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I Love Freebies UK was
last updated on 05/02/12
Need a bit of impartial, friendly advice? Check out these top hints and tips! I've had a bit of a jiggle around to make the page more user friendly. I will add more in their relevant categories as and when I think of them. ;)
GENERAL
1. Never pay to join an online earning site – they are supposed to be paying you! PS None of the companies listed on I Love Freebies UK will ever ask you for money!
2. Never pay for a list of names of paid survey companies or mystery shopping companies – you won’t find any that you can’t find for FREE elsewhere, like right here on I Love Freebies UK! After extensive and on-going research over the last 10 years I can honestly say, that if a paid survey site is not listed here on I Love Freebies UK, then it is not worth joining! I am also able to supply a FREE more extensive list of Mystery Shopping companies, should you wish to sign up for more than is listed on the Mystery Shopping page. Just email me!
3. Before you start earning online, I would suggest using a separate email address to your personal one. Hotmail and Yahoo are two of the best, with Yahoo being my personal favourite. To get a FREE Yahoo email account click here. Or to get a FREE Hotmail account, click here.
4. The trick is definitely sign up to as many sites as you can to maximise earning potential and so you will probably have to remember a lot of different user names and passwords. The easiest thing to do is get yourself a cheap address book and use the a-z list to help sort your sites, copy down your user names, passwords and the email address you used, of all the sites you've signed up to, but be sure to copy them exactly! It saves soooooo much confusion! But be sure to keep it in a safe place!
5. The e-world is upon us! And whether you’re buying and selling on Ebay, earning cashback, mystery shopping or earning cash from taking surveys you will no doubt at some point need to find out about getting an online payment service. The most common one used is PayPal. Its like having an online bank account intermediary where you can receive payments, send payments and withdraw payments into your own bank account. Its FREE to join and you can then either withdraw your payment in your own currency into your bank account (even if you were paid in dollars), (there is no fee to withdraw your money if the amount comes to at least £50.00), you can spend the money at participating online stores, like Ebay or you can continue saving it up until you want it. I’d definitely recommend signing up for an account with them as many of the best paying online earning sites pay out using this method, because it is so quick. Your email address will be your user ID and you must be over 18 to register for an account. When receiving PayPal payments your PayPal email address should match that of the site you are receiving payment from, unless there is a separate PayPal email address box to fill in when you sign up. Its a real pain in the backside to try and change your PayPal email address, so if my email addresses don't match when its payout time, I just change the reward site email address that I registered with to match the PayPal one just before I want payment, then change it back once payment has been received! You can of course, use the same email address to register for everything, but you will find that you will not be eligible to sign up to some offers multiple times when using the same email address. To sign up for an account with PayPal click here.
6. You will need to be both patient and persistent! You're not going to make tons of money overnight from online earning and anyone that says otherwise, is lying! Personally, I don't believe in quoting unrealistic amounts of earnings potential or indeed how much you can earn using daily clicks per day, as everyone's experience may be different, depending on how active you are, effective tracking, etc. I have created My Survey Diary, where you can see for yourself how regular the surveys are sent and who sends the most, as well as the earnings potential. You will also notice that there's quite a few opportunities that I'm ineligible to complete or if I've had a busy day and not been able to complete surveys sooner they become full and my participation is no longer required. There is also a table at the bottom of the page that shows the winnings and earnings received for that month. This page is updated daily and is a true picture of my own online earning experience.
7. Once you get going, it can be difficult to keep track of all the surveys you have taken and rewards you have applied for, which was what prompted me to keep My Survey Diary. If you find you are losing track, why not create one of your own! You can create a table in MS Word or Works, a spreadsheet or just use a Writing pad, which is how I started. Be sure to include the date, the site and the reward promised. Once you have been credited, you can mark it as received. Keeping a diary will enable you to keep a close eye on your earnings and to make sure you are credited accordingly. I have a separate table of the rewards I have cashed-in and am waiting for, detailing the date ordered, the site and the reward. I then just delete the entry when it has been received. Keeping records can come in very handy, especially when there are any discrepancies and if you are member of a lot of sites, I would strongly recommend you keep a record.
8. If you've got a bit more time on your hands, the inclination and the dedication, you could earn a helluva lot more! Try signing up to all the paid survey sites, do the daily clicks on some or all of the Cashback sites and Reward Sites, take part in focus groups, participate in the paid opinion sites such as writing reviews and rating websites, product testing and mystery shopping! Then watch your income increase! Added to that, you can often earn even more by passing on your unique referral links to the various sites to which you are a member of, so that whenever you recommend a friend, they too can enjoy the benefits and both of your incomes will increase as a result! Beyond that, setting up your own webpage or website would be your next step up the earning ladder, but we won't go there, just yet! ;)
9. If you are paid or rewarded with $ Amazon.com vouchers, these can only be used there, and not at Amazon.co.uk. A tip for non-credit card holders is to put the vouchers you've earned into your newly created Amazon.com account and leave them there until you've saved enough to cover the item you want plus any p & p that may be required. Do the same thing when you receive vouchers for Amazon.co.uk. (Amazon offers free p&p for orders over £5)!
10. I am loathe to recommend any sites that require you to download software unless they are from a reputable source and I have received several recommendations or seen several good reviews for them. For this reason, all Paid to Surf sites have been omitted. I would personally worry about this on my own PC and therefore could not be a hypocrite and recommend something I thought could compromise privacy or the security of someone's PC. That is not to say that all Paid to Surf programs are not legit, but just that I am not happy to try them out myself without several recommendations that they are what they say they are & they do what they say they will do and will not harm my PC or compromise my privacy or browsing experience in any way. If you can recommend any that do not require a download, please email me with details.
11. Another popular way to earn online are Paid to Click/Read Email sites also known as PTR and PTC sites. All you need to do there is click on advertisements, but for such a simple action you are going to earn peanuts! When I first wrote this tip, there were a distinct lack of good UK based PTR/PTC programs and though more are creeping in now, they still pay very little, e.g. 0.5p per click. Most of these type of sites are US Based and I personally, wouldn't bother with any of these, unless you have unlimited time on your hands, want limitless spam for very little cash and after you've converted it into pounds, you've hardly got anything for your trouble, that's if they haven't gone down the pan before you've had a chance to cash in! There are more UK based ones appearing now these programs are becoming more popular, but to be honest I just don't have the time or inclination to join these sites myself. But as these types of programs might be just what you're looking for, I have decided to add some of the more popular sites, as recommended by the good members of Bob's Free Stuff Forum and I have included their own referral links.
12. Always withdraw your earnings as soon as it is available as there is no protection should the company get into trouble.
CASHBACK SITES / REWARD SITES
1. Cashback is generated from the commission the retailers pay these websites where they advertise for purchases generated from the click thru. Cashback amounts vary greatly among the various Cashback sites so for purchases I tend to use 100% Cashback sites so that I get the most money I can for my purchases.
2. You may find it easier to use different email addresses for the different cashback sites that you sign up to. I should have done this in the first place, as I found many of them have the same or similar FREE offers on them, that will only allow you to sign up once per email address. If however, you wish to redeem your cash via PayPal it may be necessary to change the email address that you registered to the cashback site with to match that of your PayPal account. You can always switch it back after your payment has been received.
3. Some sites, including cashback sites may have offers that will earn you cashback for simply signing up to email newsletters, ordering brochures, ordering freebies, entering competitions, or registering with other web-sites. This is a great way to earn absolutely FREE cash! Newsletters and communications between online earning sites and yourself are inevitable and often justified but if you don’t want to receive unnecessary third party communication from other advertisers, then be sure to check the small print usually placed just above or below the submit button on their registration forms. Sometimes it will say “tick to opt out” and on others “remove tick to opt out”. However, don't worry if you forget, as there's nothing to stop you 'unsubscribing' at a later date, to de-clutter your inbox! It is worth just taking a moment to think about whether you wish to receive further information from the companies concerned, as you will not only be eligible to receive notifications of competitions, surveys and special offers but also product testing opportunities! For example: the only way to get on to the Proctor & Gamble product testing panels is by signing up to receive information from them.
4. You can earn FREE cash, gift vouchers and free gifts daily just by clicking on banners, doing daily clicks on the search and price comparison sites! With the daily clicks on the search and comparison sites, always make sure you click through to the advertisers website, or you wont be eligible for your reward. (I always click on another link within the advertisers website, just to be sure they log me as a visitor.) The number of daily clicks, as I call them, are listed for each cashback site, on the Cashback Sites page. You will not be required to pass on any personal details to be credited, so long as you have clicked through to one of the advertisers web sites.
5. Its also worth noting that if you are a member of several cashback sites and want to do the daily clicks on more than one of them per day, you may find that you are not credited for the subsequent click-thru's unless you clear your cache folder (cookies) and your history file in between. If you use Internet Explorer you will be able to do this by going to the top of your screen and clicking on Tools, then Internet Options, then Delete Cookies, then OK. Repeat the process to Delete History. A more inclusive, quick, easy and overall excellent FREE download that I use regularly is CCleaner. CCleaner will clear out all the crap from your PC such as the Recycle Bin, tmp files and unused registry keys, History, Cookies, Temporary Folder and any other obscelete files that are slowing down your machine. This is the best way to ensure your transactions track properly and comes highly recommended! To download CCleaner click here
6. Always withdraw your earnings as soon as it is available as there is no consumer protection on cashback should the company get into trouble.
COMPETITIONS
1. Fancy winning some prizes? Well there are millions to be won on the internet, and someone has to win them! So why not put an hour or more aside each week and just enter as many as you can, and fingers crossed you will start to win some fab prizes and be the envy of all those that will think you were born lucky! It really does work! My big wins so far look like this: a widescreen TV and leather suite, £200 of Thomas Cook vouchers, £1,000 cash, £500 JD Sports vouchers and an IPod or £200 cash! (I chose the cash). I've also won lots of smaller prizes like CD's, DVD's, Concert and Event Tickets and many, many branded products. As a guide, statistics say you should enter a minimum of 30 competitions per week. So, put in the work, it will pay off! The Competitions sites page is a great place to start!
2. When answering the competition based marketing surveys like My Offers, Consumer House, Vouch 4 Me, Choose A Prize, Clash Competitions etc, unless the subject is something you're genuinely interested in, answer no and/or n/a to all questions and don't put in your real phone numbers, otherwise you can expect phone calls from the sponsors of the survey! Use a umm... different one! I use 00000000000 where possible. Winners can be contacted via email after all, can't they?
3. A couple of warnings about competition scams! If you have to ring an 09... number to "claim a prize" its a scam! If you have to hand over a membership charge or an administration charge it is a scam! If you have to pay for shipping & handling charges its a scam! If you are asked for a lot of personal information such as occupation, salary, bank details, etc its a scam! If you know you didn't enter that particular competition (eg lotteries) its a scam! If you're told you have won a competition and are worried it might be a scam, please do feel free to email me and I will be happy to give you a second opinion. But as a rule, if you are asked to hand over any money at all it is generally a scam!
MYSTERY SHOPPING
1. If after reading the Mystery Shopping page you think you are ready to start Mystery Shopping - do sign up to as many companies as you can! I say this because you'll have more choice and variety of the shops etc that you visit and because competition in the world of Mystery Shopping is fierce both between the mystery shoppers themselves, looking for work and the mystery shopping companies looking for new clients! Mystery shopper fees and perks are unfortunately, on the decrease, due to its popularity and undercutting, so it is probably not something you would want to try and do full-time, but it can be a fun and interesting part-time, occasional earner or a way to get your lunch or dinner paid for or some free products. You will need to build up a good reputation with the various companies and their reps too if you can, in order to be offered the plum jobs first, and you will be especially in favour, if you can take on jobs at short notice! You may even be offered a much higher fee for the inconvenience! There are a few Mystery Shopping companies that allow you to book your own assignments when they are released on a "fastest finger first" basis eg TNS, Retail Eyes, ABA, Gapbuster, etc. These jobs, quite often, are all gone with a couple of hours, some within minutes!! Whereas other companies will offer jobs by phone, email or text message. You really have to be on the ball and keep checking for updates or reply as quickly as possible. A great thing to do when you start out mystery shopping is to join a Mystery Shopping Forum. There are some listed at the bottom of the Mystery Shopping page. They each have a "work available" thread, where not only do members post a new thread whenever new work is spotted but Mystery Shopping Company Reps will sometimes post threads advertising work available and short notice work too! They are also a mine of information regarding Mystery Shopping, from Tax Returns to advice and support.
2. With some Mystery Shopping companies you will work on a PAYE (Pay as you Earn) basis (just like a regular job) and your tax and NI will be paid for you, but if you want to work on a S/E (self employed) basis you will be responsible for arranging to pay your own tax and NI contributions. Contact the Inland Revenue to arrange this within 3 months of starting or you may be issued with a fine!
3. A useful and inconspicuous way of taking note of things whilst mystery shopping is by writing a text message and saving it as a draft. Many clients require proof of your visit and will need you to submit receipts or you won't get paid! Don't forget to keep a copy of all your paperwork including receipts, especially if it is an S/E job, you'll need them for when it is time for your tax returns.
4. Write your notes up as soon as possible after leaving the store, especially things like timings, names, descriptions and the shops that are to the left and right. It's easy to forget these small but important details! You may not get paid without them!
5. Once you are more experienced, try and arrange it so that you can do several mystery shopping assignments in one town. This will save on travel & parking expenses, which you are not always reimbursed for!
PAID SURVEYS/PRODUCT TESTING/PAID OPINIONS
1. If you're wondering which are the best Paid Survey sites to join are, I would strongly suggest joining ALL the 5,4 and 3 star rated sites along with a couple of cashback sites to get you started. You should easily be able to earn yourself a few hundred pounds worth of cash, vouchers & products per year, but it all depends on you! If you only check your emails once every few days you'll miss out! You need to check your emails for opportunities EVERY DAY if possible. Some surveys finish in less than a few hours if they reach their quota quickly! I try and check my emails at least three times a day, during the daytime and again in the evening and just before bedtime, at the very minimum!
2. Don’t disregard paid survey websites that are based abroad – I have listed only those that I feel are well-worth joining – and many of my payouts are in Dollars which can be converted into Pounds in a PayPal account! Dollar cheques can be paid into your bank account but may incur a small deducted fee.
3. Don't necessarily dismiss sites that put you in a draw, as you often have more chance of winning a prize than you would have by entering a regular competition - I have won a few times, and as much as a £1000 and I personally know others that have won too! Sometimes when taking a survey you may notice that you are redirected to a partner site, this is perfectly normal. (An example is Ciao and Test and Vote and some others, partner up with OTX to host film surveys.) If after completing a survey you are asked if you would like to join the partner site's panel, ALWAYS SAY YES! Sometimes, this can be the ONLY way to join the non-advertised panels - by invitation only!
4. If you work in marketing, market research, retail, manufacturing, PR, advertising or journalism for instance, you will be screened out of questionnaires almost always! This is due to possible conflicts of interest on the part of the client who commissions the survey.
5. If you find you are continually not receiving invitations, or ones for which you are ineligible, I can only suggest for you to look at the profile you filled in when you joined that site. Is it complete? Is it up-to-date? Is it all correct? If your email address is incorrect, you won't receive any invitations. Don't forget to fill in the details of any children in your household as a lot of surveys are aimed at housewives with children.
6. Always withdraw your earnings as soon as it is available as there is no protection should the company get into trouble.
If you have any questions about this website, its contents or online earning, in
general, just
email me
and I'll
do my best to help or advise you!
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