Make money online with your photographs and videos
Have
you ever dreamed of being a photographer -- traveling around, taking photos,
and being paid for it? I sure have! Well, never before has the demand for photos
and video been greater than it is now (for websites, brochures, online videos,
banner ads, and more).
It used to be that stock photo sites such as GettyImages.com only worked with professional photographers and artists. However, their high prices alienated a very large market of webmasters and small businesses. So it's not surprising that dozens of sites have emerged that now allow amateur photographers, videographers, and graphic artists to upload their works and earn royalties. This is one of the new and growing markets for making money online.
Here are some of the more well know sites: Fotolia, Shutterstock, Dreamstime, iStockPhoto, Citizen Image.
To get started, I would recommend browsing the sites above to get a feel for which categories of images sell best. Keeping in mind that potential buyers usually search for photos by keywords, do a search on Fotolia.com or iStockPhoto.com for some subjects that interest you. Next to each result you'll see the number of downloads that have occurred, which will give you a sense of the topic's popularity.
Click on the "contributor" or "sell stock" links to get more info about how you can make money online with your photography and other works. Both Fotolia and iStockPhoto.com seem to offer good guidance, advice and tips for new content providers (you).
As an experiment, you might upload some of the highest quality photos that you currently have sitting in your hard drive. However, know that making real money online with this method will take a longer-term effort.
Expect royalties to range around 30-40%. Some of the most successful photographers have sold hundreds of thousands of their images through these channels. In other words, revenue potential is there. However, there's no doubt that it's a lot of work. So I only recommend this if you truly enjoy photography, videography, or graphic design.
Be sure not to show any faces other than your own in photos/videos, unless you have a signed release form.
Sell virtual real estate, virtual goods, and virtual services
I
first read about this concept in a 2008 best-selling book; it seemed so stupid
that I stopped reading the book and threw it away. However, I have since learned
that people are in fact making REAL money by selling good/services/land/homes/etc
in virtual "game worlds" like Second Life.
I personally don't have any penchant for online games, virtual reality, and such. However, I do recognize the profit potential in it for those who do. Don't believe me? Check out this Business Week report about Anshe Chung -- she became a millionaire by selling virtual goods in Second Life.
Truth be told, I figure about 90% of the "stuff" that people buy in the "real" world is just junk purchased for its illusive association with happiness. So as long as it makes people happy, why not try to make money online by selling something that won't create any pollution.
Do you speak a second language?
If
so, you can make money online by translating documents and websites for companies.
It's true that there are free automated translation tools available, but they have one drawback: they suck. If a company wants to market its website, services, or products in another language or country, it is essential that they have a native speaker either perform the translation, or manually review any automated translations. The same goes for business documents, legal documents, and advertising copy. It's simply too risky to trust automated tools.
So if you speak a second language, put yourself out there by creating a niche website, posting on craigslist, getting listed on the freelance websites, and contacting businesses that you think might be interested in selling to another market. For example, businesses in the United States would be wise to have an alternate site for Spanish speakers. Likewise, many exporters in China would be interested in getting a translation of their website done by a fluent English speaker.
Make money online as a mock juror
Lawsuits
can involve big money, and attorneys for such cases sometimes stage "mock trials"
to test their case on a panel of "fake jurors". You can make some cash by participating.
Check out eJury.com and TrialJuries.com
to get started.
TIP: Be sure to act like a real juror, pay attention, and provide quality input. The better you play the role of juror, the more likely it is that you'll be selected for another job.
Make money online with virtual sex
This subject might offend some people, but the purpose of NetAJob is to discuss all the ways in which people make money online, as long as they're legal. And the truth is that as long as people are interested in sex (definitely the foreseeable future), sex is going to be a significant money-maker on the Internet.
Some possibilities:
- Phone sex: You can start your own 900 #, or work for a provider that forwards calls to your phone after the customer has paid with a credit card. Check out SexyJobs.com/phonesex.asp for help wanted ads, do a search for "be a phone sex operator" or "adult operator", and check out this eHow article about becoming a phone sex operator.
- Start your own adult website featuring yourself or other models. Since I don't have any experience in this arena, my suggestion is to search Google for "start adult website" or "build adult website".
- Adult website chat: This is somewhere between operating a website and providing phone sex. Search Google for "adult chat jobs" or "sex chat jobs". Also check out SexyJobs.com/internet.asp