Swagbucks

Like you, I'm sure, I kept seeing Swagbucks mentioned all over the blogosphere.  I'm not quick to jump into new programs because some of them can be very time-consuming and despite the promises, not offer much in the way of actual payout.  So I watched from the sidelines and finally, toward the end of March, I jumped in.

Since March, I have accrued $35 in gift cards to Amazon while spending virtually no extra time on the computer.  Here are my tips, in case you'd like to join too.  (Disclaimer: that link will give me credit for your joining, and I will earn along with you for your first 1,000 swagbucks.)

1) Join!  It's free, quick and easy.


2) Search like you would with Google, but instead, use your Swagbucks search engine.  It's my default search engine in my browser, so any time I need to learn about something I just search it through Swagbucks.  A few times a day, a happy little box pops up, telling me that I earned points for my search.  Yippee!

2) Download the Swagbucks toolbar.  It's not a big deal.  It will put a small toolbar at the top of your browser and you can use it to search, it shows the running total of how many Swagbucks you have, and you can also receive mail from The Swag Guy (TSG) with codes you can enter at swagbucks.com for extra points.

3) Subscribe to the Swagbucks blog.  Codes are often posted on the blog.

4) Subscribe to the Swagbucks Twitter feed.  Same thing - contests and codes are posted there.

5) Join the Swagbucks Facebook page.  You can get help there from experienced Swagbucks users to help you with any questions you might have.  Also, if you check the Facebook page and see lots of "thanks TSG!" messages, you know there's a code posted somewhere.  (See #s 2-4.)

6) Pretty much every website I visit, I go through swagbucks.  This adds a couple seconds to the process, that much I'll give you.  Instead of just typing www.oldnavy.com into my browser, I'll type Old Navy into the Swagbucks search bar, then click on the Old Navy official site.  It's the same as doing a search, and it's probably how I get the most points, just because I visit Facebook 18,921 times per day and well, I'm bound to get some search points for at least a couple of those visits.

7) There are TONS of prizes available, but it seems like the general consensus is that the $5 Amazon gift cards are among the best.  You can use them all at one time if you want to, unlike some of the other gift cards available.  I'm planning to use mine for Christmas goodies.  Right now I'm averaging a $5 gift card about every 7-10 days.  Not bad for just using the internet as usual!