Work from home, make money online, multiple streams of income, be your own boss – these are all fancy terms that make people go head over heels.
But do you really know what it takes to make money online and thrive while doing so? It took me some trial and error, as you can read here, to figure it out but hopefully I can help you on your way.
Well, the answer might be as simple or as complicated as you perceive it to be.
Regardless of your mindset, the one thing that you must do to get the proper start to your online marketing journey is choose the right programs to promote. Whatever you promote, it must be legitimate, or it will come back and bite you – Big Time.
And when it comes to profitable “make money online” avenues, Swagbucks is one of the first programs that comes to my mind.
And the best part is that you don’t have to even promote anything to start making dollars!
Okay, maybe you won’t “swim in dollars”, although it is possible; allow me to give you an honest review of Swagbucks and why you should give it a try.
What is Swagbucks?
As catchy as the name “Swagbucks” sounds like, I have to admit that this thing works! Swagbucks can be best defined as a different kind of a Paid-to-Click website that pays you for doing menial tasks like taking surveys, watching videos, playing games, or surfing the web.
The principle is simple – you complete a task mentioned, you get remunerated for doing so. You earn in a currency that referred to as SB’s, and you can cash them in exchange of real money, to be spent on anything you desire.
Usually, sites similar to this one have repetitive tasks that mostly involve the user clicking advertisements over and over again, but Swagbucks is different. With a few simple tweaks you can make Swagbucks interesting and make money while being entertained.
The different avenues you can experiment and earn money with are:
1. Watching media: watch videos of travel, news, entertainment, music, and more to earnSwagbucks credits to your account.
2. Shopping: get cashback offers on the website for making purchases on major platforms like Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy, and so much more.
3. Search: instead of Google or Bing, use theSwagbucks search engine to do all of your daily searches and earn points in the process.
4. Answer surveys: you’ll also have a list of surveys readily available, which you can answer to earn money in your Swagbucks account.
5. Referrals: invite your friends and family to join Swagbucks and make 10% of whatever they earn through the platform.
Mix and match all these different methods to create a sustainable source of income. Just a heads up: Swagbucks isn’t an alternative to a full-time or even a part-time job, so don’t quit thinking you’ve got your new life all figured out.
About The Company
Now that we’ve established that Swagbucks is NOT a scam, let me dive a bit further and tell you more about the company. This site is simply an online loyalty program that is powered by Prodege LLC.
Prodege is based out of Los Angeles and they’re responsible for powering many online reward portals. There are also partnered up with several big brands such as the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), The New York Giants, WGN America, and more.
Los Angeles Business Journal placed them in the 3rd spot for being the fastest company to grow in the LA.While in 2011,Swagbucks ranked at number 43 on INC’s 500 fastest-growing company list. The website also ranked at 115th spot for bringing the most traffic in the United States.
As you can understand, this isn’t a shell company whose only intention is to steal your money and run away. I just want to assure you that you’re in safe hands. Still not convinced? Well, I got a few more reasons that you should read about.
How To Sign Up And What To Expect
Swagbucks is only available to residents of the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Ireland, India, and France. The signup process is incredibly easy, and you will be presented with different varieties of earning SBs as soon as your account is created.
My personal favorite is Swagbucks Answers because this platform is excellent for doing surveys and offer users somewhere around 1 SB to 1000 SB for every survey completed. The amount you earn as reward depends on factors such as length and survey value.
The company places a lot of emphasis on preventing fraudulent usage, so take your time in completing those surveys. Don’t lie to get surveys that pay more, or you just might have all your SB points retracted and the account permanently banned.
Unlike the shady survey companies that are displayed with their payment or just abuse your information, Swagbucks lets you know exactly how your contribution plays into the greater picture. As a survey taker, you will likely not qualify for many surveys.
But that’s okay because the company’s advanced algorithm has stringent demographic checking methods that select the best possible match for every survey. It was initially tough for me to get started, primarily due to my lack of patience, but then I had it all figured out.
The Swagbucks Programs That Rock!
In this section, I’m going to tell you about the best ways you can make money based on my personal experience. One thing you must keep in mind is that you have to think in the long term. No action is futile as it’s the little things that will add up to make you a huge income.
To make decent money in a relatively short amount of time, I suggest you check out the programs mentioned below:
1. Swagbucks Search
Once you’ve signed up and ready to use the site, just install ‘SwagButton’ in your browser to begin searching. You’ll receive 50 SB just for installing it and more after you get into the habit of using Swagbucks search option instead of Google or Bing.
The process is easy, but the problem is that you won’t win SB every time. Sure, you may win 30 or more SB occasionally, but you’re not necessarily losing anything. Think of it as making money by doing nothing because you look up things on the Internet anyway.
2. Swag Codes
This one is one of my personal favorites and undoubtedly one of the easiest ways to make some cash. If you have Swagbutton installed, your mobile app will remind you every time a Swag Code goes live, and you’ll know exactly where to look.
You’ll mostly find the codes on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Then, all you have to do is paste the code on either swagbucks.com, the app, or into the toolbar to earn a few SBs each day. Remember what I said about not ignoring the little things?
3. Swagbucks Coupons
Who doesn’t like coupons? I bet you do too! The easiest way to useSwagbucks Coupons is to pull out your grocery list and check if coupons are available for certain items you were planning to buy from the grocery store.
Just print them and take them with you to the physical stores to avail discount. That was easy, wasn’t it? I bet you’ve redeemed discounts like this before.
4. Swagbucks Paid Surveys
Surveys are a good way to earn money, but not my ‘go-to’ if you ask. Like the term paid survey implies, all you have to do is honestly answer questions and get paid in return. You won’t always find surveys that pay, or pay good amounts, but that’s just a part of the game.
I recommend that you take part in surveys only when you need to make some SBs on the side to reach your daily/weekly/monthly earning goals when no other offer is available.
5. Swagbucks Discover
Swagbucks Discover is the program that gives me the best return on my time. You can participate in offers that are both paid and free, with the former offering you the chance to make the most amount of money.
But there are certain equations you must take into account before diving right in, so follow my advice carefully. Each SB is worth $ 0.01, so you should only participate in offers that give you a return on investment.
Check out the offers available and set up consistent reminders using your phone calendar to do the tasks diligently. I once invested $ 2 to get 800 SBs in return, which is exactly a 6 dollar return on investment. Not bad, huh?
You can also take part in the free offers, but you might have to dig a bit deeper to find the ones that are worthy. Check out both the homepage and the Discover tab to find more. Discover is my favorite not only because of assured ROI, but because of the engaging tasks as well.
6. Swagbucks Shopping
If you were planning to buy something online, check bySwagbucks’ store first and see if it’s available. This way you will get the same benefits as buying from Amazon, EBay, etc. while earning back some of your cash. Consider it as a clever way of shopping online.
7. Swagbucks Tasks
This is pretty straightforward as all you have to do is start a task and follow directions. To start, head over to the Answer tab and select your tasks. Not every task you see is worth following through, so spend a bit of time selecting the ones that pay a good return on your time.
Don’t bother with tasks that pay less than 1 SB because you’re literally earning less than $ 0.01 in exchange of your time. And am sure you value your time and efforts more than that!
8. Swagbucks Mobile
Swagbucks Mobile is also a good way to reach a daily goal while you’re on commute and have a minute to spare. The mobile version of the website is easy to use and has almost every feature except Swagbucks Play (which isn’t all that great anyway).
The Swagbucks Programs That Suck!
1. Swagbucks Play
Look, I know you like playing games; to a certain extent, we all do. But investing time in Swagbucks Play is one of the worst things you can ever do, even if you enjoy the idea of earning while playing.
Sure, you can earn a couple of SBs by playing games for free, but there are plenty of better ways to rack up points. Even the tournaments that require an entrance fee is dubious because you never know who you might compete against and if they’ll even play fair.
2. Swagbucks Sweepstakes
This is equivalent to winning the lottery, and if you’re not someone who believes in crazy luck then I would advise you to stay away from this one. Besides, I don’t like putting money into something where the chances of making ROI are so slim.
How to claim your rewards
You have two options to cash in the accumulated SB’s: e-gift cards and cash. If one SB is $ 0.01 then do the math and figure out how much you’ve earned. You need a PayPal account to receive cash and they are usually processed within 10 to 14 days.
The payout is usually in denominations of $ 25, $ 50, $ 100, $ 250. If you don’t prefer cash, you can use the e-gift card to buy things from major retailers such as Amazon, Starbucks, Home Depot, and others. E-cards are issued approximately within 10 days of request.
Some other less popular options are iTunes cards, Facebook credits, hotel credits, Cineplex credits, restaurant gift cards, etc. Hey, if you’re feeling generous, then you may also donate your earnings to charity such as the Red Cross and UNICEF.
The good and bad of Swagbucks
The Good:
- This is a legitimate company that 100% free to join
- Plenty of ways you can make money from home
- Available in various countries and accessible through a variety of devices
- Gives you many choices in payouts including Amazon gift cards and PayPal
The Bad:
- Many activities are just time wasters that you need to be wary of
Would I Recommend Swagbucks?
As a way of earning a little extra cash without having to pay anything, of course! Despite the flaws,Swagbucks has proven itself to be a legitimate platform where people can earn money by doing simple tasks. So, if spending a bit of your spare time to answer surveys, browsing the Internet, or watching videos doesn’t sound too bad to you, then check it out! – Just as a disclaimer, if you click on the link, join and participate, I may well earn a very small commission as a result. If you don’t think my article is worth it but you still want to join, then you can just go to your browser and go to their website from there.
I hope you found this article informative.
I Couldn’t Let You Go Without Telling You This….
By the way, if you want to know the program that I am proud to recommend to you, my own family and friends, because it is the one I used to learn how to build my own online business, including websites such as this, so that I won’t have to work for anyone else, check out Wealthy Affiliate here. Swagbucks is a wonderful and totally different kind of program and stands on it’s own (I use it still), but Wealthy Affiliate will help you become truly independent – no MLM, no sales, not even a credit card number to start.