Working From Home: Part 1

Several years ago I was injured while working. We were living on one income and the injury I acquired basically ruined my chances of staying in the profession I loved, which was caring for the elderly and rehabilitation. I spent some time honing my skills as a graphic designer, mostly logos and photo manipulation, but I was outclassed by professionals. Hey, I did pretty well for someone who was self taught, but I didn’t bring in enough to cover all the bills.

So I spent time online looking for ways to make a real income. Like many others I searched for Work At Home jobs and came up with mostly scams. Read emails for a few pennies. Fill out surveys for free gifts or a few bucks. Take free items and enter my email for another few pennies. Ugh. I never made much of anything with the email gigs, but I have gotten some nice gifts from a few survey sites like Pinecone Research, Gozing, and MyPoints. Those are the only 3 sites I would recommend to anyone, but you will not make a fortune.



I must say I did make $20 from one Gozing survey. Pinecone and Gozing both pay out religiously.

Next I took a moment to see what it was that I already did online. I was a member, then administrator of a writing site. All fiction, but fun. I had been writing for years and joining in a writing forum seemed natural. I cam across a forum that was for people who made a living or were trying to make a living with their writing. This is something I had toyed with for years, the idea of being a writer. I was never sure of what to do exactly to find work. After a few months on this forum (http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums) I had fell into freelance non-fiction writing and sold my first article!

Since then I have been published in several local parenting magazines, blogs, online sites, and have become a columnist for an online digital magazine. It has been a whirlwind ride, full of ups and downs. But, the ride seems to be heading upwards all the time.

Can you do this? YES.

The key to working online is finding something that your reader wants to buy, learn, or just read. If you have a product that is appealing, you can literally quit your day job eventually. We all have heard the stories of people who have done it. Why can’t that be you? All it takes is some work and a great product. I will cover more later on how to promote your product, but for now, just trust me, it CAN be done.

If you are a writer, find your niche. Heck, find a few niches. Being able to intelligently write about more than one topic will save you a lot of heartache if one of your chosen niches just isn’t working for you.

Take advantage of job boards and the ability to telecommute. Even if you choose something other than writing, there are many companies that will allow you to use their software in your home office and report your hours via the internet. Never abuse the system, this can cost you the job and any future clients.

Learn all you can about Adsense and other revenue systems that can be incorporated into your blog or website.

Hire someone to write great SEO (search engine optimization) articles for you or learn to do it yourself. Google has a tool to help you find the best keywords for your website. Do not use cruddy writing for keywords. No one wants to read ’40 weeks pregnant’ over and over. Imagine if your site is for hemorrhoid cream!

The next segment in working from home will cover just how much you can save by working from home and where to find work at home jobs.

(By the way, sorry for the absence! I am expecting and have had a lot of false/early labor the past week. If I suddenly disappear again, you know we have a new addition to the Everyday Family!)