TruBlog: Work-at-Home » WAH 101

Reminder to All Current and New Members

Sommer — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 03:54:18 +0000

Just a reminder to all new and existing members…

We continue to add new, hot job leads to our database each week. Check it out!

If you are just getting started or haven’t figured out where to start, check out Sarah’s blog post on the steps to take once you sign up with TruYu. It’s filled with helpful information on how to effectively search for and find a job through TruYu. Also, read Sarah’s post about lowering your expectations if you are just starting out working at home. Everyone wishes for a high paying work at home job, but it doesn’t always happen, especially if you are just starting out. Keep an open mind and understand that you may have to start at the bottom.

Check out all the new job leads in the members-only forum for more information.

As always, post in our forums if you get hired. Take a moment to introduce yourself. Let us know where else you are working.

We want to hear from you!

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Focus on Friday: Step Seven Blogging for Profit

Sarah — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 05:01:41 +0000

How is your Gravatar working? We talked about that in Step Five. Not every blog out there has Gravatar enabled. That doesn’t mean posting comments isn’t something you should still be doing. Just be sure to post a tidy little link to your blog that doesn’t look spammy. I personally only make genuine comments on blogs I actually like and I leave behind my blog URL. It is like dropping a business card. Many spammers (as you may have noticed) will come to your blog and post a comment with their link. You can sometimes tell right away that it is spam because they have a weird email account, an unusual blog link (something long and hyphenated) and make vague comments. Some try to provoke you to reply back to them by posting mean comments! Just blog those. Remember these posts when you are making posts on other blogs though! Remember, the idea is to interest someone in visiting your blog and becoming a subscriber. You don’t want them thinking you have nothing good to say and that your blog isn’t worth their time.

Now lets create a Facebook page for your blog/business. It is a VIOLATION of Facebook’s policy to have one person create multiple pages. So don’t go off and sign up all over again for your business. Instead, Go here and follow the instructions. Take some time to upload your blog logo and fill out your info. Be sure to check your privacy settings and other things like that. Invite your friends to like the page by clicking on your Profile and returning to your personal Facebook page. “Like” your new business page and then suggest to your friends!

Remember TwitterFeed from last week? Go back to TwitterFeed.com and insert your new Facebook name into the account and your blogs will be fed to Facebook too.

Keep playing with all your new tools. Comment on your favorite blogs (including ours!) using a tasteful signature linking your blog URL. Facebook, Twitter and Feedburner are working hard for you now trying to earn you some new followers. It is now your job to keep your content fresh and reel your readers in!

From Home,
Sarah

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Focus on Friday: Step Six in Blogging for Profit

Sarah — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 05:01:45 +0000

How is everyone doing? I’ve heard a few reports back that the step-by-step process is helpful but many of us are just following the procedures and not really understanding how money is supposed to start appearing. This is definitely the difficult part. Basically you have to unpack and set up your blog with all these tools. Then, you learn how to market your blog using things like Sitemeter and a few other tools we’re going to be installing soon. These help you learn where your readers are coming from and what you can do to try and drive more traffic.

Have you logged into Feedburner to see how many subscribers you have? If you haven’t finished setting up Feedburner, revisit this blog where we talked about it. Feedburner essentially sends out “pings” or a request for a search engine or similar service to visit your website. Be sure to finish Feedburner before moving on to this next step.

Go to TwitterFeed.com and create an account. Create a new feed and enter the URL for your blog. Enter your Facebook and Twitter ID/URL for your blog/business into the account for TwitterFeed. If you don’t have Twitter set up for your blog, do this now or if you plan to use your current/personal Twitter then set it up that way. Be sure to go back and take the time to add a photo and make your Twitter profile look nice. A blank profile screams “spam” and no one will take you seriously. As far as Facebook– this can get tricky. We will talk more about that in Step Seven. If you have a special page for your blog set up, great, if not, don’t worry about it. Twitter is the key right now. Now, every time you post a blog it will be sent out to your Twitter and eventually your Facebook account. This draws new visitors.

Now the internet world is going to be notified of your blog posts and you will “be on the map”. Be sure to review your SiteMeter reports daily–especially after getting TwitterFeed set up. I bet you notice an increase in traffic. Of course, you need to be blogging regularly too!

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Craigslist Jobs..Are They Scams?

Sommer — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 05:01:56 +0000

The truth is some are and some are not. Unfortunately, that answer doesn’t help most Craigslist users who are searching the Craigslist site trying to sort through the good and bad eggs. Craigslist, in theory, especially since it is free, is a great job board for both job seeker and employer. Yet, it’s lack of controls (it’s flagging system isn’t really foul proof) allows the scammers easy access.

One service TruYu provides is scam identification. We can identify a scam based on key indicators as well as information we have about the company. We’ll tell you if the company is known to be trustworthy or questionable. We also break their job listing apart and explain what makes it legitimate and what clearly signifies it as a scam.

Here is an email I recently received via Craigslist-

This email was sent from the email address zachsilverhammer@yahoo.com

Hello,

I work for a job placement company here in desmoines, and I am currently looking for somebody to fill a part-time data entry position. This job requires you to have access to a computer with reliable internet access.

The reason that I am emailing you is because I saw that you posted an ad on craigslist, “xxx”, and personally, I have found that people who post on craigslist make excellent employees, since they are obviously proficient enough in their basic computer skills.

There are no set hours that you must work; this job requires approximately 20-30 hours a week, but when you choose to do the work is your decision – as long as the job is completed on time, then we will be happy. As for compensation; this job pays $475-$625 a week, depending upon how efficiently you work.

Anyway, I apologize for taking up so much of your time. If this sounds like something that you could do, or you would like a little bit more information, please send me an email at unitedjobplacement@gmail.com, and I’ll get back to you ASAP with more information on the job description and how we can proceed from there.

Please do not reply to this email, as I will not receive your reply if you do so. I will only see your email if you send it to unitedjobplacement@gmail.com.

Thanks again for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Stacy Kishling
Senior Executive Assistant
United Job Placement
unitedjobplacement@gmail.com

Here’s a few tips on how we can identify this email as a scam:

This individual contacted me. No company will contact you just because you post on Craigslist. They claim that “I have found that people who post on craigslist make excellent employees.” No company will contact someone for employment just because they know how to post on Craigslist.
This email came from zachsilverhammer@yahoo.com, but the person who signed the email is Stacy Kishling and the email address you are supposed to respond to is unitedjobplacement@gmail.com. A legitimate message would typically either come from the email of Stacy Kishling or the unitedjobplacement@gmail.com
The emails come from gmail.com and yahoo.com email accounts. Few work-at-home companies–although we admit we know about a few select ones–use a gmail or yahoo account as their email address. It should come from a company.com email address.
Des Moines is spelled “desmoines.” A legitimate company would know how to spell Des Moines correctly. Fact is, Craigslist lists Des Moines as desmoines. Spammers use a program that picks up on keywords and automatically inserts them into this email and then blindly sends it to any email addresses it retrieves.
This company provides no other contact information than an email address. Most companies provide a phone number and a link to their website.

Why someone might fall for this scam:

While there are a few obvious grammar/spelling issues, most of it is well-written.
The pay is not outrageous or a get-rich-quick scheme, which most people identify as a scam. The pay is actually in line with what you would make doing data entry. So some would think it might be a legitimate opportunity.

Bottom line: Some people want to believe this is not a scam because the pay is good and they really desire working from home. This seems like a great opportunity. However, our members should always contact us first before applying or responding to any work-at-home job they find anywhere besides the TruYu job boards.

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Focus on Friday: Step Five in Blogging for Profit

Sommer — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 05:01:09 +0000

Most savvy Internet users are familiar with avatars, those small photos, either real or cartoonish, that appear with your name besides your post. But have you heard of a Gravatar? Same thing, really, except that a Gravatar is a globally recognized avatar. Gravatars are associated with your email address and follow you around so that every time you post your Gravatar automatically appears.

If you are a blogger hoping to increase traffic and profits, this is beneficial to your “Blogging for Profit” checklist. A post with a Gravatar stands out and makes it look more professional. It draws attention to your comment, encouraging people to visit your site (make sure to always include a visible link to your blog). People connect more with an image of a person than a default image because it personalizes your post. If you leave comments often in certain blog communities or as a way to network, you will soon get noticed. Once your Gravatar is seen across the world wide web you gain celebrity status and start to establish your brand identity. Soon, when people start to see your comments several places, they start to think, “Wow, this person is everywhere!”

Here’s how to get started:

Go to http://www.gravatar.com
Click on “Sign Up”
Enter your email address to receive an email about account activation from gravatar.
Follow the instructions in the email.
Select your email account.
Click add a Gravatar.
Choose either you want to use an Internet image or one from your hard drive.
Crop the photo as you wish and click “Crop and Finish!”
Choose a rating for your Gravatar (this determines what blogs will allow you to use your Gravatar on their site) either G, PG, R or X.
Click on your image and click “Confirm” to select it.
Test if your Gravatar is working.

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Focus on Friday: Step Four Blogging for Profit

Sarah — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 05:01:54 +0000

How are your blogs doing? Any questions or feedback so far? This blog is a hodgepodge of random things to do to optimize your blog.

Go to SiteMeter click “Sign up” for a free account. Enter your blog’s information. Click on the “Manager” link and find the HTML code. Paste this code into the file marked “Footer” on WordPress or into any other code sheet on your specific blog. This tool helps track visitors and other important statistics for your blog. We’ll get more in depth with why this is important later. For now, consider this one more thing you can cross off your list for blog optimization!

Go to TwitterFeed and set up the service to post your blogs on Twitter, Facebook and several other services. This site is very user-friendly. If you don’t have Facebook or Twitter, you can create accounts as you finalize your Twitter Feed service. The main idea of this program is to Tweet/Update Facebook every time you post a new blog. This will alert your friends and followers and attract new people to your blog site.

On Facebook, go to Application Settings or Notes. Click “Edit Import Settings”. Paste your Feedburner (or other RSS feed URL) link into the box and now your blogs will post as Notes on Facebook.

That should be a good start. Realize that you can delete or discontinue any of these features as you decide that they don’t work for you.

From Home,
Sarah

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Can a Non-Writer Write?

Sommer — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 05:01:44 +0000

On the TruYu Job Boards, we currently have over 70 writing jobs. Writing jobs are some of the most common work-at-home jobs so we are continually adding jobs to the Writing Forum. We often hear comments such as “You have a lot of writing jobs on your site” and “Writing jobs are the

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Work at Home Job Leads for September 21, 2010

Sommer — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 05:01:13 +0000

Local Members: Be on the lookout for an email to hit your inboxes in the next day regarding an upcoming TruYu workshop. We’re testing out some new ideas for our meetups to increase the usefulness to our members. Our new workshops are only for members (or you can sign up for a membership that night) and will offer one-on-one assistance with job recommendations and we’ll walk you through how to apply for specific jobs.

Last week TruYu’s blog continued our Blogging for Profit series and covered How to Write FAST to increase your profit and hourly rate when writing for online sites and Time Wasters (look for a future blog post on a new perspective we recently came across regarding time wasters).

Every day we’ll be posting about various work-at-home topics. We’ll feature personal stories, work-at-home tips and anything else we find interesting or relevant to our

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WAH101: Getting Started

Sarah — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 05:01:27 +0000

[We have had an increase in new members lately so I thought it would be a good idea to revisit some of the basics of working from home. Following the steps in this blog will help you maximize the services TruYu provides.

1. Become a member. Everyone always asks why TruYu charges to provide job leads. Here’s a blog that talks a little bit more about why we do have to charge a membership fee. The bottom line is that our site costs money to operate. We are working hard to reduce membership costs and maybe someday they will be free.

2. Create a new email account that is only for work-at-home jobs. Any email address is fine like Google, Yahoo or Hotmail. Use one that you are familiar with so you can easily make folders for each company you correspond with.

3. Get familiar with the job lead forum. Subscribe to the job categories that interest you most but take some time to review each category– you may be surprised about some of the leads found in each one.

4. Set a daily or weekly goal for the number of applications you plan to submit. The name of the WAH game at this stage is to APPLY APPLY APPLY! If you aren’t working right now then treat the applications like your full time job. Spend 5-8 hours a day applying, and yes, I’m serious. In the traditional job setting the “shot gun” approach is frowned upon– you know, where you send your resume out to so many employers that you don’t know who you are interviewing with when they call? Yeah, that is what you DO want to do in the WAH world. To stay organized….

5. Create a folder for EVERY company in your new email account. BCC (blind carbon copy) yourself when possible or send yourself an email if you sent a web email or online job application in. This gives you a date stamp of your activity so you know when it is time to follow up. Save ALL emails you get, even if it is a simple confirmation that your application was received, in the correct company folder.

6. Continue applying in this manner for several weeks. Spend a little time each day going through your folders to see if you should expect a reply or to see if you need to do something else to continue with the application.

7. Don’t get discouraged…it takes TruYu members an average of 90 days to get a job.

8. Accept every job you get no matter how horrible it sounds (unless you truly can’t fulfill the tasks…such as answering phone calls in a quiet room when you have five children at home with you 24/7). Remember that you have to throw out your hourly wage ideas– review this blog if you missed it.

9. Keep working the “not so hot” jobs and apply for better ones.

10. This is the routine you will keep up for about 90 days. It sounds daunting, and it kind of is. That is why we plan to run a blog soon about why working from home isn’t for everyone…and why many people don’t succeed.

11. Keep us posted. We plan to offer more individualized services soon but we wont know how to help you if you can’t tell us what you have tried…and how things went.

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Focus on Friday: Step Three Blogging for Profit

Sarah — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 05:01:55 +0000

Ready to learn some new words? Some of you may already use some nifty thing called an RSS or XML reader type dealy that captures feeds (also known as posts) from your favorite blogs or news venues. Well now that you are building a legitimate blog you need to set up Feedburner (or other similar applications) to distribute your posts (feeds) all around the web.

To do this go to Feedburner

This is a tool provided by Google– I forgot to say that this is FREE. You will want to use an existing Gmail/Google account or create a new one specifically for your blog. We have an account set up under TruYu so all of our Google blog optimization tools are found in one spot and I can give other TruYu staff members the password without worrying that they are reading my private emails.

So you have gone to Feedburner.com and you have begun the process (very easy) of setting up your Feeds. The best part about setting this up is that you can have and monitor subscribers. We’ll talk more about how you insert this RSS/reader type icon in a minute but this is what it will look like:

At Feedburner’s site you will enter your blog’s address (URL) and click “Next”. From here your job is done. You will just want to insert an icon however your blog allows you. On Blogger this is all built in. On WordPress it depends on your template and the plugins you have installed.

For one-on-one help adding an RSS or similar icon to your blog, contact Sarah to schedule an appointment. Watch our Events calendar– we plan to host a one day Blogging for Profit workshop.

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