Hey - I know life can knock you down unexpectedly, and while I offer lots in the way of great courses you can buy if you want, just to be a nice guy I decided to let you in on some tips that can be lifesaving...
In fact, I've got 10 sites to share (and by the way kming - if you don't need to make quick cash right now, these sites are GREAT for finding inexpensive outsourcers to take the strain off your schedule)
And, these sites are ALL free to use, so you don't need a dollar in the bank to get some dollars in the bank with these sites
Keep reading - they get better and better:
#10) MicroWorkers -
MicroWorkers is a site where you can do simple little odd jobs (like posting links, 'liking' videos and tagging photos) and for each task you complete, you can get paid anywhere from a penny to a dollar or more.
You're not gonna get stinkin' rich on Microworkers, but if you're in the habit of surfing the web while you watch TV at night, then this site is a great way to turn a sedentary evening into little extra cash.
If you need to invest in your education but don't have the funds, then a few nights on this site could help you buy the program you need to get profitable.
#9) Mechanical Turk -
Amazon runs this site, and it's arguably better than Microworkers. It's the same basic idea: As a worker, you can do tasks that don't take much time, and get paid anywhere from 1 cent to $10 for your efforts.
I wouldn't use it to try to make a lot of money, but again, if you need an extra $37 to pick up a copy of Send Email Make Money, then a few nights on mechanical turk will get you enough dough to pick it up and start building a profitable list of your very own.
But a better way to use it is as a website owner.
You can outsource little annoying tasks like getting transcription work done on the cheap, getting 'likes' on Facebook, or even improving your SEO by having some actual humans visit your site and leave comments.
But Microworkers and Mechanical Turk pale in comparison to the next eight sites (you're gonna love these):
#8) Suite101 -
Are you a writer? If so, you can get paid to write articles at Suite101 - pretty cool if you ask me, but I charge more than they're willing to pay :-)
I've got a buddy from high school who's doing this and I don't hear any complaints - so for a side-income stream it could be a great move.
#7) OnlineVerdict -
OnlineVerdict is WEIRD!
But if you're a trial lawyer you're going to love it - basically, you can either work as a mock Juror, and make some easy moolah by weighing in on a case...
(If you were in the jury box, would you believe this testimony? What did I say that made you think my client is guilty of stealing all those marbles from the toy store?)
You give your opinion, you get paid, and the lawyer gets feedback from a real person on how good their case really is.
I don't know why you'd want to help a lawyer (aside from the money I guess) but if you're into watching crime dramas on TV this site could actually be a lot of fun.
(No fun if you're outside of the US though, you have to be a US citizen over 18 years old to play).
#6) VIPdesk -
VIP Desk is a site where you can work as a phone operative. Think customer service, reception work, that sort of thing.
If you can sound like a human on the phone and you're willing to help people, you can pop on a headset and get paid to take calls while you straighten the house (or, you know, play sudoku)...
#5) ODesk -
Odesk is a wonderful site if you're in need of pretty much any programming tasks. Or, if you're a competent programmer.
The basic idea is, if you're working on Odesk, you get jobs from people who need some programming, and you get paid through the website when you finish the work.
If you're an entrepreneur, you'll love the fact that you can get relatively cheap work done, and manage the workers yourself (you can even see screen-shots of what they're working on so you know you're not paying some kid in the Ukraine to play solitaire on your dime.)
#4) Elance -
Okay now we're getting into the mega-powered sites.
Elance connects workers with employers for online tasks - if you're a writer, programmer, marketer, designer, consultant, admin, lawyer or accountant, you can start finding clients today by creating a profile on Elance.
Jobs range in payout widely depending on what you want to do, so it's a great place to find supremely decent payouts... but it's an even better resource for Entrepreneurs...
If you're looking for writing, coding or marketing you can outsource all those tasks inexpensively and quickly.
#3) Fiverr! -
Fiverr is a really funky community of people who all have one thing in common - they're willing to do something cool for $5.
Some examples of people getting paid to do random stuff include:
Singing telegrams sent by phone (you could do that!)
Videos of basketball players dunking a ball and shouting your website name
Guitar solos for your song
British Voice-overs for your commercial or website
I think you get the idea. Basically, if you can be creative and offer people something that you can do for free in 5 minutes or less, you can get paid to do it.
#2) Kickstarter.com -
HEre's how Kickstarter works (you're gonna love this)...
You start a project (takes an hour or two). You set a monetary goal, then you've got 60 to 90 days to hit your goal.
You start promoting it to friends, family and the kickstarter community.
If people like your idea and want to see it happen, you hit your goal, and you get all the money you asked for and even possibly more (The 'Diaspora' project asked for $10K and made over $200K.)
If you don't, you're out $50 and none of the donations get charged to the people who agreed to invest in your project.
So it's a gamble all around, but a really, really cool one.
The real beauty here is you can basically pre-sell your ideas to see if they work. Got an idea for a gizmo?
Cool!
Test it out at Kickstarter for $50 and see if you can get enough pre-orders to pay for a prototype and a small run of production.
If it doesn't work?
Well, maybe your genius idea wasn't all that genius, and it only cost you $50 to prove it.
Check out Kickstarter and you'll understand the scope of the site - there's all manner of delightful and wonderful projects getting funded every day, it's a huge resource for creative people and I think you'll love it!
And now for #1:
#1) Indiegogo -
It's a lot like Kickstarter, only better (in some ways).
Specifically, it doesn't cost a dime to start your project. They will take 4% of the money you make (Kickstarter takes 5%) but you don't get as active a community as you do at Kickstarter, so it's mostly up to you to bring in the money.
Indiegogo is PERFECT for indie bands, theatre troupes, film makers, musicians, artists and other creative types - but I think the emphasis is really on music and film.
Your project can run for 120 days on indiegogo, as opposed to only 90 days on Kickstarter. AND, if you don't hit your financial goal, you still keep the money you raised.
The leg up that Kickstarter has over indiegogo is that they have a huge community of donors, and they have a time limit.
That ticking clock is good for you and your donors, because it'll motivate you to raise money faster, and it'll motivate your fans and donors to give more.
IndieGoGo is fantastic for a lot of reasons, but there just isn't the same type of community and psychological urgency you find at Kickstarter.
So there we have it - 10 funky ways to make a little extra moolah that you've probably never heard of - and all of them (okay except for Kickstarter) are free.
Now, the really important part: Which of these sites would you like me to tell you more about?
Let me know in the comments, and I'll whip up a tutorial vid showing you exactly what to do to make some extra green!
