Internet Jobs (Almost) Anyone Can Do to Earn Extra Cash

So-called internet jobs are almost everywhere you look! From bloggers to Etsy sellers, there are all kinds of people making money online. But often, these ‘internet jobs’ require a good deal of skill or experience to be successful.

Bloggers usually have a lot of knowledge about a specific subject. Etsy sellers are typically talented artisans. And the millions of others paying their bills with online work could say the same — programmers, designers, writers, teachers, marketers all have training and experience that allow them to earn online.

But outside of these experience required online jobs, there are many other ways to take in an online income. And the good news is (almost) anyone can do them. So, if you’ve been searching for a way to make money online but think all the good internet jobs require tons of experience — think again! There are ways to make money online that just about anyone can do.

Search Engine Evaluator

You probably rely on Google (or your personal fave search engine) to help you find everything from local movie times to the best deals on new tech. And this reliance on search engines for everyday information means that they need to be pretty good at what they do. But the truth is, search engines are far from perfect. That’s why companies hire internet users, like you and me, to lend a helping hand as search engine evaluators.

Search engine evaluators are tasked with ‘teaching’ search engines the little intricacies that exist in language. For example, when someone Googles “apple sale” they’re probably looking for deals on Apple products like Macs, iPads, and iPhones and not a list of places to buy apples on the cheap. But search engines don’t instinctively understand pop culture references or current events like you and I do.

So, as a search engine evaluator, you’ll rate the relevancy of search results based on a search query. That’s it. You don’t need any experience. But you will need to know basic news, current events, and pop culture happenings in the country you’re applying in.

I did a small project with iSoftStone. And while it wasn’t my cup of tea, the work paid well and is certainly something I wouldn’t hesitate to do again. If this is something you could see yourself doing, check out this list of search engine evaluator companies to see who’s hiring.

Usability Tester

If you’re like me, you spend a lot of time online and in apps browsing websites to find information, purchase products, grab your daily news, play games or otherwise entertain yourself while waiting in line. And you probably have an opinion about how well those apps and sites work. These opinions are quite valuable to the website owner or app developer. So valuable, in fact, that you can actually get paid to share your candid thoughts about what it’s like to use an app or website as a consumer.

And, don’t worry, you don’t need any kind of developer or QA experience whatsoever. All you need is an ability to speak your thoughts out loud while completing tasks. I’ve been a longtime usability testing at User Testing. Sometimes, I’ll get the chance to visit a website, pretend to make a purchase, and give my thoughts about my shopping experience and the overall checkout process. New website owners may ask for testers to give their unabashed first impressions of their site. Really, there are endless possible scenarios you may be tasked with as a usability tester.

So, if you frequent websites and are comfortable navigating various apps with little to no instruction, you’ll be just fine as a usability tester. Remember, you just have to be honest and provide real feedback — that’s it. Check out these companies that hire usability testers and you’ll be one step closer to earning money with this popular online job option.

Crowdworker

As far as internet jobs, there are no shortage of options to become a crowdworker. If you’ve never heard the term before, crowd working is an inexpensive way for companies to get work done quickly. This work is made available to a pool of workers and is claimed on a first come first serve basis. A lot of times, this kind of work is referred to as micro jobs and can be found on short task sites.

Crowd working tasks are usually quick and simple — think data entry, image tagging, and URL ranking. While these tasks don’t really pay much, they can be done when you have a free minute. That’s why crowd working is a great way to monetize your down time or sneak in a quick buck or two whenever you have a second to spare.

And since these tasks are super simple, just about anyone can do them! Amazon Turk is probably the largest micro job site out there — but it’s not the only one. Check out this list of short task sites to ‘join the crowd’ and gain access to thousands of mini internet jobs at any given time. If this sounds perfect for you, read through subreddits like UHRS Work and Hits Worth Turking For for tons of helpful advice from turkers like you 🙂

Telephone Mystery Shopper

I know online jobs that require you to pick up the phone aren’t exactly popular, but hear me out on this one. As a phone mystery shopper you simply place calls to an assigned shop, ask a couple of questions, and write up a quick report. You don’t need any special experience to be a phone mystery shopper but you should be able to communicate well both when speaking and writing.

This is a great opportunity for stay-at-home parents since shops can be done at any time during business hours and background noise isn’t an issue. So, if you have kids in your care or a noisy pet — no problem! As a phone mystery shopper you need to act like a real consumer, not a paid caller. And nothing sounds more real than a busy household in the background.

The amount you’ll earn per completed call depends on the company you sign up with. For example, Call Center QA pays a flat $5 per shop while Perception Strategies pays up to $20. To find out who’s hiring, head on over to this list of telephone mystery shopping companies and start earning money for being on the phone.

Call Reviewing

Speaking of being on the telephone, you can take advantage of internet jobs as a call reviewer and get paid to listen in and rate recorded phone calls. Sounds interesting, right? It can be! Most of the time, the calls you are listening to are sales calls. And you’re listening in to see if there was a missed sales opportunity.

For example, you may be asked to listen to a customer who called into a car dealership wanting to speak with a certain sales rep about a car they saw online. You’ll listen into see who answered the phone, whether the caller was transferred, if the caller was sent to voicemail or otherwise was unable to reach the sales person. That’s it.

There’s no particular experience you’ll need to get started at sites like Humanatic or Reynolds & Reynolds. But obviously being a good listener is a must!

Flipper

Buying items for cheap and flipping them online for profit is quickly becoming one of the most popular internet jobs out there! It’s a great option for just about anyone looking to make money online since you can work when you want and use sites like eBay and Amazon FBA to do most of the work for you. All you have to do is find the items to flip for profit.

One of my favorite ways to make money online is to find used books at my local thrift stores and sell them for profit. It’s not uncommon to find a few books that sell for well over $100. Thanks to the free and easy-to-use BookScouter App, you have all the information you need right in the palm of your hand — after scanning a book’s ISBN it will tell you how much sites are willing to pay you for that book.

But finding and selling used books for profit is just one way to make money as a flipper. You could also sell clearance items using Amazon FBA or make treasure hunting your job as a thrift store flipper.

Market Research

Let’s be honest: Not all online survey sites are created equal. Some have insanely complicated point systems that make it difficult to turn into cash. Others have not-so-awesome prizes or very few options to earn anything. And while there’s a lot of legitimate survey sites to be found, you might want to stick with a few that actually pay well and make it possible to earn extra money each month.

Vindale

My two favorite survey sites are Vindale and Swagbucks. I like Vindale because they actually pay you cash and you can request your earnings be paid out with a check or through PayPal. 

And, as you can see, they actually have some survey opportunities that are well worth it, like a payout of $6.42 for a quick 11-minute automotive study. There’s other ways to earn aside from surveys like watching videos, checking email and participating in panels. The opportunities available will depend on your demographic information. But once you sign up, you can start earning and even receive a $2 bonus for filling out your information!

Swagbucks

Swagbucks is one of the most popular survey sites out there. Why? Because they’ll pay you for doing all the random things you’re already doing on the internet! This includes shopping, playing games, watching videos and, yes, taking surveys.

To date, Swagbucks members have been paid out more than $100,000,000 in cash and rewards. Pretty impressive, right? You too can join the group and start making money for all your online activities. When you sign up, you’ll automatically get a bonus $5 to get you started.

Start Earning with Easy Internet Jobs

With all the no special experienced needed internet jobs out there, it’s never been easier to earn extra money online. If you’re looking for more ways to earn, check out this list of 101+ Ways to Earn Extra Money Online. And don’t forget to sign up for the Work from Home Free Resource Library for special freebies for out-of-the-cube thinkers like you!

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