More on How to Make Money on oDesk

As the one that is working and making me money, I am really starting to focus on oDesk. It's a job, yes, and my goal is Financial Freedom - and that will come from steady passive income, not pay-per-hour. But right now, I need money (don't we all!), so I take what pays...

Besides, I might have some ideas on how to make oDesk more passive. I'll post on that later though! For now, more on how things work at oDesk.

To make money there, you have to be the cheapest, the best, or otherwise unique at what you do. Considering the competition, I wouldn't try to be the cheapest - many work for under $2 an hour here. The best can also be a pretty high level... That really leaves being yourself and being unique, which means some branding. More on that in a bit.

To set yourself up, first you create an account. They walk you through that, and through the stages of building your profile - think of it as your oDesk resume. Here's mine. The focus is on what you can do for your client (called a Buyer as they're buying your services). So first I took tests to show that I'm not just saying I can write well. You need to take the introductory oDesk test, and then you're on your own. I'd recommend you do a couple obvious ones - creative writing, tech writing, etc. if you want to write. Then apply for a couple jobs and look at the other people applying - click on their names, read their profiles, and start adjusting yours. What other tests did they take? How did they write their intro? Have they worked a bit? Take their profile more seriously, like this one - notice the portfolio as well as tests.

One other thing - as you're building, don't worry about the pay. You'll get up to it. I started at under $2 an hour for my first job - now I'm at $14. The profile in the last paragraph, she started at $10 and now often makes over $30! Start. Write something. Get some positive feedback, and build. There is enough work out there to make a good career here.

Now you just have to stay motivated and working at home!

Making Money Online in February

And the word is ... interesting. I've actually been working offline a lot, which cut into time, and working on oDesk a lot, which cut into time for other projects here. As you'll see below, some have fallen flat on their face, and others are taking off. On to the results!

Blogging
Again, this has been one of my favorites, as there is lots of opportunities to express myself, think more deeply and reflect on life, and share ideas - hopefully with other people!

On the income front, however, we're not doing so well. Although I had more views in Feb, I made no money through Adsense and Amazon. I also had about two weeks with hardly any posts, so we'll see how that changes in March.

Posting Content
The Haiku I put up last month are my most recent posts, yet things are still moving. I like the possibility that I could have a hundred or more articles, and with a minimum of effort, a slow flow of cash. Even though I did nothing this month, there are 50 new page views - and some come from people who like a new post and move through to other pages. I will probably make it a point to post five articles here a month from now on.

Tally: 50 new page views for 8 cents.

Sales
I'm up and official - there are three pictures of mine up on Loxly. You can follow the link in the header to see the pictures I have have up, if you're interested. I'll be working on ways to market them now. I haven't done anything with eBay, as I don't have anything really to sell. This seems like it could be good, though I don't know really how yet...

Final tally: nada

Surveys
I'm registered with PineCone, panelbase.net, Greenfield, and American Consumer Opinion, and haven't received any new paid surveys. These sites, for the most part, email us when there's a survey we qualify for, so there's little you can do proactively to make money here. I have a few more sites to check out, though I'm discouraged by the lack of action I can take here.

Final tally: nothing new

Telecommuting at oDesk
oDesk is really taking off. I now have two bosses here - one in the Philippines, and one in Greece. Talk about outsourcing and an international market! I've been invited to an interview on what oDesk is about, so I'll put up a link for that if it works out.

As to actual work, I've put in almost 40 hours in the last 3 weeks. I'm working on the help text for a program, and spending a lot of time working out details for the wording and specialty concepts.

February tally: $539.00!

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So the grand total is $539.08, all pretty much from oDesk.