Bringing $ back to Santa Cruz!

I posted a couple of days ago about how the boardwalk had a really neat job up for an archivist. I mentioned that I love looking at job postings for unique local jobs, but one of the other things I have been noticing is how FEW local jobs there are. Really, based on the job listings on sites like craigslist, you are probably thinking that the local job market is pretty bleak.

We have our Santa Cruz Job Board list here, but Santa Cruz isn’t the only place we can make money!

It is well into the information age, the age of telecommuting and outsourcing, and I am a little concerned about how behind the times Santa Cruz is. I will write about opportunities online in more detail on my design blog: blog.nombat.com, but for now let me just run through one really simple example.

Fiverr.com

Fiverr is a marketplace where you can post things that you will do, for $5. Generally these “gigs” are simple, quick and easy tasks, often involving a photo, writing or action online. For instance if you like to take daily walks on the beach, you could write someone’s name in the sand, and send them a photo for $5.

Why would someone want to pay $5 to see their name written on a beach?

We are all very active online, from social media like facebook, to our own personal blogs, we as a society are online a LOT. Those of us who make our livings online are constantly looking for interesting content  that we can quickly put to work. Photos that people will happily click like on or share, are extremely useful online, but we need to share them often, probably every day if not multiple times a day. The more personalized that content is, the better it will be received by our audience, and that is where fiverr comes in. If I as a blogger, social media manager or internet marketer can go to fiverr and spend $35 for a weeks worth of content, then I will likely go back as many weeks as I can until I run out of content. A small budget can go a long way when we are dealing with simple, socially shareable content.

How would $5 a photo work for you?

Five dollars isn’t a lot of money, but getting paid to write someones name in the sand and snap a photo on a walk you were going to take anyway… That’s a pretty easy job!

As long as you remember to upload good sample photos, ideally a video as well, fill out your profile completely then you will be in good shape to make money from the thousands and thousands of people shopping on fiverr every day. And don’t feel like you have to stop at just one gig. Get creative, think of lots of little simple social media photos you can take and sell.

Even selling 10 gigs a day on fiverr could add up to a pretty decent part time job.

Tip: your hardest sale is your first sale, people don’t always trust people without reviews. When you make your first sale be sure to over deliver and do it FAST! Also, you didn’t hear it from me, but maybe your good friend wants to buy a $5 photo of their name in the sand from you!

And remember, this is just one way to make some quick money online. There are unlimited options for us locals to work online and bring income back to our community!

Cool Stuff Online: http://blog.nombat.com/cool/