Earn Money without getting a job - Part One

The most obvious way to make money is, of course, to get a job, right? Well, that's not always a feasible option for everyone.

• Maybe you're a stay-at-home parent and need to work around your children's schedules;
• you've been laid off and are looking for a "career" position but need some extra income in the mean time;
• full-time employee who just needs extra money to pay off debt or save for a goal (think Dave Ramsey fans);
• a retiree who wants a little extra to cover health care costs but doesn't want the hassle of a set schedule....
• Whatever the story, This post is for you.

There are lots of ways to make money....the key is to really use your imagination and your computer skills! And yes, I've done many of these and can verify that there's money to be made with these endeavors.

This post focuses solely on earning money on-line through minimal "efforts". I'll be writing several posts regarding on-line surveys, selling things in the "non-cyber" world and much, much more. Stay tuned!

1. Selling your items on-line - OK, anyone who owns a computer has heard of the many ways to sell your stuff on-line, but have you actually done it? It's not as intimidating as it seems - you really just need to organize your things, know how much you need in order to part with them (you're lowest price) and do a little research. This idea deserves it's own post and will have one in the near future, but for now, do a little investigating and you'll find you probably know at least 3 or 4 people who have already sold things on these sites. Pick their brains for tips and get going. Some great, established sites include: http://www.ebay.com/ http://www.half.com/ (this one is by far the easiest) and http://www.craigslist.org/
2. Sell your handmade or vintage items - This one isn't as well known, but it's gaining in popularity and is a trustworthy site. http://www.etsy.com/ is a site specifically designed to help "crafters" and "artists" make money on their handicrafts. Surf it for a few minutes and you'll be amazed at what you'll find - from homemade gourmet candy and cupcakes to stained glass to quilts to baby clothes to jewelry to note cards to purses to funky prom dresses. If it's handmade, partially handmade, is truly vintage/funky (think 1980's or earlier), is HTML type stuff to help people market their items (that's real computer-talk there, friends!) or is meant to assist with handmade items (craft supplies, patterns, tools, etc.) it can be sold here. The fees are MUCH lower than eBay and it's very user friendly. If you have a skill or can help someone with theirs, sell it here.
3. Share your expertise - Explore and register with http://www.ehow.com/. This site is a wealth of tips, advice, knowledge and odd things. Here's the basic lowdown - people from all walks of life write articles on how to do things. Anything. If you type "how to make authentic homemade pasta" or "how to....(fill in the blank)" into your search engine, odds are, this site will be one of the first hits. When you click on the article, the writer gets paid. That's it. In fact, you can search ehow for "how to make money on ehow" and get tons of free, good advice on this one. They pay via paypal and there are no fees and the articles never "expire"...you could potentially earn residual income for a long time. Literally anyone could make money here. So, start brainstorming and start earning.
4. Sell your creativity - without actually making anything - What? Have you heard of http://www.cafepress.com/? You come up with the creative stuff and they take care of actually "making" it and shipping it. You just get paid. For example, my Dad is a talented photographer. He could upload his photos and use these to create on-line examples of posters, greeting cards, journals, calendars, mugs, etc. He then sets what he considers to be a fair price (there is a minimum price, so Cafepress gets their cut). People search for something they like - for instance The Golden Gate Bridge and his items with that photo would show up. They could customize and order items with his photograph on it and he would get paid, without ever having to deal directly with the customer. Nice. You could create t-shirts with political statements or politically incorrect statements, mugs with inspirational photos and quotes, write a book and have them publish it so you can sell it at your public speaking engagements, whatever. You create it and upload it. Then get paid.
5. Blog it - yes, of course. Blogging. Obviously, anyone can do it. It's free and is a great creative outlet. Are you an expert on something, have a passion or hobby, or even an annoying habit? Start a blog about it. The key (according to those who have been at it longer than me) is to update it very often (at least several times a week) and have quality content, so people will keep coming back and tell their friends. Then get advertisers (use your search engine for Google AdSense, Affiliate programs, etc.) and submit a request for them to advertise on your blog. There are even ehow articles on this! Do a little research and get one started...there are templates available that you can easily customize. See the link at the bottom of this post for information on some of the top affiliate program (advertisers who pay to be on your site - it's a great program and it's FREE)

I've got lots of other money making ideas coming in a later post. In the meantime, try a few of these out and let me know what you think. If you've got any more to share or some advice on the ideas above, please leave a comment or email me. Thanks!