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	Get Rich Quick (NOT!)
	by Susan Molthop

Revised August 3, 2007

Since you're reading this, I'll assume you're a computer-literate writer who needs to make more money. If you're itching to quit your day job, but your writing isn't generating enough revenue to support you, here are some ways to supplement your income, without straying too far off target.

Get paid to do your research. Netbux will pay you 2-cents each for your Google searches. It's not much, but it's better than nothing. When your account balance reaches $50, they'll send it to your PayPal account. You can also sign up other people. You'll get paid for their searches, too. You don't want to get bogged down with this sort of thing, but you can add your Netbux log-in link to your email address and see what happens. An occasional $50 in your PayPal account is like selling another short article.

Be a guide for About.com. This is a paying gig that require 10-20 hours work per week. Most of that time is spent either writing or researching. It takes a long time to get in and established, but it's well worth the wait.

Create a high-quality, content-rich website, then get in with Google Adsense. This program pays a few pennies when anyone clicks through from your site to one of their context-sensitive ads.

Spiff up your Web site with "affiliate" programs. These are companies that pay referral fees, if you send them paying customers. Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble are examples. You won't get rich on these, either, but you could make an extra $5 here or there. (Check my Affiliates Page for more opportunities or send me an email for more info.)

Turn a hobby or special interest into a money-maker, by offering free content to webmasters. One of my readers did it, which gave me the idea for this article. Here are some email excerpts:

"I am a writer who has been collecting quotes for YEARS and 2 weeks ago, we started a daily quote that gets e-mailed to people 5 days a week. This is a labor of love. My partner does the daily joke, my sister does the movie quote...but I do the Quote A Day, that features Einstein, Thoreau, Bertrand Russell, Mike Ditka, Freud, Jung and all of the authors who have shaped my intellectual development."

"So, this passion of mine has now become a business and in 2 weeks we already have 1727 subscribers."

"Yes we are making money. The 3 publications (daily Joke is the largest) combined have 75,000 e-mails a day going out. We sell advertising in the outgoing e-mails. We have an affiliate program with one of our other companies."

"Writers need to use the web as a vehicle to communicate and if they can earn money from the visitors, then this could help subsidize them. But just remember, if a lot of writers try to do what we are doing directly, they will be diverted to all sorts of things away from their writing...like selling advertising, e-mailing head aches, responding to hundreds of people every day. We have 5 people here who do this."

"So in a nutshell, I believe writers should create a "daily column" on whatever it is that they are interested in. Put this up on their web page. Register it with search engines. They then need a way to make money from their "column" and that means they need money from their visitors. "

If you know of any other legitimate, writing-related money-making opportunities, please share on my message board .

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