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.
Showing posts with label Surveys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Surveys. Show all posts
Monday, March 2, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
I'm a Happy Member of the Professional oDesk Community!
I am now an oDesk professional, as compared to an amateur - someone who does it as a hobby. And of course what that means is I got paid! I've been working for a little bit, but they have a delay - I assume so that the buyers can't cancel the payment. Let's go a little slower and explain how the pay system works there.
When a person or business looks to hire someone through oDesk, they have to give oDesk a method of payment - usually credit card, probably Paypal would work too (not a Buyer - yet!). oDesk then tests the card, and doesn't let that person hire anyone until they have a positive result. As long as the you(or me, a provider) works hourly, you clock in, are monitored, and oDesk keeps a record of time spent and what was going on with your computer. Sunday night, your hours for the week are up, and you have until Monday noon to make any changes - say you got a drink of water and spent 10 minutes talking to a friend; you don't want to charge them for that 10 minutes.
Now comes the wait. oDesk spends about 10 days processing: charging their credit card; handling their paperwork; waiting to make sure the money is safely there; and then they make it available to you. So my first week of work came available yesterday, and I got my first paycheck today, all $221 of it, deposited into my account!
So there you have it. oDesk is for real. There's a lot of competition, and some of it is from places with a much lower standard of living, so you have to work hard to differentiate yourself. But once you do, oDesk can be your new workspace. I make more hourly there than at my other jobs - while sitting in my easy chair, looking out the window. Well, sometimes - a lot of my work was really early in the morning.
In other news, Loxly Studios has three pictures of mine up here. Brand new, so I won't make anything this month. Take a look and see what you think. And let me know if you want anything specific. I live in Newport, on the Oregon Coast, so lighthouses, ocean, gulls, pelicans, the Aquarium, and so on are all really easy to get. I'm thinking about putting together some Motivational Posters - let me know if anyone's interested.
Finally, surveys have been a bust. I mentioned two possibles last week, and they both fell through. One never showed; the other one did, but was closed when I went to fill it out (apparently they sometimes close early). I'm going through the other sites again, but nothing new there either. Well, at least I'm learning what works - and what doesn't!
Monthly recap coming soon!
When a person or business looks to hire someone through oDesk, they have to give oDesk a method of payment - usually credit card, probably Paypal would work too (not a Buyer - yet!). oDesk then tests the card, and doesn't let that person hire anyone until they have a positive result. As long as the you(or me, a provider) works hourly, you clock in, are monitored, and oDesk keeps a record of time spent and what was going on with your computer. Sunday night, your hours for the week are up, and you have until Monday noon to make any changes - say you got a drink of water and spent 10 minutes talking to a friend; you don't want to charge them for that 10 minutes.
Now comes the wait. oDesk spends about 10 days processing: charging their credit card; handling their paperwork; waiting to make sure the money is safely there; and then they make it available to you. So my first week of work came available yesterday, and I got my first paycheck today, all $221 of it, deposited into my account!
So there you have it. oDesk is for real. There's a lot of competition, and some of it is from places with a much lower standard of living, so you have to work hard to differentiate yourself. But once you do, oDesk can be your new workspace. I make more hourly there than at my other jobs - while sitting in my easy chair, looking out the window. Well, sometimes - a lot of my work was really early in the morning.
In other news, Loxly Studios has three pictures of mine up here. Brand new, so I won't make anything this month. Take a look and see what you think. And let me know if you want anything specific. I live in Newport, on the Oregon Coast, so lighthouses, ocean, gulls, pelicans, the Aquarium, and so on are all really easy to get. I'm thinking about putting together some Motivational Posters - let me know if anyone's interested.
Finally, surveys have been a bust. I mentioned two possibles last week, and they both fell through. One never showed; the other one did, but was closed when I went to fill it out (apparently they sometimes close early). I'm going through the other sites again, but nothing new there either. Well, at least I'm learning what works - and what doesn't!
Monthly recap coming soon!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
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:
An interesting realization: I currently have four bosses, in Idaho, the Philippines, Greece, and one in my town... Welcome to the global economy!
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:
- 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.
- Loxly Studios still hasn't put up any of the pictures I've sent. I'll keep on them...
- Telecommuting through oDesk has gone great. I've put in 15 hours last week, and probably will have 10 or so this week.
- Posting articles to Associated Content hasn't shown any new promise.
- 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.
An interesting realization: I currently have four bosses, in Idaho, the Philippines, Greece, and one in my town... Welcome to the global economy!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Making Money Online!
Okay, moment of truth time... Early each month, I'll post how I've been doing. Right now, I'm going to keep it on totals, but as things build, I'll move to monthly income. Each of my ventures will get some time devoted to it, so we can compare and contrast. Let's get started!
Blogging
This has been by far the most labor-intensive. I'm putting at least a couple hours a day here (though not this last week, as you'll note by the lack of posts... oops), and so far, little to show for it. Directly - I might have an oDesk job because someone liked the style of writing on my blogs. Anyway, AdSense shows an average of 13 viewers per day, and a total of 47 cents, most of that on a click-through. Nothing on Amazon.com, the other part of blogging income. Well, I was told it would build slowly!
I certainly enjoy the creative and expressive aspect of blogging, so let's see where it goes!
Posting Content
Didn't do much with this one. I got my five articles in by the end of December for a $10 bonus that didn't materialize. One of the 'articles' was a slideshow, and I don't know if that counts. I'll follow up by email and see what comes of it. I also posted two poems in January - haiku for Valentine's Day,here and here .
Final tally: 121 page views for 18 cents.
Sales
Looks like I finally exist on Loxley, but I'm still trying to get pictures up so I can work on selling them. Slow when you're waiting on someone else. I probably would have been better working with eBay or somewhere I have more control. I'm hoping to set up passive income here though. Probably should focus on just income first...
Final tally: nada
Surveys
Well, as I said, I'm signed up for several. I have registered with PineCone, panelbase.net, Greenfield, and American Consumer Opinion - and have only received invites for surveys that put my name in a drawing. And only probably 3-4 of those even. I need to get the second half looked at, and listed on 6-10 survey sites, not just four. I made $3 on two different surveys in December, and have £3 listed in my account from Panelbase.net.
Final tally: $6, and maybe £3
Telecommuting at oDesk
And the winner is... I spent 3-5 hours reading a book - that I would read anyway - and about 1 hour on editing the book, and made $10.53. I also wrote an article for a travel site to help build traffic and interest for $5, spending about three hours on this process too. So far, I'm making lousy 'per hour' income (though not as bad as the blogging), but I'm at least making some money. It also looks like I'm going to get a job on oDesk due to my blogging, so this will jump in February. Wish me luck!
Final tally: $15.53!
Blogging
This has been by far the most labor-intensive. I'm putting at least a couple hours a day here (though not this last week, as you'll note by the lack of posts... oops), and so far, little to show for it. Directly - I might have an oDesk job because someone liked the style of writing on my blogs. Anyway, AdSense shows an average of 13 viewers per day, and a total of 47 cents, most of that on a click-through. Nothing on Amazon.com, the other part of blogging income. Well, I was told it would build slowly!
I certainly enjoy the creative and expressive aspect of blogging, so let's see where it goes!
Posting Content
Didn't do much with this one. I got my five articles in by the end of December for a $10 bonus that didn't materialize. One of the 'articles' was a slideshow, and I don't know if that counts. I'll follow up by email and see what comes of it. I also posted two poems in January - haiku for Valentine's Day,here and here .
Final tally: 121 page views for 18 cents.
Sales
Looks like I finally exist on Loxley, but I'm still trying to get pictures up so I can work on selling them. Slow when you're waiting on someone else. I probably would have been better working with eBay or somewhere I have more control. I'm hoping to set up passive income here though. Probably should focus on just income first...
Final tally: nada
Surveys
Well, as I said, I'm signed up for several. I have registered with PineCone, panelbase.net, Greenfield, and American Consumer Opinion - and have only received invites for surveys that put my name in a drawing. And only probably 3-4 of those even. I need to get the second half looked at, and listed on 6-10 survey sites, not just four. I made $3 on two different surveys in December, and have £3 listed in my account from Panelbase.net.
Final tally: $6, and maybe £3
Telecommuting at oDesk
And the winner is... I spent 3-5 hours reading a book - that I would read anyway - and about 1 hour on editing the book, and made $10.53. I also wrote an article for a travel site to help build traffic and interest for $5, spending about three hours on this process too. So far, I'm making lousy 'per hour' income (though not as bad as the blogging), but I'm at least making some money. It also looks like I'm going to get a job on oDesk due to my blogging, so this will jump in February. Wish me luck!
Final tally: $15.53!
*****************************
So the grand total is $22.18 so far.
Monday, January 26, 2009
No Opinions Needed
As a sub-part of the surveys, I now belong to:
I've been in PineCone for close to three months now, and they've sent me two paying surveys while the rest are newer and haven't sent me anything yet. I just signed into Greenfield, and I'm taking a survey on beverages while I type here.
The plan is to find about 10 good survey sites. 20-30 would be better... And by taking a survey twice a month on each, I could make a couple hundred dollars. Now it's looking like I might get up to $10 a month.
We'll see. More to sign up with shortly!
- PineCone Research (by invitation only)
- PanelBase.net (in the UK, I've earned £3 - we'll see how they pay to the US)
- American Consumer Opinion
- Greenfield (no pay, just entry to sweepstakes)
I've been in PineCone for close to three months now, and they've sent me two paying surveys while the rest are newer and haven't sent me anything yet. I just signed into Greenfield, and I'm taking a survey on beverages while I type here.
The plan is to find about 10 good survey sites. 20-30 would be better... And by taking a survey twice a month on each, I could make a couple hundred dollars. Now it's looking like I might get up to $10 a month.
We'll see. More to sign up with shortly!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Survey Sign-up, part I
Okay, this is taking longer than I expected. I should have expected it, of course... So here's the first part. I'll do two parts from the original list, then a third part from the new ones I'm finding. On to business:
In the process of Googling these sites (I love the way we verb-ize new words), I found the Survey Police – which had feedback on these and more sites, and some new ones to try out!
• American Consumer Opinion
Easy to sign up for. Also, since I consider myself to run my own company (I’m self-employed somewhat), I qualified for a higher level of surveys that can pay significantly more. Of course, I signed up for that too!
• Global Opinion Panels
Looks easy to sign up for, but rewards are in points, 5 to 5,000 a survey, with 1,000 points redeemable for $1. That means surveys could be worth $0.05. Also, you have to get to 5,000 and then redeem them to get any reward. I’ll pass. For now…
• HarrisPoll Online
Again, you gather points, and then redeem them. For merchandise or gift certificates. I’m holding out for cold, hard cash right now. Probably shouldn’t, but my first wave is for money only…
• I-say Panel
Again, you gather points, and then redeem them. For merchandise or gift certificates, and I couldn’t find clear information on what surveys are worth, or anything worth getting at low numbers.
• Lightspeed
Again with the points. You can redeem them for cash, though, but must have a Paypal account to get paid. And Paypal gets a share of money paid to you through them. Second wave of signups!
• Nielsen NetRatings
Couldn’t find any survey information, or a site that looks like it does surveys.
• NFO MySurvey (TNS)
Took a little while to track down. Looks pretty good, though you have to redeem for money too. At least they’ll mail it to you. I'll sign up for this one today, too.
There you go. Of seven I looked into, three paid cash, but only two looked worthwhile, one was MIA, and three paid in merchandise / gift certificates.
To compare, my original is PineCone Research - which sends a $3 check when you take a survey for money. Sometimes they'll send a survey just for entry into a sweepstakes. They aren't taking new members at the time I've heard, and I got lucky there - they asked a friend of mine to recommend new people to them and he gave them my name. If I get an offer like that, I'll set up something to help you guys get in!
In the process of Googling these sites (I love the way we verb-ize new words), I found the Survey Police – which had feedback on these and more sites, and some new ones to try out!
• American Consumer Opinion
Easy to sign up for. Also, since I consider myself to run my own company (I’m self-employed somewhat), I qualified for a higher level of surveys that can pay significantly more. Of course, I signed up for that too!
• Global Opinion Panels
Looks easy to sign up for, but rewards are in points, 5 to 5,000 a survey, with 1,000 points redeemable for $1. That means surveys could be worth $0.05. Also, you have to get to 5,000 and then redeem them to get any reward. I’ll pass. For now…
• HarrisPoll Online
Again, you gather points, and then redeem them. For merchandise or gift certificates. I’m holding out for cold, hard cash right now. Probably shouldn’t, but my first wave is for money only…
• I-say Panel
Again, you gather points, and then redeem them. For merchandise or gift certificates, and I couldn’t find clear information on what surveys are worth, or anything worth getting at low numbers.
• Lightspeed
Again with the points. You can redeem them for cash, though, but must have a Paypal account to get paid. And Paypal gets a share of money paid to you through them. Second wave of signups!
• Nielsen NetRatings
Couldn’t find any survey information, or a site that looks like it does surveys.
• NFO MySurvey (TNS)
Took a little while to track down. Looks pretty good, though you have to redeem for money too. At least they’ll mail it to you. I'll sign up for this one today, too.
There you go. Of seven I looked into, three paid cash, but only two looked worthwhile, one was MIA, and three paid in merchandise / gift certificates.
To compare, my original is PineCone Research - which sends a $3 check when you take a survey for money. Sometimes they'll send a survey just for entry into a sweepstakes. They aren't taking new members at the time I've heard, and I got lucky there - they asked a friend of mine to recommend new people to them and he gave them my name. If I get an offer like that, I'll set up something to help you guys get in!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Takin' Surveys
I will be going through my exploration into making money online. First, an individual introduction of each type...
My first venture into actually making money online was taking surveys. I was invited to Pinecone Research by a friend, and have been a member since November 2008. I've looked into eBay before this, but haven't actually sold anything. A true neophyte...
I signed up after being told that I would make $5 per survey I took, and that there would be one every couple of weeks. When I signed up, the new deal is $3 per survey, and entry into their sweepstakes... Oh well. So far, I've taken three surveys - two paid, and one for entry in a broader sweepstakes. This works out to one a month at the moment - and $3 a month is not the road to riches!
I am kind of unusual though. I don't have a TV, don't see commercials, and we're pretty tight for cash right now, so I don't do a lot of spending outside of necessities. I assume as they collect data, this could weed me out of some surveys.
On the other hand, at the end of the first survey, they asked me if I participated in other surveys. I said no because I don't, but I did copy their list. This is the list of survey companies they talked about, so I assume they are as legitimate as Pinecone Research is. I am now in the process of checking these out, and I'll let you know how it goes.
• American Consumer Opinion
• Global Opinion Panels
• HarrisPoll Online
• I-say Panel
• Lightspeed
• Nielsen NetRatings
• NFO MySurvey (TNS)
• NPD Online Research Panel
• OpinionSquare (may also be known as comScore)
• SurveyCenter (may also be known as Greenfield Online)
• SurveySavvy
• SurveySpot
• Synovate Consumer Opinion Panel
• Your2cents
• Zoom Panel
Review: this isn't a lot of money, but if you can get on 20, it could mean an extra $50 to $100 a month. As you can start right away, it's a good place to have some income while you wait for slower opportunities (i.e. blogging) to build.
My first venture into actually making money online was taking surveys. I was invited to Pinecone Research by a friend, and have been a member since November 2008. I've looked into eBay before this, but haven't actually sold anything. A true neophyte...
I signed up after being told that I would make $5 per survey I took, and that there would be one every couple of weeks. When I signed up, the new deal is $3 per survey, and entry into their sweepstakes... Oh well. So far, I've taken three surveys - two paid, and one for entry in a broader sweepstakes. This works out to one a month at the moment - and $3 a month is not the road to riches!
I am kind of unusual though. I don't have a TV, don't see commercials, and we're pretty tight for cash right now, so I don't do a lot of spending outside of necessities. I assume as they collect data, this could weed me out of some surveys.
On the other hand, at the end of the first survey, they asked me if I participated in other surveys. I said no because I don't, but I did copy their list. This is the list of survey companies they talked about, so I assume they are as legitimate as Pinecone Research is. I am now in the process of checking these out, and I'll let you know how it goes.
• American Consumer Opinion
• Global Opinion Panels
• HarrisPoll Online
• I-say Panel
• Lightspeed
• Nielsen NetRatings
• NFO MySurvey (TNS)
• NPD Online Research Panel
• OpinionSquare (may also be known as comScore)
• SurveyCenter (may also be known as Greenfield Online)
• SurveySavvy
• SurveySpot
• Synovate Consumer Opinion Panel
• Your2cents
• Zoom Panel
Review: this isn't a lot of money, but if you can get on 20, it could mean an extra $50 to $100 a month. As you can start right away, it's a good place to have some income while you wait for slower opportunities (i.e. blogging) to build.
Friday, January 9, 2009
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.
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.
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