Online “paid to” sites have been bombarding search engines for as long as I can remember, and, for that same amount of time, I have been faithfully hopping from link to link in the, often futile, attempt of finding a way to earn some additional income while having fun.
Employed in the education field, money is far from abundant, so I believe that every little extra is appreciated, although I spent a long time, excuse me, wasted a long time, seeking the golden internet cash cow! View the current economic conditions and the surge in popularity of supposed “money earning” sites, I notion I would assume this opportunity to section some of my discoveries and my celebrated sites that ACTUALLY pay!
BEFORE ANYTHING…
The most important factor in subscribing to an internet earner is the beloved PayPal account. I have found very few sites that do not exercise PayPal as a source of payment. Creation of an account is extremely simple and involves nothing more than an email address and a bank account. To receive – or exchange – monies via Paypal, you are required to verify a bank account which is a fairly simple process. Enter your bank account details as requested and within 2 to 3 business days two very small deposits will be made INTO your bank account on file. Return to PayPal and enter both the amounts exactly (usually totaling about 19 cents or so) and hey presto! You are now verified and can accept payments. There are few fees – if any – involved with PayPal, other than a fee if your incoming payment is made via credit card. So far, I have only had one payment made this way and was charged $7 on a $124 deposit. All subsequent payments have been received at no cost to me and with no annual fees. Now, a merchant/business account is slightly different and will include specific fees per transaction, but for you and I, an individual account is all we need.
Once your payment is posted on PayPal, you may request a withdrawal to your bank account – at no charge, and taking 3-4 business days depending on your banks electronic transfer policies, or you may opt for payment via a check, which costs $1.50 and takes as long as the mail allows…
TO THE SITES
Survey Sites
Scrutinize Sites entice you with $5 and up sign on bonuses and nice payouts ranging from $1-$25 per survey completed, however, when first joining, you will be offered a plethora of surveys and may quickly earn $15 – beware, as the minimum payout is usually $25 and qualifying for surveys tend to find you answering about 15 minutes of questions only to discover you didn’t fit the demographic they were seeking – scam?
Years ago, survey sites were a prolific money earning opportunity, and I was a member – at one point – of over 50, earning on average $250 per month. However, as with all easy money opportunities, cheaters enter the scene and waste the site. Members with multiple accounts were earning so considerable that the sites could no longer support their guarantees and therefore, tighter guidelines, lower payments and higher payout limits drove all the respectable members away.I no longer participate in Survey sites….
Discussion Sites
An increasingly popular site is MyLot.com where members are paid to post discussion topics and post/answer questions. Anywhere you gape online, members are bragging about the wonders of this site – I beg to differ in my personal opinion. It is free to join and very simple to navigate. Its payment schedule has altered somewhat recently and now appears to offer rewards for content that is read in volume. An example of my experience there is as follows: I rated and responded to over 100 posts. I posted about 15 discussion topics. I received 2 answers, 1 friend request and a grand total of 75 cents - after 2 months! As a social networking site, this may be acceptable, but as an earner – skip it!
These sites in general are more helpful should one have questions or topics they would like to share – not for making money.
Reviewing Sites
Review web sites are by far the most popular and lucrative sites when it comes to earning, and receiving payments. Several have popped up within the last year and I can personally offer one that, I feel, is tremendous, and one that was but is no more!
Ciao is a astonishing site where one is paid to write product reviews and discussion topics. Contests are offered on both a weekly and monthly basis – Topic of The Month and Product of The Week – with 3 positions cashing out. A titanic selection of unreviewed products are available with a triple payment bonus should you be the first to review said item. In addition to an initial payment, you receive an amount between 0.01 and 0.03 for each person who rates your writings. It does not sound like worthy, but, having been a member since December, I am consistently cashing out on average $30 per month. At first, you will probably earn a little less than this, but the tip is to rate other members, leave a comment for them (thus building “community points”) and place yourself as a contributing member. Write a few articles but inquire of that you have to earn the trust of many members. Slowly but surely, your friend list will grow along with a great support system of raters. Remember, you can’t lose by rating someone else – you collect points, they gain money and in return rate you aid, now YOU fetch money. With a $5 minimum payout this is a site I HIGHLY recommend!
Epinions also offers the same basic features as Ciao, but I win that their payment system is a runt complex and is based on payment per x amount of reads. They accept previously published content, therefore I joined and posted several of my non-exclusive articles but to date have received a couple of hundred reviews but appear to have made no money! My final verdict has not been given on this site yet.
Compared By Uswas an excellent money maker when first established. Again, paid to review, this site offered $1.00 for each review written ($2.00 if you were the first to write the review) and a referral program that offered a one time payment of $1.50 for each new member you referred plus a percentage of their earnings for the first 6 months or so. My first month at CBU was extremely lucrative – in fact I abandoned Ciao to focus on writing here, earning $124 in my first month. Sadly, cheats, plagiarizers and the likes wiped this site out causing many issues with payments and rule changes. Money can still be made here, however it involves a lot of patience and quite a bit of work. $1.00 is paid to automatically per review, no more first review bonus, but only if you are one of the first 9 to write the review on the product. In addition, the payment has been chop to 0.25 for all reviews written on books, movies, CD’s! This is an attempt to prevent paying for 300 reviews on the same product. Sadly, this has created an environment where shoddy writers are rushing a review and eliminating the payment opportunity for talented reviewers. An editorial team reads each and every review prior to processing payments, but this does not eliminate the fact that we are unable to come by money on these reviews that month. A minimum amount of $20 has to be earned before requesting payment, and an editorial review has to be requested before even that. I requested a review of my 11 articles in January and did not receive my approval notice until March! This is a site that I check in on every now and then, and do hope that it will improve once all the glitches have been removed….. Worth a look, if you are patient.
In closing, I must warn you that online “paid to…: sites will not provide you with the ideal work at home opportunity, so don’t give up your day job. Having said that, if you look closely and carefully, you may find one or two that can treat you to dinner once a month!
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