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How to Make Money Online Crowdsourcing

I make money on some of the products and services I mention on Thinking Frugal through affiliate relationships. I never endorse a product or service unless I believe it will benefit my readers.

If you are looking for a relatively easy way to make extra cash from home, crowdsourcing is it.

Crowdsourcing is a way to earn money working from home, but it’s not like a full-time job. It is only a way to make some extra cash.

If you’ve never worked at home before, it’s an excellent way to get your feet wet working independently and gaining skills you will need for a remote job.

The sites listed below are free to join. As soon as you sign up, you can start accepting tasks. You can also log on and off and work when you want, any time of the day or night, providing there are tasks available.

What is Crowdsourcing?

Crowdsourcing is the practice of taking questions or issues and putting them to a group of people to solve. It’s best used when you have a problem that requires a lot of brainpower. It’s best applied when trying to innovate in new ways.  

Crowdsourcing is an old idea, but it has become more popular with the rise of the Internet and smartphones. Since people are more connected than ever online, crowdsourcing is easier to do.

How Crowdsourcing Works

Crowdsourcing is a helpful tool and has become essential for businesses to solve problems.  

It has allowed many businesses to scale at an unprecedented rate. The practice has become so common that it is now transforming entire industries.  

In order to crowdsource effectively, a business must first break up a larger project into distinct micro-tasks. These micro-tasks must be very small and achievable, and the workers completing them should be allowed to work on them as they see fit. 

The crowdsourcing jobs listed here are micro-tasks that pay a few cents per task. Each micro-task only takes a minute or two to complete, so you can quickly navigate on to the next after you finish one task.  

Once you complete the task, the payment is applied to your account, and you can then transfer the money to your bank account or PayPal account. 

Types of Crowdsourcing Tasks

Crowdsourcing tasks can include transcribing audio or video files, recording and submitting videos, identifying items on an image, short data entry tasks, collecting email addresses, and summarizing short write-ups.

Tools Needed for Crowdsourcing Work

You will need a personal computer or a laptop for all these micro-jobs along with high-speed internet service. Since all tasks differ, the exact tools you will need will depend on the task. 

Other tools you may need include:

For transcription work, a foot pedal allows you to easily control the pausing and rewinding of a file by not having to remove your hands from the keyboard.

A foot pedal isn’t a requirement, but it definitely cuts down the time of transcribing a file.

For some tasks such as transcription, you need to make sure you have a high-quality headset to hear the speaker clearly, so you can document exactly what they say. 

Also, if you are testing websites or apps, some of the tests will require a verbal response, and you will need to speak clearly into the microphone.

Some tasks may require you to submit a video, so you will need to have a webcam. 

You should have a good set of computer speakers. You may need to listen to instructions for a task and may not be able to hear it clearly through your headset or turn the volume up enough. 

Also, by having speakers, you won’t need to constantly wear a headset.

General Crowdsourcing Information

Tasks will have an area where you can view a description of what the task is requesting, along with a preview. You should read the description carefully and understand the instructions before accepting it.

If you accept a task and realize you don’t want to work on it, make sure you return it to the queue for someone else. 

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Desk with keyboard, notebook, cell phone, and flowers

Best Crowdsourcing Websites

Amazon Mechanical Turk  

Amazon Mechanical Turk is an online crowdsourcing site that connects businesses and developers with a large, diverse, and qualified virtual workforce.

Tasks with Mturk are called HITs for “human intelligence tasks.” All money you earn from Mturk goes into your Amazon Payments account, where you can either choose an Amazon gift card or transfer it to your bank account.

MTurk is the most common and well-known crowdsourcing site, and there is a lot of helpful information available on the web to help micro-workers. There’s also a Chrome browser extension for MTurk, which you can download here.

Clickworker

Clickworker is a great website to find legitimate micro-jobs. It’s available to everyone in the world, and you can get started for free. 

After you have signed up for Clickworker, you will be required to take an assessment in order for them to match your skills to tasks.  

Tasks completed on the Clickworker platform are payable after seven days. Tasks that are completed through a third-party site are payable after 28 days. All payments are made through Payoneer or PayPal.

JobBoy  

JobBoy is a crowdsourcing platform that offers a collection of micro-tasks that include things like signing up for websites, downloading and reviewing mobile apps, and filling out forms.  

When you complete a task with JobBoy, a job poster has 48 hours to review and either accept or reject it.  

You can withdraw your money when you have at least $10 accumulated in your account.

Microworkers

Microworkers is a crowdsourcing platform for micro-jobs. It’s like Amazon Mechanical Turk, and it has thousands of jobs that you can do online. 

When you create a Microworkers account, you can earn money by doing micro jobs available for you. You can perform jobs anytime, and unlike Mturk, there is no limit to how many jobs you can accept.   

If you have any special skills, you can include them in their predefined group of workers where you can be offered special jobs and a chance to earn more money.  

Once you complete a task, it will be reviewed by the job poster. The job poster will rate the task as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory, and you will receive money based on that rating.

RapidWorkers

If you are new to micro-jobs or have minimal experience, you may want to start with RapidWorkers. It’s an excellent place to build your skills because the tasks are easy and consistent. There are simple tasks like creating a Gmail account, uploading pictures on Instagram, and following a YouTube channel.   

You can use PayPal or Skrill to get your earnings. But the bad news is that you’ll be subject to 6% PayPal fees or 8% Skrill fees when you cash out. To withdraw, you need at least $8 in your account.

Picoworkers

Picoworkers is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. It’s a freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace that connects freelancers with clients who have available micro-jobs.

Some of the micro-tasks on Picoworkers include writing short articles, completing surveys, testing mobile apps, and writing short reviews.

You get paid immediately after the task is reviewed and approved. You don’t have to wait a month or more to get paid like other opportunities.

 

Final Thoughts

These are the best sites to make money through crowdsourcing. You can supplement your income by making some pocket money. Use these micro job sites to make money in your spare time.

But, keep in mind these sites are only for making extra money and are not meant to be a full-time income.  

And, after you get skilled at doing micro-tasks, you can always sign up for more than one of these companies, that way, you’ll have a better chance of always having work.

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