AOJ Work From Home Jobs Review: They’re Not Real Jobs!

AOJ Work From Home Jobs is a site that claims to “connect traditional job seekers with non-traditional work from home opportunities”.

But the whole thing is fake.

The real purpose behind AOJ (American Online Jobs), is getting you to join their recommended paid survey sites. So they can make money off of you.

Because if you join one of the survey sites they recommend (during the application process), they earn a referral commission. That’s what this whole thing is about.

They do not connect you with any real work from home jobs.

What they do give you, is some basic “training” within the members area. That shows you (vaguely) how to promote survey sites as an affiliate.

So in reality, this is about affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing is a business model where you earn commissions generating leads and sales for other companies. This is how I earn a full time income online. So it can be lucrative if you put enough time and effort in. But it’s not a job, it’s a business.

With that in mind, is AOJ worth your time?

Not really. Here’s why:

  • The first way you can earn with AOJ is by completing surveys on the sites they recommend. This is easy, but the income potential is very low. Even if you put in lots of effort.
  • The second way you can earn is by referring others to join survey sites as an affiliate. This can be more profitable longterm. But the members area training is so basic, I doubt anyone could use it to create even a modest affiliate business.

So in my opinion, this site is a complete waste of time.

Read on for the full review.

Fake Job Listings

Probably the most misleading thing about this American Online Jobs, is how they post fake job ads to lure people in. And they use real job search sites to do it.

For example, I found the following ad on the Career Builder site:

Job Advertisement on Career Builder Website
Source: careerbuilder.com

As you can see, AOJ pretends to be offering a “data entry clerk” position that pays $12.56 – $25.45 per hour. And there are 248 of them on this one site alone.

Another site they use is called Jobs.net, which has over 636 fake job ads:

AOJ Online Jobs Listings on Jobs.net
Source: jobs.net

And if you click on any of those ads, you will see the full job description:

Data Entry Clerk Position on Jobs.net

Which is complete and utter nonsense. Because they are not offering ANY jobs at all, let alone data entry clerk positions.

The person who reads these “job descriptions” is being led to believe they are applying for real employment from a real employer. Which is simply not the case.

So this is completely unethical.

They even list the following job types in the ad:

  • Customer service
  • Data Entry & Typing
  • Email and Chat customer service (work from home)
  • Product reviewers
  • Call center work

I’m not sure why they list these. Because they have anything to do with completing surveys or doing referral marketing.

Another point I want to make is that they are advertising these jobs as exclusive to people in the United States.

It is true that some survey sites only allow residents of the US, but most are not that strict. And you certainly don’t need to be a US citizen to do referral marketing.

The only reason they are doing this, is because it makes it look more like an actual job.

I could go on, but I think you get my point.

The whole thing is BS. Whoever’s behind AOJ is creating fake job ads, to target people who are looking for genuine employment. Just so they can make a quick buck.

Which is similar to other fake job sites I’ve reviewed, like Online Flex Job and American Consumer Panels for example.

The “Application” Process

If you click on one of these fake job ads, you’ll end up on one of their sites. I say “one” of their sites, because they’re using a bunch of different sites to run the same con.

Here’s two versions of AOJ that I know of:

  • American Online Jobs (version 1)
    • americanonlinejobs.com
    • aojonlinejobs.net
  • AOJ Work From Home Jobs (version 2)
    • aojworkfromhomejobs.com
    • aojonlinejobs.com

And these are just the ones I know about. There could easily be others, which I suspect they are. Either way, the “application process” is virtually the same on all of these sites.

Here’s how it works…

Version 1 – American Online Jobs

American Online Jobs is the original version that started in February of 2018.

This is the version I originally reviewed back in May of 2018. However, at some point after posting that review, for whatever reason, they switched the name to AOJ Work From Home Jobs. And started using a bunch of new URLs. So I decided to republish this updated review, to properly reflect these changes.

Anyway, here’s a screenshot of the American Online Jobs site as it is today:

American Online Jobs Website

As you can see, there are some “pre-screening questions” that you need to answer in order to proceed to the next “step”. You don’t actually need to answer any of these questions though, they’re just for show.

If you scroll down, there’s a button that says “click here to apply now”. The video below that literally just tells you to click on that button, it’s of no value at all.

And if you do click on that button, it takes you to the signup page for LifePoints, which is a paid survey site they want you to join:

LifePoints Website

Once you register for this site, the next thing they ask you to do is click on the “Step 2” button. Which takes you to this page:

AOJ Step 2

This page consists of another short (valueless) video that instructs you to join yet another paid survey site. Except this time, the “guy in the video” tells you to join Inbox Dollars:

LifePoints and Inbox Dollars are the main paid survey sites AOJ recommends.

These sites pay users a small amount of money to answer questions and complete simple tasks. Sometimes, they reward you with gift cards or “reward points” instead.

Are these sites legit?

I’ve personally reviewed LifePoints and found it to be legit, but not a very good way to make money overall. TrustPilot gives it 4.5 stars and Survey Police gives it 1 star.

I’ve also reviewed Inbox Dollars, which is about the same. Legit but the earning potential is very low. TrustPilot gives this site 4 stars and Survey Police gives it almost 3 stars which is a bit better.

These ratings can change over time, so it always pays to do your own research.

Anyway that’s just the first two sites. At the bottom of the page, they encourage you to join a bunch of other survey sites they’re affiliated with. In total, before you’ve even made it to the members area, they instruct you to join nine paid survey sites in total.

Here’s a full list of the paid survey sites they ask you to join:

  • LifePoints
  • Inbox Dollars
  • Toluna
  • My Survey
  • Opinion Outpost
  • Survey Voices
  • Opinion City
  • E-Poll
  • Pinecone Research

Some of these sites are legit, some not so much based on reviews. Either way, there are drawbacks to joining even legit survey sites, which I will explain shortly.

Once you join these survey sites, the last “step” is to go to the members area. Where you get access to some videos about referring people to join survey sites for commissions.

But before I get to that, let’s take a quick look at the second version of AOJ.

Version 2 – AOJ Work From Home Jobs

This is the latest version of the AOJ website:

It’s basically the same site, they’re just using a different name.

There are some minor differences, but the “application process” is basically the same.

The first step is to answer some bogus pre-screening questions, and of course, join a survey company. The next step is to join even more survey companies. And the third step is to watch some training videos in the members area.

It is unusual for legitimate sites to use multiple names, logos and domains for the same program. But it’s common among scam sites. Scammers often change the name of the program once too many negative reviews are published, to keep the scam running.

That may not be what is happening here, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was.

In any case, now that we have that out of the way, let’s take a look at the members area.

Members Area Training

Regardless of which site you end up on, they all lead to the same members area.

In order to gain access to the members area, you need to provide your name and email. Once inside, you will get access to 10 lessons on referral marketing from “Brenda”:

Member Area Training With Brenda
Source: americanonlinejobs.com/membertraining

This is probably where the reality hits home for most people who follow the “steps”. As in, the reality that this is not a job. It’s all about referral / affiliate marketing. Which is a business.

Here’s an overview of what each lesson is about:

Lesson 1: This lesson doesn’t teach you anything at all really. It’s more of a “welcome” video that prompts you to sign up for all the survey companies they recommend.

Lesson 2: This lesson tells you to join a bunch of Facebook groups, and post spammy little ads asking people to join survey companies you’re affiliated with.

Lesson 3: A video about posting fake job ads on CraigsList, to promote survey sites. Which is what the team at AOJ are doing themselves.

Lesson 4: This video talks about referral and CPA marketing, which is when companies pay you to send them quality leads. Nothing at all tangible here, just a very basic overview.

Lesson 5: A video that runs for less than 3 minutes about marketing on YouTube.

Lesson 6: There is no video in this lesson, it’s just a couple paragraphs telling you to do Instagram marketing. A link is provided to a blog post on Instagram marketing.

Lesson 7: This is even less helpful than lesson #6. It’s literally just one paragraph on Pinterest marketing that links you to someone else’s blog post.

Lesson 8: A video that runs for less than 2 minutes, about joining GetResponse, an email marketing software. There’s an affiliate link below the video.

Lesson 9: This shows you how to create an affiliate account with AOJ. So you can promote AOJ itself and take advantage of people who are looking for a job.

Lesson 10: This is a short video that carries on from the last video about promoting American Online Jobs. Which is something I definitely do not recommend doing.

My Thoughts on this “Training”

On the plus side, the training is free. And it might teach a complete beginner “something”.

But overall, it’s a complete waste of time.

I went through each “lesson” and I can honestly say it’s about as thin as it gets. You are not shown how to do anything properly at all.

The videos are really just brief overviews of “ways you can market online”. There is very little substance whatsoever. To the point I wouldn’t even call it a training. You’d probably get 10 times more value by going to YouTube and searching for “how to do affiliate marketing”.

Not to mention, the methods you are shown are spammy, will probably lead to multiple account closures, and some will cost you money.

Who Created AOJ?

All we know is that “Brenda” from the training videos, and “some other guy” who does the earlier videos, is involved. Aside from this, we don’t have much to go off.

There’s no information on any of the sites about who’s running the show. Nor is there any information within the job ads themselves. And all of the domains they use, have been registered anonymously.

Which isn’t always a bad thing. Even legitimate sites use anonymous domain registrations to avoid spam and so forth. But it can be a red flag when you look at the overall picture.

Which in this case, isn’t good.

I did manage to find a review of AOJ on Steemit, where the reviewer posted a screenshot of an email he received from AOJ. The senders name is Brenda Rosenberg, who signs off with a US address. This could be an alias though.

Either way, this kind of secrecy means that whoever’s really behind these sites, doesn’t want you to know who they are. That much is obvious.

And the question is, why?

If their goal really is to “connect you with jobs” in a legitimate manner, then why do they need to hide who they are? It makes no sense.

Can You Make Money With AOJ?

You won’t make any money with AOJ itself. But it is possible to earn money completing surveys and referring others to survey sites. Which is what AOJ is all about.

As with any method of earning, there are pros and cons to consider. So I’ll walk you through both of these earning methods now, to give you some insight into how they work.

Method 1: Completing Surveys

This is a simple method of making money online, and it’s legit.

Companies are looking for opinions and feedback from regular people, so they can improve their products and services. Survey sites act as a kind of “middle man” between you (the person completing the survey) and the company who wants the information.

So people do make money this way.

But there are some major drawbacks to consider:

For starters, the amount of money you can make doing paid surveys is very low. If you’re earning $1 to $2 per hour on average, you’re doing better than most people. Some of these companies make it sound like an easy and lucrative way to earn, but this is not the reality.

Second, there’s a lot of scams in this space. Even if you do manage to rack up some earnings over a period of time, actually getting paid is another story. There is no shortage of people who’ve been ripped off by survey sites. Do some research, you’ll see what I mean.

Third, these sites can end up costing you money in the end. Because many rope you into doing “free trials” and subscription offers which you need to supply a credit card to do. And when you’ve signed up for two dozen trial offers, you can forget the date you need to cancel, and end up with a bill.

So (at best) this is a way to earn a few extra bucks. As long as you are careful about which survey sites you join that is.

What about the sites they recommend?

Some are legit, some aren’t. I highly recommend you do your own research here, before joining any of their recommended sites. Or any survey site for that matter.

Method 2: Referral Marketing (AKA Affiliate Marketing)

Affiliate marketing is a business model where you earn commissions promoting other companies products online.

Some companies even pay you to send leads to their site, who create a free account for example. And this type of affiliate marketing is synonmous with the term referral marketing. Since you are “referring” people to join websites.

Anyway, in this case, AOJ is (vaguely) showing you how to refer people to join paid survey sites. And when they join through your affiliate link, you earn a commission. Exactly how much you can earn, depends on the individual survey site.

On one hand, you can make money this way. And there’s a lot more profit potential here, than there is in filling out surveys. Potentially a lot more.

On the other hand, you need real training, tools and support if you want to create a successful affiliate business. Which AOJ does not provide.

And even when you do have this, it takes time, effort and persistence to earn an income this way. I know this from experience. It took me 3 full months just to make my first dollar with affiliate marketing. And about a year before I was making regular, small commissions.

These days I earn 6 figures per year doing affiliate marketing so it was worth it. But my point is you would only do this if you are serious about building a business. It’s not a job, so you will be spending time working for nothing, before your business gets profitable.

Either way, I would never recommend promoting survey sites in the way AOJ does. They use unethical marketing methods to essentially trick people into joining. This is not how legitimate affiliate marketing works.

Check out my Beginner’s Guide if you want to learn more about affiliate marketing.

Conclusion

AOJ Work From Home Jobs (AKA American Online Jobs) is not a legitimate website.

They run fake job ads to promote work at home jobs that don’t exist. All so that they can profit when you join the survey sites they’re affiliated with.

And if you make it to the members area, you’ll discover that the whole thing is really about affiliate marketing. Which is legitimate, but AOJ does not provide any proper training, tools or support to help you build a proper affiliate marketing business.

Is it a scam?

On one hand, it doesn’t cost you anything to join and you do get some “training”. If you would call it that. So I guess in that respect it’s not a scam.

On the other hand, AOJ is a scam because what you “think” you’re signing up for, and what you actually get, are worlds apart.

Either way, I won’t be recommending this, because it’s a waste of time.

If you want to join survey sites, go to the survey site itself. If you want to do affiliate marketing, there are far better, more ethical sites that show you how to get started properly.

2 thoughts on “AOJ Work From Home Jobs Review: They’re Not Real Jobs!”

    • Hi Cecilia,

      There definitely are legitimate ways you can work from home. However, when it comes to an actual “job” (one where a company hires you on an hourly rate), these are harder to find and if this is what you’re looking for, you’ll probably have better luck searching job search websites like Indeed.com for example.

      If you just want to earn some extra money doing simple tasks like completing surveys, then there are tons of sites you can get connected with. Like Swagbucks, Inbox Dollars, or Opinion Outpost for example. Or I recently created an articles about how you can earn money testing products at home which you may find helpful.

      Personally, I think starting an online business is the best way to go.

      Because, while you probably won’t earn money as quickly at first, it can be far more lucrative over time. For example, for the same amount of time and effort as completing surveys, you could eventually earn a full time income with affiliate marketing (free affiliate marketing guide here). This is what I do myself to earn 6 figures per year, so it’s definitely a legit way to earn money online, as long as you’re willing to put the time and effort in. Think 24 months to earn a job replacing income if you’re putting in the work consistently.

      Hope this helps and thanks for commenting. 🙂

      Reply

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