Earning Money Online with Freelancing (Part 3) – Getting Jobs at Odesk

Freelance Earning Series
Part 1 – Getting Started; Part 2 – Completing Profile; Part 3 – Getting Jobs(you are here)

As I said in the earlier posts that freelancing is a fantastic way for earning money online. I am a freelance web designer and I make a good amount of money every month just by taking projects. It helps me get in touch with new people, make connections and learn so many new things. It also helps me challenge myself and reach new heights. In the past 2 articles I wrote how to setup your freelancer profile at odesk. In this final installment I shall guide you on how to apply and get the jobs at odesk or any other marketplace.

So many people join these freelancing marketplaces every day but fail to get a job. The majority of these people bid on jobs without knowing and they bid with less and less hourly rates. This way the marketplace gets saturated and the buyers find it hard to get a good worker. New people get discouraged as there are so many people bid on the same job.

But you don’t have to worry about all that if you have what it takes to become a super freelancer. Go ahead and read my article to find out how.

In order to get the job in odesk you have to think like a winner, a solution provider. Only bid on jobs that you think you can do.

Just put your keyword on the job search and you shall find a range of jobs posted by the buyer. For an example if you are a C# programmer you can type the word C# to find these jobs. Read the job title, opening lines, payment type and some details. This will give you enough info about the job.

Job titleJob type: Hourly or fixed priceWhen the job was postedThe job short description and read more linkPayment method verified and how much the client has spentClient’s feedback from the contractorsSkills required

Then click on the job to read the details,

Once you are in the details page you have to read the job description carefully. What this buyer wants and how it should be done. If you are a pro in the field of C# (or your chosen field) you should know what this person is talking about and what to expect.

You should also check if you meet their requirements and proceed. Sometimes you won’t meet all their requirements. Maybe they want a provider from USA but you are in Asia. Only apply if you are 100% confident that you are an exception and you can do better than your competition.

You shall also see other people who have been invited/applied for the jobs. The average hourly rate will be shown in the job. If the client has started to review the applicants you shall see the average hourly rate. This will give you an idea how much the client is willing to pay for this job.

Once you have read the job description carefully, it is time for you to apply.

When you have decided to take on this job, the next part is to hit apply and write a cover letter. Here you have to be creative and show to the buyer that you are really up for this.

Most bidders would copy paste cover letters and write mediocre applications. Some would copy paste the profile description and stuff. A buyer who is around odesk for some time gets a lot of these and they ignore these types of applications. In order to get noticed and get contacted you should write what they want to read.

It is as simple as that. You should not write a lengthy cover letter, your buyer has no time to read it. Start by writing a bit about you, what you do and how long you are doing this.

I am a web designer and when people say that they are building a website for a construction company, I put a few live links to sites that I have done which are related to construction.

The buyer has no time to check out your profile and see what you have done, so always place links that show examples of your work/testimonial and feedback. It is much easier for the client to look at and check them out.

Then you should mention about some industry lingo. This means every industry has some words and terms unique to that industry. A person who is in search optimization will know about the words SEO, SMM, PPC, Penguin, Panda etc. My point is when you mention these things, the buyer will know that you know what you are doing and you are not just another guy wasting their time.

Mention how many hours/days it will take for you to complete and how much money it will cost. Be definite or at least close to it. Better if you can provide a deadline.

Then finally tell them you can be contacted through email and skype. Buyers love getting in touch with skype and email. So the tip is, setup a skype ID and get yourself a good headset and webcam for chatting with your buyer. The more open you become with the buyer for contact, the more chances you will have to get the job.

End the cover letter by writing a few words like,

“I am looking forward to working with you”

or

“Will be waiting for your response”

or

“Let’s setup an online meeting to discuss the project”

The tip is to get them moving and they will feel that they found the right person.

Now that you are done, it’s time to bid on that job. Just put your hourly/fixed price rate, agree with the terms and submit. Wait for the buyer to respond, follow up and then get hired.

Now it is up to you, go ahead bid on a few more projects. You are allowed to bid on a number of jobs per week. Once you get a job complete it and do it again and keep earning money.

Bonus tip: Create your online portfolio using Behance

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Earning Money Online Through Buying & Selling Goods

Right now we have the internet and a vast opportunity for earning money online. You can simply make a good profit by buying and selling items. In the western world this is a popular way for online earning however in our region buying and selling goods is not a preferred way to earn money.

In America, Canada, UK or other western countries there are pawn shops, thrift shops and people who specially deal with buying and selling items in order to make a profit. They simply purchase old items, sometimes repair them and sell it for a high price.

In my place, Bangladesh –not everyone has this selling mentality and buying/selling stuff for earning a living is compared to the scrap dealers. I assume in India, Pakistan and other neighbor countries, the situation is the same. But we need to upgrade our mentality because selling something doesn’t means that I am poor or I am a hustler. I see this is a way to transfer my property to a new owner who needs it. Let me show you how exactly you can do this. 

I have to share this, buying and selling is a great way for earning money online. You don’t have to go to scrap dealer to sell some item. There are online marketplaces like ebay, flipkart, olx, bikroy, clickbd or cellbazaar for doing this on the internet.

When I was young I started buying cheap computer parts from scrap dealers and then fix them and sold these items for 3-5 times profit. I remember buying a laptop hard disk for just TK100 and selling it for TK1,900. Once I bought an old computer for TK10,000 and sold it for Tk13,000. Now see how much profit I made just by doing this. And I am proud of it because I was earning money when my other friends were just spending money.

There are literally thousand ways of earning money online if you put your brains on it. I bet there are things on your household that you are going to throw away anyway. Post these items on a marketplace like olx, flipkart, quickr or ebay. See other related items to get an idea how much people are willing to pay for it, then sell it. Then add more items for sale, if you have friends who want to do the same, put their ads too.

Ebay, olx, clickbd or bikroy.com are sites for earning money online for free. This is simply because most of these sites allow you to post your ad for free. Just think about it, thousands of buyers visit those pages daily and you are allowed to get in-front of them for free.

There are garage sales or yard sales in America. Mainly they put together all the things they don’t want to keep and have a sale. This way they can get rid of these items + earn some extra money to buy new things. Think of the online buying selling marketplace as your internet yard sale. You can also buy items from your friends for cheap, maybe fix them and sell them online for more.

Some people are collectors of antique items. Once you have made some connection with these people by selling them good stuff, you can sell them more. This is because antique collectors usually are rich and always looking for more things to add in their collection.

Quite frankly buying and selling stuff is a profitable way for earning money online from home. Just keep looking for deals and you will earn a lot of money online.

When dealing with strangers, stay alert and always do these deals/meeting with a friend of yours in a public place. When you post some private info on the internet, it becomes public so be sure what to share and what not. Some of these sites will let you post your phone number for the buyer to call you so I suggest you get an extra SIM card just for these calls. Also it is wise to just put your first name and not the last name for added privacy. Hope things go well, all the best in earning money online!

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Online Money Earning with PTC (Paid To Click) Sites – Some Thoughts

Over the course of years I came across so many online money earning sites. One type of website that is coming again and again with new names is a PTC site. PTC is a Paid-To-Click earning opportunity. Basically you have to sign up for these websites and view other websites for 30 seconds. For each view you will earn around $0.01 (one cent) or even low in some sites.

This type of websites has gained popularity among mass internet newbies simply because it’s a no brainer, you are earning for clicking. But the hard fact of the PTC game is you are going to waste hours for pennies.

I came across the PTC game with the site called Bux.to a few years ago. That time there were dozens of online money earning sites like Bux.to. Well this was a genuine site however other sites like this was scamming people. When you join these PTC sites you are going to have access to just 10-20 clicks per day. So this means you are going to earn just 10-20 cents per day. To earn even more money you have to sign up for more PTC sites.

These sites that you will sign up in hope to click on more ads, are owned by the same company. You will end up earning money slowly and the payment level is as high as $50 which will take forever to reach.

Now what is the catch?

These sites will allow you to buy downlines. This means other people who click on ads will go under your name like an MLM system and you will earn a % of what they earn. Mainly these PTC sites make money by selling your downlines.

After a while these sites vanish without paying and after few months they will setup a new website with a new name.

PTC sites claim that they are free online money earning sites, but in reality they are not. They feed upon the users and earn money with paid subscriptions. A new set of paid to click website claims to pay $10 per click, which is bogus talk. When you sign up and start clicking you will see that you have generated thousands within days but they will never pay you money.

Most recently in my country Bangladesh there were many PTC online money earning scams. Sites like DoLancer and SkyLancers setup offices in rural (and even city) area. They had charged TK8,000 per account sign up and supply ads to click. The user had to log in from 2AM in the night till 2PM in the noon to click on ads. Many of the wannabe online workers had bought multiple accounts and even bought downlines.

These users believed what they are doing are real online money earning jobs. After months SkyLancer and DoLancer left the scene with the investments of thousands of people.

People still believe that paid to click P.T.C. works. Giving a search on the internet for “Online Earning” I found many sites that recommend PTC as a way for online money earning.

Most of these sites are scams and are a big time waster. I highly recommend you should not go after these sites and quick money, and instead sign up for real online earning sites.

Yes there are sites that are genuine PTC vendors, one of them is NeoBux, but it is up to you to decide if you want to waste time for pennies or would like to invest your time for high paying sites?

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The Pitfalls of Online Earning Sites

You may have seen a lot of online earning sites on the internet and I also shared a bunch of them here, but what no one seems to share are the deadly pitfalls of these earning websites. If you ask me then earning money online is the coolest thing on the world. You get to work from your laptop from anywhere you want then you can work whenever you want, day or night. But there are some traps in this lucrative opportunity and I am going to explain them to you so that will help you to avoid them.

Google adsense pays only when you have reached $100. It seems like adsense is the easiest way to earn some money online, the payment check is far from the reality. For each click you receive in adsense you will earn hardly a few cents. It will take a lot of time to reach that payout if you are just getting started on the internet. Adsense also bans account for no reason and all the money you have earned will be gone forever. So if you are new I highly suggest you look for other free online earning sites.

Majority of the online earning websites pay the users through PayPal. If you are living in a country where there is no PayPal, then good luck with that. You can earn money but to withdraw your funds you will need a PP account. Countries like Bangladesh & Pakistan doesn’t have PayPal. There is PayPal in India but someone told me that it causes problem every now and then. I had opened an account once from Bangladesh and they banned my PayPal account with $200 in it. Yes that sucks! So when you sign up for an online earning site first check out how they pay.

If you are getting started with any freelancing marketplaces like odesk, elance or freelancer –you know how hard is to get a job at these marketplaces. Some buyers like to take advantage of this situation and hire struggling people for free. This is called a spec work. You get the work done for free and I will decide to hire you if I like it. Don’t do this! You don’t have to do free or cheap work just to get real paying work. If you have talent and skills you will get the high paying jobs in these marketplaces. There are many trusted online earning sites that actually promote spec work. 99designs is one of them where you have to do the work before getting paid.

PTC may seem like a free money earning site but it is nothing but a scam. Even the sites that are legit and are around for a few years pay just a few cents per click. As an intelligent individual, wasting your time for these paid to click offers is not an ideal thing to do. I have described all about PTC sites here –you can check out. Most of these PTC sites are scams and they want you to buy upgrades and downlines so that you can earn a few pennies more. Mark my words and stay completely out of these sites.

In Dhaka I have seen countless banners, billboards & posters that claim to teach you how to earn $10-$20 per day with adsense. They teach people how to setup some free blogs and copy paste article and earn money. These people are earning that money by selling courses to newbie people. These are scam and I am seeing them for many years. Now that freelancing is popular they are teaching people how to work as a freelancer and earn a few cents. Don’t fall for these online earning opportunities. If you want to learn, then google it, watch some videos on YouTube and you will learn some real tips and advice.

Hopefully after reading this article you will be well aware of the online earning scene and can approach to it strategically. If I leave out a few of these pitfall the internet is a paradise for making a living, so go ahead and start earning!

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Earning Money Online with Freelancing (Part 2) – Your Odesk Profile

Hello friends, in the first part of this article I shared a few basics of earning money online with freelancing. I talked about odesk and how to sign up and complete your profile. In this part I will share in a bit detail on how to complete the rest of your odesk profile and how to apply for jobs.

Odesk is a freelance marketplace and it lets you search online jobs and then get hired. You will have the freedom of working from home. This is a platform you can both learn and earn. I personally learned a lot of thing about business, marketing & personal branding.

If you are a complete newbie in odesk then things will be a bit confusing at the beginning and you will find that bidding and finding a job is hard. But fear not because if you follow my tips, you will do good.

Let’s continue!

Did you know that clients can look for you and hire you directly? When you have completed your odesk profile and it is optimized you will have more chance of appearing in search and getting hired. And getting hired means you can earn money faster. This is where you have to be creative and professional. Start by writing your odesk title. You are allowed to write just a few words in there so make it count.

For an example I wrote this:

You can include your skills and what you are good at. People usually add keywords like: photoshop, CSS, HTML, MS Word, Adobe Premiere Pro –software and tools work better in reaching new clients through search. I am a wordpress designer so I added “WordPress” in my title.

Then here comes the description section. In this part you have to be creative and write a brief description of your skills and what you can do. It can work like an introduction. It is better to add the things you can do in bullet points. You can also paste links here. I have posted my portfolio link and video testimonial links from youtube.

This has really increased the number of searched that bring in my profile. So try to write a good and informative description, try to sell your services. Give them a reason to contact and hire you. Do not copy-paste descriptions/bios from other people.

Your hourly rate is important. It should not be too low or too high. People, who join freelance marketplaces like odesk or elance, make a big mistake by charging less money per hour. When you set rates like $2-3 –the client looks at you and feels you don’t have the skills or confident enough to take this jobs. Not everyone at odesk looks for cheap labor. There are quality clients out there who will hire quality prices. So set your prices competitive enough.

For an example you are a logo designer. Search for logo designers and look how much these top designers have set the rates. Now they usually set more than what they get paid. So click on one of them and look at the works they done. How much they got paid? If their hired rate is $12, then set your rate to $8-10. Or even a slightly less dollar. You are newbie here so set less than what they are going.

The number of hours you have worked on odesk and the feedback you receive determines how much work you will receive and how much income you can generate. As a beginner you have no control over this one so you better start bidding on jobs and get some hours recorded. Aim to get at least 1 hour, then 10 and then 100 hours as your ultimate goal. It will take time but try to do it. In odesk quality beats quantity. You don’t have to record 1,000 work hours. Just work less and charge more.

For an example I have just a low number of hours in odesk, I am a member since 2009. But my hourly rate is $25 so I earn more money with fewer hours. When you work on client sites, be a good provider and you will get 5 star ratings. In order to get 5 star ratings in odesk, you just have to be a good communicator. Be fast in responding emails & messages; be available on skype. Improve your English speaking skills.

Now that you know how to complete your professional profile at odesk, in the next article I will share how you can write cover letters and get the actual job. I will also share some advanced tips on online earning through freelancing. Thanks!

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Earning Money Online with Freelancing (Part 1) – Odesk, Elance & Freelancer

In my own humble opinion the best ways of earning money online is through freelancing sites. When I started online I was earning money with my blog using paid reviews and selling banner ads. I was earning a lot of money on the internet and that was really great. When I started working on a freelance marketplace (odesk) I started to earn even more money. In fact on 2010 I earned more than 10,000 dollars in a year just with freelancing opportunities, just from one single marketplace, odesk. That means I earned more than 8,00,000 taka (about 5,80,000 rupees in India) –not just that I even reached the milestone of earning 50,000 Bangladeshi taka per month working from home online.

If you ask me then yes that really feels great. I am sitting in my table in front of my computer. No boss, no office no time table, I eliminated the 9-5 job lifestyle. Freelancing does works and one who has some skills can earn serious money on the internet. In this article I am going to outline a simple to follow guide on earning money online with freelancing. There are many freelancing marketplaces that you can join like odesk, freelancer or elance but I will focus on odesk in this article. So go ahead and start reading this in depth guide.

The first thing you must do in any freelance marketplace is to sign up for their service. Go ahead and sign up for odesk/elance/freelancer (focus on one site to start) don’t go and stress yourself trying to be on every marketplace you can. Online earning is real and these sites that I have mentioned are not scams. Sites like elance, odesk & freelancer pays you money.

Freelance workers from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ghana, Nepal, Sri Lanka and many others work in odesk. Mainly buyers from USA, Canada, UK & Australia participate in these sites.

Students can join and make some extra money online. Graduates who are looking for a job can also join these websites and make a full time income. Teenagers can also join these sites to make money by working as a freelance provider.

Sign up with a professional business email, an email that you will use regularly. I suggest you sign up for a free gmail account and use it on odesk. Now the next step is to upload a professional headshot in your profile. Don’t use your passport size photo, it’s oldish. Instead try a professional looking headshot (they call it mugshot). Cut that photo in square and upload it. A best profile photo is the one where you are smiling. This is very important. When a client looks at your photo they should see you happy and confident.

Use your full and real name on this freelance marketplace. It gives a trust. Odesk is a professional site; it’s not facebook where you can hide behind a fake name. It is going to replace your boring 9-5 job and it will give you freedom of earning money online. This is why you should post your real name, picture & some background info.

In the education and work area, put your degrees and qualifications. Put your past work experience. If you were held in a job then mention it in this area.

Add certification if you have any. Here you can mention different certificates, awards, medals & honors. You can put other work experience in it. Say you have interest in sports, you can mention it. You don’t know sometimes a client will look for a provider who is interested in sport, and may hire you for that extra info.

Every time you complete a part of this odesk profile you will complete a % of it. The aim is to make the odesk profile 100% complete. You may not be able to make it hundred percent but 80-90% is acceptable.

There is an odesk test, called the readiness test, it is mandatory before being able to apply for real jobs. It is a multiple choice question-answer test with 11 questions. These questions will be all about odesk terms and services. So you have to read first and understand the terms of odesk correctly. To pass this test you have to answer all the questions correctly.

There are many more tests in many different categories that you can take to improve your profile. These tests have 40 questions. Taking tests and passing them will improve the chance of getting jobs. Passing a test like US spelling test shows your potential client that you know English very well.

Now the next important part of your odesk profile is the portfolio section. This really determines the chance of earning money online through freelancing. The client is going to look at your portfolio, so you need to have some work listed there. If you are a web/logo designer and have a few projects done then put the pictures and live URL’s (if any) –if you are a writer then add some writing examples as well as the article links over there. If you are a photographer, then upload your best shots.

If you have many portfolio items then consider keeping just 10-20 of your best work there because your client doesn’t have a lot of time to check them out. If you don’t have any, maybe you are starting out at online earning sites, then do some free spec work for your friends. And then put these work at your portfolio. Portfolio items are important in seeking online jobs.

That’s it for this article. In the next part I will discuss about writing your bio and professional title. I will also share how to set the perfect hourly rate and how to apply for jobs. Thanks and stay tuned!

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Guide to Start an Ebay Business in 2013 to Boost your Income

Ebay is one of the greatest platform for all those who wants to sell to get extra income in the pocket or to run a business. What you have to pay is to just the fees for each sale. It just needs good marketing of the product. On ebay there is no limit for your earning one can make 500 dollars a month or even can earn 50,000 dollars per month. You can read lots of business success stories. The success of your ebay business depends on the time and your dedication that you give to your business. To be a successful businessman with ebay you have to be updated with the changing rules and policies and follow them.

Following tips will help you in running your business with ebay.

First of all search a niche in which you will run a business, give priority in the area of your interest because you will have great information about that niche and will be better able to run your business. About the competitors, prices, market demand and supply. The best time is to sell the product at the proper time. For example if you want to sell uniform the peak time to get good sale is June to August, so it will get a better return if you offer it in April or May it will not get any buyer.

Know from them what technique they usually used, what is their daily, weekly or monthly sale. What prices they are charging and what is their profit margin, either they are using auction or bin option. What kind of information they are providing to their clients, what is their starting price. What kind of photos they are using, are they charging shipping fees or adding in the product price. What areas they are covering. Such information will helps you a lot in competing with your competitors.

If you have a professional look for your business people will buy from you, you can get a cheap template for the business. Most of the inexpensive templates range from $3 onward. The template seller will guide you about the use of the template so, you will better able to add your products.

Photos plays an important role in getting success to your ebay business. In online business you are dealing virtually with the customers from all over the world. So, when you are dealing with them you just have an option to show them the photo of the product so, always take a clear and good photo so, they will better view and see the object and can make a purchase. Always choose a black background so, everyone can have a clear view of it.

One of the best ways to decide the mode of selling for your product is to go to the top of the page and write the name enter a search, so, at the bottom of the page you will get the list of similar products. It will be helpful for you to tell about your sale and whether to sell through auction or bin.

Get at least an Idea of the items that you’re planning to share! As Bob from ChristianPf.com says in his article:

Do yourself a favor and know at least a little bit about what you are planning on selling.

Let me know what you thing about it, if you’ve started an ebay business already, please share your experience and suggestions with us in the comment box below!

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Top Ways To Find Paid Surveys Online

There is a vast industry for earning online, people are doing different kinds of work and get paid. One of the online earning source is doing paid surveys online. There are various sources that one can use. Large number of companies are offering paid opportunities that one can grab and make good earning. There are few tips which will guide you in selecting the right platform for earning money online. As in online earning one must have to be careful in choosing the authentic and reliable podium.

You might wanna check my previous article on

First of all learn about the intentions of the authentic company you are working for. Online surveys are done to know about the consumer’s need and behavior. Then, they use the information they get through these surveys which will help them in improving their marketing strategies, so they will work on improving their services for delivering their products and to better meet the need of the target market of their company.

Many of the big and profitable companies perform these surveys annually or semiannually and paid a large amount to the people who conduct such surveys. So, such companies find it more convenient to conduct and assign this task to someone belonging to any other place so, you will be able to get access and know about your customers that are far away. For it they pay a good amount to the people wo done this job for them.

While selecting any company for whom you wants to work, must look at the detailed information related to their payment, mode of payment, their needs and requirement, even customer’s feedback everything is mentioned on their site. Also must clarify what will you get paid for your survey. How frequently you will compensate and how they will transfer your fund, is their mode of payment is feasible for you. As a participant it is your right to know about the mode they like to gather information.

If still you have no clear idea about from where to get the home based work, then go to forums where people share their feedback about the companies they work for. A large number of forums are dedicated to help people to get work by sitting at their home. Mostly people use these forums to share their experience with other people which are interested in this job. People performed online surveys to get some extra income to their pocket. But it needs some research to find a trustworthy company to engage with. Do not give your details without asking, always wait for the companies ask you for the details and let them ask some question then you can through your own question and after getting satisfactory answers of your question make deals with them. But in case you get all the answer of your question without asking them it means they are fake and everything is just a scam. Once you are engaged with any authentic platform then you will be able to make big cash by putting little effort.

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5 Ways To Promote Blog With YouTube

YouTube is the most successful and biggest video media in the internet world and accommodates above 3 billion views each day. No doubt, it’s a good number to promote your blog or website across the four corners of the globe. There are innumerable ways to promote your blog via social media, but this article will reveal ways to promote your blog via YouTube.
Most of the new bloggers strive hard in order to find miracles for their new blogs and one of the easiest things that can help them in achieving their goals is YouTube. You can put videos related to your blog and can grab attention easily.

Following are some of the hottest ways to promote your blog on YouTube effectively without burdening your pockets.

This is the very basic technique that helps in generating traffic with YouTube. Make a new, fresh and devoted channel that just talks about your online business, blog and about your products and services. For better results add a customize Logo, brand image to give it a more professional look. However, make sure that you are not utilizing the channel for irrelevant activities like commenting on irrelevant videos or blogs.

The next trick is to make a list of effective videos related to your niche. You can make a video of product review, blog post, a tutorial and something etc. Tutorials work like a magnet and bring enormous traffic towards your site. Make sure that you have invested into some premium recording software for good and clear videos. On the other hand, the web cam is perfect to shoot video type posts. The digital camera can be a good choice as well. Make use of Window Media Player or similar other competitive formats to edit videos in order to upload them on YouTube directly.

Try to make videos resourceful, also add a unique description to the video and link it to the blog or a particular blog post. Also add an informative “about me” section in your channel profile. Moreover, must pay special attention towards nofollow and dofollow links.

After making your channel and videos must assure that it is search engine optimized. Make use of SEO friendly keywords, catchy titles and include the sub keywords that boost your search traffic. Don’t ignore the meta tags and headings as it works wonders from SEO point of view.

Never forget to connect your YouTube channel with social sites like Google+, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and much more. At the right corner of the channel there is an edit button change it and associate it to your social accounts.

If you want to make a list of video blogs like tutorials then, utilize every single opportunity to promote the blog to its fullest and add your blog at the end of each video. Additionally, addition of footnote like announcement of events, bonuses, promos etc. also helps a lot in promotion of your blog.

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What is RSS Feed and Why is it of Important to your Blog?

Many people like the topic of their interest and they want to keep updated with all new contents that are added to the website. By getting RSS feed, one can keep himself updated with all the new blog posts and news. RSS feeds will automatically bring the information about jobs, blogs, news, classified and personal information to your desktop. In online business there are millions of authors who are writing on different topics, it is difficult to keep a track of all of them so, there is a need of some automatic solution and then RSS feed came into existence.

If you are keen to earn money online, then you need to target millions and trillions of visitors and also make them visit to your blog regularly, weekly, monthly as well. This is the best way to promote your blog, service or product at present and in the future as well. Even now, most of the people don’t know the importance and role of RSS feed in generating traffic, which is really valuable and is needed for the success of your blog. RSS feed is the simple way of promoting a website or blog. It has lots of benefits and people are using this feed, this is a specific technique for generating good quality traffic. All those bloggers who are using WordPress for blogs they no need to worry about the RSS because WordPress create this feed automatically. Whenever, they post any article, video, picture or anything, their RSS automatically updates with the first few lines and with the title of the latest and recent post.

RSS feed although shows the latest 10 posts by default but this can be changed by the admin panel of WordPress and can be changed to 20 posts instead of just 10. Every page of your blog must have an RSS feed button that allows the visitors to subscribe to that blog easily when and if they like to. By getting this RSS subscription one can get notified immediately whenever any new posts or content is added to the website. Everything in the RSS are done at the back as there is no need to do it manually like to update it and to contact subscribers.If your content and posts are valuable and of the interest to the readers they will keep the subscription and they will continually visit your site. So, if you want to keep the visitors on your site and make good earnings you have to add new, good quality and informative topics to your blig.

Through RSS feeds you can also alert those people who never been to your site before. You can submit the RSS feed in various feed directories. If you want to be updated about the new posts on someone’s blog, you can simply find the feed in the different feed directories and get a subscription. Another feed named as “Feedburner” can also be utilized along with the existing feed, as Google possess it so, in this way all your new updates will indexed rapidly.

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3 Important Points For Online Surveys

Online money making industry is at its boom these days and everyone is in search for legitimate ways to make more money online. There are countless ways that can become your way of earning online. One easy and surefire way is online surveys; there are innumerable websites that offer a handsome amount in exchange for the surveys conducted online. Basically, online surveys involve registration for the website and filling out customer surveys on a particular product or service. Though, many of the person’s complaint that they got nothing for their surveys and it is just a scam but that is not the story. You just have to discover the right path to get paid for your efforts. With an honorable goal in the mind let’s disclose the 3 basic and easy steps to boost your income with online paid surveys.

You have to maximize the number of surveys that you have to complete every day. The simplest way is to complete the pesky demographic questionnaires. No doubt, they are boring and long and the survey holder is not paid to complete it, but once you are done with it you increase the chances to get more and more survey offers every day. Survey organizations urge to target a specific group of people for their studies like travelers, parents and movie buffs etc. By completing their questionnaire you ascertain them that you meet their criteria. It not only brings more surveys but, you become eligible for more targeted surveys and targeted surveys pay more because fewer people qualify for it.

By putting little more efforts you can easily qualify for a lot more paid surveys. Mainly, survey Company tells the individual that how much s/he can earn from a specific survey and how much time it needs for completion. Do some basic math to figure out your pay per minute. Let suppose, if you are getting $5 per survey but, it takes around 2 hours, then it is less beneficial than the survey that takes only 10 minutes but pays $2. Always opt the surveys first that pays more.

By giving good ideas and thoughtful answers the survey company may invite you to participate in the future studies on the same topic. When a survey company knows that you will always provide them with quality result then, they will keep you the first priority for their most lucrative surveys. They may invite you to participate in an online center group which is considered as the jackpot of the opinion polling.
If you are among the people who have started surveys online but, haven’t got any enticing result, then I suggest you to stay in this field a bit more. By following the above mention steps you can easily enhance your income quickly and soon you will be financially stable and healthy.

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How to make an Impressive Freelance Portfolio?

If freelancing or online earning is your interest then, it is good news for you because there are innumerable opportunities that enable you to work from home. Of course, not all the freelancing jobs are knocking your doors in the beginning, in fact, you have to ignite your efforts and time in the start of your career.
Just like the regular job, in online job you have to show your resume to present your experience and skills to qualify for the applied position. To better impress the potential employers and in freelancing job we named them clients, you have to present them with your portfolio or a comprehensive summary of your entire freelancing potentials.

Mostly freelance jobs require the freelancers to work from the ease of home through the internet that is why making a strong portfolio you steps ahead of the competitors for the applied post.

There are some reliable and good sites that offer free account to start your freelancing career (In case you’ve no idea on how to start a promising freelance career and which freelance site to choose, then you’d find tutorials at the end of this article). They offer ample room to build a strong portfolio. Moreover, you can also get your own domain name and hosting services for a more controlled online portfolio. Being a beginner in the freelancer race of course, you haven’t got any freelance job, so you definitely think what to include in the portfolio to grasp the attention of potential clients. The content you will include in the portfolio must showcase your skills and expertise. Here are some useful tips

If you master the art of graphic designing then, upload some banners, images, visual designs and similar other things you have done for your personal use. But, remember it must have a professional look.Being a web designer, you can easily make an attractive website to grape the needed attention.Freelancers offering audio and video services can make some professional videos and can upload them easily.If you are looking for writing jobs then, make sure all the samples you have added in the portfolio are masterpieces. Perfect spelling and grammar and the ways you advertise your skills through words make you ahead of the mob.For other online jobs like project management, consulting, virtual assistance services, translation and transcription services, data entry and research you just have to add your areas of expertise and add your work experience you have up till now. But, make sure that it is relevant to the job you are eyeing. For instance, you have secretarial work experience then; you can apply for virtual assistants and administrative freelance jobs.If you are in management or marketing field then, you have to apply for jobs looking for a business consultant and the project manager.

Moreover, never ever forget to add your educational background and extra certifications. Also add the years you have attended high school and university. Additionally, include the companies or organization in your portfolio you worked in the past to exhibit your expertise and credibility.

Helpful Stuff:

Tips to Consider while Selecting a Freelance Website
3 Basic Steps For a Reliable and Promising Freelance Career

Thanks for reading it till the end. Now it’s your turn! Let me know if you’ve any query or something to suggest or add to to what I’ve mentioned regarding portfolio making, just shoot it using the comment box below. I’ll be more than happy to read and answer your comments. Good Luck!

Image: IconFinder

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4 Basic Steps To Start an E-commerce Website

These days starting up a business are not void of risks and threats. That’s the reason behind the hike of online businesses and now, the wholesale gifts are sold on the e-commerce business sites instead of the brick and mortal stores. Low risk and low maintenance make it a smart move for the investors who are hunting for opportunities having significant payout. The main reason is anyone from any nook of the world can be your loyal customer. In other words you have a large target audience beyond the geographical limitations. Moreover, discounts and other alluring prices for customers are the main attractions.

The basic question is how to start an e-commerce business? Does the entrepreneur must have products? The main thing every businessman should know is the truth that you have to be web savvy to leverage the e-commerce opportunities in the best possible way. You can also hire professionals from leading freelancer sites like LinkedIn. The interesting thing is this business is not just limited to products only in fact, you can offer services online as well. Following are few steps that help in starting a successful e-commerce business.

The very first step is to know what you have to sell on your site. Every business has the things that are highly in demand at present whether the demand is large or small instead, business should be able to determine it. The demand can be either on the product or the service. Though, the entrepreneur has to face challenges while fulfilling that demands of the target audience, but the end result will always be profitable.

Moreover, studying about the current market situation and the fierce competition is the need of the online business as well. You have to find the quality plus the price of the same products in the market offered by your competitors to design effective strategies that keep you ahead of the mob.

It is highly essential to lessen the cost of operating and running an e-commerce site. So, your next step should be selection of a hosting company. For example Big Cartel is an ideal choice they offer free hosting services and also offers an inventory option at a cost of about $9 per month.

This is one of the most critical steps of building an e-commerce website. This step involves credit card information of the people.The security team of the web developer and designer plays an important role in this step. They make all the necessary measurements for your buyers mainly when they are fully experienced with SSL and similar other quality and necessary security measures.

Making your e-commerce live is not the last step. However, the important step among all is creating awareness among the target audience. Moreover, attracting others people attention is your main goal as well. SEO, social media and other promotional tactics are useful in this concern.

The above 4 mentioned steps are (in my opinion) useful to know while planning to start an e-commerce business, which may earn you noticeable bucks online from the ease of your home.

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Add Extra Income To Your Pocket With Google

There are a large number of opportunities for making money from home with easy and simple access to the net. These opportunities include internet ventures, creation from mail projects, phone sales all these needs less time and are easy. It’s a great feeling to sit at your home by wearing pajama and making money from the ease of your home or office. One of the best way is to make money from Google without any training, education or any hard effort. The first thing that you have to do is submit an application to Google. Adsense is one of the Google program in which content is displayed in the form of video, images, text and any other advertisement forms with different domain name. As a host you just need a venue for the advertisement and display of these content. Google will pay a specific rate on the basis of per click and by impression.

The simple requirement of the program to work with are just few. You need to have a blog, a site, for it you need a domain name or any other source for the advertisement of the adverts. The requirement for the application of hosting are your address, legal name, bank information, website, and a social security code to get direct deposit of the amount in your account and to maintain the record of tax. The person gets paid based on the familiarity and popularity of the website. The traffic to your site will determine how much will the host be paid. Google will maintain the content that you will display on your site, what is your job to get paid is to add quality content and direct the flow of traffic to your site. You can also add advertisements of other sites and brands to your site for which you will be paid that is another source of income for you.

And another option is a company will pay you for the advertisement that is displayed on your site and how many visitors and customers that company will get through your advertisement they will pay a specific amount per click. It is important to say as many people see and visit the ad and more chances you have to earn money. Now, a large number of Adsense programs are there from which you can add an additional cash to your pocket. Apart from websites ad there are many other sources as well for making cash like an RSS feed. You can also install different ad of mobile applications that will also bring you money. Large number of other advertisements in search engine. People are engaged in this program for a long time. In 2003 this program was launched and after serving for two years this program accounts for almost 15% of the total revenue of the company. It is one of the reliable and stable program, with this person can earn extra cash simply by sitting at home. It is very essential and a true fact that traffic generation with social media will boost your business and increase your profit.

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Mobile SEO, Are You Doing It?

Google recently revealed on a blog post that the rankings of search results on mobile devices will be affected by the optimization of websites for such devices. In other words, the more your content and website design is optimized for mobile devices, the higher your site will rank for users on those devices.

It makes sense, after all it would be bad for Google to serve a search result that would be poorly visualized on the device of the user.

Here’s a quote from the article:

Smartphone users are a significant and fast growing segment of Internet users, and at Google we want them to experience the full richness of the web. As part of our efforts to improve the mobile web, we published our recommendations and the most common configuration mistakes.

Avoiding these mistakes helps your smartphone users engage with your site fully and helps searchers find what they’re looking for faster. To improve the search experience for smartphone users and address their pain points, we plan to roll out several ranking changes in the near future that address sites that are misconfigured for smartphone users.

Google also has a page on developers section where it highlights the most common mistakes when optimizing sites for mobile devices. They are:

Unplayable videosFaulty redirectsSmartphone-only 404sApp download interstitialsIrrelevant cross-linkingPage speed

If you are not testing your website on mobile devices yet, well, now it’s a good time to get started.

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Diversify Your Income Sources

Recently I was reading an interview with Warren Buffett (the most successful investor of all time), and he mentioned that one of the key principles to achieve wealth is to diversify your investments over time.

The principle is not new (e.g., never put all the eggs on one basket), but while reading it I realized that most of us (myself included) forget to implement it quite often.

If you are an online entrepreneur you should diversify not only your investments but your income sources as well. For instance, don’t rely on a single advertising network or on a single income stream, like ebook sales. Apart from reducing your risk this strategy will tend to maximize your earnings over time.

Darren Rowse recently wrote a really interesting piece on this topic, where he shares the various income streams he developed on his websites over time. Here’s a quote:

I also would say that in each case, I started each experiment not really knowing what I was doing (on at least some level) but really seeing the experiments as a chance to learn. For example, my first eBooks were taking previously published blog posts and updating, completing and adding to them to offer readers a more convenient way to access my content.

At the time I had no idea if that would work and the design and delivery of the eBooks was fairly basic. In time I learned what did and didn’t work and was able to grow the sophistication of my delivery systems, design, authoring and marketing to the point that it’s become a fairly well-oiled machine.

The key is to pick something to try and to see whether it connects with your readership and to learn as much as you can while you’re doing it.

Bottom line: diversify your investments and income sources.

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Wanna Sell More? Teach Your Customers

A couple of years ago I came across the sales page of an SEO course. Initially my intention of purchasing it was close to zero, as I had been optimizing my sites for a while already, and I figured I knew pretty much all there was to know on the matter.

Then I came across a section on the sales page titled “3 SEO Concepts You Probably Don’t Know”. My reaction was “I doubt it.” Well, it got me, as I really didn’t know 2 out of the 3 concepts mentioned, and they were both pretty interesting and useful.

Teaching me this new stuff did the trick. It was enough to convince me to buy the course.

How was the course? Decent, but that is not the point. The point is that by teaching me some new stuff on the sales page they managed to turn someone who had no intention of purchasing the course into a customer. In other words, teaching is a great sales technique, and yet few people use it consistently or effectively.

My friend Karl Staib recently wrote a post about the ROI of delighting your customers. Not coincidently one of his points is about teaching instead of trying to convince. Here’s a quote from the post:

When we talked about creating webinars in the above example, the purpose was to attract customers sharing your expertise. In today’s client-savvy markeplace, it’s good to think of yourself as a teacher first and a marketer second.

When you teach something new to a potential customer you are doing two things mainly:

1. Showcasing your expertise. People want to buy from credible sources, so if you prove you are an expert on your field they will be much more likely to buy from you.

2. Giving away something that has value. This will trigger a sense of reciprocity. That is, the potential will feel the need to give something back to you since you already gave him something. This “something back” will be the purchase of your product.

Bottom line: If you are not using teaching as a sales technique yet you should, so give it a go.

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7 Psychological Triggers That Cause Spending – How to Deal With Them

During the month of April, I decided to go on a “shopping diet” – so for the entire month, I didn’t buy a stitch of clothing. While this might seem like a cinch for some of you, for shopaholics like me, it was a huge wake-up call. Not only did I save a ton of money, but I was also able to see how often I shopped as a reaction to outside stimulus. Bad day at work? I had the urge to shop. Worried that I might miss a sale? I had the urge to shop. Bored? Oh yeah, I definitely got the urge to shop.

Shopping can be a deeply psychological experience, and you probably have shopping triggers that give you that itchy credit card finger long before you ever step into a mall. Let’s face it: When you’re a psychological spender, you know you’ll buy something before you even enter a store. Spending to fill a void or to achieve certain feelings can seriously bust your personal budget and cause you to buy things that you don’t even need.

After my month without shopping, I had a lighter closet, but also a greater awareness for my own shopping triggers. Knowing what drives me to spend means I’m more mindful of the phenomenon occurring in the future, and can combat boredom with something other than a trip to the shoe store. Check out some of the most common psychological triggers for shopping, and see if any ring true with your own spending style:

They say that after running, you get a runner’s high – I’m definitely not a runner, so I’ve never experienced this. It’s attributed to the release of dopamine that occurs after you’re done with your run. But for those who love to shop, the same high can be attained through the actual act of buying.

Consider these stats: According to data gathered by Harris Interactive, 31% of women say that they’ve shopped specifically to elevate their mood, and 53% of people have shopped as a way to celebrate something. It’s clear that shopping is associated with good feelings – but it comes at a cost.

Solution: If you find yourself reaching for your credit card to feel good, check yourself and consider taking part in other activities that give you the same feelings. You don’t have to run for a runner’s high – even staunch non-runners like myself can score those happy endorphins through other types of exercise, such as yoga or kickboxing. Spending time with your pet can also make you feel good and reduce your need to shop to be happy.

One thing that I do when I get the urge to shop is to head to the drugstore for a smaller purchase, such as new lip gloss. It helps satisfy the urge and gives me the same satisfaction as a bigger purchase. Find things that give you satisfaction, such as reading a book, going for a walk, or grabbing appetizers with friends, and you’ll get the same good feelings without the high price.

There’s a reason that Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year – and it definitely isn’t because people love waking up early to fight off crowds. Black Friday preys on your competitive human nature. When big sales come up or a sale states that there are only a limited number of items available, your brain tells you that you need to be there and you need to win. You might also allow competition to cause you to buy things that you can’t afford, especially if a family member, friend, or neighbor already has a specific item.

Solution: Shopping isn’t a game, and there aren’t winners and losers. Stores know that telling you about limited quantities will get people in the store, so think about whether you’re going for an item because you really need it, or because you want to “win at shopping.” Let’s be honest – the biggest winners are those who buy only what they need and keep the rest of their money in their wallets.

Your brain does a funny thing when perusing sales: When you see a sign that says “Save 50%!” it begins focusing on the savings rather than the spending. In fact, it’s jargon you’ll hear at any department store. You’ll check out with your purchases and the sales associate might say, “You saved $43.78 today!” You might have even used coupons or added discounts to increase that savings number.

You feel good about being a savvy shopper, right? Unfortunately, your brain has fallen for one of the oldest tricks in the book, where a store makes you focus on what you’re saving, rather than what you’re spending.

Solution: Let’s get one thing straight: You never save money by spending it. Sure, promotions, sales, and coupons can give you a lower total, but you’re still spending money to purchase the items you want. Don’t fall into the trap of spending just because you want to save a certain amount. The best way to save is with a savings account, not a store receipt.

While on my shopping fast, I realized just how often shopping acted as a stand-in for various emotions. Happy, sad, annoyed, tired mad – it all culminated in shopping. Buying things feels good, so it can combat a bevy of bad feelings. According to Harris Interactive, one in four people have gone shopping specifically as a form of therapy – to deal with emotions or problems.

Solution: Honestly, hitting the mall when you’re in a bad mood might not be a life-or-death situation, but it still affects your budget and doesn’t allow you to completely deal with your emotions. You’re relying on the dopamine to help you feel better when you buy, but it’s only a short-term fix. Rather than heading to the mall, find other ways to cope – writing in a journal, talking to a friend, starting a blog, or even seeing an actual therapist can all be more beneficial than spending to feel better.

Retailers play tricks on you to get you to spend. You’ve always learned that getting a good value for your money is best, so you might be more inclined to shop sales or clearance racks only. But consider the experience of mega-retailer JCPenney. In 2012, CEO Ron Johnson decided to try something new: He revamped the store’s image by putting an end to what he called “fake pricing,” which referred to psychological pricing that ended in $0.99, clearance buys, and pricing that was discounted from a clearly inflated number.

In theory, it sounded nice. In practice, customers weren’t buying it – literally. Customers didn’t feel like they were getting value from their purchases. Sales plummeted, and a few months later, sales were back and so were the clearance racks. By 2013, Johnson had lost his job and JCPenney completely returned to its old pricing system.

Solution: Without that red line through the supposed original price and a sale price printed beneath, shoppers don’t feel like they’re getting a huge value for their money. One thing that I use to combat clearance fever is to step back and ask myself, “Would I buy this if it weren’t on sale?” If the answer is no, I put it back and move on.

One of the psychological spending traps I am most guilty of is spending out of boredom. During my shopping fast, my in-laws took my kids for the weekend with the rest of the family and I had two glorious free days to myself. My first inclination? Go shopping.

Hey, I had free time and I was bored, so naturally spending money was my first choice activity. Shopping is a pleasant activity that keeps you busy, so it’s often substituted for other more fulfilling activities.

Solution: Because I was on my shopping diet, I tried something new instead: catching up on my DVR list. I had tons of movies saved, so I used my quiet time to catch up on TV shows and watch some saved movies. It was free and just as enjoyable as shopping.

If you’re a leisure shopper, think of other activities you can sub for shopping and have them ready to go. That way, when you feel like a free afternoon automatically means a trip to the shoe store, you’re ready with a better alternative.

Flash sales, which are offered online via discount group buying sites, use your sense of panic to make you buy, especially because deals are often short-lived. When you buy into a group coupon or you nab a special deal on a watch, you feel a sense of relief because you’re one of the lucky few to score the deal. But buying into flash sales can make you spend needlessly – especially when you’re buying stuff you didn’t even want before it was on sale.

Solution: As a reformed flash sale user myself, the best thing I ever did was unsubscribe to all of the daily emails. Seeing them pop up every day led me to browsing, which usually led me to buying. Now, if I’m looking for a specific deal, I can check in with each site individually and on my own time, rather than having the deals delivered to me each day. Targeted spending means I save money and am no longer tempted by the panic I’d feel when I’d see a flash deal.

We’re all guilty of psychological spending. The problem is that retailers know it and find ways to specifically play mind games to get you to spend. It’s all about knowing your triggers: If you know what drives you to spend, you can put safeguards in place to curb that spending and replace it with something more rewarding – and easier on your wallet.

Are you guilty of psychological spending? What are your triggers?

Jacqueline Curtis
Jacqueline Curtis is an experienced style expert, and she focuses on getting high fashion on a tight budget. She writes for several online publications, including her own fashion blog, How Not to Dress Like a Mom, and specializes in fashion, finance, health and fitness, and parenting. Jae grew up in Toronto, Canada, but now resides in Utah with her husband, two kids, and prized shoe collection.

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What to Do If You Can’t Find a Job After College Graduation – 10 Tips

When I graduated from the University of Florida, living at home with my parents was not where I expected to find myself. With my degree in industrial engineering, I had envisioned starting a career immediately. But instead, I found myself job-less, stressed out, and mailing lots of resumes. In fact, being jobless and frantically sending out resumes is standard practice for most recent college grads these days.

If you’re in this position, it’s hard not to let it get you down – but while the job market is struggling, you’re not entirely out of luck. Here are 10 tips to survive, stay on track, and get ahead of the competition.

1. Stay Positive
Don’t be upset or surprised if you don’t have a job by graduation day. It is important to stay positive and continue your search. One way to maintain a positive frame of mind is to remind yourself how far you have come already – just like the challenges you faced in school, you will overcome being unemployed.

And remember, it’s important to set aside at least an hour each day to do something you really enjoy. Take a jog, read a book, or spend time with your friends and family. This can go a long way to help you maintain a positive attitude, which could be the very thing that lands you a job.

2. Reduce Your Cost of Living
If you don’t have an income, you need to reduce your expenses. And since you don’t know the duration of your unemployment, start eliminating expenses quickly to avoid depleting your savings and building up debt.

Move Back Home. Moving in with your parents has huge savings potential. Many parents don’t charge their children for rent, utilities, or even food. In fact, when I moved home after graduation, my parents looked at it as their last opportunity to provide for me financially; it was a kind of college graduation gift. It was also nice to receive encouragement and emotional support from my family during that challenging time. Just be sure not to mooch off your parents. Also, do something in return for their kindness, such as cleaning, cooking, and mowing the lawn.Defer Student Loans. To defer a student loan means to suspend loan payments temporarily. There is usually an automatic grace period of six months before you have to start paying back student loans upon graduation. However, if you have trouble finding a job, six months may not be enough. If you find yourself in this situation, defer your student loans until you have an income.Put Yourself on a Budget. One of the best ways to save money is to conserve it by implementing a personal budget. Determine the amount of money you have and how much you can spend each month for a specified period of time (perhaps one year). Then, limit your spending to that amount of money per month. Consider putting away your credit cards and using the envelope budgeting system if you tend to over-spend.

3. Spend Time Networking
Professional networking can really pay off during a job search. Often, it’s not what you know, but who you know.

Here are several places to network:

College Alumni Associations. Being a recent graduate, you may receive phone calls and mail from your college’s alumni association asking you to join or donate money. Join if you wish, but more importantly, find out if there are functions you can attend to meet other alumni. People love to work with fellow alumni, and you may be able to find an “in” via such a connection.Networking Events. Search online for networking events in your community. Once you begin attending these events, you may receive information for others not listed online.Career Fairs. Career fairs are becoming increasingly common, and they can be hosted or sponsored by a school, a company, or even a city. Keep your eyes open for opportunities by checking online, in newspapers, and by watching the news.Professional Organizations. Similar to college alumni, many people relate well to those who are in their professional organizations. In fact, it was via a professional organization (the Institute of Industrial Engineers) that I found my first job after graduating. Even if you don’t want to network, join a professional organization and attend a few activities in order to update your resume with current industry happenings.Conferences. You can meet many people by attending a conference for your profession or industry. Individual conferences are typically held once per year, and can be held anywhere in the country. The cost to attend these events is often high, but if you leave the conference with some job leads, it could make it worth every penny.Job Shadowing Opportunities. You can get a taste of a day in the life of a working professional by job shadowing. Even if the company for which you shadow does not have a current opening, they may remember you when they do have one. Check for job-shadowing opportunities with your college or local chamber of commerce.LinkedIn. An increasing amount of people are finding jobs via social networking, and LinkedIn is the social network designed for professionals. LinkedIn allows you to display who you are, along with your degrees, experiences, and what specific line of work you are looking for.

4. Consider Going Back to School
This may not be ideal if you’ve been looking forward to working. However, if you were planning to eventually earn another degree, it might be best to simply get it out of the way, during which time the economy can recover.

On the flip side, if you were not planning to get another degree, don’t jump into a costly academic program out of frustration. As you know, earning a degree takes a lot of time, money, energy, and determination, and it’s not worth doing just to have something to do.

5. Keep Yourself Busy
While looking for a job is often a full-time job in and of itself, don’t put your life on hold because of it. Pick up part-time work at a temp agency, pursue your hobbies, or learn something new. You may even want get additional training or licenses to benefit your career.

6. Broaden Your Job Search
It took me seven months from the time I graduated to start my first job. I later realized that I had kept my job search too narrow by looking in a limited area, within only certain industries, and for one that required minimal travel. Had I been more open, I believe I would have found a job much more quickly.

Consider broadening your search to find a job quicker and especially if you’ve been looking for several months. Open yourself up to more locations, industries, career types, and entry-level positions, even if you qualify for a higher level job. Focus on getting your foot in the door, and try not to be too idealistic.

7. Build Your Skills
Every time you interview and are overlooked for the job, ask the interviewer what skills they recommend you improve. If you struggled answering the interview questions, ask a friend or family member to help you do mock interviews. This will also improve your confidence.

8. Volunteer or Work for Free
In some industries, it is common for a recent hire to work an unpaid internship before becoming a paid employee. If you are unable to find a paid job, consider this option as a way to gain experience and network. You could have yourself a paid job before you know it.

Another option is to volunteer for an organization such as the Peace Corps, Teach America, or AmeriCorps. Keep in mind that it takes time to be accepted as a volunteer, and these organizations require a commitment. For example, my sister joined the Peace Corps – the volunteer acceptance process took nine months, plus she had to commit for two years and undergo three months of training.

9. Start a Business
If the corporate world isn’t working out for you, take matters into your own hands by starting a business. Focus on an area in which you have a great deal of knowledge – for instance, if you are good with computers, a repair shop may be the perfect business to run out of your house. Consulting companies are also low-risk endeavors that require little start-up capital.

10. Start a Blog or Website
If you have a passion that you would like to share with the world, write about it and see where it goes. For instance, healthy cooking, personal finance, sports, couponing, and new technology are all popular topics online. It will take work and dedication to develop your blog, and it will take patience and smart social media marketing to build up a readership – but over time, you could find yourself with a dedicated following and a solid source of income.

Since I got a job, my life hasn’t slowed down. And while I have enjoyed every bit of it, I doubt I’ll have as much time off as I did after graduation until I retire. I regret giving into the stress of the situation and not taking advantage of it. If you are currently a graduate who has yet to find a job, know that with diligence and an open mind, you too will find one. Keep your head up, stay positive, and enjoy the “time off” as much as possible.

What other tips can you suggest to college graduates struggling to find a job?

Casey Slide
Casey Slide lives with her husband and baby in Atlanta, GA. She graduated from the University of Florida in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and worked for a prominent hospital in Atlanta. With the birth of Casey’s son in February 2010, she decided to become a stay-at-home mom. Casey’s interests include reading, running, living green, and saving money.

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