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So, I bit.
I sent away for the information (back in those days it was a flyer or sales letter you got via snail mail). The ad's title probably said something like this: Make $200 to $500 a week stuffing envelope from home.
Since I'd had experience stuffing envelopes while doing office jobs, I knew this was something I was qualified to do in my sleep. Oh boy, was I excited about receiving that information. When I got my Make Money at Home Stuffing Envelope kit, it consisted of a set of instructions, and lots of other flyers for get rich quick programs.
The instructions told me that all I had to do was have a stack of copies made of the very same flyer that I'd just received that promoted free envelope stuffing jobs. Next, I'd order a certain amount of “fresh” mailing labels to go along with the flyers. Of course, I was in luck because the company that sent me the instructions also conveniently worked with a printing company where I could purchase all my flyers and mailing labels from at the same time.
At first I was a little surprised that that was all there was to it. I mean, I thought I'd be finding out which legitimate companies would hire me to stuff envelopes for them from home. Instead, I would be offering the same opportunity I got to other people and would make money from the company when those people placed orders through my mailings.
Oh yeah, that's the other part. I was required to spend my own money for postage and flyers, of which I was sure I'd make it all back after getting lots of orders (with my affiliate ID attached) from people who were as eager as me to buy flyers and posters to make easy money from home.
Needless to say, I never got a dime from that company. I was taken in by the old envelope stuffing scam and there was nothing I could do about it but take my lumps and move on. Unfortunately, I moved on to mailing out other get rich quick opportunities (what can I say? I was a slow learner).
If you are considering a stuffing envelope from home opportunity, stop right here and don't give these offers any more of your time. If you take the bait, you will only lose hundreds of dollars, your valuable time, and feel foolish for being gullible. Believe me, I know what that feels like.
After several years of wasting time and money, I finally figured out who the real get rich quick winners were in this whole scam – the printing companies. Think about it for a second. Business is slow, you figure out you can place an ad that promises instant riches for not much work. Let the interested people know you can print up those nice flyers and mailing labels for them for a nice set fee, then watch the money roll in.
What about those fresh mailing labels?
There were lots of bad addresses – better known as nixies. The ones that do get delivered are probably quickly tossed in the garbage. How many sales flyers do you keep?
Just some food for thought. Real businesses do not need people to stuff envelopes from home - this is a complete pipe dream. Trust me, I have stuffed plenty of envelopes while working various office jobs and this was NEVER outsourced to individuals. Plus, if there is a large mailing, there are automatic machines that do the job quickly and efficiently.
I hope I have succeeded in discouraging you from handing over your hard-earned money to these scammers. These companies feed off of people's desire to make easy money, or those who need to bring additional money in to add to their income, but you won't get any help from them - just empty pockets.
With the economy doing what its doing, the fear of having job security is spreading throughout the world like a wildfire. There are thousands of jobs being lost everyday, and there is no sign of change anytime soon. Everyday, more and more people are turning to the internet to find that missing feeling of security. The only problem is that once people make the decision to use the internet as an income stream, they have no idea where to start or what to do. If you fall into this category, or even if you just want to learn some additional methods, then this article is for you.
You see, I have been one of these people that I just mentioned. I worked three jobs, and knew that I wanted to start making some extra money using the internet, but had no idea what my options where. I spent many hours online doing research, and trying to get the money train started. After 6 months, all that I had learned was the 12,862 ways to make money online, but I had not taken advantage of any of them, and I hadn't made a penny. Obviously I made this number up, but the point is that I wasted a lot of time just learning the different things that I could do. I wanted to help people avoid making this same mistake so, I sat down and made a list of the 7 best ways to make money online. Here is the list that I came up with in no particular order.
You can get a “virtual job”
These are also known as "work from home careers". Every business has different things that need to be done on a day to day basis. Many of these businesses will gladly pay you an hourly rate to do this work for them. You can work right from home, and they will mail you a paycheck, or directly deposit the funds into your account. These day to day activities include things such as reading and replying to emails, filling out surveys, creating company related content, and data entry.
You can work as a freelancer.
If you have a unique skill, then you can perform this for interested people, and charge a fee for this. If you are a great writer, you can write content for people. If you have experience in web design, you can design or update other people's sites. Anything that needs to be done, there are people that are willing to pay to have it done. You can get unlimited work at places like elance.com and guru.com.
You can flip websites or domain names.
If you know anything about flipping houses, you can apply this knowledge and do the same thing with websites and domain names. You can find sites that have good potential but lack in design, management, or any other aspect. Once you find these sites, you can buy it, make the necessary improvements, and sell it for a profit. You can also buy domain names for cheap, and then sell them at any cost you choose.
You can claim your share of Google's money.
Sites like Google and Yahoo allow people to advertise their business on their website, and the business owner pays them a certain price every time someone clicks on their link. If you have a website or blog, you can put these related ads on your site or blog, and if someone visits your site and clicks on their ad, Google will pay you a portion of the money they make from the advertiser. This program is called adsence. Since the price per click is generally just a few cents, it would take a large number of clicks to make any big money.
You can have a paid advertising website.
If you have a website or blog that gets a large number of visitors, you can charge people to advertise their business on your website. You would want your ads to be related to your website, blog, or forum, so the business owner would get massive exposure, with people that will potentially be interested on what they are offering. Once again, you would need to have a website that gets a lot of visits everyday.
You can sell your own products or services.
If you already have a business that sells a product or service, you can sell it online for a profit. Out of all the ways mentioned, this is probably the best way to make the largest amount of money. The product can be a cd's, books, crafts, lamps, cameras, training courses, ect. The list goes on and on. It is not necessarily the fastest way, but in my opinion, it is definitely the best. There are tons of different ways to get this done. You can use “auction style” sites, such as EBay, or you can follow the traditional online business model.
You can sell other peoples products.
If you like the idea of selling your own products, but you don't have anything to sell, don't worry. There are thousands of people out there with products to sell, and they will gladly pay you a commission to sell these products for them. This is called affiliate marketing. Companies like Amazon.com will provide you with a personalized tracking link that you can start promoting. Every time someone clicks on your affiliate link they go straight to Amazon.com. If they purchase anything, Amazon will pay you a commission for making this sell. This is also a great way to get started making money online.
Now that I have told you the 7 best ways to start making money online, my sincere hope, is that you take the next step. To do this, you will need to decide witch one best fits you, and then make the decision to take some action. I suggest that witch ever way you choose, do your research, and never stop learning about it. If you make the decision, and act on it, the sky is the limit. You will never have to worry about job security again.