These are sites that help you make money with your web site or blog by using some of the space on your site to advertise for other sites or products. In many ad programs, you earn whenever someone visits your site and clicks on the ad (referred to as pay-per-click or PPC ads). In others, you earn whenever an ad is viewed - these ads are pay-per-impression.
There are a number of different types of ads: banner ads, text ads, ads inserted into pictures or videos, interstitial ads which appear when people are moving from one page to another on your site, pop-up/pop-under ads, and so on. Ads may also be contextual, which mean that the ad is based on the content of the page that the ad appears on.
Webmasters should always remember that some forms of advertising are less popular than others. The best ads blend in with your site, do not annoy or harass your visitors, and are relevant enough so that your visitors will occasionally click on them.
AdBrite is a large supplier of several different types of ads for your web site or blog. You can choose from text ads, banner ads, and interstitial ads. All types of ads are highly customizable. Where AdBrite excels is in the amount of control you have over the ads placed on your site. You can set the prices you want to charge for the ads, set time frames for how long the ads will stay on your site, and so on.
AdPreference is a supplier of interstitial ads. These are full-page ads that appear in between two other pages on your site. The ads can be skipped over, or will automatically move to the next page after a few moments. Importantly, you have full control over these ads. You decide how much to charge, as well as when and where the ads will display. Advertisers will then be able to find your site on AdPreference and decide if they would like to place ads there, pending your approval.
ADster provides contextual text ads. You place an "ADster Panel" anywhere on your site, which is where the ads will appear. The panel can be customized to blend in with your site.
You can then choose to either display ads that pay every time someone clicks on them, or flat rate ads. If you choose flat rate ads, you are given complete control over which ads appear on your site and how much you would like to charge for them - ADster pays you 75% of this revenue.
AdVolcano promises 100% customizable ads for your site. You can set different rates for ad space on your site, and decide how long ads can run (daily, weekly, monthly or even yearly) at each rate. You also set what size the ads can be and where they will be placed. AdVolcano will then include your site in their searchable directory so that advertisers can browse through and purchase your ad space. AdVolcano pays out 75% of the total bid price.
BidVertiser is a provider of text ads. It is called "BidVertiser" because the advertisers bid against each other to get the best ad space. You have full control over the ads that appear on your site and BidVertiser automatically tracks the performance of your ads so that you can see which ones are the most successful. BidVertiser also has a very low minimum payout of just $10.00.
BlogAds provides ads specifically for blogs. Ads come in a strip format that can include both picture and text ads. The ads will run anywhere from 1 week to several months, and bloggers are paid a flat rate for each ad run. These pay anywhere from $10 to several thousand dollars per week depending on your blog's traffic. BlogAds requires you to have a fairly large blog with at least 1,000 readers per day. They also require you to be sponsored by one of the blogs
in their network, though you can also email BlogAds and ask to be notified when a new sponsor is available.
BritePic is a service by AdBrite that allows you to add a tiny menu to the images on your site. Users of your site can then interact with them - zoom in, email or print the images, and more. You then have the option of putting a small ad at the top of the images, which you will earn money from. Even if you choose not to use the built-in ads with BritePic, the other features are free to use on your site, making it an attractive option for webmasters.
BurstMedia is one of the oldest advertising networks on the internet. They provide a variety of targeted advertising options including text ad units, various types of banner ads, pop-under ads and more. Some ads are pay-per-click and some are pay-per-impression and you can reject ads if you do not like the content or the rate that they pay. BurstMedia requires that your site have at least 5,000 pageviews per month and you must follow some other very specific rules - in many cases they require that you give Burst's ads priority over other ads on
your site.
Casale Media provides ads for relatively established sites. To qualify, your site must receive at least 10,000 unique visitors per month and meet some minimum content requirements.
Casale Media specializes in banner/button ads, but also provide interstitial and pop-under ads. All of their ads are pay-per-impression, and webmasters have complete control over which ads will appear on their site.
Chitika is a provider of mainly shopping-related advertising. They are best known for their "eMiniMalls" which allow users of your site to compare prices and shop for items without even leaving your site. They also offer other forms of ads, such as "related products" text ads. All of their ads are pay per click. If your site is based around consumer products in some way, Chitika is a good choice. They require that your site receive at least 10,000 pageviews per month in order to apply.
Clicksor is a provider of several different types of contextual ads, including text and banner ads, but they are probably best known for their inline text advertising. This is where specific words in your articles or blog posts are underlined, and a small ad pops up when the links are hovered over with the mouse. Note that your site must receive at least 5,000 pageviews per day to qualify for Clicksor.
FeedBurner is the largest RSS feed managing site on the internet. If you use FeedBurner to host your blog's feeds, you can also participate in the FeedBurner Ad Network and have paid ads automatically inserted into the feeds. These ads pay per impression and you can approve or reject advertisers as you choose. To qualify, your blog must be at least 3 months old and you must publish new content at least once per week.
Feedvertising is a service by Text Link Ads (also listed in this section) that allows you to automatically insert text ads into your blog's RSS feeds. Currently only WordPress 2.0 and higher blogs are supported, although the service will be expanded in the future. When using Feedvertising, you can opt to use paid ads provided by Text Link Ads and generate extra income for your site, or you can instead publish your own custom ads or affiliate links.
Google Adsense is the most popular and widely known text ad service. Google scans your pages and then provides contextual ads that are specifically tailored to the content of your pages. Google's ads are pay-per-click, with the amount per click varying depending on the underlying keyword for each ad. In addition to text ads, they provide affiliate banners and buttons, as well as an option to place a Google search box on your site, which pays when people click on the ads in the search results. Adsense makes it easy for even newer or smaller sites to earn some advertising revenue.
LinkWorth is a marketing and advertising company. They specialize in text ads and have several different styles to choose from beyond the standard text block. If you run multiple sites, LinkWorth allows you to bundle them together at a discount in order to attract more advertisers. LinkWorth also offers a number of flexible payment options, including direct deposit and wire transfers in addition to the standard check and PayPal options.
MediaPlex is the advertising network of Valueclick, a longtime internet advertising company. They excel in the large variety of different ad types that they offer. This includes banners of many different sizes and formats - including rich media formats like Flash - interstitial ads, pop-unders, and "InVue" ads which appear as a new window "inside" of an existing browser window. MediaPlex's ads are pay-per-impression and your site must receive at least 3,000
pageviews per month to apply.
MIVA is a contextual ad network with several different kinds of ads. You can choose from various sizes of text ad blocks, inline ads which appear when a visitor of your site hovers their mouse over a keyword, and search ads which can be integrated into the search function on your site. MIVA tailors ads towards the content of your pages, and also let you specify keywords for the ads in order to fine-tune them further. All of MIVA's ads are pay-per-click.
OneMonkey is another provider of targeted text ads and an alternative to Google Adsense. They allow you to place blocks of text ads on your pages or include them in search results on your site. There is no minimum traffic that your site must receive to apply, and OneMonkey pays out 80% of the ad revenue to you, one of the highest rates among ad networks. They also offer the choice between pay-per-click and pay-per-impression ads.
PayPopUp is a provider of pop-under ads. These ads appear in new browser windows behind the main window, so that the user sees them after the main window is closed. These are generally considered less annoying than pop-up ads, which appear on top and are usually closed instantly. PayPopUp's ads are pay-per-impression, with the standard rate being $1.80 per thousand impressions.
PeakClick is another provider of contextual text ads. The ads are pay per click and you earn 70% of the revenue for every click. They also offer a toolbar which users of your site can download, and then pays you for every click from the toolbar. PeakClick is very flexible when it comes to payment. They pay out every two weeks and provide a wide variety of payment options. They also offer the option of being paid in either dollars or euros.
Pheedo is a service similar to Feedburner that can host your blog's RSS feeds as well as insert paid ads into them. However, you do not need to host your feed with Pheedo in order to use their ad service. The feed ads can be text or banner ads. Some ads pay per click and some pay per impression. You control how often the ads appear in your feeds, and you can also choose to run ads in your feed and on your site simultaneously and be paid a premium rate.
Qumana is a blog resource site. They also have an ad service called Q-Ads, which is designed mainly for blogs. Q-Ads are text ads that can appear anywhere you choose in your blog or in your RSS feed. You choose the design of the ad, as well as specific keywords that are relevant to where the ad will be placed. Q-Ads then displays the highest paying ad for that keyword.
TargetPoint provides contextual ads in several different formats, and all ads are highly customizable. This includes text ads, banner ads, pop-under ads, and their "ExitPoint" ads which appear at the top of the window when users click on exit links from your site. Though the ExitPoint system allows you to earn advertising revenue without actually having ads on your site, note that some users may find it annoying.
Text Link Ads specializes in text ads for your site or blog and is a popular alternative to Google Adsense. You decide how many ads to place and where on your site to place them. This, along with your site's traffic, will determine how much each ad will pay out when Text Link Ads sells the spot to an advertiser. These ads are not contextual ads, so you may approve or deny ads as you wish and you can use Text Link Ads alongside other text ads on your site.
ThankYouPages is a service for any site that has a membership or registration feature. After a user of your site signs up or logs in, their demographic data is sent to ThankYouPages, who will then insert a relevant ad or offer for that user. The user can accept or reject the offer, and then continue on to your site. All information shared with ThankYouPages is kept confidential. ThankYouPages requires that your site be primarily targeted towards US users.
Tribal Fusion is a large provider of many different types of ads for high traffic sites, including Flash ads and other types of video ads, interstitial ads, and many others. Note that they are somewhat picky about approving sites, and that your site must have at least 2,000 unique visitors per day to qualify.
Vibrant Media is the largest provider of in-text advertising. These are ads that appear as double underlined words inside of articles or blog posts. Vibrant scans the content of your pages and then attaches the ads to relevant words. In order to qualify, you must have a large site that receives at least 500,000 page views per month.
Vizu Answers will pay you to add interactive polls to your site. These polls are provided by Vizu's clients, who are interested in hearing from your site's audience. The polls are placed directly on your site wherever you choose, and the look of the polls can be customized to some degree. An added advantage of choosing polls over traditional advertising is that you can make money without your visitors ever leaving your site.
Yahoo Publisher Network is Yahoo's version of Google Adsense. The two programs are similar in providing contextual text ad units, although Yahoo's program is still in beta, and many sites that apply are not accepted. Additionally, the program is currently only open to US residents.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Freelance Writing
Those of you with writing ability will be pleased to find that there are many sites that will pay you for well-written articles, reviews, and other works. Some sites will even hire you as a dedicated writer to work online from home.
About.com offers a freelance writing program for serious writers. You can sign up to be a "Guide" in a number of different areas of expertise and then manage a "GuideSite" on that topic. To see if you qualify, there is a mandatory training program for new Guides so that you can show a sample of your work. Guides earn a minimum of $725 per month writing for About. com, with the amount increasing as you publish more content and get more pageviews.
Appingo is a full service provider for publishers. They hire freelance writers to work from home and do copy editing and proofreading. Note that they are looking for writers with some previous experience and thus, you must submit a resume in order to qualify.
Associated Content provides a wide variety of different ways to produce content and be paid for it. All types of original content are accepted - the focus is on written articles, but you can also send in videos, images, or audio clips. These can be on essentially any topic you like. AC will then review your submission and make an offer - generally between $3 and $20 - before publishing it on their site. You can also earn an additional monthly bonus if the content you create becomes popular on the site. Note that Associated Content is only available in the
United States.
Constant Content is a site that supplies articles, reviews, tutorials, and other types of content to clients looking to complete web sites or other web projects. You can register on the site as an author and begin publishing content of your own. You are able to set the price someone must pay to use your articles and Constant Content takes a 35% cut from this. You also have full control over the rights to your work. You can sell usage rights, which earn less but can be resold over and over, or you can choose to sell the full rights to the work and earn
a larger one-time fee for it.
DayTipper is a site with a huge collection of tips which are supplied by the site's members. A tip can be any sort of practical information on a wide variety of topics. Tips are generally around one paragraph long. If you submit a tip, DayTipper will then review it to see that your tip is original and helpful. For every tip you write that is published on the site, you will receive $3.00.
Digital Journal is a frequently updated news site where all articles are submitted by users of the site, known as "citizen journalists". Users also comment and vote on which articles make the front page. Digital Journal shares a portion of its advertising revenue with the users who submit articles. You can increase your share by submitting more articles and submitting articles that become popular on the site. Digital Journal discloses how much money was paid out to its users each month, as well as which users were the top earners.
Helium is a full writing community where anyone can post original articles or other writings and then be paid for it. All works on the site are rated by other users. The amount paid for articles depends on how well it is rated, how popular it is, and the overall topic of the article.
Helium also offers frequent writing contests where publishers pay up to $150 to the winners, and a "Marketplace" where you can browse freelance writing tasks from various publishers, who pay anywhere from $20 to $200 for specific works.
Review Stream is a review site that pays for reviews of just about anything - movies, music, stores, hotels, electronics, web sites, and almost anything else you can think of. The amount paid for reviews changes from time to time. As of this writing, they pay $1.50 for a review with an additional $0.10 paid every time someone rates your review. Review Stream asks that you are very specific in your reviews, and that you do not submit reviews that you have already published elsewhere.
Shvoong is a site that specializes in abstracts, which are essentially condensed versions (summaries or reviews) of larger written works. Anyone can sign up to write abstracts, and you can write your abstracts on anything you choose, in any language. You then receive royalties based on how popular your abstracts are.
Software Judge is a software review site. They pay writers for honest, original, opinionated reviews of software. The software you review must be chosen and downloaded (for free) from the Software Judge site itself. At the time this was written, there are over 100 titles to choose from. You can submit a maximum of three reviews per day, and they pay as much as $50 for a review. Besides cash, Software Judge also offers free software incentives for their top reviewers. You must be able to accept Western Union payments to get paid for your
reviews.
Squidoo is a site where users share their knowledge on various topics. After you sign up with Squidoo, you can create a "lens" - this is basically a page that acts as a starting point for a particular topic. The topic can be just about anything and you can include information, links to other sites, and other references. Squidoo provides ready-made modules to make these pages easy to set up. You then receive 50% of the ad revenue and affiliate royalties from the pages that you create.
Thisisby.us is a writing community where anyone can submit their original works. These can be articles, opinions, how-tos, or just general musings on just about any subject. 50% of the advertising revenue of the site goes to the writers. Readers of the site vote on which content they like the most, and more popular writers will receive a higher portion of the revenue. An additional 10% of the advertising revenue goes to those who sign up and comment on the articles.
UserTesting pays you to review other web sites. In addition to a written review, you are also asked to use a screen recording program (supplied by UserTesting - you must be using Windows to run the software) to record your mouse movements, along with spoken comments, as you use the site you are reviewing. UserTesting pays $10.00 per full review.
Before being allowed to review, you must supply a sample video using their screen recording program. When making a review, it is important to be critical and try to find flaws in the web site that you are reviewing.
Wise Orb is another writing site that allows anyone to submit original writings and articles on most topics you can think of. All submissions are screened by an editor before making it on the site, and they prohibit adult and/or "controversial" content. The more popular your articles are, the more you will get paid, although Wise Orb does not disclose exactly how their payment system works, so it is difficult to judge. You must also wait until your account has reached $100.00 to be paid.
WordFirm is a book and report publishing site that hires freelance writers to work online on various projects. Tasks include writing, editing, proofreading, and even graphic design. WordFirm requires you to fill out a detailed application to see if you qualify. They promise a flexible and professional writing environment for serious writers.
WorldStart is a computing site that features articles, newsletters, and more. They are looking for article writers as well as tips for their "Computer Tips and Techniques" newsletter.
Submissions should include all relevant screenshots. All content is geared towards the "average" computer user and not meant to be highly technical. WorldStart must approve your idea before you begin, and pay ranges from $35.00 to $65.00.
About.com offers a freelance writing program for serious writers. You can sign up to be a "Guide" in a number of different areas of expertise and then manage a "GuideSite" on that topic. To see if you qualify, there is a mandatory training program for new Guides so that you can show a sample of your work. Guides earn a minimum of $725 per month writing for About. com, with the amount increasing as you publish more content and get more pageviews.
Appingo is a full service provider for publishers. They hire freelance writers to work from home and do copy editing and proofreading. Note that they are looking for writers with some previous experience and thus, you must submit a resume in order to qualify.
Associated Content provides a wide variety of different ways to produce content and be paid for it. All types of original content are accepted - the focus is on written articles, but you can also send in videos, images, or audio clips. These can be on essentially any topic you like. AC will then review your submission and make an offer - generally between $3 and $20 - before publishing it on their site. You can also earn an additional monthly bonus if the content you create becomes popular on the site. Note that Associated Content is only available in the
United States.
Constant Content is a site that supplies articles, reviews, tutorials, and other types of content to clients looking to complete web sites or other web projects. You can register on the site as an author and begin publishing content of your own. You are able to set the price someone must pay to use your articles and Constant Content takes a 35% cut from this. You also have full control over the rights to your work. You can sell usage rights, which earn less but can be resold over and over, or you can choose to sell the full rights to the work and earn
a larger one-time fee for it.
DayTipper is a site with a huge collection of tips which are supplied by the site's members. A tip can be any sort of practical information on a wide variety of topics. Tips are generally around one paragraph long. If you submit a tip, DayTipper will then review it to see that your tip is original and helpful. For every tip you write that is published on the site, you will receive $3.00.
Digital Journal is a frequently updated news site where all articles are submitted by users of the site, known as "citizen journalists". Users also comment and vote on which articles make the front page. Digital Journal shares a portion of its advertising revenue with the users who submit articles. You can increase your share by submitting more articles and submitting articles that become popular on the site. Digital Journal discloses how much money was paid out to its users each month, as well as which users were the top earners.
Helium is a full writing community where anyone can post original articles or other writings and then be paid for it. All works on the site are rated by other users. The amount paid for articles depends on how well it is rated, how popular it is, and the overall topic of the article.
Helium also offers frequent writing contests where publishers pay up to $150 to the winners, and a "Marketplace" where you can browse freelance writing tasks from various publishers, who pay anywhere from $20 to $200 for specific works.
Review Stream is a review site that pays for reviews of just about anything - movies, music, stores, hotels, electronics, web sites, and almost anything else you can think of. The amount paid for reviews changes from time to time. As of this writing, they pay $1.50 for a review with an additional $0.10 paid every time someone rates your review. Review Stream asks that you are very specific in your reviews, and that you do not submit reviews that you have already published elsewhere.
Shvoong is a site that specializes in abstracts, which are essentially condensed versions (summaries or reviews) of larger written works. Anyone can sign up to write abstracts, and you can write your abstracts on anything you choose, in any language. You then receive royalties based on how popular your abstracts are.
Software Judge is a software review site. They pay writers for honest, original, opinionated reviews of software. The software you review must be chosen and downloaded (for free) from the Software Judge site itself. At the time this was written, there are over 100 titles to choose from. You can submit a maximum of three reviews per day, and they pay as much as $50 for a review. Besides cash, Software Judge also offers free software incentives for their top reviewers. You must be able to accept Western Union payments to get paid for your
reviews.
Squidoo is a site where users share their knowledge on various topics. After you sign up with Squidoo, you can create a "lens" - this is basically a page that acts as a starting point for a particular topic. The topic can be just about anything and you can include information, links to other sites, and other references. Squidoo provides ready-made modules to make these pages easy to set up. You then receive 50% of the ad revenue and affiliate royalties from the pages that you create.
Thisisby.us is a writing community where anyone can submit their original works. These can be articles, opinions, how-tos, or just general musings on just about any subject. 50% of the advertising revenue of the site goes to the writers. Readers of the site vote on which content they like the most, and more popular writers will receive a higher portion of the revenue. An additional 10% of the advertising revenue goes to those who sign up and comment on the articles.
UserTesting pays you to review other web sites. In addition to a written review, you are also asked to use a screen recording program (supplied by UserTesting - you must be using Windows to run the software) to record your mouse movements, along with spoken comments, as you use the site you are reviewing. UserTesting pays $10.00 per full review.
Before being allowed to review, you must supply a sample video using their screen recording program. When making a review, it is important to be critical and try to find flaws in the web site that you are reviewing.
Wise Orb is another writing site that allows anyone to submit original writings and articles on most topics you can think of. All submissions are screened by an editor before making it on the site, and they prohibit adult and/or "controversial" content. The more popular your articles are, the more you will get paid, although Wise Orb does not disclose exactly how their payment system works, so it is difficult to judge. You must also wait until your account has reached $100.00 to be paid.
WordFirm is a book and report publishing site that hires freelance writers to work online on various projects. Tasks include writing, editing, proofreading, and even graphic design. WordFirm requires you to fill out a detailed application to see if you qualify. They promise a flexible and professional writing environment for serious writers.
WorldStart is a computing site that features articles, newsletters, and more. They are looking for article writers as well as tips for their "Computer Tips and Techniques" newsletter.
Submissions should include all relevant screenshots. All content is geared towards the "average" computer user and not meant to be highly technical. WorldStart must approve your idea before you begin, and pay ranges from $35.00 to $65.00.
Paid Blogging
Already have a blog? Get paid for it! Sponsored blog networks will pay you to review products or web sites in your blog posts, or to add sponsored links to your blog. Don't have a blog yet, or planning to start a new blog? There are blog networks that will pay you to blog for them, as well as hosting services that will host your blog for free and then share their ad revenue with you.
B5media is a large network of individual blogs. If you are an active blogger that can write at least 6-8 posts per week, you can apply to write for one of their blogs. You can either suggest an idea for a new blog, or apply to join their network with your existing blog. There is a short screening process where you must provide samples of your writing. Bloggers for B5media reportedly earn a few hundred dollars per month.
BlogCharm is a blog hosting service that will host your blog for free. You must start a new blog on BlogCharm in order to qualify and most types of blogs are allowed. On each page of your blog there will be a thin header containing text ads. The text ads generate revenue for BlogCharm, which in turn shares that revenue with its users 50/50. More popular blogs receive a larger share. Users are also permitted to place Google Adsense ads on their blogs to earn more money.
BlogChex is a service that, like BlogCharm, will host your blog for free. You can choose to start a new blog or migrate an existing blog to BlogChex. They also share their ad revenue with their users or will even find specific advertising for blogs, though they are a little vague about this as the site is still a work in progress. Another similarity to BlogCharm is that they allow you to place Google Adsense ads on your blogs to earn more. For first time bloggers, BlogCharm and BlogChex are worth a try.
Blogitive is a sponsored blog site that allows you to browse offers from different advertisers and then get paid to write a blog post about them. Blogitive pays $5 per post on average, though they state this "varies" depending on the offer. They also have a few extra services that you can try, such as being paid to list news headlines on your blog and be paid when visitors click on them, or to be paid to write for blogs other than your own. To apply, your blog must be at least 3 months old and be regularly updated (at least 3 posts per week).
Blogging Ads offers a very easy way to get involved with sponsored blog posts. After signing up, you can browse through different "ads" for other sites. These ads are basically designed as short blog posts that you insert into your own blog and are paid about $5 each for. You are limited to 3 of these per month in a single blog, or up to 10 per month if you register multiple blogs. To qualify, your blog must be at least 3 months old and have a minimum amount of content and traffic. Blogsvertise allows you to register your blog and then later be contacted with different offers from advertisers. Most blogs are accepted, though your blog must be at least one month old. When you receive an offer and choose to accept it, you need to write a blog post that contains at least three links to the advertiser's site. An endorsement of the site is not necessary. Blogsvertise pays anywhere from $4 to $25 for posts, with the potential of earning more after you have participated for a while.
CREAMaid is a site featuring numerous "conversations" about specific topics. As a blog writer you can choose one of these conversations, write a post about it in your blog, and then insert a widget from CREAMaid at the end of your post. As long as you have followed the guidelines, your post will be linked to the conversation. It will then be listed among the other posts, and you will be eligible to receive a royalty from the original conversation starter. You can also
make money from referrals if other bloggers participate in the conversation after being led to it from your post. Though not as lucrative as some other paid blogging sites, CREAMaid is very easy to participate in.
Creative Weblogging is a blog network that will pay you if you blog fairly regularly. Note that you must have some prior experience blogging, as they prefer to see a sample of your work before you can sign up. Creative Weblogging pays $225 per month, and you must write at least 7 new posts per week. Note: as of this writing, Creative Weblogging is not accepting new blogs, but this changes from time to time. However, they are looking for new paid editors.
DeWitts Media is a web development and search engine optimization site. Among other services, they offer a sponsored link program for blogs. This is where you insert a link with specific text into your blog post, which is a paid advertisement for another site. Bloggers are paid $10 per link, and must agree not to disclose that the link is sponsored. Note that your blog must have a Google PageRank of at least 3 to be accepted.
LinkWorth features a few programs of particular interest to bloggers. Their LinkPost program allows you to make money with sponsored blog posts. But if you prefer sponsored links instead of full sponsored posts, they offer that as well with their LinkInTxt program. In both programs, you will earn 70% of what the advertiser has paid for the sponsored post or link.
LoudLaunch allows you to get paid for inserting "micro press releases" in your blog posts. Essentially, this is similar to other sponsored blog programs where you review another site in your blog post. You can choose which advertiser campaigns you wish to write about, and you must disclose that the post is sponsored. Oddly, the amount you are paid is not set in advance; rather, you are paid a "fair assessment" which depends mainly on how much traffic your blog gets. To apply for LoudLaunch, you must be at least 18 years of age and your blog must be at least 2 months old.
Pay Me To Blog About You is a new sponsored blog program that includes both sponsored blog posts and sponsored links. The site basically acts as a marketplace where advertisers can browse to find a blog to hire, or bloggers can place bids (i.e. how much they would like to be paid) for different opportunities that appear on the site. Pay Me To Blog About You also features a messaging system that allows bloggers and advertisers to negotiate directly with
each other.
PayPerPost is the largest network of sponsored blog posts. To sign up, you must have an existing blog that is at least 3 months old. If your blog is accepted, you can pick and choose whichever offers you like, then write about it in your blog. Bloggers are paid after their post has been up for a set period of time. Amounts paid vary widely depending on which offer was selected, and more popular blogs can expect to be paid more. Bloggers using PayPerPost can expect to earn several hundred dollars per month or more.
PayU2Blog is a relatively new sponsored blog site. Rather than require you to write an entire review of a product or site, bloggers only have to insert a sponsored link into their blog post. The post does not have to be specifically about the link. PayU2Blog generally pays $5.00 per link. This is one of the easiest and most straightforward ways to make money with your blog, but note that bloggers do not have the option to approve or deny the sponsored links that are
offered by PayU2Blog. ReviewMe allows relatively established blogs to get paid for reviewing other sites. Anyone can apply, although your blog must meet a minimum standard of traffic/readers in order to be accepted. If your blog is accepted, ReviewMe will give it a star rating on a scale of 1 to 5 (again, based on traffic), and set a standard price that you can expect to be paid for reviews.
Reviewers are paid anywhere from around $10-$20 to as much as several hundred dollars in the case of high traffic blogs. Reviews are meant to be casual and honest - they are not required to be positive.
Smorty is another sponsored blogging service that requires your blog to be at least 3 months old in order to qualify. You can register multiple blogs with Smorty, although you cannot review the same products or sites on more than one blog. Paid blog posts start at $6 each, with up to $100 per post possible for high traffic blogs and/or blogs with a high PageRank on Google. Bloggers get paid weekly on Smorty.
Sponsored Reviews is a sponsored blog network that allows bloggers to hand pick the products or sites that they would like to write about. Sponsored Reviews takes 35% of the review fee. You'll make at least $10 for a sponsored post, increasing to hundreds of dollars -or even over $1,000 - for high traffic blogs.
V7N Contextual Links provides sponsored links for your blog. As with other sponsored link programs, the link is to be placed somewhere in your blog post, and the post does not need to be specifically about the site being linked to. V7N requires that bloggers in their program do not disclose that the links are sponsored. They pay $10 per sponsored link. To apply, you must have an existing blog with a fair amount of traffic. This is a very similar program to the one
from DeWitts Media, and pays the same.
Weblogs, Inc. is an AOL-owned network of about 90 blogs, many of which cover some aspect of computing or technology. You can apply to join one of their existing blogs as a contributing blogger, or suggest a topic for a new blog. Weblogs, Inc. reportedly pays their bloggers $4-$5 per blog post.
Wise Bread is one of the most visited personal finance blogs on the net. They are always looking to add new bloggers who can write about personal finance, frugal living, career ideas, shopping tips and so on. To apply, Wise Bread asks that you send them a few sample posts and ideas. If you qualify, you will receive 100% of the ad revenue from your personal pages on the site.
B5media is a large network of individual blogs. If you are an active blogger that can write at least 6-8 posts per week, you can apply to write for one of their blogs. You can either suggest an idea for a new blog, or apply to join their network with your existing blog. There is a short screening process where you must provide samples of your writing. Bloggers for B5media reportedly earn a few hundred dollars per month.
BlogCharm is a blog hosting service that will host your blog for free. You must start a new blog on BlogCharm in order to qualify and most types of blogs are allowed. On each page of your blog there will be a thin header containing text ads. The text ads generate revenue for BlogCharm, which in turn shares that revenue with its users 50/50. More popular blogs receive a larger share. Users are also permitted to place Google Adsense ads on their blogs to earn more money.
BlogChex is a service that, like BlogCharm, will host your blog for free. You can choose to start a new blog or migrate an existing blog to BlogChex. They also share their ad revenue with their users or will even find specific advertising for blogs, though they are a little vague about this as the site is still a work in progress. Another similarity to BlogCharm is that they allow you to place Google Adsense ads on your blogs to earn more. For first time bloggers, BlogCharm and BlogChex are worth a try.
Blogitive is a sponsored blog site that allows you to browse offers from different advertisers and then get paid to write a blog post about them. Blogitive pays $5 per post on average, though they state this "varies" depending on the offer. They also have a few extra services that you can try, such as being paid to list news headlines on your blog and be paid when visitors click on them, or to be paid to write for blogs other than your own. To apply, your blog must be at least 3 months old and be regularly updated (at least 3 posts per week).
Blogging Ads offers a very easy way to get involved with sponsored blog posts. After signing up, you can browse through different "ads" for other sites. These ads are basically designed as short blog posts that you insert into your own blog and are paid about $5 each for. You are limited to 3 of these per month in a single blog, or up to 10 per month if you register multiple blogs. To qualify, your blog must be at least 3 months old and have a minimum amount of content and traffic. Blogsvertise allows you to register your blog and then later be contacted with different offers from advertisers. Most blogs are accepted, though your blog must be at least one month old. When you receive an offer and choose to accept it, you need to write a blog post that contains at least three links to the advertiser's site. An endorsement of the site is not necessary. Blogsvertise pays anywhere from $4 to $25 for posts, with the potential of earning more after you have participated for a while.
CREAMaid is a site featuring numerous "conversations" about specific topics. As a blog writer you can choose one of these conversations, write a post about it in your blog, and then insert a widget from CREAMaid at the end of your post. As long as you have followed the guidelines, your post will be linked to the conversation. It will then be listed among the other posts, and you will be eligible to receive a royalty from the original conversation starter. You can also
make money from referrals if other bloggers participate in the conversation after being led to it from your post. Though not as lucrative as some other paid blogging sites, CREAMaid is very easy to participate in.
Creative Weblogging is a blog network that will pay you if you blog fairly regularly. Note that you must have some prior experience blogging, as they prefer to see a sample of your work before you can sign up. Creative Weblogging pays $225 per month, and you must write at least 7 new posts per week. Note: as of this writing, Creative Weblogging is not accepting new blogs, but this changes from time to time. However, they are looking for new paid editors.
DeWitts Media is a web development and search engine optimization site. Among other services, they offer a sponsored link program for blogs. This is where you insert a link with specific text into your blog post, which is a paid advertisement for another site. Bloggers are paid $10 per link, and must agree not to disclose that the link is sponsored. Note that your blog must have a Google PageRank of at least 3 to be accepted.
LinkWorth features a few programs of particular interest to bloggers. Their LinkPost program allows you to make money with sponsored blog posts. But if you prefer sponsored links instead of full sponsored posts, they offer that as well with their LinkInTxt program. In both programs, you will earn 70% of what the advertiser has paid for the sponsored post or link.
LoudLaunch allows you to get paid for inserting "micro press releases" in your blog posts. Essentially, this is similar to other sponsored blog programs where you review another site in your blog post. You can choose which advertiser campaigns you wish to write about, and you must disclose that the post is sponsored. Oddly, the amount you are paid is not set in advance; rather, you are paid a "fair assessment" which depends mainly on how much traffic your blog gets. To apply for LoudLaunch, you must be at least 18 years of age and your blog must be at least 2 months old.
Pay Me To Blog About You is a new sponsored blog program that includes both sponsored blog posts and sponsored links. The site basically acts as a marketplace where advertisers can browse to find a blog to hire, or bloggers can place bids (i.e. how much they would like to be paid) for different opportunities that appear on the site. Pay Me To Blog About You also features a messaging system that allows bloggers and advertisers to negotiate directly with
each other.
PayPerPost is the largest network of sponsored blog posts. To sign up, you must have an existing blog that is at least 3 months old. If your blog is accepted, you can pick and choose whichever offers you like, then write about it in your blog. Bloggers are paid after their post has been up for a set period of time. Amounts paid vary widely depending on which offer was selected, and more popular blogs can expect to be paid more. Bloggers using PayPerPost can expect to earn several hundred dollars per month or more.
PayU2Blog is a relatively new sponsored blog site. Rather than require you to write an entire review of a product or site, bloggers only have to insert a sponsored link into their blog post. The post does not have to be specifically about the link. PayU2Blog generally pays $5.00 per link. This is one of the easiest and most straightforward ways to make money with your blog, but note that bloggers do not have the option to approve or deny the sponsored links that are
offered by PayU2Blog. ReviewMe allows relatively established blogs to get paid for reviewing other sites. Anyone can apply, although your blog must meet a minimum standard of traffic/readers in order to be accepted. If your blog is accepted, ReviewMe will give it a star rating on a scale of 1 to 5 (again, based on traffic), and set a standard price that you can expect to be paid for reviews.
Reviewers are paid anywhere from around $10-$20 to as much as several hundred dollars in the case of high traffic blogs. Reviews are meant to be casual and honest - they are not required to be positive.
Smorty is another sponsored blogging service that requires your blog to be at least 3 months old in order to qualify. You can register multiple blogs with Smorty, although you cannot review the same products or sites on more than one blog. Paid blog posts start at $6 each, with up to $100 per post possible for high traffic blogs and/or blogs with a high PageRank on Google. Bloggers get paid weekly on Smorty.
Sponsored Reviews is a sponsored blog network that allows bloggers to hand pick the products or sites that they would like to write about. Sponsored Reviews takes 35% of the review fee. You'll make at least $10 for a sponsored post, increasing to hundreds of dollars -or even over $1,000 - for high traffic blogs.
V7N Contextual Links provides sponsored links for your blog. As with other sponsored link programs, the link is to be placed somewhere in your blog post, and the post does not need to be specifically about the site being linked to. V7N requires that bloggers in their program do not disclose that the links are sponsored. They pay $10 per sponsored link. To apply, you must have an existing blog with a fair amount of traffic. This is a very similar program to the one
from DeWitts Media, and pays the same.
Weblogs, Inc. is an AOL-owned network of about 90 blogs, many of which cover some aspect of computing or technology. You can apply to join one of their existing blogs as a contributing blogger, or suggest a topic for a new blog. Weblogs, Inc. reportedly pays their bloggers $4-$5 per blog post.
Wise Bread is one of the most visited personal finance blogs on the net. They are always looking to add new bloggers who can write about personal finance, frugal living, career ideas, shopping tips and so on. To apply, Wise Bread asks that you send them a few sample posts and ideas. If you qualify, you will receive 100% of the ad revenue from your personal pages on the site.
Social Discussion
Social networking sites like MySpace have become extremely popular in recent years because of how much people enjoy interacting with others online. So, it was only a matter of time before sites began offering incentives for users to take part in these types of activities.
Whether it be talking with others, posting in forums, or offering your assistance in an area you have some expertise in, you can find several ways to get paid to take part in these discussions.
BitWine allows you to earn money for taking calls and giving people advice in some area of expertise. You can set up a profile page, decide which topics you wish to advise on, and set how much you would like to charge per minute. BitWine is integrated with Skype, an internet call program, which you must download and install in order to take calls. You can decide when you want to take calls or even set up appointments in advance. BitWine also features an affiliate program that allows you to install a widget on your site and pass people looking for advice to BitWine, and then receive a commission in return.
ChaCha is a search engine site that uses its team of "Guides" to help make their search results more relevant and accurate. ChaCha features a standard search engine page as well as an option for users of the site to chat with a Guide, who can then suggest sites to the user depending on what they are looking for. Anyone can apply to be a Guide and they reportedly make between $5 and $10 per hour, can work whenever they like, and can request payment at any time.
Dada.net is a social networking site - similar to MySpace - with millions of users. Members of the site can create their own personal page and list their interests, write in a blog, post audio and video, and of course link to their friends and post comments on their pages as well. The site also features a program called Friend$ which allows you to make money just by using the site, referring other people to it, and driving more visitors to your personal page.
Ether is a site that helps you get paid for assisting others over the phone. They supply you with a number and personal extension (available in the USA and Canada only) that forwards to your real phone number, which is always kept private. You decide on the topics of discussion in advance, as well as what you would like to charge - this could be an hourly rate, by the minute, or a flat rate per call. You can also set the hours that you are available for calls, or simply turn your Ether number on and off whenever you like so you will never get calls when
you don't want to. Ether does not really promote your number, so it's up to you to let people know about it.
Just Answer is a question and answer site where experts answer paid questions for customers. When you apply, you may also provide any credentials you have such as degrees or professional licenses, although these are not required. New questions appear frequently, along with the amount the customer is willing to pay to have it answered. As an expert, you answer questions primarily by posting messages, although a chat option is also available. If your answer is accepted, the amount paid is split between you and Just Answer. The more questions you answer, the greater your share will be when you answer new ones.
Jyve is another site that where you can offer your assistance to others. Users of the site ask questions, many of which are answered in a live chat - but because anyone can ask a question whether they are a member of the site or not, some of the questions can be incomplete or nonsensical. You can get paid for answering questions when users choose to tip you, or you can sign up for "JyvePro" which gives you the additional ability to take paid voice calls using Skype. These calls can be pre-paid, or you can speak with the person first and then switch to
a paid call later.
myLot is a large and active discussion community where users are paid a small amount simply for contributing to discussions. Once signed up, anyone can start a new discussion or post in a discussion that someone else has started. All of the discussions are organized into a huge group of "interests" covering almost anything one would like to talk about. The focus of MyLot is more on chatting than on writing, so serious writers will find more reliable earnings elsewhere; but if you enjoy a more casual chatting environment, MyLot is worth checking out.
Tutor.com is an online tutoring site. Tutors work in an "online classroom" where you can chat with a student, use a whiteboard or browse sites together, and send files back and forth. As a tutor, you schedule your own hours (anywhere from 5-30 per week). To apply, you must live in the US or Canada, have a degree, fill out their online application, and go through their screening process. Tutor.com claims to pay very competitive rates for tutoring and also pays potential tutors for going through their training process.
Whether it be talking with others, posting in forums, or offering your assistance in an area you have some expertise in, you can find several ways to get paid to take part in these discussions.
BitWine allows you to earn money for taking calls and giving people advice in some area of expertise. You can set up a profile page, decide which topics you wish to advise on, and set how much you would like to charge per minute. BitWine is integrated with Skype, an internet call program, which you must download and install in order to take calls. You can decide when you want to take calls or even set up appointments in advance. BitWine also features an affiliate program that allows you to install a widget on your site and pass people looking for advice to BitWine, and then receive a commission in return.
ChaCha is a search engine site that uses its team of "Guides" to help make their search results more relevant and accurate. ChaCha features a standard search engine page as well as an option for users of the site to chat with a Guide, who can then suggest sites to the user depending on what they are looking for. Anyone can apply to be a Guide and they reportedly make between $5 and $10 per hour, can work whenever they like, and can request payment at any time.
Dada.net is a social networking site - similar to MySpace - with millions of users. Members of the site can create their own personal page and list their interests, write in a blog, post audio and video, and of course link to their friends and post comments on their pages as well. The site also features a program called Friend$ which allows you to make money just by using the site, referring other people to it, and driving more visitors to your personal page.
Ether is a site that helps you get paid for assisting others over the phone. They supply you with a number and personal extension (available in the USA and Canada only) that forwards to your real phone number, which is always kept private. You decide on the topics of discussion in advance, as well as what you would like to charge - this could be an hourly rate, by the minute, or a flat rate per call. You can also set the hours that you are available for calls, or simply turn your Ether number on and off whenever you like so you will never get calls when
you don't want to. Ether does not really promote your number, so it's up to you to let people know about it.
Just Answer is a question and answer site where experts answer paid questions for customers. When you apply, you may also provide any credentials you have such as degrees or professional licenses, although these are not required. New questions appear frequently, along with the amount the customer is willing to pay to have it answered. As an expert, you answer questions primarily by posting messages, although a chat option is also available. If your answer is accepted, the amount paid is split between you and Just Answer. The more questions you answer, the greater your share will be when you answer new ones.
Jyve is another site that where you can offer your assistance to others. Users of the site ask questions, many of which are answered in a live chat - but because anyone can ask a question whether they are a member of the site or not, some of the questions can be incomplete or nonsensical. You can get paid for answering questions when users choose to tip you, or you can sign up for "JyvePro" which gives you the additional ability to take paid voice calls using Skype. These calls can be pre-paid, or you can speak with the person first and then switch to
a paid call later.
myLot is a large and active discussion community where users are paid a small amount simply for contributing to discussions. Once signed up, anyone can start a new discussion or post in a discussion that someone else has started. All of the discussions are organized into a huge group of "interests" covering almost anything one would like to talk about. The focus of MyLot is more on chatting than on writing, so serious writers will find more reliable earnings elsewhere; but if you enjoy a more casual chatting environment, MyLot is worth checking out.
Tutor.com is an online tutoring site. Tutors work in an "online classroom" where you can chat with a student, use a whiteboard or browse sites together, and send files back and forth. As a tutor, you schedule your own hours (anywhere from 5-30 per week). To apply, you must live in the US or Canada, have a degree, fill out their online application, and go through their screening process. Tutor.com claims to pay very competitive rates for tutoring and also pays potential tutors for going through their training process.
Share Your Files
Sharing photos and videos with others online is something that many of us do all the time; whether it's sharing your own files, or passing along other funny or interesting files we find on the web. The massive success of YouTube shows just how popular activities like these can be. The sites listed here encourage you to share picture and video files, and they will pay you for it - typically by sharing their ad revenue with you. The more popular your files are, the more you can earn.
Break is a video and picture site "for the guys". Of course, you are not required to be male to sign up, but the content is oriented towards the male 18-34 demographic (note: site contains some adult content). You can have a personal page on Break and use it to host your original pictures and videos. If Break likes your content enough to post it in a gallery or on the homepage, they will pay you as much as $25 for pictures and several hundred dollars for video.
Flixya was originally a video sharing site that has since expanded and now offers some additional features to its users, like hosting a photo gallery or a blog. They then allow you to place Google Adsense ads on your pages and receive 100% of the ad revenue. Sharing videos is still a primary focus of the site and Flixya allows you to submit videos from any site that allows embedded videos (such as Youtube).
Lulu.tv is a media exchange site. You can sign up as a "Shareholder" and then upload your original video, music, or podcast files. The site offers unlimited hosting of your files, which can be as large as 200 MB each. Lulu.tv sets aside 80% of the site's entire ad revenue and divides it up among the Shareholders. The percentage of the share you receive is based on how much traffic your files generated.
MetaCafe is a very large video sharing network that allows you to upload original video. The site has a "Producer Rewards" program that allows you to be paid for your videos. MetaCafe must review the videos before they can appear on the site. After your video has been viewed at least 20,000 times, you will receive $5 per 1,000 views. Note that although MetaCafe does contain some adult content, they have a "family filter" option that is turned on by default.
MoneyTube is a video sharing site that shares its ad revenue with its users 50/50. Link to videos from other video sites such as Youtube or Google Videos and start earning. Not only will you receive a 50% share of the ad revenue for the videos you link to, but you can refer other people to Moneytube and receive 15% of the revenue from the videos they link to as well.
Revver is a video sharing network. Users can upload their original videos to Revver, which are then displayed on Revver with an ad attached to them. Ad revenue generated by a particular video is split 50/50 with the creator. Revver strongly encourages users to share the videos all over the net by emailing them to friends, posting them on other sites, and so on. You can even earn money by sharing videos from Revver that others have created.
Shareapic is a picture hosting service. You can host your pictures there for free (no adult content) and are then encouraged to share them elsewhere on the net. Every month, Shareapic shares its advertising revenue with users of the site. The more times your pictures were viewed, the more you can make - the exact amount varies from month to month. If you are signed up with Google Adsense, you can also place Adsense ads in your personal gallery to earn even more.
Share-A-Flick is the sister site of Shareapic. As you might have guessed, Share-A-Flick deals with video sharing. They do not offer video hosting themselves. Instead, you can submit video from any site that allows you to embed video onto a web page (such as Youtube and MySpace). Like Shareapic, they pay out a share of their advertising revenue to their users each month.
Upblogger is a site that allows users to create their own "multimedia blog". On your page you can upload any combination of video, pictures, and/or audio clips. You then earn money based on how many times your files are viewed. Although they offer $5 per 1,000 plays of audio/video and $3 for every 5,000 photo views, each file needs to reach a certain number of views or plays before you are paid for that file. Note that Upblogger features a fair amount of adult content.
VuMe (short for View Me, and formerly known as Eefoof) is a media sharing site. You upload your original video, images, or audio clips. VuMe inserts ads onto your pages or at the end of your video clips. You then earn $3.00 for every 1,000 hits your files receive. Users of VuMe retain the rights to everything that they upload.
Break is a video and picture site "for the guys". Of course, you are not required to be male to sign up, but the content is oriented towards the male 18-34 demographic (note: site contains some adult content). You can have a personal page on Break and use it to host your original pictures and videos. If Break likes your content enough to post it in a gallery or on the homepage, they will pay you as much as $25 for pictures and several hundred dollars for video.
Flixya was originally a video sharing site that has since expanded and now offers some additional features to its users, like hosting a photo gallery or a blog. They then allow you to place Google Adsense ads on your pages and receive 100% of the ad revenue. Sharing videos is still a primary focus of the site and Flixya allows you to submit videos from any site that allows embedded videos (such as Youtube).
Lulu.tv is a media exchange site. You can sign up as a "Shareholder" and then upload your original video, music, or podcast files. The site offers unlimited hosting of your files, which can be as large as 200 MB each. Lulu.tv sets aside 80% of the site's entire ad revenue and divides it up among the Shareholders. The percentage of the share you receive is based on how much traffic your files generated.
MetaCafe is a very large video sharing network that allows you to upload original video. The site has a "Producer Rewards" program that allows you to be paid for your videos. MetaCafe must review the videos before they can appear on the site. After your video has been viewed at least 20,000 times, you will receive $5 per 1,000 views. Note that although MetaCafe does contain some adult content, they have a "family filter" option that is turned on by default.
MoneyTube is a video sharing site that shares its ad revenue with its users 50/50. Link to videos from other video sites such as Youtube or Google Videos and start earning. Not only will you receive a 50% share of the ad revenue for the videos you link to, but you can refer other people to Moneytube and receive 15% of the revenue from the videos they link to as well.
Revver is a video sharing network. Users can upload their original videos to Revver, which are then displayed on Revver with an ad attached to them. Ad revenue generated by a particular video is split 50/50 with the creator. Revver strongly encourages users to share the videos all over the net by emailing them to friends, posting them on other sites, and so on. You can even earn money by sharing videos from Revver that others have created.
Shareapic is a picture hosting service. You can host your pictures there for free (no adult content) and are then encouraged to share them elsewhere on the net. Every month, Shareapic shares its advertising revenue with users of the site. The more times your pictures were viewed, the more you can make - the exact amount varies from month to month. If you are signed up with Google Adsense, you can also place Adsense ads in your personal gallery to earn even more.
Share-A-Flick is the sister site of Shareapic. As you might have guessed, Share-A-Flick deals with video sharing. They do not offer video hosting themselves. Instead, you can submit video from any site that allows you to embed video onto a web page (such as Youtube and MySpace). Like Shareapic, they pay out a share of their advertising revenue to their users each month.
Upblogger is a site that allows users to create their own "multimedia blog". On your page you can upload any combination of video, pictures, and/or audio clips. You then earn money based on how many times your files are viewed. Although they offer $5 per 1,000 plays of audio/video and $3 for every 5,000 photo views, each file needs to reach a certain number of views or plays before you are paid for that file. Note that Upblogger features a fair amount of adult content.
VuMe (short for View Me, and formerly known as Eefoof) is a media sharing site. You upload your original video, images, or audio clips. VuMe inserts ads onto your pages or at the end of your video clips. You then earn $3.00 for every 1,000 hits your files receive. Users of VuMe retain the rights to everything that they upload.
Paid Surveys
Paid surveys are becoming a very popular way to make extra money online. The sites that provide these surveys are owned or contracted by market research companies. These companies value your opinion and are willing to pay you for spending some time filling out surveys about various products.
New to online surveys? Here are some tips:
After you sign up with a survey site you will be asked give some demographic information about yourself, and possibly to take a few unpaid surveys. These are usually called profile surveys. Not all survey sites have profile surveys, but if they are available you should fill them out as soon as possible. Doing so will help you later to qualify for more paid surveys.
Once in a while you will receive a survey invitation in your email. Some sites may send you several invitations per week, while others may send invites once a month or less. If you accept the invitation, you will first be given a screener, which is a few short questions to see if you qualify for the full survey. If you qualify, you can expect to spend from 5 to 20 minutes filling out the survey.
The amount paid for a survey varies widely - $1-$5 for typical surveys, to as much as $50 or more for highly specialized surveys. Most survey sites do not pay you directly after completing each survey, but instead send you a total payment after you have reached a certain amount.
This amount is known as the minimum cashout.
American Consumer Opinion sends several screeners each month. If you qualify for the full survey, you will be paid for every single survey you complete - there is no minimum amount you must reach before you can cash out. Additionally, all members of American Consumer Opinion are entered automatically into a monthly cash drawing without having to do anything extra, which makes it very worth your while to sign up.
Choozz is an entertainment survey site specializing in the topics of music, movies, and games. Choozz requires its users to be between 13 and 35 years old. Each survey on Choozz has a different type of incentive - some offer cash rewards, while others offer chances to win prizes or entries into their $25,000 sweepstakes.
Ciao! Surveys is an international survey site now owned by Greenfield Online, which is also listed in this section. It is available to ages 14 and up and all over the world, except in the United States and Canada - residents of these two countries should sign up at Greenfield's main site. Ciao has a low minimum cashout of just $5.00, so you will not have to complete many surveys before you can get paid.
ClickIQ features a paid survey panel called e/visor that is available to US residents only. ClickIQ rewards users with "IQPoints" for taking surveys, with 100 points equal to $1.00. Surveys generally offer 150 points for completing, or a smaller number of points if you do not qualify for the full survey. ClickIQ has a relatively high minimum cashout of $25.00. Like many other survey sites, you can also earn entries into sweepstakes for participating.
Esearch is one of the highest paying survey sites on average. However, they send a very small number of survey invitations - typically just one or two per month. There are no profile surveys to fill out, so participation is easy, making Esearch a very good site to sign up with alongside other survey sites. Besides cash, Esearch also offers rewards such as gift certificates for completed surveys.
Global Opinion Panels (also known as Synovate) offers points for completed surveys, with 1,000 points equal to $1. Most surveys offer several thousand points or more for completing, and there is a low minimum cashout of just $5.00. Global Opinion Panels also provides the option of having samples of products mailed to you, and then being paid simply for answering a survey about the product. This is entirely optional. Global Opinion Panels is available in the US only.
Global Test Market is a long running site that compensates well for its surveys. Users are rewarded for every single survey with "MarketPoints" which are then turned in for cash, at a rate of 20 MarketPoints = $1.00. Most surveys offer anywhere from 50 to several hundred MarketPoints for completing, and you will receive some points even if you do not qualify for a particular survey. You can also refer your friends via email for more points. Greenfield Online features a large number of surveys for members to take at most times, although not all surveys are for cash. Many of Greenfield's surveys are for entries into their
cash drawings, of which there are several per month. If you do not qualify for a paid survey, you will still receive entries into the drawings simply for filling out the screener. Greenfield Online is available in the US and Canada only. If you live elsewhere, you should visit Greenfield's sister site: Ciao Surveys (listed earlier in this section).
HCDSurveys is a survey panel by HCD Research that rewards its users with points for every survey they complete. 100 points are equal to $1 and the minimum cashout is $10. Typical surveys on HCD pay out 100-500 points. HCD seems to send a small amount of surveys per month compared to other sites, but as always the actual number of invites you get will depend a lot on your demographics.
Lightspeed Consumer Panel sends a relatively large number of invites for paid surveys, although compensation is slightly lower on average than some of the other survey sites. Users receive "Lightspeed Points" for completing surveys - these can be redeemed for cash or other prizes if you choose. In addition, you receive an entry into their $5,000 drawing for each survey whether you qualify for the full survey or not. Lightspeed Panel also features a number of mini-polls that you can fill out, which will earn you even more entries into their cash
drawing.
MySurvey (previously known as NFO MySurvey) is another survey site that rewards its users with points that can later be redeemed for cash. On MySurvey, 100 points is equivalent to $1.00 and some surveys offer as much as 1,000 points for completing. MySurvey features a number of different sweepstakes as well. There is a daily 10,000 point ($100) drawing for all members of the site - you only need to log on to their site to qualify for the drawing - and an additional $10,000 drawing awarded several times a year. MySurvey is also known to occasionally award bonus points simply for good participation on their site.
Opinion Outpost rewards its users with points for taking surveys, with 10 points being equal to $1. Surveys typically pay between 10 and 100 points if you qualify, and you only need to accumulate 50 points before you can cash out. The site also has an option for you to answer surveys by phone for extra compensation. Note that this option is disabled by default, and you must specifically opt-in if you want to take part, so you should not worry about receiving unwanted phone calls. Available in the US and Canada only.
Planet Pulse is another survey site that uses the familiar system of rewarding its users with points, which are called "Pulses" on their site. 100 Pulses is equal to $1.00 and some surveys offer as much as 5,000 Pulses ($50.00), though those are rare. Typical survey payouts are in line with most of the other paid survey sites, and you also get a small amount of Pulses even if you do not qualify for a full survey after filling out the screener. Planet Pulse also has a referral program that rewards you with more Pulses every time someone you refer completes a survey.
SurveySavvy sends less survey invitations on average than the typical survey site, but compensation for surveys is generally very good. Even if you do not qualify for a particular survey, you are still entered into a monthly cash drawing. SurveySavvy also features a top notch referral program that pays well if you would like to refer others to their site.
SurveySpot is a good place to go if you really enjoy taking surveys. They generally send out multiple survey invitations per day. However, keep in mind that not all of their surveys are paid surveys. The majority of their surveys will earn you entries into their $25,000 sweepstakes. You are also entered into the sweepstakes every time you do not qualify for a paid survey. Also, you can log on to their site and find a small list of surveys to choose from at almost any time each day. Available in the US, Canada, and UK only.
YouGov Panel is a survey site that specializes in political opinion polls. The YouGov Panel is primarily for the UK. However, they provide two additional sites - YouGovAmerica for US members, and YouGovME for those in the Middle East. YouGov Panel pays out around $1-$2 per poll. One drawback is that they have a high minimum cashout of $50.00.
Your2Cents offers a few extra bonuses over typical survey sites. First, they reward you just for filling out your profile surveys - $1 each. They also have a few other types of surveys -text based surveys that you can receive on your cell phone, and telephone based surveys.
These offer extra incentives compared to the standard web based surveys. Note that these extra surveys are entirely optional. Your2Cents is available in the US and Canada only.
New to online surveys? Here are some tips:
After you sign up with a survey site you will be asked give some demographic information about yourself, and possibly to take a few unpaid surveys. These are usually called profile surveys. Not all survey sites have profile surveys, but if they are available you should fill them out as soon as possible. Doing so will help you later to qualify for more paid surveys.
Once in a while you will receive a survey invitation in your email. Some sites may send you several invitations per week, while others may send invites once a month or less. If you accept the invitation, you will first be given a screener, which is a few short questions to see if you qualify for the full survey. If you qualify, you can expect to spend from 5 to 20 minutes filling out the survey.
The amount paid for a survey varies widely - $1-$5 for typical surveys, to as much as $50 or more for highly specialized surveys. Most survey sites do not pay you directly after completing each survey, but instead send you a total payment after you have reached a certain amount.
This amount is known as the minimum cashout.
American Consumer Opinion sends several screeners each month. If you qualify for the full survey, you will be paid for every single survey you complete - there is no minimum amount you must reach before you can cash out. Additionally, all members of American Consumer Opinion are entered automatically into a monthly cash drawing without having to do anything extra, which makes it very worth your while to sign up.
Choozz is an entertainment survey site specializing in the topics of music, movies, and games. Choozz requires its users to be between 13 and 35 years old. Each survey on Choozz has a different type of incentive - some offer cash rewards, while others offer chances to win prizes or entries into their $25,000 sweepstakes.
Ciao! Surveys is an international survey site now owned by Greenfield Online, which is also listed in this section. It is available to ages 14 and up and all over the world, except in the United States and Canada - residents of these two countries should sign up at Greenfield's main site. Ciao has a low minimum cashout of just $5.00, so you will not have to complete many surveys before you can get paid.
ClickIQ features a paid survey panel called e/visor that is available to US residents only. ClickIQ rewards users with "IQPoints" for taking surveys, with 100 points equal to $1.00. Surveys generally offer 150 points for completing, or a smaller number of points if you do not qualify for the full survey. ClickIQ has a relatively high minimum cashout of $25.00. Like many other survey sites, you can also earn entries into sweepstakes for participating.
Esearch is one of the highest paying survey sites on average. However, they send a very small number of survey invitations - typically just one or two per month. There are no profile surveys to fill out, so participation is easy, making Esearch a very good site to sign up with alongside other survey sites. Besides cash, Esearch also offers rewards such as gift certificates for completed surveys.
Global Opinion Panels (also known as Synovate) offers points for completed surveys, with 1,000 points equal to $1. Most surveys offer several thousand points or more for completing, and there is a low minimum cashout of just $5.00. Global Opinion Panels also provides the option of having samples of products mailed to you, and then being paid simply for answering a survey about the product. This is entirely optional. Global Opinion Panels is available in the US only.
Global Test Market is a long running site that compensates well for its surveys. Users are rewarded for every single survey with "MarketPoints" which are then turned in for cash, at a rate of 20 MarketPoints = $1.00. Most surveys offer anywhere from 50 to several hundred MarketPoints for completing, and you will receive some points even if you do not qualify for a particular survey. You can also refer your friends via email for more points. Greenfield Online features a large number of surveys for members to take at most times, although not all surveys are for cash. Many of Greenfield's surveys are for entries into their
cash drawings, of which there are several per month. If you do not qualify for a paid survey, you will still receive entries into the drawings simply for filling out the screener. Greenfield Online is available in the US and Canada only. If you live elsewhere, you should visit Greenfield's sister site: Ciao Surveys (listed earlier in this section).
HCDSurveys is a survey panel by HCD Research that rewards its users with points for every survey they complete. 100 points are equal to $1 and the minimum cashout is $10. Typical surveys on HCD pay out 100-500 points. HCD seems to send a small amount of surveys per month compared to other sites, but as always the actual number of invites you get will depend a lot on your demographics.
Lightspeed Consumer Panel sends a relatively large number of invites for paid surveys, although compensation is slightly lower on average than some of the other survey sites. Users receive "Lightspeed Points" for completing surveys - these can be redeemed for cash or other prizes if you choose. In addition, you receive an entry into their $5,000 drawing for each survey whether you qualify for the full survey or not. Lightspeed Panel also features a number of mini-polls that you can fill out, which will earn you even more entries into their cash
drawing.
MySurvey (previously known as NFO MySurvey) is another survey site that rewards its users with points that can later be redeemed for cash. On MySurvey, 100 points is equivalent to $1.00 and some surveys offer as much as 1,000 points for completing. MySurvey features a number of different sweepstakes as well. There is a daily 10,000 point ($100) drawing for all members of the site - you only need to log on to their site to qualify for the drawing - and an additional $10,000 drawing awarded several times a year. MySurvey is also known to occasionally award bonus points simply for good participation on their site.
Opinion Outpost rewards its users with points for taking surveys, with 10 points being equal to $1. Surveys typically pay between 10 and 100 points if you qualify, and you only need to accumulate 50 points before you can cash out. The site also has an option for you to answer surveys by phone for extra compensation. Note that this option is disabled by default, and you must specifically opt-in if you want to take part, so you should not worry about receiving unwanted phone calls. Available in the US and Canada only.
Planet Pulse is another survey site that uses the familiar system of rewarding its users with points, which are called "Pulses" on their site. 100 Pulses is equal to $1.00 and some surveys offer as much as 5,000 Pulses ($50.00), though those are rare. Typical survey payouts are in line with most of the other paid survey sites, and you also get a small amount of Pulses even if you do not qualify for a full survey after filling out the screener. Planet Pulse also has a referral program that rewards you with more Pulses every time someone you refer completes a survey.
SurveySavvy sends less survey invitations on average than the typical survey site, but compensation for surveys is generally very good. Even if you do not qualify for a particular survey, you are still entered into a monthly cash drawing. SurveySavvy also features a top notch referral program that pays well if you would like to refer others to their site.
SurveySpot is a good place to go if you really enjoy taking surveys. They generally send out multiple survey invitations per day. However, keep in mind that not all of their surveys are paid surveys. The majority of their surveys will earn you entries into their $25,000 sweepstakes. You are also entered into the sweepstakes every time you do not qualify for a paid survey. Also, you can log on to their site and find a small list of surveys to choose from at almost any time each day. Available in the US, Canada, and UK only.
YouGov Panel is a survey site that specializes in political opinion polls. The YouGov Panel is primarily for the UK. However, they provide two additional sites - YouGovAmerica for US members, and YouGovME for those in the Middle East. YouGov Panel pays out around $1-$2 per poll. One drawback is that they have a high minimum cashout of $50.00.
Your2Cents offers a few extra bonuses over typical survey sites. First, they reward you just for filling out your profile surveys - $1 each. They also have a few other types of surveys -text based surveys that you can receive on your cell phone, and telephone based surveys.
These offer extra incentives compared to the standard web based surveys. Note that these extra surveys are entirely optional. Your2Cents is available in the US and Canada only.
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