I started working with ChaCha the 7th of June, according to the site, but of course there was about a week where I was incapable of working as I had to wait for my test results (more on that later). Either way, you realize that I've earned over $800, and have received almost $700 of what I've earned just since starting at the site that little while ago! But before you fall off your seat and start stuttering for a link (if you're not already googling now), listen up because ChaCha requires WORK.
Not hard work, but work nonetheless. Allow me to explain from the beginning.
ChaCha is a txt based question and answer service. You basically call the number (1-800-2ChaCha) or txt it (242242) and then ask your question. As a customer, you'd get a turn around fairly quickly and get the answer to whatever question it is, anything from what type of car you should buy to questions about your sexuality. You can also ask for jokes and dating or weight loss tips or ideas and the like. If you need a business address or a weather report, just ask for it and you'll get a very quick answer as these are specially built into the system. The service is free aside from standard txt messaging fees, so you should try them out.
But all this isn't what is (potentially) getting you money. What gets you money is behind the scenes, working as guide and answering these questions.
There are four different guide roles at present: (Transcriber>)Expediter>Generalist and Specialist. I listed them in that way because that's the basic food chain for a query that is txted/called in to ChaCha. A transcriber will listen to a voice query and transcribe it(type it up) and then that will be sent to an expediter, whose job it is to edit and clean up any query and make them look a little prettier, and answer opinion based or special questions, and categorize a query, and finally, the question will be passed off to the generalist and specialist, who are required to research the question and provide an answer with a source- who it goes to depends on the question; specialists, as the name implies, specialize in a field, and generalists are more general knowledge and can handle many different types of queries.
I am currently a Transcriber/Expediter. So sometimes I'll get a voice query that I will have to transcribe, and other times I'll get an expediting question that I'll need to succinct and make all pretty before it's sent out.
But wait Broke Affiliate, this doesn't sound too hard! Ah, you are indeed right my invisible commenter! The job itself isn't difficult, but it can still be rough for the same reason as any other job: the grind.
The guides each have a different pay grade- Expediters get $0.03 per query they answer, Transcribers get paid $0.04, Generalists and Specialists get at least $0.10, but can get up to $0.20 with high quality answers being consistently given out.
And yes, those numbers are right. Keep in mind that even if it's just three cents if you become an expediter, you're doing a job that usually takes 10-15 seconds, so you can get 3 done per minute, and 33 done in 11 minutes. Getting 60 minutes of non stop questions (which happens sometimes, mostly at night) can net you around $6 an hour. Pretty good since you can do it whenver from the comfort of your home. If nothing else, you're saving some gas money assuming you have a "regular" minimum wage paying job. You just have to grind through that hour.
The reason I said earlier that ChaCha is a little like both affiliate marketing programs and like get paid to sites is because you actively do things like with get paid to sites to get money, but you make far more from consistent work with it. If you had the patience and time to work it like a regular job, then it really would be a good replacement for someone working at, say, McDonald's; you wouldn't have to drive to work, could go off and on for two hours throughout the day, and 8 hours at my average rate of pay ($5.50) is almost $45. That's $1000 a month (with weekends off; 1350 if you literally work every day). Of course, things will vary; you won't neccesarily get paid as much, or you could get paid more. You choose your hours and effort, but even just trying for two hours and getting $10 a day nets you around $300 per month. It's not passive, but it certainly is great.
Now I'm betting you want to know how I got the gig, right? No? Well I'm going to tell you anyway! When you sign up to become a ChaCha Guide to answer questions, you are started off with a general knowledge kind of test. It never outright says you can't use a search engine to find the answers, so I used google for some questions. That test is nothing compared to the actual readiness test, but more on that later.
After taking that test, you'll get a pass or fail, and then a message from the people at ChaCha. Next you'll be given a page that requests you fill out your W9 tax form. From there you are fully registered and ready to start! Or at least study! The studying depends on the guide role you choose- Expediters learn how to succinct a question correctly and how to use available quick answers and the correct guide behavior, among other things, and Transcribers learn the same, but also how to work the video player and all. There are a number of vidoes in the "Knowledge Base", as ChaCha calls it, to teach you these things. Then it's off to get hired by taking the readiness test!
The readiness test is the final obstacle standing in the way of guideship for you. It's basically a simulation of what you'll actually be doing for your guide role. After the test, you'll have to wait a while, as a mentioned earlier, before you can start work while they manually grade you and get you your results.
But all of this is pointless if you weren't given any avenue to work, right? Well, unfortunately, ChaCha is very similar to a real job. They're not always hiring. You can't jump on now, but in the near future they'll probably be opening up for guides again. When they do, pay a visit to ChaCha's site for hiring at
http://becomeaguide.chacha.com/
And please enter my email so I can make 10% of what you make (not deducted from your account, just added to my own). You don't have to, of course, but just in case you want to, please put in bmassey120@live.com when you sign up.
Well, this is basically how I make consistent, reliable cash online for now. Hopefully it'll become one of those things I do because it's fun later on, after I've done more affiliate marketing and the like, but for now, it's to get by.
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