How to Make Extra Money Online

Lately, I've been reading a lot of posts on my favorite online communities about how tough the economy is right now. Many of my Internet friends have young children, making it hard for them to find a job outside of the home. I generally make my money as a writer, which isn't always steady work and doesn't always pay much, though it does allow me to work from home. I thought I would share some of the places online, besides Associated Content, where I've been able to make some extra money. All of these places are legitimate, in that I have actually gotten paid by them. So far none of them pay enough for my husband to be able to quit his job, but a little extra here and there always helps, especially as gas and food prices continue to rise.

Epinions.com

Epinions.com has been running their 10 reviews for $10 promotion for the past several months and it's resulted in my making a significant pile of cash. It works like this. You write ten reviews of at least 200 words that are rated at least "somewhat helpful" between July 1st and July 31st. You get $10 in August. If you write at ten reviews with an overall rating of at least "very helpful", you get $20. To get the extra money, you have to write ten reviews within the month. You can't write five this month and five next month. And it's $10-$20 per each set of ten reviews, not $1 per review. That means twenty reviews can get you $20-$40, but nineteen reviews will only get you an extra $10-$20.

Your reviews may also earn income share, which means they can earn more money each month. Don't count on this, though. Over the course of five years, a few of my reviews have earned as much as $90 total in income share, and some of them have earned absolutely nothing! Certain categories tend to pay better than others and the review must have a rating of at least "helpful" to generate income share. Also, while Epinions will accept essays, creative writing, and advice pieces, these will not earn income share, nor will they be counted as entries in the 10 for $10 promotion. Creative pieces can, however, be a great way to connect with the community and improve popularity, which can result in users earning more income share as a whole.

It may not seem like Epinions pays a lot of money, but what they do pay does add up. Over the past few years, I've made well over $1700 on Epinions.com. By the middle of this month, I anticipate having close to a thousand dollars in my account waiting to be cashed out. Granted, the money I currently have waiting to be cashed out represents several months' worth of effort, but it's still more than I would have had otherwise. Moreover, sometimes companies give Epinions writers new products to try out and review before they hit the open market. I've gotten a lot of free housekeeping products that way. I've even been asked to review music by agents who have read my articles on Epinions. What's more, sometimes they even send you gifts. A couple of years ago, Epinions sent me a free multi-function printer because it was Christmas. I later reviewed it and made about $10 in income share off of it.

For those who do decide to write on Epinions, here are a few important things to know. First off, it takes about a month before the money will show up in your account; you don't get a running total each day. Secondly, users must be U.S. citizens or residents at least 18 years old and have at least $10 in their account to be able to cash out. Non U.S. citizens or residents must have at least $100 in their accounts and fill out tax paperwork. Finally, when you do cash out, they send a paper check, which may take a couple of weeks to get to you. If you cash out more than $600 in a year, they will report it to the IRS, so you'll need to send in a 1099 with your tax return. In any case, be sure to read the site's terms of service and ask questions on the Epinions messageboard if you have questions.

Epinions throws great parties in major U.S. cities each year, complete with free food, drinks, and promotional schwag. Sometimes, members also throw informal meet and greets, which are also a lot of fun. Epinions is a neat little community and a little something extra you can do from home, not just for money, but also for fun. I can vouch for it being a completely legitimate and worthwhile activity, though like anything else, making money and friends there requires patience and diligence.

Helium.com

Helium.com is yet another site where you can earn money by writing. I haven't been using this site for very long myself, but it looks like it has some potential. You can't cash out there until you make $25, which can be hard to do if you're just writing short pieces for the site. Helium.com does, however, often have freelance assignments up for grabs that pay much better than Helium's usual rate. I've seen assignments pay as much as a couple hundred dollars. The competition for these assignments can be fierce, though. The nice thing about Helium is that they encourage debates and they pay electronically!

MySurvey.com

Over the past few years, I've made a couple hundred bucks taking surveys on mysurvey.com. Each survey taken accrues points, which can be used on merchandise, cash, or charity. I usually save up about $50 worth of points, then cash out. This is not a really big money earner for me, but it is legitimate. Sometimes, MySurvey.com will send me free products to try out and review, too. I've gotten to watch new TV shows before they go public via MySurvey.com, as well as tried products such as toilet paper and bleach.

Taking surveys can get tedious, but the ones on MySurvey.com are usually relatively painless. The nice thing about MySurvey.com is that they reward their users for every survey they take, even if they don't qualify for the whole thing. MySurvey.com, like Epinions, pays by paper check.

SurveySpot

I have also made money on SurveySpot, which also sometimes pays a few dollars for taking surveys. Unlike MySurvey.com, SurveySpot doesn't always reward their users for taking surveys. What's more, sometimes I've started taking a survey and quickly gotten disqualified, which can be a real bummer. That's why I only do SurveySpot surveys when they offer a cash reward. Still, I've managed to make about a hundred bucks there, too, paid by check. I've made a policy of putting my SurveySpot money in a savings account and forgetting about it, as kind of a rainy day fund.

MyPoints and Ebates

These aren't strictly survey sites, but they are great shopping tools. Ebates.com pays cash rebates on things I buy online. I shop retailers through their Web site and they pay a cash refund through PayPal. They also pay bonuses when users get other people to sign up.

MyPoints.com allows users to collect points that they can spend on gift cards by shopping online, taking surveys, recruiting other people, and clicking ads. I tend to use MyPoints a lot more often than Ebates. So far, I've earned a couple hundred dollars worth of gift cards to places like Amazon.com, LL Bean, Bass Pro Shops, and Barnes & Noble. One caveat with MyPoints... it pays to give them an email address that you won't mind getting hit with a lot of ads. They send several a day, but each ad you click earns 5 points. Each survey earns at least 10 points. And they have enough decent online stores there to make it worthwhile to buy stuff through their site, which makes earning points easier!

Overall

I know these suggestions aren't going to solve everyone's money problems, but they are real places online where people can make some extra cash in their spare time. I'm sure it's obvious that my personal favorite in this list is Epinions. I've been a member there for years and have made some great friends as well as improved my writing skills. If you've got some spare time, come on over and check it out!