Monday, April 16, 2012

Earn Money From Home with Swagbucks

If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you’ve likely heard me talk about this thing called Swagbucks. And some of you are probably scratching your head wondering what it’s all about. So I thought it was high time I did an in-depth tutorial complete with 14 simple ways to earn more Swagbucks.



What Is Swagbucks?

Swagbucks is a search engine which rewards you with Swagbucks for searching. You can use it just like Google (though I still like Google better) for searching and you will be randomly awarded Swagbucks for searching, usually around five to 10 Swagbucks once or twice each day.
These Swagbucks can then be redeemed for a variety of different free items, such as Amazon gift cards, Starbucks gift cards and much more.
While Swagbucks started out as solely a search engine, over the past few years, they’ve morphed into much more. In fact, they now offer many different ways to earn more Swagbucks making it much easier to earn enough Swagbucks to cash in on their prizes.

How Do I Sign Up For Swagbucks?

It’s very simple. Just fill out the form here and you’re all set.

Does It Really Work?

Resoundingly yes! I’ve earned many gift cards plus some electronics from them since I’ve been using them for the last few years. In fact, we were able to lavishly bless our families with Christmas gifts this year thanks, in large part, to the gift cards I’d accumulated through Swagbucks.
And I’m not alone. I know dozens of friends who’ve also had great success with Swagbucks — earning at least a gift card or two every month and sometimes much more than that.
I average about $25 a month in Amazon.com gift cards. That really adds up fast and is helpful for birthday and Christmas presents. :) 

1. Install the Swagbucks Toolbar

You can conduct internet searches directly on the Swagbucks homepage. Or, you can make it much easier on yourself and just install the Swagbucks toolbar. Then, when you want to search for something, you can just go to the Swagbucks toolbar and search without having to open up the Swagbucks homepage.
In addition, you’ll sometimes receive notifications of free Swagbucks codes in the toolbar which you can enter on the homepage of your Swagbucks account in order to add free bonus points to your account.

2. Follow the Swagbucks Blog

If you’re not following the Swagbucks blog, you’re missing out on many opportunities to snag free Swagbucks codes. They have been releasing at least one free code almost every day. Plus, you’ll be in the know about giveaways they are running and everything that’s new at Swagbucks.

3. Print Coupons

Did you know that you can now earn 10 Swagbucks for every coupon you printand use from Swagbucks? Just click on the “Earn” tab at the top of theSwagbucks homepage and then click on “Coupons”. You’ll earn 10 Swagbucks for every coupon you print and redeem at your local store.
Please note that you’ll only receive Swagbucks for coupons you actually use. Just printing them won’t earn you anything, so make sure to only print those you know you’ll use.
In addition, it takes up to 12 weeks for the points to post to your account. However, I’ve received reports from many different people that this has worked without a hitch. You just have to have a bit of patience!

4. Watch Swagbucks TV

Click on the “Swagbucks TV” on the dropdown menu under the “Earn” tab to pull up the Swagbucks TV page. You have to watch 10 different videos (they range in length from one minute to five minutes) and then you’ll earn three Swagbucks.
I usually turn these on while I’m working on the computer and it’s a simple way to slowly rack up some points. You can earn up to 25 three-point rewards in a 24-hour period (a total of 75 points), so it’s definitely a great way to multi-task while on the computer. I also sometimes just leave the videos running while I’m working on a task nearby (laundry, cleaning, etc.).

5. Take the Daily Poll

Every day, Swagbucks offers one simple poll. Just click on the “Poll” on the dropdown menu under the “Earn” tab to pull up the page. Choose your answer and you’ll earn one Swagbuck. It’s simple and takes all of about 15 seconds to do.

6. Perform Tasks

Swagbucks has a list of different tasks you can complete online and earn anywhere from 16 to 40 Swagbucks. Just click on the “Tasks” on the dropdown menu under the “Earn” tab to pull up the page.
Each tasks is different. They will tell you at the beginning how many minutes the task will typically take.
I will say, that I wouldn’t recommend this way of earning Swagbucks unless you have a lot of time on your hands and love doing online research. For the time involved in doing these tasks, you’re only earning the equivalent of pennies.

7. Complete Special Offers

Right now, you can earn nine Swagbucks when you sign up to get Dilbert comics or the Free Sites email newsletter. You can earn 61 Swagbucks when you sign up for Mint.com and add one financial institution to your profile. You can get 21 Swagbucks when you sign up for the Sweet Daily Deals email newsletter.
There are many, many more such offers which require no credit card or payment to earn Swagbucks. Click on the “Special Offers” on the dropdown menu under the “Earn” tab to pull up the page which lists the various offers you can complete to earn Swagbucks. Unless you were already planning to sign up for one of the free trials which require a credit card, I would not suggest signing up for them as it’s possible you could forget to cancel and get billed.

8. Take Trusted Surveys

Swagbucks offers similar survey opportunities to paid survey opportunities, only you earn Swagbucks instead of cash.
There are mixed reviews on the survey opportunities, similar to what the paid survey opportunities usually are like. Some people do really well with them, some people spend a lot of time filling out pre-survey questionnaires only to find out they don’t qualify.
If you enjoy filling out surveys, I’d say it’s worth a shot to try doing some of the Trusted Surveys through Swagbucks. However, if you find you’re rarely qualifying for surveys, I’d skip the surveys and focus on some of the other more reliable earning opportunities.

9. Play Swagbucks Games

I tried my hand at the Swagbucks games and was less than enthused. However, I’m one of those people who basically finds computer games incredibly boring. If you’re unlike me and you enjoy computer games, this might be a great way to earn Swagbucks.

10. Go Through the No Obligation Special Offers

Every day, you can go to the No Obligation Special Offers section and skip through all the offers (sign up if something interests you, but skip those which don’t interest you). At the end, you just have to type in a simple phrase and you’ll earn two Swagbucks. From start to finish, this will take you no more than 20 seconds and you can do it every single day!

11. Purchase Groupons Through Swagbucks

If you’re going to purchase a Groupon deal, always head to the Daily Deals page on Swagbucks and click through there to purchase it. In many cases, you’ll earn 150 to 300 Swagbucks for your purchase — which can make the Groupon deal even sweeter!

12. Trade-In

If you have old cell phones, MP3 players, games, consoles or books you want to get rid of, check out how many Swagbucks you can earn by trading them in. After looking up your item, you can print out a pre-paid shipping label and receipt, stick it in the mail and you’ll be awarded your Swagbucks after your trade-in is processed.

13. Follow Swagbucks on Twitter

If you follow Swagbucks on Twitter, you’ll be the first to know about Twitter-only codes available. Plus, multiple times per week, they randomly award Twitter followers with 100 free Swagbucks for tweeting using the hastag #Swagbucks.

14. Follow Swagbucks on Facebook

The Swagbucks Facebook Page is the place to find out about the latest Swagcodes and discuss all things related to Swagbucks. Since there are so many members and everyone is allowed to post on the wall, sometimes the discussions or comments get a little out of hand.
Also, I’ve found that the Swagbucks Facebook Page is a goldmine for finding the best phrases to search. I never seem to have great success when searching on my own, but when I search the phrases people suggest on there, I almost always win double digit Swagbucks. I have no idea what’s up with that, but you should try it, too!