Makin' some dough...

I was super excited to open the mail today and find my very first commission check!!!!

This is a terrible picture, I know, but you get the point!

I have been blogging for just under a year now and belong to several affiliate programs, but my earnings have never reached the threshold to actually get paid...until now!

So my plan is to put it into my car fund (my sad little car fund) - this check for $50.06 will almost double it! Maybe I can buy a door handle with that... :).

Anyway, the point of this post is that you are probably NOT going to get rich using affiliate programs, but if you use several - your earnings may just add up to something. Here are the affiliate programs I use:

My Savings Media - this is the company that sent me the $50.06. I love being an affiliate with them. They provide HTML and links for me to post on my blog that show ads and provide FREEbies for my readers. You don't usually get commission if readers *click* on the link or ad, but usually they have to sign up for something like a FREE sample, a newsletter, a subscription, etc. You get a certain amount for each "lead." The threshold for payout for My Savings Media is $50.00 and you get it about two-ish months after you earned it - so the commission I received is because I reached my threshold in March. I highly recommend this affiliate program for bloggers! It is very easy to use and heck - it made me a few bucks too! Sign up here if you are interested.



Logical Media - this is very similar to My Savings Media...even down to the look of their websites and they sometimes even have the same offers. I just look to see which one has a larger payout if I am going to use a certain ad or offer (most of the time they are the same payout). The threshold is $100.00, which I reached in April so I will be receiving a check probably sometime in June. Logical Media also offers a "super affiliate" program where you can refer other bloggers with your link and you get 5% of their commissions - for life! You can also have as many as you want...so depending on referrals and your own commissions you have a great opportunity to earn some money. Sign up for Logical Media here.


I am also a user of Amazon.com affiliate program, the Coupons.com affiliate program, and Google Ads.


Even if you don't have a blog there are other ways to make some extra dough online. YouData - I am in love with YouData. Seriously, I sign in once a week, click on a few ads, and get some money in my PayPal account on Friday. It is so easy and I love that they pay right away. NO THRESHOLDS! I could go on and on about YouData. In fact, I already have :) - read my original post here. Basically you earn $.05-$.20 for every ad you read. Based on your profile, ads are made available for you to view. View it, it accumulates all week then they deposit what you have earned into your PayPal account. You can also refer others to sing up for YouData and earn $.01 for every ad they view up to 100. Sign up for YouData here using my link, then tell all your friends and start earning some cash. Again, you aren't going to get rich...but every little bit helps. Just think, if you refer 1,000 people, you could potentially make $1,000 off of them! Now that would put a dent in my car savings!

Then there is my favorite...

Swagbucks - This is a search engine (like Google) where you can earn "bucks" for your searches. Reach 45 "Swagbucks" and get a $5.00 Amazon.com gift card. That takes about a month. Get your friends to sign up and you get rewarded with a Swagbuck for every Swagbuck they earn up to 100. Right now I have 10 friends who signed up under me and are regular Swagbucks users. With my searches and their searches, I earn about 45 Swagbucks per week instead of 45 per month. So I earn a $5.00 Amazon gift card every week! Read more details and see how I use my Swagbucks - click here. And...pretty please...if I convinced you to sign up for Swagbucks...please click here and sign up then get your own referral link and share it with all your friends. You WILL NOT be disappointed!

What are you waiting for? Go start making a few bucks - and let it add up!

I know this can be a lot of information all at once, especially if you are not familiar with affiliate programs and/or you are new to blogging. I'd be happy to help explain the programs further and the benefits. Please feel free to e-mail me - saving some green @ gmail . com! I'd love to help!

-Michelle

Make a few extra bucks...

For frugal people like us...every penny counts! Through the frugal blogging community I have found a few great ways to make a few bucks (or gift cards) online - and a few things I think are total ripoffs/wastes of time. Here is the scoop:


Swagbucks - I love, Love, LOVE Swagbucks! Basically you randomly earn bucks for doing searches online. You can use those bucks in the Swag Store to purchase merchandise and gift cards. It is 45 Swagbucks for a $5.00 gift card to Amazon.com. Since I signed up in October last year, I have redeemed $55.00 in Amazon.com gift cards! This hasn't just been for doing my own searches, though, the BEST thing about Swagbucks is their referral program. You provide your link to friends, family, fellow bloggers, etc. When they sign up you earn Swagbucks for their searches...up to their first 100 Swagbucks. This is a very powerful tool. I would love it if you would sign up for Swagbucks using my link HERE. Then get your own link and start telling your friends - then start racking up some Swagbucks! You will LOVE it. Check out some of the things I have purchased with my Swagbucks and more of my experiences here.


YouData - I have been really impressed with YouData. This is a service that pays you to view ads. You earn between $.05-$.15 for each ad you view. The best part of this program is that you are paid every Friday directly to your PayPal account! There is no threshold for a payout! I signed up January 22nd and have earned $11.33. This is real cash!I have just been letting it build in my PayPal account. YouData also has a referral program, for each person that you get to sign up, you get $.01 for each ad they view up to 100 ads - or $1.00. Depending on how many people you sign up...this could add up fast. Again, please use my link HERE to sign up then get your own and tell all of your friends and start collecting some money!


A note about surveys...

I don't do the surveys, mainly because I haven't really found a great site that pays a decent amount. I don't feel like it is worth 15 minutes to make $.50-1.00 especially if you have to build up $20.00 or $25.00 to get a payout. If anyone is aware of some great survey sites, please pass them along!


And now for the ripoffs...

Have you heard of Inbox Dollars or Send Earnings? These are sites that pay $.02 when you read e-mails. The problem? You have to earn $30.00 before you can get a payout. This means you have to read 1500 e-mails to get a payout. You get about 2-5 e-mails per day, so let's say an average of 3. This means it will take about 500 days to get your payout - or almost 1.5 years! Yikes. To make matters worse...there is a $3.00 processing fee (or 150 $.02 e-mails) to get your cash - so you end up with $27.00 for reading e-mails every day for a year and a half. This is not worth it to me. At all.

So tell me. What have your experiences been with making money and gift cards online? Any great sites or other ripoffs? Please leave a comment!

YouData - another EASY way to make a few bucks online!

I learned about YouData several weeks ago from fellow blogger Deal Betty. I signed up on January 22nd and so far I have received $7.66 in my PayPal account!

Here is how it works...

You sign up for YouData and set up a Me File with your data.

YouData chooses relevant ads based on your profile and you get money for clicking on them. It is usually 5-15 cents.

Every Friday, YouData transfers the funds for anything that you earned that week into your PayPal account.

That's it!

They just started offerring a referral program, which is really cool too. For each person that you refer, you will receive one cent for every ad they are paid for up to $1.00. Doesn't sound like a lot, but depending on how many people you refer, you could end up with quite a bit, while still earning of your own ad views.

The thing that makes YouData so much better than sites like Inbox Dollars or Send Earnings (sites where you are paid for reading ads) is that there is no threshold (both Inbox Dollars and Send Earnings have a $30.00 threshold), you get paid every week even if there is only 10 cents built up for you.

I check my YouData about once a week and quickly view all of the available ads. It is totally worth it because I am already surfing anyway (using Swagbucks!), so I might as well make a few cents!

So, check out YouData for yourself, sign up using my link HERE then get your own link and share it with all your friends!