Earn Income at Home by doing online jobs like: Data entry, copywriting etc

Do you want to earn a decent living online? By doing simple jobs like copywriting, data entry, typing, online form filling, programming, SEO and etc?

If yes, then carry on and read this free freelance tutorial. You will learn about 100% legitimate way to earn money via selling your services on the internet.

Freelance sites give you the ability to earn a good living at home. You are your own Boss: work whenever you want to. Most importantly, it is 100% free to join. You will never pay any money from your pocket EVER.

Thousands of users are working at these sites everyday: You can become one of them.

How much money can you earn via doing these online jobs?

From few dollars to thousands of dollars. It will depend on how much work you are willing to do and what kind of work you are capable of doing.

There are hundred plus categories: each category contains a different kind of job. If you do not have any skills like doing Programming in some language like PHP etc, then I will recommend copywriting as the pay is very good. Data entry is a good option to choose if you cannot do any other job [including copywriting]. Different jobs require us to have different kinds of skills. Like for programming work, one needs to have knowledge of different kinds of languages like PHP, ASP, .NET etc.

If a person has no skill in any field then he can do data entry jobs: as this work requires no Skill or Experience of any kind. If you can operate a PC then you can do this work. This work does pay less compared to copywriting and other jobs but one can still earn some decent amount of money.

Is it free to join? Yes, it is 100% free to join. But there are some differences between these websites. I will explain them
later and I will also explain the difference between data entry and copywriting.

I shall now show you links to the Top freelancing site on the internet.

Note: open these links in separate windows. Register at these sites. You will then be asked to create a profile. For now, fill in the compulsory stuff. You can edit your profile later. Remember to choose the right category. While creating your profile, you will be asked to choose a category. You can only apply for jobs that are posted under the category that you choose in your profile.

For example, if you are interested in doing data entry jobs, then choose the following category: Admin Support

After you make the basic profile click on “Find Work” then “Browser Jobs”. Here find the category that you selected in your profile. Under it’s heading will be the sub-categories. For example: Under the main category of “Admin Support”, you will find sub-categories like “Data Entry”, “Research” etc.

Open the sub-category: now you will be able to see a list of newly posted projects. Look for projects where no one has submitted any Proposals/Bids. Open such projects and submit your proposal/bid if you can do the job. This will give you a basic idea about how things work at these sites.

I suggest you submit such one proposal/bid and then come back to this page to read the rest of this guide: It is a complete freelance tutorial that contains lot of tips for the NewComers.

Site 1: Elance

Site 2: oDesk

To earn at these sites you need to invest Time. You will not invest any money. The only thing that you will be investing is some of your Time. What do you mean by Investing Time? And how will it effect my income?

If you want to make a living online then you will have to spend 8 or more hours at these sites. On the other hand, if you only want to earn some extra cash, that is via doing part time work, then you can do work whenever you have some spare time. You can work for few hours on the weekends or you can work for an hour or so on business days [after your full time day job is over]. The time that you will invest is very important:

There is no online opportunity where you can earn without doing any work. Anyone who wishes to make a living via these sites should be prepared to work for 10 or so hours every day: And when it comes to the Beginning of one’s freelancing career, he has to work Really Hard in order to gain Ratings [I will explain more later].

In the beginning the goal is to win Your first Project. And that is one VERY difficult Goal to achieve.

There are so many things to learn. But don’t give up as you will only work hard at the beginning. Slowly, you will start to enjoy this work. New comers will work more and will earn less but after few days or weeks, the opposite will happen: that is: you will work less and will make much more : )

You will learn everything. Carefully and patiently read this guide…
Working at freelance sites is the best option for home staying Moms to earn for their family. They can stay at home with their children and earn without going to any office.

Are you Serious about earning income using internet or you are just passing by and checking if you can earn some Quick Cash via doing no work? Remember that there are no Shortcuts: In order to earn online, you will need to do lot of work, especially in the beginning. Whether you want to do this as a part time or full time job, hard work will be required in both cases.

The first step is the easiest of all: simply Sign-Up. Note: users who want to get work are called “Contractor”. You want to earn via doing work for other people right? So you are a contractor. People who will give you work are called Employers.

IMPORTANT: Remember to sign-up for a Correct Account. Many users select to register as an Employer instead of a Contractor. They waste lot of their time in figuring out why they are not able to get any job : )

Elance and other sites make design changes quite often: In the current design, there are two places where you may get confused and select the wrong account type. The link which I have included above, will land you on EL where you will be able to see this [Figure 1]:

You can see in this image where you should and should not click. Remember that you are Not an Employer. Some users try to navigate in the site before they start the registration process. Some of them land on the Homepage where I currently see this [Figure 2]:

There is one other way to sign-up. At the Top-Right hand side of all pages, you can see this [Figure 3]: If you click on Register, you will then see Figure 4: Make sure that you select the Correct Account.

After clicking on the correct signup link, you will then see a page where Four different Memberships are available. Select to Register under the BASIC Membership account. [This is the Free membership.]

After that, you will see a Simple Form. Fill in all the information and then click on Join Elance.

After you complete the registration process you will then have to create your Profile. Create a decent looking Profile. EL is a professional site so contractors need to be professional too, right? Take your time in creating a good looking profile. You will need to fill-in information in this form [Figure 5]:

It is also a pretty much simply form. Write in details about your Experience [if Any]. Show your Qualifications/Degrees [if Any]. Write other detail about yourself: write whether you are working alone or you have a team. Mention whether you are working full-time online or you are doing this work as part time job…

In the Keywords box you can write about the specific fields/categories in which you are interested to work. For example you can write these keywords: Data Entry, Copywriting,Form Filling etc…

During the registration process or during completing the steps to create your profile, you will also have to choose a Category. THIS IS IMPORTANT. You can only apply for jobs in the category which you will select in your profile. Do not select wrong category. For example, choose Writing and Translation category if you want to do copywriting work.

If you want to do data entry jobs then choose this category:

How many categories can a Free Member choose?

Only ONE.

So it means that I can either do data entry or copywriting jobs and can’t do both?

The answer is Yes and also No. Free members can only choose one category so they cannot do both data entry and writing work at the same time. Where PAID members can select more than one categories so they can work in both categories.

Can I change my Category?

Yes, but only Once in a Month.

Choose the correct category to avoid any problems.

Now let us talk about the last step in completing your profile. Look at Figure 6:

Verifying your Phone Number is simple.Simply click on Verify Your Phone Number and then click on Continue. Make sure that you have entered the correct Phone Number in your profile. You will then receive an Automated Call. This process is simple but you can only verify your phone number if you have already pass the Admission Test.

I believe EL has removed the Admission Test from their site. In the past, new users had to pass a Test in order to start working. Currently, new users are able to start without having to pass this test.

Once you verify your phone number, you can then start to look for jobs. Remember that you are a new comer and have to compete with other users. Some of these other users will have HIGH RATINGs. So don’t lose Hope and Do Not Give Up. In order to apply for a job, you will need to submit a Proposal. At some freelance sites, proposals are called BIDS.

Take a look at Figures 7 and 8:

These pictures show the required fields that you need to fill-in to submit a proposal. In the Top/First box, write the detail. Try to understand the work which you are required to do in the given job. For example, if the job requires you to write 10 articles about Gardening then to show the Employer that you are a Serious Contender, you can write a 100 or so words sample on the given topic and include it in the said box.

Don’t just paste a sample: First write something else like: Hello, I am a new contractor but I can assure you that I will do the given work accurately and within the given time period. I wrote a sample for you on the topic you mentioned…

You need to IMPRESS the Employer. At the bottom of Figure 7, you can see two boxes: you need to use the first one only. This box says “My Earnings”. In this box, you will enter the amount of money for which you are willing to complete the given work.

As you are a new comer and have no RATINGs, therefore I suggest you agree to work for lowest rates. WHAT, the lowest price? Why?

Well, what do you expect : ) ? You are a New Comer. So you have to do work for the lowest rates.

How can you get a project for higher rates when there are many other people applying for the same project? And they may have high ratings too: This seems to be a good time to tell you about the Importance of Ratings/Feedbacks.

All freelance sites have a rating/feedback system. When a person completes a job, he/she then gets a feedback. The more projects you do, the more feedbacks will you get.

The more feedbacks a person have, the more money he will earn. Users with High Ratings get work for higher rates as Buyers Trust Them.

Ratings are part of freelancer’s reputation system. As you are a new user and you don’t have any ratings therefore you should go for the lowest price.

Remember: more good ratings = more jobs for you.

So in the beginning, your first goal is to Earn Excellent Ratings and for this you need to Win Projects.

Importance of Communication with Buyers

Communication with buyers is the most important part. Without proper communication, your chances of winning a project are almost zero. You can use Workroom Messages to communicate with Employers.

IMPORTANT: In Elance, you cannot start a conversation with Employers. In order to communicate with an employer, you first need to submit a proposal and then you need to wait for him to start a Conversation. After you receive a message, you can then communicate with him via WorkRoom.

To send a reply, Click on the Elance logo which is at the very top-left hand side. Here you can see a list of jobs where you have submitted a proposal. With each job, you can see a Envelope like icon/button. To view the message you can click on this envelope icon. This will open the Messaging Center in your Workroom.

Remember that as you will gain ratings, you will start to earn more.

In Figure 8, you can see an option to mention the Milestone. This is just like Escrow: I suggest you leave this for now. First earn a rating and then worry about using this option. You can also see an option to choose Delivery Time. Choose an approximate time in which you can complete the work. The last option can be used to place your proposal at the top of all other proposals. I suggest you do not use this option as you do not have lot of Connects.

What are Connects?

The amount of proposals that you can submit depends on the amount of connects you have. Elance give Connects to users each month. Free members have less connects where paid members have more. In order to submit proposal, a project may require you to spend 1 or more connects.

After you open the project description page, you should first read the description. Make sure that you can complete the described work. You have to make sure that you can complete the work. You have to be 100% sure about it. In order to be successful at freelance sites, you need to earn excellent ratings: and in case you fail to complete a project, then you will get a Bad rating. One bad rating can pretty much end the freelance career for a new comer.

[Don't bid on projects where you are not sure what job is required to be done. Sometimes new comers start to submit proposals on different projects without reading and understanding the project. Some of them think that if they get the Unknown Job, they will simply search about it on the internet and will then learn everything about it in a quick time. This behavior is commonly seen as a result of Frustration or Carelessness. Please keep in mind that if you win a project that you cannot complete in the given time period, then you will get a Bad Rating. After that, no one will give you work.]

Site 3: 99designs

If you are able to join EL then you can join any freelance site without any problem. You should join Elance and oDesk. Joining 2 freelance sites will help you learn more and will increase the chances of you getting your first job quicker.

What payment options are available?

There are many payment options available at freelance sites.

You can select MoneyBookers [MB] or Paypal . Other payment options are not as cheap and safe as these two.

If you live in a country where Paypal is not supported then you can use MoneyBookers to transfer money to your bank account. It’s cheap and safe:

[Note: if you are living in a Country where MB is also not supported, like in Nigeria, then please use the Payoneer Debit Card option]

It’s not difficult to create an account at Moneybookers, however adding bank accounts can [sometimes] create problems. Once you verify the address and name, and add a bank account: you will then receive your money with one click.

After you create an account at Moneybookers: go to the Profile page and click on Address. You need to verify your postal address in order to enable your MB account for withdrawals. I personally made the mistake of not verifying my address at the time of creating my MB account. After I transferred my money from a freelancing site to MB, I tried to withdraw the money to my bank account. Unfortunately, it was then, I found about address verification. My withdrawal was processed 40 days late because of this small mistake of not verifying my postal address when I first created my account.

Anyway, after you click on the verify Postal address button, Moneybookers will send a letter to your postal address which will contain a code. Use this code to verify your account. [Please note that this verification letter can take up to 45 days to reach you: time varies depending on the country where you live]. After address verification, you have to enter your bank account information.

You will first transfer your money from freelance sites to your MB account and then you will transfer this money to your bank account. The whole process can take up to 14 days. The real problem is that, you can’t use [just] any bank accounts with Moneybookers. You will need to have an account in a bank which is directly connected to SWIFT Network.

How to find out if a bank is connected to the SWIFT network or not?

The easiest way of finding whether your bank is connected to SWIFT or not, is to call your bank and ask them to give you their Swift Code.

If they have a SWIFT code, then go to your Moneybookers account and try to enter your bank account information. In case MB fails to accept your Bank account information: then it will mean that your bank is indirectly connected to SWIFT network (Not good). If your bank account is not directly connected to SWIFT network, then go to SWIFT Directory and try to search for a bank in your city, which is directly connected to the SWIFT Network and which is nearest to where you live.

After that, you will have to go to that bank to create a new bank account. After you get a new account, enter its information in your profile at MB. First you will request the freelancing site(s) to transfer your money to MB, then you will request MB to send these funds to your bank account. After few days, you will finally receive the funds.

[Update: I recently tried to withdraw money from MB and I got a message to verify my Name too. For that, Moneybookers sent $15 to my bank account. I then went to my bank and got a SWIFT Transaction copy of this 15 dollars withdrawal. I scanned the document and sent it to MB via their website. MB then verified my Name/Account within 24 hours. So you may also get this Name verification message anytime]

I do not know much about Paypal as it is not yet supported in my country. If you live in Pakistan or any other country where Paypal is not yet supported then you will have to use MB.

Be Safe And Follow The Rules

Remember to NEVER send any contact information to buyers. Contact information includes email, phone number etc.

In case you send any contact information then your online freelance career will be over for sure.

Freelance sites will terminate or suspend our account if they find any contact info in your proposal or messages.

Difference Between Copywriting and Data Entry Jobs

If you can write proper English [English without spelling and grammatical mistakes], then you should do copywriting work. And in case your English writing skills are not very impressive, then you can choose to do data entry.

Remember: Copywriting jobs pay much more than what data entry pays.

However, if you currently cannot write proper English and still want to do writing work, then you should first try to improve your English writing skills. You can find lot of Online English Learning Courses for Free.

Some Final Words

This opportunity enables you to earn legit money online without worrying about scams. You will never invest any money from your pocket. This means that you simply cannot lose any money. So you should never worry about scams while working at these sites.

Still need help? Leave a comment…