Make a Quick Buck, Online

Beat the recession by finding some extra income on the Web

Money can’t buy me love, the Beetles once sang. But the times are tough and there is nothing wrong in making some extra dough. This week, I will teach you how to do this without actually having to get a new job or end up doing something on the wrong side of the law. And no, I am not suggesting that you take to multi-level marketing or paid surveys either.

For starters, if you have a digital camera, make a movie, maybe of your dog doing some tricks or your child taking first steps, throw in some animation if you know how to go about it, and upload it on revver.com. They will attach an advertisement to your video and if it becomes popular you can earn up to 50 per cent of the revenue.

Alternatively, upload your videos and pictures to break.com. If they like your work, they will pay you up to $400 for an original video and up to $2,000 for short films. The site also pays up to $50 a picture, if it wins one of their regular contests.

If you are a genius in mathematics, physics or chemistry, or someone who has a diet that actually works, know how to get house things done in the proper manner, or how best to handle a problem child, you can join bitwine.com as an advisor. You will get introduced to people who need advice—you can charge them or become an advisor for free.

If you think there are better ways of reviewing a product or a software, you can start a blog and start ranting at wordpress.com or blogger.com. You can even open an account with payperpost.com and advertise the rate you want for reviewing stuff. You can charge between $5 to $100 a post and some software companies or websites could pay you to review their stuff.

Those of you who can write funny slogans for T-shirts, can set up their own stores at cafepress.com. The website will manufacture and sell the garments for you, and you will make some money without any investment.

Some of us like collecting things. But after a point these only add to the clutter in the house. If you too have old stamps, coins, mugs, collectible lighters etc lying around, open a shop on ebay.in, and start selling. You will not only make good money, but also clean up your house in the process. For instance, I met an old lady who makes puppets and sells them online. If you are also the “crafty kind” then this is one opportunity you can’t afford to miss.

This list is in no way comprehensive, as there are many other sites that let you make money. Just make sure they don’t charge you to sell you a book, or set up an account—in that case they are the ones who are making all the money, not you. So, best of luck with the recession, and if you end up making some money, think of the guy who tipped you off.

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The above article appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday, 25th January 2009