Online forums provide a meeting place for people to discuss and get information about issues that matter to them, they also provide an opportunity for you to earn as a forum moderator.

The topics that are covered can include politics, sports, health, business and so on. Each of these categories has to be watched by a moderator who is responsible for keeping the discussions clean.

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The demand for reliable people to monitor discussions is what makes it possible to earn money online as a forum moderator.

• What is a Forum Moderator
• Advantages of Working as a Moderator
• Disadvantages of Working as a Moderator
• How to make money as a forum moderator
• Your duties as a forum administrator
• Skills and Requirements
• What you can expect to earn
• Where to get a Job

What is a Forum Moderator

A forum moderator or an online moderator is someone who basically works for a client’s forum, chat room, blog, and social media accounts. Large websites may need multiple moderators, but smaller sites may just need one.

As an online moderator, you will be responsible for moderating your client’s forum, blog, social media accounts, etc. online platforms or pages by approving or deleting users’ questions, answers, comments, etc. to ensure that the visitors or members of the particular site follow the rules and guidelines of the site.

Advantages of Working as a Moderator

One of the biggest advantages of this job is that you can work from home, and often, the hours are very flexible. This makes it an ideal option for students or stay-at-home parents, especially since the work environment doesn’t have to be quiet.

If you love having power, this is the job for you. Chelles says that it certainly attracts a positive person that can keep a level head, but it does reward you in the sense that you are in control. Some people thrive on that kind of control.

There is also often a strong sense of community in most online forums, and this camaraderie can grow with time and involvement — especially as a moderator. Regular chatters on bigger sites recognize you and know your story; if you’re the kind of person that makes friends easily online, this could be a very rewarding job for you.

Disadvantages of Working as a Moderator

One of the biggest advantages of this job is that you can work from home, and often, the hours are very flexible. This makes it an ideal option for students or stay-at-home parents, especially since the work environment doesn’t have to be quiet.

If you love having power, this is the job for you. Chelles says that it certainly attracts a positive person that can keep a level head, but it does reward you in the sense that you are in control. Some people thrive on that kind of control.

There is also often a strong sense of community in most online forums, and this camaraderie can grow with time and involvement — especially as a moderator. Regular chatters on bigger sites recognize you and know your story; if you’re the kind of person that makes friends easily online, this could be a very rewarding job for you!

How to make money as a forum moderator

In order earn money online as a forum moderator, you can decide to start a forum or become a moderator in an existing one. This will give you the opportunity to make money and also express your opinions. You are expected to have good writing skills and you should also be very observant. This work is convenient because you are free to choose your own schedule.

You can increase the amount money that you make from this method by becoming a moderator for a number of forums. You can take part in discussions, start new threads and ensure that members are satisfied with their activities and abide by the rules.

Your duties as a forum administrator

This is a good way to make money online but it is not for lazy people. Forums are opened 24 hours a day and you have to ensure that the discussions are free of spam. There are spammers everywhere and a lot of them are found in online forums.

Administrators must supervise the discussions continually to remove spam posts and threads that violate the rules. Members that violate the guidelines are usually given a warning and repeated offences usually lead to a ban.

Skills and Requirements as a Forum Moderator

A good chat or forum moderator will have excellent people skills, possess the ability to spell well and communicate via the written word. Also, be efficient with a computer, and can sit for long periods of time, often staring at threads of messages until their help is needed.

Most job listings will describe tech requirements, but the majority require you to have your own desktop or laptop computer with a high-speed DSL or cable internet connection.

In order to earn money online as a forum moderator, you have to be trustworthy. The owner of the forum will put a lot of trust in you and depends on you to ensure that everything goes well in the category that is assigned to you.

You should not be biased in your duties by ignoring the violations of members that you are familiar with.  A moderator is also expected to have a measure of self control. It is inevitable that some members will use offensive words from time to time. You have to present a good example by responding with good manners.

What you can expect to earn as a Forum Moderator

The amount of money that you will earn as a moderator is dependent on the forum that you work for. Some corporate forum moderators have been known to earn as high as $40,000 a year.

Generally, you can make anything between a few hundreds to thousands of dollars every month. You can increase your opportunities to earn money online as a forum moderator by working for more than one forum.

Read Also: How You Can Get Paid To Search Online

If you have web development skills, you can also make more money by making your services available to the website. Moderators can also make money by advertising their products and services free of charge on the forums that they work for.

Where to get a Job as a Forum Moderator

There are some reputable companies that hire for online moderator jobs, including:

• Modsquad (formerly Metaverse Mod Squad)
• ICUC
• eModeration
• LiveWorld
• Lithium
• Crisp Thinking
• Baby Center
• Tempero
• Yelp

While some companies may require you to have knowledge in a particular industry and experience of working as an online moderator, others may not require you to have any experience.

Some companies will hire you as an employee or you can work as a freelance moderator, working directly with a client as an online moderator for their website, blog, forum, etc. online sites. If you have some experience doing a type of moderating job, it will be easier to get an online moderator job.