Ask HN:Is it actually possible to earn money online?

#1

Post by rick_2047 » Wed, Nov 18, 2009, 4:41 PM UTC

I was going through my spam directory just as a curiosity, just to check what does these thousand odd messages contained. Apart from usual Viagra and length enhancement drugs, there were some emails offering "paid to click" websites. These websites apparently pay you to click on ads,often as minimum as $0.001. But a question begs to be asked, is it actually possible to make money online? If you type "earn online" in google you can get many of these sites which pay you to click or sign up from referal links. But we all know these sites never pay you a penny. Apart from Amazon mechanical turk, I have never come across a big company which gives money for doing simple tasks.

So do you know of any?Because this will be hell of a way to earn some pocket money.

Re: Ask HN:Is it actually possible to earn money online?

#2

Post by dabent » Wed, Nov 18, 2009, 4:52 PM UTC

It is possible to earn money online. Create an "earn money online" product and spam it. Better yet, offer an affiliate reward for it and let others spam it. The "earn online" packages you're seeing are likely cousins or siblings of the rebill scams that (used to be) in Facebook apps and at the end of checkout processes now.

That's the sad truth about "make money online" programs like that. Think about it, even if it was legit: by signing up for any kind of service that offers money for menial tasks, you're putting yourself into a kind of digital piece work factory -- about the lowest possible position in the labor pool.

Re: Ask HN:Is it actually possible to earn money online?

#3

Post by rick_2047 » Wed, Nov 18, 2009, 4:56 PM UTC

dabent wrote: post #2

It is possible to earn money online. Create an "earn money online" product and spam it. Better yet, offer an affiliate reward for it and let others spam it. The "earn online" packages you're seeing are likely cousins or siblings of the rebill scams that (used to be) in Facebook apps and at the end of checkout processes now. That's the sad truth about "make money online" programs like that. Think about it, even if it…

Hey the second point you mention probably describes the Amazon mechanical turk well. But still I would work on it because its just easy to earn some money on it.(Well I havent actually got anything from it now, but just as an experiment I have done 5 tasks of different rewards to see what I can get from it).

Re: Ask HN:Is it actually possible to earn money online?

#4

Post by ThinkWriteMute » Wed, Nov 18, 2009, 5:09 PM UTC

The question is raised, not begged.

But yes, my dad (Whom is 58) makes money online by putting up websites with Ebay/Clickbank/Adsense links. Makes about 125/month.

It takes time and money and about 4-6 months worth of patience /after/ you've learned how to do it correctly.

For start, google: Ban sites, and google: warrior forum

Re: Ask HN:Is it actually possible to earn money online?

#5

Post by ThinkWriteMute » Wed, Nov 18, 2009, 5:10 PM UTC

ThinkWriteMute wrote: post #4

The question is raised, not begged. But yes, my dad (Whom is 58) makes money online by putting up websites with Ebay/Clickbank/Adsense links. Makes about 125/month. It takes time and money and about 4-6 months worth of patience /after/ you've learned how to do it correctly. For start, google: Ban sites, and google: warrior forum

Oh, and pick up some SEO books. The biz is really all about long tail keywords, ranking, and the number of sites you have up.

Re: Ask HN:Is it actually possible to earn money online?

#6

Post by rick_2047 » Wed, Nov 18, 2009, 5:13 PM UTC

ThinkWriteMute wrote: post #4

The question is raised, not begged. But yes, my dad (Whom is 58) makes money online by putting up websites with Ebay/Clickbank/Adsense links. Makes about 125/month. It takes time and money and about 4-6 months worth of patience /after/ you've learned how to do it correctly. For start, google: Ban sites, and google: warrior forum

The question begs to be asked on HN because such questions never come up on this site and being asked on this site is actually a privilege. :)

Re: Ask HN:Is it actually possible to earn money online?

#7

Post by byrneseyeview » Wed, Nov 18, 2009, 5:17 PM UTC

If there's a way to make money online simply, it's probably being done by high school students and people in the Third World -- i.e., anyone whose time is nearly worthless.

Re: Ask HN:Is it actually possible to earn money online?

#8

Post by ThinkWriteMute » Wed, Nov 18, 2009, 5:22 PM UTC

rick_2047 wrote: post #6

ThinkWriteMute wrote: post #4

The question is raised, not begged. But yes, my dad (Whom is 58) makes money online by putting up websites with Ebay/Clickbank/Adsense links. Makes about 125/month. It takes time and money and about 4-6 months worth of patience /after/ you've learned how to do it correctly. For start, google: Ban sites, and google: warrior forum

The question begs to be asked on HN because such questions never come up on this site and being asked on this site is actually a privilege. :)

Who am I kidding, it's being used incorrectly enough these days that it might as well be correct.

Re: Ask HN:Is it actually possible to earn money online?

#9

Post by anaid » Wed, Nov 18, 2009, 5:31 PM UTC

Definitely possible, although it is work, like anything else. Depends on what your likes and dislikes are- if you are going to do it, you probably need to enjoy and believe in what you are representing/selling- whether it is a product or information. Then, it requires some research and testing. Then, lots of patience and smart work. One word of advice: pick a smaller niche rather than one that has a lot of competition. It is easier to promote and market. Good luck!

Re: Ask HN:Is it actually possible to earn money online?

#10

Post by rabidsnail » Wed, Nov 18, 2009, 5:39 PM UTC

Yes, on Mechanical Turk (http://mturk.com).