When I launched Hustling and Bustling, the whole point was to test the side hustles popping up in my social media feeds—promising massive cash with barely any effort. You know, the kind of “quit your job tomorrow” vibes influencers love to push.
After getting the blog up and running—and testing the usual blog-monetization tricks like ads and affiliates—I figured it was time to actually follow the advice those creators are selling (bearing in mind to date I’ve made £0). So, the first one I’m putting to the test is this – ‘£4,500/month on autopilot’…
The Hype: What the Influencer Promised
So, I followed her link to Rev.com. Which is a site where you can get freelancing jobs as a transcriptionist, captioner, or subtitler. Whereby you listen to audio/video, type it out accurately, and get paid per minute. Pay ranges from $0.30-$1.10 per audio minute for transcription, up to $1.50-$3.00 for subtitling if you know languages. Includes weekly PayPal payouts, hundreds of jobs daily, no limits on what you claim. Over 60,000 “Revvers” apparently do this for big names like Google and Amazon.
First Steps on Rev.com
First off the website looked very different to the video, but as I was using my iPhone, I initially thought that may be why.
I couldn’t see anywhere on the website where you could apply to get paid to transcribe, instead it seemed to be pushing toward business services (like transcribing your own meetings), not freelancer sign-ups. It didn’t scream “earn money here!”
To save time, I enliseted Grok to point me in the right direction on the site. This is where you need to be: https://www.rev.com/freelancers (it definitely would have helped if that was the link the influencer showed us in the first place, right!?!). That looked more like it – flexible work, pick your projects, etc.
Big Roadblock: Location Restriction
Excited, I clicked to apply… and bam.
“We are not currently accepting applications from your location.”
Oof. This isn’t the first time I’ve hit this wall with online jobs. Rev is quite restricted on its geographic locations. The UK is on the list but as I live in a crown dependency of Great Britain, with our own government and laws; despite a strong link with the UK, this is obviously not close enough of a link for Rev. Safe to say I was disappointed.
And no, I do not want to bypass my location with a proxy or VPN, that just seems too dodgey and I’m sure will incur issues later down the line. I only want to have a legit side hustle.
I clicked “Learn More” hoping for a workaround. It suggested subtitling/translation instead – but I wasn’t sure it would work bearing in mind I only speak English 😂
I filled out the form anyway, as I thought maybe I could enlist the skills of Google Translate, but it was obvious this wasn’t going anywhere, as you needed to submit a video of you talking in French. Google wouldn’t help me out there, so no French skills = no job.
Final Verdict
So, this one is dead in the water for me. Another hyped-up opportunity that doesn’t deliver if you’re in the “wrong” location.
If you’re in an accepted country (US, UK mainland, or wherever they allow), it might actually work. But for me another 1-star rating. Hopefully soon you’ll get a more positive post from me, surely perseverance is key ☺️.
Have you tried Rev? Did you get accepted and actually earn decent money? Drop your stories in the comments – I’d love to hear if anyone’s pulling in that £4,500/month or if it’s all hype. Let’s keep each other from wasting time on the next shiny thing!
