So You Want To Work For A Psychic Hotline?

Do you remember those old informercials for Miss Cleo and the Psychic Friends Network? It was hard to miss them back in the day as those ads were on constant rotation – especially on late night television. Since that time, some of these companies have gone belly up but psychic hotlines are still big business. In fact, thanks to the internet, they are perhaps bigger than ever. All you need to do is google “psychic readings” and you will encounter seemingly endless pages of advertisements for live psychic readings – some even proclaiming to be “free”.

Many of my fellow tarot readers and psychics make their living working for these companies – and some do their business exclusively this way. The beauty of working for a psychic hotline is that you do not need any major business skills to get started. Once you are accepted as a reader, the company takes a cut of your pay but they provide the advertising, the clients and a toll free number that masks your personal phone line. All you need to do is sit home and wait for the calls to come pouring in and voila – you’ve got a psychic business!

Now that may sound remarkably easy and attractive but there are many points to consider before you sign up to work on a psychic hotline. You still need to do YOUR homework to make sure that the company is a solid, fair and trustworthy business. A little smart investigation on your part can prevent you from wasting your time or getting defrauded (we often hear about the clients getting ripped off but many readers who work for these companies get swindled as well).

These are the things I recommend you check out thoroughly before committing to work for a psychic hotline:

What is their business structure? In other words, are they an LLC, a corporation or a sole proprietorship? They should clearly spell this out on their website. Why is this important? You want to make sure that you are doing business with a REAL business that conducts themselves in a professional manner – meaning that they took the time to file the proper paperwork and set themselves up legally.
Will you be expected to sign a contract? Most legitimate companies will have you sign one. But it is important that you read the fine print carefully and understand what you are signing. For example, some of these companies may have a “non compete clause” which could limit your ability to work for other phone lines. If you do not understand their policies, take the contract to your lawyer before you put your John Henry on the dotted line.
Will you be considered an employee or an independent contractor? This is critical to know for tax reasons. If you are considered an employee, the company will be responsible for taxes – if not, you will have to take care of your own taxes.
How will they market you? Or are you responsible for your own marketing? What is their advertising budget? This is extremely important as you want to make sure that the company markets smartly especially if this is an area where you lack skills. A solid business will invest a fair amount of money into marketing to ensure their readers are busy and making money. Even with their advertising, you may still have to do some of your own marketing – so keep that in mind.
What is the pay cut? Make sure you understand how much of your $2.99 a minute will be going to you. And remember – in some cases it may seem like they are taking a lot but when you factor in the expenses of running a hotline and advertising, you will begin to understand the reason behind the percentage. If a company says that they are only taking a tiny percent, be sure to inquire as to how they are spending that money (advertising, website, administrative, etc.) to insure that they are not just taking a fee and doing nothing to get you work.
How do they handle chargebacks? Believe it or not, some clients can insist on a refund and the company may eat that money – or charge you for it. This gets very tricky and could be costly for you. Get clear on their policy.
Will you be getting a 1099 at the end of the year? If you are an independent contractor, the answer is yes. If not, they should be providing you with a standard W2.
What kind of reputation does the company have? This is where you need to take time and look around. The internet is a great source of information but even better is to actually talk to someone who works for one of these hot lines. Ask them about their experience. How much work do they actually get? How are they paid? Have they been happy with the company? What issues have they encountered? There is nothing like a solid referral to ease your concerns and help you make an informed decision. Also, be very leery of any company that openly bad mouths another service and promotes themselves as the “antidote”. If they don’t have physical proof that the other company is fraudulent or engaging in improper behavior, then that is hearsay and should be dismissed as nothing more than unscrupulous advertising on their part.

Now to be completely honest with you, I have had very little experience with this type of work. I tried it out for a month and didn’t feel that this was the way I wanted to work. I don’t like to share revenue and I didn’t like feeling tied to my phone. So I decided it would be a good idea to ask a few questions from S.C. who has spent many years working the phone lines. This may help give you further food for thought before you get involved with any of these services.

Here are her answers:

Q: What are some of benefits of reading for a psychic phone line?

SC: There are actually a couple of major benefits to working for a psychic phone line service or an on demand service. Psychic phone line services are a really great place for readers that have only a few years of experience under their belt to get experience working with clients and asking questions. The pay for these services isn’t the best, but how many other apprenticeship programs can you get paid $24.00 an hour for training? With these services you remain pretty anonymous, and your clients do not have your home telephone number, which is a bit of a protection from the general public. It gives you a bit of ease working with clients, and not having to expose to the world that you are working as a “reader”. The greatest benefit is that they supply the customers for you, so its pretty much answer the phone and do a reading. Further, since you are not putting out any expenses it is pretty easy to do your taxes at the end of the year.

On demand services are much different! These would be sites like Keen.com or LivePerson, which are really great sites to work for depending on your temperament, and whether or not you can work with clients who are pretty much always in crisis. These sites usually pay you much more for your services. For example, on Keen.com you make 62% of the call minus phone charges. In addition, you can utilize other advertising tools that they have to increase your business. On Demand readings are a great way to supplement your income between private clients. Plus, these clients do not have access to your direct telephone line (and crisis clients you do not want to have direct access), so you are protected from that 3 AM phone call from the client who is going through a desperate situation. On Demand readings are not for everyone, and you have to be able to handle intense crisis, feedback systems, and have very firm boundaries. I prefer to work with these clients, because they have real issues that need to be worked through and addressed, and in many cases they are not able to go to their social circle or clergy to address them.

Q: What should a reader look for when choosing to work with a particular company?

SC: It depends. I would look for how long the company has been around, and ask your peers whether or not they know anyone that works for them. I might even consider calling up the line and speaking with a psychic to ask them questions about whether or not they are happy with their experience. In addition, I would find out how long the line has been in business. If you chose to do On Demand readings, I would recommend Keen.com or LivePerson since both are owned by reputable corporations. For example, Keen.com is owned by AT&T interactive, which is a very reputable company. The stronger the business language of the company the better!

Q: What are some red flags that a reader should pay attention to?

SC: I would be leery of any company standards that asks you to hold clients on the line for any given period. Some clients only need a 10 minute reading, and do not need a full hour on the phone with you. I would be very leery of companies that do not have advertising plans in place, or are not transparent when you ask them questions about advertising. If a company does not give you full advertising information (such as where they advertise) it means they are not advertising. Another thing to be leery of are companies that REQUIRE you to do your own advertising and do not have an advertising budget on their own. These companies are usually shoe string operations that have no budget, and you could waste your time sitting by the phone waiting for a call. In the psychic industry, small organizations (Mom and Pop Psychic Shops) are usually not very profitable and it is difficult to make a living with them. Often these companies will offer you large incentives that are not available with other companies, but 70-80% of 0 is 0. In addition, if companies require you to pay for your own chargebacks (and its not an on demand site) be very leery. This means that if the clients does not pay for the call the company will subtract the money from you. This is trickier with on demand sites — Keen.com does not do chargebacks; whereas Live Person does.

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Remember – even if you are working for someone else’s business, it is your job to be an informed employee. Do not get involved with any psychic hotline until you have taken the time to completely understand their policies and your responsibilities. This can be a wonderful way to make a living but like any business, it still has some risks.

Blessings!

Theresa

special thanks to taoxproductions for the image

extra special thanks to sc for taking time out of her schedule to chat with me

Have you ever worked for one of these hotlines? If so, what was your experience? I’d love to hear your stories in the comment section below.