My journey to making a living online

Happy New Year

2008-12-28T10:59:00.002-05:00

Happy Holidays to everyone and I'm hoping for a very Happy New Year as well. I think we could all use a fresh start and a prosperous New Year. I still haven't achieved my goal of working from home but I haven't given up yet. www.shoptoearn.net/waters has not taken off as I had hoped. I still like the concept except the company seems to be really new to the Industry and very unorganized and inexperienced. My trouble with them (the number one problem, anyway) is that Brokers are not allowed to mention the company name when posting or networking on the Internet, just your link to your website. One would think they would be proud to become a well known name and leader in their field. But for some reason they are scared for people to use thier name. It perplexes me because I'm one of those people that has been involved in more than one Network Marketing Company. I've never heard of a company not wanting you to mention their name. Let me rephrase that, you can mention their name "in person" just not in print. Obviously you can't advertise - that's a no brainer - but I can't even mention their name here on my blog or in a profile that I had with a Networking Site. I can only put my website link. It's funny, this week I have seen commercials for Amway and Avon on TV. Both are Network Marketing Companies. I guess they are using a much different approach to helping their Brokers with Marketing. There is no way for me to get my money back so I'm just chalking it up to a very expensive lesson learned.

Anyway, I probably won't be mentioning that opportunity again. I'm still doing ChaCha and LOVE IT!!!! They have been on a hiring freeze so they aren't accepting any new guides right now. Maybe after the first of the year, who knows. I'll be sure to post here when I find out.

Well, again, Happy New Year to All!!

Still working towards my goal

2008-10-16T10:16:00.002-04:00

Well as you can imagine, I'm still working hard towards my goal of earning about $1,500 a month from the comfort of my big black leather office chair, located in my home. I've joined more survey sites and I'm diligently answering everything from my cell phone service to what it's like being a Mom. I'll be putting some of the links to my favorite survey sites here on my blog AFTER I've done enough of them to pick out the best. I have been doing some that I'm quickly realizing are more of a waste of my time. I don't want to post any that I feel would waste your time as well.

I've also rejoined ChaCha. ChaCha is a free service offered to consumers as an alternative to sites like Google. With ChaCha, you ask a question and instead of an automated search, a real person researches and gives you the best possible answer to your question. ChaCha also offers a text service so if you are looking for a Chinese restaurant on 1st and Main, you simply text ChaCha and a guide will look it up and text you back. We answer questions on sporting events, movies, trivia and even the upcoming election. You name it, I've been asked it on ChaCha. I joined ChaCha when the service was still in Beta testing a couple of years ago and didn't continue. During my "journey" I remembered this great company and decided to re-apply. It's so much fun. I really love Sundays when everyone is texting in asking for football scores.

As a ChaCha guide, I get paid per search that I complete. I get 10 cents a search until I reach 200 searches a week, then I get 20 cents a search. Each search can take anywhere from 1 minute to 4 minutes. Doing that math, you can see where it would be super easy to make at least an extra $50 to $100 a week. Obviously it depends on how many hours you put into it and accuracy is very important. They also have expiditer postions which get paid a little differently. If you are interested in joining me at ChaCha, just go to www.chacha.com and click on Become a Guide in the bottom left corner. When you fill out the information, please put me as your referral so I can be sure to support your new endeavor. You will need my email address which is waters@dishmail.net. Once you join, drop me an email so I can follow up with your progress.

Well that is all for today. I want to do a lot of ChaCha~ing today so that I insure that I get my 200 searches by Saturday night. Their week runs Sunday to Saturday. Take care and be sure to keep checking in for more useful information. And also be sure to check out ChaCha!

Two Weeks Later...

2008-09-29T13:26:00.003-04:00

Well it's been two weeks since I started this journey and I have some updates to report today. I have been weeding through the endless fields of "work from home" opportunities and have come up kind of short. There are a lot of sites that offer clean fun and conversations and you can even earn a little too. But it's going to be difficult to actually make a living if you only earn around $10 a month on a handful of sites. I haven't tallied my total earnings yet from all the sites I'm participating in but I can certainly give you an estimate for now. I believe my grand total of earnings for the last two weeks would be approximately $18. Not even close to my monthly goal.

Now, don't think for a minute that I have given up. Oh quite the contrary. But I have narrowed down the two best ways for me to make money online.

Number 1 - Google Adsense. Having google adsense on this blog will generate money also. The more I promote this blog and increase the traffic here, the more ad income I can earn. It's pretty small right now but I'm going to work on that. If you have a blog or website that would compliment the content on mine, email me and we can talk about linking to each other.

Number 2 - Writing - I have heard that several people make a decent living writing online. Right now I have had 3 stories published and have made less than $1. But I believe that's because you really need to write every day and you need to promote your writing. I'm going to try to increase this and I'll report back.

I still have fun on the other sites, even though I know I can't get rich from them. I still read all my Sendearnings emails and I've made $5.76 so far from about 5 minutes a day (or less) of work. I still post on myLot because it's fun. My earnings right now are at $3.12. I've been dabbling in a couple of others but I don't want to post here until I know if they are good or bad. We need to be careful because there are a lot of people out there trying to scam innocent people.

Have a great Monday and I'll blog at ya later!

Update on my journey's progress

2008-09-23T19:07:00.003-04:00

As much as this has been a real learning experience, I'm finding that I'm actually having some fun with it. I've started a lot of programs ~ a lot! I don't recommend anyone that is serious about making a living online join quite so many, but I am doing research so that you don't have to. So I'm going to start updating on some of my trials. You must keep in mind that I've only just started and these things take time to get going. I also know that if I was not in the research mode of things, I'd have more time to focus on the 4 or 5 programs that made me the most money. We'll get there!

Update on www.shoptoearn.net/waters: This is what I see as my long term money maker. It's going to take some time but worth it. I have not signed anyone yet but do have a few people that are close. I've started shopping from my own site and will be earning cash back on that. Love drugstore.com because I can by all the things I would normally buy at Walgreens without having to leave the house (and drag my 2 girls with me). They have great deals and offer free shipping on most orders over $25. I've sent out some emails and will keep you all posted. www.shoptoearn.net/waters.

myLot: This one has been fun. Basically I post on things that interest me - from cooking to TV to making extra money. I've met some great people and it's where I have found some of the links to other sites. It's also a good place to possibly find referrals for some of my programs. Just be careful about spamming your business. What you need to do is talk to people like they were your long lost friend and if the subject of what you are doing to make a living comes up then you mention it. I've averaged posting about 10 posts a day; sometimes more, sometimes less. I've made about $3.00 so far. Not getting rich but that won't matter if I get referrals, right?

Wellness360: I love this site. I'm trying to lose weight right now and find it a great incentive to get paid while losing weight. Every time I log in and read wonderful health information, I get more points; points = money. Every time I use my food diary and keep track of my calories in and calories burned, I get more points. I just started this one and I've made about $5.00 so far. They pay quarterly and you need to make at least $25 before getting paid. So I've missed the 3rd quarter but I'm going for the 4th quarter check. I figure I'll receive it sometime in January and by then hopefully I'll have lost a few pounds. So with the money I earn, I can by me some new skinny clothes. This site is obviously not going to make you rich either but I highly recommend it, even if you don't need to lose weight but just want to be healthier. Oh yea, if you refer others you make 25% (I think) of their earnings when they get paid. The link is below and if you would, please use my referral code so I get credit for your fabulousness!

SendEarnings: Just joined this one but I have been a member of a similar site before. You get $5.00 just for signing up. You get paid when you complete surveys, play games, read emails and refer others. It's worth a shot but I can't tell you the projected earnings since I just signed up today. Give it a shot. The link is below.

Yuwie: This is a site where you get paid to socialize. I just joined this one also so don't have any payment proof yet. You get paid based on the amount of views to your profile. I've got 120 views so far. There is a link below. I'll just have to keep posting on this one.

I've also joined some pay per click sites and I'll report on those in the next few days. I've also joined a site where I rate music and a site where I get paid to play games with other members. I'll update those in a few days as well. I've also been writing for Triond and have 3 published articles so far. My earnings are only at $0.20 so far though. I have about 12 programs that have been emailed and will be starting this week.

I'm looking forward to the next post and would love any feedback. If you go to my website; www.shoptoearn.net/waters, you will find my personal email there.

Let's go make some money!!!!! Have a great and prosperous day and until next time.....

My first attempt at making a living online

2008-09-18T19:35:00.004-04:00

Unfortunately my journey this week has been a bit slow as I was lucky enough to get a 24 hour flu and never got a chance to get online. But I'm back and happy to report that I have made some progress. I've joined a few more sites and had a couple of articles published. Am I ready to report earnings? Not yet because it really would not be fair since I haven't actively worked any of them yet. I've gotten a lot of emails with several different money making opportunities online and I'm sifting through all of them. This is definitely going to be a detailed process. But I am ready to tell you about my first business and what I believe will make the most money in the long run.

With the economy in such poor shape and the price of gas rising, more and more people are starting to shop online. I personally love shopping online as I have two little girls who make "brick and mortar" shopping a challenge. I have also been reading a lot of articles about Network Marketing and how the whole industry has "grown up" in the last few years and that this is the true way for someone to start their own business and possibly make a decent amount of money on their own. So when you combine those two issues you get www.shoptoearn.net/waters. My Mom and Stepdad joined first and asked me to be their business partner and handle some of the Internet part of it. I did it with them for over a month and got so jazzed about the business, I very recently joined for myself. As the weeks go on I will update you on my progress and how I'm doing. I've read that this market takes 90 to 180 days to get up and running so that is my goal. I am not expecting to get rich quick or just sign people up just for the numbers. I want to work this like a business and train and motivate others to do the same. Let me explain the business more.

Basically I operate my own shopping portal with over 600 stores including Macy's, Target, Best Buy, Drugstore.com, Omaha Steaks and many many more. Whenever somebody shops from my site, I get a percentage of the total amount spent. So for my friends and family, they get the luxury of their own personal virtual shopping mall and for me ~ I get paid. When I shop from my own site, I get paid. I am getting paid to do something I would be doing anyway and I'm also helping to do my part in saving our Earth. I joined as a broker so not only do I have my own website I'm also going to get paid for referring others to this business and training them. My background is in Marketing and I can't wait to share all my creative ideas with my future team.

I've always wanted to start my own business but could never afford to do it. Have you researched the cost of starting you own business lately? It's crazy expensive. This was a way for me to own my own business, be my own boss and "make a living online". I'm really excited about this opportunity, the possibilities are amazing. There are several people that have made quite a bit of money already so there is a real potential here.

I've posted the website below but here it is again; www.shoptoearn.net/waters. Click on the picture of my two beautiful girls. From the next page click on the Overviews in the top right. Watch the short video and then watch the slide show about "How it all works". We're going to have so much fun!

As you will notice below I have listed links to my sites and my published articles. As I start signing up for other opportunities I'll put the links below and will give reports on my findings. I'm going to try to research each one before posting as I would hate for anyone to sign up and waste their time.

Until my next post ~ happy blogging and for all of those people looking to make a living online....we can do this!!!!

Today I begin the journey

2008-09-15T17:40:00.000-04:00

Well I've made my decision. I'm going to do this even if it kills me! OK, OK, not if it is going to kill me, but I intend to give it my all. What am I speaking of? I'm going to make a living online. Yep, that means I need to make the equivalent of a full time, outside the home, 9 to 5 JOB. I've already started to sign up for different programs, I've been working on this for a few weeks now. I even have my own website. But so far things are moving pretty slow.

What I'm going to do here is list the programs I've tried, the pros and cons, and how much money I'm making. Not only will this information possibly help others, but I believe it will help me stay organized and be able to reflect back on my journey.

I'm not going to try to cram every moneymaking opportunity into one days blog, I'll spread it out as to not overwhelm you (and me). I'm going to just start off with listing my website I created a few weeks ago. Keep in mind it is still a work in progress. It's www.mamaspearls.net. I'm still looking for input on family fun activities, recipes, camping tips, etc.

What can you expect to see here in the upcoming days/weeks? I'll update my research and participation in PPC sites, answering surveys, owning your own online business, getting paid on social sites, and being a published writer.

I think we're going to have a lot of fun here!

Take Care!