Ivan Gillis

JustAnswer is Seeking Experts

Get Paid for What You Know

JustAnswer is a website where one can input a question about nearly anything, from how to change your car's water pump to how to train your dog not to run away when she is off the lease, and have it answered by an expert, someone who has been hired by JustAnswer to answer questions and offer advice to a rapidly growing customer base of more than 3 million users and counting.   At this writing, JustAnswer is accepting applications for experts in a wide variety of fields (law, car repair, writing, etc.).

Users place a deposit when they ask a question, and when an expert answers it, the user has the option to accept the answer or reject the answer before seeing it.  If the user accepts it, then the expert is paid a portion of the deposit amount. 

Deposit amounts vary according to the type of question asked, but most are in the $9 to $20 range, although some deposits go as high as $60.  Users have the option of asking questions without making a deposit, but they still cannot see the answer to their question until they make a payment.  Experts choose the questions that they want to answer, and most experts tend to answer questions that have a deposit made when the question is originally asked.

There are four stages when it comes to paying experts, and what percentage of the deposit amount the expert receives depends on the expert's Stage.  Stage 1 and Stage 2 experts receive 25% of the deposit amount for each question answered and accepted.  Stage 3 experts receive 35%, and Stage 4 experts receive 50%.   There are also restrictions in place at each Stage (except the last one) to maintain the quality of the site.

Experts progress through the Stages according to how many questions they answer, how well they answer them and how many accepted answers they have.  Experts can also receive bonuses from satisfied users; experts in Stages 1-3 receive 50% of the bonus, while Stage 4 experts receive 75% of the bonus.  Payment is made via Paypal at the beginning of the month if you have accumulated more than $20 in earnings for the previous month.

Apply at http://www.justanswer.com/expert.aspx to be an expert.  The application is short, but keep in mind that JustAnswer may request copies of credentials at any time.  You will be asked to complete a short test in your area of expertise (you will be given a list from which to choose), but you can also opt to be a jack of all trades or a "general expert."  It can take up to two weeks to hear if you have been accepted as an expert (only about 10% of applications are accepted).