No, this isn't a scam. Making money online is simple but that doesn't mean it's easy. It is a lot of work and it takes a lot of discipline to succeed. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I just wanted to share my experiences in the online "gig economy" that seems to be getting bigger everyday.
The key to making money online is to establish a rapport with a few clients so that you can get consistent jobs and a steady income working with them. That's why doing a good job on your gigs is important because a $20 gig could lead to many more gigs from the same person totaling thousands of dollars. I established relationships with clients on InstaEdu and TextBroker and that was how I made most of my money. Single gigs just don't provide enough work.
Fiverr:
I mostly hire people on Fiverr, but I have also done some SEO and writing gigs on there. The problem is that people who use Fiverr are generally on a tight budget. The quality is much lower than other gig sites but it's quite a bargain. Since you generally only make $5 per gig it's very hard to earn a substantial amount of money. Plus there are a lot of people on there from third world countries so its difficult to compete with them if you live in the US.TextBroker:
I just started using TextBroker after my friend told me about it (I write a lot just for my own personal enjoyment or in my journal). He said that he earned over $6000 in just a few months on the site. He worked very hard to make that money but given his love of writing he actually enjoyed most of the gigs he got. I just got started on there so I can't share too much on my experience but again establishing a rapport is key on this site. Its also very important to do a good job on your writing sample as this will determine how much you can earn on a job. The highest score is 4-stars and you really need to get 4-stars if you want to make any money on this site. If your sample has no more than 1 grammatical error you will be rated 4-stars. If you don't, you should make a new account and try again.InstaEdu:
You can earn $20/hour tutoring on InstaEdu. Its very important that you remain on the platform as much as possible because as jobs come up, they are available to all tutors online. The first one to click "accept" gets the job. Having a rapport with a student is the best way to earn substantial sums on this platform, because each gig will generally only earn $5-10 since most questions can be answered within 15-20 minutes.
Feel free to ask me any questions and I will try my best to answer them.