5 Work At Home Jobs Available For You Today!

Work at home jobs are becoming popular. In fact, CNN Money discovered that the number of Americans working from home jumped 41% in 10 years. Work from home jobs are gaining popularity in recent years due to high-speed internet connection coupled with companies growing budget conscious over the years. Other unpopular reasons for the growing demands of work at home jobs are layoffs and downsizing. People who got down-sized are left looking for alternative source of income. Some are either too old or unqualified to find a suitable career. While others are too tied-up taking care of their family to find a traditional 9 to 5 jobs.

In this article, I will focus on five work at home jobs that can promise an income in as short as 3 to 4 months. My aim is to let you discover that there are good opportunities out there and most of them are just lying under our noses.

 

Virtual assistant

According to VA Networking.com:
“ A Virtual Assistant (VA) is a highly-skilled, independent professional who provides administrative, technical and/or creative business support services.

They are your off-site administrative professional.“

Business owners are starting to branch out into the cyberspace. Although they demand a full-time support, paying for overheads are costly.

A virtual assistant answers this problem.

Business owners may start assigning tasks they cannot handle anymore. These are everyday jobs like: answering emails, setting up appointments, taking care of bills and accounts, booking flights, customer service and maintaining online presence when you’re, well… offline!

Anybody can be a virtual assistant as long as they know at least 3 of these basic skills:

• Encoding with an average typing speed of 40 words per minute (WPM)
• Word Processing with MS Office, Google Docs, OpenOffice and Pages for Mac
• Basic internet operation skills like: setting-up Facebook accounts, sending emails, posting comments on Twitter
• Basic sales and marketing skills

There are bidding sites that offer VA job opportunities like: Elance, Upwork (formerly oDesk), Freelancer and PeoplePerHour.

 

 Social Media Manager

Do you like to spend your day sharing the latest tweets and updates with your friends? Do you have a complete weekly round up of trending topics on the Twitterverse? Do you follow the 150 best Instagram accounts of 2015? Is your YouTube channel flooded with views, likes and shares?

Perhaps you’re a ninja Social Media Manager in the making. And businesses should know about you.

Social Media management has 3 goals: promote business online, grow followers and convert leads.

Here’s how it works:

 

1. Business owners will hire you to promote their site online.
2. Set up and manage social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, G+ and so on.
3. Launch campaigns and develop content to satisfy a certain goal (e.g. Convert leads, buy products, register, download freebies, join a contest, share a post, etc.).
4. Grow a strong following by launching contests, quizzes or real-time discussions.

It’s simple and yet complex at the same time. You are dealing with different markets using different platforms and running on various systems. The key is to identify how to attract these prospects using the guidelines set by different social media platforms.
You can try Social Media management by setting up your own Facebook page and grow your followers. You can use your FB account as your portfolio once you decide to look for clients.
DIY Genius has listed 10 Free Online courses in Social Media. I highly encourage you to check it out.

 

Medical Transcriptionist

A medical transcriptionist or MT converts voice-recorded reports dictated by physicians or health care professionals into texts.

You have to undergo a post-secondary training on Medical Transcriptionist course to become a full pledged MT professional. This training will enable you to have an understanding about medical terminology, anatomy and physiology.

All you need to start your MT business is a computer or laptop, an earpiece, a word processor and a dependable internet connection.

Visit The Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) to learn about guidelines on how to become a certified medical transcriptionist.

 

Web Developer

With the advent of mobile applications and surging e-commerce industry, web development has been one of the most lucrative work from home career. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that a web developer’s annual median salary is $63,490 as of May 2014.
The bureaus also states that there is a strong demand for people who wants to become a web developer. BLS projected an outlook of 20 percent from 2012 to 2022, faster than the average for all occupations.

The learning curve is a bit steep for those who are not programmers to begin with. Luckily, there are available boot camps and online courses – both paid and free – that you can try today. On top of my list are:

The Odin Project

Alison

Code Academy

Udacity

Code School

 

Freelance Writer

Writers are the backbone of the Internet. From the contents on your “About Us” page to the sales letters of your product, you need writers to move your market into action – or re-action.

Think about it: All websites have written contents. The rise and fall of an online business depends on the quality of its contents. Therefore, a business’s key success lies in the talent of its writers.
Think about all the opportunities available to someone who wants to try freelance writing:

 

• Blogs
• Web site content
• Press Release
• Email campaigns
• Sales letters
• Product descriptions
• Resume writing
• Landing pages
• News articles
• Newsletters
• Case studies
• Grant writing
• Technical writing
• Whitepapers
• Product reviews
• Video sales script
• Social media posts

Freelance writers are in-demand because they have the skills necessary to market products on the Internet. Anywhere you go, you’ll see traces of great copies that sends new subscribers to websites, ask for “likes” and “shares” on social media or convert prospects into buyers on Amazon.

Depending on skills, an average writer can come up with a good article in less than 5 hours – including researching, writing, editing and posting. The pay can be by the hour, per project or per word.

So, what makes someone a freelance writer?

Simple.

You just need to know how to write.

You have to find within yourself the ability to string together different thoughts to come up with an interesting copy that people will love to read.

If you want to become a writer, you may start writing a journal on a free blogging platform like WordPress. Your blogs will be your portfolio once you look for clients.
You can find your market on bidding sites like Upwork or Elance. Others have tried on content mills like WriterAccess, Zerys and BlogMutt.

While more high-paying writers market their skills through guest blogging.

There are several websites that you can visit to develop your skills even further. My personal favorites are:

Copyblogger

Make a Living Writing

The Well-Fed Writer Blog

The Write Life

Seth Godin

Social Triggers

Pro Blogger

Daily Writing Tips

 

Conclusion

My five work-from-home alternatives are just a sample of careers waiting for you. There are more specialized careers geared towards accountants, programmers, business development managers and project managers that I’d rather leave for the other day.

As you can see, most of the skills listed here are familiar to you. It’s just a matter of developing and promoting them to the point where businesses will start to notice you and actually pay for your services.

Have you tried these work-from-home-jobs previously? I’d love to hear about your experience. Leave your comments below.

 

Attention Virtual Assistants: Discover why Amazon Kindle is the Best Investment you will ever have

Last February, I decided to buy an Amazon Kindle 7^th generation e-reader.

It was my first time to buy one.

My reasons were simple:

• Carry a book with me to pass the time
• Choose any book to read without carrying a library
• Replace my current reading device: my smart phone
• Save money from electric and administrative bills

And these reasons were valid.

In the past, I had to download all the materials to my reliable smartphone.

My problem is that my phone is relatively small to be a reader. The screen is barely 3 inches across. I had to labor just to turn the page without error.

In addition, I wound up getting distracted by constant emails popping out. I end up reading and answering emails instead of finishing the book. Not only that, I tend to be tempted by the thought of opening the browser in the middle of “reading time”. It was a waste of opportunity to enjoy a good book.

Carrying a book was not fun for me either. And I know my book feels the same. The poor thing gets murdered inside my bag. Lastly, my shelf can only handle so much. Most of my books are already collecting dusts.

Lastly, freelancers like me make the most of our education by reading eBooks and downloadable materials (e.g. whitepapers, case studies and alike). This is part of our “education”. Personally, I invest at least two hours daily to consume pages of important information. I read them on my laptop which is a waste of energy. I once decided to print them at a local internet shop and cost me two hundred bucks. Not to mention the eye strain that I suffer from reading at my LCD laptop.

I know something has to change.

And so should you!

If you’re like me, chances are, you are also looking to find a way to read without the hassles I mentioned.

If you think that smart phones and laptops are stealing your time away from a very good book, then it’s time to consider an e-reader.

And based on the overwhelming reviews, the best e-reader today is Amazon Kindle.

Introducing: Amazon Kindle 7^th Generation

Amazon Kindle 7^th generation was launched last September 2014. Unlike the older generation, it has a touchscreen display. This means you can easily navigate your way around it like you do with your mobile phone. Navigation is so easy, I don’t need the manual to explore it. And for only $79 or Php 3, 900, this is the most affordable e-reader in the market right now. It’s closest rival costs $99. You can save at least $20 with Amazon Kindle while enjoying more features along the way.

Speaking of features, let’s talk about them.

Design: light on your bag

Kindle is only 0.04 inches thick – close to a pencil.The design was so streamlined it can easily slide inside your pocket or bag. You don’t have to worry about thick books dragging you down.

Remember when you have to hold a book for hours while reading it? Stressful, right? The weight is putting a lot of strain on your hands. With Kindle, reading is so “light”. You can conveniently hold it with a hand – just like your cell phone. In fact, it only weighs 6.7 ounces or 191 grams.

E-Ink display: easier on your eyes

Part of the reason why I wanted Kindle so bad is because of its resolution. In the past, I had to stare at an LCD screen for two hours. This leads to red, itchy eyes. With Kindle, you’ll never have the same irritation.

How?

Its 6-inch, Pearl e-paper display reflects light. This is in contrast to LCD monitors that shoot light at you.

The experience is so relaxing, you’ll think you’re reading from a book.

Obviously, it has limits.

Because it merely reflects the light, you cannot read with your lampshade off at night.

But here’s the good news: you can take Kindle outdoors and read under direct sunlight. Let’s face it, LCD’s and LED’s are not good under sunlight. You can’t see anything. This is not true with Kindle. So even if you’re on the beach on a warm summer day, you can always reach for your Kindle and enjoy a good read.

28 days of battery life: more reading time

Traditional LED’s and LCD’s have small “bulbs” behind them. Without these “bulbs” you cannot see anything. These “bulbs” can drain your devices easily. On the contrary, Kindle is using e-ink technology. It requires less power than your cell phone and laptop. In fact, Kindle can outlast your cell phone’s power for more than 28 days. You don’t have to worry about regularly charging it. This means more time to read and less frequent time to charge.

A library in your pocket

As a virtual assistant, you will read lots of books. Right now, I am looking at my eBooks folder. It has more than 100 eBooks waiting to be consumed.

I know some of you are having a hard time looking for spaces to cram your favorite books. It is a hassle cleaning your shelf as your books collect dust and dirt.

I have a friend who end-up selling some of his books because his room can’t accommodate them. Don’t let this happen to you. Besides, as a virtual assistant, you may not need a physical book at all. Some of the materials you’re reading are in PDF or EPUB formats anyway. Instead of printing them out (costly) or reading them on your laptop (costly and stressful), save them on your Kindle. Enjoy them anytime and anywhere you want.

Did you know that Amazon decided to double the Kindle’s storage from 2 GB to 4 GB?

Imagine that.

More than 1,400 eBooks, white papers, notes, documents, articles and case studies right at your fingertips. Using its built-in WiFi, you have access to over a million of affordable titles on Amazon Store. Looking for a free publication? Now you can access public domains and download titles for free. Or, you can borrow Kindle books from local libraries’ website.

For more information on how to borrow Kindle books, please visit this link.

It has features you see with regular books like: bookmarking, notes taking and highlighting. What’s more, it has a dictionary and access to Wikipedia so you can check hard-to-understand words and terms in an instant.

Can your book shelf handle that?

Conclusion

Is Kindle really for you? Do you think you need one? I encourage you to read product reviews. Ask actual Kindle users. Check out customer feedback on comment sections.

The truth is, Kindle is not a one-size-fits-all device. It has limitations. For example, it cannot play audio books. It cannot stream videos. It has no high-definition display. It is not even good for web browsing. Playing video games is a big no-no. If your lifestyle needs these kinds of activities, might as well go for a tablet or a laptop.

But if you are looking for an affordable, lightweight and convenient eBook reader without additional fireworks, then go for Amazon Kindle.
Becoming a freelancer – a virtual assistant – is being a businessman. With any business, you need investment. One of those investments is developing skills by reading.

Kindle can help you get the most out of your investment: your time, your energy and your money.

With Kindle, you save time searching for books you need. In less than 5 minutes, you can easily open up your Kindle and start reading. With just a tap of your finger, you can buy an eBook and enjoy it right away. With more than 28 days of battery life, you can use your Kindle longer than your smartphone and laptop combined.

With Kindle, you save energy. You don’t have to charge it daily like your laptop or mobile phone. Never again you have to carry heavy, bulky books. Kindle is light in your hand and easy on your pocket. What’s more, no more tired, red and irritated eyes. You can now enjoy your eBook without squinting your eyes because of eye strain.

With Kindle, you save money. Save yourself from buying a physical book. Avoid days and weeks waiting for it to be delivered at your door. Furthermore, you save precious space in your house.

Give yourself a rest and try a Kindle.

In our business, you were always asking how to be economical. Or, how to be efficient. Fortunately, Kindle is the perfect answer to both questions.

What Stephen King taught me about writing in 10 minutes?

 

I had a chance to read an interesting article about writing.  It was posted on Facebook by Mr. Jomar Hilario, Philippines’ Virtual Assistant Guru.

The article is entitled, “Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully – in Ten Minutes“.

Wait, what?

You’re telling me that it only takes 10 minutes to turn my copy from mediocre to amazing?

“This is worth my time,” I said to myself.

By the way, it was written by a guy named Stephen King.

What are the benefits of hiring a Virtual Assistant?

Hiring a Virtual Assistant allows you to enjoy more time outside of the office!

What is virtual assistant? What benefits can you get if you hire one? In this article, discover what is a virtual assistant. You will also understand the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant.

In this day an age, most of businessmen are always on the go. They cannot handle repetitive tasks involved in their daily lives like. These tasks can be: checking emails, maintaining Twitter accounts or Facebook pages, answering telephone calls, setting up a meeting and a whole lot more.

 

To make it more complicated, most business owners are still at a lost on how to cut down the cost. Expenses like employee benefits, office space, electricity, phone and internet are just a fraction of what business owners have to maintain to run a successful business.

 

That is why, more businesses are looking to outsource some of the operations to cut down costs without compromising the quality of the product and services.

 

In this type of situation, working with a Virtual Assistant becomes valuable.

 

A Virtual Assistant or a VA is a remote, independent professional who renders services to clients — business owners or otherwise —  on a limited time or per “project” basis. With a changing landscape in business, there are companies that are becoming open to hire VAs as permanent employees of the company.

 

Virtual Assistants help clients on different aspects of business relating (but not limited) to: marketing campaigns, sales activities, technical projects, maintaining financial accounts, daily administrative work as well as creative design.

 

To be specific, a Virtual Assistant can help grow your business in different ways.

Instead of reporting to office every day, a virtual assistant makes sure that your business is running  even if he or she is working at home. Because of the power of the Internet, a virtual assistant can  pay bills for you, write an email on your behalf, schedule a meeting with your colleagues via Google Calendar, research for new business opportunities or set-up a business website for you.

 

Think about the benefits that you are getting when you work with a Virtual Assistant:

 

1) You save on operations expense like payroll taxes, vacation pays, sick leaves and insurance

2) You may only pay per PROJECT. This may not be the case if you hire someone as a permanent workforce of your company.
3) You save on renting an office space

 

4) You can work with competent contractors who have specific skills for your business. There’s no need to learn those skills yourself. This is  true when you are dealing with technical activities like: setting-up an advanced website, launching a business software as a product or developing and maintaining a business productivity tool.

 

A VA’s task can also be different from a traditional executive assistant.

 

Instead of usual tasks like scheduling appointments, writing email messages and calling prospects or colleagues, a VA’s skills now cover even the most important part of a business operation or development such as:

 

1) Edit and upload video presentations

2)  Build and market an E-commerce business

3) Perform bookkeeping and maintain your accounts

4) Create a comprehensive marketing campaign for your business

5) Develop and launch applications as services or business solutions

6) Write compelling articles, sales letters and press releases to promote your business

 

In short, Virtual Assistants are dynamic,  skilled individuals. But, there are candidates who might not be the best person for your business. Just like traditional hiring processes, you have to make a thorough interview to assess the candidate’s skills.

 

You can give them tests to check their skills on the job they are applying for. For example, if you are looking for a copywriter, you can ask for a portfolio.  Additionally, ask them to create a sales letter for a fictional product.

As more companies are looking for ways to cut down cost while looking for ways on how to meet the ever growing demand for their services and innovation, it is becoming obvious that hiring a Virtual Assistant is the best strategy to help your business succeed.

 

 

Credits:

1) “10 Benefits to Using a Virtual Administrative Assistant” by Susan Zemanek

2) The Benefits of Hiring a Virtual Assistant by Kabbage.com

3) “10 Things to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant” by Alina Dizik

4) “What is a Virtual Assistant?” by Heather Barnett

5) “What is a Virtual Assistant?” by VA Networking.com

6) “Rimini beach, 2005” by Luca Vanzella under creative commons license.

A Newbie’s Guide in creating a campaign on Facebook

Target your campaign to people who you think need your services the most.

Creating a campaign on Facebook via power editor is very simple. However, it is the goal, the target market and the ad’s timetable that you should be concerned about. As a Facebook ad marketer, you have to address three issues:

 

1. Goal or Objective – What do you want to achieve after you launch the ad? Is it to attract more fans? Are you looking for people who are interested to buy on your online shop? Is it to get more subscribers? Is it to share information through inbound marketing?
2. Timetable – When will your ad start or finish? How long do you plan to run your ad? Does it coincide with a company milestone? Is it because Valentine’s Day is fast approaching?
3. Audience – Who should see your ads? It has to be as specific as possible. You cannot do a shotgun approach when doing Facebook marketing. Why? Because your budget is limited and because everybody is not a prospect. Remember, it is better to attract 100 willing and able customers rather than poke a million uninterested strangers.
4. Budget – How much are you willing to spend? Are you a businessman who is short on budget? Do you advertise for a multinational company who has no qualms in buying an ads pace on Facebook?

 

Once you answered those questions, it is time to launch your campaign on Facebook.

Creating a Landing Page using Landing Page Monkey

Credit: http://blog.rmi.org/blog_The_Service_Industry

During the course, I discussed about the importance of creating of landing pages. While Benchmark has a very basic yet functional design, some of the marketers wanted to put more into their opt-in page. Please be reminded that when a prospect clicks an ad, it is by design that it is directed to another page where the engagement takes place. This engagement depends on your goals like: purchasing a product, subscribing to a newsletter, downloading an ebook, listening to a podcast or watching a video.

This page must have the mini-version of your website: appealing, complete information, direct to the point call to action, clear benefits and most of all, targeted message.

This is where a good landing page comes in.

How to create Facebook ads in Power Editor?

“We Can Edit” by Tom Morris from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:We_Can_Edit.jpg

 

 

To create a Facebook ad in power editor, you need three requirements:

 

1. A Facebook Page – You cannot promote an ad using a personal page. If you do not know how to create one, Facebook has a tutorial on how to create your own business page.
2. A poster for Facebook Ad – The poster should comply to Facebook’s 20% text rule.
3. An email opt-in form or landing page – Create an account with MailChimp, Leadpages, Mad Mimi and a like.
4. A Facebook Business account – Sign-up to Facebook Business Manager to access the power editor. You have to add a payment method (credit card or Paypal) to successfully launch your campaign.

Once you have all of these requirements, you are now ready to create your first Facebook Ad.

How to use Facebook Grid Tool?

 

 

This is a simple instruction on how to use Facebook grid tool. But first, why do you need such a tool?

Well, because Facebook says so on its advertising guideline. Facebook’s aim is to make the user’s experience enjoyable. And to do that, the contents must be appealing to the eyes.

How to create an email opt-in form using MailChimp?

MailChimp is like your virtual postman — sending your mails everywhere in the world!

 

For this exercise, I will create an email opt-in form using MailChimp. MailChimp is one of the coolest email services marketing provider in the world. According to wikipedia, it has 7 million users that sends 10 billion emails (!) a month. Picture it as your virtual postman who sends letters to everyone on your email list.

By creating an email opt-in form using MailChimp, you can automatically create the sign up form, the “Thank You” page, the confirmation email, the Unsubscribe message and many more. Most importantly, it MailChimp manages your list of subscribers based on the campaigns they enlisted.

 

How to create a Thank you page using Tumblr?

Credits: “Thank You” by vistamommy
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thank_you_001.jpg under Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

 

In this tutorial, I will discuss how to create a “Thank you” page using Tumblr.  A “Thank you” page is the one that pops up after you subscribe to an email opt-in page.