There are many companies out there that pay subscribers to click on advertisements and links. It only takes a few seconds of your time each day, and all you have to do is literally lift a finger... and put it back down on your mouse button. Voila--free money!
These companies all have referral programs (marked with the *R*); please use the links here to sign up, then recruit your friends with your own referral links! We'll all earn free money together!
For these, I've included the same key bits of information that I included in my Surveys list--pros and cons, my earnings so far, the amount you need to cashout, and the method of payment.
*R*Upside: InboxDollars offers a lot of opportunities to earn money:
- They start you out with a $5 signup bonus.
- I get at least 2 "Paid Emails" a day from them.
- They also send surveys occasionally, which pay more than the regular emails.
- You can also earn money by signing up for offers, which vary from newsletters (use your junk email address and sign up for as many of these as you can), trial/paid memberships (like those that send you CDs and DVDs each month--I don't do these), other survey companies (some of which are included in my Surveys lists), playing online games (which costs money, so I don't do it), and shopping online through ID links.
- The referral program is good; you earn 10% of the "qualified earnings" of your referred friends. (Qualified=offers, surveys, games, and shopping--not paid emails or the $5 signup bonus.)
Downside: If you don't shop through their links or do many of the higher-paying offers, you're left with paid emails and surveys--which still earns money, but very slowly. Each paid email is worth 2 cents, and surveys range from 50 cents on up. A good number of the surveys are OTX, which I usually don't qualify for. The cashout is high compared to these little amounts, and when you do cashout, there's a fee.
My earnings: $30 (minus the $2.97 fee they charge for processing the check, which is ridiculous), and another $7.61 toward my next cashout.
Cashout: $30, minus the fee - so really, $27.03
Method: Check
*Note: there is an interesting article here explaining how to make $30 in an hour at ID when you start out. Might be worth looking into!
*R*Upside: Lots of opportunities to earn:
- They send lots of emails each day--an average of 5--with various offers. The easiest are BonusMail; much like ID's paid emails, these earn you 5 points when you click on the sponsor's link.
- They also send surveys occasionally, which pay more than BonusMail.
- You can earn money by signing up for offers, from newsletters to trial/paid memberships to paid online games to online shopping.
- MyPoints also offers a toolbar, which I have on all my browsers; you get points for searching through the toolbar, and the toolbar will also let you know when you're on a site where you can earn MyPoints. (Example: I'm doing my regular shopping at eBay, and I'll get a popup at the top of the browser saying "You are now earning MyPoints at eBay.") There are often special deals at sponsor sites for MyPoints members, so you can earn MyPoints by shopping, *and* you get a discount code to use on your order.
- MyPoints recently added an "in-store" points program. You can earn points on every dollar spent, just like normal MyPoints shopping, but these transactions will be tracked by your credit card number instead of links. To qualify, after you've joined MyPoints, register your credit cards (don't worry--it's safe, because it's from MyPoints; check the privacy policy for reassurance) and check out the list of merchants participating in the in-store program. Currently, most of these are travel-related (cruise lines, hotels, resorts), but there are a few other retailers that might have stores in your area (only 4 in mine, and they're all places I never shop). Also included are several catalog-shopping options; to earn points through these, just click "Request a Catalog" on the retailer's site, and pay with your registered card. Note: this is still a very new program, and I have faith in MyPoints to build it up in time!
- The referral program is similar to ID; you earn 10% of the "qualified earnings" of your referred friends.
Downside: MyPoints is a lot like InboxDollars here, in that you won't earn as much if you don't do paid offers and shop online through their links. (However, I tend to do more of my shopping here than I do at ID for some reason.) The survey offers tend to expire relatively quickly, so they should be taken as soon as possible; also, many MyPoints surveys are OTX-based, and I don't often qualify for OTX surveys. Cashout can feel a little high, too, but it's been far more easily attainable for me than ID has.
My earnings: $85 in gift cards (almost ready to cashout for another $25)
Cashout and Method: 500 points+ for charity donation; 1500 points for some $10 gift cards (and on up the ladder--highest gift cards are $100). The amount needed for cashout at a particular $ level varies by retailer; a $10 Barnes & Noble card is 1500 points, while a CVS card of the same value is 1600--go figure. There are over 75 retailers to choose from, though, which is nice!
*R*Upside: Swagbucks works not in points or money, but in what they call (quite fittingly) Swagbucks (or SB). There are many ways to earn SB once you've registered using the banner link above. Note: be patient with this; it won't all come to you on the first day. There's a lot to learn with Swagbucks.
- Download the toolbar (completely safe--I've got it on all the computers I use) and use it to search the Net. Most people can earn 2-5 SB a day doing searches. I usually do several searches in the morning until I get a win, then several in the evening as well, for a total of 2 wins, each worth 1-3 SB. Note: just searching random nonsense (especially non-words) a bunch of times in a row as quickly as you can will *not* earn you points. Swagbucks awards those who search "naturally," as they put it. Many people suggest that you find your favorite sites by searching through Swagbucks, as opposed to bookmarking... that way, every time you go to the site, you take a chance at winning.
- Keep on the lookout for Swag Codes. The Swag Guy (aka TSG--he runs the site) puts these out every so often in a variety of places, to award those who follow Swagbucks closely. These are little combinations of words and numbers (well nigh impossible to guess, so don't try) that you can enter in a box on the homepage that says "Gimme!" during a certain time frame to get SB. The best way to get these is to check the Swidget--see mine on the right-hand side of the blog and click "SC Swag Codes." Then click the "Check to see..." button to find out if any codes are available.
~ The Swidget may give you the code itself--copy it, then paste it into the Gimme box on swagbucks.com (they're case-sensitive, so definitely copy-paste).
~ The Swidget may also give you other answers that are not the code itself, but usually tell you where to find it (e.g. "Check the blog!" "Check your inbox..." "New Special Offers Code") or give you a clue. TSG is very clever with the clues, and some are easier to decipher than others. He likes to spell out his clues with capital letters (a recent alert for a code posted on Twitter read "Take Wonder In Tiny Things Everywhere"--note that the capitals spell TWITTER; a similar one read "Bernard LOGgins," which equals BLOG). You will catch on to this the more you follow the Swidget.
~ The best way to make sure you get access to all the codes (after the Swidget tells you where to get them) is to download the toolbar. This keeps you in touch at all times.
- Occasionally, you'll get a notification that there's a Toolbar code. On the toolbar, you'll notice a red box with an envelope beside text that reads "From TSG [0]"; when the 0 turns to another number, that means you have a new message from TSG. Open it to read the message, and enter the code on the Gimme box at swagbucks.com if it hasn't expired yet.
- Some codes are posted in the blog. The toolbar has a shortcut to get there--click "SB News," then "The Blog." Blog codes are usually found toward the end of a particular blog post.
- Some codes are posted on Facebook (on the Swagbucks fan page) and Twitter. There are shortcuts to both these pages on the toolbar, under "Social Media." Even if you're not on Twitter, you can access the Swagbucks Twitter page to get the codes.
~ Subscribe to the newsletter; if you're ever told to check your inbox for a code, it's in the newsletter. Sign up so you'll get these codes when they're sent. This is not available on the toolbar.
~ About every week, there is a new code available at the end of the Special Offers page. You can access this from the toolbar, too--click "Ways to Earn," then "Special Offers." Click the blue box on the right that says "No Obligation Offers," then go to the bottom of the following few pages to click "Next" or "Skip" or whatever button is there to indicate you don't want to participate in the offer. Do this a few times, and eventually at the end, there will be a code for you to copy and paste. These usually last about a week each, then there will be a new code.
***Swag Code Note: TSG has been very clear about the fact that no one should post these codes but him. Everyone has to find the codes on his or her own. If you're caught posting these, they'll deactivate your account.
- Like InboxDollars and MyPoints, you can earn SB shopping through links on Swagbucks.
- Refer a friend, and Swagbucks will match the points your friend earns (by doing searches only) up to 100 points, and give those points to you.
Downside: This is the most complicated one to keep up with, for me. There is just so much to do!
My earnings: $10 so far, and this is a relatively new add for me
Cashout & Method: Anywhere from 1SB (for random MP3 downloads and phone backgrounds) to 7495SB for a Wii with WiiFit! There is quite a variety of rewards at different levels. My favorites are Amazon gift codes, starting at $5 for 45SB.
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