8 Websites that pay you

I thought it might be useful to write a list of websites that pay you, along with my assessment for how lucrative I have found them in terms of online earnings.  These are all websites that I use, or have used, to make money online.  I give a very brief explanation with a link to a much more detailed review, followed by my online earnings rating – the online earnings rating is subjective, of course, as it is quite possible that someone else might sign up to a site and have a completely different experience to my own.

Crowdsourcing Sites

In the crowdsourcing sites, you make money by performing simple tasks on your computer for online employers in return for small payments.  Tasks might include things such as copying text from scanned business cards, completing online surveys, writing short blog articles, tweeting adverts, writing descriptions of photos or videos.

Amazon MTurk (Mechanical Turk) – The site that this blog is named after and a great site if you want to make money online quickly.  There are times when I find it frustrating, however.  Despite the (occasional) problems, this site is probably one of the better websites that pay you.  Full review: Top 10 Amazon Mechanical Turk Tips and Tricks  Online earnings rating: 8/10

Microworkers – Similar to Amazon MTurk but a much smaller outfit, which gives it some advantages as well as disadvantages.  A lot of spammy jobs on there, so I tend to pick off one or two good ones each day and therefore find that making money money online is slower than with Amazon MTurk.  Still worth doing though.  Full review: The Pros and Cons of Making Money Online with Microworkers  Online earnings rating: 7/10

Social networking websites that pay you

These sites pay you for online social activity.  This might include things like: starting discussions, uploading photos, commenting on people’s profiles, bookmarking links to websites or posts.

myLot – I had a lot of hopes for myLot when I first started it, but overall I have been a little disappointed by it.  It seems difficult to make more than pennies each day, in my experience, although I must say that the ‘work’ that you do is hardly taxing.  Maybe I just don’t use it enough, as there are people on there who say they earn a dollar a day or more just for chatting.  Full review: How To Make Money Online With MyLot  Online earnings rating: 4/10

RedGage  - I have known about RedGage for a long time, but only started using it recently.  I personally prefer it to myLot, although both sites can irritate me a little at times (myLot because of the full page ads and RedGage because it can be a little glitchy at times).  The great thing about RedGage, however, is that you continue to make money online even when you do nothing after you have uploaded enough stuff.  It’s never going to make you a millionaire, but the community on there are friendly.  Full review: Can I earn money online with RedGage?  Online earnings rating: 6/10

Onine reward clubs

These sites pay you for doing things like completing online surveys, reading emails, watching videos, playing computer games, shopping online.

Swagbucks – A popular website with a strong following.  You collect a virtual currency called swagbucks, which you can then exchange for products online, PayPal money, or Amazon giftcards.  Full review: Swagbucks tips and tricks  Online earnings rating: 7/10

Inbox Dollars – Similar to Swagbucks in many ways, but a smaller outfit.  I actually prefer Inbox Dollars to Swagbucks, but make sure that you don’t give them your main email address as they send you lots of emails, which can be annoying.  Full review: Review of Inbox Dollars  Online earnings rating: 7/10

Writing sites

These sites are more involved than the others, as you have to write informative articles and have a good command of the English language.  This means investing a lot of time and energy, often doing research as well as writing.  Earnings are slow at first.  They gradually build, but it can take months before the dollars begin coming in.  HubPages and Squidoo make their money through Google adverts and companies like Amazon, and give the writers a share.

HubPages  You write informative articles on a topic you know.  Good community.  Has been through some tough times after getting hammered by Google, but now seems to be on the way back up, at least for may writers.  There are some big earners on there, although most writers earn well under $15 per month.  Use my referral link to.  Online earnings rating: 7/10  Sign up to HubPages with my referral link.

Squidoo  Similar to HubPages in essence, but the payout system is a little different.  I didn’t have much success with Squidoo and gave up on it, but others swear by it as an earner.  Online earnings rating: 5/10  Use my referral link to sign up to Squidoo.

UPDATE (February 2014)

I would avoid MyLot altogether as they are no longer and earning site.  Redgage is no longer much good either.

Bubblews is a good site, however, if you just want some (relatively) quick and easy money.

Swagbucks vs Inbox Dollars, which make money online website is best?

Swagbucks vs Inbox Dollars.  They are two of the leading online rewards clubs which offer opportunities to make money online through completing paid surveys, reading emails, playing games, searching and shopping online amongst other things, but which website is best?  They both have a lot of similarities, but also differences.  So rather like I did with Amazon MTurk or Microworkers, which is best? and Amazon MTurk vs Inbox Dollars, which is best? I thought that I would compare and contrast Swagbucks and Inbox Dollars, with a view to deciding which one is preferable for those who wish to make money online. 

Swagbucks and Inbox Dollars Similarities

Both are website-based rewards clubs where you can make money online.

Both pay you to do paid surveys, play games, read emails, watch videos, shop online.

Both give you coupons that you can print off and save money with.

There is a Swagbucks toolbar and an Inbox Dollars toolbar that you can install and use to enhance your make money online experience.

Swagbucks and Inbox Dollars Differences

One big difference is that with Inbox Dollars, when you make you make money online it is in dollars and once you reach $30, they pay you cash in the form of a check, whereas with Swagbucks you earn virtual money which you then have to spend in their online shop, or exchange for amazon giftcards, or PayPal money.

Swagbucks is a bigger organization than Inbox Dollars and their number of users is larger than Inbox Dollars. 

Swagbucks have an active official Twitter account too, which you can use to keep contact with them and get info on Swag codes.  Inbox Dollars have no active official Twitter account.

Swagbucks generally is more interactive and community orientated, whereas Inbox Dollars users are more a collection of individuals with no forum or blog to link them up, like with Swagbucks.

Some of the Swagbucks paid surveys pay slightly better than the Inbox Dollars ones, in my experience.

Inbox Dollars give you $5 when you join, Swagbucks give you 50 swagbucks.

You do get more emails from Inbox Dollars than Swagbucks.  My advice would be to do what I do and don’t use your main email address when you join any of these sites.  I have a specific email account that I set up specifically for use with all these make money online websites.

In my wife’s opinion, Swagbucks has slightly more desirable gifts and rewards in their offers than Inbox Dollars does.  I will have to take her word on that one.

Conclusion

I personally prefer Inbox Dollars to Swagbucks on balance, I like the fact that when you make money online, it is in dollars.  I find the Swagbucks concept of giving you virtual money which you then have to exchange a little gimmicky, although I guess it doesn’t really matter much in the long run, as you can convert the Swagbucks to Amazon gift cards or PayPal money, if you wish.  My wife, on the other hand, is a huge fan of Swagbucks (although she still does Inbox Dollars as well, of course), so I guess that makes us a balanced couple!

Using Amazon MTurk to make money online with online surveys

One way that I make money online with Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is by completing some of the online surveys that you get on there.  There are pros and cons to doing Amazon MTurk surveys.  In some ways, you are better off signing up to a company that specializes in online surveys, rather than MTurk, if you want to make money online with online surveys, as they often pay much better.  Inbox Dollars is probably better than MTurk for online surveys too, in many ways, as they tend to pay more also.  But hey, this is primarily an MTurk blog and I do them on MTurk, so here are my thoughts on using Amazon MTurk to make money online with online surveys.


How do you find surveys on Amazon MTurk?

I normally just type "surveys" in the search box for hits and check the "for which you are qualified" box (my hit rejection rate fell below 95% again recently!).

Who pays you to do the online surveys on Amazon MTurk?

Anyone can pay people to do an online survey on Amazon MTurk.  But usually the online surveys are provided by a mixture of consumer research groups working on behalf of companies, plus individuals who are studying something at a college or university - either academic staff such as professors, or students working for a degree.

Pay rates and time

The online surveys that you see on Amazon MTurk have pay rates that are completely variable and erratic in my experience.  Sometimes you will get paid maybe $2 a time to do easy surveys that take only 5 minutes.  Other times you will be given 25 cents for doing a very difficult online survey that takes you over half an hour to complete.  There is no rhyme nor reason to it and it is not always possible to discover from the instructions how difficult, or how long the survey will take you before you start out.

Things to watch out for in Amazon MTurk Online Surveys

Some surveys have initial questions that you have to answer correctly before you can undertake the survey proper.  These are annoying if you’re trying to make money online, because if you get anything on the initial section wrong, it’s often a waste of time as you don’t get to do the main survey and therefore don’t get paid.

Often there is a trick question put in the survey somewhere to check if you are actually reading the questions properly and paying attention.  Try not to rush through them too much, or you will miss it.

Always make sure that you take your time and pay lots of attention at the end.  Usually you get given some sort of code to prove that you have completed the online survey and if you miss that, you won’t get paid!

Amazon MTurk surveys are generally reliable for paying up, but often late

Generally speaking, I have had a good record of getting paid with Amazon MTurk online surveys, that’s to say, not getting unfairly rejected.  They often aren’t the quickest payers though.  Sometimes they pay quickly, but I have also known them to take weeks.  On the whole, I would say they were relatively slow payers.

Get your browser right

Some surveys like you to have specific browsers and software installed on your computer in order to do the online survey.  I tend to use Mozilla Firefox generally, but I would always make sure that whatever browser you use, you have others installed too, certainly the big three: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Internet Explorer, then you have extra options if you run into technical difficulties, or the requester demands that you use a certain browser.  I would also make sure that you have your Flash player up to date, as some online surveys play you videos and audio to watch and listen to.

PS If you use Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome, then you can also use the fabulous Turkopticon toolbar, which is one of the greatest tools for mechnical turkers ever invented!

Bizarre experiences with Amazon MTurk Online Surveys

I think one of the oddest surveys that I’ve done when trying to make money online, was one where they kept playing me the same piece of classical music over and over again and asking me what I thought of it.  I like classical music, but this survey went on and on in a repetitive fashion for a long, long time, and it almost drove me around the twist!

Amazon MTurk vs Inbox Dollars, which is best?

Amazon Mturk vs Inbox Dollars, which is best?

Having written a review of Inbox Dollars previously, I thought it might be interesting to use my MTurk blog to compare InboxDollars and Amazon Mechanical Turk directly from a worker’s perspective and discuss which is best, rather like I did with Mturk or Microworkers,which is best? giving the relative advantages of using each website as a method for making money online.  So here is my MTurk vs Inbox Dollars comparison.

MTurk Advantages

There is no minimum threshold to reach before you are paid with Amazon MTurk, unlike with Inbox Dollars where you have to get $30 before you can receive anything (or $40 if you do not want to pay any charges).

 You don’t get lots of emails clogging up your inbox from MTurk like you do with Inbox Dollars.

If you find a good MTurk requester with lots of hits, you can learn how to do that task and stick with it for a long time, often building up decent earnings.

There is more work and a much wider variety of tasks that you can do on Amazon MTurk.

If you want to buy products from Amazon, then MTurk is great as you can earn and buy very quickly.

Inbox Dollars Advantages

There seems to be more overseeing of the jobs in Inbox Dollars, meaning that there are far less jobs on there that appear to be scams.  You are certainly safer from fraud anyway, though you can still get scammed, methinks.

There are no jobs that pay completely rip off prices, like in Amazon MTurk. 

There are is a regular supply of surveys in Inbox Dollars to do and these are good for bolstering income.  The number of surveys on MTurk can be erratic and the money you receive for taking the time to do them varies considerably.

You can earn money for shopping online with Inbox Dollars which is not an option with Amazon Mechanical Turk.

You aren’t dealing with lots and lots of different requesters like in Amazon MTurk, which can be a pain.

You are usually paid relatively quickly with Inbox Dollars, whereas you can never be quite sure when you will get your money with Amazon MTurk

General Summary of Amazon MTurk vs Inbox Dollars, which is best?

Overall, I use Inbox Dollars on a regular basis to build up earnings over time, whereas I tend to do Amazon MTurk in spurts, depending often on which MTurk requesters are posting hits at the time.  Inbox Dollars is more reliable in some ways, in that you tend to get paid at a more consistent rate and within a consistent time frame.  MTurk has a greater volume of jobs and a bigger variety, however.

Amazon MTurk alternatives: websites like MTurk

One question that I see asked a lot online and am always interested in myself is what Amazon MTurk alternatives are there on the web?  It is always good to have other options to fall back on, or other methods of earning online to use in addition to Amazon Mechanical Turk.  As far as I am aware, there are no websites like MTurk that resemble it in every way, but there are places that have some of the Amazon MTurk features and where you can make money online.

Microworkers has the most obvious similarities of all the MTurk alternatives.  The website has a different layout, there are less jobs on off than MTurk, you get your earnings paid into a PayPal account rather than through Amazon, they use some different terms for things such as jobs instead of hits, but the essentials are pretty much the same: you do online tasks and you are paid money in return.  Out of all the websites like MTurk it is the most similar.  I have written numerous articles, comparisons and reviews of Microworkers, such as Microworkers Tips, The Pros and Cons of Making Money with Microworkers, MTurk or Microworkers, which is best?.

Inbox Dollars advertises itself as an online rewards club.  Many of the tasks are the same sort of thing that can be found on Amazon Mturk: watching videos, completing surveys, applying for things.  They pay you by check, so you receive real money, but you have to cross a $30 threshold.  That isn’t too difficult as they give you a $5 start, which is useful.  I have also written a full Review of Inbox Dollars which you are welcome to read.

Shorttask.com has been recommended to me.  I have not had time to join and take a detailed enough look around it in order to write a review, but on the surface it looks fairly similar to Microworkers.

The other two websites that I’ve used regularly are Swagbucks, another online rewards club not too dissimilar to Inbox Dollars and Mylot, which is a form of social network site in the same vein as Facebook, except you get paid for commenting and posting photos etc.

There are websites that focus entirely on surveys.  Out of these, Pine Cone Research is possibly rated the most highly.  They are always full and you need a referral from someone who is already a member to join, however.  My wife is a member.  They pay at least $3 per survey which is good.  Often you have an initial survey that pays $3, then they send you a product in the post, for example, a new fizzy drink.  You try the product then do a second $3 survey telling them what you thought of the drink.

Another option is one of the Paid To Click sites (PTC), where you click on things like website adverts for money, but I haven’t really looked into them, in all honesty, as the earnings seem low to me and they don’t appeal to me personally.  There are lots of them around, however.

UPDATE (February 2014)

If I was writing this article now, I would definitely say that Bubblews was the best alternative, certainly if you just want to earn some (relatively) quick and easy money.  You write short (minimum 400 characters) articles with freedom to choose your topic and interact with other writers, rather like you would do in Facebook, and earn for this.  The payment threshold was raised to $50 recently which means that it can take a week to get a payout, but it's easy and it's fun. 

Review of Inbox Dollars

Inbox Dollars is a website-based rewards program where you earn money for doing simple tasks, like internet searches, completing paid surveys, looking at paid to read emails, playing games, shopping online and watching online videos.  It has some similarities with Swagbucks, but instead of earning virtual money which you then exchange for gifts or PayPal money, you effectively earn real money from the start.

There is an Inbox Dollars toolbar that you can download.  I would recommend getting it if you are planning to have a serious go at Inbox Dollars.  You are paid Inbox Dollars to download it and it helps you keep track of earning opportunities and your accumulated dollars.  Plus even if you uninstall it at a later date, you still get to keep the dollar that they paid you.

Pros of Inbox Dollars

You get $5 just for signing up to Inbox Dollars, which is nice!

If you are dedicated, you can reach the $30 payout very quickly.  The quickest way is to download the Inbox Dollars toolbar, which earns you a dollar and makes it easier to keep tabs on earning opportunities, as well as pays you for searching the web, then do every survey that comes your way.

None of the tasks are too challenging, at worst they just eat up a bit of your time.  The paid to read emails on Inbox Dollars, for instance, are an easy 50 cents if you let them accumulate for a week then read them all in 5 minutes.

It’s actually quite easy to accumulate money on Inbox Dollars by doing very little over a long period, in my experience.

Cons of Inbox Dollars

You have to reach a $30 threshold before you receive a payout and then it has to be in the form of a check which is posted to your home.

I would create a separate email account for Inbox Dollars, rather than use your personal account, as they do send you a lot of emails, many of them ways to earn money and therefore welcome, but they still fill up your inbox.

Summary and Sign Up Link

Inbox Dollars is a stress free way to make money, in my experience.  It’s not going to make you into a millionaire, but the regular checks for $30 to $50 are always welcome in my home.  You can join HERE if you’re interested.