This is a guest post by Melanie Citron. She shares some methods of earning money online for work at home moms.

Making money from home has never been so easy.  It’s true! If you are a stay-at-home-mom, you can easily become a work-at-home-mom and help supplement your family’s income in these difficult financial times.  Here’s how…

Use the Internet

The internet truly is your best friend when it comes to having an at-home business that will generate an income and the best part is that there are so many ways to earn an income by using the internet that there is something for everyone.  On the internet you can sell products, you can set up a website that will generate an income without selling anything yourself and you can offer services that can earn you an income.

Selling Products on the Internet

You might be wondering what you could possibly sell on the internet, but you might also be surprised at the prospects you have open to you.  First of all, just take a look around your house.  According to a recent survey done by eBay/Nielson the average household has 52 items that are not being used and could generate more than $3000 of cold, hard cash.  You can sell these on Craigslist, eBay, efleaa, or Hoobly.

What else can you sell on the internet?  You can sell photos.  That’s right!  The photos you take can be sold via websites devoted to the sale of images.  There are so many companies that want to purchase inexpensive images for their websites and marketing material and they turn to websites like BigStockPhoto, Fotolia, and ShutterStock.  When one of your photos is downloaded you will be paid a small fee.

Another thing you can easily sell online is crafts and other handmade goods.  Etsy is the best place to sell anything handmade, taking a small setup fee and 3.5% of each sale. Silkfair is also a good site on which you can sell your handmade goods and vintage and antique items.  On Silkfair you can list items for free or set up your own store for $24.99 per month and then you pay 3% per sale.  If you already knit, sew, or make jewelry, then you are well on your way to a supplemental income.

You can also sell informational products on the internet.  One type of product that is ideal to sell on the internet is eBooks.  You can actually purchase the master re-sell rights to eBooks and then you have complete control over selling them and you make all the profits.  Once you have an eBook to sell, you just need to set up a website with free website builder software and you are ready to go.

Another informational product that you can sell is articles.  There are companies everywhere that are looking for good articles to use on their websites.  You can easily write articles on subjects about which you have knowledge and you can find buyers to write for through websites such as Elance, GetaFreelancer, and ODesk.

Selling Services on the Internet

You can also sell services on the internet.  If you have a college education you can easily get work as a virtual tutor through sites such as Transwebtutors. On this and other sites you can mentor students, review their work, and even offer live homework help.

Another service you can offer is to be a virtual assistant.  Companies are downsizing and cutting costs wherever they can and hiring a freelancer to take care of administration duties is less expensive than hiring in-house staff.  You can find work as a virtual assistant at places like Elance, or virtual recruitment agencies such as Alpine Access, Virtual Office Temps, and Team Double Click.

Making use of the knowledge you have gained throughout your life is also a great way to make money.  This is knowledge of simple things like what to expect when you are pregnant, how to plan a wedding, tips when buying your first house, or how to grow a fabulous vegetable garden.  Sites such as JustAnswer or LivePerson will pay people per minute to answer questions on specific topics so you can show off your knowledge and get paid for it.

Building a Website

Building a website is one of the easiest and best ways to create a supplemental income.  You simply have to start a blog with free website builders, such as Wordpress, and then you include ads and affiliate links on your website.  Whenever people click on the ads or buy something from the affiliate company you make money.  Your job is to provide stimulating content to get people on your site and keep them coming back and you need to know some good techniques to generate traffic.

Shopping Can Earn You Money

Here is another fun and exciting way to earn extra money while doing something you love.  Being a Mystery Shopper means that a company will hire you to go into one of their stores and shop.  You will be paid to fill out a report on the level of customer service you received.  You can go to stores, restaurants, movies, and more and you can bring your kids along too!  Some of the top Mystery Shopping sites are Shoppers View, Service Excellence Group, and Service Intelligence.

As you can see, if you are feeling the financial crunch and need some extra income, then it is easy to generate that income right from the comfort of your own home.  This simply wasn’t possible 20 years ago, but the internet has made it so simple.  Good luck!

About the author: Melanie Citron is a freelance author who wants the web to be open to everyone. She regularly researches and writes about great free or low cost resources to help all have a great presence on the web. See more of her writing at BuildMySiteforFree.com.