This week is Ask the Pajama Mama where I answer work-at-home questions submitted by readers and listeners of Work-At-Home Success.



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Resources Mentioned On the Show

When I first started looking for work online in the late 1990′s there were many jobs that involved researching and writing content.  Websites needed to fill their sites and databases with information and paid people to help them do that. Those jobs, in that fashion, don’t exist much anymore, but a new type of pay-for-content work has evolved.

You may have heard that “Content is King” on the Internet. In most cases people go online to get information. The sites that have the best information (content) tend to also have the most traffic and therefore make the most money. New news aggregators and content portals are vying for a piece of the pie and are paying people to help them develop quality content.

What’s Involved?

The basics are the ability to find information and organize it in a concise easy to read fashion. You don’t need access to the expensive data bases or a degree in journalism, but you do need to know how to find reputable information on the Internet and string words together coherently.

Most sites want 300-500 word articles that can cover topics of your choice or that the site has requested. The articles can be in a variety of formats including ‘how-to’, reviews, lists, ‘best of’, fact sheets, etc.

How much can you make?

This is the tough question. Like in most work-at-home options, some people make good money and others make nearly nothing. It really depends on the site, your topics, and quality of submissions. Some sites will pay you a small flat fee anywhere from $5 to $30 per article. Others pay you in ad revenue, which over time, if there is lots of traffic, can build. Some do a combination of both.

My opinion on this type of work:

If you want to be a full-time freelance writer, these options aren’t for you mostly because most magazines don’t view these sites as “clips” to add to your portfolio. And the pay isn’t as good as writing for magazines.

But if you want to make a few hundred to a thousand dollars a month AND have the time to write and submit frequently, and help the site build traffic to your submissions, then this is a good option. It’s extremely flexible…you write what you want, when you want. But you aren’t going to see that money overnight. Most people who work on it consistently indicate it takes a couple of months to see a steady stream of income.

Where’s the work?

There are many places such as Demand Studio and Associated Content that pay for content. But not all are worth the time and effort.  For example, Examiner is posting lots of work on job boards, but the pay is so low (1 cent per page impression) and not guaranteed. Plus it says it can take and reuse, rewrite, and redistribute your work without additional compensation to. That’s not fair. You’re better off to go with a site that doesn’t pay well but at least you own your work and submit it to more than one place. Or that will pay you more to have exclusive rights to your work.

What should you do next?

If this sounds interesting, take the time to do more research. Like most work-at-home options, a single article can spark an idea, but you need the nitty gritty details to know what do to next. You can start by checking out some of the content sites (all are free to join) and learn what sort of content they want, how they pay, and what’s involved.

I was able to get a hold of Matthew Sherborne’s Cash for Content System. I read a lot of ebooks and most aren’t that helpful, but Matthew’s is very good. It takes you through the steps of finding good profitable topics, how to put together quality content even if you don’t like or aren’t’ sure how to write, and the best ways to maximize profits at many of the best web content sites. He uses screen captures so you can follow along with him and not have to guess what he’s talking about. Plus he’s added toolbox that takes you step-by-step through the process of brainstorming ideas, writing content, and keeping track of the best paying sites. I’ve also thrown in a bonus that lists some additional sites that aren’t in Matthew’s book.

Check out Matthew’s great resource at Cash for Content System.

Written by Crissy Herron

Are you feeling like you are stuck in a routine? Does it seem like tasks are piling up but you have no energy to work on them? Does working on your business seem like a chore or a drain – when it used to feel fun and energizing? If so, I think you might be stuck in a rut.

Ruts can happen to the best of us, so if you got caught up in one, don’t feel bad. The point is to recognize the rut and figure out how to get out of it. Quickly! (Ruts can harm your business – so you really don’t want to stay in one for too long!)

Here are some tips on getting un-stuck:

Get out of your comfort zone!

This is probably the number one reason people fall into ruts. They spend too much time on doing things that are “comfortable.” So let me ask you a question: What is one thing you know you need to do for your business, but haven’t done, because it scares the hell out of you?

Guess what? I want you to start working on that thing … today! Don’t wait! Do it today!

Get out of your house!

If you work from home, it can be very easy to fall into a rut. In fact, your business rut can start extending into your life. It can be really easy to sit at home in your pajamas all day and never  get dressed, or fix your hair, etc. If you find yourself doing this everyday, that’s a rut, my dear.

If the above pajama person sounds like you, I want you to get out of your house. Today. And not just to go to the grocery store. I want you to pack up your laptop and head to your local coffee shop and work there for an hour or two.

If you have kids, you can schedule this activitiy for when you can fiind a sitter. But that doesn’t mean you get out of it completley! You still gotta break free from that rut, so you better find time to leave the house sometime this week! (you’ll thank me later.)

Find A Mentor

I am assuming that most of you reading this are “solopreneurs.” That means you are basically a one-woman show. When you work on your business by yourself, it can be easy to lose sight of the big picture.  Have you ever wished you could turn to someone for advice? Someone who has been in the trenches and could give you insight on how to develop your business and succeed?

Finding a mentor can help you tremendously. They can help you figure out what pices of the puzzle are missing. This can breathe new life into your business and help give you the motivation to take things to the next level.

About The Author:
Crissy Herron is the founder of IndieBizChicks.com and host of the corresponding podcast. In addition to managing her own website, she enjoys working with other business owners and teaching them how to market their businesses online

This week I answer listener questions.

You can listen online here:

Or Download here:

You can also subscribe through iTunes.

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I want to give a big thank you to Nicole Dean for sharing all her work-at-home wisdom with us during the week of June 23! I also wanted to let you know the winners of her giveaway. BTW you read that right…there are winners plural. In fact there are 3 winners!!

And the winners are…..

Karen

Rose

Angie

Congrats ladies. You can pick up any report from SR Zone for FREE! To get your free report, email Tracy at tracy@getawayvirtualservices.com

When I created my very first information product (before digital documents), I didn’t have the money or equipment to turn it into a professional looking book.  Instead I had to print out a quality draft, drive it to the local print shop, and order up copies including a comb binding. I had to do the same thing for business cards, brochures and other printed materials needed to do business. If I needed a large number of documents, I had to go to the copy store and even then I was limited to what I could do without spending a fortune. Because creating printed documents so expensive, and I didn’t have the equipment or know-how to do it myself, many great products and promotional ideas I had were left undone.

Today, digital options have made creating printed documents so much easier and more professional looking. You can create your documents, upload them to a printing service which will create them (including binding or cutting), and ship them to your door. Many projects that would have been cost prohibitive can now be done professionally at an affordable price. Now you can use digital printing to create  customized reports, calendars, CD case inserts, stickers, folders, banners even poster printing to sell or to promote your business just like the big guys.

Digital technology has truly made it easy for the home-based entrepreneur to create professional looking products and marketing materials on a limited budget.

Join me at Work-At-Home Success Connect where work-at-home wannabes and experts can connect.
One of the biggest challenges work-at-home wannabes face is finding legitimate and viable work-at-home options. They hear that people are successfully working at home, but what do they do? How can they learn from them?

At Work-At-Home Success Connect, work-at-home wannabes can connect with work-at-home experts who volunteer to share their knowledge and resources. Wannabes can get ideas, discover news resources and tools, ask questions, and more. Experts get the opportunity to promote their businesses and let the world know they are experts in their niches.

Membership at Work-At-Home Success Connect is FREE for both wannabes and experts. So stop by, sign up, and start connecting!

Would you send your children to childcare for 45 hours per week so that you could work 40 hours per week to make a measly $3.80 per hour? Of course not, you say. But that is exactly what I was doing and didn’t even know it.

When I worked outside the home as a social worker, I made about $28,000 per year. Not a great salary but, combined with my husband’s, was a decent income. So why was I always broke? The reason was that I had no clue how much I spent to work outside the home.

Here is what I paid each year so that I could work:
- $3,000 Taxes
- $6,000 Childcare
- $2,400 Car expenses for new car

- $1,700 Commuting 10 miles a day.
- $1,000 Professional appearance (clothes, dry cleaning, etc)
- $1,000 Lunches.
- $2,600 Convenience foods and dining out (because I was too tired to cook).
- $2,400 I-deserve-this-because-I-work-so-hard items and guilt treats (toys, special outings) for my kids.

Total cost of work: $20,100!

I spent $20,100 to work! That came to a take home pay of $7,900 per year, $152 per week… a full $3.80 per hour!

How much do you pay to work?

Use the list below to calculate how much you pay to work.

Yearly Salary:
Work-related Expenses (listed below):
Federal Taxes:
State Taxes:
Local Taxes:
Social Security:
Medicare Tax:
Child Care:
Commuting (toll, parking, 2nd car):
Gasoline and mileage:
Car insurance (extra car, nicer car):
Clothing expenses (cleaning, new):
Gifts, special friends etc at work:
Convenience food for meals:
Eating Out:
Housekeeping help:
Grooming needs (hair, nails etc):
Guilt items for kids and family:
Extra cost related to lack of time to research cheaper prices:
Extra cost related to hiring help instead of making repairs yourself:
Total Expenses related to work:

Actual contribution to family income (salary – total work expenses = family contribution):

What did you discover? Is one-third, one-half or more of your income going to pay expenses just so you can work? It can be pretty depressing to learn you work hard but reap little reward for it. However, if working outside the home is costing you too much money, working at home may be the answer.

But before you quit your job, you need to determine how much your family needs to survive. This requires making a family budget and using it to calculate how much money, if any, you would need to earn from home if you quit your job.

After doing the exercises above I discovered I could work outside the home 40 hours a week to take home less than half my salary or I could work from home part-time, be with my kids, and earn about the same amount of take home pay. It wasn’t too hard a decision to make.

I’m always on the lookout for great online applications that can make my life easier. I recently visited Marketing Mule, which hosts a directory of over 1000 marketing tools. But it has more than marketing tools. It has information on productivity as well. It even has a couple of articles on great Google Applications.  Like me, Marketing Mule is fond of Gmail, iGoogle, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Reader.

Right now I’m over the moon about the ability to send text messages to Google Calendar. In the past I’d have to sync my phone to desktop application or go online with my phone to add an event to my calendar. Google Calendar allows me to quickly add events from my phone through SMS.  I simply scroll to Google in my contact list and choose the option to send an SMS, type my appointment and hit send. Google even texts back that the appointment was received.

To set up the mobile option with Google Calendar:

1. Visit your Google Calendar online.
2. Click on the “Settings” option.
3. Click on “Mobile Set up”
4. Check to see if your Carrier is supported.
5. Enter your country and phone number, and then click “Send Verification Code”
6. You’ll receive a message back with a verification number. Enter that number in the “Verification Code” field on in the mobile settings on your calendar. (If you don’t receive the code, you can request it again through the Mobile Set up in the Settings.)
7. Click “Finish Set-up”.

To send a text of a new appointment:

1. Add Google Calendar’s SMS number to your contacts 48368
2. Send a text to the SMS number. Enter the appointment, date and time for example “Dinner 3/4 8pm” or “Soccer Saturday 10am”
3. Google Calendar will text back that it received the appointment.

Today, March 2, 2009, I’m offering an incredible opportunity to pick up my new release The Work-At-Home Success Bible plus get additional in bonus gifts worth over $500. These valuable resources are all designed to help you find or create the work-at-home career of your dreams!

I’ve been making a living at home for a long time in a variety of situations including telecommuting, and creating online ventures. My book, The Work-At-Home Success Bible covers everything you need to know about finding or creating the home based career of your dreams including an action plan so that you know what do to and can get it done. Plus it has hundreds of telecommuting resources and home business tools. It’s essentially the book I wish was available when I first wanted to earn and income from home.

And for one day only, you can get this complete guide to working at home along with several hundred dollars worth of bonus products including:

• Lesley Spenser Pyle: One-Year HBWM (Home Based Working Moms) Membership worth $49.95
• Sandy Forster: Millionaire Money Game worth $297, Millionaire Mindset Audio Guided Visualisation worth $39, and Affirmations for your Abundance worth $39!
• Stephanie Chandler: Publish a Book to Grow Your Business: A Publishing Strategy for Entrepreneur-Authors
• Kelly McCausey: 42 Day Launch Incubator Self Study Plan worth $29
• Jenn Cangelosi: One month free on Boutique Bargains worth $24.95
• Angela Wills: 24 Hour VA Profits worth $27
• Crissy Herron: Meet The Press (report) and Business Launch Cut and Paste Press Release
• Nicole Dean: Business Ideas for Moms worth $10 and Must Have Resources for Work-At-Home Moms worth $10

Plus I’m throwing in a few additional gifts including:

• Companies that are Frequently Hiring valued at $24.95 that lists over 300 companies that accept applications for jobs such as customer service, virtual assistance, tutoring, and more.
• Blogging for Bucks valued at $24.95
• The Affiliate Action Plan valued at $19
• Access to the WorkAtHomeSuccessBible.com member’s area with all the resources included in the book and then some!

To get the book and all these great resources, all you need to do is:

1. Order The Work-At-Home Success Bible here:
2. After you order and have received your receipt by email, forward your receipt to Leslie at success @ workathomesuccess.com (you’ll need to remove the spaces around the @) and she will forward your bonus product to you within 24-hours.

This offer is valid for today only (March 2, 2009) so don’t wait! Order your copy of The Work-At-Home Success Bible now!