Need Extra Cash? Here are 10 Ways to Make Money from Your Home Computer

Are you looking for ways to supplement your income, build up your savings or pay off a debt? Would you like to earn a little extra spending money from the comfort of your own home? Now is a great time to start, especially if you have a computer with Internet access.

Simply going online opens the door to a world of possibilities for people who want to earn money from home. The challenge, however, is determining which opportunities are legitimate and which ones are scams. So do your homework first. Research the opportunity, ask questions and use good judgment.

You may be a wizard at clipping coupons, shopping frugally and saving money. Are you ready to start earning money online?

With recommendations from Mary Hunt of Debt Proof Living, Jim and Audri Landford of Internet Scambusters, Rachel Singer Gordon of Mashup Mom and the editors of Woman's Day magazine, here are a few money-making suggestions.

Are you a wordsmith? Writing companies like Break Studios and Demand Media hire freelance writers and editors to work on projects for various blogs and web properties. The average pay is between $8.00 and $15.00 per article, although writers can sometimes earn more for special assignments.

Companies like Constant Content and Textbroker describe themselves as a marketplace for unique and exclusive articles written to client specifications. Their writers are essentially ghostwriters who work for a fixed rate per word, usually set by the client. Open orders usually start payment at $2.00 to $5.00 per article. Team orders and direct orders pay more, and good writers can earn bonus pay.

Bukisa, HubPages and Triond are examples of websites that provide user-generated content. Writers earn passive or residual income through revenue-share advertising programs like Google's AdSense, or through affiliate sales commissions like the Amazon Associates program.

Content sites like Associated Content (now the Yahoo! Contributor Network) pay writers in a combination of ways: up-front payments, special assignments, and performance bonuses.

Do you design computer graphics or build websites? Consider Elance or oDesk, two popular platforms for freelance opportunities. These websites match web designers and developers with companies that need their services.

How does it work? Companies list jobs and freelancers bid on them. As a designer, you create a profile, list your experience and set your own price for a job. If a company selects your bid, you pay a small commission to Elance or oDesk.

By the way ... content writers, language translators and other freelancers can use these marketplace sites to find work, too.

Do you like to write? Do you have something interesting to say? Consider blogging for fun and profit. Tentblogger offers excellent tips for beginners and pros alike.

Blogger and WordPress are free blog tools recommended for beginners. After you register with one of these sites and set things up, visit Google AdSense to monetize your blog. Google AdSense is an advertising program that generates revenue for your blog on a per-click or per-impression basis.

Affiliate marketing programs like Amazon Associates are another way to earn blog money. Refer customers to Amazon and receive a small sales commission when they make a purchase through your affiliate link.

Google AdSense and Amazon Associates are just two ways to monetize blogs, but they are popular revenue models and a good place to start. Your income will start small, but it should grow as you build your readership.

Survey websites like MySurvey are a great way to earn money from home. Register at legitimate sites, answer a few questions about products or services and get paid for your time and effort.

Completed surveys usually earn between $2.00 and $5.00, but some sites pay in change. Some survey sites pay in points or "virtual cash" that you accumulate, then redeem for gift cards or merchandise.

Survey companies may send payments by check, but most of them make deposits to your PayPal account once you reach the cash-out threshold.

A word of caution: you can find a lot of survey sites online, but many of them are scams. Do your research and avoid joining sites that charge up-front fees to participate. For more on survey sites, read Five Free Survey Sites for Making Money Online: A Short Overview.

Can you really earn money just by surfing the web? Yes, you can. The Internet has many human-powered search engines that pay you to search the web using their site instead of the big search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo.

Some of the pay sites are scams so, again, do you research and use discernment. When you find a legitimate site, register for an account and create a profile. Then start using the search engine to surf the web. By doing this, you accumulate points that are redeemable for gift cards, merchandise and even cash.

Sites like Swag Bucks allow you to earn more points by installing their toolbar on your computer and taking daily polls or company surveys. But be aware: It can take a long time to earn enough points necessary for big prizes or PayPal deposits.

Some Internet companies pay you to complete short tasks like searching the Internet for specific products, answering online questions and giving your opinion about a product or service. Amazon's Mechanical Turk is one example.

Online tasks usually have a time limit that can range from a few minutes to an hour or more. Payments range from a few cents to a few dollars. It can take quite a while for the money to add up. But if you have spare time with nothing to do, what can it hurt?

Are you an expert at something? Do you have knowledge or expertise in a specific area like medicine, law, car repair or home improvement? Join a question-and-answer website and get paid for your advice.

At JustAnswer and similar paid sites, registered customers ask a question and quote a price they are willing to pay for an answer. The expert responds within a set time frame, usually an hour. If the customer accepts the answer, the expert receives a percentage of the customer's payment.

How much can you earn for your advice? It depends on how many questions you answer, and how many of your answers are accepted by customers.

And before they can participate on a question-and-answer site, experts must go through a serious vetting process that includes a background check and verification of education and credentials.

These days, many retailers outsource their customer service programs to third-party companies. If you have a telephone and personal computer, you can apply to these companies as a contract worker.

Home-based customer service reps usually work between 20 and 40 hours a week. Clients include large and small companies. The average hourly rate is $9.00, although some home agents earn up to $15.00 an hour with incentives, bonuses and special projects. Some companies offer benefits, such as health insurance and retirement plans.

Generally, home agents are independent contractors. The hiring process is quite thorough and includes a comprehensive and lengthy application, telephone interview, skills test and background check.

The Internet offers many opportunities to sell handmade items online. Websites like Etsy and Jewelry Wonder give sellers an online store to showcase their crafts.

Many of these websites offer free registration, although they usually charge a small fee to list items and post photographs. When your item sells, you pay a small commission to the host site and keep the rest as profit.

Sites like ArtFire offer online training to help you market your art and crafts.

Don't forget auction sites like eBay and free online classifieds like Craigslist. They are great venues for your original art and handmade crafts.

You're not without skills! Sell your talent online to earn extra income from home. Fiverr is just one marketplace for gigs, and all jobs are priced at $5.00 each. Other sites allow sellers to set their own price per gig.

For each sale, the host site receives a commission. You keep the rest as your profit.

What kind of gigs will you find on these websites? Some are serious, many are funny and others are downright bizarre. You know your own skills and talents, so you decide what to sell.

On Fiverr, one seller offers professional hair advice. Another teaches customers how to toilet train a cat. One seller takes pictures of anything in New York City. Another records an Irish greeting with Irish music in the background. The possibilities are endless.

• Debt-Proof Living: 1992-2012
• Mashup Mom: Money Saving Strategies for Moms ... and Everyone Else
• Scambusters: Internet Scams, Identity Theft and Urban Legends
• Woman's Day Magazine: Live Well Every Day

Copyright © 2011. Annette R. Smith. All rights reserved.

Published: March 23, 2011 / Modified: April 17, 2012.