Data entry jobs are some of the most popular freelancing jobs on the net. There’s an ever-flowing stream of new jobs and freelancers looking to take them up are just as many. But are these people making enough money to support a comfortable life doing data entry? A significant portion of these freelancers actually makes good money while the rest – the majority - don’t. You can be part of the group that ends up making money doing data entry but you have to go about it the right way. This post is going to teach you how to really make money doing data entry.

If you are new to the topic of data entry jobs as a source of income, you are probably wondering what it is all about. Data entry is a very broad area and primarily encompasses typing jobs. Some of the things people working in data entry to include:

1. Transcribing audio and video files such as interviews and podcasts
2. Feeding raw data into spreadsheets
3. Filling forms
4. Reformatting written information
5. Collecting customer information and putting them into one document
6. Doing online research and compiling the findings
7. Entering captcha
8. Copy and pasting
9. Filling in survey forms
10. Describing images
11. Processing and grouping emails.

Clearly, You Should Avoid Some Jobs

From the examples given above, it is clear why some people succeed with data entry jobs while others just get by. As a rule of thumb, you will be paid based on the value you create. Some data entry jobs just don’t create enough value to warrant handsome remuneration. Entering captchas and doing copy pasting can be done by pretty much anyone with a computer. If you are looking to make money doing data entry and are competing for such jobs, you are basically in a race to the bottom.

The people who are really making money doing data entry put their energies into the projects that are of higher relative value to clients such as transcribing audio and video files, collecting customer information, doing online research and compiling the findings, filling in survey forms, and feeding important business data into spreadsheets.

Your contribution to the value chain should be clear for you to have a chance at making a decent amount of money. The people you work with will also determine the kinds of jobs you get. If you want consistent work as a freelancer doing data entry while making decent money in the process, work with the following people:

Creators with Their Own Platform

Content is King and great Content requires a lot of work.  That's where you come in.   Creators with their own platform include podcasters and show hosts who want their audio files to be transcribed, bloggers who want the posts they have written to be formatted and published, and video creators who want subtitles for their content, among others.

Doing this puts you in a prime position to make money doing data entry because:

1. You won’t be doing uninspiring low-quality mechanical work
2. It will be clear from the onset what your value is and the chances of the creator paying you peanuts are very low
3. These creators produce content consistently thereby ensuring that you always have something to work on even if you have just a few clients.

The last point is very important. If you can’t get consistent work from the people you are working with as a freelancer, it will be very hard to make enough money to warrant the effort. This is one of the main reasons I recommend you work with agencies as well.

Agencies

Most of the high-quality data entry jobs being offered on the net aren’t being offered as standalone assignments by the companies they benefit. Usually, a company assigns someone (an agency in our case) a project and a portion of the project involves data entry work.

It is the job of the people the project has been assigned to decide whether to do the data entry portion of the job themselves or assign it to someone else. They usually end up outsourcing the task since data entry is repetitive and is often not their core mandate. It is just one of the mechanical tasks that need to be done to push the project forward.

By working with an agency that handles lots of projects, you put yourself in a position to land lots of high-quality data entry jobs. Most agencies will work with you as an independent contractor and not as a full-time employee. You can comfortably maintain your position as a freelancer while working with an agency.

 

Where to Look for Data Entry Jobs

Microtask Sites

If you want to get started fast and get a feel for the industry, you can sign up with one of the popular microtask sites that offer data entry projects. Some of the popular microtask sites you can check out are The Smart Crowd, Microworkers, and Amazon mTurk.

I don’t recommend you stay on any of these sites for long. After gaining some experience and figuring out the kinds of projects you excel at, you should consider doing cold outreach or building a reputation on more established job boards such as UpWork.

Job Boards Such as UpWork

Job boards such as UpWork and Freelancer.com offer online freelancers a chance to connect with employers from all over the world. You can work

with individual business owners or agencies.

Since these sites have features that allow users to build a reputation on the site, landing jobs gets easier with time if you are a good worker. Client feedback for each job completed, response rate (and time) to clients’ queries, portfolio, job history, and Job Success Score are some of the features UpWork has put in place to help you establish credibility on their platform.

Cold Outreach

With a verifiable job history, you can just send a business, agency, or individual an email asking if you can join their team and actually get hired. Since you are working as an independent contractor, the risk on the employer is low as they have the option to drop you if you end up not meeting their expectations.

There are several agencies and individuals that could use a data entry professional. If you saw success on a job board or a microtask site, all you have to do is reverse-engineer the process that ended with you getting an assignment there. A company probably gave someone a project and the person assigned you the data entry part of the project. Your job is to figure out and find people who could be handling similar projects in the said industry and reach out to them.

Getting Results from Cold Outreach

Cold outreach is like doing door to door sales. Most of the people you talk to will not buy what you are selling. Nonetheless, there are things you can do to improve your conversion rate.

Since the cold outreach you will be doing will mainly be through phone or email, you won’t be limited by geography. The number of people you can reach out to is practically limitless. You will definitely find someone who is willing to work with you if you look long enough.

The best way to increase the chances of you getting hired is to have an established online brand. You can leverage the brand you have on sites such as UpWork but it is best you have a googlable presence elsewhere on the net as well. A personal website and a LinkedIn account is a great place to start. On both platforms, post articles that communicate that you are an authority in the area you work in.

Before You Make the Jump

If you are looking to make data entry jobs your full-time job, there are some things you need to consider to give yourself a soft landing after quitting your job. These things also apply if you are retaining your job but are abandoning a second income stream to take up data entry jobs instead.

The important thing to remember is that it is going to take some time before you have enough clients to fill up your schedule. You need to prepare for this reality. The best way you can do this is to start doing data entry while still at your job or while still working on the second income stream you plan to abandon.

You want to get enough clients to support a full-time income while still working at your main job. Will this end up with you getting overwhelmed with the two jobs? Not if you do it correctly. You should employ some tact when choosing the clients you work with during this period. You want to go for clients who have a lot of work to offer but are okay with you doing just a few tasks in the meantime. They should be able to scale up the workload if you ask. Get 3 or so of these clients and build a working relationship with them. Once you make the jump from your job to doing data entry full-time, you can ask them to scale up your workload. Your schedule will fill up in no time and you will have effectively put yourself to earn more than a living wage doing data entry.