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.

Online Work

Good news/bad news...

oDesk (and a real-life job) have been working wonders, and I've been very busy lately! This is also the bad news, as I can see it's been almost two weeks since I've posted here. So a quick update is in order:

1. Blogging, here and Lucid Living, have both taken hits. And they haven't made me any money this month, so you get what you give. I'll make it a priority to keep these up, as the goal is steady income.
   
2. Loxly Studios still hasn't put up any of the pictures I've sent. I'll keep on them...
   
3. Telecommuting through oDesk has gone great. I've put in 15 hours last week, and probably will have 10 or so this week.
   
4. Posting articles to Associated Content hasn't shown any new promise.
5. I've gotten a couple of Surveys, but so far just ones that will put my name in a drawing. Two coming up look promising, so we'll see.
   

I'll be working more for oDesk, and now looking up another I heard about: elance. Very cool to get paid to sit back with a headpiece on, chat with a boss in Greece, and write text that will make his product better.

An interesting realization: I currently have four bosses, in Idaho, the Philippines, Greece, and one in my town... Welcome to the global economy!

oDesk Work(s)

Woohoo! oDesk works!

Last night, I finished my second job through oDesk - a travel article for a travel agency's site, so they have travel stories for potential clients to read while thinking of traveling.

On January 12th, I finished my first job - editing a book that will be used as a 'teaser' to bring clients to their website and start a new social movement. The book was good, and the ideas interesting, and I really only had to do some proofreading, and idea suggestion. First, I told him I couldn't really help, then realized I needed some work history. So I spent about three hours reading and proofreading, and then put together an email of thoughts, concerns, and suggestions, and charged him an hour. And got a great review out of it.

And made an hour's work: $10. That, and last night's article for $5 means I've made $15 on oDesk - making it my #1 money-earning site so far. We're almost to the end of the month, so I'll be putting up monthly totals shortly.

Work In Your PJs!

The idea of telecommuting is an appealing one. Stay at home, save money on food, gas, clothes, parking, etc, etc, etc, wear what you want, avoid the boss, and set your own schedule. There are some challenges too - family members, separating work and home, no boss to keep you to task, no collaboration with co-workers, and ... setting your own schedule. For those that can handle it, it can be great. And oDesk seems like a great way to go if your company won't pay you to sit at home all day.

I joined oDesk on December 10th, so it's been just over a month. They have a good starting point, then batteries of tests you can take to separate yourself from everyone else, a feedback system, good community and articles to help you on your way, and GUARANTEED PAY. That's right - for hourly jobs, they get credit card information from the one buying your services, and automatically deduct for hours you worked. You can get stiffed for work not billed by the hour, but you can see if they are set up for payment, and their history of paying and working with providers. Everything looks really solid here.

The hard part is getting work. Since the internet is everywhere, this really is a global marketplace. Want to do data entry? Can you compete with someone who will work for $2 in India or the Philippines? But there's some good resources in the Community on that too, for example an article on how to not be a commodity that has applications throughout your work life.

oDesk's jobs area is broken down into the following categories: Web Development, A/V & Multimedia, Software Development, Networking & IT, Graphic Arts, and Writing. It's not just for writing, though that's where most of my skills lie. But I've found programmers from the Philippines making $20 an hour online here, making this an incredible resource for people in developing nations. Or as a supplement to work you already have.

Review: this one looks very promising, if you don't mind putting in hard work. You won't sit back and rake in the cash, but it certainly looks like you could make a decent living here, especially if you can brand yourself or find a full-time employer. More to come.

Hello World...

Welcome to my new Blog - Online Money Journal. The point of this blog is to make the journey to online income with you. There is a ton of information out there - some good, and some bad - on how to make money online. I'd like to find the way, with your help, and in the process put up a path for others to follow.

I'll be very clear on what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, how much time I'm spending, and if I'm making money. And I hope for your feedback with what you see I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. Hopefully by the end of the year, I'll be making some good money here, and showing you how to too!

My initial plans are:
1. Blogging - here and Lucid Living
2. Online sales, right now through Loxly Studios for my art, and soon eBay
3. Telecommuting through oDesk. (And other online sites?)
4. Posting articles to Associated Content (maybe similar posting sites)
5. Surveys

If you have any other suggestions, that's what Comments are for. I'll post more on each one soon, explaining what it is, and what my plan is for that stream of revenue.