UPDATED
Stop!
Aren't you tired of searching the internet looking for extra ways to earn money online? If so, let me narrow it down for you a little bit.
You could go on forever through the search engines with promises of making $850 a day just like the stay at home mom in your neighboring city. Or you could take a minute and read this article and see which websites I've tried and found to have some potential at sticking a few extra bucks into your pocket.
First off, let me tell you that you are not going to get rich quick, let alone get rich. After years of wishing that myself, I have learned the hard way that those who promise that is only after your money. The money we really don't have, do we? So don't be one of those that fall for it, and send in $49.95 for a complete guide to earning $850 a day online. If you haven't already, that is. It is not logical! Just keep in mind the old saying,"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
Keep in mind that not all websites pay in cash or check. A lot of them pay in gift cards such as Amazon and CVS. Which is not bad because if you are going to do shopping online, say for the holidays, the Amazon gift cards can really rack up. And I for one, love the CVS gift cards because I am a frequent customer there. And if you scour their ads for sales, you can turn a $10 gift card into $20 worth of merchandise. And that's what I love.
Okay, so lets start of with a list of my websites that have potential.
Gather
If you are reading this article, then chances are you already have a Gather account. If not, then I strongly advise you to sign up. It's fast, free and easy. The earning potential here is pretty good.
Basically, here's the setup. You post articles, pictures or videos that you have the right to distribute. It can be a simple post of a recipe of your grandmothers best cookies or a simple video of your dog doing something cute. Then those posts get published out to the world wide web where the views occur. And Gather, in return, earns revenue from your posts on which it has advertisements posted, when someone views it. And what's cool is that Gather returns or shares that revenue back to you with points. And those points can later be redeemed for PayPal or gift cards.
Gather Point System
The points system here at Gather is kept secret. Seems they use a different algorithms to determine the point structure for each individual based on their activities in creating valuable content for others. And that point system is frequently changed to help fight against fraudulent activity.
Associated Content Yahoo Contributor Network
Formerly known as Associated Content (AC) until May 19, 2010, when Yahoo purchased Associated Content for more than $100 million. AC is now known by Yahoo Contributor Network.
AC was started by Luke Beatty in 2005 as an online publisher and distributor for original content. The site allowed everyone to publish their own content on various subjects and AC distributed that content online to various partners.
Payment Process of Yahoo Contributor Network
The earning process is basically the same as Gather. Seems as though you are paid based on views that your content brings in. See with each view, YCN earns money through ads places on the content you published. And a portion of that revenue is returned to you, the writer, on a monthly basis, through PayPal.
Just a note worth mentioning. If you are a writer of valued content, such as short stories, novels, etc. the Yahoo Contributor Network may not be right for you. Scott Rosenberg claims that AC does not aim its' content at human readers. They simply want to influence search engines such as Google with their content. And on a level of some sorts, I agree. I believe content such as recipes and articles about hot topics are best for the Yahoo Contributor Network. As most people click in there for some quick info.
Swagbucks
This is a website that allows various ways to earn points (Swagbucks) which can be redeemed for mostly gift cards or Paypal. Ways of Swagbucks include using the Swagbuck search engine, answering polls, shopping online or viewing videos. It all earns points.
Is Swagbucks worth it?
In my own personal experience with Swagbucks, the process of earning here is slow. But if put a little effort into it, it will pay out. I have friends on Gather that are frequently posting articles about their Swagbuck cashouts, so I know it can be done.
Squidoo
Squidoo is an online community website in which users can create their own pages referred to as lenses, on various subjects of their choice. Squidoo has been around since 2005 and is in the top 100 most visited websites in the US. So that in turn, says a good deal about the companies online reputation.
How does Squidoo Pay?
Squidoo is unique because it shares it's revenue by 50% to all of it's users, also known as lensmasters. That revenue is brought in to the company by the advertising which is done on the lenses (pages) that the lensmaster (user) creates. On the Squidoo site itself, it details that users tend to earn anywhere from between $4 to $10,000 a year. And that nearly half of the users donate their full earnings to various charities. So far, I'm in the lower category, but just because I signed up yesterday! :-) I do however, have friends that are long term users and enjoy the site.
Sponsored Tweets
I remembered this just today, and had to revise this post. Sponsored Tweets is an advertising platform from Twitter. Twitter helps to connect advertisers with everyday tweeters. Basically, they pay you a certain amount, usually an average of 10 cents per tweet, to send out an ad for them. Look at it this way, you get a dime for writing a sentence. Not bad. That is, if you continue with the program and are chosen daily for a sponsored tweet. The advertisers choose tweeters based on the categories of interest you chose when signing up. Those choices can be edited later on, if your not getting many sponsored tweet offers. I on average receive about 5 a day. Which, I know that isn't "rolling in the dough," by any means. But after a month or two, you can start to see a little change add up. Like sticking dimes in a piggy bank to me.
The program has a setting so that you can choose to only receive offers of at least the amount you set. In my case I chose .10 cents. The program suggests that each of my tweets are worth .73 cents, but I have raised that and then my offers went away. So I then lowered it back to .10 cents and they began again. I guess the advertisers try the lower settings first to save money. Don't forget that setting, along with the interests settings.
Also, once you submit your tweet, the advertiser needs to approve of it. And they have up to 3 days to do so. You do not have to "tweet out" your ad for them yourself. After you write it, it goes through later on, when they approve it.
Also required is that your Twitter account be at least 60 days old, you have at least 50 followers and at least 100 status updates under your belt.
Their cashout is set high to $50 but if you have like $20 and want it sent to your Paypal, they have a $2 penalty charge.
