Top 5 Work At Home Opportunities For 2012

What better time to search for work at home opportunities than now?! Maybe 2012 can finally be a year for legitimate telecommuting, (working from home) success for all of you. After all, this is part of the year for all those infamous resolutions that most of us fail to keep. Don't worry I'm not afraid to admit that I'm guilty of it too!

You swear up and down that you'll stop drinking, smoking, “cussing” or will lose weight. But by the next morning you've already broken half if not all of your resolutions! (Yes, Guilty conscience is speaking. LOL) But why cry over spilled milk? It's a brand new year and it means a brand new start. If you think about it, every day is a brand new start. So keep that in mind if you do end up falling off some of your resolutions this year. Don't just call it quits because you messed up a bit.

This year I prefer to call my resolutions, “goals.” It has more of a business ring to it and I tend to be very focused about the business of “stacking green paper”. So I'm hoping labeling resolutions as goals will make me less inclined to break them. Hey, you “gotta” do what you “gotta” to motivate yourself to succeed, right?

So with that in mind, 2012 could very well be YOUR successful money making year. Now more than ever there are many ways to work from home, provided you are open minded and willing to step out your comfort zone or box. Now, I really don't want to overwhelm you with all the possibilities. So today we are going to concentrate on the top 5 legit ways you can make money from home.

* Social Media Expert

Unless you've been living under a rock, you should be aware that Twitter and FaceBook are 2 of the most growing trends of social media today. The big celebrities, plus everyone and their mother are using Facebook at this point. But not every business knows how to create a fanpage, get fans, keep them engaged and tie it into a business. You can be the key that fills the void for a given business or individual looking to ride this Facebook and Twitter trend. If you notice a store or a company you frequent doesn't have a Facebook or Twitter presence, you can ask them why don't they have one? Then offer to help them create one. If you're a regular at their establishment they may be more inclined to work with you. Or let's on in a situation they do have a presence and you see they aren't making good use of it, you can offer some initial suggestions and feedback. Then let them know you'd be happy to share additional ideas if they're willing to hire you as a consultant. So there are a lot of ways to skin this cat if you're creative. By the way, I've seen some social media work at home jobs on our jobs page, if you want to go that route. So you have many options.

* Writer

This is pretty much a no brainer. Why do we all visits websites? It's usually because they have content we want or need. And who has to write this content? Well if you're open minded and not a “scaredy cat” it could be you! Writing is a basket-friendly work at home opportunity. So if you currently have writing in your multiple streams of income and you are making you money with it, then you're on the right track! Think about it, there are so many type of paid writing gigs which include: article writing, blog posting, website reviews, product reviews, website copy, resumes, cover letters, eBooks, reports and much more. And unlike the offline world which may require that you have some “super duper English Degree” (see that wouldn't fly in the offline world. lol), You don't have to be perfect or an English major to write online! (Journalist and English Majors can roll there eyes here.)

Folks on the web like conversational writing (depending on the niche)! And for the most part, they can deal with some grammatical errors here and there. I'm a living example of this. My articles are littered with grammatical and spelling errors. You probably spotted quite a few already. But I still earn a decent living with my blogs and I think it's because people can relate to me and the flaws I leave out for all the world to see. But more importantly it's because I'm providing value and solutions to their work at home problems. As long as you can help people solve their problems or entertain them with you're writing, they'll be happy! So if you've been scared to take advantage of this wonderful and readily available opportunity, Get over it in 2012! The internet isn't going anywhere. Webpages are going to be created and businesses will need people to populate them with content! Don't miss out on that gold mine because of insecurities! Otherwise you're leaving money on the table for others to pick up. Just in case you think I'm full of it, check out all the writing work from hom jobs we have listed on our jobs page.

* Virtual Assistant

It's another potential big money maker. The Internet houses more and more online businesses every day. And you can bet that many of these businesses often times fall short to get everything done on any given day. That's where a virtual assistant comes in. Ahh, did you see that light bulb yet?? If you have basic computer skills, Internet search skills, and you are awesome at multitasking, then you are an excellent candidate for this particular opportunity. You can definitely work for more than one business. How much money you make is in your hands. I personally have several VAs that handle various tasks on my websites such as answering your emails, posting jobs, research, writing, technical support, etc. Without my wonderful team, I was doing all this on my own. And trust me it was cool initially when I didn't have a lot of visitors and a family. But eventually that all changed and I needed more help so I could have better balance and focus on the activities that maximized my time and income. So hiring VAs literally made cents for me and them! I'm one example of the need for virtual assistant and there are many more. There may not be a lot of VA type of jobs per se. You might have to create it on your own. We wrote about this in the past here. So give that article a look if this appeals to you.

* Customer Service Rep

If you are a people person, love talking on the phone, have a quiet work environment, are as patient as hell and enjoy clicking that send button in your inbox, then a customer service rep opportunity might be a good fit for you. There are so many virtual call centers that this opportunity is always a favorite and highly recommended in this industry when folks are looking for legitimate work at home opportunities. It's probably one of the few non-business options that can earn you some decent money. But it's not right for everyone especially if you're a hermit or have one or more rug rats running around screaming at the top of their lungs just because they can. Of course I say this lovingly as I have my own. We've reviewed several virtual call center opportunities here, we also have a lot of call center jobs here. So it's definitely a field that is in demand and will probably stay that way for a while. So if you have the right office set up and personality, it's something you should explore in 2012 especially because it's one of the highest paying legitimate types of work at home opportunities.

* Affiliate Marketer

If you've read my blog long enough, you know this is how I earn a full time income that supports my whole family (See how I learned to this here). However it didn't happen over night and it requires a couple of things. You have to be business minded, willing to invest time and money in yourself. But more importantly, you need to be patient! Affiliate marketing is an ever green business because companies are always going to need to make more sales, get more visitors or leads. Fortunately for us they're happy to pay us to help them do this as affiliates. As long as you have the right attitude and training, anyone can become a successful affiliate marketer. You don't need to have a marketing degree or experience. I sure didn't. You just need to have the drive, training and delayed gratification to make this business work.

Even with all the changes that happens in this industry, affiliate marketers will always have work so long as websites and companies are looking for sales or leads. So it's definitely something to consider. I personally always recommend that you have another source of income coming in as you're trying to find your way around this business. It makes it less stressful and you can take your time learning the ins and outs without worrying that you're about to be homeless or starve to death. So if you're interested, read the following two articles to help you determine if this is the right option for you and how to get started.

Top 5 Reasons Affiliates Fail & How To Avoid It.

Top 10 Reasons To Avoid Affiliate Marketing!

I know at first glance these articles don't seem like good choices for someone that is interested in this business. But when you read them, I'm sure you'll see why I recommend them to anyone thinking of getting into this industry.

That's all folks!

So there you have it, my opinion of the top 5 work at home opportunities for 2012. You most certainly will have to rely on your particular skill sets, and your likes and dislikes to make an informed decision on what is right for you. So what do you think of the list? Do you disagree? What would you add or get rid of? I'm always game to hear your feedback. So feel free to chime in below!

Either way, best of luck and wishes to you in your work at home endeavors in 2012! Make it your best year yet! We'll try to do our part by giving you the information you need with articles like this. So be sure you are a subscriber by clicking here or catching up with us on our Facebook fanpage. Thanks for the support in 2011 and thanks in advance for the support in 2012! Shout out in advance to the haters, negative nancies and complainers that will no doubt bitch and moan about the various little ways to earn money that I'll continue to provide in 2012. Eddy loves you too. 😉