By Mike Enemigo
The worldwide web contains a vast amount of information virtually free to anyone who wants it. With google and other online subject locators, you can find just about anything you want within seconds or minutes!
Well, unless you’re an inmate … Because inmates don’t have Internet access!
This is where a money-making opportunity for you comes in. Inmates, isolated from the outside world, are constantly in need of information. Whether it’s for a book they’re writing, case they’re working on, correspondence course they’re taking, some kind of entertainment they’re looking for or any other kind of resource needed, you can offer your Internet info search service and charge a fee. All for googling information that’s free to you, then printing and mailing it to inmates.
Prices for this kind of service ranges, but for example purposes, an average price is $5.00 per topic searched, up to 10 pages of black and white results, and $6.50 for up to 10 pages of color results. Additional pages are typically 20¢ each for black and white and 35¢ for color.
Things like case law is typically $3.75 per case for up to 10 pages, 20¢ per additional page, and case law sherardizing is $3.75 for the first citation for up to 10 pages, 20¢ per additional page, and $2.50 for each additional citation needed. The legal research is much more expensive. For example, legal research in need of using online resources like LexisNexis, legal magazines and newspapers, professional websites, etc.? $25 per hour, one hour minimum, plus 10¢ per printed page! $25.00 per hour for sitting at home on your computer in a soft chair and air conditioned room is not a bad gig.
Need more examples? How’s this:
Many inmates are looking for a long-lost family member, friend or witness. For a basic person/people search you can charge $4 for one, $7 for two, $10 for three, etc. But some companies charge as much as $10-$20 for one person! While you, too, can charge this, it may be best to keep your price(s) competitive.
And did you know prisoners are always looking for someone to print song lyrics? Prisoners are always looking for lyrics they can write and send to their special someone, or to songs that bring back memories of a better time so they can rap or sing them on the tier. You can charge inmates an average of $1.25 a song, or $5.00 for 5!
As you can see, you can make extra money providing Internet searches for inmates. And if you have a computer and printer, you’ve got everything you need to provide theservice, all you need to do now is get the word out by advertising to the inmate population. There are several effective ways to do this. You can get a free listing of 75 words or less in The BEST Resource Directory For Prisoners, an inmate favorite, by sending your text ad to info@thecellblock.net. If you want a bigger, display ad, contact them for their current prices. And you can also advertise in the Prison Legal News. PLN boasts a monthly subscription rate of 9000, and monthly “viewer/share” rate of 90,000. They offer display rates, as well as classified rates such as 8 rows of 32 characters for $125 for 2 months. To ask about other rates, contact ads@prisonlegalnews.org.
So, what are you waiting for? Start today!
Mike Enemigo is a former drug dealer. He’s now a successful “prisonpreneur” who’s turned his dirty hustle clean. With over 25 books published and many more on the way, he’s America’s #1 incarcerated author. He’s passionate about entrepreneurship and he’s written several books which teach prisoners and street hustlers how to make money legally so they can avoid the traps of prison and crime. Among these books are Hood Millionaire: How to Hustle & Win LEGALLY! (also published as Get Out, Get Rich: How to Make Money Legally When You Get Out of Prison!), and CEO Manual: Start a Business, Be a Boss! (Also published as The CEO Manual: How to Start Your Own Business When You Get Out of Prison!). For more information on Mike and his books, visit thecellblock.net, where you can also subscribe to his blog, The Official Blog of The Cell Block, where he and other TCB authors provide raw, uncensored news, entertainment, and resources on the topics of prison and street-culture from a true, insider’s perspective. Be sure to also follow Mike on all social medias at @mikeenemigo and @thecellblockofficial.
