Looking for a reading job

benpari

I'm currently unemployed. My background is in online marketing and media, but my company went under last year. I'm a 26 year old male.

Lately I've been reading online for free for both friends and strangers to keep myself busy. I have done 56 readings in the last 5 days alone. All have been over email or chat. I have been reading tarot for about 10 years, but in the last few months my reading ability has grown by leaps and bounds.

I got a donation/tip for the first time last week and it made me wonder if I could do this for a living. My credit cards are due for the month now, and rent is due in a 2 weeks and I have no idea how I'm paying either.

Does anyone have any suggestions on which companies I should apply for?

Ideally I would like to read text and chat. The psychic hotline companies sound terrible and it appears like most of the the webcam chat companies expect you to promote yourself, but still expect a huge cut (if I wanted to promote myself I know how to use skype and paypal). As someone with marketing experience, I'm completely willing to give away 50-80% of my pay for promotion.

I've read just about every single thread in the stickied "Professional Tarot reading threads" and I don't see much up to date information about companies.

Thanks for your suggestions!
 

benpari

I just sent messages to both Didilabs and Phuture.me. I have the feeling I'm not going to hear back from either of them soon, so I would still love to hear about other options I should pursue. :)
 

Cocobird55

I've worked for Didilabs for over a year now, and I'm enjoying it. The money is enough to make a difference in my life -- I'm living on social security. Be patient and hope they get back to you soon.
 

RiverRunsDeep

Not sure if this site is still looking for tarot readers, but the link is for their post in AT's advertisement section.
 

Disa

Not sure if this site is still looking for tarot readers, but the link is for their post in AT's advertisement section.

That's didlabs. I've worked for them, too. Still trying to decide if it's the right venue for me. The money is good for a side gig, but it takes a lot of time for the amount you are paid. I wouldn't count on it as a full time pay check. You will find lots of opinions on them from other readers in that thread.

In your original post you said: "As someone with marketing experience, I'm completely willing to give away 50-80% of my pay for promotion." If you are unemployed, I'm curious as to why you would be willing to give away that much of your pay for promotion? It isn't a lot of pay to begin with. Is this a typo?
 

benpari

I'm just saying that if the company actually provides me with leads then I don't care if they are charging $20 and give me $10. A lot of the sites I have seen expect to take a cut that large of your reading but still expect you to promote yourself.

On the other hand I don't want to join one of those psychic hotlines that pays barely over minimum wage, and only when you are actually on the line, but is charging the client $1 a minute.

My point is that I see the value in a company that provides you with regular clients rather than expecting you to fight with their other readers or expects you to find clients from outside their system.

However, I'm sure I have all kinds of false pretensions about working in the industry.


I am on the waiting list for Phuture.me and who knows how long it will take to hear back from them.

Anyways, I still need to find a company I can start making money with within the next few days.

Edit:

I have a list with these listed on it.

Keen.com
Kasamba
Starzpsychics
bitwine
facade
psychic-contact

has anyone worked with any of these recently, what were your experiences?
 

nisaba

For face-to-face readings (which really work the best), there's nothing like having a regular gig in a spiritual shop or a cafe. Turn up woth your deck, ask to speak to the manager, just ask. Suggest that you come in on their regualr Quiet Day, as a drawcard to bring more custom in - let them see what's in it for them.

Around here, the usual deal is: they let you have a table and don't charge you rent for the space, and in return you give them a quarter of your take.
 

Barleywine

I "fell into" my part-time gig by talking to a local shop-keeper. We were talking tarot and she asked if I read, and when I said yes she told me one of her readers had passed away and she was looking for a new one. We agreed on terms and now I read at her shop both on an on-call basis and also during her seasonal fairs. There's no steady money in it, but I'm mainly doing it for the fun and the experience.
 

benpari

I'm in New Orleans, the local reading scene probably more competitive than in any city in America. Also, all of the local cafes who hire people have reputations for paying very little and being psychologically and emotionally abusive.

My girlfriend reads in a nice cafe uptown the last few months and I don't think she has ever gotten a single client in all the days she has gone.

I'm putting in an application to psychic-contact.com right now. Does anyone have any experience with them?

I found one reference to someone enjoying working there on here, but it was written in 2012.
 

Nemia

You can try Etsy. It's a friendly platform but I'm not sure how many clients you'll get. With Etsy, you need patience.

I'm very very happy with Didilabs. I'll stop working at my main job in the course of this year, and Didilabs is as a matter of fact my steadiest income. I have improved as a reader, I feel, although I really miss feedback from my readers. When I get feedback from the "boss", it's always positive.

I think that concept is great (having a smartphone app where people can do their own readings and get the interpretations on an individual basis) and I wish there were more apps like that. If you have techie friend, you might do something similar. Of course, you need copyright for decks etc so it's a bit of a hassle.