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Earning extra income from home with zero investment

Ranked #8,894 in Business & Work, #230,981 overall

Zero Cost, Genuine Home-based Business Opportunities

This lens provides articles, resources, and links to businesses to help you get started with your own home-based business today. Every program or resource listed is completely free. I don't believe in the old adage, "You have to spend money to make money." It is total bunk. You can start earning an extra monthly income right now. I've joined virtually every free program out there and tested them. Those that pay, I recommend. Those that don't, I call a spade, a spade, and I counsel everyone to stay away from them. I'm tired of seeing Web site after Web site that recommends programs I know to be bad. And I'm tired of seeing people charge money for information that I truly believe should be free! So, if you're interesed in learning how to run a successful affiliate business, get paid to read e-mails/surf/promote, write freelance including blogging for money, or mystery shop, please visit this lens.

What's in this lens?

  1. My motto of recommendations and for this site
  2. Paid to read e-mail programs that pay.
  3. Paid to complete surveys programs that pay.
  4. Check scans from cash paying programs.
  5. Mystery shopping companies that pay.
  6. Personal bookmarks: Paid to blog sites that pay.
  7. What pays you the best?
  8. Recommended Reading
  9. Money for Nothing
  10. Recommended Reading II
  11. Somewhere, out there... there's a blog about this...
  12. Show me the money!

My motto of recommendations and for this site

Why I never recommend something that's not proven.

You won't find a long list of programs here, nor any links to the latest earning craze. I don't jump on bandwagons and I don't recommend untested programs, books, videos, Web tools, or untested anything.

The books you see listed under recommended reading I've read, used as references, or were the text books in one of my college courses. They are written by industry professionals and are useful references for online marketers/affiliates/advertisers of any level - beginner to expert.

The programs you see listed under the Del.icio.us modules are those of which I am a paid member. I often join a program and am a member for months before I recommend it, because I have a personal rule that I will not refer anyone to a program that I can't honestly say I know pays. In rare cases when I know the person who referred me and I know they've been paid, I'll recommend it from the start. (It's only happened twice in nearly 10 years though so don't look for the programs list to grow too quickly. You can depend on the ones that are listed there though.

Every program I list is free to join. I participate in paid to read e-mail, paid to surf, paid to take surveys, and paid to promote sites, as well as, mystery shopping.

Please, don't pay for any of the info on any of these topics you see listed here. Come here to get the information for free. I believe that the information should be free, the programs to join should be free, and learning how to make money from the Internet should

Paid to read e-mail programs that pay.

This module provides links to paid to read e-mail and paid to click programs I have been personally paid by.

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Paid to complete surveys programs that pay.

This module provides links to paid to complete surveys programs I have been personally paid by. It only includes genuine survey companies. There are no paid to join sites disguised as survey companies, nor are there any companies who claim to offer surveys, then merely give you a list of links of other companies to join.

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Check scans from cash paying programs.

A watermark is embedded in each scan that shows up if printed. This is to protect the companies from fraudulent check cashing. I also edit my address from the check before posting it to the Internet (for my own safety and security).
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Mystery shopping companies that pay.

This module provides links to mystery shopping companies I have been personally paid by. Every company here is free to register with. There are no paid to join sites disguised as survey companies, nor are there any companies who claim to offer surveys, then merely give you a list of links of other companies to join.

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Personal bookmarks: Paid to blog sites that pay.

This module provides links to paid to complete surveys programs I have been personally paid by. It only includes companies which have a guaranteed pay scale, such as a per post scheme. There are no sites listed that pay strictly off of advertising revenue, which can be iffy, at best. Many provide opportunities for writers to earn more by writing for magazines or Web partners.
Gather
Gather provides free blogs with photo and video options. The site also has an number of existing groups and the capability for authors to create their own groups. A member may publish publicly or privately, or to selected groups only. Every action on the site from reading an article to adding a friend or joining a group earns points. Users may cash out for gift cards or cash. There is a link and e-mail referral program. Payment is via PayPal.
Helium
Helium provides users a place to post articles, compete in weekly and monthly writing contests, and to write articles for magazine partners in its marketplace. The marketplace feature can pay twice. First, the user is paid by the magazine (via Helium) if their article is chosen for publication. Second, in many cases (including one that happened to me), a user who sells an article to a magazine may be offered a regular writing gig by the magazine. The referral program is by e-mail, so if you're interested in this program, please, drop me a line via this page (Squidoo), so I can e-mail you an invitation. Payment is via PayPal.
Squidoo
Of course, there's Squidoo. My first payout of $10 arrived via PayPal today (June 4, 2008). This site allows you to build a blog (called a "lens") with numerous "modules". Modules are pre-scripted applications for users to add to a page. Users can have multiple lens on multiple topics, and earn money off of each one. There are no referral e-mails or links. To join, just click the "Create a Lens" link at the bottom of this page. Payment is via PayPal.

What pays you the best?

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Recommended Reading

Advertising and Marketing

No matter what home-based business you have or start, you'll need a strong reference library to consult for extended information on topics such as, setting up your business, advertising, marketing, and taxes.
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Money for Nothing

my Gather.com group where members report on paid to... programs they belong to

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Recommended Reading II

Home-Based Business Development

No matter what home-based business you have or start, you'll need a strong reference library to consult for extended information on topics such as, setting up your business, advertising, marketing, and taxes.
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Somewhere, out there... there's a blog about this...

Google blogs about home-based businesses

SCOV Law Blog: Surf's up in Montpelier
In 2009, Defendants against all conventional wisdom began looking into promoting recreation on the pond. They were arrested and cited by the Montpelier police for kayaking on the pond. In response, one of the defendants drew up and began promoting an ...
Radio Host/Super-Blogger
So, he had plenty of time to share what's coming up on his new show, "PEREZ NIGHTS LIVE, WITH ADAM BOMB." Read on and you'll find out what makes PEREZ tick ... and why "nights just got a whole lot louder". What did you do before blogging and radio?
Taxpayer-funded gun control gets huge foundation boost
Gun rights advocates recently discovered that the gun control group Mayors Against Illegal Guns has burrowed its "gun violence prevention coordinators" (read "anti-gun lobbyists") into city payrolls from Augusta, Maine to Seattle, Washington, ...
Master Meetings, Melbourne, and Three Great Cities
With the new Art of Great Meetings promotion, select Australian Marriott properties are offering group booking guests the chance to win a trip to three of the most well-known cities in the world! So for unforgettable meetings, Melbourne Marriott can't ...
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Show me the money!

Sign the guest book to say hi, comment on this lens' content or to share a FREE to join program not already listed here that you (personally) have already been paid by.

  • SteveWilliams Oct 14, 2008 @ 9:47 am | delete
    I think this is an excellent page for everyone looking to make legitimate money online. Might I recommend suite 101 as well. I'm signed up there and I think it was great training for writing for the web.

    Once again, thanks for putting this up!
    All the best,
    Steve
    www.squidoo.com/noheroics
  • chrisnkay Oct 14, 2008 @ 1:20 am | delete
    Great Les with a lot of great ideas. I just signed up with all of the mystery shopper programs. 5 stars for you!
  • ThomasC Oct 12, 2008 @ 9:42 pm | delete
    Great resource of free work at home programs! 5 stars and an Angel blessing should help your lens out some!
    ThomasC
  • Teddi14 Jul 16, 2008 @ 5:40 pm | delete
    I too have MyPoints. I enjoy it. I had an account with lots of points and I switched my email to a different account and it could not be verified and I somehow lost all the points. I was mad. I have another account now with points growing. I have a number of gpt/affiliate sites on my site. Look under "reward/affiliates programs" Please be sure to check out my lenses here. BTW, I found you from your gather article.
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NaturalHazard

My titles include: Queen of the Income Streams, Chugger of Copious Amounts of Coffee, Natural Hazard, DesignGrrl, The Baking Pixie, The Drinking Pixie... more »

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