Chris Pyle is an auto mechanic who used to work on transmissions at a Ford dealership. The 45-year-old Tennessee native now makes more money answering car repair questions on JustAnswer than he did when he worked as a mechanic. Mr. Pyle agreed to share the secret of how he makes $12,000 a month as a mechanic, just a side job.
And while you may not know anything about car repair, Pyle’s insights can help just about anyone earn a lot of money from this unique online platform. Professionals in everything from taxes to home repair can earn thousands of dollars a month with JustAnswer. According to the site, the average salary for working health and animal care professionals is $3,000 to $4,000 per month. About $6,000 by law. Appraisal, $9,000. However, success is not guaranteed.
Here’s everything you need to know – and what you can do. How much can you earn? and how it works. And the key to success.
What is Just Answer?
JustAnswer is an online platform that connects freelance professionals with people who need to solve problems, from fixing a leaky washing machine to understanding home appraisals. Consumers sign up for the service, sometimes through a $5 promotion, and typically opt in for a monthly subscription.
Monthly subscription prices vary by question type. Most questions are billed at $55 per month, while legal questions cost $79 per month and tutoring costs $125. Therefore, the number of answers is unlimited and he can only receive two calls.
How it works for experts
Experts like Pyle sign up to provide information about their background and specific expertise. When you sign up, the site will conduct a background check to verify that you have the appropriate credentials to answer questions in your specified specialty.
In other words, if you say you’re a legal expert, the site expects you to be a practicing attorney. If you pass the background check, the site will accept your application and register you on the site.
At that point, you will have access to the questions in your designated specialty and can choose to answer them or ignore them.
Pyle started working at Just Answer 18 years ago while still working in auto repair. And within a few months, his monthly income was more than $1,500. He stopped answering questions for several years when he launched his own business. However, he returned in his 2012 year and began answering questions full time.
time
JustAnswer is an international platform, so you can sign on to ask and ask questions at any time of the day or night. Professionals do not have to commit to specific hours. Just sign on when you need to, and you’ll be able to determine if you have any open questions that you’re eligible and willing to answer as you work.
Pyle divides his working day into two sections. He works from noon until around 5pm and then takes a break to play with his family or do other work at home. He signs in again at 11pm and stays signed in until about 4am. why?
“The night shift is quiet, but I’m usually the only automotive expert online at that time,” he says. “I’m open to any questions you want to ask.”
Salary structure
JustAnswer experts are paid for their answers, not their time. The site is secretive about the range of fees it pays per answer, but experts claim that most questions currently cost at least $7 and as much as $24.
The amount of compensation you receive for each answer depends on the topic and the “tier” of the expert. (See “Expert Tier” below.) For example, let’s say you’re answering a general health question and are in the lowest pay tier. You might make him $7 per answer, but a leading expert in the same category might make him $16.
Clients can also tip professionals.
Experts are paid once a month.
answer the questions
Common questions will take between 2 and 10 minutes to answer. Experts say that questions that take more than 10 minutes will receive incremental rewards.
However, you will not be paid extra for following up with your client to confirm that the issue has been resolved. Pyle says he should follow up anyway for four reasons:
- That’s the right thing to do.
- Your clients will be more satisfied and more likely to rate you highly, which can influence your “tier.”
- It might lead to a hint.
- Clients can also request future answers, creating an ongoing revenue stream.
Generally speaking, experts can answer any questions that come up during their work. This is so that our clients can get their questions answered quickly.
The only exception is if the client requests an answer from a specific expert. In that case, the selected expert will have up to 12 hours to respond. You can then pose your questions to other experts in that group.
big and complex questions
What if the question is too big or complex to answer? You have several options.
Experts can suggest that clients break down questions into bite-sized pieces. Alternatively, you can offer your clients to pay for premium her services such as web conferencing, document reviews, and phone calls. If the expert proposes a premium service, half of the client’s payment will be paid to the expert. The other half is retained by JustAnswer.
Expert layer
JustAnswer has five ‘tiers’ for experts, from the highest level ‘Platinum’ to the lowest level ‘Tin’.
New experts typically start in the middle tier and can move up (or down) based on the number of questions they answer and accept. You level up by providing good answers to most of the questions you pick up. However, if you give poor answers or find too many questions that are difficult to answer, your rank may drop.
Answers are determined based on a combination of ratings and artificial intelligence.
And every Monday, experts are advised on what stage they have reached as a result of their answers from the previous week.
How does this mechanic make $12,000 a month?
Mr. Pyle’s secret to success begins with working hard. He typically works 10 hours a day, split into two 5-hour shifts. And he works almost every day of the year. Even when he’s on vacation, he says, he signs on to the site to see if any of his regular customers have contacted him.
He says this is important because he has a lot of regular customers who ask him to do it. However, even if a customer requests a particular expert, he has only 12 hours to respond. Pyle says between five and 15 questions could be waiting for you each day when you sign in.
“When my family wants to do something, I change my work hours,” he says. “I still live a normal life. Not a day goes by 24 hours without working.”
On the bright side, he works mostly from a recliner in his living room, and he says he never comes home covered in oil or transmission fluid from this job. So despite his long hours, he likes the working conditions.
Get details
One of the challenges of answering car repair questions online is that you can’t physically see, hear, or smell the car. So Pyle asks his clients to be his eyes, ears, and nose. If the car is missing, you might ask the customer to take a picture of the instruments while it’s running. If it sounds strange, they might ask for an audio clip.
In other words, he asks a lot of questions before answering them. This will improve the quality of his answers.
“I always ask questions before giving answers,” he says. “You have to focus on listening.”
Going back and checking
Another thing Pyle says he does regularly is go back to past customers to see if they’ve resolved their issues. This does not necessarily bring him income. But it has created a loyal customer base and they come back to him again and again.
“We have customers in Hawaii who buy used cars, fix them up and rent them out,” Pyle said. “I think he answered 3,000 questions just for him. He probably asks 20 questions a month.”
March 4, 2024