Get Paid to Give Advice Online: Realistic Options for Making Money from Home

There is an endless number of side hustle ideas and ways to make money online. You can sell your old things, work as a virtual assistant, take on part-time transcription work, or complete surveys and simple tasks all for some extra cash. As well as all this, you could also get paid to give advice online.

If you’re looking for flexible work that allows you to earn money from the comfort of your own home, this might be an excellent opportunity for you.

You might have been told by friends that you’re excellent at problem-solving and advising them on their personal situations, or you might have professional experience in customer service and the handling of questions. You might just like the idea of helping people and earning yourself some extra cash in the process. Whatever your reasoning for looking into online advisor jobs, here you’ll find all of the information you could need when deciding whether this is a viable option for you.

Firstly, we’ll look at whether or not this is a legitimate earning opportunity and the logistics of earning money from giving advice online. We’ll go on to consider the opportunities out there for online advisors, enabling you to decide which option is best for you and your lifestyle or expertise.

Is Giving Advice Online a Legit Way of Making Money?

In short, yes. There are plenty of people out there earning decent money from dishing out online advice. The opportunities vary considerably, with some offering more flexibility, more money, or more stability than others. The kind of work that you choose to take on really depends on your individual circumstances.

Making money online is possible for anyone with access to the internet, but it’s important to be realistic in your expectations when heading into online work. Often, the pay can be pretty minimal, especially if you’re just starting out. Again, this depends on the specific job and its requirements.

If you have proven experience in this field, you might be able to gain work with an established company looking to hire remote employees. But if you have no prior experience and simply want to monetize your skills, there are also earning opportunities available to you. It might be best to approach this as a nice little boost to your regular earnings and a great second stream of income, rather than a route to quit your day job and getting rich quickly over the internet.

How To Make Money By Giving Online Advice

Here, we’ll look into the ways in which you could begin making money for giving advice online. There are four main routes you might choose to go down:

• Starting your own advice blog
• Becoming a certified counselor
• Joining a company as an online customer service assistant
• Working as an online advice giver for one of the listed companies.

The work will differ from job to job, but each of these roles involves offering advice and assistance to members of the public. Which route you choose to take will depend on how much you’re willing to put in, and what you hope to get out of the role. Let’s take a look at each one in more detail.

1. Start a Blog

Starting your own advice blog is a great way of putting your skills to good use. As well as problem-solving and advisory skills, managing a blog will also allow you to develop your communication, technical, writing, and social skills.

Managing your own blog also allows you full control over its content and the genres you want to specialize in. You might be particularly skilled in offering advice on health and wellness; technology; lifestyle; parenting; or any other area of expertise, all of which can be covered in your blog.

Nowadays, if people need advice or assistance in a certain area, the first place they look is the internet. Gone are the days of looking to newspaper and magazine columns for advice. People want answers instantly and at the touch of a button; that is exactly what a blog provides.

Once you’ve built up an audience, it’s also a great way of socializing, making new friends, and sharing the knowledge you have accumulated throughout your life. Running a blog can be highly rewarding and a lot of fun.

(For step-by-step instructions on setting up a blog, please see How to Start a Blog.)

But is it possible to make money in this way? Yes – Absolutely.

There are a number of ways that bloggers make money:

• Advertising revenue
• Affiliate programs
• Sponsored content
• Selling products
• Offering services

Advertising revenue and affiliate links are likely to be some of your biggest earners once you gather a decent audience.

Starting a blog is a great, fun way of making money from giving online advice, but it takes time and dedication and is very unlikely to get you a quick paycheck. The bloggers who are successful will have a long-term approach toward building a highly-profitable business. If you’re willing to take the slow road and put the effort in to building your audience and creating a high-quality, popular blog, this could be a great option for you.

2. Become a Certified Counselor or Therapist

Another slow burner, but an equally legitimate earning opportunity; if you’re truly passionate about giving advice and helping people, you could consider training to become a professional counselor or therapist.

Many counselors and therapists carry out their appointments online and never actually meet clients face-to-face, so this is definitely a legit way of giving advice online and making considerable money from it.

The downside, of course, is that there are undoubtedly going to be expenses incurred throughout the training process. Gaining professional qualifications in these fields can be extremely expensive and also very lengthy processes, particularly if you’re doing so alongside other work or commitments. However, the upside is that the earning potential for this kind of work is generally very high.

If you’re looking for a definite change in your career path, it might be worth considering this route, however, if you’re simply looking to make some extra money for helping people out with your advice, this probably isn’t the option for you.

3. Provide Online Customer Service

A large part of any customer service job is likely to involve elements of assisting customers by offering advice and solutions to their problems and questions. This might be over the phone, via email, or online messaging, or live online chat services. Often, this kind of work is advertised as entry-level, meaning no prior experience or formal qualifications are needed. Listed below are some prominent companies that frequently hire online customer service assistants or advisors.

Apple

Apple currently hires remote customer advisors and technical support officers to assist their customers with any queries or issues they are facing. As an Apple At Home Advisor, you will be responsible for responding to live-chat messages and phone calls from customers and helping to resolve any problems they might be having with their Apple products or experience.

Apple At Home Advisors are required to have at least two years of proven experience in a customer service or tech support role, and will also need excellent knowledge of Apple products and their policies. Apple also carries out several background checks on all employees and lists excellent typing and communication skills as essential to the applicants’ success.

If your application is successful, you could work as an official Apple employee on a part-time or full-time basis. All employees receive full benefits as well as an iMac, headset, and the reimbursement of all internet usage incurred through the work. This is a great opportunity for those with the required experience and skill set.

The work begins at around $10 per hour and can go up to as much as $25 for those with extensive experience.

Uber

As one of the fastest-growing companies of the past decade, it makes sense that Uber outsources much of its customer support services to remote workers. Currently, Uber has employees based all over the globe, many of whom specialize in customer support and advising customers on any queries or problems they may be having with the service provided by Uber.

The official role is titled Uber Community Support Rep and will require you to respond to customer’s concerns and queries. To succeed in the job, you’ll need great communication, problem-solving, and writing skills, and well as a high level of professionalism and the ability to use your initiative. You’ll also need an excellent knowledge of the services provided by Uber and their policies, all of which will be provided through their training programs.

The company doesn’t publicly disclose how much Uber Customer Support Reps are paid. However, as an official employee of Uber, you’ll receive full benefits including sick pay, holiday pay, and rates that meet or exceed your local minimum wage requirements.

Amazon

Remote chat operators are hired by Amazon to take on customer service and advisory roles. The jobs will involve dealing with customer queries and offering advice or resolutions to their problems or questions.

To apply, you will need some experience in a similar field. Amazon asks that all applicants have at least six months of proven experience in a customer-facing role and you will also be asked to commit to working at least twenty hours per week – although this is likely to increase dramatically during busy periods.

The rates of pay begin at around $15 per hour, which is pretty reasonable, but the work can be highly demanding and requires you to operate at a fast-pace.

If you’re interested in applying, the Amazon careers page is the place to find out all about current or upcoming employment opportunities.

Concentrix

Concentrix offers work in a number of customer service areas. You could specialize in technical support, handling customer queries, complaints, or sales. Each of these roles involves offering advice and assistance to potential clients or existing customers.

Currently, Concentrix hires remote workers from all over the United States, Canada, and across much of Europe. Most of the jobs are geared towards English-speakers, although they also periodically advertise roles specifically for non-English speakers. They offer both full and part-time work opportunities and the pay is reasonable. Rates begin at around $10 per hour but are likely to increase depending on your experience level.

To gain work with Concentrix, you will need some proven experience in customer service or a similar role. You’ll also need the equivalent of a high school diploma. The job comes with free ongoing training programs and benefits such as sick pay and holiday pay.

For more details or to apply, all you need to do is head to their website and check out their current job opportunities.

UpWork

UpWork is a platform through which freelancers from all backgrounds, professions, and locations can gain paid work. One of the most sought-after services on the site is customer service or assistance.

Related: Freelancing Websites Like Upwork

If you’re especially skilled in tech support, you could gain work offering advice to clients or their customers on their technical needs or problems.

If general customer support is more your thing, you might be hired by a client or company to provide advice and assistance to their customers.

Alternatively, you could act as a consultant to a business or client, drawing on your own professional experience to advise them and assist them in growing their business successfully.

Each of these services is listed on UpWork. Through the site, clients can post job adverts, providing some basic information about the role, its requirements, and the type of work you will undertake. As a freelancer, you’re then able to submit a job proposal for said role. You can propose your own rates of pay, the speed at which you can complete the project, and any other information about yourself and your experience that you feel is relevant.

While UpWork can be highly competitive, with a huge number of freelancers using the platform to find work, there are opportunities available to freelancers from all backgrounds. If you have minimal experience, look first for entry-level jobs. You might need to work for less money to start off with, but once you have some experience and good reviews under your belt, you can begin to increase your rates.

4. Become an Online Advisor

If a general customer service role doesn’t sound like the right fit for you, there are also a range of companies that hire specialist online advisors. This kind of work tends to be more sociable, focused on helping the client and using your own initiative and knowledge, rather than adhering to a specific script or guide.

The work can come with a good amount of personal responsibility, given that people will be coming to you for advice on their real-life problems, so it’s important to approach this work with care, professionalism, and courtesy. Here are some of the leading companies currently employing online advisors:

Just Answer

Just Answer is the leading website in this category. Customers can use the website to ask just about any question on a wide range of topics, and experts will reply promptly with an answer to that specific question.

As an expert, you’ll be able to set your own hours and work whenever, wherever you like. You can also work as much or as little as you want.

The application process requires you to provide verification for your expertise, such as licenses or certifications. You’ll also need to pass a background check.

Once you’ve been approved, you can begin answering questions and earning money right away. You’ll also have the freedom to choose which questions you answer.

According to Just Answer, you can earn an average of $2,000 – $7,000 per month.

Live Advice

If general life guidance and financial advice fall within your area of expertise, Live Advice might be a great option for you.

Live Advice enables expert advice-givers to offer advice to customers from all over the world. You’re free to set your own hourly rates, and there are millions of customers currently using the site. The advice will be given over the phone, with you calling customers to offer them your expert advice.

To begin working for Live Advice, you will need to set up an account on their website and establish your rate of pay. Live Advice will handle the administrative side of things, including billing the clients and the handling of sensitive customer details.

Live Person

As a Live Person Advisor, you will answer questions put forward by customers from all over the world.

Live Person hires experts in a number of professional fields, from tech to business to finances and everything in between. It allows experts to connect with those looking for advice or assistance.

Once you’re signed up with Live Person and your account has been approved, the Live Person site will begin automatically matching you with relevant questions, ready for you to answer.

Bit Wine

If you enjoy the social aspect of helping people and offering advice, video chat can be a great medium through which this can be achieved. Bit Wine specializes in allowing advisors and clients to connect via video chat. The advice offered through Bit Wine is primarily in the psychic field, so a little more specialist than some of the other sites listed here.

If you have expertise in any psychic areas such as astrology, tarot card reading, palmistry, or the telling of futures, you could find work offering this service through Bit Wine.

With Bit Wine, you’re free to set your own working schedule and your payment rates will depend on your level of expertise. Often customers will request the same advisor time and time again if they feel they are a good match, so it’s possible to build professional ongoing relationships with Bit Wine.

Keen

Much like Bit Wine, Keen also specializes in offering psychic advice and guidance. The advice is given over the telephone, with Keen customers calling you directly to seek out advice in a particular area.

It’s thought that Keen is one of the highest paying sites of its kind, with advisors setting their own per-minute rates of pay. The Keen website also states that you will receive 62% revenue for each phone call you receive from a client looking for in-depth advice.

Payments are made via PayPal or direct bank transfers.

Conclusion

It is clear that there are multiple ways of capitalizing on your problem solving, advice-giving, and communication skills through online advisory work. Whether you choose to start your own blog, train to become a professional counselor, take on a customer service role, or apply for work as an online advice giver, the work is likely to be challenging, engaging, and extremely rewarding.

As we have seen, the earning potential for this kind of work varies considerably depending on the specific role and your own experience. This might not offer you a get-rich-quick scheme and might turn out to be a long-term strategy, taking months or years to develop a client group or audience and receive your first paycheck. All of this needs to be taken into account when considering which route you will take in an effort to make money from giving advice.

Use the information provided here to decide which option best suits your expertise, interests and goals. If you’re willing to put in the work, there is no reason that you can’t earn money from giving advice to people online.