OK, so I realize this is totally spamming, and I'm going to sound like a commercial as I write this. HOWEVER, those who know me know I wouldn't bother posting about something like this unless I felt it was worth your time.
What is Swag Bucks?
So, my dear friend Marni introduced me to this awesome thing called Swag Bucks. Basically, it is a search engine not unlike Google or yahoo. You use the Swag Bucks search engine doing your day to day searching just like you would with any other engine, and every once and a while you run the chance of winning these things called Swag Bucks. Over time, you collect them up and redeem them for prizes. One of the best trades for your Swag Bucks as it turns out, is for Amazon.com e-gift cards. For every 450 Swag Bucks you earn, you get a $5 dollar credit to your Amazon account to use towards anything you wish.
Is it Legit?
Go ahead and do a few searches on it. You will find that it absolutely is legit. Marni has been doing it since March and has already made over $75 dollars credited to her Amazon account. I have been on since mid May, and have made $15. They send out the e-gift card codes on the 1st and 15th of every month. I just got my first codes today, and it literally took seconds to transfer the code to my amazon account. Super simple.
Why do they do this?
I asked this same question in the beginning. If they are paying us to search, how are they making money? What I have learned is that many companies pay search engine providers for every hit they get to their site as a result of the search engine. This means that Swag Bucks is getting paid each and every time someone arrives at one of their paid sponsors. They then take the money they make and give some of it back as incentive for people to use their search engine. I mean, c'mon, let's face it... with such well established search engines that have literally become household names ("let's Google it") it makes sense that they would offer to pay people as incentive to grow their search engine. No one would use it otherwise, and they wouldn't be able to stay in business. By giving just a little back, they are benefiting as a company.
Is the search engine as good as Google?
The honest answer to this question is no. Google will likely get you way more results, especially when it comes to image searches. However, since I started using it 2 weeks ago, I have only had to go to Google ONCE because Swag Bucks did not deliver what I wanted. For the most part, the search results are more than adequate. And if not, you could always use the Swag Bucks search engine to search Google ;)
Ways to Earn
There are several ways to earn Swag Bucks day to day.
Searching
The first way is to use the search engine. You won't win every time, but you will win on occasion. My wins are typically anywhere from 7-14 Swag Bucks, although I did win 36 once. I generally win from searching roughly 3 times a day.
Finding Codes
Here is how they make things interesting. From time to time (generally 1-3x per day) they release secret codes that are good for a limited number of time. They release the codes at completely random times, and they are generally good for 5-8 Swag Bucks. They usually make it fun by making it something you have to search for or use your brain muscles to figure out. There are several ways to find out about codes.
1. Visit the Blog Regularly
Swag Bucks has a blog that they generally update a few times a day. This is where they release hints about
2.Visit the Fan Blog Regularly.
We Love Swagbucks is good at keeping up on when new codes are released. This is a good thing to check a few times a day. They can't tell you what the code is, as Swag Bucks has strict rules about not giving out codes, and will disable them if they catch wind that anyone has, but they can let you know when one has been released and how to go about finding out how to get it. It saves you from having to lurk the twitter, facebook, and blog pages for codes.
3. Facebook Page
They also have a facebook page that they release code hints on from time to time. If you're an avid facebook user like me, it's a good way to keep up on what is going on but shouldn't be your only way, as they don't always post code hints here.
4. Twitter Page
I don't personally use twitter, but they do post codes periodically via this method. I don't have an account and thus, don't have a link, so you can search for their twitter page on your own, lol.
Shop & Trade In
You can also win swag bucks by making online purchases through their partner sites and trading in old cell phones and such. I don't personally like this method of earning but if you are planning to do some online shopping anyway and the site happens to be one of their partner sites, I say go for it. You make 2 Swag Bucks for every 1 dollar you spend.
Referrals
This is one of THE BEST ways to earn. Every person who signs up under you helps you to earn Swagbucks. Keep reading for more on that.
Benefits of Installing the Toolbar
The toolbar comes with lots of little links that help you manage your Swag Bucks account. It also comes with a little search engine so you don't have to go to Swag Bucks.com every time you want to search. I was even able to configure mine to connect to my yahoo mail and alert me whenever I have a new email. Score.
What if I don't want to download the toolbar?
So, I ran into this situation where I was at work, and didn't want to get in trouble for downloading content onto my computer. I was able to work around this by configuring the search bar built in to the top right of my browser to search Swag Bucks automatically. I'll do my best to walk you through the process.
From Internet Explorer
1. Click on the drop down menu and select "manage search providers"
2. Click "find more search providers"
3. This will open a web page. Scroll to the bottom and select "create your own search provider"
4. In another window, go to the Swag Bucks Search Engine and search the word "TEST" in all capital letters.
5. Paste the URL that comes up into the URL portion of the create your own search provider page.
6. Name the search engine what you want it to be called. "Swag Bucks" is probably best.
7. Click "install search provider" and then click "add" in the window that pops up and Voila!
8. Now, go back to the drop down menu up at the search bar and select Swag Bucks to make it your default search provider.
From Firefox
I haven't figured out how to do it in Firefox without at the very least, installing the Swag Bucks Plugin. From this page, you can also install plugins for Safari, Opera, and Google Chrome. If anyone figures out a way to do it without installing plugins, please let me know, but I don't know that it is possible.
Why do you keep linking the word Swag Bucks?
Well, dear blogger friends, because if you decide to sign up, and do so under my link, I get referral credit. Basically, every time you search and win, I win too. To date, I've already made over 600 Swag Bucks through referrals alone. This is seriously one of THE BEST ways to earn. I didn't think I'd be able to get any referrals when I started, but by posting just a few (3) Facebook posts about it, I've been able to gather 9 referrals. I wouldn't recommend spamming your friends with posts, but I think it's OK to do one every now and again.
What it comes down to is I really recommend it. I've tried to explain it in as much deal as I can, but if you have any questions you can always, always, always, message me. I'd be happy to help answer any questions. I've earned $15 dollars in roughly 3 weeks, and am looking forward to earning enough money to have a mostly, if not totally, free Christmas. Go Swag Bucks!
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