Proven Strategies to Find High Paying Online Jobs in Kenya

Patrick Kihara- Author of The Online Entrepreneur, Journalist and Blogger

What comes into your mind whenever you hear of online jobs in Kenya? Do you picture yourself working so hard, banging the whole day on a keyboard to earn an income that cannot see you through the hard times?

A lot of us do, and it is sad if your concept of working online only spurs to the length of working for someone else who goes on to make thousands of dollars with your content.

While there is nothing wrong with doing freelance work for clients, we will be doing ourselves a great disfavor if we never think outside the box.

Here are some of the things you can do to make money online in Kenya:

Doing Online Freelance Jobs

One of the easiest ways to make money online is to sign up in the freelance marketplaces such as Elance, Freelancer and oDesk, and start bidding for freelance jobs. practically, if you have some basic computer skills, you can start making an online income working at home. Some of the freelance jobs available in these websites include:

1. Online Data entry jobs

Online data entry jobs require the least specialized skills. Basically, if you have ever used a computer, you can start bidding and completing various data entry jobs in Elance. Tasks in online data entry jobs include converting PDF documents to Word Documents or entering data into Excel Spreadsheets. Since the skill requirements for data entry jobs are minimally low, jobs in this category are characterized by cutthroat competition and awfully low wages. The jobs are however a great chance to familiarize yourself with the online work economy if you just cleared from high school and you have  nothing better to do with your time.  

2.   Freelance Writing Jobs

Freelance writing jobs make the bulk of all work done online, and not surprisingly so. Businesses will always be in need of written content; press releases to announce accomplished goals and milestones, sales and landing pages to attract new prospects and periodical newsletters to send to existing customers.

As a freelance writer, you can earn anywhere between 1,000/= per day to 10,000/= or more. Many freelance writers charge between $2.50 to $5.00 per article. This is however  very low pay and your goal should be to attract high paying clients. To do this, You will have to assert yourself as an expert in your chosen freelancing field. Only there and then will you start earning money that you can be proud of. What marks the difference between you and an freelance writer in the US who charges $250 for the same 500 word piece you write for next to nothing is the level of expertise and professionalism that you portray. If you consider freelance writing as a ‘just-by-the-way’ gig that you take as you wait for greener pastures to sprout, there is very little likelihood that you will ever command professional rates for your services.

Greed is the biggest problem with many freelance writers in Kenya. I have hired multiple freelance writers from Kenya and I can attest to this. Many of them cannot write for the love of money. I am not sure how this augurs with their self-esteem but I might have a hypothesis. When several clients give you a negative feedback on the quality of your job, your confidence slowly wanes and dips to some place below ‘sea’ level. You start bidding for the cheapest of all online jobs. You drop your rates to drowning levels and start competing for the same online jobs with an Indian writer who lives on less than one dollar per day.

Here is the advice that I have given time and again. Do you want to do online freelance writing jobs? Get the training first, and bid for jobs second.

On the other hand, whenever you have done a clean job for a client, and they really appreciated your expertise, you view yourself as more of an expert. You build your self-esteem. You get the feeling your services are worth the top buck, and you ultimately go for it.

3. Freelance web design and programming jobs

If you have some skills in web design or programming, you could be making a killing online. IT related online jobs are amongst the high paying jobs. Literary, you do not need your employer’s monthly paycheck anymore if you start doing online freelance web design and programming jobs.

I have seen some of my friends earn up to 80K for a single job that took them less than a week to finish.

4. Virtual assistant and admin support jobs

As a virtual assistant, you get to do a lot of small differentiated jobs. Virtual assistant online jobs can be comparable to being the push-boy in the office, only that they pay better than the ordinary office jobs. Some of the tasks may include updating social media accounts, answering customer emails or booking appointments with clients.

Blogging as an Online Job

Every freelance writer should also be a blogger. That is the Gospel according to me, anyway. You can actually make triple the amount you make doing freelance jobs from blogging. There are many advantages of having a blog:

• Building an online portfolio

A portfolio is a reference of what you have to offer that you give to clients when you are bidding for freelance jobs.

If you are new to freelance writing, and you have not done any jobs that you can show potential clients, a blog can be a good reference point.

I have also found out that clients are more likely to hire freelance writers who own their personal blogs. If you can write compelling content for your blog, then there is a very big likelihood that you will replicate the same on their projects.

• Practice and sharpen your writing skills

Writing does not probably come naturally to you. You need to practise in order to sharpen your writing skills. One of the surest ways to do this is to keep a blog.

• Earn a passive online income

This is where the concept of blogging as an online job stems from. There are countless ways that you can make money from your blog. Some of the most popular ones include:

• Affiliate Marketing
• Carrying sponsored content on the blog
• Using Google Ad Sense to monetize your blog
• Building and flipping niche websites on Flippa.com and other related websites.

The best way to make money with a blog is to start a niche website. I actually recommend that you start a niche website even as you write content for your clients. If you do not know what a niche website is, hit Mr. Google and gather all the information you can find on how you can make money online using a niche website. Contact me for assistance and I will be more than happy to help. Whatever you do, if you have decided that your future lies in doing online jobs in Kenya, a niche website is one stream of passive online income that you cannot afford to ignore.

Online Forex Trading in Kenya

Online Forex Trading is not actually an online job per se but an investment opportunity that is worth trying out. However, forex trading is risky and requires a thorough understanding of how the money exchange markets work. Any slight blunder could lead to the loss of all your invested monies. However, with a thorough understanding of how the online forex exchange works, this is one of the most lucrative online ventures. I am still learning the loopholes of the trade and will continue updating you as soon as I garner new information.

Writing Kindle Ebooks

I am not sure where to classify Kindle ebooks when it comes to making money online.

It is one of the passive online jobs that have the potential of earning you recurring lifetime earnings. It is way better than working at SocialbizConnect. If you can do online writing jobs in Kenya, I have every reason to believe that you can write a book and place it for sale on KIndle.

This is one of my newest and most revolutionary ways of making money online in Kenya. I like to think of publishing for Kindle as owning online real estate property. I have also I have written around 10 books which are on sale on Kindle. On a good month, I will get two sales per book with a profit margin of $2.00 per book. That is a whopping $400 per month.

After my success with Kindle, I created a comprehensive program that I sell for $12. If you would like to get your hands on the Kindle Bestsellers Program, be sure to drop me a line on 0710251380.

Start Working Online

As you can see from the examples above, there are so many forms of online jobs that you can do in Kenya. It is the high time we beat unemployment once and for all. Join my mailing using the form on the sidebar to receive tips on how you can become more successful in your online jobs ventures.