by Johnson Temiloluwa | Mar 22, 2022 | Business & Finance
Reading books is fun; getting paid while at it is much more exciting and fun. It’s the 21st century and most people just want to get paid for doing what they love, and even more, doing something you love from the comfort of your home. Do people get paid to read books online? Can you read and get paid in nigeria? The answer is a big yes. How is this possible?
Have you ever read a book and had so much to say about it you could write a full-page opinion about it? Yes? Great! That’s how being paid comes in. You read and get paid in Nigeria by writing a review about it.
You must still be curious, how exactly do you get paid for writing a book review after reading a book? Continue reading and you’ll find out. The trick to getting paid to read books online is book reviewing; this can be done with your voice and your words.
How?
Getting Paid Using Your Words (Writing)
There are websites that are in need of your book review to push sales of their books and for other many reasons. So, regardless of the kind of books you read, there is a site willing to pay you for what you have to say about books that you’ve read.
I’ll share with you 5 real quick sites that you can get paid to read online:
1. Upwork
Like they call themselves, “The world’s marketplace”, lots of “Offer your service and get paid” goes on there. The pay is quite reasonable. Once you keep doing it over time and build a solid portfolio, you have the right to increase your charges.
All you just have to do is register with Upwork, write on your eye-catching bio that giving book reviews is what you do then send proposals for book reviewing job openings that you find.
Read and get paid in Nigeria? Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.
2. Online Book Club
This site’s payment rate is between $5 – $60. The site’s interface is easy to maneuver. You get a free copy of the book you are to review and deliver your review on time to get paid. Quite simple, yeah?
3. New Pages
If your opinion about a book is not too lengthy and is less than 500 words, New Pages is your best bet. New Pages are a portal for bookstores, new and small-scale publishers, and things alike. They are mostly in search of book reviews of about 100 to 200 words. It can be literary magazines or books that you’ve read.
To get a feel of what they are about and how their reviews are, check here.
4. Instaread
Instaread is quite unique out of other sites I have listed so far. They accept summaries. So, if you read a book and can summarize it in not more than 1,500 words, then Instaread is for you. For every summary, you read and get paid in Nigeria $100.
Another notable point for Instaread is that they have an app, you can download from any App Store for a much more personal experience. They have things they need from you before you write.
5. Writerful Books
This is a website where you can get paid for reading books online. You have the chance of picking the book to read and just submitting your review to them. They check and see if it fits their standards, and voila! You get paid.
Their pay is usually around $10 to $50.
Getting Paid Using Your Voice (Reading)
In the same way, you are using your words (by writing) to get paid to read books online, you can also actually read the books with your voice on various platforms and get paid. Exciting, right? Yes, absolutely. It’s a good way to get paid to read books online if you have a good voice for reading.
I’ll share with you platforms where you can use your voice to get paid by reading.
1. ACX
This is one legit platform where you record a book and get paid for it. The first step is creating an account with ACX then uploading samples or your book recordings or talking about the book you’ll like to record for them. If you are approved and they are impressed with your voice, they pick you, and voila, money rolling in and your voice becomes the money bank.
An experienced narrator makes around $160 per hour. Check here for more deets.
2. Voices
This platform has a large coverage of about 160 countries and over 200 languages. Just like ACX, you have to create a profile and upload good audio samples. After which you can move ahead to auditioning for different genres of books you’d like to read for them.
Conclusion
Reading can be made fun in many ways, and getting paid while doing that is a fair price. All of the ways I have explained that help you get paid to read books online are credible, however, make your research and understand each platform’s guideline before pitching.
Reading is fun; you know this already that’s why you want to get paid while doing it. Books that make you smart and the ones that help you find your inner peace are a good selection to read. It might not pay you in cash, but it definitely gives you value.
Happy reading!
FAQs
How exactly can I get paid by reading books online?
By writing or recording reviews about the books you’ve read then, go in search of outlets that need your services and are willing to pay you for them. Quite easy. Another way is having a blog of your own where you post reviews about every book you read.
How much do book readers get paid?
The lowest range to read and get paid in Nigeria is usually $10
How do I create samples of my book reviews?
You can use social media account, post about the books you read daily on your accounts, and once a job offer comes, send the link to your social media account. Also, you can write book reviews for other books you’ve read using Google Docs and compile them in a link. That way, you paste the link when your portfolio or sample is asked for.
This can be done for both voice book reading and word book review.
What is a book review?
A book review is a short piece (usually shorter than the literary piece itself) describing, summarizing, analyzing, or opining on what a book entails and is about.
Can I make a living from getting paid to read books online?
The honest answer is yes. You can make a decent living but don’t quit your day job just yet. It is a good side-pay outlet and higher pay is only guaranteed when expertise has been built over time.
by Johnson Temiloluwa | Mar 7, 2022 | Personal Growth
You probably stumbled on these 25 Dangote quotes that will motivate you, or you are just a fan of wealthy men (like Dangote) and their insights. Then, you are in the right place. Take a seat, get familiar with my tone and let’s get you motivated!
I think it’s safe to say that everyone is definitely going to be psyched to sit with a millionaire,(talk more of a billionaire) get to talk about what ticks their finances, their attitude with money and fame, how they do it, and tips sprinkled here and there. As a side package also, you might fancy being sent on your way with hampers and cash in an envelope, or even a written cheque. At the end of the day, the snacks and food items in the big hamper get exhausted and the money, you probably used to buy yourself new sets of clothes. What remains is the insight that has been shared with you. You might want to put that into practice. You might start to think, “if it worked for them, then I can learn something from it” and trust me, that’s brilliant!
There are gazillions of billionaires, rich and wealthy people but in this article (as you already guessed from the title), I’ll settle on sharing Dangote quotes that will certainly motivate you. Dangote is 64 years old, the chief executive officer of The Dangote Group, and the richest man in Africa. Yes, you saw right. His net worth is about $13.5 billion as of the beginning of this year.
Over the years, he has bagged experience and money, his quotes are definitely something to think about.
Just like our parent’s generation would say, “experience is the best teacher”, people with experience in a sector are the best teachers. They are there to motivate you and me, which is why Dangote’s sayings are one I hold dear to heart as it is filled with experience and motivations.
Before sharing this wealthy man’s sayings, You have found your purpose? But do you have the tenacity of purpose?
Tenacity of Purpose
Tenacity has several synonyms which include; determination, diligence, persistence, doggedness, and more. They all interpret it as never giving up or never stopping at trying.
While purpose is a person’s sense of resolve or determination. A combination of these words equates to being dogged with one’s purpose. If you are struggling with what your purpose is, you should check out these quotes that were made for you to read.
These Dangote quotes that I’ll be sharing with you real soon is a start, a push even, to building your tenacity of purpose.
Let’s go!
25 Dangote Quotes That Will Motivate You
“In the journey to success, tenacity of purpose is supreme.”
“Don’t kill the competition. Competition is healthy for businesses. It keeps you the entrepreneur on your toes.”
“Every morning when I wake up, I make up my mind to solve as many problems before retiring home.”
“Endeavor to work as hard as possible to attain a new aim with each day that comes by. Don’t go to bed until you have achieved something productive.”
“I always make sure I hire people smarter than me.”
“To build a successful business, you must start small and dream big.”
“When you have made it in life, you must give back to those who made you.”
“In whatever you do, strive to be the best at it.”
“If I had challenges in my company, I would not hesitate to sell assets to remain afloat, to get to the better times, because it doesn’t make any sense for me to keep any assets and then suffocate the whole organization.”
“You could easily tell that hard work and perseverance go hand in hand with patience. We often hear people say patience is worth it, yet we don’t practice it. I did and look how well it worked out for me.”
“The most dangerous thing for an entrepreneur to do is to actually go into a business that he does not understand fully.”
“Passion is what drives me forward. Passion is what makes me go to bed at 2am and wake up at 6am.”
“Invest now, before it’s too late. The train is about to leave the station.”
“My grandfather once told me; the soul of business is not making money but making people happy.”
“What I always say is that money doesn’t have color. It doesn’t matter whether you are from Africa or anywhere in the world. The color of money is the same”
“If you don’t have ambition, you shouldn’t be alive.”
“You must have a vision and not just a vision but you must have a plan that would make you fulfill that vision”
“The number one thing that kills businesses in Africa is power – or the lack of power.”
“If I had challenges in my company, I would not hesitate to sell assets to remain afloat, to get to the better times, because it doesn’t make any sense for me to keep any assets and then suffocate the whole organization.”
“I always tried to move up the food chain. I started with cement and then moved into textiles and banking. When I was trading sugar, I added salt and flour so that we could do pasta. And then I thought, why not make the bag for it, too? So, we started making packaging”
“If people look inward, they will see the opportunities for greatness.”
“Exercise is better than any medicine I can take; exercise and sleep.”
“The real thing about wealth, what will make you enjoy it and be happy that yes you are rich, is how many lives you can touch while you are alive.”
“In whatever you do, strive to be the best at it.”
“I’m not in it for the money. No, no. I like to run a business that’s successful… I’m a very creative person.”
Conclusion
That was certainly an influx of motivation! I think every single quote is something to think about.
“In the journey of success, tenacity of purpose is supreme” and “The real thing about wealth, what will make you enjoy it and be happy that yes you are rich, is how many lives you can touch while you are alive.” are two of the Dangote quotes that stuck with me.
What about you? Share with me in the comment section and while at it, you might want to get prepped for things you should do as a business owner so you don’t fail at it!
by Johnson Temiloluwa | Mar 7, 2022 | Personal Growth
The title says it all; you should know that this is a comprehensive guide on how to become a Stock Photographer. Continue to read if you are an aspiring stock photographer or if you are curious about it. Oh well, your curiosity will be well fed here so stay with me.
What is Stock Photography
Stock photography has been on trend since the 1920s. It is defined as a collection of images that are licensed for certain purposes such as magazine publication or pamphlet production. In short, it is simply the production and supply of photographs for specific use. These photographs are often licensed.
I am sure you have seen pictures while surfing the internet with the watermarks- Getty images, Shutter stock, and others like the 10 best stock image sites, or maybe you have randomly searched for girls with green eyes and blue hair, where you see different images pop up with watermarks as though they have been waiting for you to ask. That is exactly what stock photography is. If you have a passion for photography or you are looking to earn money off photography, then the five comprehensive steps that I have put together on how to become a stock photographer below are for you.
How to Become a Stock Photographer
1. Get Equipment and Experience
There are lots of good mobile phones that can take good images almost as well as cameras do but if you are looking into becoming a professional stock photographer and not just for hobby’s sake, you will need a good camera; a DSLR is a top choice for a lot of people and a good one to start with. You’ll also require a system as well as software to edit your pictures with.
Adobe Photoshop app would be a good starter. When you have the necessary equipment the next thing to do is get the skills you need to kick start your stock photography plan into action. You can do this by attending photography workshops, registering for online training classes, doing research, and reading important books or notes you need to improve your skill.
2. Shoot and Edit Your Photos
No matter how much you learn theoretically, the only way to truly improve your skills and start earning while making a name for yourself is by practising and shooting pictures. Shoot pictures and apply the editing skills by using the best software you’ve been learning from them.
Don’t just take one, take a lot and work on them, then ask people to rate them and help you choose the best. Continue to do this until you feel you’ve gained a good mastery of producing good pictures. The tips below will help you with that:
Make Use of Your Tripod
If you don’t have a tripod, then you need to get one. A tripod helps in cancelling blurry or shaky photos, which is the last thing you want your pictures to look like. Stock photographs should be sharp, focused, and crisped. A tripod stand helps you get that.
Shoot High-Quality Pictures
Stock photographs aren’t pictures you just take on a whim, they are well thought out and planned and to shoot one picture, you would need to do some pre-shoot work like setting resolutions, checking pixel size, going through the camera, and even lighting settings. The same way you love to get great pictures on your mobile for your Instagram, the same thing applied to these agencies or websites you are submitting your pictures to.
Put Your Training from the Photography Workshop into Use
You might want to experiment and try out new things for yourself and that is totally okay and encouraged even, but while you are doing that, do not discard the knowledge and skills you have learnt while training especially when you are just starting. If it gets confusing, check the easy steps to put you through.
3. Brand Your Kind of Photography
This basically has to do with the kind of pictures you take as they will help you in choosing your brand name and professional signature. In case you are wondering what a professional signature is, it is the mark you leave on your photos to help people recognize your work once they see it.
After this, choose a brand name wisely, and be careful not to pick one that is already in use by someone else.
4. Find and Embrace Your Area of Specialization
This is also referred to as choosing a niche and refers to the type of pictures you want to be known for. Do you want to take pictures of the oceans, mountains or restaurants, or even children in the park? Choosing a niche is something that should be done carefully because it can boost your work and pull more attention to you. How do you do this?
Take time to watch the kind of things that interest you and make you whip your camera out. The things you shoot constantly most times show what your interest is in and the signature you have created for yourself. An advantage that you could have when selecting a niche is choosing one that isn’t common. However, whatever you do, build on an area that you are really good at. Check out this course, it promises to make you a better and more self-aware photographer.
5. Search and Submit to Agencies/Website
Every agency or website that purchases stock photographs, has different protocols and guidelines with which they operate. Make sure that you read through their website and understand the rights that they will have over your photographs once you have sold them to them before you make a choice.
Conclusion
Stock photography isn’t a walk in the park-like you’d think. But it could be over time. Here’s my point, it takes effort, skill, and time to be an excellent stock photographer. So keep with the trend, make your research and be good at it. I’m rooting for you.
Leave a comment below if it’s a part of photography you’ll want to try out.
While you are here, I think you should read How To Start a Business While Working Full-time also.
Cheers!
FAQs:
What does stock mean in photography?
This means the visual content (images) that are taken by the photographers for an agency or outlet that allows it to be circulated and bought with the necessary license. Simply put, the stock is the image that is being sold in stock photography.
Are stock images free?
Not exactly. However, there are websites where you can get free stock images, these include pexels, unsplash, and a few others.
How much does a stock photographer make?
Determining how much a stock photographer is based on so many other factors asides from selling stock images. Although, it has been estimated that a good stock photographer makes an average amount of $3,200 monthly and $37,000 yearly. Note: it might not be constant.
How do I become a stock photo photographer?
Pretty simple, follow the comprehensive step-by-step guide above and do detailed research online.
Can you make a living with stock photography?
Yes, yes, and yes. However, it is not easy, just like how every other career needs time, effort, and excellence, stock photography does too.
Is stock photography profitable?
Yes. You can earn from selling stock photos but you have to put in a lot of work.
How can I earn money with stock photos?
One of the most common ways to make money with stock photographs is through microstock where images are sold from as small as a few cents to tens of dollars.
How much money can I make selling stock photos?
This depends on whether you’re selling individually without royalty or if you are selling with an extended license. Without royalty, you can earn 25-45 cents per image per month but if you get royalty payments, you can earn up to $500 per sale.
Is Stock Photography right for me?
Photography can be an escape and means different things for different people. If you are passionate about photography and the idea of taking stock photographs excites you then, I think stock photography is right for you.
What is the realistic income from stock photography 2022?
It is difficult to estimate how much you can earn specifically, but it depends on how many pictures you contribute to the site. For example, 1000 photos would earn you roughly $330 a year.
by Johnson Temiloluwa | Feb 14, 2022 | Business & Finance
2021 was a year that hit the world in all aspects including finance, and a lot of people confessed that their pockets suffered a dip; even their savings had dents in them. It was supposed to be a year of recovery from the Covid 19 virus, but the emergence of the new strains threw the world into mild chaos. A lot of people went through this except investors. Investment is one of the best ways to save your and grow it over time so while a lot of us were walking into the New Year broke or with our savings in the red, investors were busy making profits. This article seeks to inform you on the best things to invest your money in 2022
To prevent a remake of that from happening, we have put together a list of the best things to invest your money in this year and despite the threat of new strains looming above us, these investment options are to keep your money floating.
They are recent and the top five out of all other options; in no particular order though.
Best Things to Invest Your Money in 2022
1. Index Fund
Investing in index funds is commonly considered as one of the smartest moves to make as an investor. Index fund refers to a type of investment that lets you monitor the market index, and gives you access to broad segments of the market with just a single fund. This means that your investment is spread across a number of assets and not just one stock.
In addition, Index Funds are low costs, affordable, and have risk control to a certain level so that even if one company crashes, you won’t lose all of your investment with it. Furthermore, Index Funds are a great way to start your investment journey if you are just starting.
Check the types of index funds that you must own.
2. Real Estate
This is an investment scheme that hardly gets old or outdated. People will always need homes. The type of home which they will need varies.. Air BnB’s have been on the rise for a while now, a large number of people no longer want to lodge hotel rooms when they travel, preferring instead to rent homes, which is where you come in as a homeowner. If you are not interested in owning a property just yet, you can decide to be a flipper. This means that you buy properties at a low price, fix or renovate them and sell at a higher price. Though this could take a long period of time and sometimes, flippers don’t make as large returns as expected.
You can also decide to invest in a real estate investment trust where the trust you invest in, uses your money and that of other investors to purchase and operate properties that produce income. There are different ways you can invest in real estate, each coming with its own pros and cons so you can do further research and select the one you’d prefer after due consideration.
3. Stocks
Among the best things, you should invest your money in 2022 is stock. This is an old-time investment option that has been around for a very long time and from the look of things, does not appear to be going off anytime soon. Stock provides growth and income to your investment; it is also considered to have the greatest potential for returns among all other options by a lot of people. You can either invest in small-cap stock or blue-chip stock.
A Small-Cap Company refers to a company that has a market capitalization of less than $2 billion. Their stocks are less expensive to purchase than larger companies. They have high growth potential even though it has low liquidity with high risk and it is time-consuming too. You need to have patience if you are investing in small-cap companies due to the time it may take the company to grow enough to make substantial returns.
Blue Chip Stocks, on the other hand, can be referred to as the opposite of Small-Cap Stocks. Blue Chip generally refers to large and well-known companies such as Amazon, Disney, etc. Due to their being well established and well known, purchasing stocks in such companies have high returns that are steady and dependable and have low risk.
In addition, investing in stocks means you are buying a part of a company, or ownership shares, and the returns that you get back depending on the quantity of stock you buy, the company’s market value, among other factors.
A lot of companies ranging from technology, health, finance, and others, have had their stocks go up despite the pandemic so investing in stocks is a guaranteed success, provided you choose the stocks wisely and monitor closely.
4. Land
This is another investment option you can almost never go wrong with and this is because while the demand for it is high and continues to hike up every day, the supply is low. Researchers say that every day, the population of the world increases by hundreds and so, therefore, the need for more homes directly translates to the need for land.
There will always be real estate owners, individuals, companies, and even the government who are on the constant look for land to acquire. Even as a small investor or as one who is just starting, owning a raw piece of land is sure to bring in high returns when you are ready to sell and make returns.
Furthermore, a good reason why buying land is considered a good investment scheme is that there is almost no risk at all. Once you have purchased it and have the important documents, you can just let it be without any work or further spending for as long as you want. It could be weeks, months, or even years but one thing that’s constant is that whenever you are ready to sell, you will always make profits.
5. Cryptocurrency
Even if you are someone who has never invested before, we are sure you must have heard of various cryptocurrencies and forex market trading, among others, from a lot of people. Your friends, family, strangers on the internet, and sometimes, even ads that pop up while you’re browsing.
Although cryptocurrency was first launched in 2009, it rocketed to popularity in 2010 but even then, it was received with mixed reviews because a lot of people believed it would fail. Nearly 12 years now, cryptocurrency has not only risen to fame but has become so popular that it makes headlines in financial news. Understanding cryptocurrency can be stressful but this course dissects it bit by bit for you.
Investing in cryptocurrency has a high level of risk because it could crash or fall at any time, profit yields may decline, and if you fall into the wrong hands, it is very easy to get scammed. It also requires high levels of tolerance and patience due to its unreliability. There are different cryptocurrencies that you can invest in, including Bitcoin, Binance coin, Ethereum, etc.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned things are surely the best things to invest your money in 2022. Investment is an important way of stashing your money and having a backup fund for when you are in need or have an emergency to deal with. These are not the only investment options, but these are the top five out of all the options that we have looked at – in fact, the top ones to aim at investing in.
Remember that investment is a big deal and involves risking your own money no matter how little. So make sure you carry out lots of research and ask questions before you place an investment.
While you are trying to invest your money in things that will yield you more, check out 5 free businesses that you can start online without money.
Now you know the best things to invest your money in, Good luck!
by Johnson Temiloluwa | Feb 14, 2022 | Business & Finance
Mistakes happen and one that every Nigerian hates is recharging more than they wanted to. Imagine adding an extra zero while trying to recharge a thousand naira airtime from your bank app. Phew, that’s intense. In this article, I’ll be sharing the best 5 apps that can help you convert airtime to money.
Now you have ten thousand naira airtime and you wanted just a thousand naira, what do you do? Is there a way to get your money back? What can really be done? I got you, stay with me and I’ll put you through.
This is 2022 and tech has been making life easy for years before, till date and it will continue to. Hence, I say this with glee, there are now applications that can convert extra airtime to money.
5 Apps That Convert Airtime to Money
1. Patricia
When you firstly open Patricia’s website, the first thing you would probably see is the “Crypto is Oxygen to Us”. Yeah, no lie detected. Patricia is one of the top leading platforms used for crypto business. However, the app can also be used to convert airtime to money.
This app has an excellent rating and it is so easy to use. They weren’t joking when they said they are “in the business of creating solutions that are simply mind-blowing”.
You can download it from Google play store or IOS.
2. Airtime2Cash
Just like the name suggests, this is an app that converts airtime to cash (kudi, ego, and owo). The process to getting this conversion is less than two minutes. Airtime2Cash has an amazing app speed and is one of the top apps in the country that does this conversion.
Furthermore, with this app, you can even offer to receive payments from people with airtime. All you just have to do after is convert it to money from the same app.
Use Airtime2Cash and reduce your worry about over-recharging.
The only downside to this app is that it doesn’t work with IOS yet, asides that, it’s a good app that converts airtime to money.
3. Recharge2Cash
Recharge2Cash is also one of the apps that convert airtime to money and it boasts of doing this in Nigeria at a good speed rate with 99% automated transactions. The app is quite hassle-free and highly reliable. It has other features where you can buy data from the app directly also.
However, Recharge2Cash charges a rate of 13% on each airtime amount that is converted.
Tap to download Recharge2Cash.
4. AirtimeFlip
AirtimeFlip flips (convert) your airtime to money with a profound and on-the-go process. This is the only feature it has unlike all the other three that have been listed above. It has a usable interface and is a good app to use to convert airtime to money.
To get to using AirtimeFlip, start here. You start with registering and following through with other processes requested of you.
5. AimtoGet
AimtoGet is an airtime-money conversion app that lets you finish up a process in no time. Why AimtoGet? It is fast, secure, and reliable. “We promise, our service is top-notch” and believe me, their website reviews show that they haven’t broken their promise.
This app can also be used for airtime or data purchase, airtime swap (yes, you can swap airtime, that’s so cool!), bank transfer (has an N25 charge fee), airtime payment, and even bill payment.
The name might sound confusing but it does get the job done well.
Download AimtoGet here.
Conclusion
Let’s aim for things to get easier. Tech is doing the job quite well so fret not as your over-recharged airtime can be converted to cash. So cheers and get acquainted with the apps that convert airtime to money!
I hope this piece was enlightening. If it is, drop a comment in the comments section below.
It may interest you to read: 15 Must-Have Apps for Business Owners.
