In recent years, online chat has become a very popular means of communication. It is nowadays widely used by companies to communicate with their customers, and the applications of this tool are becoming more and more diversified. It is therefore an opportunity for some to earn money, as we will see.
- Here's the program
- What is a chat?
- How can you make money just by chatting?
- What are the different categories of online chat?
- Who can do it?
- How much can you earn by chatting?
- What are the best paid chat platforms?
- What equipment do I need to chat online?
- Conclusion
- EcoTips
- Pros and Cons
- Information recap
What is a chat?
The term chat, or “live chat”, refers to a discussion space allowing several connected people to converse with each other by exchanging text or voice messages in real time. This space can take the form of an instant messaging application that you install on your smartphone, or a popup window appearing on a website.
However, it is important to distinguish between chat and instant messaging. Instant messaging services such as WhatsApp, Messenger, Viber or Line allow to get in direct contact with a person or a group of people, while chat, in our case, allows a person to contact a specific department within a company. The chat offers multiple advantages, such as the possibility for the customer or user to directly select the department he wants (sales, technical, accounting, etc.) with a simple click.
We will mainly mention chat in this article, but you should know that, following this idea, you may have to use other communication channels such as discussion forums, social networks, texting, email, or even phone conversations.
How can you make money just by chatting?
More and more companies (online businesses, service providers, etc.) are opting for this direct means of communication that allows their customers to get in touch with their teams almost instantly. These companies are constantly looking for operators to handle their services.
These services are sometimes grouped in call centers often located in countries where the cost of labor is cheaper (Mexico, India, Nigeria…). This can sometimes lead to some inconveniences (language, pronounced accent, time zone…), and some of them use local workers (freelance or salaried) who work from their own home or in their premises.
But there are now platforms that specialize in this type of activity, and many companies turn to them to handle their various customer services. Rather than contacting each of them to apply for a job, it is much easier and faster to register on one of these platforms.
There are a multitude of them, and each one has its own particularities. But before we look at this in more detail, let’s first see what types of online chat rooms are currently recruiting because, as you will see, they are many and varied.
What are the different categories of online chat?
These are some quite-known examples of chat, but be aware that this list is not exhaustive because there are many others.
1The Companies
I talked about it in the intro. It’s the sector that recruits the most. From the big multinational to the small online store, there are several categories of chat, whose number varies according to each company.
- The sales department: It is the one who answers to the various requests of the customers on everything concerning the products and services proposed by the company. This ranges from the availability of a product to technical questions, sometimes including more peripheral requests such as delivery time, accepted payment methods, etc.
- After-sales service: This one, you certainly know it if you have ever bought products online. It concerns in particular packages not received or damaged, returns and requests for refunds, etc.
- Technical support: This service concerns all requests requiring the intervention of a specialist in a particular technical field. The most emblematic case is probably the one we all know, when we notice that there is no more WiFi and that we have to contact our Internet provider.
- Accounting: The department handles the requests related to the subscriptions to a service, to the questions concerning an invoice, the delays of payments, banking information, etc.
2Job Consultant
If you have a good knowledge of the professional world in general, or even of a particular sector, you could advise Internet users who need assistance. Some sites offer you the opportunity to be paid for giving advice to people who are looking for answers to questions they have about their current job or a new career they are considering.
This is sometimes referred to as a “coach” or “job influencer”. If you have an interesting CV, a solid professional experience, your expertise can be very useful for people who are starting or facing difficulties in their professional career. The option is therefore interesting, and it can concern all kinds of jobs!
3Professional Advisor
This one is somewhat similar to the previous one but has some differences. In fact, some platforms offer to hire chat agents to answer questions from various professionals, from different backgrounds: doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. Therefore, you need to be highly qualified in a specific field, in order to be able to provide clear and precise answers to your interlocutors.
You should also know that since this is one of the most qualified types of chat, it is also the one that pays the best.
4Chat for Adults
Yes, it’s quite surprising, but you won’t believe how popular this type of chat is. The fields of dating, online flirting allow thousands of women but also men to earn a living. And, contrary to what many people think, it is not necessarily related to sex, since in the case of chat it is mostly about cordial conversations where people confide in each other about their problems (sometimes sexual, often relational).
The degree of intimacy required varies according to the platform, but it is important to set limits and never do or say anything that could make you or the person you are chatting with feel uncomfortable. And above all, the golden rule is to NEVER give out any personal information (your real name, family situation, address, phone number, etc.) about yourself. Your exchanges must remain strictly conversational and distant. You never know who you’ll run into, and mental freaks do exist.
Obviously, some chat rooms are more oriented than others, and there are some that are totally “pornographic”. For this reason, it is crucial to be well informed before registering on one of these platforms and, if you are okay with this kind of “hardcore” chat, it is important not to suffer from any emotional fragility whatsoever because the conversations can sometimes be quite “gory”.
5Assistance to Struggling People
This allows people in emotional distress or in delicate situations to talk with someone. This is often done by phone, but also by chat. You will have to deal with lonely people who are simply looking for someone to talk to, others who want to share their various problems, or even have suicidal thoughts.
Of course, it is necessary to be well-balanced and comfortable with yourself because you are often confronted with difficult, even dramatic cases, which can be sometimes emotionally violent. Accepting this kind of job means accepting to be confronted by the misery of the world.
Who can do it?
As we have just seen, the online chat rooms call for various profiles. For some, you will have to prove that you have real qualifications in one or more specific fields while for others it will be more a question of having a certain emotional balance and the capacity to face difficult situations.
In some cases, free training will even be offered. This is especially the case in companies that want you to be sufficiently informed about the products and services they offer. In the case of technical service, you will be taught how a particular service or device works and how to troubleshoot it remotely. But it can also be courses on sales, marketing, or whatever.
The best thing, in my opinion, is to choose a sector in which you feel comfortable and where you already have some knowledge, or even solid experience. Unless of course your goal is to move away from your current professional field, in which case you may have to go through a training process.
Last but not least, you should know that correct spelling will be required. If you’re the type of person who makes 3 mistakes per sentence, revising your English classes (spelling, grammar, and verbs) will be essential 😉. You should also know that you’ll probably have to pass an interview beforehand, and even a series of tests (typing speed, and other tests intended to evaluate your level of expertise, depending on the case) before your application is accepted.
How much can you earn by chatting?
The rewards are very variable, and depend on the type of chat, the platform but also on your qualifications and the work you will be asked to do. It generally goes from $7 to 35/hour, even more with bonuses. It can also be variable depending on the time of the year (black Friday, back to school, holiday periods…). Other sites pay according to the number of tasks accomplished (for example, the number of questions answered or messages sent).
The best, as often, is to first decide in which type of chat you want to work, then to find a corresponding platform and see what it offers in terms of remuneration. Moreover, there are always newcomers in this sector (and others that disappear), and the amounts offered can change, so the best is to visit each site among those you prefer, but also to launch a Google search with appropriate keywords.
Let’s take a look at some of these platforms.
What are the best paid chat platforms?
I told you, one of the ways to find a job in this sector is to scan the classified ads and contact the companies that offer this kind of job. Some companies like Apple or Amazon even have a web page dedicated to their job offers. Do not hesitate to visit the websites of other companies (postal services, telecom, etc.), even local ones, as many are looking for operators.
The other option is to go through a platform where you just have to register, then fill in a form to provide some additional information explaining who you are and what you are looking for. You will then be contacted and perhaps invited to an interview and a series of tests.
Site | Services | Language | Revenue |
---|---|---|---|
ClowdWorkers | Customer and technical service | EN/FR (28 languages) | $20/hour |
ContentMods | Customer service | EN/FR (11 languages) | 11ct to 17ct per message + bonus |
E-moderators | content moderation | EN/FR (13 languages) | until 28ct per message |
Apple | Customer and technical service | EN | $18/hour |
Amazon | Customer and technical service | EN/FR | $19/hour + bonus |
premium.chat | Customers, Fans, & Followers | EN | $10 to $30/hour |
Arise | Customer service | EN | $9 to $18/hour |
Outplex | general customer questions | EN | $9 to $14/hour |
Working Solutions | Customer service, sales, administrative support, analysis and technology | EN (USA and Canada only) | $9 to $35/hour |
LiveWord | Customer service, sales, administrative support – pharma, healthcare, hospitals, and more | EN | $8 to $15/hour |
Asurion | technical support, Customer service, business operations, managment, etc. | EN/FR/ES/JP | $11 to $30/hour |
SiteStaff | Customer service, sales | EN | $10/hour |
TheChatShop | Customer services, sales and marketing, business operations, etc. | EN | $10/hour |
crowdchat.io | Customer services, sales and marketing | EN | $14/hour |
justanswer | Answering professional questions | EN | $8 to $14 per question |
clarity.fm | Answering professional questions | EN | $50 for 30 minutes ($1,60/minute) |
Modsquad | social media moderators, Customer service | EN | $10 to $15/hour |
Source Solve | customer support, technical support, online chat, email and SMS response | EN | +- $8/hour + bonus |
Smith.AI | Answer calls, chats and emails | EN | $11 to $16/hour |
support.com | Customer service, technical assistance and content moderation | EN | $9 to $12/hour |
Chat for Adults
What equipment do I need to chat online?
Let’s end this article with a short list of what you will need to work. Because unfortunately, a simple smartphone with earphones will not be enough (in most cases).
- A laptop or desktop computer (Windows 10 or higher is sometimes required).
- A USB headset equipped with a good quality microphone (voice chat).
- A stable broadband Internet connection (cable, fiber, or DSL).
- A quiet work space with no surrounding noise.
- A webcam (in some cases).
Conclusion
There is a wide variety of types of chat rooms (voice and text) and, depending on your professional qualifications and knowledge, you may be able to apply for one or the other. Not all of them require a high level of education, but the pay is often tied to your skill level.
It’s also not too stressful a job that you can do from home in most cases, but you will need to invest some money in a computer, if you don’t already have one, and (depending on the case) a headset with a microphone.
Moreover, this is a sector that moves a lot, and new players arrive regularly on the market while others disappear (once the team is complete, for example). If the list I propose in this article is not enough, don’t hesitate to launch a Google search with the right keywords.
EcoTips
Environmental and climate change issues are more than ever at the heart of the concerns of this 21st century, which is why I am proposing a few ideas that will enable you to limit the negative impact that the implementation of this idea could have.
These solutions that I suggest are sometimes largely insufficient to compensate for these negative impacts, such as carbon offsetting. Unfortunately, there is not always an ideal and 100% efficient solution, far from it. And if you have others, please do not hesitate to share them in the comments below.
For this type of work, you will mostly need a good computer. Some companies recommend a PC running Windows 10 or higher, mid-range. If you already have a computer, even a laptop, and it is not “fast” enough, you can solve this by adding a RAM memory strip (8GB are recommended) and an SSD drive (128 or 256 are enough and the prices are affordable).
If you don’t have a computer and need to buy one, check out the second-hand market as they often have good deals. Go for a portable model that consumes much less power than a desktop. And you don’t need a “thunderbolt” since a mid-range model (i3 or Ryzen 3, 8GB RAM) is more than enough.
Pros
- Possibility to work at home
- Work without too much stress
Cons
- The remuneration is sometimes low for some types of chat
- You will sometimes have to deal with unhappy customers
Info
- Location: At home or at your employer’s offices
- Investment: The purchase of a laptop and a headset with microphone
- Earnings perspective: Generally between $7 and $35 + bonuses
- Required: Some chat rooms require one or more specific qualifications. Others to have a certain balance and mental strength.
- Risk level: Low
- Implementation time: Quite fast, the requests are incessant.
- Material needed: A Windows-based computer and a headset with a microphone. Sometimes a webcam, too.
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