Use another online payment service

Although PayPal is the most popular and widely used online payment method, there are plenty of other services available to you as well. AlertPay and Moneybookers are the other alternative payment services I use, you can choose one depending on your country. In my opinion AlertPay is the widely recognized one and it is included as a receiving option in many popular freelance sites as well. Join AlertPay for free or if it is not supported in your country then you might consider joining Moneybookers for free.

Like PayPal these services also have upgraded accounts which can be used to do a whole lot more activities. If you are starting to set up a online business in a country where PayPal is send only then this is about the only option you have as well.

Receive money to a friends account

If you have a friend in a country like US,UK where you can receive money from PayPal, then one of the easiest methods is to receive your payment to that account and let your friend send you money via check, direct deposit or any other payment service like AlertPay,Moneybookers etc. Be mindful of the costs for direct deposits because it is relatively high amount for international transactions.

Get the Money via direct deposit

If you are getting paid for a standalone service like creating a website, optimizing a website for search engines etc then you can consider getting money via  a direct deposit. As mentioned above there are some fixed charges so it might be not applicable to all payment. As a practice I only request money via direct deposits only if it exceeds 100$ and usually it cost me about 5-1o$ for various charges. Considering that PayPal charges you 5$ to debit money to your credit card I think this is a good bargain.

Receive money via a check

This is my preferred option for receiving money from Merchants like ClickBank, CJ. You can use this method for other online payments as well. This option is cost effective but time consuming. It takes about a week to receive the check and it takes even more time for the money to come to your bank account. On average it takes about 2-3 weeks for my Adsense and Clickbank checks to be visible in my bank account.

Amazon Gift Cards

It doesn't necessarily have to be Amazon, but Amazon gift cards don't expire. If you are looking to buy something online then getting your money as an Amazon gift card is a good option. One big advantage of this method is, it is almost instant payment received.

Below are some of the solutions and workarounds you can use if you are in a country where PayPal is send only.If you have another great idea feel free to share it in the comments section. If you find this article useful share it with you friends as well.

"if I stopped working on my online business now I will be making 200$ per month without doing anything"

It really isn't that hard to understand, every blog post I write , every Squidoo lens I create or every hub I create is an investment. Some of them rank well for some popular keywords in Google and I make money from those posts and lenses as long as they are ranked in Google. Even the pages that don't rank I can use them to link to other sites, other posts etc so they will give a small search engine boost to my other pages. As these posts grow older they gain more trust with Google and provide more traffic to my sites.

The power of ranking in search engines

Here is a small example to show you the power of ranking. A while back I wrote a post about how to increase your twitter followers. It ranks well for some popular keywords and that posts get some decent traffic.If you checked it out carefully you can see that there are affiliate links to three product involving twitter. So far I have earned more than 500$ from those three products ( Hummingbird ~ 130$ / Social Snipe ~ 350$ / SocialOomph ~ 120$ ) and I still earn money whenever someone buys from those links and I will earn money as long as it performs well in search engines. Those earning are not considering the Adsense and InfoLink earning I get from that post. That is just one post, Imagine having ten or hundred posts like that and then you can understand why it is possible to earn a passive recurring income online. As any business you need to work hard to achieve that but it is an income that grows steadily with time.

Not everything turns into gold

Not every post or Squidoo lens I write performs like that but that is OK. When I first started this blog way back in 2007 I didn't know anything about keyword research or search engine optimization. There are things I wish I knew earlier but I consider that period as a learning curve. The learning is far from over but at least now I have a basic idea on what to do to make money online. Those old posts and lenses are still a worth investment , as they grow old they gather trust in search engines and I can use them to rank my recent more researched and targeted posts. So all those time spent writing posts haven't gone to waste.

Want to create a long term recurring income ?

Are you interested in creating a long term recurring income ?

If the answer to that question is yes then I suggest you read my blog post about the Keyword academy. It is a comprehensive learning program that teaches you all you need to know about making money online. The first two videos about keyword research alone will save you lot of time and money. When you first start out you will have lots of questions about making money online and there is a very active and a helpful forum where you can find the answers to your problems. You will get some great tools to help you in various things like finding profitable keywords and building back links. This is not a get rich quick scheme and it is definitely not for lazy people who are looking to make a quick buck. But if you are interested in making a steady long term online income then checkout the keyword academy coaching program. Any questions ? The comments section awaits .

Its rather surprising more companies are not using affiliates to promote there businesses. Having an army of people promoting your product can have a huge impact on your sales. Not only on your sales but it has a huge impact on your brand image as well. If someone is an affiliate promoting your product you will rarely find him saying negative thing about your product. So hundred affiliates mean hundred more people singing praise of your product or service and they don't necessarily have to buy your product to sing praise. If its a digital product like an e-book it becomes even more convenient because you just need to create copies of the product while earning sales. I'm doing some more research on affiliate opportunities available for Sri Lankans and hopefully can put up a post on some more companies offering affiliate opportunities. Make sure to subscribe if you don't want to miss out on the next posts . In the meantime join E-Soft affiliate network

Doing Freelance work

A very attractive option especially for university students. When it comes to freelance work in Sri Lanka it is mostly about designing websites. But if you are good at other programming languages then there are lots of opportunities available for you via the Internet. Check out my article about freelance work in Sri Lanka and where to find freelance jobs to learn about websites that offer freelance work outside Sri Lanka. Make sure you follow the steps about creating a good profile with proper descriptions etc before bidding for optimum chance of getting jobs.

Data Entry work

For people who don't have the programming skills and designing skills but who have some free time to earn some money then data entry work might be a good choice for you. Keep in mind though that just because you have a Internet connection and some free time you cant do data entry jobs. You have to have some basic English knowledge, satisfactory typing speed and the ability to deliver on time. Most data entry work advertise themselves claiming you can do your work at your leisure but this is not always the case, once you accept a job you have to deliver withing a certain time period. Check out my article about Data entry work and where to find free data entry jobs in Sri Lanka.

FOREX trading

One of the most profitable methods to make money online but can lead to significant financial losses if done without proper knowledge and experience. This isn't somethings you can learn in a day and start doing straightaway. More than the computer knowledge what you need here is sound understanding of how the currency markets and financial markets work. If you are willing to invest some time to learn the methods this could be a great income source for you. If you are still interested then check out FOREX trading in Sri Lanka.

Article writing

Article writing is pretty similar to blogging but the key difference here is you don't have to worry about the tedious tasks of upgrading software, managing hosting, designing layout etc. There are sites out there that offer you all the tools you need to write articles. With those tools it is very easy to add links, images and videos to your articles and by maneuvering the blocks you can format the article so it will look much more pleasing to the eye. In each of those articles Adsense,Infolink and various other affiliate links are shown and you get a share of the earning for writing those articles. For example a website like Hubpages shares 60% of there ad views with you so you can make some decent money through them.Join Hubpages for free.

Another website that I use is Squidoo, they are a bit picky about what you write but if you are writing good relevant articles that are full of useful information then you want have a problem with them. The great thing about these article sites is because of there internal linking you get a boost for ranking in search engines which in turns bring your more traffic and more money. Join Squidoo for free.

Blogging

Along with article writing my best source of income. It is not easy to start a blog write content and build it up to a profitable blog but once you achieve that it is a great source of passive income. You need to learn a bit about search engine optimization, managing hosting etc for you to be successful using this method. If you are looking for some quick money then this is not the thing for you. Although I make well over 200$ per month now during my first month way back in 2007 I made less than 3$ from Adsense. If you are pursuing blogging then you need to be passionate about your blog as well and if you start it only for the money then I doubt you will make much from it.

Affiliate Marketing

Another very profitable way to make money online. In very basic terms affiliate marketing is selling someone else product and making a commission from it. Pretty similar to marketing with the only difference being everything is done online. You do need a way to get traffic to your affiliate link and having a blog helps a lot in that regards. Otherwise you can choose alternate methods like paying for advertising similar to Google Adwords. There are few affiliate programs specially for Sri Lankans where you have a higher chance of succeeding. E-Soft Affiliate network is one such opportunity. Read this post to learn more about affiliate opportunities specially for Sri Lankans.

PTC and PTR sites

This is popular among Sri Lankans but unless you have lots of referrals then you want be earning much. Usually you get about 0.01$ per click so for you to make at least 1$ you need to click 100 ads or read 100 e-mails. Of course if you can sign up few more people under you then you can make some money but I wouldn't recommend using this method unless you can sign up few more people under you. The only program I use is Hits4Pay and it is free to join. Join Hits4Pay for free.

Filling surveys

After three years of doing various things to make money online I still haven't found a survey company that actually have surveys for Sri Lankans. Most of these sites require you to pay some money to join and even the free ones are mostly scams that are notorious for not paying up. I would stay well away from survey sites.

Listed above are some free online jobs and Internet jobs that you can do to make money online. Visit the given links if you want to learn more about each opportunity and to find out websites which you can join for free and some more free resources.

PS - Please don't leave your mobile phone no or e-mail address in the comments section asking me to find a data entry or similar job for you. If you cant follow this simple instruction then you have very little chance of making money online anyway .

Bad investment for advertisers

I don't know how much they charge from an advertiser to send an e-mail to there list and if it is very cheap then it might be worth it because 100,000 is a huge amount and few are bound to read them. But consider these things before you are advertising

• The e-mails are poorly targeted -  In one day alone you can get a advertisement about an Art exhibition, A conference about credit management and details about a land sale. These are three different things and it is very unlikely that someone will be interested in all three. So even if your ad is read it is not read by someone who is actively looking for it.
• There e-mails are considered as spam - Not only are these ads irrelevant because of constantly abusing there list they are more likely to be seeing as spamming and I'm sure there are quite a few who has already marked them as spam. So although they might have a list of 100,000 the number alone could be misleading.
• Ethical and legal issues - I'm not so sure about the rules here in Sri Lanka but it is generally not ethical to send e-mail to someone without there consent and in some countries it is illegal as well if you are constantly doing that. More than anything your company could look like spamming and could ruin your brands reputation.

If your a businessman your main concern it Return of Investment(ROI) so carefully consider those facts before doing advertising with them. It it just costs you around Rs.5000 to send to that huge list( If the numbers are actually true ) then it might be a worthy investment.

Doing E-mail marketing the correct way

Without a doubt E-mail marketing is a powerful tool to grow your business provided that you go about it in the right way. It is a great way to capture leads and to follow up on existing customers but you will your customers quickly if you start abusing the list. If you are sending two or three mails everyday to your list you will quickly start loosing subscribers and the value of the list. In one of my future posts I will show some best practices in E-mail marketing and how to setup your own E-mail list in an ethical manner.

FOREX broker reviews and comparisons

When you start FOREX trading one of the biggest decisions you have to make is choosing your FOREX broker. When currency trading having a good broker is important because in the currency market things can change very quickly and you need the data at your fingertips to react quickly. Forextraders home page has a list of top rated FOREX brokers and you can find the complete list at FOREX broker reviews. The list clearly shows the facilities available with different brokers and separate review of each broker is provided with background on the company and a whole lot of other information so you can make an informed decision. Whats makes this list even more impressive is the definitions of the criteria are listed down below the list so even a beginner to currency trading can get an fair idea of what this is all about.

FOREX learning course for beginners

If you are new to FOREX and want a step by step tutorial about currency trading there there is a course for that as well. It guides you step by step and you are not allowed to skip it as well which could be a bit annoying if you know the very basic stuff and want to look a bit further to find out what they are teaching. Still if you are a beginner its always a good idea to follow the tutorial as it is.

FOREX strategies explained

As I mentioned before you can spend  a lifetime learning different FOREX trading strategies to do currency trading. But if you are want to test out tried and proven strategies the websites has them also. All strategies are clearly explained and guidance is given on why some traders fail when using these strategies etc. If you are looking to trade after learning the basics it would be a good idea to go through these strategies, at least you will get an idea about how to go about doing currency trading.

FOREX analysis

Market analysis is an important step and something you must master if you want to profit from trading. There are some great articles covering the general guidelines you should follow when doing two types of analysis, fundamental and technical analysis. Clear explanations are give for different analyzing methods and places where it can go wrong when using different types of analysis.

The website has all the information you need to learn about FOREX trading, from choosing a broker to strategies to try out it has everything covered. A great site to learn about FOREX trading. Don't rush into trading, take some time to learn the basics and get comfortable trading in a demo account and you will soon be making profit from currency trading.

In one of my previous posts I wrote about free data entry jobs in Sri Lanka. In that post I mentioned that freelancers have a good chance of making money online. When it comes to Internet jobs in Sri Lanka freelance work is something that has a quick return for your money compared to something like building niche websites and blogging. That lead to more questions about where to find freelance work in Sri Lanka and what is freelance work. A freelancer is someone who works independently, on his own terms. He is not committed to any employer and usually have temporary contracts with few different employers. It could be something like designing someone else  website in your free time and getting paid for it.

Advantageous of doing freelance work

• You have the freedom to choose your hours, no more 8-5 jobs. You work when you feel like it.
• You cut out the middle man and communicate directly with the customer so any profit gain from the work is solely yours
• No tedious administration tasks like time reporting,logging work,attending meetings etc, although it is a good idea to do those as a matter of discipline
• You can do it part time while working , doing university studies etc
• Since it is hard to track payments for freelance work you can get some tax benefit too

Disadvantageous of doing freelance work

• Responsibility to get the job done is totally up to you and if you fail to deliver you have to bare the loss yourself.
• It will be tough in the beginning until you establish credibility and build your reputation
• Its hard to show proof of income so you might have trouble getting bank loans, paying income tax etc
• Because no one is watching over you it is very easy to lose focus so if your not dedicated enough doing freelance work could be a disaster

Where to find freelance work

Below are two sites that you can join for free and find freelance jobs. There are variety of jobs including creating computer programs, designing websites, doing payroll work and even some data entry jobs. Once you join the site make sure to create a good profile and add your qualification so you have a better chance of winning bids. After you done the initial work required search for the jobs that are best suited to you and bid on them. If you are a beginner it is always a good idea to bid low for the first few bids. Below are two sites where you can find freelance work.

ODesk.com - Whole range of freelance work and the commission is taken from the job provider something you should consider when bidding for jobs. Join ODesk For Free .

Freelancer.com - Another site with lots of jobs so you are bound to find something that suits you if you have enough skills.Join Freelancer for free.

If you know any other site that offers these services for free fell free to mention it in the comments section. Good luck in your freelancing work

Social media marketing in Sri Lanka is a growing trend and there could be significant advantages for the early movers who take advantage of this. Although there are online advertising options like Google Adwords, Yahoo Ads etc very few companies are seem to be taking advantage from this. One reason could be the relative lack of internet users and even from that users only a very few purchase anything online. Having said that number of users in social networking sites like Facebook are growing rapidly in Sri Lanka and this presents you with a great chance to improve your brand name and of course to improve your sales. When it comes to social media marketing the only worthwhile option up to now is Facebook advertising which is relatively easy to use and a good return of investment considering the prize.

Facebook Advertising in Sri Lanka

Facebook advertising in Sri Lanka became really popular during the general election period where politicians fought among each other to promote themselves on the Internet. The anonymity offered by the Internet offered the chance to everyone to express there opinion freely and thus these pages became very active. And as usual after the elections the politicians and these pages are nowhere to be found. But some companies have taken advantage of Facebook advertising to enhance there brand image and sales. If your business is mostly targeted towards the young cr0wd then Facebook is a great place to advertise. The advertisers seem to be aware of this trend because most advertisements are targeted towards them. Some of the frequently appearing ads are for doing foreign degrees, various sorts of food promotions from famous companies such as gonuts and various latest tech gadgets like mobile phones and laptops. As you can see these are mostly things young people would be interest in and another thing of note is that these are somewhat luxurious items as well. If you have an Internet connection it usually is a sign that you have a considerable income level which is another factor you should consider when doing Facebook advertising. If you are interested in learning more I highly recommend the Facebook Guide by Jonathan Volk who is considered a super affiliate that has reported affiliate commissions more than 100,000$ just from Facebook advertising. Check out the Facebook advertising Guide.

Using Twitter to promote your business

Although not as popular as Facebook, Twitter is another social network site that you can use to promote your business. I haven't seeing any company that uses Twitter to promote Sri Lankan businesses which in understandable considering the relatively low number of users but still this is a free service and you should look at all possible ways to promote your business. An added bonus is sometimes twitter profiles and tweets show up on the first page of search engines which could be a great way for some extra exposure. If nothing else just create a twitter account for free and do tweet some messages about your company making sure to add the necessary keywords.

Using LinkedIn to promote your business and the power of LinkedIn connections

LinkedIn is another very underestimated s0cial network that can have significant impact on your career and business. Unlike most other social networks this is a network of professional where CEOs, Managers and Directors hang out. LinkedIn members are usually people who are actively looking to enhance there careers and to build connections that will help in there businesses where a network like Facebook if more for sharing fun events and to keep in touch with friends. LinkedIn advertising could be a bit expensive for most Sri Lankan businesses but it is in the connections the real power of LinkedIn lies. Whether you are looking to Search Engine optimization in Sri Lanka, Web Design in Sri Lanka or simply looking for business contacts then LinkedIn is the place to be.

Get in while its still new

As I mentioned before social media marketing in Sri Lanka is still relatively new and you can easily get the early adopters advantage in many niches. Like most other things social media takes time to understand and master and sooner you start sooner you will know how to do it properly. Want to increase your social media presence and no idea on how to do it ? Contact me for a custom made campaign. If you have any questions the comment box awaits

Qualifying for a data entry job

Just because you have some free time to kill doesn't mean you will qualify for a data entry job. If you are looking to build  a decent income from this you need to do the initial hard work like most other jobs. First of all you should have a relatively good English knowledge. Most job providers have a small interview with you before offering a job and if you don't have a good command of English you might lose out on the opportunity. The other thing you need is a good typing speed. Most data entry jobs have minimum qualification for this say like 40 words per minute etc. If you are currently lacking in this area there are various free courses to improve your typing skills. This is something that you can improve easily so put some effort into it. Another thing you will need is some Internet know how, to go through a website and how to find jobs.I can give you a list of sites to find data entry jobs but if you are not familiar with navigating through a website and finding certain things you will have a tough task finding suitable and good paying jobs.

Few Sites that offer free data entry jobs

Below are two sites where you can find date entry jobs for free. If you know of another where you can find data entry jobs for FREE feel free to mention it in the comments section.

ODesk - Another website that offer data entry jobs free of charge. In this website once you bid 10% more will be added to your bid and will be charged from the job provider so you want lose any money as a commission. This site is also targeted towards freelancers so if you have expertise in article writing or other similar tasks you will find yourself with more opportunities. Join ODesk For Free .

Freelancer.com - As the name suggests this is website dedicated to freelance work but they have data entry job openings as well. It is free to join and you only have to pay a commission when you are getting paid so you are guaranteed money. If you have skills in writing articles or doing various programming stuff then there are lots more opportunities for you as well. Join Freelancer for free.

First Steps, Building the trust

After joining any of the above sites don't start bidding on jobs straightaway. Take some time to complete your profile. Add your skills and qualification in your profile. Its always a good idea to upload a profile picture. Upload a picture that looks smart and confident and write a small description about yourself. Most of those sites have a user rating system so when you are starting out you have absolutely no rating and having a good profile helps you in that regard. Having a profile with a picture makes you look more personal which helps to build the trust.

When you are first starting out try to bid low values. It doesn't matter who you are or how qualified you are but until you do some work and get some good ratings and feedback you want be considered for the quality high paying jobs. So bid low of some jobs and try to get then and once you get them try to do the best possible work you can with those jobs and try to get a good rating. Once you start good rating and start building credibility you will find it easier to get high paying jobs.

Put in the hard work and you will be rewarded

It is not very easy to get started on a data entry job but it isn't extremely difficult either. Put in some hard work and dedication and you could be making a decent income without much of a problem. Although this post is targeted at data entry jobs the opportunities widen if you have other skills like article writing or programming.

Create a passive online income

As I mentioned at the start of the article I'm not a big fan of data entry jobs, I'm more into creating a passive online income so even if I stop doing all my blogging stuff I will still be earning money. If you are interested in making a passive income online the the keyword academy crash course is just the thing for you. Check out my Keyword Academy review to learn more and start earning passive money.

Geegain search engine

I started the using the search engine with my favorite search term, "making money online in Sri Lanka" and got one of my hubs as the first result. The hub is the fourth result in Google search and the first result in Google which is also mine has more back links that the hub. So big G has done the ranking correctly but Geegain lacks a bit in that regard. Of course you can judge a search engine by one result but it was pretty much the same thing for few related searches as well. If a search engine wants to be popular then you have to deliver relevant information sort by the user and I hope Geegain can improve that part pretty soon. As of now I want be using it as my search engine.

Geegain Advertising program

Geegain offers an Adword like advertisement program if you want to display your ads. Geegain is a Sri Lankan based company and as far as I know they are mainly promoting in Sri Lanka. So it is more likely that you will find better results from advertising if the ad is targeted towards Sri Lankans. There wasn't a single ad for competitive search terms like credit cards, payday loans etc which is a sign that they may not have many advertisers. Since Geegain is just starting out you might get the early bird advantage and get some targeted traffic very cheaply. You get a 5$ bonus to try out the advertisement systems so join Geegain advertiser program.

Geegain Publisher program

Since there search engine is not popular yet they need to find places to display the advertiser ads and they offer a advertisement publishing program similar to Adsense. Since advertisers are mostly Sri Lankan you are more likely to get advertisement relevant to Sri Lankans which could lead to increase in the click through rate. On the other hand because of the lack of advertisers minimum bid by the advertiser will be low thus reducing your earning potential. If most of your traffic are coming from Sri Lanka then you are more likely to few cents per click so trying out Geegain publisher program could lead to an actual increase in earnings. The payout is 100$ so be prepared for a wait if you are not getting decent traffic. Checkout Geegain publisher program.

Join for free or stop wasting time ?

If your blog is getting mostly traffic from Sri Lanka then Geegain could be a good program to try out because most of the ads are targeted towards Sri Lankans. However be mindful of the fact that because of the lack of advertiser competition you could be earning only cents. I think the biggest advantage is there for the advertisers. Because of the lack of competition you could get targeted traffic for some popular keywords for a fraction of the cost of using Adwords. Creating and tracking ad campaigns is also relatively easy making it possible to for someone with decent intelligence levels. A must join programs if you are an advertiser targeting the Sri Lankan market. Join Geegain now.