Over the last ten years, the gig economy has taken off. Now, it’s much easier to find freelance and micro jobs to help make ends meet. Many of you will have found yourself short of cash from time to time, it happens to the best money managers.
Making extra money used to be difficult, but not now. Millions of people are competing for a wide range of freelance and micro jobs using a variety of sources.
Would you like to add a little extra cash to your bank balance? Are you looking for a lucrative side hustle? Micro jobs, also known as micro-tasks or micro labor, are tasks that you can complete in a few hours or days.
When you’ve completed the task, you get paid and your contract ends. The tasks vary considerably, from testing and surveys to real-world and online tasks. You get the freedom of being a freelancer, can work from home, and are your own boss. Sounds like the perfect side hustle.
The fees are small, but require equally small amounts of time to complete. To make the most of this work, you have to work fast and take on as many tasks as possible.
On the plus side, payment is typically quick in cash, gift cards, rewards points, services, or bitcoins. The currency is often US dollars, but you can convert into another currency by making payments into a PayPal account, for example.
Let’s introduce 12 places to look if you’re interested in looking for freelance work.
Amazon Mechanical Turk
This micro job site is better known as MTurk. The owners are the famous online store Amazon. A variety of work is available, such as:
- Transcription jobs.
- Editing.
- Writing.
- Writing blog comments.
- Conducting online surveys.
- Keyword searches.
- Writing captions for photos.
Payments are made in US dollars, Indian Rupees, to an Amazon gift card account, or Amazon payments. The term used for the tasks is a HIT (Human Intelligence Task.) A freelancer chooses a HIT and completes it for a fee that’s set by the person requesting the work (Requester).
MTurk is one of the oldest micro job sites around and has been operating for more than a decade. Millions of users have registered as either a requester or worker, and they’re from more than 190 countries.
Fiverr
This is one of the better known sites for people looking to make money online. If you’ve got a skill you want to sell, this is an excellent place to do it. According to the latest information on the Fiverr website, a gig is sold every 4 seconds.
Signing up with Fiverr is easy and free. You can sign up via Facebook or Google. Then you’re up running, and ready to set up your first gig. You decide what you want to offer and how much you’ll charge. Let’s give you some examples of the services you might want to offer:
- Designing a brand logo.
- Providing voice overs.
- Writing and translation.
- Designing animated GIFs.
- Editing podcasts.
- Writing songs.
- User testing.
- Impersonating a celebrity.
If you’re a little unsure how to price your service, see what other Fiverrs are offering. There’s also a huge bank of articles you can read if you’re confused, stuck, or worried.
When you’ve posted your gig, you can wait for customers to come to you or make bids on other people’s requests. You receive payment when you complete the order. You get 80 percent of the fee, while Fiverr takes the rest.
Clickworker
Clickworker distributes work through a crowdsourcing platform. Jobs include data entry, translation, and writing. The work is part-time and the site is available in English, Polish, and German.
Sign up for an account free of charge and you can apply straight away for work. There are currently more than 300,000 users applying for work such as:
- Online research.
- Editing.
- Tagging data.
- Data categorization.
- Text creation.
You get the opportunity to work independently and your schedule is flexible. You need a computer or some other mobile device and a stable internet connection.
Payments are made in US dollars or Euros and the standard payment method is PayPal, although Transferwise is an alternative. If you live in a country that’s part of the Single Euro Payments Area, you can receive payment directly to your bank account.
UpWork
This freelancing network, formerly known as Elance-oDesk, is based in Santa Clara and San Francisco. Sign up with the network as a freelancer and create a profile highlighting any skills you can offer.
Jobs are posted on UpWork by entrepreneurs, business owners, and startups, and you bid on any work you want to do.
There are thousands of jobs to choose from, split into various categories, for example:
- Admin support.
- IT and networking.
- Sales and Marketing.
- Translation.
- Web, mobile and software development.
- Design and creativity.
The benefits of being a freelancer with UpWork are that you can work on projects that interest you from anywhere in the world, and it’s free to join and start bidding for work.
UpWork takes a percentage of your earnings when your client pays. It’s a sliding fee that goes down the longer your work for a particular client. It starts at 20 percent and can go as low as 5 percent if the total amount paid to you by the clients exceeds $10,000.
They move your earnings into your UpWork account and you can then withdraw them using a range of different payment gateways. Wire transfers, bank transfers, and PayPal are all options.
ProBlogger Marketplace
If you want to make money online, link building, writing, video editing, image editing, or in web development, this is the site for you. It was started by one of the most famous bloggers in the world, Darren Rowse. The focus is on online marketing. There is a regularly updated jobs board and if you find a job you like you simply apply.
There’s no application form or enrolment process, and it costs nothing to apply for any jobs you’re interested in. If the company posting the vacancy considers you suitable for the position you complete the work and payment is made by the individual client.
Freelancer
This is another crowdsourcing platform that links buyers and sellers in one place. Freelancers use it because it allows them to market their services. It works in the same way as UpWork. You sign up, provide details for your profile and then bid on projects you’re interested in.
A range of work is available, for example:
- Software development.
- Writing.
- Marketing.
- Accounting.
- Engineering.
- Data entry.
To date, there are more than 32 million registered users and thousands of jobs you can bid on. Registration is free.
Payment is made on a fixed price or hourly basis and paid into your Freelancer account. You then request a withdrawal using one of several payment methods that include wire transport, PayPal, Skrill, or by a Freelancer debit card.
PeoplePerHour
This is a free service for freelancers but there’s a lot of competition, so finding the right job can be a challenge. The website connects clients and freelancers who are hired by the hour or project.
PeoplePerHour has been going since 2007, so it’s a well established platform. The way it works is very simple. You apply to join and have to be certified before you can join the team of freelancers. You set up a personal profile that includes information about your expertise and experience. It’s also possible to set a sample per-hour rate.
Then it’s just a case of looking for work that interests you or waiting to see what the PeoplePerHour AI matches you with. You make offers for any work and if it’s accepted by the client, you complete the task and then submit an invoice.
They credit payments for completed work to your PeoplePerHour account in various currencies including GBP, Euros, or US dollars. The fees system is quite complicated, but details are provided on the website.
Gigwalk
If you want to work locally and you love to shop, this might be the gig for you. Gigwalk is unique in that you’re providing retailers with information about their local stores. It’s kind of like a mystery shopping role, but you get to choose who you work for. You might be required to complete the following tasks:
- Checking correct pricing.
- Confirming items are available in the store.
- Validating promotional displays.
You find gigs using the Gigwalk app, and it also provides information on the stores you’ve visited. You might have to submit photos to document your work, but you do this via the app. Payments range from just a few dollars to $100 and you receive payment for your work via PayPal.
Field Agent
This is a website you can visit if you want to make money online completing market research jobs. Companies use Field Agent when they want to learn more about their store displays and visibility of their brand. Some of the tasks you might be expected to complete include:
- Competitor marketing research.
- Checking product pricing.
- Verifying whether special displays have been set up correctly.
- Asking customers opinions on products.
You get paid from between $1 and $12 and they credit the payment to your Field Agent account. To access your wages you ask for an instant payout.
TaskRabbit
If you’re not bothered about making money online, TaskRabbit is an alternative if you still want a side hustle. Most tasks on this popular site are in-person activities. You get to earn money by helping people with their every day to-dos. Some of the more popular categories are:
- Cleaning.
- Delivery.
- Moving.
- Assembling furniture.
- Personal assistant.
- Handyman.
- Gardener.
The sign-up process is a little more complex, but that’s only to be expected as you are being trusted to work for and with people directly. First, you have to complete a registration form and then attend an onboarding session where you live.
You also have to pay a one time registration fee of $25.
If you pass the registration process, you’re ready to accept TaskRabbit jobs. You’re notified of tasks available in your location, through the TaskRabbit app.
Choose a job you like the look of and confirm the details with the client. When the work is completed, you submit an invoice. Payments are made to a bank account.
Skyword
Skyword does more than match freelancers with brands looking for help with marketing of their products and branding. It also offers a complete suite of branding and marketing services and software.
If you’re looking for a side hustle, you can sign up with Skyword and let the platform handle your assignments, schedules, and payments.
The first step is to create a profile and submit samples of your work. Payments are made via PayPal and paid per assignment completed. There is a waiting period of at least two weeks, which can be frustrating and make budgeting a challenge.
Swagbucks
Do you spend a lot of time shopping online, watching videos, playing games, or taking surveys? Wouldn’t it be better if you got paid for doing these things? Sign up with Swagbucks and you earn points for doing all these things at major retailers such as Starbucks and Amazon. You can earn your points on a desktop or with the Swagbucks app.
Once you’ve registered, you can earn points, but you can’t redeem them until you’ve reached the 1,000 points threshold. Only then can you redeem your points for gift cards or cash cards. Major retailers such as iTunes, Walmart, and Amazon all work in partnership with Swagbucks, and from time to time there are special discounts.
This is just the tip of the iceberg for anyone looking for freelance and micro jobs. Work of this type has exploded in recent years, with more and more people looking for a fun and interesting way to make money online and ditch the 9 to 5 forever.