by JQ Adams

Created on: January 23, 2009

Everywhere you look online there are advertisements for working at home: work at home moms, home-based businesses, direct sales, paid-to-read emails- you name it, it's out there. The trouble is, there are many advertisements that give false hope and worse- take your hard earned money and never deliver what they say they will.

That being said, there are numerous ways to earn a few dollars with your computer. In fact, I like to think of my computer as my personal, mini-ATM. While I can't swipe a card on the side and withdraw cash- I earn my living entirely on my computer and over the internet. If you're looking to supplement your income with your computer, here are some ideas of what you can do to get started:

Blog: starting a blog isn't very difficult. There are hundreds of programs that let you create a blog in just a few seconds, and you don't need to have html knowledge for the majority of them. You can monetize the blog using something like adsense, or you could write product reviews and have affiliate links to the products that earn you a commission whenever anyone shops from your links.

Freelance Auction Sites: if you have time and are willing to "bid" for work, you could use one of the many freelance auction sites like getafreelancer.com, rentacoder.com, or guru.com. On these sites, people list work they have available, and then anyone who is interested in doing the work can place their "bid" (how much they would expect to be paid to complete the work). The buyers select someone to complete the work from all of the bids they receive.

Become a Writer: online, words rule! Just about all websites require text of some kind. While it is very difficult to break into the world of book publishing and become an author- it is not all that difficult to become an online writer. Visit craigslist.com and search listings for writers- you'll be amazed at how many websites are in need of writers to create their website content, newsletters, and articles.

Join Affiliate Programs: many companies- both large and small- offer affiliate programs. When you become an affiliate of someone else's products or services, you refer people to the sites and if the people you refer purchase something, you get a commission.

These are just a few ways you can turn your computer into a Mini-ATM- do some research and you will uncover many other ways that you can do part time work for some extra cash.

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