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Freelancing is one of the most lucrative options today to make money online. There are freelancing opportunities available in almost every field, be it writing, application development, website development, web designing or something else. Given the multitude of opportunities available in the freelancing world, people are increasingly opting for work-from-home jobs instead of working full time in a small cubicle.

According to a recent survey done, a large number of Indians are looking to work-from-home as it gives them better flexibility. And that means increased competition. Therefore, to make money online via freelancing, you need to give your potential clients a solid reason for choosing you above others.

For all those who are already thinking about dropping their prices in order to counter competition, sorry, that’s a very bad strategy. Businesses as well as individuals out there are looking for value for money services. Differentiating your services on the basis of cost is the worst strategy you can come with as a freelancer.

Let’s take an example of mobile service providers to explain that better. We won’t take any names but there are service providers out there who give you dirt cheap voice and data plans. But when it comes down to delivering the services, usually, there is no network coverage, faulty billing etc. Thus, differentiating your cost alone won’t fetch you a large client base.

In fact, you have to make your clients believe that you are worth every penny that you are demanding. Here are a few ways you can do that, which will ensure that you have a much better chance of making money online.

Have your own website- You need to project yourself as an expert in your field in order to bag good clients. Having your own website is a good way of doing that. While building your own website, make sure it showcases your abilities in the best way possible. For example, if you are a freelance web designer, your website should focus on your design capabilities and give your clients a glimpse of what you can do. Similarly, if you are a freelance writer, focus should be on your writing instead of design. A website is a great way to showcase your wares and show organizations out there what you can do for them.

Participate in related forums and groups- We have already stressed upon this point in one of our earlier posts, but it is worth mentioning again. Participating in related groups and forums and giving people useful tips on solving problems goes a long way in building your brand. When people start trusting your opinion, they begin to turn to you for their relevant needs, which means building a good client base.

Offer them a sample- Do you know why the best brands in cars offer a free test drive to people? In order to help people try out their new vehicle and trust it completely before buying it. Something similar can be done in the world of freelancing as well. If you trust your abilities, offer your potential clients a free sample to try out your services. If you are good enough, the client will come to you. Offering something free is just another way of building your brand and luring customers.

Blog regularly- The importance of blogging cannot be stressed more. Blogging can help in search engine optimization, it can help drive traffic to your personal brand online, and it can virtually multiply your online income. Thus, in order to succeed in the world of freelancing, make sure you blog regularly. If you don’t trust your writing skills, outsource the task to professionals. But don’t make it an excuse for not having a blog.

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Although blogging takes time to fetch you returns, it is one of the most productive ways to make money online. However, many a times, people fail to fetch traffic to their blog despite doing most of the things correctly viz. writing keyword rich content, writing regularly, writing informative posts which are interesting to read etc. Here are some tips on how to fetch traffic to your blog. These are tips that not everyone is aware of (i.e. until now).

Post at the most opportune time- It might seem strange to you but the timing of your blog post has an effect on the traffic it fetches. The time which brings you the most amount of traffic differs from blog to blog. For example, if you are writing an India centric blog, people are most likely to find relevant information either at the start of the day or late night. Similarly, if you are writing for US audience while living in India, you need to adjust your blog posting time accordingly. A few hit and trials would help you decipher the most productive time to post on your blog.

Keep it to the point- Most people today are short of time. When they are looking for information, they need it very quickly without going through jargon. Thus, always make it a point to write crisp, to the point blog posts. Doing that regularly helps in building up a following which ultimately leads to increase in blog traffic. Of course, if you are writing a blog on personal experience or life coaching, the writing style would differ a little in that case.

Insert images- Just plain text can be boring for the reader. Inserting images within your text is a good way to capture your reader’s attention. It can help you in search engine optimization of your blog. Inserting the right alt text while inserting images in your blog, improves your search engine rankings, and discoverability too. For example, if you are writing a tech blog on iPhone, inserting an image of iPhone in your blog post and tagging it right helps. When a person looks for the image of iPhone on Google, chances are that image in your blog will pop up.

Participate on related forums- In order to fetch traffic to your blog, it is important to build a personal brand in the online world. Thus, participating in related forums and blogging platforms is a vital part of fetching traffic to your blog. And when we say participate, we actually mean participate and not blatant marketing. For example, let’s say you are writing a tech blog. Now, since you are a techie, you would be knowing a lot of tricks and tips for common Windows problems.

Thus, you can participate in related online forums and help people solve their problems. As you help out people regularly, you build a personal brand for yourself. As your personal brand begins to grow, people begin to trust your opinion, which is when you can start promoting your blog. Remember, this technique of increasing traffic to your blog does take time but in most cases than not, it gets the job done.

Try the above techniques of increasing blog traffic and let us know if they worked for you (in all probability, they will). In case they do, show us some love by subscribing to this blog or following us on Twitter. We keep bringing you more tips and tricks on making money online.

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Right then, you have got a blog, have been at it for some time now and you have been posting original content. But still, when you apply for the Adsense program, Google rejects your applications stating a series of reasons which may or may not be comprehensible. While there can be various reasons for rejecting an Adsense application, the most plausible reasons in accordance with Google’s updated terms and conditions are:

New hosting- If your blog is not older than 6 months, chances are, it would be rejected by Google Adsense. Recently, Google updated its policy to include only those sites and blogs which are more than 6 months old. Reportedly, Google has done so to avoid spammers who are there to make some quick bucks.

You live in the wrong country- When you Google the list of countries where adsense is banned, in all probability, you would land up on Google forum which says, “No country is banned from Google adsense. However, there are some restrictions in terms of languages etc.” But the reality is, there are countries where you cannot get your adsense account approved no matter how hard you try. These countries generally comprise of the Middle East where the US has levied sanctions. If you are living in the wrong country, you can do nothing much about it. Of course, there are still ways (illegitimate ones) which can help you get a Google adsense account. But we won’t go into that.

Your address details don’t match- The adsense approval team is cynical that you meet almost all their requirements. Thus, while applying for Google adsense, if you gave an address that is different from your domain registration address, your application would be rejected. Google does all that to make sure its adsense network remains free of spammers.

No primary domain- Of late, getting an adsense account for something like www.example.blogspot.com has become difficult. Google is increasingly focusing on primary domains such as www.example.com. Thus, if you applied for adsense for a secondary domain, chances are that your application won’t be approved. Apply for a primary domain instead to increase your chances of approval. Of course, that does not mean that you cannot get an adsense approval for .blogspot.com. It just takes a lot more effort and lot more traffic to make that possible.

Not enough traffic- This is the primary reason why most adsense applications get rejected. Google is looking for websites and blogs that can provide value to their advertisers. Thus, if you don’t have enough visitors and traffic on your blog, we would suggest you to build your following first and then apply for an adsense account. That way, you have a better chance at getting an approval.

For more information on Google adsense and other ways of making money online, subscribe to this blog. We will keep bringing you more info on making money online; info that you can use to increase your online income.

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The internet, no doubt, is a great place to make money. It can not only act as a supplement to your regular income but be a source of regular income itself. But that can only happen if you manage to avoid some common mistakes that people tend to make when it comes to making money online.

While it is okay to commit your own mistakes and learn from them, it is always better if you could avoid them altogether. We bring you some of the most common pitfalls to avoid when it comes to making money online:

Leaving it too soon- This is one of the most common sins people commit when it comes to online money making. While internet is a great way to earn, everything takes time. It took Facebook almost 3 years to start earning big; even Google took time to start earning money. Whether it is blogging, affiliate marketing or any other idea that you are toying with, remember, don’t expect success overnight. Give your online money making venture at least 6-12 months in order to start reaping rewards. Patience is a virtue in the online world.

Going for bogus schemes- There are tones of money making schemes online that promise to make you rich at the drop of the hat. Not all of them are good. Enrolling in bogus schemes not only wastes your time, but demoralizes you as well. To avoid that, here are some pointers that could help you avoid this pitfall of making money online:

• A scheme that sounds too good to be true.
• A scheme which does not offer any real value to its members apart from money. Read our post on the Wazzub scam to know more about this.
• A get-rich-quick scheme from a new company whose credentials are questionable. It is always best to go with the tried and tested.

Spending on online marketing- No, don’t get us wrong here. Marketing is an important aspect of making money online. However, we are referring to mindless spending on online marketing in order to get more traffic to your blog, affiliate site etc. Remember, your content comes first. If your content is good, you will get traffic in the long run. There needs to be a fine balance between quality and marketing. And remember, not every online marketing scheme works. You need to tread with caution when it comes to marketing online.

Bad employers- There are tonnes of freelancing opportunities available online. While most of them are legitimate opportunities, there are also employers out there who would refuse to pay you once the work has been delivered. And the irony of this is that there is no real way to know whether an employer is good or not, except going by what other people have to say about them. Thus, it is always better to go through references than apply directly for freelancing work. Subscribe to our Facebook page to get regular updates about some of the best employers in the freelancing world.

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If you are an aware netizen, in all probability, you must have come across Wazzub- a platform promising you millions by simply inviting friends to the platform. While many have joined, there are others who are still probing the opportunity. If you are reading this write-up, chances are that you belong to the latter category. Today, we take a look at Wazzub and why it is really not worth the time, even if signing up takes just a few minutes.

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What is Wazzub?

If you have been to its website, you would have found out already- it is a company which is preparing to launch its own search engine to rival Google. It is expected to launch a Beta release of its platform by May and is expected to go fully live by somewhere in June or July.

How does one make money on Wazzub?

Wazzub, in broad terms, works on the model of MLM and downlines, although it specifically mentions that it is not an MLM. For your every referral that joins the portal, you get $1. Apart from that, it has announced a 50% split of the advertising revenue between itself and its members. According to Wazzub, “Google made USD 3 billion last year through advertisements. Wazzub uses exactly the same technology along with some other sources of additional income. 50% of all profits will be paid to the members while the remaining 50% will go to the shareholders.”

Now, going by all that, you don’t need to pay anything to join the portal and once the company starts making money through ads, you will start getting paid, probably in millions, if the claims of Wazzub are to be believed. That does not sound like a scam at all, since the company is not taking anything from you as a joining fee. However, it still isn’t worth the time. Here’s why.

The Wazzub flaws

The portal does not provide enough information about the company, its directors etc. There is a conflict between its registration details and the business model it is claiming on the portal. A little digging around reveals that the company is registered as GIT Global Investments Inc. and according to registration details, the company is said to be in Laundries and Services business.

That definitely is a red flag as far as the credibility of the organization goes. But that’s not the only concerning factor about this supposedly “fantastic online money making opportunity.”

The whole business model of the Wazzub seems flawed too. The company aims to make money via ads on its search engine results, as well as additional sources of income such as deals, discounts etc. Now, there is more than one difficulty with that.

To start with, the company aims to rival Google in the search engine arena. The ranking and search algorithm of Google are proprietary software and closely guarded secrets. Wazzub is trying to outdo Google in a field where reputed brands such as Yahoo and Microsoft have failed. In all probability, the search results of Wazzub wouldn’t be anywhere near to what Google provides, which prompts a real question- why would a person switch to Wazzub if he is getting something inferior to what Google offers? After all, Google is Google today because of the innovation it brought to the field of online search.

A common retort to that question is, Wazzub may copy the search results of Google and display it on its own portal. That again does not give any reason for a person to switch to Wazzub when Google is still around. Now, if people do not use Wazzub, how would Wazzub make money out of its search engine? And if it is not making money, how would it pay its members?

A common argument given to the above flaw in business model is- Wazzub members will be the one using its search engine. Since it is a free-for-all money making opportunity, the company is expecting millions of members before its launch. While that sounds good, it really poses a conflict of interest- if people using Wazzub would be its members alone, they would only be interested in their affiliate commission than anything else.

For a platform where people are clicking on ads just for the heck of clicking and making money, where is the incentive for brands to display ads on its search engine results? No, there is none. Advertising really works as a money making formula when its non-members begin to use the service. Just imagine, if Facebook were to start something similar, would you as an advertiser be interested in advertising on Facebook when you knew that people are going to click on your ads for making money only?

Given all those flaws, the Wazzub opportunity does look like a real waste of time. You would be spending precious minutes or even hours trying to invite members to join the portal.

The portal isn’t really worth the time; and moreover, whether it is making money online or offline, nothing comes for free, ever. That’s how it has always been and that’s how it will always be.

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If you have been following this blog regularly, you might have realized that there are plenty of legitimate ways of making money online. We have time and again given you useful tips on how you can have a decent amount of online income. While most of our posts so far have been on blogging and freelancing, today, we touch upon a different subject- Clickbank.

There are tones of affiliate marketing programs on the internet, a majority of them fake. But there is one affiliate marketing network that has proven itself over the course of many years. It is Clickbank. If you have been exploring affiliate marketing as a means of making money online, here is a beginner’s guide on how Clickbank can help you do just that.

Essentially speaking, there are 2 ways you make money through Clickbank- as an affiliate marketer, or as a product creator.

As an affiliate marketer

There are hundreds of e-books in the Clickbank marketplace. There are e-books related to games, health products, sports and a whole lot more. To make money through Clickbank as an affiliate marketer, all you need to do is select a product you would like to promote and you are on your way. For example, let’s say health and fitness is your expertise. You pick up an e-book on health and fitness on Clickbank to promote. Once you decide the product, you get a Hoplink, which is a referral link to track your sales.

You can use this Hoplink on your blog, your website as well as the e-mails that you send out. You can also use this link on Twitter, Facebook and practically anywhere you want

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to in the online world. Once you start promoting this link via your blog and other platforms, people get to see the product. If the product interests them, they can follow the link and purchase the product. For every product that they buy through you, you would get your affiliate commission, which you are told at the time of signing up. Thus, the better you are with your promotions, the higher your revenue will be.

Watch out this space to get useful tips on how to promote your affiliate Clickbank products.

As a product creator

Another way of making money through Clickbank is being the product creator yourself. In other words, instead of choosing others products, you make your own product. For example, if you are a health expert, you could write an informative e-book on “how to lose weight the easy way” or something of that sort. You put this e-book on Clickbank for other affiliate marketers to promote. You get to decide the affiliate commission you are willing to pay. For every sale that an affiliate makes of your product, you get the decided price for your product.

Apart from having affiliates promote your product, as a product creator, you can promote your products yourself through blogs, websites and other such platforms.

Of course, the above is just the beginning of making money online through Clickbank. There are a lot of tips and tricks on how to promote your e-books effectively and maximizing your online revenue. We would be writing on all that very soon. Subscribe to this blog or follow us on Facebook to get more such useful updates on making money online through Clickbank.

If you are good with camera, have a general flare for capturing moments and know certain technicalities of photography, you can make money by selling photos online. There are a lot of websites out there where you can sell your images for a copyright fee. Some of the best ones out there are Dreamstime, iStockphoto and Shutterstock.

But the catch is, if the portal you are uploading your photo on is good, there has gotta be a lot of competition. Here are some tips on how you can maximize your online income when selling your photos online.

Try to think differently- Before we explain this, let us first tell you something in brief. Most of these stock photography sites are accessed by professional designers, web designers and organizations etc. which are looking for images for their websites, brochures et al. Thus, your target audience when selling photos online should be these designers and business professionals. Now, since businesses are your main customers, you need to ensure that the photos you are clicking fit into their requirements. And to do that, you must click a bunch of photographs around a particular theme.

For example, networking is a very common business theme. Clicking photos around this theme is a good idea to attract customers and sell your photos. However, there are tonnes of other photos on stock photography websites around networking. People shaking hands, people standing in a meeting etc. are all examples of such a theme. Thus, to really grab eyeballs, make sure you come up with something different. For example, for the networking theme, you could do something related to the internet or social networking websites. The more creative you are, the faster and better you can sell your photos online.

Pay attention to light- While creativity pays you huge dividends, it should not come at the cost of technicalities. Most of the times, people who flock the stock photography websites are looking for really sharp images to be used for brochures etc. Thus, while clicking photographs, it is always a good idea not to have shadows. They are harder to edit with image editors like Adobe Photoshop and most often, they do not fit in a business context. It is also a good idea to avoid blur unless you are shooting around a specific theme or shooting a moving object.

Example of a wide shot. Image courtesy http://fadeintothesunjustforalittlefun.blogspot.in/2009/08/language-of-screen.html http://www.learnmakemoneyonline.com

Take wide shots- Often, designers like to take out individual elements from a photograph. Thus, it is always a good idea to have a mix of long shots and close-ups in your portfolio of images. Try to capture as many elements in a long shot. That way, the user has more elements at his disposal to select from. Doing so increases your chances of selling photos faster online.

Pay attention to keywords- Of course, no matter how good your photography is, it won’t pay you much unless people are able to find you. Thus, when uploading your photos online, make sure you use good keywords when tagging your photos. Avoid using funny words to look cool because they won’t help your cause. Try to research the kind of keywords people are using to find photos around a particular theme. You can always do that with the help of Google Keyword Analyzer.

Selling photos online can be a very good idea to make money online. The quality of your photos and your creativity determines the kind of price you can demand. If you are too good, you could even consider setting up your own blog on photography and promoting yourself instead of using stock photography websites. More on that later.

If you like this post, stay tuned to more updates on how to make money online by subscribing to this blog. We have got a lot more coming up your way. To get useful tips on selling photos online such as “photography themes that are in demand”, like our Facebook page.

Now, freelance writing, designing, coding etc. along with blogging are some proven ways of making money online. And because they are proven and have helped many make decent income online, they are very competitive fields too. Just try searching for freelance writers or designers and you would get thousands of Google results to choose from. While that does not mean you cannot make money in these fields anymore, it certainly requires some amount of hard work.

But those are not the only ways to make money online. In fact, the internet offers you some interesting opportunities to earn some cash online, ways that are still not as popular as others. Here are some of those ways we are talking about:

Selling photos- If you are a decent photographer and can click thematic photographs, you can make some money online by selling them to designers etc. Portals such as photobucket, shutterstock, dreamstime etc. allow you to sell the copyright license of your photographs to people who are looking for them. You don’t need to be a maverick photographer in order to make money online this way. All you need is a decent camera and some common sense. We will soon be coming up with a blog post on how to make money online through photography. Keep watching this space for more

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Online tutoring- If you are good with studies and can explain concepts, online tutoring can be a good way of earning some cash online. There are high school students as well as graduates in US and other countries, who look for help with their homework assignments etc in subjects such as Maths, Science, Finance, Accounting etc. There are companies out there which offer online tutoring services to such students. In order to do so, these companies employ students as well as other professionals in different fields on a part-time basis to deliver some lessons online every day. You can always apply to such companies and make some money by working part-time from the comfort of your home. Transtutors is one company which is worth checking out in this field.

Lead generation- Organizations of any kind always look for leads for their company in order to grow their client base. You can work as a freelancer, helping organizations find leads for their business. However, this field requires a lot of networking and some existing contacts in the marketplace to be effective. Because of the expertise required, it is one of the least competitive ways of making money online. But if you have the requisite contacts, you can earn a lot of money this way.

Transcription services- If you are good with listening and can type at a decent speed, you can earn cash by picking up freelance transcription projects. Transcription involves listening to an audio transcript and writing down the key points of a conversation in the prescribed format of the client. Usually, lawyers as well as medical practitioners seek transcription services. Due to the dearth of quality professionals in the field and high rates quoted by professional companies, this could be a good niche to get into to earn some handsome cash online.

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However, like every other field, freelancing too is a competitive industry with hundreds of people looking for work from home opportunities. That is why, when finding work, there are some key things to consider in order to ensure that you give yourself a fair chance.

Pay attention to grammar and spelling- Whether you are applying for work through Linkedin or sending across an e-mail, you have to look professional at all times. Poorly written application will not fetch you any work, no matter how hard you try. While nobody expects you to be proficient with words, you should at least pay attention to spelling and grammar before sending across an application.

Image source link: www.lifehacker.com

Include some samples- Now, for every work opportunity, there would be hundreds of people applying for that position. Thus, you have to give every reason to the employer to give you the freelancing opportunity. Therefore, it is always good to send across some samples of work you have done in the past. It could be your blog or some projects you have handled for your clients previously. Work samples always push the prospective employer towards selecting you.

Don’t be pesky- This is a golden rule of finding work from home opportunities which sadly, a majority of people ignore. If you have applied for a freelancing position, you need to be patient. Typically, an HR Executive in an organization can take anywhere between a week to a month to respond to an application. Thus, once you have applied, you need to be patient. Calling them every day or sending across a mail repeatedly won’t get you work faster. In fact, it might piss off the employers, thus screwing a legitimate online money making opportunity.

Your e-mail id speaks a lot- Now we all made e-mail IDs such as handsomedude or prettypearl and stuff like that when we are a teenager. While those IDs would still work very well in a chat room, they work just the opposite for business purposes. When you are applying for work, make sure your e-mail address sounds professional enough. Typically, your complete name is the ideal e-mail ID to have. But if you cannot find one with your complete name, do some basic permutations, but please avoid IDs such as the above. They not only make the employer laugh and also project you as a candidate who is not serious about work.

Try to listen to the other party- This one applies to the scenario when a prospective employer calls you to discuss work. There are many out there who are not good listeners at all. However, in order to be successful as a freelancer and make money online, you need to develop that habit. While discussing work, including commercials etc., make sure you listen to what the other person has to say. There are many out there who would go on blabbering, trying to negotiate the price or showcase themselves as the ideal candidate. You have to know when to stop, else, the employer won’t stop at you.

Image Source: http://www.orissapost.com/c/43208. Follow the link to get the exact story as it appeared in a local daily “The Orissa Post” newspaper.

The phrase “online money making ideas” often meets with raised eyebrows and some disgruntled souls voicing their opinions on how it is a scam and all that. The number of scams out there in the guise of get rich quick schemes is what is to blame for that reaction. But thankfully, there are plenty of real world cases out there which vindicate the online medium as a money making platform. And we are talking about “real world cases” which are not made up with the help of Adobe Photoshop. Here, we bring you a real world case of a professional blogger from Orissa who managed to make blogging his career and ended up starting his own production house.

Meet Soumya Pratihar, an engineering graduate in IT from Biju Patnaik University of Technology. A creative at heart, it was during his engineering days that he discovered blogging as a way of earning more money for himself. Dissatisfied with the meager amount of pocket money he received during his initial days, Rs 40 in his own words, it was courtesy a friend that he discovered the route of blogging to make some money for himself. According to Soumya, it was his friend named Ganesh who introduced him to the world of blogging and soon, he found himself hooked to it.

His first blog was on blogspot by the name of orkut-guide.blogspot.com. But it was not the blog that brought him instant fame and recognition. In fact, it was only after 3 months of regular blogging that he received his first cheque of INR 5,000 from his adsense account. The rest as they say is history.

Today, this tech enthusiast has made blogging as his professional career choice and has more than 35 blogs to his name. Most of his blogs are in the domain of technology, the most popular one being Techcular. In fact, techcular is regularly ranked as one of the top 100 websites globally, which speaks volumes about how blogging can be a fantastic source of making money online.

In fact, if you take Soumya’s case, blogging can be a fantastic source of income to fund some other projects you may have in mind and turn you into an entrepreneur. Soumya has recently started as movie production house, and his first movie is due to be released this year. Other than that, he has also started a blogging platform by the name of iDev, which also handles development needs of clients.

And it is not just about generating online income with blogging. If you are good enough, it can bring you fame and recognition, as happened with Soumya. Apart from running his own firm and managing more than 35 blogs, he has also hosted quite a few shows on television including Time Pass, Youth Club, Ama Rasoi and Hip Hip Hurray, which are all popular shows on the regional channels.

Given the success of Soumya Pratihari as a professional blogger, it should vindicate what we have always been saying- blogging can bring you a lot of money if you are good at it and manage to stick around just long enough.