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1. News
Welcome to the latest issue of the Homeworking Ideas newsletter, the monthly publication which gives you all the latest news from the UK on ways of earning money from home.
New Job Site
I've added a new live job search box to the site. Provided by Workcircle it lists the latest UK home based vacancies but
can be used to search for any UK job. You'll find it on the home page at http://www.homeworkinguk.com/
New Advertising Opportunity
If for any reason Google Adsense isn't appropriate for your site, now there's a new alternative, Widget Bucks. Instead of
just simply offering a list of text ads or banners WidgetBucks offers a range of interactive ads which can be personalised
with a range of skins. Depending on the theme of your site you can choose between shopping widgets which show relevant
products for your visitors to buy; local widgets which show your users relevant, real-time local content, such as
weather, gas prices, top local businesses and restaurants (see an example on the menu column of this page) or travel
widgets which show real-time travel deals based on your user's origin. Text ads will also shortly be available. The
ads dynamically cycle through a list of products, rather than showing a static ad that only changes with a page refresh
increasing the chance of a reaction from your site visitors.
With WidgetBucks, your income structure is based on pay-per-click, where you are paid for each click made on an ad by a legitimate website visitor. You do not earn anything for conversions, or products sold as a result of those clicks. Also, don't even think of clicking your own ads - like any other publisher program, this will throw a red flag in the air. The network focuses exclusively on small and mid-sized publishers so you don't need to worry about not having a sufficiently active blog or website. Join now and you'll get a $25 sign-up bonus. Find out more from http://www.homeworkinguk.com/widget.htm
Targeted Advertising
If you've ever considered affiliate marketing you've probably noticed that many opportunities, particularly those that
pay per lead are only relevant to US or UK residents. This can make it difficult if your site or advertising attracts
visitors from around the world. This month I've come across a new rotator that gets around this problem but allowing
you to target the sites your visitors are directed to. Just choose which site to send visitors from each country/continent
and any that don't apply will be sent to a default alternative. of course you can also use it to target visitors to your
own site. Find out more from http://www.homeworkinguk.com/rotate.htm
2. Featured Business Publication
The Kickstart Course
The problem with most business guides is that the sheer volume of information you need to absorb can be so daunting that you never actually get started. The Kickstart Course gets around this problem by serving it up to you in bitesize portions every week for a year with an assignment to complete each week to keep you focused. Luckily however, you don't need to wait until you complete the course to start earning as it has been set up to get you earning within 6 weeks.
With virtually non-existent set-up fees, every single step is explained right down to the tiniest detail, and presented so simply that even the newest of 'newbies' can follow every step with ease. The Kickstart Course is a 100% self-contained, step by step tutorial on how to set up your own unique online business, showing you exactly how to start your own internet marketing income, from scratch, even if you've no experience at all.
Each lesson is written so that you can follow it from A-Z and be ready to move on with the next part of your business one week later. Most people will be working for an employer while they build their business so it's geared around you having enough time. Unlike too many full-time internet marketers who seem to think you can find an extra 20 hours a week on top of your job to put into your business, the authors of this course been through everything you're about to start with and know exactly how hard it can be, so they've allowed you plenty of time while at the same time let you see results as early as possible. The course has been designed so that once your business is up, running and bringing you an income, it can be run in just a few hours a week whether you want to quit your job or not.
Each lesson is 2-5 pages long and contains nothing but 'meat'. As information overload can be a major problem for many people, they've made sure the information is provided in easy to digest lessons that you can read then put into practice.
Each lesson tells you what you need to do so you're ready to move on to the next instalment when it arrives in 7 days. Written in easy to implement steps, this is one of the key points of the course, and is designed to maximize success rates.
Beginners won't get lost with the course, and more experienced marketers won't get bored as the course combines bedrock 'how to' internet marketing fundamentals with advanced techniques
For a limited period you get the chance to grab lesson 1 of The KickStart Course for free. Just visit http://www.homeworkinguk.com/kickstart.htm to get further information and read the first lesson. There's also a full 60-day money back guarantee if you're still in any doubt.
Free Banner Creator
Whether you're looking to promote a site of your own or are acting as an affiliate or a member of another site, one cheap but effective way of promotion is to use banner ads. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to create professional looking ads without expensive software. This month however sees the launch of a new free service that lets you design your own banners online using a range of professional templates and the text of your choice. In addition to banner ads you can also use the site to create site headers, footers and even peel away ads.
Join now and you'll also get 10,000 free impressions for your banner on a banner rotation network with over 40,000 members plus software for creating ebook covers and software boxes. Visit http://www.homeworkinguk.com/ibc.htm to get started.
4. Featured Money SaversAlthough not new, these are a recent discovery for me and a lifesaver for Christmas present shopping on a budget. Rather than having a huge site selling thousands of different items, 24 hour sale sites offer just one product at a time until stocks run out, up to 24 hours, at a hugely reduced price. Offers change at around midnight. Below are a few of the best sites I've found:
GrabItNow
This is my favourite of all the 24 hour sites with a huge variety of daily offers, often under £5, all with free delivery.
In addition to regular offers, they have a range of special days like double deal days where you get 2 for one offers
or free gifts, 20 products for £20 (usually worth over £100) or 24 deal days where the offers last just an hour.
This Wednesday (17 December) for example they have a 50% off megadeal with 20 items for just £10. You can see today'd deal in the banner above.
You'll always find information on the current deal at http://www.homeworkinguk.com/new.htm or
just go straight to http://www.homeworkinguk.com/grab.htm .
Boffer
Boffer buys huge volumes of bankrupt stock and sells it on its website.These products range from anything from LCD TV's to Monkey
picked tea. You can get an idea of the sort of products they sell by visiting their blog at http://www.boffer.co.uk/blog/
From time to time they have special sell off days where they have smaller stocks of products with each item being replaced by another as soon as it runs out. During a recent sell off sale all items were free, with just postage to pay. On these days random freebies with free postage are also included, and don't miss out on the chance to buy a "Bag o' Crap" a mystery box full of random articles from previous selloffs for just a couple of pounds. 3 lucky purchasers in the last sale found LCD tv's in their boxes!
IBOOD
Unlike the other UK only sites, IBOOD is available throughout Europe and offers a wider range of goods from £6
phone sets to £500 laptops and £600 Sony 42" LCD tv's. Visit http://www.ibood.com/ for today's offer.
24 Gone
Not only do you get great daily offers but with 24gone you can save even more by buying more eg buy one for £10.99, 2 for
£18.99 and 3 for £26.99. They sell whatever they can get their hands on... as long as they think people will buy
it and it's available at a reasonable price. The idea is that every deal is different, so one day you might see
a digital camera, the next day might be a air conditioner, or a children's toy, or a cat scratching post etc.
Visit https://24gone.com/ for the current offer.
5. Featured Article
Could you be a freelance writer?
The majority of us have considered, at some stage, how great being a freelance writer must be, and how we'd like to do it - if there wasn't the uncertainty that comes with the role. These thoughts often cross our mind on a cold, wet Monday morning, stuck in traffic or sat on a crowded bus, listening to our boss ranting in our ear - wouldn't it be great if we could just work at home and choose exactly when we work?
Freelance writing is a great opportunity that comes with many benefits. It can be a satisfying career that allows you the flexibility of home work with the benefit of a great rate of pay. It also brings many challenges and anyone considering quitting their regular job for a career as a freelance writer should first ask themselves some crucial questions.
Is freelance writing for me?
Are you looking for a job that you can do at home, with hours to suit and a good rate of pay? If you're looking to work at home, you want flexibility and you have a reasonable education and/or the talent to write good copy, there are plenty of companies who want to hear from you (if you are studying, there are often opportunities to work as a student writer too). Working at home as a freelance writer means that you can fit your job around your existing schedule - this means that whatever existing commitments you have -- family, jobs or study, for example - you don't need to change them.
Where does a freelance writer find work?
As a freelance writer, you could be working on copywriting projects, website content, articles, books, ghost writing, proofreading, copy editing, travel reviews, press releases, journalism, technical writing, research papers, resume writing and entertainment reviews - there is no single freelance writing sector. Almost all businesses need writers and with the growth of the internet, the opportunities are ever increasing. You'll also have the opportunity to work on a huge range of different projects - for example, business and marketing reports, company research, presentations, sample teaching materials, proofreading for students and model answers.
Good reasons to work from home
The following are a list of good reasons for switching to home working as a freelance writer.
- Family commitments - if you have the responsibility of looking after another person, such as a child or elderly parent, you may find working regular hours is impossible - working from home will save you the journey to and from part time work, and allow you to be flexible with your time.
- Extra income - if you've already got a part time job (or indeed, a low paid full time job) and you have a minimum of 3-4 hours a week you could devote to earning extra money, working from home as a freelance writer will allow you to earn that extra income whilst keeping your existing job.
- Tax breaks - a freelance writer working from home is usually self-employed. You can therefore claim a fair proportion of expenses against any tax liability from your income as a writer. You will, no doubt, use a room in your house and you may be able to claim a proportion of cleaning, mortgage interest, council tax and home insurance costs against your tax bill.
Major considerations
Working from home as a freelance writer comes with its challenges.
- You must be disciplined. If you find concentrating on a project difficult or find you're easily distracted by chatter, the television, children etc, you may find your attention is constantly diverted and you don't get enough work done to support yourself.
- You'll have to get used to being alone! If you're used to working in a busy office, working at home may come as a bit of a shock. Freelancers don't experience the bustle of the busy office which is a plus point when it comes to concentrating but if you love having people around you, home working may not be for you.
- You need your own space. You can't work if your two lively toddlers spend their day climbing up the back of your chair or squirting Ribena on your keyboard. A cold garage, dusty attic or cluttered box room similarly don't provide the environment you need to concentrate. Consider if you have space to set aside for your work, before you make your decision.
- You need good time management skills. Homeworkers have an array of distractions waiting to break up their day - children who need feeding, groceries that need collecting, emails that need checking - and these can take up a huge proportion of your work time. You're going to need to be strict with yourself - turn off the mobile, set yourself a routine - including adequate breaks for coffee and relaxing - and stick to it.
- Last, but by no means the least, you need a good support team. Just because you're at home doesn't mean you're not doing real work. If the kids fall ill, you need someone to mind them while you get on with paying the mortgage. Plan back-up people who can be there to collect them from school or nurse them if they're not well.
If you decide to become a freelance writer and hold a degree or are currently studying for one please pay Academic Knowledge a visit at http://www.academicknowledge.com/writer-apply.php. They are constantly looking for new writing talent and would love to hear from you. Fees range from £40 per 1000 words up to £160 per 1000 words dependant on the standard and delivery time required.
Alternatively take a look at Freelance Home Writers (currently United Kingdom, USA and Canada only) at http://www.homeworkinguk.com/fhw.htm where members can choose from thousands of article and writing job offers, organised by the type of writing each company requires. They only accept companies that pay instantly, as soon as a job is completed, so you never have to wait to get paid.
I hope you've found something of interest this month. I'll speak to you again in the new year. Happy Christmas
Lynne O'Connor
newsletter@homeworkinguk.com
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