Deal Barbie Pays long

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Awww shucks...

Well, I didn't win the contest. I was a little confused about the actual start and stop time for the contest. It stopped at midnight EST and I am on MT time. But oh well, I'll be sure to pay more attention next time. The good news though is that I completed about 50 offers and made at least $65 bucks!. All I did was freebies too!

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

I love Deal Barbie Pays!

Not to be corny, but I really love this site. Not only is it the highest paying GPT site that I know of, it is totally cool. The site owner Christina always has contests going on. Like today's contest is that for every 10 offers you complete you get an extra $3.75. Not bad at all. Plus if you complete the most offers you get some prizes of money or signs. What are signs?? Glad you asked...signs are kind of like bonus points that you get whenever you complete an offer. Some offers give you 1 sign, some give you 7 signs, etc. There are prizes for collecting signs too. Right now I'm working on collecting 800 signs so I can get an Ipod Shuffle. I figure I'll have it within the next month. I'll be sure to post pics too.

Anyway, I'm heading over to Deal Barbie to try to win this contest and earn some more $$.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Freebies Tips ad Time Savers

Most of the GPT programs have "freebie" offers. These are offers that do not require a credit card. They do not pay a lot (anywhere from .10 to several dollars) but take very little time to complete...anywhere from 10 seconds to 3 minutes in my experience. Doing freebies is a very quick and easy way to increase your earnings...especially if you are unable to or do not wish to use a credit card. Or prehaps you want to start off with free offers and then work you way up to trial offers after you've received your first payment. The earning potential with freebies is probably more than you would think. I earn at least $200 a month from them and the potential is even more. The following are some helpful tips to assist you in making the most of the "freebie" offers.

First, be sure to set up several email accounts using Gmail. If you need an invitation let me know and I will try to help.

Be sure to clear your cookies between every freebie offer.

When filling out the freebie forms make sure you use accurate information. Lying about your name/address etc will risk your account being placed on hold and your earnings revoked. You shouldn't worry about getting a lot of junk mail through the postal service. I've been very active with gpt programs for over 6 months and I might get 1-2 extra pieces of junk mail per week. However, the email accounts you use on the freebie offers will get hit with a lot of junk/spam. This is why you never use your main email account when submitting freebie offers. The trial offers are different. They are mostly with reputable, honest companies who have a strict privacy policy and will not sell/share your personal info with anyone else.

Another thing about the free "survey" offers is that they can be somewhat tricky in that some seem endless and fool you into thinking you must continue in order to qualify for your reward. Who wants to spend 10 minutes on an offer to only make $.50? On many of the free survey offers all you need to do is submit the 2nd page (which contains your email address, name, ph. number etc). Some freebie survey offers require that you do several pages until you see a message at the top thanking you for submitting your answers. There will be another survey beneath this message which you do not have to complete. Here are some more helpful tips about this below.


When to stop on freebies (a great time saver--you may want to print this):

Consumer Promotion Center - Submit 2nd page

Brand Survey Panel - Submit 2nd page

Consumer Expression - Do until you see message in black at the top that reads "Thank you. Your information has been received successfully...". There will be an additional survey beneath this message. Do not do it.

My Elite Rewards - Submit 2nd page

Rewards Gateway - Submit 2nd page

Consumer Beat - Do until you see message in black at the top that reads "Thank you. Your information has been received successfully..."

Winning Surveys - Do until you see message in black at the top that reads "Thank you. Your information has been received successfully..." (I've actually had these offers approve as soon as I complete the 4th page or the page that asks about your housing (own/rent/value etc). You might want to experiment on a gpt site by doing a few just to this point and see if they approve. If they don't then continue until you see the message saying your info has been received)

Big Buck - Do until you see message in black at the top that reads "Thank you. Your information has been received successfully..."

My Insider Deals - Give info and choose offer on 2nd page. Submit. Your done.

Survey Networks - Do until you see message in black at the top that reads "Thank you. Your information has been received successfully...

My Select Gifts - Submit 2nd page

Opinion Direct - Do until you see message in black at the top that reads "Thank you. Your information has been received successfully..."

Savings List - Submit 2nd page (choose offer)

Net Panel - Done when progress bar in upper right corner shows completed and when you see "Exclusive Bonus Offer..." at top of page. When you get to this page the progress bar will be empty again but you are done.

IYO - Submit first page

Important: Get several email addresses

If you decide to join the programs make sure you set up separate email accounts. The downside to doing so many freebie offers (the free offers that require no credit card) is that they will generate a lot of junk email. You will want to sign up to the GPT programs using a main email account and one which you check often. The programs will, on occasion, send you important information about your account and will also notify you when a payment has been processed or an offer has approved etc. When you do trial offers you will also want to use a main email account (I use the same one I use for gpt site registration). The trial offers will send you a confirmation email of your membership/order which you will want to keep. If the offer does not approve then you will need the confirmation email, which is proof that you completed the offer, to request manual credit.

The freebies result in a ton of junk emails. To protect your main email account I recommend you set up several "junk" email addresses and alternate these when doing the "freebies". There are also several little "tricks" that you need to master in order to insure a high rate of approval on your freebie offers:

First thing to remember is that you should clear cookies on your pc between every offer.

You cannot use the same email address on more than one offer in the same family. For example.. If you are planning to do 10 Winning Surveys then you must use a different email address on all 10 otherwise only one of them will approve. You need to be seen as a different member each time you fill out their surveys and they keep track of this through your email address and cookies. So clear cookies and use different addresses on each offer. You do *not* have to create 10 different email addresses for this. What you should do is open a Gmail account. Their email service is free and offers a ton of storage. Create an email address with the maximum characters which is 30. For example, ilovetomakeextramoneyongptsite@gmail.com. When you do your first Win survey you will use that address. When you complete the second Win survey you will use the same address but place a period between the first two letters (i.lovetomakeextramoneyongptsite@gmail.com). On the next Win Survey you will place a period between the second and third letters (il.ovetomakeextramoneyongptsite@gmail.com)...and so on. Continue with this pattern until you are at the end of your address (stop just before the @ symbol). Then change things up a bit with the next survey. Place a period between the first two letters and another period between the last two letters (i.lovetomakeextramoneyongptsit.e@gmail.com). With the next Win survey you can move the last period closer to the first.. between two different letters. I follow a certain pattern with the periods when I do my freebie offers. By the time I'm finished with an email address I have used it well over 100 times.. on over 100 different freebie offers ... and the last time I use the email address I put a period between every single letter. Then it's time to retire that email address and move on to another. You will need to do this with all freebie offers that are within the same family. If your freebies are not approving, this might be why.

Additional Tips

Additional Tips and Advice:

** Use either Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox to complete your offers. Using Netscape or AOL can cause problems with your GPT accounts. Ask the GPT site owners for more details.

** Make sure your computer does not have a proxy server. Contact your internet service provider if you are unsure. GPT programs prohibit the use of proxy servers for various reasons. If you have one then you must contact the site owners and discuss this with them.

** Start slow. Don't rush in and do a lot of offers all at once. Whether you start with freebies or paid trials...complete only a few the first day. Wait and see if the offers approve. If they do then you know you are probably doing them correctly. Do twice as many offers the next time and examine how well they approve before doing more. If more than 20% of your offers are being denied credit then we need to figure out what the problem is or what you might be doing wrong.

** Go into your internet options ("tools" link in your browser) and change your privacy setting to "accept all cookies" if using Internet Explorer or "Allow sites to set cookies" if using Firefox.. Also, check your Advanced tab and make sure that "Override automatic cookie handling" is not checked. Disable popup blockers when completing offers. If enabled, they may interfere with offer approval.

** Once you join the programs I recommend that you spend some time in their forums (not all have them) and read all of the pinned threads. Rules are often outlined within these threads as well as tips and advice on how to maximize your earnings.


** Never repeat the same offer on different sites. Keep track of your offers.

** When you do trials make sure that you do not cancel before you have received the product or before logging into their website and taking a closer look at what your membership involves. You are suppose to do offers that you are legitimately interested in. When you do an offer and cancel before logging in or receiving the product then this lets the advertiser know that you only did the offer for the incentive. The advertiser can revoke your earnings for that offer. If this occurs too many times the site owner might make the decision to place your account on hold.

** You will need to submit a W9 tax form to each gpt program site once you reach $600 ($400 on some sites) in any given year. The gpt sites are obligated to report any earnings over $600. At the end of the year they will report your earnings to the IRS and will also send you a 1099 form showing your total earnings. Income from gpt programs is considered "misc. earnings". To learn more about filing "misc" earnings or to learn how your income from these programs will effect your filing status etc please contact the IRS. They have always been very helpful when I have called with questions.

** Do *NOT* sign in to your accounts using anyone elses computer and do not let anyone else sign into your account. If they detect more than one IP address on your account it will be closed and you will not be paid. They check for this monthly. Some sites will not mind if you check the status of your account from another computer but other sites will not allow it. Also.. you can't refer anyone that lives within your home. For more rules on this subject read the FAQ or "help" section of the gpt programs.

** I've been told that it's best to sign up using a different username on each gpt site.

** Most gpt programs pay by check and/or paypal. To accept paypal payments you will need to make sure that your account has been verified. To do this you will need to link your paypal to a checking account or credit card. It's easy and safe.


This is a lot of information and it all may seem a little overwhelming at first. I recommend you join the programs and then take one at a time...learning their rules and understanding how that particular program operates. Before you know it ... you will be a GPT expert.

Tips Maximize Your Profits and Save Time

Here are some tips to help you save lots of time and make more money.

Helpful downloads (free):
I highly recommend that you download CCLeaner. Keep the box up while you are doing offers and then when it's time to clear cookies just click "run cleaner" and it clears off all the unnecessary files, cookies, cache etc on your computer. It will not erase anything important. Keep in mind that when you are logged into any site and then clear cookies... it will also clear your log-in cookie which inturn will log you out of the site. In order to prevent this from occuring open your ccleaner box, click "options", then "cookies". There will be 2 boxes. The box on the left contains websites you have recently visited. The box on the left is your "safe" box. Click on your program url's in the left hand box and add them to your safe box. This will prevent you from being logged out when clearing your cookies... so you will not have to log back in every single time you complete an offer.

Also download Roboform. This is a great time saver. It will fill in long registration and checkout forms with one click.

Sign up for a Free Private Phone Number with Netzero and use it on freebie offers since many of them will generate unsolicited calls. Anyone who calls your netzero number can leave a voice mail which you can check by phone or online.


Tips for doing GPT programs:
If you do the paid trial offers most will require a credit/debit card and you will need to cancel before your trail date ends in order to avoid being charged a monthly (sometimes weekly or yearly) fee. You will need to keep up with your offers and dates to cancel. I keep a notebook on my desk for this purpose. Every time I complete a trial offer that requires my credit card I write this info down:

* Date I signed up
* Company name and website address
* Length of trial period and date to cancel by (highlight the date)
* Fee for activation (sometimes $1) or shipping/handling charge if one is involved (you might do a trial for a hygiene product, for example, in which you pay $3.95 for s/h but will earn $25 for completing the offer)
* Monthly/weekly fee involved if you fail to cancel
* Company phone number and/or instructions to cancel
* Reward for doing the offer

Example:
4/7 Bargain Network bargainnetwork.com- 30 day trial - Cancel by 5/6 (highlight this) - $1 activation fee - $14.95/mo - 1-800-xxx-xxxx - $10 reward

After I write this information I leave a few lines underneath so when I cancel I can add the following:
* Date I canceled
* Person I spoke with and their i.d. or extension number (ask if they don't tell you)
* Cancellation confirmation number (ask for one if they don't offer it).
* Make note if you received and printed out an email confirming your cancellation (place printed confirmation in folder)
example:
Canceled 4/27 - Karen i.d. # 2593 - cancellation confirmation # 390102804 - copy in folder


The above may seem complicated but it really isn't. Once you do a few trials you it will all make sense. It takes me maybe a full minute to write all the above in my notebook. I highlight the date to cancel and I scan those dates every 2 or 3 days to see if I need to cancel offers. I try to do several cancellations at one time. Once I cancel I make a red line through the offer so I know it's taken care of but I keep the info visible incase I need it later on... if my cancellation failed to process correctly. Some people prefer keeping up with offers on a spreadsheet. Just do what works best for you.

Important Information about Prepaid Gift Cards:

Prepaid Gift Cards is my preferred method for offers that require a credit card or trial. They are also great for people who don't have a credit card...like teens, or whoever.

To avoid being wrongly charged I highly recommend that you use a prepaid Visa/Mastercard gift card to complete trial offers... or any offers that require a credit card. A prepaid gift card is one which you can purchase online, through your bank, and even from some local merchants. The cards usually cost anywhere from $3-$6. Put as much cash on the card as you want and then use this card to complete your trial offers. I don't recommend Prepaid Credit Cards because these types of cards will often allow insufficient charges whereas prepaid gift cards will decline all charges if the available balance on the card is too low.

It's always best to cancel your free trials before the deadline but if, for whatever reason, you fail to cancel in time... you do not have to worry about loosing money. And there are a few shady companies that advertise with these programs who have been known to charge credit cards after cancellations... so in my opinion it is best, especially on the offers that will require a large fee, to use a prepaid. The majority of the advertisers are honest and reputable but there's always a few exceptions. A prepaid will protect you from them. I used my bank debit card for an offer and ended up being charged $58 bucks after I canceled...so don't take the above suggestions lightly.

How do you get started?

Well, you can click on any of the banners or links you see on my page to sign up or you can go directly to the site. Clicking on my links posted here gives me referral credit though and would be helpful to me :).

I complete trial offers as well as "freebie" offers every month. You might want to start with the freebies. I often recommend to others to start off slowly... Visit the sites often, spend a bit of time getting used to how they work and learning how to be successful with the free offers. You will be amazed at how quickly your earnings will grow. Then once you receive your first payment you might want to invest $25 of it into a prepaid gift card which you can use to complete trial offers. In just a few hours you can turn $25 into $250.. or more. After you receive your earnings maybe reinvest $30-40 into a prepaid and turn that into $300 or more. Do the offers when it's convenient. That's what I really love about earning money through gpt sites. You can do the offers when you want, when you feel like it, and when you have the time. With my paid surveys and the gpt programs I should be able to make an easy $600-$800 a month and that's just from doing offers a few hours a day. It is possible to make so much more. A friend who got me into doing GPT sites averages $1300 a month!!

Here are the links to my favorite sites:

Cash Duck
Deal Barbie Pays
Cash on Tap
Rock Hard Cash

What is a 'GPT' Site?

GPT stands for "get-paid-to". Basically, there are websites that are free to join that pay you cash to complete short surveys and to sign up for trial memberships with online companies. So far I've not found an easier or faster way to make money online.

Let's talk about the free surveys. You complete free surveys (most take about 3 mins) and you can get paid anywhere from $.35 to $2.00 for completing it. Pretty simple. You can do very well by completing free surveys and offers ($200-$400 a month). I try to do as many free offers as I can. They're so simple and it really adds up.

You can really kick up your earnings by signing up for trial offers that require little or no money upfront. Some of they do require a valid credit or debit card number, but some do not. If you don't have a credit card you can use a prepaid gift card with a Visa logo. So for example, you sign up for a 7-day trial at Bargain Network. The trial costs $1 and for signing up you get paid $10. As long as you cancel the services prior to your trial deadline then your card is charged nothing else. If you do not cancel then you are basically agreeing to continue with the service and are giving the company permission to charge your card a fee... usually on a monthly basis but sometimes can be weekly or annually. If you feel uncomfortable using a credit/debit card online then get a prepaid gift card that can't be charged more than what you put on it.. so you don't have to worry about a company charging you for fees after you cancel.

So how does this work...you might be wondering. GPT programs make their money through advertisers. The advertisers pay the programs to recruit new members to try their services/products for a short period of time... hoping that they will remain a paying member after their trial period has ended. To make money.. you simple click on an offer that you find interesting and sign up for a trial membership. You are under no obligation to remain a member and you may simply cancel your membership before your trial period ends. There are hundreds of offers and new offers are added regularly.