by Ruth Belena

Created on: November 24, 2008   Last Updated: January 23, 2010

Data entry sites can be very misleading. There are some online scams that will take your money but never pay you, and there are data entry ads that offer unrealistic opportunities for earning, but there are some websites that provide genuine resources to help you find data entry work.

◊ Data entry websites that ask for a fee.

Data entry sites that claim to pay you for posting ads, filling in forms, transcribing data, creating reports, and other types of work, will offer a good rate of pay rate, but before you can earn anything they require you to pay them a one-off registration fee. Unfortunately some of these sites have no intention of paying for the work you do. They might look genuine, and the work could be real, but after several weeks, when you are due to be paid, you find your account has been suspended, and you are told you have not met the requirements for payout.

• Avoid any website that requires you to pay a fee so you can work for them.

◊ Commission-based data entry websites

Another type of data entry work would seem to be an easy way to make money. All the website asks is that you fill out some forms, with data they provide. You simply copy and paste this information and submit the forms online. These sites suggest you can expect between $30 and $50 for each form you submit, but this is misleading because what you are actually required to do is to advertise on behalf of the site and to sell their products. The amounts they say you will earn are commission payments that you will only receive when a sale is generated from the advertising you place online.

When you join one of these data entry websites, you will be competing for sales against everyone else who has signed up at the same site. You will have very little chance of making money because free advertising does not usually bring any results.

• If you use other methods of advertising that require you to make a payment, you could spend more on advertising than you earn in commission payments.

◊ Genuine data entry work.

There are sites that will pay when you place free advertising on their behalf. You need to have a Craigslist account, and then you can start placing up to three ads a day. The data entry site will provide you with advertising copy and will pay you by Paypal, when you have earned the minimum payout amount. You need to post the exact same wording to Craigslist, or your account at the data entry site could be closed.

There also websites offering genuine data entry jobs for freelance workers. Genuine companies will post their assignments and hire people to work part-time. Employers and prospective workers are matched at the site, and when you submit your application you will be required to state your rate of pay and to provide details of your work experience. You will be competing for jobs against other freelance workers, and only after you are accepted by a company, and have completed the work, can you send an invoice requesting payment for the work you have done.

• Some freelance job sites require you to pay a membership fee. These websites do offer a genuine service, but you should be aware that there is no guarantee of getting regular data entry work.

Before signing up to any data entry site, you should try to find out which ones are genuine. One way to do this is to search for forums about work at home and data entry jobs. Visit a few forums to read what people are posting, and you should be able to find out whether or not a data entry program is genuine, and which data entry websites are scams.

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