an opportunity to earn online, I was able to come across the idea of earning from surfing the web. There are 2 ways in doing this.

Manual Surfing
In manual surfing, you are expected to look at a site from 15-30 seconds. You will be tasked to click correctly on something (could be a number, button or symbol) in order for another site to be loaded. Some manual surfing sites do pay you in cash, while others will just give you advertising opportunities.

AutoSurfing
In autosurfing, all you need to do is to login to your account and click on a button that will enable you to start viewing different websites. The sites are automatically loaded, so there's nothing much for you to do but to just wait until the the desired number of sites have been loaded and you will be credited.

I got tempted in joining a number of sites promising me good earnings from surfing. Not contented with the earning I got from being just a free member, I had my accounts upgraded by spending some cash. Being fairly new to the online world at that time, I was naive enough to think that those programs would last.

I did make a profit in some sites but it was evened out by many losses in others.

There are still many paid-to-surf programs out there but I am no longer active in any one. Most, if not all, of these programs are ponzi-based and without new members they will eventually die.

I have learned my lesson well and would advise others to be wary of these programs.

Earning Online

This blog is about my quest to earn online. It will chronicle my experiences and the insights I gained in my online adventure.

I am not presenting myself as an expert, but I will just narrate things that actually happened to me. I hope this will help others who are also in search of a better online earning opportunity.