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As new mediums open up, you need to adapt and leverage these. Hrish Thota did so when he evolved from blogging to Tweeting. Thota has been blogging for almost a decade and joined Twitter when it was launched in 2006. He is now a professional Tweeter, who has 4,500 followers and earns about Rs 1 lakh a month. The 31-year-old, who is a former employee of consulting firm Capgemini, began his Twitter career by writing about events and computer hardware in Bangalore.
Within a year, as his network of followers grew, companies began to approach him to Tweet about their products. "They were paying me to do this job, so I needed to apprise my community of followers about this. It's essential to maintain your integrity in this field," says Thota, who has done brand campaigns for Tata Nano, Lehar Kurkure and Royal Challenge.
Recently, he was involved with a campaign for Ford Figo for around a month-and-a-half, where he had to do a road show from Chandigarh to Chennai, Tweeting and photoblogging about the events in real time. "I usually spend about 2-3 hours every day on Twitter, but if I'm involved with a brand campaign, this can go up to six hours," he says. On an average, he earns Rs 30,000-40,000 a month per brand. 
As important as your writing skill is your ability to network, a point that both Khare and Thota emphasise. "Before you begin to post your views, you need to create a community. You should go to various meets and events to develop contacts," says Thota.
Though writing seems easy at first glance, if you want to earn money from it, you will have to work hard. Professional bloggers put in about 2-5 hours every day and constantly strive to write on topics that provide updated information. You need to be regular and prompt in answering your readers' queries.
If you have honed your skills and are confident about what you write, you could even publish a book a lá Anupam Mukerji, who became famous for his blog, the Fake IPL Player, written cheekily about the IPL's second season. In March last year, he published a book, The Gamechanger. However, if no publisher seems interested in the physical realm, don't despair. You can write a virtual bestseller.
Ebooks are in high demand across the world and many people are writing exclusively for this segment. In June this year, crime novelist John Locke became the first independent author to sell more than 1 million e-books through Kindle's ( Amazon) direct publishing programme, under which you do not need an agent or a publisher. Each e-book was sold for $0.99 (Rs 48), of which Locke pocketed 35 cents (Rs 17).
Global classroom
JOBS: E-tutoring
SKILLS: Domain knowledge and good communication skills
INCOME: Rs 15,000-50,000 a month (for 8-hour sessions) depending on the subject and region (India or international)
When Shyamila Rana's husband got a job in Dehradun in 2007, the 42-year-old school teacher began applying for a post in various schools in the city. Unfortunately, not many were willing to hire her, citing age as a factor. Rana was unwilling to waste her experience and time, so she began looking for other opportunities. She soon found hundreds of overseas students, who were eager to learn science from her. "One of my husband's colleagues told him about e-tutoring and I sent an application, along with my resume, to one of the Websites," says Rana, who now teaches science for four hours to students based in the US.
For Rana, the job is interesting as she shares her knowledge with students, who are keen to learn and are not forced to study by their parents. For this, she is earning better than she would in a traditional school.
E-tutoring is a process in which a teacher educates a student or a group of students on a particular subject through online technology. This can involve the use of Webbased programs and includes data, voice and video communication. The tutor can send questions, receive completed papers, provide results and recommendations, clarify concepts, assist on assignments, etc. To begin in this field, you can sign up with some established names such as TutorVista.com.
Says Alok Bansal, chief executive officer of Gurgaon-based Alethia Education Services: "To start a career as an online tutor, you should know the content well and be conversant with technology.
Though you don't need advanced degrees to teach school children, it's preferable if you have teaching experience." Another aspect you need to consider is the working hours, especially if you are teaching international students. The difference in time zones may make it difficult to work for long.
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